Photo Credit: The CW
It’s mind-boggling how Arrowverse shows like Black Lightning and Legends of Tomorrow can be so consistently good but the flagship series can’t even write a proper goodbye.
In this week’s Hero Report, Arrow has a subpar return from the break with a mediocre send-off for one of the original cast members. Fans have blamed long-time showrunner, Marc Guggenheim, for the consistent downfall in quality and maybe the network should begin entertaining the ideas of a different writer.
If next season is the last one, it should be developed by someone with a clear-cut ending rather than dragging this poor show to its final episode.
Legends of Tomorrow– “I, Ava”
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“I, Ava” might be one of the best episodes of Legends to date. Every single storyline felt fully formed this week that it’s hard to pick which group was the most interesting. It’s a reminder of how far the series has come since the first season where it stumbled quite a bit.
Now the show is confident in almost every character, including the new additions. Ava and Gary have felt like true members of the team this year making the former’s realization this episode more painful.
The title of the episode is a nod to the short story and later big-budget action film, I, Robot. It’s unclear if Ava is actually a robot, clone, or a mix of the two but the discovery still comes as a shock. Jessica Macallan has done a remarkable job throughout the season but she shines in every scene this week.
Poor Ava suddenly has a crisis of identity discovering hundreds of other “Avas” all meant to serve the Time Bureau like she does. It’s something that will probably haunt her through the rest of Legends but might be the secret that Rip has kept from the team.
Hero Report Grade: A
Photo Credit: FOX
Lucifer – “Orange is the New Maze”
Maze gets a chance to shin in Lucifer in a surprisingly sad and poignant episode. Over these past few weeks, she’s been downright unlikeable as she cruelly acted out character. However, “Orange is the New Maze” touches upon the feelings of inadequacy she’s been suffering all season.
It opens up the character and allows for new storylines. In fact, it was hard not to root for her to get on the bus and try to rediscover who she wants to be by starting a new life. Unfortunately, Pierce manages to convince her to work alongside him to fulfill both of their goals.
Her desire is to just go back to Hell where she can resume torturing souls. Of course, this can never happen because Lucifer wants to continue living on Earth where he can be with Chloe. She finally calls him out on it when he attempts to make their conversation about his partner.
Maze always feels like she will always be second in everyone’s lives. It’s a moving and accurate scene that all of the people around her seem to care more about other issues. She wants to find someone who will finally put her first, or to just stop dealing with all of this emotional torture. Unfortunately, hitching her wagon to Pierce is bound to have some unforeseen consequences that will hurt down the line.
Hero Report Grade: B+
Photo Credit: The CW
Black Lightning – “Sins of the Father: The Book of Redemption”
In the beginning of Black Lightning, LaLa was such a laughable villain compared to Tobias. Now that the former is back, it’s amazing how much different he’s become. In fact, throughout “The Book of Redemption,” it didn’t even register until the end that Tobias hadn’t even appeared in the episode.
That isn’t a bad thing either, it just goes to show how accomplished the series already is at turning mildly interesting characters into compelling figures within Freeland.
While The 100 gang is definitely responsible for a lot of the crime in the city, the ASA appears to be the real problem. They’re snatching powered kids off the street and experimenting on them within abandoned warehouses.
Slowly they’re transforming from “government agency” to the kind of evil group that has abused its power. However, they do raise the stakes for all of the main protagonists.
If Jennifer isn’t careful with her abilities, then she could become the next victim to be grabbed. Especially now that Gambi is out of commission and the vice principal is revealed to be the new “spotter” for the organization.
Hero Report Grade: B+
Photo Credit: The CW
Riverdale – “Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Noose Tightens”
Riverdale hit series lows this week — something the show needs to keep in mind when developing next season. “The Noose Tightens” continues the tradition on the series that there are no lasting consequences to any actions. The Coopers previously hiding a body ultimately leads to no large punishment courtesy of a few knife-wielding teenagers.
Alice being the enemy of the Serpents is resolved by the episode’s end in time to give fans the ship they have been begging for. Cheryl’s forced stint in conversion therapy lasts only this episode after Veronica and Toni break her out. This show blows through storylines faster than any other series and it needs to take a second to slow down.
It’s hard to get invested in any of the fights throughout town knowing that they’ll ultimately be resolved within an episode or two. Betty still isn’t speaking to Veronica, but trailers and spoilers have already confirmed they’ll be back to being best friends during the musical. Josie discovers Cheryl was the one sending her threatening messages and pig’s hearts but again, they’ll be best pals during the musical.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising to see everyone forgive Archie for becoming the absolute worst this season in a matter of seconds. Right now, Mary Andrews is the only one in town with the guts to tell the truth and sadly it looks like she’s heading back to Chicago.
Hero Report Grade: B-
Photo Credit: FOX
Gotham – “A Dark Knight: One of My Three Soups”
Gotham was hard to grade this week because the episode bounced back and forth in terms of quality. Obviously, the part everyone was excited about was the return of Jerome. The series knows their audience well, and that everyone episode the maniacal criminal is in could be the official emergence of the Joker.
As per usual, Cameron Monaghan is terrific even when he’s being tortured via scalding soup. Pairing him up with Bruce and Selina only builds anticipation for the three to officially embrace their comic book destinies.
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What doesn’t work well is Tetch being the main bad guy throughout “One of My Three Soups”. He was a subpar villain when first introduced and he still is now. Most fans would gladly trade in Tetch’s rhymes to spend more time with Scarecrow or Jerome in this episode.
Speaking of the former, why is he in Arkham? The last time the audience saw him, he was running free through the streets of Gotham. Has the show just forgotten or were they hoping the viewers did? Luckily, fans should be distracted by some of this week’s flaws with the knowledge that Jerome will be back in the next episode.
Hero Report Grade: B-
Photo Credit: The CW
Arrow – “The Thanatos Guild”
There are so many aggravating parts of “The Thanatos Guild” that Arrow got knocked down a grade out of frustration. Thea Queen has been a part of the series since the beginning and easily became a fan favorite due to Willa Holland’s acting.
To be frank, the character and actress deserved a better send off than what she got. With John Barrowman’s recent interview about how the series mishandled his departure, it feels like the Arrow people initially loved is gone. There’s nothing wrong with killing off characters, it’s something that every superhero show does to build stakes.
But the series hasn’t used those deaths to further character development or plot, just a way to get rid of characters when they’re tired of them. Looking back, it feels like every Arrow fan would take back the original cast compared to the new team compiled.
Probably the most irritating part of “The Thanatos Guild,” is how it would be more interesting to follow Thea. Her storyline with Nyssa and Roy seems infinitely more fascinating to watch compared to the current season arc.
Hopefully, DC Comics is listening to angry fans and willing to consider giving the three their own Red Hood and the Outlaws show in the future. There’s probably a lot of people who would tune in, especially with Jason Todd allegedly recurring on Titans this year.
Hero Report Grade: C-
Photo Credit: ABC
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Rise and Shine”
Five seasons in and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has a lot of Marvel history to work with. There’s a lot to unpack in “Rise and Shine,” namely General Hale’s backstory. Her teenage scenes are actually pretty interesting and add a lot of depth to a villain who was pretty boring by S.H.I.E.L.D. standards.
It’s shown that the young Hydra member is actually at the top of her class as a budding young villain. Unfortunately, Whitehall only sees a loyal woman and makes it clear that her mission will be to birth the next big super soldier. Despite her pleas for a job more suited to her strengths, he makes it clear that her greatest asset is the ability to carry a child.
However, it is finally revealed for a fact that Daisy is meant to be the “Destroyer of Worlds” when Hale tells Coulson her plans. It turns out Ruby was actually developed for the program but Hale has her doubts that she’ll be ready.
Everyone takes this at face value but based on the strong mother-daughter relationship that has formed between the two she might not want to risk her child. It explains why Ruby hates Daisy so much but it still doesn’t make the former more likable. The latter deals with Fitz this week and their relationship is still on the rocks.
He throws in her face the number of times she’s betrayed the team but been forgiven, however, there is one key difference. Every time Daisy has done the wrong things, she’s regretted it and carried that guilt with her. Fitz has zero remorse for needlessly torturing his friend and that’s what makes it unforgivable.
Hero Report Grade: B
Next: Hard Sun season 1 review
The Flash and Riverdale will both be on hiatus next week so DC Comics fans will have to make due with the other Arrowverse and FOX shows. Luckily, the Joker looks like he might be finally emerging on Gotham for even more unhinged hijinks. Arrow fans are probably in for another dull week in the Hero Report with a Diggle versus Oliver fight that no one ever asked for.