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Arrowverse this week: Kara faces fears, Barry struggles with Iris, the Legends clown around (in more ways than one), and Oliver's old friend returns.

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Arrowverse Recaps: Supergirl 3×02, The Flash 4×02, Legends 3×02, Arrow 6×02

Arrowverse this week: Kara faces fears, Barry struggles with Iris, the Legends clown around (in more ways than one), and Oliver’s old friend returns.

Last week’s recaps

We’re back for another full week of Arrowverse TV. Supergirl is still on the heavier side, whereas The Flash and Legends Of Tomorrow up the comedy and Arrow is as dark as ever. Here’s what happened this week.

Supergirl 3×02 “Triggers”

Last week we had Kara being sad and frowny, and this week we get Kara being sad and scared, all thanks to National City’s newest villain, Psi (played by Jane The Virgin‘s Yael Grobglas), a psychic who can make her victims see their worst fears. She’s a meta and a bank robber, so of course she soon finds herself on the DEO’s radar, but even Supergirl is weak to fear. As Kara faces Psi throughout the episode, she is plagued with visions of her mom, a firey Krypton, her spaceship, and being trapped in space. She even sees Mon-El’s ship and starts panicking that he’s dead at her hands, but it’s Alex who assures her that he must be alive somewhere. The sister bond is strong in this episode. Kara is obviously going through a tough time as she tries to balance her job, her hero work, her friends, and the loss of Mon-El, so having Alex around as a shoulder to cry on is always so great.

Speaking of Alex, she and Maggie are still having some issues…they’re bickering over hiring a DJ or a band for their wedding, and apparently they also never had the kid conversation, so when it comes up, the awkwardness in their voices makes it seem like it’ll be a multi-episode issue. I love Sanvers, so this is a little disheartening.

Between battles with Psi, Kara also tries to go to work, but having Lena is charge isn’t making things easier as she’s always having to lie in order to run off to save the day. After a whole day of not being productive, Lena has to talk to her as a boss, which is uncomfortable, but it really shows her dedicated Lena is to her work in the same way Kara is dedicated to her job as Supergirl. Lena is, at the end of the day, a CEO, and she’s worked too hard to let Kara and her flightiness get in the way. James is also not adjusting to Lena’s presence at CatCo well…but is anyone else thinking they might hook up soon…?

While the episode flips back and forth between the DEO and CatCo, it also revisits Samantha and her daughter Ruby, who we met briefly last episode when Samantha lifted a huge metal rod off Ruby when the waterfront is attacked. Despite what Samantha tells her, Ruby is convinced her mother is a superhero, and when she sees Psi causing havoc on a street, Ruby deliberately gets closer in hopes that her mother will save her. Ruby is not a smart child. But Samantha does show up, though we never see her do any saving because Supergirl swoops in, grabbing the wrecking ball that was seconds away from flattening them both. Afterwards, Ruby admits to Samantha that she wishes Samantha had powers so she could quit her job and spend more time with her. Admittedly, all the scenes involving Ruby and Samantha feel out of place and boring because aside from bumping into Alex at the waterfront, they have no connection to anything or anyone else on the show. Until, of course, the end of the episode, when Lena introduces Kara to the new head of L-Corp and it turns out to be Samantha.

So how does Kara end up defeating Psi? After a pep-talk from Alex and with some cool tech from Winn, Kara comes to the realization that her fears are all in her head, and then headbutts Psi. Another heroic save from the Girl Of Steel! National City is safe for another week, which is good because it looks like the gang needs to focus their attention on somewhere else for a bit: Mars. Alone at a bar, J’onn has a vision of M’gann telling him to come to Mars, so who knows what’s in store.

All in all, another decent episode, but not a standout by any means. Psi was an okay villain. She had cool powers but I feel the show didn’t use them that well, and all she did was casually rob banks. There was no suspense or action. 

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 pausegeek.fr

The Flash 4×02 “Mixed Signals”

With Barry officially back, The Flash wastes no time getting back to the jokes and the laughs. The first half of this episode is wonderfully funny, though the second half loses the spirit a little. As Barry catches up on TV shows and readjusts to his old life, everyone seems to easily welcome him back..all except Iris, that is. In his (and Caitlin’s) absence she had taken over as the communicator from STAR Labs, and when she and Barry now run into some minor communication issues, Iris takes some advice from Caitlin and signs them up for couples therapy. It seems unnecessary because it is, but watching Barry and Iris awkwardly express themselves to a chipper therapist is honestly hilarious. The session doesn’t last long, though, because Barry has to run off and deal with the newest meta in town.

The meta, they find out, is a man who can control technology with his DNA, and by hacking into an elevator and then a car, he attacks two men that Cisco later connects as app developers who used to work with this new meta who calls himself Kilgore. Kilgore is out for revenge after the group stole his idea and profited. There was another member of the app development group, a girl, and she’s targeted too, but Joe and Wally arrive before Kilgore makes her insulin pump kill her. 

Which other couple is having some issues this episode? Cisco and Gypsy. She arrives for date night, but with all the meta work that needs to be done, he cancels and tries to reschedule thinking she’d be cool with it, but she is not. When pressed later on, she reveals that the specific day was important to her because on her Earth it was One-One-One Day, a holiday for lovers (one heart and one soul becomes one couple or something…) so they agree to be honest about their feelings and the importance of holidays and spending time with each other. While I’m glad they could sort out their issues because they are pretty cute together, I am a little miffed that she had was kind of mad at Cisco for doing his important job instead of celebrating a holiday he didn’t know about.

I am also miffed at Iris, who, in another therapy session, finally gets to the heart of her recent issues with Barry and reveals that she isn’t just mad that he made some wedding decisions without her, she’s really mad that he even left in the first place. Yes, Iris West is upset that Barry sacrificed himself to the speed force, an issue that not only was brought on by his dumb choices but also resulted in the city being saved. I love Iris, but the whole communication issue that was forced upon the couple this episode was pretty silly. Eventually, she explains to Barry that as his bride to be, she’s also a part of The Flash and wishes to be a part of the decision making. And they get a great chance to work on this soon enough as the final showdown with Kilgore arrives.

Once Cisco and Caitlin figure out some sciencey things develop a serum that removes his power, it seems like an easy mission for Barry and Wally (who has once again been reduced to four-line sidekick). But unfortunately, Cisco gave Barry’s suit a major upgrade and built in a lot of fun technology including a raft function (in which the suit inflates like a raft) and self-destruct function, so Kilgore is able to physically control Barry. Luckily there’s a pay phone nearby and Barry manages to call STAR Labs. Cisco and Caitlin have no idea how to help, especially not with all the fail-safes Cisco installed in the suit, so Barry has no choice but to listen to Iris, who’s idea is for him to throw a lightning bolt at himself, frying the circuits. It’s a risk, especially since Iris has no science background at all, but he does it and it works and Westallen’s communication issues are (hopefully) over!

Kilgore is put in a specially designed cell at the CCPD, and when Barry and Joe ask him how he got his meta powers since he was living in Silicon Valley at the time of the particle accelerator explosion, he gives a nice evil grin and says he’s not a meta, and he’s also not alone. We don’t have to think too much on that clue for very long because just like last episode, the last scene is of The Thinker, who is watching a feed of the Kilgore’s cell and is very pleased that the plan to get him in that cell worked. He also has plans for several more people, so we have that to look forward to (I mean that, I’m actually intrigued).

Look, as far as communication issues go, I think both couples’ issues were pretty weak and forced here. That being said, I would 100% watch a whole episode just of couples therapy. Hopefully now though, we can see both couples grow and work together better. I do like having Iris around at STAR Labs and contributing to the team, and especially because she doesn’t seem to do much reporting these days… As I said, the episode was pretty funny overall, so I enjoyed it.

ew.com

Legends Of Tomorrow 3×02 “Freakshow”

* Insert that classic circus music here * In order to prove to Rip that letting them keep the Waverider is a good choice, the Legends decide to go after time anachronisms, choosing an easy level 1 problem occurring at a Barnum and Bailey’s circus in 1870. The good news is that they quickly find the anachronism, and it’s a sabertooth tiger. The bad news is that in typical Legends style, they screw up and then spend the rest of the episode trying to fix it before anyone notices.

Ray decided to build a shrink ray for missions, and though he manages to shrink himself on a regular basis, he can’t handle the prehistoric cat and accidentally enlarges it and it escapes its cage. Exasperated Time Mom Sara then has to fly back in time to find Amaya, figuring her animal powers can help. Amaya agrees to go back after Sara tells her that Nate knows of her return. He, in fact, does not, and things get super awkward when she comes back because she broke his heart when she disappeared on him and now lives 70 years in the past. Sara and Amaya manage to find the tiger and shrink it down with Ray’s tech to be a cute little sabertooth kitten, though just as that problem is contained, Nate, goes and makes another. He, Jax, and Ray are hanging out at a bar filled with circus freaks, and Nate, in a frat-boy like drunken state, gets in a fight and then announces to P.T. Barnum himself (played by Billy Zane) that he can turn to steel, Jax can light on fire, and Ray can shrink down. This is exactly what Barnum wants to hear as he’s been looking for new freaks to show off, so he kidnaps Jax and Ray. 

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It’s then up to a stupidly hungover Nate, an awkward and aggravated Amaya and a frustrated Sara to find them. But then Sara spots a shady looking fellow watching them, so she runs after him, leaving the saving to Nate and Amaya, who do get to Jax and Ray, but are hit with a tranq dart before they could do anything. In their captivity, they start talking and she admits why she left him: on the night she disappeared, she saw her granddaughter Mari on the news and decided to go back in time to ensure that Mari is born. But that’s not all Amaya has to admit. After using her powers to stop Barnum from hurting Nate and almost killing him, she reveals that she’s been losing control of herself while in animal mode and doesn’t know what to do.

The shady guy Sara saw was Gary, one of Rip’s Bureau men, who she easily takes down. She forces Gary to call HQ and say all is well, but Agent Sharpe arrives anyway, and she and Sara engage in a cool fight until they both get tired and stop for a water break (I kid you not) (also, I’m like 99% sure they’re gonna hook up eventually). Before they can get back to fighting, they’re attacked by the sabertooth tiger who Mick accidentally let out. It’s returned to its full size and is about to kill Sharpe when Sara saves the day. This doesn’t mean they’re friends, though. Sharpe isn’t too pleased with Sara or the Legends, but she does accidentally reveal that Rip and his team are worried about a bigger threat that even the Legends will have to face.

So now Mick and Stein have to go out into the circus to find the rest of the crew. They eventually do after some hijinx involving clowns, and Firestorm manages to save the team as well as put on a show. Back on the ship, the Legends convince Amaya to stay despite her issues, and Sara brings the news of the bigger threat, making them all laugh because they’re the Legends and they’ve already taken on so many dangerous opponents. The episode ends with a creepy figure named Kuasa forming from water after some other cloaked figured recites some chant. Cool.

This episode wasn’t the best, in my opinion. The circus isn’t my favourite location the Legends have been to and honestly, I am so mad at Nate for being the screw up two episodes in a row. Between Ray enlarging the tiger, Nate drunkenly revealing powers, and Mick letting out the kitten, the boys really need to step up their game because Sara can’t always save them.

showbizjunkies.com

Arrow 6×02 “Tribute”

I am now taking bets as to how long it’ll be before Oliver has a complete mental breakdown because he is one stressed out dude. Between his sister is a coma, his job as the mayor, his job as the Green Arrow, and his new role as Daddy, he really can’t take much more. So when the media gets wind that he’s the Green Arrow, prompting an FBI investigation even though he denies it (and throws in a Bruce Wayne namedrop), you’d think that there was no more that can be thrown at this poor man. But you’d be wrong, because guess who is suspected to be behind the media leak when he attacks Oliver while he’s out at work with some Markovian businessmen? Our good old pal Anatoly. Now, I’ve repressed much of last season’s Russia flashbacks from my memory so I don’t really remember where Oliver and Anatoly stand, but I’m going to go ahead and guess it’s not on good terms. Anatoly kidnaps four of the Markovians and demands a ransom from Oliver, but Oliver isn’t playing that game and instead enlists his team to track down Anatoly so they could do some good old fashioned fighting.

And while Felicity and Curtis do that, they get to talking and Felicity is surprised and a little offended when Curtis admits he does some freelance coding on the side and didn’t tell her. Y’know, because it’s not like she was doing secret Helix work last season… Either way, she asks him to quit and go into business with her, and he agrees. Is this the start of the Smoak Technologies that the Legends saw in the future?

As for Diggle, he has issues of his own. He’s been having some performance issues in the field (last episode he accidentally shot Rene) and after Dinah almost dies because he couldn’t shoot her attacker, she corners him and asks him what’s wrong. Turns out that when they were all on Lian Yu, some explosion shrapnel hit him and now he has degenerative nerve damage. He hasn’t told anyone, especially not Oliver, but Dinah convinces him he should.

When Team Arrow eventually tracks down Anatoly and the one Markovian he still has hostage, they all head over, but only Oliver faces off with Anatoly. Apparently, Anatoly wants money from Oliver because he’s broke since the Bratva cut ties with him for being friends with Oliver. Of course, Oliver refuses to give him anything, so Anatoly shoots the hostage and then proceeds to claim he’s an honorable man because he could have done worse. Anatoly manages to walk out unharmed because he knows Oliver won’t kill him, but before he goes, he admits that he wasn’t the one who leaked the picture of Oliver. I guess we’ll be seeing more of Anatoly as he attempts to get money from Oliver.

But I think Anatoly is the least of Oliver’s priorities because he still has to deal with William, who got beat up by eighth graders. Before running off to deal with Anatoly, Oliver gave his son some fatherly advice which was to next time punch his bullies right in the face. Honestly, I’m disappointed in Oliver as a father, but deep down, I’m not really surprised. Anyway, when Oliver dashed off, he left William alone, which bothered him, prompting Oliver to later promise that he’ll always come back, which is obviously a promise he can’t keep, given his line of work. After talking it over with Rene, Oliver decides to make some changes in the interest of his son. We don’t fully know what he’s planning, but he tells William he’s working on a way to ensure that he will never really be alone and he’s going to make more of an effort to be a better father. That last part is really similar to the speech he gave last episode, and look how that turned out. 

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I guess one part of Oliver’s plan involves Diggle, so the two meet, which is great because Diggle needed to tell Oliver about his nerve damage. Though before he could, Oliver says that he can’t be safe as the Green Arrow anymore and proceeds to ask Diggle to take on the role, which is honestly very selfish because nerve damage aside, Diggle also has a son, and just because Lyla is still alive, that doesn’t make Diggle’s life any less valuable. And though Diggle had every right and so many valid reasons to decline, he instead shakes Oliver’s hand in acceptance. What the hell, John?

So who leaked the photo? We don’t know yet. Curtis and Felicity manage to send the media ‘proof’ that it’s fake, but they’re all on edge now, and rightly so.

Seeing Oliver so stressed makes me stressed. And now we’re going to have to watch Diggle pretend he’s okay under that hood? I have a feeling this season will be rocky and lead to a lot of suffering for the team. As for Anatoly, I don’t love him as a villain, but at least he’s mild compared to Chase, and Oliver needs mild right now. He’s half-assing all his roles and it’s making these episodes feel like ticking time bombs. Will next week be the episode it explodes?

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All pretty average episodes, I’d say. The standout for me this week was The Flash, though I’m looking forward to Supergirl and Legends the most for next week. Which episode do you feel was the strongest? 

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