Gotham: Azrael

One thing I’ll give the writers of Gotham: they’ve taken one of Batman’s most obscure foes (I’d lay money no one that doesn’t read the comics had heard of Hugo Strange before this season, and even some that do might not have) and made him not only a menacing threat, but possibly the source of many of Batman’s later foes. The series has definitely had its problems, but I think this was one of their better episodes, and they even tried to address some of those flaws. If the rest of the series can hold at this level of quality, I’d be a lot more of a fan of the show.

Legends of Tomorrow: Leviathan

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow are forced into an increasingly desperate situation. They have run out of options, and are going up against Vandal Savage at the height of his power, just before he takes over the world and kills Rip Hunter’s wife and son. So the Waverider takes the team to London in 2166 just in time to fight the man who can’t die and conquers the world when he has an army behind him. Wouldn’t want it to be easy, right?

Arrow: Canary Cry

“Canary Cry,” is the title of what is essentially the eulogy for Black Canary, Laurel Lance. It’s one of their darker episodes, and with this series, that says something. At least they finally tie in the flashbacks a lot more tightly than they have been lately. There are some good performances as the cast deals with loss and a few other surprises as the episode unfolds.

Flash: Back to Normal

At the end of “Versus Zoom,” Barry made the really bad choice of giving his powers to Zoom in order to save Wally’s life. Now, he is “Back to Normal.” They do a contrast of Barry’s morning routine, when he had his powers and now. He’s clearly missing his powers. I don’t know what he expected to happen when he made that deal with Zoom.

Agents of SHIELD: The Team

With the majority of the team captured, Daisy makes a decision to try a new approach. She calls in the two Inhumans she’s managed to recruit so far, interrupting Joey on a date and Yo Yo as she studies a language tape. She briefs them as best she can, but there’s a lot of “I don’t know” in the attempt. This isn’t exactly reassuring for anyone.

Movie and tv Developments and rumors

It’s been an interesting few weeks for the live action versions of various comics characters. Rather than do several small articles, I’m just going to do a round up of some of the big points here.

Gotham: Pinewood

Bruce Wayne finds out some more secrets in “Pinewood,” the eighteenth episode of Gotham’s second season. We see a good bit more from several other cast members, and get quite a few surprises. There are also a few things that seem out of character to me, but we’ll get there.

Flash: Versus Zoom

“Versus Zoom” is the most recent episode of Flash, and things are getting ugly. The beginning is an interesting comparison of histories. Barry’s past is recounted, with the death of his mother, being taken in by the Wests, and the love and support he got. Over on Earth 2, a young Hunter Zolomon sees his father return from war, kill his mother, and is dumped into an orphanage, clutching what will later become a very familiar helmet. Vaguely similar beginnings that go down very different paths.

Supergirl: Better Angels

Supergirl’s first season comes to an end with “Better Angels.” The cliffhangers from last episode are resolved, a lot of things change, and there are a few events I was pleasantly surprised by before the end. There are cliffhangers on a few levels, but I’ll get to that later.

Legends of Tomorrow: Magnificient Eight

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow cross paths with another well-known DC character in “The Magnificent Eight.” They are a lot further out of their element than usual, but it’s really entertaining to see how some of them react to a very romanticized era in history. We also finally learn a bit more about the enigmatic Rip Hunter.