This Week In DCTV 1/25/2020
Welcome to This Week in DCTV, where the Twisted Cape examines, breaks down, and gives a quick review of all the original shows that DC has released this week. This will run weekly and start on Sunday and end on Saturday, so we catch everything on the CW, Fox, and the DC Universe streaming service. We’ll also include an average on the week to help determine whether the week was a success. Keep in mind there will be spoilers on a regular basis so read on at your own risk. NOTE: We will not be covering Epix’s Pennyworth at this time.
Weekly Score (4 Out of 5) – Good week from the DC shows in largely satisfying fashion. Hopefully the CW shows continue to develop at this high rate as we get toward the middle of the season, which can slow down, but hopefully from here forward it acts as a truncated season. Twist of the Week goes to Harley Quinn for giving the character her goal, while simultaneously taking everything else away.
The CW
Supergirl - 4/5 – “The Bottle Episode”
The subsequent complications from the Crisis leave Supergirl to face a chaotic threat. SPOILERS – This was the best non-Crisis episode of Supergirl we’ve had in a while. It largely focused on Brainy, which is frustrating because the best episodes of this show rarely focus on Supergirl. This episode did something that I personally love: letting an actor play multiple versions of themselves. Each Brainy was just different enough and one was even a girl (Brainiac 5 actor Jesse Rath’s sister, Meagan). Those two shared poignant scenes together as well as pushed the story forward. The biggest development is that Brainy’s personality inhibitors are now gone and that he’s now working with Lex, almost directly after breaking up with Nia. There were 2 big items that kept this from scoring higher. The first is the bar fight scene that resulted in *Nsync’s “It’s Gonna Be Me” being used. I was highly entertained, but it was wildly out of place. The second was after the fight is over, everyone just magically agrees to be friends and help each other. Just out of place writing in an otherwise strong episode. It looks like Lex will be sticking around for the foreseeable future, which I’m surprisingly alright with. I’m curious to see what they do with the character and if they incorporate Superman into the mix.
Arrow - 4/5 – “Green Arrow & The Canaries”
It’s the year 2040 in Star City and Mia Queen has everything she could have ever wanted. SPOILERS – Rocketing back to 2040, it’s a different Star City than the one we left behind and that’s a great thing. The old story was a drag and I was happy to mostly leave it behind. As a “pilot” is concerned, it was pretty good. It honors the Arrow memory, while making itself different altogether. I’m happy that they explained how Laurel and Dinah are able to be involved at their current age up front – one via time travel and one via universe reset. I also love how it incorporated the rest of the Arrowverse (Supergirl, Flash, and Legends) to explain things that would not make sense otherwise, especially the restoration of memories. For the first time, I’m truly excited by the prospects of a show like this and what it can achieve. Also, I’m happy that we’ve seen less scowling/brooding from Mia. That is a great tool for a lead character, but it shouldn’t be the only one and thankfully, that’s not it.
Black Lightning - 4/5 – “The Book of Markovia: Chapter One: Blessings and Curses Reborn”
Jefferson navigates his new reality following the events of the Red Wave. SPOILERS – Despite being on a new Earth, Black Lightning’s problems pick up right where they left off. This episode checks in on every member of the Pierce family in their own stories. It’s difficult to juggle especially right out of Crisis, but it works well, especially when they cross each other. The pairings work well on every level, with the appropriate amount of drama especially inside the family dynamic. The action coming out of this episode was really good and intense as well outside of the very first scene with Black Lightning and Blackbird. I also enjoyed the side story with TC and Gambi – I get curious if they are setting him up to be Gambi’s replacement down the road or at least a sidekick/apprentice. Finally, I’m curious if there are any big changes as a result of Crisis like in Batwoman.
Legends of Tomorrow - 4/5 – “Meet The Legends”
Sara, Ray, and Mick are shocked to discover that the Legends have become famous. SPOILERS – The Legends take on a documentary crew in the name of governmental transparency and of course that goes swimmingly. I maintain that this is probably my favorite Arrowverse show now, because when it’s serious it’s serious, but when it’s silly, it goes full on silly. Those 2 concepts frequently intersect, and somehow, this episode and this show always pull it off. It was great to see the team romping around in Russia investigating an “Encore” because they just screw up so much but still manage to put it all together. Carrying over from Crisis is a strong story for Sara that pulls the whole team together. Constantine and Gary is a pairing I didn’t realize that I regularly need, but it’s so amusing that I can’t help loving it. Strong start to the season and I’m going to love to see where it goes especially around the Zari storyline.
Batwoman - 4/5 – “How Queer Everything Is Today!”
While Gotham busies itself reacting to Batwoman’s awkward encounter, Alice celebrates her ultimate act of vengeance with Mouse. SPOILERS – Damn, Batwoman came out of the break swinging hard. In addition to tackling what it feels like to be outed as a member of the LGBTQ community, the potential Crisis tie in is huge. Kate spent a majority of the episode hunting a hacker with serious skills, all while dodging a police officer who kept popping up, which made them almost an unofficial celebrity couple, which bothered Kate. Coupled with getting ripped by the hacker, who is a teen who was outed by her ex-girlfriend, Batwoman comes out as a lesbian in CATCO magazine, which was written by Kate’s good friend, Kara Danvers - Cool unofficial crossover there. Alice is bothering me. Kate could have taken her down multiple times during this episode, but instead chose to fully unmask in front of this kid. Had the story not played out the way that it did, I absolutely would have lowered the score. And that cliffhanger? Beth and Alice somehow exist in the same universe?! Hopefully a nice little bonus of the convergence of Earths from Crisis, but I suspect we’ll find out soon enough.
DC Universe
Harley Quinn – 4/5 – “A Seat At The Table”
Now a member of the Legion of Doom and The Joker’s equal, Harley finds herself spending time with him. Will she slip into her old ways? SPOILERS – This episode set the stage for the run to the end of the season. This show is more of a tragedy wrapped in a comedy at this point with Harley being the tragic figure. She achieved every goal she ever wanted and then had it all snatched away. Her crew, her best friend, the love she fooled herself into thinking that she had. One of the saddest scenes happens after Joker pushes Harley out of his plane and Batman saves her. He says “Some people never change” and the voice acting at that point emphasizes how abusive the Joker has truly been. All this said, this episode was also full of comedy, thank you Bane. Bane and Harley’s crew is such a fun team and the ridiculous way that Bane behaves totally sells it. While the episode was a downer, it was strong.
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