Today we’re gonna talk about a few of the major events from this past week on some of our favorite shows. This post will contain spoilers from the week of May 17-25 for the following shows; Arrow, Gotham, Agents of SHIELD, and The Americans.
Addition through Subtraction
So when Arrow premiered, it was better than people expected and they finished season one with a stellar finale, Season 2 was also solid and a fanbase was established. Season 3 however, got a bit muddled in Bat-Mythology, and season 4 was very up and down. So, when they killed off Laurel, I applauded at the exit of the character, even if I didn’t find the funeral as moving as they probably wanted me to. Last night’s finale did something similar – they exited a ton of the cast. And while season 4 as a whole was underwhelming, and this episode was pretty forgettable, getting rid of (at least for now) Diggle, Lyla, Thea, Lance, and Donna, as well as the Dhark storyline – should allow the writers to refocus on Mayor Oliver next season. With any luck, that will be enough to restore the show back to its former glory.
Addition through Subtraction, Part II
As much as people praise The CW’s DC lineup, ABC’s Agents of SHIELD gets crapped on just as often. And if we’re being honest with ourselves, comparing the rookie seasons, Arrow was far better than AoS. HOWEVER, if you’re looking at the last couple years, SHIELD probably takes it. So last week, when AoS finished their third season, and killed off their most annoying character (Lincoln), I couldn’t help but think of Arrow. Afterall, they had just done the same with Laurel. The difference here is, AoS actually made me care (slightly) about it, cause Lincoln was able to take Hive with him. And SHIELD‘s Hive, just like Arrow‘s HIVE, was played out and needed to go. So kudos to Marvel for killing off Lincoln and Hive and giving them their cool final moment in space.
BONUS: Fitz’s invisible gun was pretty cool, and Goth Daisy looks hotter than regular Daisy. Very ’90s…
A Convincing Gordon, Clayface is not…
The Gotham finale offered little in the way of closure, but it was big on setup. Not only for next season but for establishing a world that will one day necessitate a Batman. In the meantime, Arkham is raided, Strange is arrested, and Fish Mooney drove a whole bus load of crazies into the city. One of whom might have been Killer Croc, and another who looked a lot like Bruce…WTF – Evil Twin? Clone? Ben Reily? Clayface II?
But the real Bruce still doesn’t know who killed his folks and the Court of Owls are running the city unchecked. Despite all of this, the thing that stuck out most to me was Ben McKenzie’s performance at Clayface as Jim Gordon. It was campy and fun, and felt like it was right out of the animated series. Well played Gotham. Your finale was a little frustrating from a story standpoint, but at least you had some fun with Clayface.
Careful Who You Mess With
Well, it seemed like a fairly tame episode of The Americans this week until that last 75 seconds there. The whole episode was masterful storytelling as usual, but there wasn’t that one moment I felt compelled to talk about. That is until two would be rapists picked the wrong Mother/Daughter combo to approach. Elizabeth did her best to put on a normal front, even offering up her wallet to these asshats – but when they reached for Paige, Momma Bear’s instincts kicked in. Mere seconds later the two sexual predators were transformed into one battered coward on the run, and one neck shaped knife-holder lying on the ground. Well done Elizabeth, well done. Now we just need Paige to keep her shit together…
Images: The CW, FX, Fox, ABC
Grizzly Bomb 