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When we last left Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) he had ruined the entire timeline by saving his mother from the Reverse Flash. Cue the black out and gasps of fear.

picture from screencrush.com

Year, The Flash had really left us hanging there. If like me you had seen the Flashpoint Paradox animated movie, you were probably picturing something apocalyptic. Of course the TV version had to stay rather grounded in a reality familiar to the viewers so unfortunately we didn’t get to see any of other members of the Justice League. Instead what we got was a reality in which Irish West and Detective Joe West did not know Barry. This got rid of the whole brother/sister weirdness, but in this version of events Barry has been stalking Iris for a few months until he finally gets the nerve to ask her out. Ow, and he steals her purse to pretend she had dropped it. Did the director have to make Barry so disturbing?

Later we find out that Wally West is this timeline’s version of the Flash. Cue the Kid Flash jokes. Even stranger is that Cisco is a billionaire. I preferred him being a crime boss. It’s strange though that we had no Wells in this version of events. And Caitlin Snow is doing… something not as helpful as before. I mean she’s still a scientist, but it’s a different profession than before — something to do with eyes.

from wikipedia
from Wikipedia

Wally Wests rival is called The Rival… because he has no rival. Did the writers really think that through? I know, he’s a villain who was created in 1949 (Thank you, Wikipedia), but that doesn’t mean they have to keep the name. He also has by far the worst speedster suit. I like the colours, but the mask is just so odd.

the rival
picture from cinemablend.com

I think the most surprising that is embodied by a quote from Reverse Flash: “Who’s the villain now, Flash?”

After saving his mother from Eobard Thawne (Reverse Flash), Barry locks him up in an unbreakable cell. This added with Barry’s stalking really does make Barry look every inch the villain. He’s manufactured a whole reality to be as he always dreamed at the expense of everyone else’s happiness. Wally may have a better relationship with his sister and Cisco is stinking rich, but Detective West is an alcoholic who cares very little about his job. And there is the matter about Central City being rampaged by the Rival, a villain who ‘Kid’ Flash can’t seem to catch.

The ending the show is bit odd. Most everything seems to be back in its original state, but when Barry reunites with Wally and Joe he asks about Iris, and Joe seems very offended. My immediate reaction is ‘Is Iris dead? Estranged?’ I guess all will be clarified in Episode 2.

Overall I highly enjoyed this episode. I was afraid they would play out the strange alternate reality for the rest of the season. I do have a feeling though that if Iris is dead Barry will spend a long time trying to right whatever he and Reverse Flash screwed up.

Supergirl SEASON ONE EPISODE 8 – “HOSTILE TAKEOVER”

Supergirl!
This show is so amazing! How did I ever doubt it?!

 

My initial reaction to Supergirl was met with much scepticism. I wasn’t happy that Kara seemed too ‘cute’. It felt at the time that the trailer was for a young audience. But with comic book characters, perception is everything. No writer can please everyone, and you never should. Supergirl is a dialogue of identity. It is much better than Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ because as a TV show it has a longer course. The serial writing of the screenplay allows Kara to  have much more subtle nuance. She builds up as a character much more slowly because as a female superhero, she analysed much more differently than Henry Cavill’s Superman was.

Life as a woman is never easy, and Melissa Benoist reflects much of what her ‘Glee’ character tried to as well. Supergirl can’t sing her problems away, but neither can she punch all of them.

I wrote what I perceived to be a good impression of the original trailer, which is here in this article.  I though to myself: what would I do if I was Supergirl?

But it’s a hard question to understand and from Cat’s perspective, from her lens, I thought it was a very shaky was of explaining ‘feminism’. Feminism is always complex to argue about because some people don’t realise it is just another conversation about equality. Cat Grant has been through so many things to become ‘The Queen of all Media” so when she named Kara “Supergirl” instead of “Superwoman” she knew that it would sell. She has faith in Supergirl and in Kara because both of them are always there for her, even when she fails to see the hero through Kara’s dumb glasses.

Cat made a dialogue about White Male Privilege. It is a concept I  have lived with all my life, both as a black woman, an African, and as a  Brit. I will never understand why America doesn’t understand the need for free health  care. In London, where I live it is an undisputed Human Right.

supergirl-08

You can’t prove a concept out of context, but we all know that racism, sexism, and all discrimination exists. You don’t have to be a reporter like Jimmy Olson, or an alien like Kara or ‘The Martian Manhunter’ (who of course hates this horrid name!)

Discrimination is everywhere. It’s in ‘manga’, it’s in ‘comic books’, it’s in the NEWS. And it is there plainly to see but it is hard to DEFINE because everyone has a different angle on the term.
When I was applying for my Year in Industry I studied the minute expressions of everyone’s face.

Cat Grant
Cat Grant

I can’t help that. I can’t turn it off. I’m a part time blogger, part time programmer, and a Full Time writer. If it isn’t in the script, if it isn’t in the screenplay I can’t define it.
I can’t find the class, the object, the syntax. I can’t compose the song.
What is a superpower? Are you Team Batman, or Team Flash, or Team Wonder Woman? Who will win? Deadpool or Deathstroke?
I don’t have an off button, and I never will.

So what did you think about this episode? How did you feel when Kara was faced with the horrid notion of having to kill her own kin? And most importantly, what is YOUR superpower?

The king is dead! But the queen is alive. So who rules next? I suppose it’ll be his cuter little brother.
Admist the grandeur and splendor of King Joffrey’s wedding, who could guess that an assassination plot would be unfolding? Well, readers of the book series, I suppose. But the Lannisters seem to think they are untouchable since winning the war of the five kings. Joffrey’s dwarf reenactment is more than a little distasteful. After all, one dwarf was shown hitting King Renly’s butt in a lewd manner. Joffrey holds himself as victorious despite the fact that he did pretty much nothing apart from hide.

It’s quite eerie in fact that The Rains of Castamere was played at the wedding. The Lannister’s theme song playing at the king’s wedding should only reinforce their absolute reign but it does nothing but irritate Joffrey, who throws coins at the musicians and basically tells them to piss of. Was I the only one who saw this song as some sort of bad omen?

The bitchiness at King’s Landing is as exciting as ever. We have Jaime antagonising Ser Loras, and Cersei embarrasing Lady Brienne. And was I the only one who found it hilarious, when Prince Oberyn snubbed Tyrion? And can we please just appreciate the sexual tension between Oberyn and Loras?

But it’s the conversation Oberyn and Ellaria have with Tywin and Cersei that drew my attention. The threat Oberyn makes is more than a little worrying:

People everywhere have their differences. In some places, the highborn frown upon those of low birth. In other places, the rape and murder of women and children is considered distasteful. What a fortunate thing for you, former Queen Regent, that your daughter Myrcella has been sent to live in the latter sort of place.

I’m not sure how far he is willing to go on this threat, or whether it’s simply to gain the satisfaction of seeing the Lannisters squirm. Either way, it certainly adds something to the drama at the wedding. I love Oberyn and I hope he continues to strut around like he owns the place for a few more episodes.

Strut! Strut! Work it!


But even some the the events that occur prior to the festivities were of interest. Can we please give a minute of silence for the Tyrion x Shae ship? I’m not entirely sure whether this is the last time we will see her because we didn’t actually see her leave, but I find these GIFs very appropriate:

 

 And of course, Stannis is burning more of his own people. This time, it’s his brother in law. I quite liked seeing Melisandre talk with Stannis’ daughter. What piece of wisdom did she give the princess?
“There’s only one hell, princess. The one we live in now.” This may or may not be true.

All I know is that episode 2 of this season has broken the usual format in which the ninth episode is the most dramatic in the series. And I for one am quite glad. Even the form of this very episode was stellar. We had the death of the king sort of mirrored by the brutal murdering of an innocent by Ramsey Snow. And now that the king is dead, perhaps the Bolton bastard will be his successor of most hated character. But despite how twisted he is, I do have just a drop of sympathy for him, considering his relationship with his father. Still, Jon Snow had the same problem and he didn’t turn out so sadistic.

Now excuse me whilst I figure out why on earth it’s nicknamed “The Purple Wedding”…

Well, it seems it’s been a while since I have updated this blog but I still haven’t thought of any short story ideas so it looks like you all get this TV review instead. I hope you enjoy it. And if you don’t then please feel free to tell me so, rather than pelt me with stones like barbarians. Oh, and if you have any ideas for a story you want me to write, then feel free to leave me a comment. 🙂

On with the review…


With great power comes great need to hide underground. No, wait, that’s not it. I do believe it has something to do with responsibility, so it comes as no great shock that one of the latest TV shows featuring super powered teens includes our good old, “Chosen One” cliché. This Chosen One comes in none other than the handsome outsider, Stephen Jameson (Robbie Amell). If he looks familiar, that would be because his cousin, Stephen Amell, is the lead actor in CW’s other show, Arrow.
Stephen is of course a very attractive teenager who is shunned by his fellow classmates on the account that he is on anti-psychotic drugs for his mental condition. This seems to consist of sleep-walking and voices in his head, as he is shown strapping himself into bed. Though one might hardly bother wondering how he actually sleeps because we are of course distracted by his wonderful abs and the rather kinkiness of it all. The three-way he wakes up to at his neighbours is of course the cherry on the top. 
Steady on, Stephen!
Unbeknownst to Stephen, there is a shadow war going on between the Tomorrow People, and a secret organisation hunting them, known as Ultra. But who are the Tomorrow People? Well, apparently, it’s all about the 3 T’s— telepathy, telekinesis and teleportation. Quite nice that it’s wrapped up all neat and pretty. I had no idea that mutation could work quite so smoothly.
Genetics aside, I can’t deny that the TV show is rather gripping. Already we are halfway through the series and there have been quite a number of interesting story arcs. Perhaps the crowning glory of it all is the almost father/son relationship between one of the heads of Ultra, Jedikiah Price (Mark Pellegrino, who some may recognise from Supernatural as Lucifer) and the leader of the underground group of Tomorrow People, John (Luke Mitchell). This rivalry is alluded to in the pilot episode, with John describing Jedikiah as a sadistic creep. 
OH! The angst!
The writers do well with characterising villains and heroes alike with captivating and sympathetic back-stories. Stephen is first introduced to John, the laid back, but determined leader. Then there is Cara, the intense one who acts quite like a second-in-command. Last but not least, we have Russell (Aaron Yoo), the kleptomaniac comic-relief who is a firm believer in the “no-finger discount”. After all, Tomorrow People have telekinesis for that kind of thing. But how could I forget TIM? TIM is a super-computer stolen from Ultra by John. Witty and sarcastic, he will immediately remind Marvel fans of Iron Man’s JARVIS, albeit, with a British accent.
 Once again, mutation is used as an allegory for puberty, despite the fact that the majority of the cast already look to be in their mid-20’s. Even the ones who are meant to be in high school. So even in the wake of striking revelations and intense action sequences, the romances are still heavily explored. Now that is not necessarily a bad thing, but in the grand scheme of things, the romance can at times feel contrived. Love triangles will ensue, and frustrations will rise high, but in the midst of it all, the main goal is to find Stephen’s long lost father, who will lead them all to “The Promised Land”. A place where Tomorrow People can live without judgement— ahem!— Genosha. 
I expected a lot of this…
I also got some of this…

And this.
We also get the benefits of Stephen bringing sexy back.
…Time and time again.
They say that the devil is in the detail, so perhaps my favourite character in the entire show is none other than Jedikiah Price, the villain pursuing the Tomorrow People. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good villain. He is the most multi-faceted character on this show. Neither truly evil, nor good, he is certainly layered. In the words of Tony Stark, “his secrets have secrets”. He truly believes that what he is doing is best for society, and it is this conviction that I at once admire and loathe. It would certainly be easier to hate him if he was simply doing it to be evil, but then where would the fun be in that? With that air of calm and wry smile, he is certainly one to watch out for.
So the recipe for The Tomorrow People seems to include a dash of narration, just like good ol’ Spidey, a sprinkle of Matrix style bullet freeze shots, a heap of hotness like any self-respecting CW show, and a drop of romance to keep up the teen angst. Boil it all together and what we get is a sort of X-Men meets Jumper and Push. In the end I’d like to think there is a bit of something for everyone, and I firmly believe that The Tomorrow People isn’t quite yesterday’s news. 
That is all. Thanks for reading my review. 
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