Gotham S:01 E:05

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Viper
Original Airdate: 10-20-14

After last weeks episode that I actually quite enjoyed, it went back downhill hard. Where I liked the setup of the war between the crime lords in Gotham last week, it somehow had the air knocked out of it this week. Instead of having an air of intrigue to the situation, it had all the subtlety of a sack of bricks. Maroni ends up looking more like a punk thug who just wants a piece of the action, and Fish Mooney… Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on with Fish Mooney. One minute Jada Pinkett sounds like she’s doing her best Eartha Kitt impression, the next minute she’s acting like a psychopath, the next she’s acting like a caring mother to her singing secret weapon. I will say that I did like some of the seeds planted on the scheming front as we see that she is working with one of Falcone’s other lieutenants against him, and the secret weapon singer she picked up last episode and was grooming this episode is to become an inside man, so to speak, into Falcone’s intimate side. But the rest of the episode did not work at all, with little Bruce playing at detective and digging into the Wayne Corporation’s books to find all the off-book deals was just ridiculous. The Viper subplot was another way too on the nose reference to Batman when they casually mention that Venom has already been perfected. And Penguin spills the beans to Maroni in order to become his inside man, but almost dies for it and gets Gordon neck deep in Maroni’s dealings as well. It’s just all too convoluted for me, and where there were a lot of great looking shots last week, there was nothing on par this week. It’s just too up and down for me at this point.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:02 E:04

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Face of My Enemy
Original Airdate: 10-14-14

Another great episode that moves forward several different ongoing plotlines. The crux of the episode is a painting that has been found that’s hundreds of years old and on the back is the alien carving that Coulson has been doing since the end of season 1. We also get to see more of the relationship between Coulson and Agent May who is the only person that Coulson trusts with his condition, and to do what needs to be done if his condition worsens. We also get to see how much of a threat Hydra really is, as they are not only brainwashing former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but they also have the technology to pose as one of their dopplegangers with an electronic form of Darkman’s synthetic skin or the Mission Impossible masks, etc. Though it’s a little bit more believable here as it is electronic so it’s also able to mask their voice. Not only that, but at the end we see that they are also able to easily get the drop on Rayna and they want their obelisk back. Back on the S.H.I.E.L.D. side of things, Fitz is starting to make even more progress than before, even though he is still talking to his imaginary Simmons, he is also starting to reach out towards the rest of the group including the newcomers a little bit more, and also gets the chance to be Fitz once again while still having to work through his mental disability. Another great episode.

The Flash S:01 E:02

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: The Fastest Man Alive
Original Airdate: 10-14-14

One of the things that Flash took from Smallville that was a great idea was to have this big event that quickly and easily explained how meteor freaks slash meta humans appear throughout their respective towns for them to battle over the course of the show. But where Smallville fell into the “freak of the week” hole, the Flash manages to avoid feeling like it’s falling into that trap here in the second episode. While on the surface, the episode is about the current “freak of the week” Multiplex, there is enough meat on the bones that further the other ongoing plots and also develop several of the characters and their interrelationships. I’m already a fan of Danielle Panabaker’s Caitlin which is a departure from the 90’s Tina though there is a very small hint of a possible relationship between her and Barry down the line. But at this point, it’s just a hint. I also like the love triangle between Barry and his kinda-step sister who he keeps blowing off to be the Flash while she is yet another superhero friend going into a journalism career, kinda. What this episode really does well is explore the adoptive father-son relationship between Joe and Barry and it works very well here aside from the cliched moment where he yells that Joe isn’t really his father. And the special effects continue to look amazing with Multiplex’s many doubles all looking realistic. And while I imagine this is something true for all versions of the Flash, I like to think that it’s another nod to the 90’s series how they work out his increased appetite. All in all, another great episode.

Gotham S:01 E:04

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Arkham
Original airdate: 10-13-14

One of my biggest problems with Gotham so far is how it hits the viewer over the head with hints of what is to come with Batman. This is the first episode where it felt like it hit the right balance for the most part. It also moved forward one of the most interesting things about Gotham during this point in time: the dynamic of the criminal underworld and the threat of a gang war between Falcone, Maroni, and Fish Mooney. And at least as far as I know, the hired killer that is the main villain for the episode has nothing to do with the Batman universe whatsoever, even though he did have a bit of a quirky way of killing his victims. The only real foreshadowing in the episode is the fact that the episode revolves around what is going to happen to the old Arkham Asylum and the resulting potential turf war between Falcone and Maroni. Penguin also got some forward momentum on his own personal character arc, and while I do like the direction it is going, I don’t know if it’s really the best origin for what Penguin is going to become. There are moments in the show that still bother me, Gordon spends way too much time having heart to heart talks with 12 year old Bruce Wayne and Alfred. I also am not fond of his relationship with Barbara and how she is trying to find out about his life while he is keeping secrets, and then turning around and getting angry at her for keeping secrets from him. While it’s not exactly Batman foreshadowing, it is awfully on the nose at calling him out on his hypocrisy. I will say that one thing I noticed a lot during this episode and has been throughout the show so far is that the cinematography is gorgeous. There are some really stellar looking shots in the show, I just wish there was a bit more meat to the plot and some of the characters.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:02 E:03

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Making Friends and Influencing People
Original Airdate: 10-7-14

Season 2 is continuing a strong run where we get to find out where Jemma Simmons went after she left Fitz. She is putting her bad lying abilities to the absolute test working undercover for a Hydra facility. This is a great opportunity for her character and I’m very curious where it will end up going. Elizabeth Henstridge plays is very well, she still has Simmons’ nervous personality, but she has grown a lot of guts to show that she is up to handling this assignment, even though I’m sure it will test her mettle in more ways than one before all is said and done. Meanwhile Fitz finds out that Ward is still alive and continues making small progress working through his own mental blocks as we again get to see a brief glimpse of his own personal Simmons before he calls her out on not being real. I’m glad to see that he is already working through his issues, while I don’t want it to be cured too quickly, I also think his quirks could get annoying if overused and this episode is a step in the right direction on how it should be used from now on. The last bit that I have to mention is Skye’s character arc moment. She is moving forward with her field agent training and eliminates her first target successfully and without any immediate emotional trauma. She is headed towards the path of being an elite agent along the lines of May and Ward which I’m not sure how well it will play out over the season, but I’m currently curious. The only thing I don’t like about it is how they use her pulse meter as a visual indicator of how emotional she is getting in these situations.

Gotham S:01 E:03

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Balloonman
Original Airdate: 10-6-2014

Gotham has been a strange creature these past few weeks. Each time I watch the show, I do enjoy it quite a bit. But then after the credits roll and I begin to think about it a bit in order to write my thoughts on it, I start poking holes in it. Whether it’s the Penguin, or Fish Mooney, or Jim Gordon himself, there’s a lot of elements of the show that just rub me the wrong way as it pertains to the Batman mythos, at least the corner of the mythos that I know about. This was the first episode where I started poking holes in the show as I was watching it, but at this point there is still enough good in the show for me to latch onto to stick with it for a while longer at least.
Continue reading Gotham S:01 E:03

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:02 E:02

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Heavy is the Head
Original Airdate: 9-30-2014

S.H.I.E.L.D. continues strong into its second season as things continue to have been shaken up since the events from the end of the first season. The team still has a lot of rebuilding to do, and it has to reassess their threats from various sources including Hydra, the government, and yet another group who we get to see a little bit more of in this episode.
Continue reading Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:02 E:02

Gotham S:01 E:02

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Selina Kyle
Original Airdate: 9-29-2014

After getting through the first episode of Gotham I thought that it had some promise but ultimately suffered from Pilot Syndrome. It had too many plots, too many characters, and too many potential Batman villains that they introduced. But the potential was there, there are some great characters like Donal Logue’s Harvey Bullock, and the look of the show has a great feel to it. This second episode gave the show a chance to dial things back a little bit and bring things into a tighter focus. And while it was still drawing a few too many threads across Gotham, the overall quality of the episode was much better than the Pilot and I’m looking forward to seeing what Gotham will bring in the future.
Continue reading Gotham S:01 E:02

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:02 E:01

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: Shadows
Original Airdate: 9-23-14

While I had a somewhat disappointing reaction to Gotham, I was very excited for the return of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and it did not disappoint. There was a lot of shaking things up at the end of the first season and it wasted no time in getting right to the heart of the action while still tossing in a few hints at a bigger picture. And on top of everything else, it took what happened into directions that I didn’t exactly expect it to, and opened with a taste of what’s to come with the other Marvel TV series showing up later on, Agent Carter. I’m glad that I stuck with this show from the very beginning, and I have high hopes for where it’s going to end up throughout the rest of this season. As usual, I won’t be shying away from spoilers so be warned if you haven’t watched the episode before reading this.
Continue reading Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:02 E:01

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:01 E:22

Posted on by Bubbawheat

Episode: The Beginning of the End
Original Airdate: 5-13-14

It’s been an up and down year for this show for many people, although coming from a fan I always thought that it started good and only got better as the season went on and the finale was the icing on the cake. There’s plenty of surprises, some more surprising than others, with the typical mix of drama, humor, and action, all ramped up to the maximum. And now that we’ve come to the end of this season, next year there’s a lot more superhero and comic book shows so I may be doing things a little bit differently but we’ll just have to wait and see. Next week be sure to come on back as I take a look back at this first season as a whole. But for now, let’s get back to the episode at hand.
Continue reading Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S:01 E:22