Gotham S:01 E:15

Episode Title: The Scarecrow
Original Airdate: 2-9-15

After a string of episodes that I’ve really enjoyed, this episode goes right back down into more territory that I don’t quite find as appealing. While they had some good ideas with Jonathan Crane’s father, they turned it into a very not-subtle and ridiculous origin for Batman’s Scarecrow. Meanwhile Fish Mooney apparently lost that anime battle teased at the end of last week’s episode and is now in a weird prison, though apparently unharmed. There’s also the perils of an office romance, a new club owner, and a traditional hike in the woods that have various moments of their ups and downs.
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Batman Beyond S:01 Ep:03

Episode title: Black Out

Original air date: January 31, 1999

The origin episodes out of the way the series now starts to find its pace with Terry now established as the new Batman he now starts his training under Bruce’s tuition. However it’s not long until he faces his first challenge in this new role while investigating a number of accidents happening at the industrial company Foxteca, which is owned by Lucius Fox’s son whose father through this episode we also learn was fired by Powers when he took over Wayne Enterprises. Terry’s investigation however soon sees him facing off against the polymorph “Inque”.

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Constantine S:01 E:12

Episode Title: Angels and Ministers of Grace
Original Airdate: 2-6-15

Coming in for the second to last episode of the season brings on one of the funniest episodes to date, and also one with some of the most revelatory character moments where both John and Manny soften up a bit. It does make me sad that the show is ending already, though there is a sliver a hope that she show will get picked up for a second season by SyFy along with a name change to the original Hellblazer along with a stronger focus on the horror and sci-fi elements rather than the current format which is closer to a detective procedural with supernatural elements. This episode has John and Zed investigating a literal black heart of darkness while Zed struggles with her own personal spiritual conflict.
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Batman: The Brave and The Bold S:01 E:02

Episode title: Terror on Dinosaur Island!

Original air date: November 21, 2008

This is the second episode, and as such it has the daunting task of convincing the viewer to be compelled to return on a weekly basis rather than simply tuning in due to mild curiosity or lack of something better to watch. I always feel like the third episode is the make or break point for a new series, and episode 2 to is a great opportunity to swing for the fences with little risk. Perhaps in this instance we have a home run.
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Arrow S:03 E:12

Uprising

Feb. 4, 2015

As Oliver makes his way back to Starling, Team Arrow has to decide if they’ll strike a deal with Merlyn to take out Brick.

Det. Lance finds evidence linking Brick to Rebecca Merlyn’s murder and Team Arrow has a crisis of conscious if they should partner with the man whose actions led to Oliver’s death. I liked that it wasn’t an easy decision for the group as Roy was in favor of the alliance while Diggle, Felicity and Laurel wanted nothing to do with him. Continue reading Arrow S:03 E:12

The Flash S:01 E:12

Episode Title: Crazy For You
Original Airdate: 2-3-15

While Gotham may be the show I most enjoy discussing, the Flash is still the show that I just completely enjoy on almost every level. It gets the right combination of drama, action, and humor without generally taking itself too seriously. I seriously doubt that Gorilla Grodd would ever be able to make its way into Gotham, but he’s already been teased a couple times before now and during the final scene before the credits we get our first glimpse of the intelligent ape even if he stays mostly in the shadows. But this episode wasn’t really about Grodd, instead it was about Peek-A-Boo, or a Nightcrawler style teleporting metahuman. As well as a bit about what really happened to Ronnie.
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Batman Beyond S:01 Ep:01-02

Episode title: Rebirth

Original air date: January 10, 1999

Pilot episodes can be notoriously difficult things to pull off, more so when they are spin offs from a universally popular series which is the situation this show finds itself in with “Rebirth”. Originally designed to be released as a two part episode it would ironically end up being shown with both parts joined together in a TV movie format which arguably works a lot better than the original intention the show’s creators had of splitting it into two parts.

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Constantine S:01 E:11

Episode Title: A Whole World Out There
Original Airdate: 1-30-15

It’s coming down to the end of the season already with only two more episodes to go after this one and unfortunately the ratings aren’t quite living up to the quality of the show as this week dropped off once again from last week’s slight bump. It’s disappointing because I really am enjoying this show and it seems to get better each week as it gets deeper into its own mythology. This episode marks the return of one of the few friends of Constantine who hasn’t died. The professor and tech guy Ritchie from the pilot episode returns as a professor who has some students that invoke a very real ritual to go on an out of body experience and end up releasing the spirit of a someone long trapped in his own plane of existence. It was a really great episode that had quite a few horror elements to it that I wish they would do more of. The one downside was that much of is was fairly predictable, but the characters were all interesting enough to hold it together for me.
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Arrow S:03 E:11

Episode Title: Midnight City
Original Airdate: 1-28-15

While Oliver is still recuperating after his duel with Ra’s al Ghul, the rest of Team Arrow are still trying to pick up the pieces and determine if they will continue to carry on his mission. But this week, they get some unexpected reinforcements. Continue reading Arrow S:03 E:11

The Flash S:01 E:11

Episode Title: The Sound and the Fury
Original Airdate: 1-27-15

Once again, the Flash reminds me of Smallville in some of the best ways. Even when it has an episode with a fairly weak villain as the main focus of the episode, there are still some great elements of character development that are just too interesting and/or enjoyable to ignore. There is a lot to dislike in The Sound and the Fury from the rather uninspired villain of the week who has sonic gloves and a hearing aid that more or less turns down his super hearing, or at least just tempers his extreme tinnitus. Not to mention overplaying the chess metaphor between the Pied Piper aka Hartley Rathaway and Dr. Wells. But aside from the A story, there were some interesting developments regarding the mysterious Dr. Wells himself, giving a few more hints as to what his ultimate goal is as well as making him very analogous to Smallville’s Lex Luthor in the early seasons when he was still trying his hardest to do good and be Clark’s friend, but it just wasn’t in his upbringing to go about it in any other way than through money and power. In a very similar way Dr. Wells is doing what he can to be a hero in Barry’s eyes, but meanwhile he has an alternative agenda in place that is much more sinister.
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