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CRAZY Ex-GIRLFRIEND Teasers: After the Kiss
Rebecca and Josh finally kissed on last week’s CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, but what happens next? Do they kiss again? Is their relationship over before it even begins? We’ve got some teasers for you below.
A Romantic Comedy. It’s interesting to see the juxtaposition of Rebecca and Josh’s reactions to the kiss as both head home from Los Angeles in separate cars. Rebecca is positively thrilled and immediately heads to Paula’s house to celebrate. But when Rebecca doesn’t hear from Josh after a little while she tells Paula she should call or text him. Paula advises against it, telling her that she needs to wait until Josh comes to her.
Riddled with Guilt. Josh, meanwhile, is feeling pretty low about the kiss himself and seeks help from his priest friend, who suggests that he confess his sin to Valencia and ask for her forgiveness. But instead of heading to his girlfriend (who will likely not forgive him), he visits Rebecca to discuss the kiss and how they should proceed.
Escaping to Hawaii. Whatever happens between Valencia and Josh, all Rebecca knows is that Josh will soon be heading to Hawaii for a friend’s surf competition. Rebecca seems unsure about the future, but Paula tells her that her next step has to be following Josh to Hawaii and making the “grand gesture”.
New York Dough. Unfortunately, Rebecca’s big plan to head to Hawaii runs into a big snag: now that she’s no longer making New York money (and overspending since she arrived in town), she’s broke. The situation is pretty dire, what with her leased car being repossessed when she hadn’t paid what she owed. As it turns out, Rebecca is completely useless when it comes to money.
The Key to the City. As Rebecca deals with relationship and financial woes, the story about the water company has gained momentum and she’s being hailed as a local hero, with the mayor of West Covina showing up to give her the key to the city. Unfortunately for Rebecca, it doesn’t come with a cash prize.
Another Aftermath of the Kiss. Greg isn’t having the best day either. When he had gone to LA to confess his love for Rebecca, he had caught her and Josh kissing, thereby dashing his own dreams. And now he’s got to work with Heather, who had broken up with him so that he could be with Rebecca. Will their work relationship be frosty now that their personal relationship is over? It’s definitely awkward and Heather is trying to downplay what it meant, which seems to affect Greg as well.
Coming Out. Daryl, meanwhile, is not trying to hide his newly discovered bisexuality any longer and tells all of his coworkers that he’s bi. But there’s clearly a world of difference between Daryl and White Josh, who seems a bit too casual to fit into Daryl’s upper-middle-class world.
Don’t miss an all new episode of CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND tonight 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
THE X-FILES Season 10 Roundtable: A Conspiracy of…Somebody
THE X-FILES season 10 may be over, but we Philes aren’t finished with discussing it — not by a long shot. In part two of our roundtable discussion we took a look at the series’ new mythology.
Related: Read part 1 of our X-FILES season 10 roundtable
The 2012 alien invasion never happened, and as it turns out, it was all a hoax. Our enemies are not the aliens that are coming to destroy us all; they’re just a bunch of men trying to take over the world using alien technology gained from crash sites like Roswell. How does that jive?
Shana: Remember when I said too much was being done in too little time…Yeah. This whole plan to rewrite the original series’ history was the ultimate example of that. There’s no way, in six episodes, to break down nine seasons and a movie (let’s be real: that second film had nothing to do with mythology) and build them back up. For me, it just caused way too many leaps of logic and plot holes all over the place. Furthermore, there’s enough paranoia out there, so did we really need to feed into it?
If the aliens weren’t invading, and the Syndicate didn’t need to trade their own children to be returned later, what was the whole point? Were all of those children kidnapped by their own families and experimented on just to put a few selfish people in power when the world started changing for the worst? Was that just yet another lie told to Mulder to get him to keep opening all the wrong doors and investigating all the wrong leads? When these men were turning their kids over to the aliens for some sort of future return or protection only to be double-crossed, they were big enough monsters. For them to conduct their own human experiments on their own children just to aid in their own world takeover, though? Yikes.
What about the so-called rebel aliens, who went about burning abductees? Were those just men in masks who were trying to shut down the Syndicate? I’m going with not, considering…well, everything. So, what did they have to do with it all? No answer? Great.
What about the alien virus and vaccine? Were they somehow tied into the plague that, ultimately, took over as THE X-FILES season 10 closed out? And if the aliens had no stake in the future of our world, why was that alien bounty hunter running around and taking out other supposed aliens for so long? How does Emily fit into all of this? What would the need for an alien-human hybrid have been if there were no aliens coming to take over the world, anyway? What would these mere men need with hybrids? Certainly, super soldiers were a good enough tool in a world takeover, but that whole super soldier plot-line was mucked up enough to begin with.
I mean, and what about Mulder? If, under this new mythology, Scully’s alien DNA — presumably gained from her abduction — was what protected her from the Spartan Virus, why wasn’t Mulder safe? Was he not abducted, as well? Could we please have some logic and consistency in this whole new mess? Then again, if we’re feeding the anti-vax crazies with some of the narrative we’re telling here, I guess logic is too much to hope for.
Let’s just stick to the original story here. It was much more well-developed and actually thought through. Either way, Spooky Mulder was right all along: We are not alone in the universe. Let’s just leave it at that.
Luciana: I am going to very honest here: The mythology episodes were my least favorite of the revival. They weren’t bad, per se, but I just enjoyed the monster-of-the-week episodes a lot more. The whole conspiracy thing this time around was a little too complex for me – and Tad O’Malley just really, really annoyed me (calling Scully “Dana” and offering her champagne. Psh!) – but I think, overall, it’s basically the same conspiracy with the same evil dude as the leader, plotting the end of the world. You know, same old, same old.
Although the finale was super action packed and I was barely breathing through the entire episode, I felt like the new conspiracy plot (which is basically the same old conspiracy, only with a new M.O.) was too big and complex to fit into only two episodes. The finale, in particular, felt like a movie, only they abruptly left us somewhere in the middle of act two.
I know cliffhangers are the norm when it comes to THE X-FILES, but did they really need to squeeze in something so big into a season finale of a show that, in theory, no one knew if it was going to be picked up by the network for a following season? It was an insanely big risk, but given the off-the-charts ratings, I am assuming that season 11 is all but confirmed. We just don’t know when. Will we have to wait another year to see if Mulder survives? Another eight years?
Meghan: The new mythology was, in keeping with how it’s always been, confusing. I expected no different, but I still can’t figure out exactly where the show is going with this. Are they trying to tell us that it’s actually been men the entire time, not aliens? What about those times we clearly saw aliens in the show? At this stage, the mythology has been through so many twists and turns that it’s almost pointless to try and sort it out completely. However, I do like that they left some of the more…ridiculous elements of Seasons 8 and 9 behind. Hopefully we’ll never hear the word “Super Soldier” again. Or “magnetite.”
As for the super-sciency last episode, I actually like the idea of the world’s impending doom coming in the form of a disease and not an alien invasion. In a lot of ways, that’s scarier and truer to the more realistic elements of the series. I truly can’t imagine THE X-FILES having grandiose War of the Worlds style alien attacks. The series has always prided itself on science, and this newest addition to the mythology stayed true to that.
Lizzie: I’m probably one of the few people who didn’t really mind the new conspiracy. I was fine with the old convoluted version, and I’m okay with the slightly simpler and much more cynical version we got now. I don’t watch this show for the conspiracy; I never did. So either way, I’m happy. For me, it’s more about the effect the conspiracy has on Mulder and Scully than it is about the actual plot.
If the conspiracy had ever actually made SENSE to me, maybe it would all be different. But for all that I watched most of these episodes upwards of five times, I was never quite sure where the whole thing was going. I’m still not convinced Chris Carter was, to be honest. It all felt very patchwork, and yet, somehow it worked. Or, at least, it didn’t suck enough that we were like: That’s it, I quit. It was just there, and sometimes it didn’t make sense, but that was okay – we still had Mulder and Scully.
That being said, did it really change all that much? The government is still evil. Mulder and Scully still got the short end of the stick, and the whole thing still makes me want to go: I’m sorry, what? When you’re very into the episode, Mulder and Scully can go on these monologues and you can think, “yeah, okay, I get it,” but that’s just your brain falling for the charm that these two characters exude. You don’t really get it. No one does.
(And this holds true for both the aliens as bad guys and the aliens as good guys conspiracy theories.)
That’s why, as a long time sufferer of the disease that is being a fan of THE X-FILES, I’ve decided to let it go. Not overthink it. I don’t need to get it now. After all, if (when) we get a Season 11, it will probably all change again. For all this show has always pretended to be about aliens and corrupt governments, it’s always been about people. Two people in particular. And that’s what we care about.
Avi: This is one of the aspects of the new season that I know a lot of people are not quite happy about but that I actually feel is better. Because it makes it more tangible, even when we’re still living in the realm of THE X-FILES. The threat becoming more “human” than “alien” makes it more believable for me because we are aware of what human beings can do, how complex we are, how motivations are skewed and quite indifferent when it comes to alliances.
So, while we’re always going to have the alien element be part of the conspiracy, men being behind the demise of the world grounds it in reality for me — makes it scarier.
THE FLASH Recap: Of Doppelgangers, New Universes and Refreshing Villains
What an insane ride to another universe that was, FLASH fans!
So much happened in the short space of 43 minutes, making “Welcome to Earth-2” one of the best episodes of the series to date. Dare I say it was even better than “Enter Zoom”?
I actually believe it was, which was no small feat, considering how outstanding episode 6 had been.
“Welcome to Earth-2” was the kind of episode that – if it had not been handled just right – things could have gone horribly, horribly wrong. Because we are dealing with another universe and another version of our beloved characters and – had it not been written beautifully and performed to near perfection – it could have just been a bizarre, poor imitation of Earth-1. Thank goodness that was not the case, though. THE FLASH has established itself as a complex drama and, last night, we were treated to exactly that.
Before their imminent trip to another Earth, Team Flash was busy closing all the breaches in Central City. Much like “Enter Zoom”, last night’s episode was set up in a way that everything seemed light and fun up until about halfway through, when the episode turned on its head and we were suddenly watching complete disaster unfold before our eyes.
But while we were still in the fun and happy part, Iris tried to make sure that Barry was going to Earth-2 for the right reasons and not because he didn’t have anything else to lose in this universe, what with Patty leaving him and all that. The speedster reassures her that this is not the case and that he would be back. She didn’t need to worry at all, because he loves his life on Earth-1 and he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
There is only one breach open now and, after Jay gives them a warning about not getting emotionally involved there, Harry, Barry and Cisco speed right through it. That was a neat little moment, where we got to see flashes of other universes and nods to other DC superheroes. However, when they crossed over, the surge of energy was too great and it completely destabilized the breach, meaning Cisco and Barry are trapped in Earth-2 until Jay and Caitlin can find a way to stabilize it again.
Earth-2 is so different, though. The colors, the feel, the atmosphere. Everything feels different and Barry and Cisco are so excited to be in another universe that it looks like they are on a trip to Disneyland, much to Harry’s dismay.
We soon find out though that Cisco’s powers are not working because this Earth vibes in a different frequency. While they’re discussing that, they see Earth-2 Barry on TV giving an interview on behalf of the CCPD about Zoom’s reign of terror in Central City. Our Barry decides to kidnap him and take his place, so he can have access to CCPD resources and figure out what is going on.
That’s the first doppleganger we meet and I really wish we could have had more time with him. Even though our Barry quickly stepped into his shoes and took over his life, Earth-2 Barry was just so excited and adorable. When Barry-1 gets to CCPD, however, he gets the surprise of his life when, not only he finds out that the Detective West he had heard about on TV is actually Iris, but they are also married. This was the moment when we saw that it seems like Barry really is over his whole “I’m in love with Iris” phase, because he just looks so awkward and at a loss of what to do. For our Barry, Iris really is just his best friend and sister and the fact that she was suddenly kissing him and undressing in front of him was absolutely priceless.
Also, let’s talk about how this amazing cast took their own characters and created a whole new life and personality and speech pattern to go with their Earth-2 doppelgangers. Barry was the first, but we didn’t see much of him and he just seemed to be an excitable, cute nerd. The first big surprise came from Iris-2 and how Candice Patton tackled this chance to really showcase her talent. And that was just the tip of the iceberg, because there was so much more coming our way.
The surprises just kept on coming. On this Earth, Barry’s mom is alive and well and had just left him a message. When he calls her back, we get to witness one of the most touching scenes of the season (maybe the series? Grant Gustin sure knows how to make me cry), as Barry struggles to pull himself together and not break down as he talks to his mom for the first time in years. This moment right here hit really close to home to those of us who have lost a parent and I do admit that there were a lot of tears happening on my part. Kudos to Gustin, who really is at his strongest with these emotional scenes and last night was no exception.
Then they go to a bar (Jitterbugs!) to see Joe, who is a freaking musician on this Earth, perform. However, to Barry’s neverending surprise, it seems that they do not get along at all.
That’s when Killer Frost (Caitlin!) and Death Storm (Ronnie! Remember Ronnie? The dude just can’t stay dead, can he?) attack. They work for Zoom and are searching for the breacher. Barry tries to get through to Caitlin, but she is just plain evil on this Earth. And I have to say, I really like Danielle Panabaker, but I have been feeling that she’s not at her best this season. Tonight, though, she presented a whole other side as a villain and Killer Frost absolutely suits her. She was absolutely amazing and her chemistry with Robbie Amell is so much better than her total lack of chemistry with Teddy Sears.
Anyway, Iris identifies herself as CCPD and they attack her, but Joe pushes her out of the way and gets hit instead. That’s when Barry outs himself as the Flash to the meta couple and just barely gets away.
When he returns to Star Labs, Harry admonishes him for getting involved, but he says he needs to help Iris and Joe because they are his family, no matter what universe they are in. He gets to the hospital and we watch Joe die and Iris is breaking down and my God this episode is just punching me in all the feels. My heart can’t take it.
So Iris decides to go after Killer Frost to avenge her father’s death and Barry introduces her to Cisco, saying he has a gun that can stop the freezing meta human. Although she is not entirely comfortable, she takes Cisco along, plus Captain Singh, who, in this Earth is her partner and a terrible shot.
They find the meta couple and then we come across the biggest surprise of all. They are not working for Zoom directly. They are actually working for Cisco, who in this Earth, answers to Zoom. The scene that follows is just absolutely priceless and hilarious and it is a testament to Carlos Valdes’ comedic timing because this was one of those moments that it all could have gone so completely wrong and fallen flat and cheesy with the audience.
Weaver tries to lure Cisco to the dark side, showing him what his powers can become. And it just totally hit me tonight that his powers are actually very similar to Daisy Johnson’s powers in AGENTS OF SHIELD, because over there, Daisy also has the ability to control the vibrations on Earth. So I hope we get to see more action coming Cisco’s way as his powers grow.
But he obviously knows better, and calls out for Barry. Turns out, though, that they are unevenly matched and Ronnie and Evil!Cisco kick Barry’s ass. That is until Zoom, in all his terrifying glory, shows up and kills them – sparing only Killer Frost – and takes Barry with him.
Meanwhile, back on our Earth, we find out that Jay is actually the one to blame for losing his own speed. He had used velocity 6 on himself, so he could be faster, and that’s why he is dying. He tries to help Joe catch a meta human and things don’t go his way at all. But Caitlin is trying to come up with a new serum to restore his speed.
Back to Earth-2 – where the real action is happening – we see Barry locked up in a cell where Zoom is keeping Jessie, and we see a guy who looks remarkably like Diggle locked up there as well. Knowing that David Ramsey is crossing over to THE FLASH in the near future, I wonder if it really was him that we saw.
Zoom tells Barry that this is the last place he will ever see.
Fade to black.
I need next Tuesday to get here now. While we wait, though, why don’t you take a look at what is in store for us next week?
The next new episode of THE FLASH airs on February 16 at 8/7c on The CW.
MYTHBUSTERS Recap: Hats-Off Episode to Volunteers
Saturday night’s new episode of MYTHBUSTERS was an homage to its volunteers. Over its 14 years, MYTHBUSTERS have used more than 3,500 volunteers to test its myths, and Adam thanked them all saying, “To all our intrepid volunteers, we say we literally couldn’t have done it without you.” As a show that has been as devoted to them as to its fans, this says a lot about the devotion of hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who often focused their episodes around the feedback of its viewers.
One part of the program in particular is a testament to that, revisiting and retesting the question: Which is the more effective tool against a rallying crowd of zombies, an ax or a gun? Viewers said that Adam’s first attempt to wield an ax to slay zombies was lame. So in this zombie finale, they put the question to one final test.
In the second part of the program, Adam and Jamie tested a question requiring a sophistication and effort they likely couldn’t have achieved without the experience they’ve gained over the years: Which is the more efficient method for grocery shoppers to wait to get to the checkout line, pick a line and wait or wait in a serpentine line for the next available cashier?
Just Ax a Zombie
When MYTHBUSTERS last tested the Zombie Apocalypse myth, Adam wielded a fake ax and scored a “kill” by simply touching a zombie in the head. That made it appear to be the best method. But viewers insisted that it would take way more than a touch in the head to kill a zombie, a point that Adam willingly accepted. So this time, Adam rigged his ax with an accelerometer that would require striking a zombie at 7.8 meters per second, enough force to kill a zombie. When the foam-coated axe blade struck a zombie head at that speed, a “bing!” sounded and a light board showed “Kill” and the zombie would fall to the floor.
With the ax ready for swinging, Adam and Jamie gathered 200 volunteers mocked up in their best zombie wear in an empty warehouse and began the test. Adam stood in the center of a circle surrounded by zombies, and as Jamie let loose a siren the zombies closed in on Adam, who commenced the chopping. But it wasn’t long before Adam was overwhelmed and Jamie once again sounded the horn to call off the horde. Counting the dead, Adam had only slain eight zombies, not a very effective showing.
Next was Jamie’s turn using a semi-automatic pistol. He managed to kill only seven. Adam was still ahead by one dead.
That wasn’t looking very good for the fan complaint, because neither was an improvement over the past episode. It also only tested for a horde surrounding Adam and Jamie. Films usually show zombies moving through obstacles, like farm yards with buildings and implements and industrial areas with fences. To ramp up the test, the MYTHBUSTERS crew created a fence with a doorway.
Once again Adam wielded his ax, and this time his results improved. Adam’s number of kills increased dramatically to 67. Jamie’s increased dramatically, too, to 57 kills. However, the gun was still not a better tool for killing zombies than the ax.
I must add a personal observation: Adam was taking it easy on the volunteers. I suggest if you were truly faced with an advancing horde of zombies, you wouldn’t be zonking zombies at 7.8 meters per second on the forehead, you’d be swinging with all your might. Adam got tired after a while just bonking heads. Swinging that ax would tire you out a lot more quickly.
And as is usual for MYTHBUSTERS, Adam and Jamie didn’t settle for testing a myth in its pure form. They had to ramp it up one more time. Adam wanted to test it for the mother of all zombie killing tools: the chainsaw. Mocking up a rip snorting chainsaw with fake chain and fake blood, Adam also added a timer to ensure he was applying the “ripping chain” long enough to buzz into a zombie for the kill.
Bringing on the horde one last time, Adam sawed through zombies like a man on a mission, killing every one of them. And in his book, ranking a 100% on any test is a win.
- Conclusion: Confirmed
Clean Up on Aisle 5
The question in this test was whether it’s really more efficient to look for the shortest checkout line at the grocery store or to get in one line and wait your turn for the next available cashier — the pick-your-own line versus the serpentine line. To conduct the test, Adam and Jamie set up their own very accurate grocery store, including 800 feet of shelves lined with more than 5,000 food items, all marked with prices, shopping carts and baskets, and five cashier stands complete with flashing numbered lights and pricing scanners.
The MYTHBUSTERS crew conducted a control run first to test that their setup would work, bringing in all 120 volunteers. It didn’t take long to clog the aisles and lines. So they reduced the number of shoppers by 25 percent and the queues became more realistic. Then it was time to begin a real test.
The rules were simple. First, a volunteer got a shopping list and a time card. They shopped and when they were finished and in a waiting line the time card was stamped a first time. When they reached the cashier stand the time card was stamped a second time, marking how long they waited in line. To make the checkout wait more realistic, they added two “bogies”: a price check and someone paying by check, requiring authentication.
First up was the pick-your-own-line test. With 138 shoppers going through the experience, the average wait time was 5 minutes and 38 seconds, with the fastest being 2 minutes and 16 seconds while the slowest was 9 minutes and 21 seconds. The customer satisfaction averaged 3.48 out of 5.
They followed that with the so called serpentine line test, where you get into the back of a winding line and wait for your turn to go to the next available cashier. Using this method, the average wait time was 6 minutes and 56 seconds – 27 seconds longer than the other method – but satisfaction was higher: averaging 4.33 out of 5.
The reason for the longer time was that waiting in the serpentine line, it took longer to get from the end of the line to the open cashier stand, but satisfaction was higher because it was perceived as being fairer.
- Conclusion: Busted (but better)
If you missed tonight’s “Volunteer Special” of MYTHBUSTERS, don’t fret. It repeats Wednesday on the Science Channel at 9:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. PT) and midnight ET (9:00 p.m. PT). Watch it live or volunteer to set your DVR.
THE FLASH Recap: The Origin Story of Reverse-Flash
I don’t know about you guys, but my head is still spinning after last night’s intense episode of THE FLASH. “The Reverse-Flash Returns” – as the title suggests – reintroduced an old enemy that we had all thought was long gone. Eobard Thawne’s sudden appearance in Central City brought grave consequences for the team, especially for Cisco. So much happened in this episode in the short period of 42 minutes, that I am still trying to put all the pieces together in my head. We had time travel, intense confrontations, family drama and a great character saying goodbye.
Cisco and Harry and Their Not So Great Plan
Just when they thought they finally had something that would give them a weapon to defeat Zoom, the Turtle was found dead in his cell; so there goes the chance of extracting his power to slow everything down. I wonder, however, if whatever Harry did to him at the end of last week’s episode was his primary cause of death or if it really was an aneurysm, like Caitlin said. Either way, with that option off the table, Cisco suggests that maybe they could find a way for him to get some sort of control over his vibing abilities, so he could see what Zoom was up to and finally stay one step ahead of the demon speedster.
Harry figures out that what triggers Cisco’s powers is adrenaline, so he manages to come up with a device that would increase that and allow him to vibe whenever he wanted. Cisco is skeptical, but tries the goggles on, anyway, and the intensity of what he sees is amazing. He eventually zeroes in on the Reverse-Flash’s location and sees that he has just killed the scientist he had kidnapped. But the thing is, when Cisco sees this, it is still 6pm, but the time Cisco saw in his vision marked 9:32pm, which means that his powers have just grown and he can now see the future, which is pretty cool in itself.
So they have a little over three hours to figure out where Thawne is keeping her, and save her. They do find her in time and Barry speeds out of there and saves the day, but it all seemed entirely too good to be true.
Eobard Thawne’s Evil Plan
It seems that the Reverse-Flash we saw last night was actually past Eobard Thawne, as in before he killed Earth-1 Harrison Wells, before creating Star Labs and before he went back in time to kill Barry’s mom. As all good time travel stories, this episode made my head hurt. So this Reverse-Flash doesn’t even know the Flash’s true identity. His primary goal here was to get a scientist to put in the finishing touches on a machine that would allow him to go back to his own time, but the scarlet speedster manages to stop him just in time, thanks to Cisco’s powers. When Barry takes him back to Star Labs and locks him up in a cell – after putting in some awesome time beating the hell out of his evil ass – he asks why Thawne hates him so much.
And the answer is so simple and so ridiculous, that just made me hate this sorry excuse of a human being even more. He wanted to be the Flash, so he figured out a way to gain speed force and, with that, to travel through time. And that’s how he learned of his fate, to be the Flash’s greatest enemy.
Seriously, Thawne? All this because you wanted to have his power? Couldn’t you have just left it at that? Did you really have to kill his mother and Harrison Wells and god knows how many other people?
Anyway, the fact that they stopped Thawne from going back to his own time and are holding him prisioner has some serious consequences. As we all know, you should never mess with the timeline, for fear of causing catastrophic ramifications, which is exactly what happens. Cisco starts out with a nose bleed and his condition evolves to a state of permanent seizure, before he – I kid you not – starts to vanish before their very eyes. Just when I thought this show couldn’t get any cooler, they go and pull this one on us. It was so bizarre and intense and just absolutely cool.
Finally, they decide that the only way to save Cisco is to catapult him back to the future, and Barry helps him do that. The problem is, now Thawne is going back to his future full of knowledge of this timeline and period, which will eventually prompt him to seek out Harrison Wells, kill him and take over his identity. The fact that they had to help Thawne in order to save Cisco put everything that has defined their lives in motion. This, right here, was the point of origin of the war against the Reverse-Flash and it was fantastically delivered.
Barry and Patty
Meanwhile, our speedster is heartbroken that Patty decided to leave, but I felt like this was a situation that could have easily been fixed. After all, last week he was determined to tell her that he was THE FLASH and end the secrecy once and for all. As we all know, keeping secrets from those we love never ends well, as Oliver Queen knows from experience. Something changed between last week’s episode and “The Reverse-Flash Returns”, though, because Patty finally puts two and two together and figures out he is the infamous scarlet speedster. She even confronts Joe about it, but Detective West is a terrible liar and she sees right through him. But when she confronts Barry about it, he vehemently denies it and tells her it’s complicated and that he doesn’t want to stand in the way of her dreams.
Barry Allen, what the hell were you thinking? There she was, telling you that she was completely okay with it and that everything made sense now; that she would stay in Central City if only you came clean about being the Flash. And you go and deny the whole thing and watches her walk away heartbroken. What. The. Hell? This part really had me this close to throwing something at my TV. I really, really like Patty and I don’t want her to leave, but this wasn’t even really about their relationship. Barry is doing the exact same thing Oliver did on ARROW in the first three seasons – he is pushing people away and playing the martyr in order to protect them.
The comparison between the two shows here is inevitable and it seems like Barry is taking the Green Arrow’s advice from last season to heart. When Oliver told him that “guys like us don’t get the girl”, he was trying to keep Felicity at arms length, much like Barry did to Patty last night. Of course, they both have noble intentions and say that they are doing this only to protect them from any harm; but the truth is that they are protecting themselves. Patty was kidnapped last week – because he saved her as the Flash, not because she was his girlfriend – but that coupled with the fact that she had decided to leave just made Barry close up even more and push her even further away.
Sure, being someone a superhero loves attracts unwanted attention from their enemies, but whether they are together or not, the danger remains the same. By saying that he is just trying to protect her, he is anticipating the possible heartbreak he might have to go through if something ever happened to her, which is a dumb idea, Barry, because you’re going to get heartbroken all the same.
In the end, when she calls him just to see if he really would go and save her, made for a very, very bittersweet goodbye. I truly hope this is not the last we see of Patty Spivot and that she comes back soon to tell Barry to snap out of it and that they can work through this together.
And last, but most definitely not least, let’s talk about…
The West Family Drama
Let me preface this by saying that I am so glad that Iris is getting a much deserved juicy storyline this season. I love the still rocky relationship between Wally and Iris, but it looks like they are heading in the right direction. I bet they will get even closer when Francine dies, which is so bittersweet and tragic for everyone involved. The scene where she tells her mom that all is forgiven was heartbreaking and Candice Patton did a fantastic job. I am curious as to where they are going with this, though. Let’s assume Francine dies – which will probably happen soon – what does that mean for Wally? Will we get to see more of him? Will he come live with Joe? Because there has to be a point in introducing such an iconic character, right?
Whetever it is, though, I am so in for the ride.
A new episode of THE FLASH will air on February 2 at 8/7c on The CW.
THE FLASH Season 2 Roundtable: The Good, The Bad and The In Between
It’s a new year, THE FLASH fans! It has been a horrible, horrible hiatus without our favorite show, but it sure gave us time to stop and really think about what has happened on our screen and analyze it to death. In order to do that, I got a few colleagues and fellow fans of the Scarlet Speedster together so we could sit down and discuss the best and worst of season 2 so far. A lot has happened up until December – Zoom! Jay Garrick! Wally West! The crossover! – and you’ll see that we had wildly different opinions about some of the topics we chose to talk about, which just made for an even better roundtable.
Now, without further ado, let’s get this show on the road.
Best/Worst Episodes
LUCIANA MANGAS: The very best episode of the season for me – possibly of the entire series – was “Enter Zoom”. It was equal parts shocking, entertaining and suspenseful and established the main plot of the season quite nicely. Also, Zoom? I don’t think the word terrifying does him any justice. It goes way beyond that.
The cast brought their A game in this episode and their performance, as well as the direction, writing, special effects and the editing were all phenomenal. There is only one other episode that comes close to how amazing “Enter Zoom” was, and that was the season 1 finale.
As for the worst episode, I am not even going to classify it as the worst because that’s a very strong word. But the one I liked less – and that was probably due to my high expectations – was the crossover episode. “Legends of Today” was supposed to be the launch platform for LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, but it seems like they just forgot to make this episode about the THE FLASH’s main characters. They focused on Hawkgirl and her backstory and just put everything else aside. Even though I absolutely loved seeing Barry interacting with the ARROW team, the episode felt way too rushed and it didn’t even feel like I was watching THE FLASH. I also hated what they did to Felicity in this episode, even though she is not (technically) a main FLASH character. It felt like they were trying to inject humor through her, but her lines just fell completely flat, like they were trying too hard to be funny. Oh, and don’t even get me started on how they broke Cisco’s heart. That was just not cool.
MELISSA SMITH: Best episode for me this season so far has been “Legends of Today.” Everyone in the episode gave their full potential, even when the odds were against them. Jay took the Velocity-6 serum to save Wells. Cisco put the good of humanity above his love for Kendra. Barry fought hard to keep the team on track, even when Oliver couldn’t focus. I love that the Legends of Tomorrow and Vandal Savage were there to Rock the Kasbah, and I anxiously am awaiting the LEGENDS OF TOMORROW premiere.
Worst episode of this season for me was Episode 1, “The Man Who Saved Central City,” and this is just a small issue for me. I know that THE FLASH is “the kid” in the Justice League DC-verse and sometimes is more emotional than the other heroes, but the Singularity was six months prior to Episode 1. I really wanted Barry to “cowboy-up.” I know he was stressed by another loss, but there was a bit too much hand-wringing for me. Just take the key to the city and move on. And he did. That is what superheroes do. They do not inspire people because they can run fast or fly high. They inspire us because they have big hearts, a desire to do the “right thing” and try their hardest to overcome adversity.
SHANA LIEBERMAN: Let’s deliver the bad news first. The worst episode in the first half of the season — and probably for the entire series for me if we’re being totally honest here — was “Legends of Today.” It featured heartbreak for Cisco, terrible life choices by Oliver Queen, and a backdoor pilot for LEGENDS OF TOMORROW that did absolutely nothing for either ARROW or THE FLASH in the process. Total disappointment. One could argue that Grant Gustin’s first appearance on ARROW was just a backdoor pilot for THE FLASH, and they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But the difference? Barry actually fit in well with that cast and was only a piece of the puzzle, rather than forced on viewers as the main (and only) focal point. Usually, when there’s a Flarrow crossover, I find myself falling in love. This time? I found myself falling in loathe.
On the other hand, “Enter Zoom” was an instant favorite. The episode boasted the first face-off between our hero and the season’s Big Bad, some of the best special effects I’ve seen on the series yet, and a shocking opening that made it impossible not to want to stay tuned for more. Bonus: Malese Jow rocked it as Linda Park.
MEREDITH ZYLBERBERG: Best – 2×08 crossover “Legends of Today”. Suffice it to say that my bias towards Arrow impacts my best episode choice greatly. I haven’t been the biggest fan of The Flash’s first stretch of episodes this season, and the crossover episode (The Flash half) was without a doubt my favorite. The episode was fast-paced, featured fantastic character interactions, and great action. That said, it felt much more like an Arrow episode than a Flash episode, in that the only non-Legends storyline that really featured prominently was an Arrow storyline. (Oh wait – there was something about injecting a chemical into Jay/Barry, wasn’t there? I can’t really remember, I probably zoned out during that part.)
Nonetheless, I was mostly riveted during episode 2×08, and I find that interacting with Oliver and Felicity brings out the best in Barry. Of course, fan favorites Cisco and Felicity also got to have a couple great scenes, which didn’t hurt. While I personally didn’t care for the Hawk-duo storyline, I do enjoy when certain characters get to share the screen with others, and the majority of the character dynamics in this episode were ones I enjoy watching. My biggest complaint about the episode is the lack of Iris, and I felt that some of the Central City scenes could have at the very least included her.
As for the worst episode, “Gorilla Warfare” wins the prize. I don’t really have much more to say, other than any episode with monster sized animals who can kinda-sorta speak and maybe have a crush on Caitlin? Not for me. I know this is a major comic storyline, I understand that, but I still don’t feel that it translates well onscreen. It felt hokey, contrived, and just overall silly. Maybe I’m not the target audience for an episode like this one, but it didn’t feel at all accessible or enjoyable for me.
On the next page: best/worst characters….
AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Recap: Is Lash Really Gone?
Well, that was intense. And so good. So, so good, AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
Following last week’s episode, “Chaos Theory” presented the aftermath of the reveal that the good, old Dr. Andrew Garner (aka May’s ex-husband) is Lash, the terrifying creature that has been opening holes in his fellow Inhumans’ chests. Agent May is pretty much in shock to find out that her sweet, mild-tempered significant other now turns into a monster and has been murdering people left, right and center. She flies back to base with Bobbi and immediately asks about Andrew’s whereabouts. She is told that he went to a training facility with Joey (remember him, from the season premiere?), so the newest Inhuman could be reevaluated so they could decide if he is fit to join S.H.I.E.L.D or go back to the outside world. Joey has a much better handle on his powers now and is so very proud of himself. Dr. Garner, however, keeps daydreaming about murdering poor Joey through the entire session and is a step away from doing just that when May shows up and tells the guards to get Joey out of there, so she can talk to Andrew. She confronts him and Andrew completely loses it and ices her. The dude has some serious anger issues.
When she comes to, she is trapped and handcuffed and Andrew tries to explain himself, but the guy has gone completely bonkers. We finally find out that it wasn’t the vitamin suplement that turned him; he actually went through the mist accidentally, as he was going through Jiaying’s ledger. Daisy’s mom had left some of the Inhuman stuff in it, as a safety net, in case anyone ever got a hold of it. If they had the Inhuman gene, they would turn, and if didn’t have the gene… well, we know what happens. But Andrew does have the gene and he turns into Lash. He explains that he feels a need to be near the Inhumans and – that’s when he takes a left turn to Looneyville – he kills them because he is sorting out the good Inhumans from the evil ones. So he decides to go after them, crossing out names in Jiaying’s ledger and tracking them down.
What he doesn’t realize, however, is that Lincoln was also tracking down his friends and, after finding out that most of them are dead, he figures out that whoever is killing them is getting their names from his former mentor’s ledger. He reaches out to Mack and tells him that he can prove Lash is within S.H.I.E.L.D. Mack takes him back to base, much to Daisy’s surprise, and tells Coulson what he knows. Except he is interrupting a planned trip to meet the president of United States, so Coulson and Rosalind can plead the Inhumans case. The ATCU leader had dropped by to catch a ride with Phil and Daisy was definitely not happy about it. She really distrusts Rosalind, and for good reason, as it was revealed by the end of the episode. But Lincoln drops the bomb on them about Andrew and they drop everything to go after him, especially after they realize that May is missing.
The sequence that follows was so intense and so well done. Hats off to the special effects department because the fight between Lincoln and Lash was so good. The entire sequence was amazing, but the ending was particularly bittersweet because it was May who got Andrew into the pod, after emptying her gun in his chest. When Phil asks her how she knew the shots wouldn’t kill him, and she tells him she didn’t, my heart broke in a million pieces for her. In the end, they use the ATCU’s technique in order to delay Andrew’s transformation.
Meanwhile, Fitz is working on finding a way to open the portal back to that planet, so they can rescue Will. Jemma gives him her phone and he manages to save the data in it so all of the recordings and photos and videos from the time Jemma was there are suddenly available to him. Iain De Caestecker kills in this scene because Fitz is so touched by everything Simmons is reporting to him and, after he gets over (somewhat) the fact that there are pictures of Will and Jemma there, he even manages to find a lead that could take them to a portal. When he goes looking for Jemma, she is waiting for the sunrise and he tells her he may have found something. He also confesses that he recovered the data from her phone and Simmons tells him she meant everything. The sun starts to rise and the irony of the moment is not lost on any of us. Fitz will do anything for her and she knows that.
And then we cut to the last scene and Ward is talking to that mystery guy Von Strucker Jr had reached out to last week. Evil!Ward reveals his game plan is to cut off S.H.I.E.L.D’s head – aka Phil Coulson and just when he starts to get into the dirty details, mystery guy’s phone starts ringing and it’s freaking Rosalind Price and she apologizes, saying there was a change of plans, but she would still deliver Phil Coulson. And then, cuts to her house as she is hanging up and Phil is there and they just spent the night together. Damn it, Rosalind, just as I was starting to like you. I am going to try to give her the benefit of the doubt because it really seemed like she genuinely has good intentions and maybe she doesn’t know that mystery guy has a secret agenda.
What did you think? Hit the comments below and tell me all about it, or come talk to me on Twitter.
Don’t miss the next new episode of AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. on November 17 at 9/8c on ABC.
The TV Addict’s Top 10 Television Shows of 2014
While they may not have been the year’s most critically acclaimed or the country’s most popular, each the following shows made this TV Addict’s Top 10 of 2014 for the simple reason that they left us jonesing another fix. You know those people who say “less is more?” Yeah, they’re totally wrong. As the following programs prove, too much is never enough.
MANHATTAN (WGNAmerica, CraveTV in Canada – Binge-watched)
WGN America’s second foray into scripted fare may have been about the development of a bomb, but the series itself was anything but [Thank you, thank you, we’ll be here all night! Remember to tip your waiters!] Flawlessly crafted and beautifully acted, the show’s story, set against America’s race to beat Germany to the development of the world’s first atomic bomb was an absolute joy to watch. So much so that knowing the end thanks to, umm… well, history books, didn’t detract in the least from this immensely compelling series. [Read more…]
Your Definitive Guide to Black Friday 2014 TV on DVD Deals!
Is getting trampled to death over a $25 Blu-ray player really worth the risk? This TV Addict certainly doesn’t think so! Which is why, over the course of the next 24 hours, we’ll be scouring the web for the latest and greatest Black Friday TV on DVD Deal!. See for yourself after the jump and be sure to check back regularly as we’ll be updating this post throughout the day. [Read more…]