Hey Folks!
This week in the DC CW Universe, all our heroes were all over the place! On Supergirl, we learned that in Star City, there’s an alien fight club catering to the city’s elite for entertainment. On The Flash, we learned about the effects of bullying, as well as see the beginnings of Caitlin’s Killer Frost. On Arrow, a rescue for Wild Dog was mounted. Finally, on Legends of Tomorrow, we got to deal with a very serious subject that only a time travel show could tackle.
Let’s take a look at each of these shows and what happened this week.
Supergirl: “Survivors"
Maggie Sawyer is back this week as she calls Alex for help with a dead alien. They discover this isn’t some simple hate crime, but the body was dumped after dying in a “fight club.” As the two team up, they discover a new underground in the DC CW world where aliens (sometimes voluntarily, sometimes forced) engage into the death fights for the amusement of the rich and famous. Another interesting development is the new chemistry that Maggie and Alex have. We already know that Maggie dates aliens, but she also dates women of her own species. Alex’s sexuality is never really been addressed before now. While they don’t say if Alex is a lesbian or not, the two have chemistry, and even Kara takes notice.J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, AKA Hank Henshaw (he has a lot of names), has his own adventure this week as he is intrigued by the fact that he is not the last Martian alive after we met Miss Martian last week. We want to know more, but she is hesitant. He proposes the two of them have a “mind-meld” of a sort so they can intimately communicate. I sort of thought that was because the two might be related and she wanted to keep things separate, but it turns out there are other secrets she wants to keep. The first secret is that she is actually a participating member of the alien fight club. She’s not an unwilling participant either, she even betrays J'onn which forces him to join the fight club. She ultimately comes to her senses and teams up with him against the fight club promoter “Roulette.”
Elsewhere, Mon-El is annoyed with being on lockdown at the DEO. He manages to convince Winn to take him out for a night of drinking. They end of getting into some trouble which causes a headache for Hank Henshaw, but it was still a bit of fun.
Kara is able to get into the fight club, save both Hank and Miss Martian and they were able to even convince the other aliens to turn their back on Roulette. At the end of the episode, Miss Martian and Hank reconcile. He realizes that she can keep their secrets, but he wants to still be involved with her and be friends as they are the last of their kind. After he leaves, she reveals her true form… she’s actually one of the White Martians, the aliens responsible for killing the Green Martians through genocide. Comic fans know that she’s one of the “good” White Martians, and even assumes a Green Martian form as a means of paying homage to the people that her people wiped out. We’ll have to see if/when Hank finds out about her true form and if he can still be friends with her.The Flash: “Monster”
For the first time in a while on The Flash, we are not introduced to a new metahuman. The bad guy this week turned out not to be a metahuman, but just an alienated young teen. However, we did get to see a possible monster in the making in the form of Killer Frost’s origin story.
The episode focused on some giant creature lurking around through Central City. Barry and everyone don't know how to deal with it. It shows up, sucks up all the power in the area, then quickly disappears. This is a problem that The Flash probably cannot solve, but the science team (Team Flash) will need to be involved on. But they are having some problems. The first problem is the integration of the new Harrison Wells from Earth-19. This Harrison (who now goes by “Harry”), is not really a scientist, he’s a fraud. How he solved the equation is a mystery, but he prefers to be called a “muse” and is the inspiration behind creativity. He’s basically a likable con man, but that doesn’t really help Team Flash in any way when it comes to saving the day. Although they are first angry at his deception, Barry wants to give him a chance to prove himself, so he can stay for now.
The second problem will be one that won’t show itself for a while probably. Caitlin Snow, took a leave of absence so that she could reunite with her estranged mother, who also is a scientist. Caitlin is beginning to develop her Killer Frost powers and it’s scaring her. Not only can she not control it, but she sees how easy it is for her to use it for her own nefarious purposes. She nearly kills her mother’s scientist after it is revealed that he has his own nefarious plans. When Caitlin returns from her leave of absence, she chooses to keep her newfound powers a secret. Will she turn to the dark side and make her this season’s “devastating betrayal?”Team Flash discovers that the monster they have been chasing is nothing more than a hologram created by an angry teen who is tired of being bullied on by his peers. Barry enlists the help of his nemesis Julian for help as weel, who reveals that he hates metahumans, because he isn’t one. When Julian is later saved by The Flash, he begins to change his perspective, and now Barry has a new friend. I still think that he’s connected with Doctor Alchemy, though.
Arrow: “Human Target”
Last week on Arrow, we rescued Diggle from captivity. This week, we have to rescue Wild Dog from Tobias Church’s clutches. The good thing about this week’s episode was that we didn’t spend the whole episode doing yet another jailbreak, as that got resolved quickly as Team Arrow were able to find out where he was hidden and come and save the day.
The big problem that Team Arrow had this week was that while Church tortured Wild Dog, he revealed the true identity of The Green Arrow. After being endlessly beaten, Wild Dog revealed that Oliver is The Green Arrow, so not he has a target on his back whether in costume or out of costume. Oliver comes up with a great idea. Enter: the Human Target.
If that name sounds familiar, there was a Fox TV series based on the comic book character in 2010 that was canceled in 2011. The show focused on Christopher Chance a mysterious private contractor who has the ability to assume cover identities of his targets, basically becoming the person. This week on Arrow, the character is introduced to the DC CW universe when he assumes the identity of Oliver Queen when Church’s assassin tries to take him out. The ruse works is making everything Oliver is dead, and it works again when Chance assumes the identity of one of Church’s henchmen.
Because Church was warned by Prometheus not to attack The Green Arrow, his time has run out. Prometheus first tries to stop him, but Church had his own vigilante bodyguard (the same one who tried to kill Oliver). After Team Arrow stops Church, Prometheus attacks his police convoy and the two have their last chat. Church, tries to extend his life by revealing who The Green Arrow is, but afterward, Prometheus kills him.
We got more Russian flashbacks and not everyone in the Russian mafia is convinced that Oliver is really genuine about joining. However, these flashbacks finally have some merit, as an investigative journalist uncovers photos of Oliver in Russia when he was supposed to be stuck on Lian Yu!
Legends of Tomorrow: “Abominations”
This week of Legends of Tomorrow had a good departure from the warm and fuzziness we are used to for the DC CW shows. For a show that focused on time traveling, I always wonder, are they ever going to have to deal with the elephant in the room when it comes to the past? Are they ever going to really tackle race? Boy did they do it this week?
This week surrounded the Legends going to Mississippi during the Civil War. A time traveler infected with a zombie virus sent out a distress call before transforming into a zombie. This causes members of the Confederate army to become infected and basically turn the tide of the war and the end result is the Unites States of America in the north, and the Confederate States of America in the south. The Legends need to get involved in restoring history.
The side story focused on Rory who becomes infected after being bitten by a Confederate zombie. Martin Stein has a healthy irrational fear of zombies, to the point where he won’t even say the word “zombies.” This might be a nod to The Walking Dead, because the show and comic book never use the word zombies either. Stein and Ray Palmer stay aboard The Wave Rider to help find a cure for Rory and in effect stop the zombie virus from taking over. Palmer feel useless because he no longer has his Atom suit and his intellect will have to be his new superpower. Meanwhile, Sara Lance and Nate help shore up Union army members for the pending army attack. Nate gets to meet his hero Ulysses S. Grant and even help save the day using his steel powers.
The big part of this week’s episode focused on Jax. Stein even warned him to go on the mission in 1863 given that he was black, which leads to one of the best conversations on a CW television show.
“This time period is replete with various perils. Perhaps it might be easier if you were to remain behind, and keep Doctor Palmer company.” -Stein
“Perhaps you should remain behind. No? Because you're not black? Because you think that me going back to 1863, I can't handle it?” -Jax
“That doesn't mean there's a need for you to subject yourself to the horrors that await you in that era!” -Stein
“Okay, now I get it might be difficult for you to understand this, but I've been black my entire life Gray. And honestly, I can't think of a time period we could go to where I wouldn't face some sort of racism. So don't worry, okay?” -Jax
The show in a very creative way reminds us that no matter the time period, life for African Americans in this country has always been someone tumultuous. However, Jax does come to a realization that life back then was terrible. At first, he maintains the Legends’ “non-interference” policy, but he and Amaya are forced to watch a slave be whipped and they decide that something needs to be done. They don’t think the zombies are the abomination, but humanity’s treatment of another as "property" is. “The way these people are being treated. That's the real aberration. I can see that now. This is the history that needs to be fixed.” - Jax
During their mission to infiltrate a plantation for secret Confederate battle plans, they decide they will help rescue the slaves held there. As Jax sees their treatment, he is in awe of their perseverance to maintain their humanity and dignity. It’s also important that he tells the slaves there that it does get better for their people in the future, but he also says it’s not perfect (referring to how African-Americans are still treated today). After the zombies attack the plantation, Jax and Amaya escort the slaves to freedom in Grants army and they get back into The Wave Rider to continue their mission. Because Stein and Jax share feelings and memories as being Firestorm, Stein knows the pain that Jax felt while actually seeing and dealing with the institution of slavery and offers support.
The episode ends on a lighter note and Rory gives Palmer a special gift... Captain Cold’s gun! Looks like Ray won’t be so useless after all and we have a new Captain cold!
