Week three! This week featured some solid episodes, which is interesting because Oliver Queen and Kara Danvers both stepped back from the hero gig in a way, though it was business as usual for the Legends and for Team Flash. Here’s what happened this week:
Supergirl 3×03 “Far From The Tree”
I know the title is “Far From The Tree” that’s just a nice way of saying ‘Daddy Issues’, as the two storylines this episode revolve around dads and their complications. As Maggie and Alex are gearing up for their wedding shower, J’onn comes by to see Kara and Alex and informs them that he’s off to Mars because, if you’ll recall, M’gann called for him. But Mars is currently populated by White Martians, so Kara volunteers to accompany him. They get in this old-timey car of J’onn’s that doubles as a rocket and off they go. When they get there, M’gann and a group of rebels greet them, saying that they stormed a few old concentration camps and found that J’onn isn’t actually the last Green Martian. There’s another, and it happens to be his father, which angers J’onn as his father must have suffered in these many years. His rant is a rather great performance from David Harewood. So why is J’onn’s father, M’yrnn, the one still alive? It’s because on Mars he was a big-time pastor and leader, and he knows the whereabouts of a powerful staff called the Staff Of Kalor that will allow the White Martians to do more killing. The White Martians kept him alive in hopes of getting it, but he’s unwilling to budge. So much so that even when J’onn shows up, he doesn’t believe it’s really him, thinking it’s just a White Martian trick. When J’onn tries to convince him of the truth, M’yrnn says that there’s no way J’onn could be his son because his son would have never fled Mars, and that throws J’onn for a loop.
Back on Earth, Maggie is faced with her own paternal issues after telling Alex and a visiting Eliza how her dad kicked her out at age 14 for being gay and she hasn’t seen either of her parents since. Later when she and Alex are talking about it, Maggie says that other than that event, her dad was a great father, so Alex suggests inviting the Sawyers to the wedding shower. At first Maggie refuses but then later that night she ends up calling her dad and leaving a message inviting them. Her father ends up coming, too. Maggie picks him up at the bus station, and they have a very awkward conversation, but they both dance around what they really need to say. At the shower, he seems to be okay with it all, even pulling out a picture of little Maggie from his wallet to put with Alex’s childhood pictures, but then all of the sudden when Maggie and Alex kiss, he decides that it’s actually not okay, and just leaves. Maggie follows him out and he explains that since he was an immigrant growing up with a bunch of hateful white people, he feels that the world is too unaccepting and that Maggie will have an even tougher time being gay because the world is hateful to homosexuals as well. If he thinks that abandoning his daughter is the way to fix that, then he’s a delusional jerkwad, and that’s the nicest thing I can say. So she doesn’t manage to get through to her father, and in the end, meets with him one more time to return the picture he had, saying that she used to be that little girl, desperate for her father’s love, but now she’s a strong independent woman who don’t need no bigoted people in her good life. What she also doesn’t need in her life is (still) kids, as she later tells Alex, who remained hopeful that the encounter with Papa Sawyer would change Maggie’s mind. Alex ends up agreeing that all they need is each other, but I don’t think this conversation is completely over yet.
Luckily the other father situation ends up better. After more attempts and we learn more about this magical staff (it was wielded by the first ever White Martian who was originally a Green Martian banished by his father), Kara convinces him to listen to J’onn, and J’onn uses his psychic powers to project a memory of his father and his daughters to M’yrnn, who is then overcome with emotion and apologizes for not believing J’onn. Meanwhile, since the White Martians did end up finding the staff, Kara takes J’onn’s old car, blasts some Britney Spears (did J’onn have that on a CD or is Mars radio just really good?) and drives over to distract them where she starts the fight that J’onn, M’yrnn, M’gann and the other rebels help finish. In the end, the rebels decide that the Staff Of Kalor is too dangerous so J’onn and Kara and M’yrnn take it back to Earth to bury.
And that’s it! While Supergirl may have taken a back seat in this one, I thought it was totally fine because at least she wasn’t super sad and mopey, she helped save M’yrnn, and that Britney Spears in the car bit was hilarious, so I am overall impressed with Kara. And while we also didn’t see any Cat-Co or DEO scenes, for this one episode, I was okay with that. I also did not miss Samantha and Ruby, who we’ve met in the first two episodes of this season. Putting the focus on J’onn was great because everyone loves J’onn, and having his story parallel that of Maggie’s was neat. Was it my favourite episode ever? No. But it was the best of season three thus far.
The Flash 4×03 “Luck Be A Lady”
While the past two Flash episodes ended on our creepy friend the Thinker, this one opened on him. As he spoke to his assistant, he introduced us to Becky, a chatty young woman who is always down on her luck. Until, that is, she gets some luck powers after coming in contact with dark matter, so she robs a bank, using her powers to inflict bad luck on anyone who tries to stop her, including Barry, who tripped on marbles. Yes, marbles. The STAR Labs crew (aided this week by Earth 2’s Harry Wells, who stopped by to break up with Wally on behalf of Jesse) locates her, so Barry meets with her at Jitters. Despite the fact that she looks like a normal, smiley lady, she doesn’t hesitate to threaten Barry with bad luck for him and those around him after he confronts her about being a meta.
So how did Becky come in contact with dark matter, you ask? Well, Cisco and Harry (who still bicker like an old married couple, and it’s great) use some tech and locate a spot with high dark matter radiation (or something) and Barry explains that it’s the spot where the speed force let him out two episodes ago. At the time it opened, a bus was driving by, and Becky was have been on the bus (so was Kilgore, as we saw). So, really, it’s all Barry’s fault. Again. It’s also kind of Cisco’s fault for opening the speed force without consulting Harry, and they get into an argument about that. The team hurries to stop Becky before she infects them all with more bad luck (Barry and Iris lost two wedding venues, Barry accidentally saw Iris in her wedding dress, Joe’s house is leaking…). There’s a quantum field spreading over the city, and it’s all from Becky, whose powers are getting stronger as she wins at a casino. Barry rushes to stop her but is thwarted by bad luck, so the city ends up being saved at the very last second by Cisco and Harry back at the lab when Harry instructs Cisco to turn on the particle accelerator to counteract her. He does, it does, and Becky is carted off to a fancy jail cell, where she too being watched by the Thinker.
As the team debriefs back at the lab, they come to the conclusion that whoever sent the samurai robot to summon Barry must have planned for the speed force’s dark matter to infect the bus at that very second. And while you’d think that this conclusion means they’re one step ahead in the game, you’d be wrong, because they have the samurai head on display in the lab, and it has a camera in it that the Thinker is using to watch them all. He gets to watch them identify that there were 12 people on that bus so they have 10 more metas to find.
Another revelation from the group’s chat session is that Wally is leaving town. While probably every viewer wondered where Wally was during the whole thing with Becky, no one at STAR Labs noticed his disappearance, so he tells them that he went to visit Jesse for closure and now he’s going to ‘find himself’ in some other town. He hugs them all and then leaves. While I’m sad to see him go, he wasn’t really doing much anyway. Hopefully, he’ll come back and visit often because I do like him. And while it seems like Joe may have kind of lost one child, it all actually evens out because guess who’s pregnant? Cecile! The episode ends with Joe looking very shocked.
Overall, while the episode did have a few laughs, it wasn’t the strongest. Becky’s powers were boring and she wasn’t a good villain, though I can kind of respect the whole ‘getting powers and not being a murderer’ thing that most metas don’t really understand. I am glad to see Harry back, and I’m glad he’s sticking around. Maybe that’ll mean Jesse will visit too? I feel like both Wally and Jesse’s breakup and Wally’s departure was just the result of the writers not knowing what to do with the characters. You know what Wally should do? Go join the Legends. We did see him working with Nate in episode 3×01 of Legends Of Tomorrow, and they could use a speedster! Anyway, a mediocre episode of The Flash, in my opinion.
Legends Of Tomorrow 3×03 “Zari”
Let’s take a trip to 2042 where ARGUS is in control and that weird water demon lady Kuasa is lurking, waiting to attack an ARGUS transport truck and kill a lady inside it. Gary (that nerdy Time Bureau guy) is also there and when he makes a report about Kuasa back to HQ, Sara and the Legends intercept it an decide to timejump over to not only save Gary but to pick up the target lady and use her as bait for Kuasa. Her name is Zari, and she’s a hacktivist not looking to be saved, so she manages to escape ARGUS and the Legends. After doing some research on her and learning all of her impressive criminal past, they find her in a bar, and before they could talk, Kuasa shows up. Sara tries to fight her, but Kuasa is too strong, and they only barely manage to escape.
On the Waverider, Zari meets the Legends and they form an agreement. Zari will let them use her as bait if they help her break her brother out of ARGUS’ meta jail (and yes, Mick did make a Prison Break reference). Inside the jail, Zari goes to the room her brother is in while Jax and Ray work on hacking into the jail’s system to open his door. They notice on a security camera that ARGUS is actually doing dangerous experiments on these metas, so Jax unlocks all the doors, freeing everyone. In the mass exodus, Zari runs off to a storage room where she finds a necklace with a big red jewel. It turns out that this necklace was really what she was after in the jail, and her brother is long dead (the necklace belonged to him). But it’s not just any necklace, it has powers. It lights up and she uses it to fly away in a little tornado. Ray follows in his Atom suit.
At the same time Zari’s necklace glows, back on the Waverider, Amaya’s does too. See, Amaya’s been having more problems with her powers as now she’s turning into animals as she sleeps. Stein ran tests, but she seems fine, so Nate thinks he can help by having the two of them take a hallucinogen that Amaya’s people use for vision quests. Amaya’s glowing totem interrupt their drug session, but Nate (ever the smart one) took an extra dosage to ensure it works so he’s high as a kite for the rest of the episode and rendered useless. It’s funny to watch, I’ll admit, but we’re three episodes into season three and Nate is three for three in terms of screwing up. As for Amaya, the hallucinogens do work and she has a vision of a woman who is apparently one of her ancestors. This woman advises Amaya to embrace her power and to save a girl in need of protection.
That girl is likely Zari. But before the rest of the Legends can get to her, it’s just Ray, who catches up with her when she stops at a campsite. She tells Ray that she was supposed to meet her family, but their lack of presence means they might be dead. Kuasa shows up and Ray calls for backup, but the Waverider is busy dealing with Agent Sharpe on a huge Bureau ship who tries to stop the Legends. Sara takes charge and decided to fly right into the Bureau ship, betting that they’d timejump away and leave them alone. It works, but it has only angered Sharpe. The Legends meet up with Ray and Zari, and Amaya uses her heightened powers to stop Kuasa. She then invites Zari to stay aboard the Waverider, figuring that their lives are intertwined, and Zari agrees. I for one can’t wait to see Zari and Amaya work together and learn about their powers.
The last scene of the episode is of a little boy hiding in a tunnel to avoid bullies who bike by. In said tunnel, he meets some creature in the dark and introduces himself as Ray Palmer. I don’t know why or how, but we’re going back in time to meet tiny Ray.
A decent episode, overall. I like Zari. She’s witty and her hacking skills could come in handy, so I think she’ll be a fun inclusion. I also liked how we learned a bit more about Kuasa, who’s still out there and will definitely be a threat again, as she’s somehow tied to Amaya. I don’t know how any of this will tie to Ray’s past, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see!
Arrow 6×03 “Next Of Kin”
So Diggle is the new Green Arrow now. At first everyone but Dinah is on board with this and is understanding, especially as that FBI lady is still working on her Oliver investigation, but after John freezes up on a mission, doubts start to rise. Not to mention that John isn’t an archer, so the team is worried people will notice a change in the iconic hero. The target this week is a lady named Onyx, who has ties to the CIA, and is using poison gas to kill off her old CIA teammates who stole gold. It’s during the team’s first run-in with her that John freezes up, and in the end, a truck explodes into a building and while no one is killed, everyone is a little upset that John couldn’t make a call. Only Dinah knows the truth, though, and she still urges him to tell Oliver about his issues. Though Rene kind of beat him to it, as he angrily tells Oliver about John’s mishap and suggests Oliver take back his role. Oliver then goes to John, saying that he realizes that John has a family to think about to so he can turn down the position if he wants to. He really gives John a great chance to admit what’s been going on, but nope. So Oliver says that he believes in John the way John has always believed in him, so it seems that we’re stuck with Green Arrow Diggle for a while.
And I guess that’s fine as Oliver is more focused on being a dad right now. He’s trying to connect with William, and while they’ve progressed to having actual conversations now, it’s clear that Oliver is not cut out to be a dad and is really in need of assistance. William having trouble in math, and Oliver tells him that getting a C is okay and to relax, but William is not Oliver, and this interaction does not end on a high note. I have to say though, seeing Oliver struggle to do this when everything in life has come rather naturally is a welcomed change, and it’s showing us a different side of Oliver that I kind of like. He’s also learning to ask for help more, as he goes to Felicity a few times, and she ends up tutoring William a bit, which goes over very well. Oliver better hurry up and wife her before William does.
In the team’s next run-in with Onyx, which happens in a hotel, they’re prepared for what she can do, and John is determined to not mess up. And he doesn’t, which is great. They all even celebrate afterwards, and Curtis and Felicity present John with a new techy crossbow that’ll shoot arrows with ease. So while that’s one problem solved, there’s still the big one about John’s nerves. I gotta give praise to Dinah for being tough with him, but John clearly doesn’t want to tell Oliver. And I’m certain he definitely won’t want to tell him about what we see later, which is John meeting some sketchy dude, handing him a wad of cash in exchange for a briefcase, and then opening said briefcase to reveal some drugs, which he promptly injects in his arm. The fallout of this will not be pretty. Wait until Oliver finds out. Wait until Lyla finds out. I’m already stressed.
On a lighter note, after Oliver plays every Mayor card in the book to veto an anti-vigilante legislation so the public can vote on it, he heads over to Felicity’s place to gift her with a key to his apartment. Seeing her help William out motivated him to bring her back into his life and in turn, William’s life, so a kiss seals the deal, and Olicity is back, y’all!
A good episode overall. We got to see some different sides of Oliver and a new team dynamic, which was interesting. While Onyx wasn’t a memorable villain, she was mediocre enough to usher in the new Green Arrow and all his baggage, so it worked. I’m looking forward to more.
This week, I’d say Legends Of Tomorrow had the best episode, but Supergirl wins for best scene, as that one scene with Kara in J’onn’s car with Britney Spears was legendary. While I didn’t mind that Supergirl kind of strayed from the larger plot of the show, it was nice to see all the other shows progress just a little. Zari will make a great team member for the Legends, and I’m glad Harry is back with Team Flash. I’m very, very disappointed in John Diggle and his new drug habit, but it’s got me interested, so we’ll see how it goes. Which episode was your favourite this week?
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