When they do it right, a hero show is more than just a string of fights and strange things happening. I’ve been enjoying the Flash since Barry first popped up during the second season of Arrow (granted, some episodes and stories more than others), and I’ve grown to really like these versions of characters I already knew from the comics.
When your main character is a god of mischief and you’ve already introduced time travel and unlimited teleportation, you never know what’s coming next. Add in other chaos factors like a different version of your main character and some kind of allegedly all powerful group behind the scenes, and the sky’s the limit. Or even that isn’t really a limit.
The second season of Batwoman has taken a hard look at several social justice issues. They have, in my opinion, managed to not do it in a preachy, club you over the head with platitudes manner (something Supergirl largely failed to do last season), but with some great writing and actual unflinching realism.
Legends of Tomorrow is, without doubt, the strangest of the Arrowverse shows. The team has dealt with all manner of random threats, weird creatures, and bizarre situations. Now things get even stranger as we see what Astra has been up to for the past several episodes that she’s been absent from.
I’ve been praising the quality of Superman and Lois each time I’ve written a review. That’s going to continue. The show manages to get in good special effects, plots that make sense, great characterization and acting, and working in family drama during an action show that doesn’t leave me rolling me eyes or wondering when they’ll get back to something interesting.
With the premier episode, Loki’s new reality was established.
I have been consistently impressed by the writing and world building of Young Justice. The evolving story and huge cast of characters is a delicate juggling act and I think they do it very well.
I hate to say it about a franchise I’ve been enjoying so much overall, but the Arrowverse has been very uneven this season. However, two shows really stand out: Batwoman, and Superman and Lois.
They’ve been really beating the metaphor to death of the “family” aspect of the new Forces running around on the Flash. I’m still not clear if they just possessed existing people, or recreated dead ones, or how this worked. Nora, for example, looks like Barry’s long-dead mother, but Psych has a recent backstory as a human.
After four seasons, fifty-eight episodes, and far too much Tobias Whale, Black Lightning finally comes to an end. I’m going to miss this show, although not some of the recurring situations the characters kept trapping themselves in.
