Tag: Berlantiverse

Riverdale Season 2 Episode 8: Chapter Twenty-One- House of the Devil Recap

~ Metacrone

RVD208Coopers&Jones

On the roller coaster ride that is Riverdale, this episode is the lowest the show has ever taken us. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is echoing his old boss Ryan Murphy, and his old show Glee, with epic levels of character and plot inconsistencies, misogyny, sheer contrivances, and using audience manipulation in place of actual storytelling.

The Berlantiverse is known for many of those things as well. Just take a look at any character that the writers decide is mainly a love interest, whether it’s Mon El on Supergirl, Caitlin or Iris on The Flash, or Felicity on Arrow. Betty and Cheryl seem to be meeting the same fate on Riverdale, as their characters erode from the complex women that they were in season one into inconsistent caricatures.

This episode, Veronica and Archie continued their sexathon relationship the way it had always been, complete with sex montage. After a particularly romantic tryst in front of her parents’ fireplace, Archie, overcome with endorphins, told Veronica that he loved her. She conspicuously didn’t reply, so they did the discomfort dance and decided that Archie should leave.

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Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Episode 17: Aruba/Season Finale Recap

~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment

LOT217RipMickNate

This episode, the Legends prove once again why they’re legends, not heroes, as they take on the Legion of Doom to restore reality and destroy the Spear of Destiny, with decidedly mixed results. The only relatively permanent death is the one person Barry Allen has been trying to kill for three seasons. Sara Lance proved her prowess as a strategist by finally taking out the Reverse Flash and disabling the Spear in one fell swoop. It’s just that there were a few issues about the way the Legends got her to that point…

Picking up where we left off last episode, Rip apparently doesn’t realize that he’s been miniaturized. You’d think Gideon would have known. Was she sweet enough to keep it from him so as not to demoralize him even further? They don’t let being a few inches tall slow them down though, and speed away, out the nearest open window to find the rest of the Legends.

The Legends are looking for a signal from Rip, using a radio that Ray built. Nate pouts over Amaya in the corner, having realized that his feelings for her were deeper than he’d admitted. Ray and Jax hear Rip’s radio call, explaining that he has a small problem, just as the mini-Waverider flies into the basement. Mick is the two year old in all of us, as he grabs the ship to make faces at mini-Rip through the windshield. They quickly make a plan to find Ray’s suit at Star Labs and un-shrink the ship and Rip. I was really hoping the Honey, I Shrunk the Time Master part of the show would take a little longer. But, it’s not to be.

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Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Episode 16: Doomworld Recap

~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment

LOT216Amaya

“My name is Eobard Thawne. With the help of Damien Darhk, Malcolm Merlyn, Leonard Snart, and Mick Rory, I’ve obtained the Spear of Destiny, an ancient artifact with the power to rewrite reality itself. And we have. It’s a brave new world.”

Welcome to Doomworld, the Legion of Doom’s version of a perfect reality. Sara and Amaya, clad in head to toe tight black leather, are hunting down a vigilante in Star City. They catch her, and it turns out to be Arrow’s Felicity Smoak! In a mask and costume! She gets in a good dig before they cart her off to Mayor Damien Darhk, calling then the Bimbo Brigade.

Damien is pleased with his pet assassins. He has them kill Felicity right then and there in his office. Due process does not exist in Doomworld, to absolutely no one’s surprise. He adds Felicity’s mask to his collection, which already includes those of every other Star City Vigilante: Arrow, Black Canary, Ragman, Wild Dog, Mr Terrific, The Flash, Spartan, Speedy. Felicity didn’t get a code name. 😥  Or would she still use Overwatch? Doesn’t seem to fit when she’s out in the streets.

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Supergirl Season 2 Episode 17: Distant Sun Recap

~ Metacrone

SPG217RheaMonEl&Kara

Last week, I asked for more Queen Rhea and King Lar Gand. This week, we got that, but it was definitely a case of “Be careful what you wish for.” On the bright side, Kara and Mon El are back to being a sweet, flirty couple, after their musical trip to The Flash. It’s Maggie and Alex’s turn to bring the angst. And we’re apparently going to pick up a dropped thread from the beginning of the season, since Secret Alien US President Lynda Carter is back to reveal her plans.

Kara wakes up to find Mon El making her breakfast in bed. He’s discovered cookbooks, and is applying them to his quest to romance her. His parents remain in orbit around Earth. In other words, they’re helicopter parents, TM Mon El.

The news reports show an attack in progress in National City. Kara makes a quick change and is off to the fight. Mon El will be a super partner and do laundry while she’s gone. Homemakers do important work too, okay? Kara easily beats the alien.

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The Flash Season 3 Episode 17: Duet Recap [Video]

~ Metacrone ~ 2 Comments

Duet

Welcome to the first ever, epic, Flash-Supergirl-Legends-Arrow musical crossover episode! Did anyone actually get to join in from Arrow? Malcom Merlyn/John Barrowman was an Arrow character until he moved to Legends this year, so we’ll count him. This is a reunion of all sorts, with Grant Gustin, Melissa Benoist, and Darren Criss/Music Meister having starred together on Glee, various combinations having gone to college together, and others knowing each other through previous work or longtime friendship. Fun times all around.

Previously on The Flash and Supergirl, Kara broke up with her boyfriend, Mon El, because she found out that he’s actually the Crown Prince of Daxam, rather than a lowly palace guard as he’d originally told her. Her planet, Krypton, has always hated Daxam, its sister planet. The Kryptonians inadvertently destroyed Daxam, as well, when they destroyed their own planet, through their own environmental arrogance. Despite the fact that Mon El has a much better reason to hate Kara than she does to hate him, she continues to find reasons to nurture her racism while telling herself it’s in the name of truth and justice. It’s all very alt-right, while supposedly being feminist. Except the word feminism doesn’t mean what the Berlantiverse thinks it means.

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Supergirl Season 2 Episode 16: Star-Crossed Recap

~ Metacrone

SPG216Kara&TeriH

Sooo, it was an interesting night on Supergirl. We had three high profile guest stars. Winn was unlucky in love, AGAIN, but refused to accept it. Maggie and Alex officially deserve more screen time. Alex can get you Hamilton tickets if you need them.

Oh yeah. We also confirmed that Mon El is the Crown Prince of Daxam. And that he lied about this to Kara. Which she finds unforgivable. There were some threads woven through the episode pointing out Kara’s lingering prejudices towards Daxamites in general, and Mon El in particular. Teri Hatcher, as Mon El’s mom Queen Rhea, took good care of her little boy in this regard. Winn’s storyline with Lyra was also used to highlight Kara’s arrogance and inflexibility. Given how long I’ve been calling out Kara for those traits, it was a very satisfying episode in that way.

Kara and Mon El start the episode enjoying Kara’s funemployment with a Netflix and junk food binge. Mon El suggests that they watch one of those movies where people just break out into song out of nowhere. Kara asks if he means a musical, and suggests Funny Face, gushing about the whole idea for a few minutes. Chris Wood is visibly holding back laughter while she gushes. Then they confess how happy they are with each other to each other and are generally perfect and cute and adorable and in love.

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Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Episode 15: Fellowship of the Spear Recap

~ Metacrone

LOT215Len&Damien

Captain Cold is back for his husband partner! Not the evolved, heroic version of Lenny that Barry Allen inspired, but still, he’s flesh and blood, in the here and now, and there don’t seem to be any time consequences after him, so I’ll take it. Let’s not talk about the version that sacrificed himself any more, I’m getting verklempt.

We start the episode in a battlefield in the middle of World War 1, because even though we have a time machine, we can’t go a few weeks forward or backward and complete the mission when the battle isn’t being fought. Where would the fun be in that? The characters all note how dire the situation is, so that we will worry about them for the entire episode. Remember Hawkman and Leonard Snart died last season, so ANYONE COULD DIE.*

Let’s jump back 72 hours. The Legends examine the fragments of the Spear in their possession. They have to find the Legion of Doom’s evil lair to collect the last fragment from them. Rip knows that they’ve been camping out at the Vanishing Point, so off we go. Len sacrificed himself there exactly a season ago, in S1 Ep15, Destiny.

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Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Episode 14: Moonshot Recap

~ Metacrone

LOT215Sara&Rip

This week, we go to the moon with Ray and the Reverse Flash! We lose another member of the Justice Society of America. And Rip figures out what the rest of us have known for a long time: Sara Lance is a much better captain than he is. I spent most of season 1 yelling at Sara and Snart to stage a mutiny. Also, a duet by Victor Garber and Dominic Purcell, which is the kind of thing that makes this show must see TV.

We start with original Rip dropping Henry Heywood/Commander Steel off in Manhattan in 1965, where he will be responsible for protecting the last piece of the Spear of Destiny. Moments later, new Rip, Nate, Amaya and Sara arrive to find them and retrieve the Spear fragment. We all know it won’t be that simple, though, or there won’t be an episode.

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Riverdale Season 1 Chapter Seven: A Lonely Place Recap

~ Metacrone

RVD107Pols&BetsinAttic

This week we are in a Wes Craven movie, among other things. I really wanted Jughead’s new home to mean that he’s Harry Potter, but Wes Craven has a movie called The People Under the Stairs, so that interpretation has to win out. For now. Not giving up completely on the idea of the Blossoms as the anti-Weasleys.

Jughead starts his voiceover musing on what makes a place feel like home. Warmth, familiarity, love, safety, acceptance, an idealized version of the American Dream? While he’s speaking, we see him sitting in a “typical” mid 20th century American kitchen with the Coopers, Jason Blossom, and Veronica. Jughead looks disturbed every time he notices something new in the scenario. Everyone else is blissfully happy. The room looks like something out of a Wes Anderson movie. Hal hands Jughead the utensils to carve the turkey that’s on the table. Jughead looks over to see his dad alone in a dark, messy living room watching TV. The knife disappears and Archie comes over to ask why Jughead stabbed him in the back. Sure enough, that’s where the knife is.

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Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Episode 13: Land of the Lost Recap

~ Metacrone

LOT213Sara&Rip

This week we finally get original flavor Rip back, or as close to it as he’s ever going to be. This show has found its rhythm in season 2 and is currently the best in the Berlantiverse at doing what it sets out to do. It’s become such a joy to watch, and on top of that we get Sara Lance fighting Sara Lance! I could’ve watched another 10 minutes of Sara on Sara hand-to-hand.

Sara and Jax are trying to find out the location of Nate’s grandfather and the last piece of the Spear of Destiny using the medallion, interfaced with Gideon. Things aren’t going well. Nate rushes in, all rude and impatient with Gideon. Gideon doesn’t appreciate the slight. Best not to insult the AI who runs the ship you live in, buddy.

Evil Rip is still in the brig, and calling for Gideon. She tries to ignore him, since she’s not supposed to talk to the bad man, but finally relents to tell him she’s supposed to ignore him. He uses three code words on her: “Spaniel, broad, bicycle.” She tries to refuse the order, but Rip repeats it. The brig door opens, and every other door on the ship slams shut. The team realizes what Rip is doing.

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