GOTHAM S01E03 – The Balloonman
This week’s episode bears little significance to the probable endgame of the premise, but it turns out weirdly to offer much more consistency in build-up and thematic feature. The highlight of the week is the first thrive towards the establishment of vigilantism in Gotham city, which is long-stricken by corrupt men in power. The vigilante chooses the weather balloon as the weapon of choice and it sounds quite absurd yet intriguing, and silly yet fun at the same time. That practically sums up this week’s episode and in pretty much can be used to summarize the whole series at the current rate.
(+) The tone of this show will continue to revolve around the corruption and criminality in Gotham, which is by now quite established.
(+) This episode feels better because I think that it is written with better cohesion, direction and motivation than last week’s “Selina Kyle”. Well, at least they also got the bad guy’s (or not) motivation on the spot.
(+) Looking on the bright side, Ostwald Cobblepot is still running (and stealing) the show on his own and Jim Gordon is the one with a moral compass to do the police work.
(-) “Gotham” is still not rooting or growing on me – a big concern whether the series can relief to its full potential and vision.
(-) I wonder how much weapons are left for the showrunners to use since the fatigueness is about to set in.
(-) When you thought that Oswald Cobblepot will be out of the picture for some time, he quickly returns to the city and is now working for the rival boss. I want to see him experiencing more desperation and psychopathic behaviours during his time driven out of Gotham.
(-) I really hope they do have some characters in the arsenal for Jim Gordon to really work with because all I can see is a bunch of incompetent cops on the force. It seems like the villains are providing the most interesting arcs on the show.
(-) It is true when I said this last week that the only way forward is to continue to hinge on the procedural genre – which is not necessarily a good thing. Downhill will come any moments now.
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. S02E03 – Making Friends and Influencing People
After spending the whole week teasing about the possibility of Simmons already defected to HYDRA, it takes no longer than 10 minutes to resolve it neatly that Simmons is now officially a double agent. This week, HYDRA and SHIELD races on to hunt for the same assets – Donnie Gill AKA Blizzard is one of those hunted. This week’s episode marks another step in the positive side of the show, which is threatened by inferiority in the beginning of last season.
(+) Once again, this episode is propelling the series into a definite zone of character-driven story week in week out.
(+) The new SHIELD continues to work in a way unlike before. There was a time when SHIELD will let these unwilling super-humans out of the grid in the wilderness, but it is now likely that SHIELD will do anything to deny them from being seized by HYDRA. That explains why Skye decides to gun down assets.
(+) Characters are really the biggest influence on the series. People that you hated so much last season (Skye, Fitz and Simmons, even for Raina) are evolving into something more solid. Even Coulson is now a different person.
(+) Donnie Gill is another example of how SHIELD has got their villains or baddies correctly integrated in the episodes of this season. After a strong outing of The Absorbing Man, the story of this week offers a redemption for that character which was misguided in the first season.
(+) That scene between Ward and Fitz is gold and heart-wrenching.
(-) Ward gives more role this week, but I fear his redemption story can be a distraction at the moment.
(-) There is no clear direction of how this season will eventually lead up to The Avengers: Age of Ultron yet. Let’s just say the brainwashing procedure shown in this episode may have something to do with Baron Strucker.
THE FLASH S01E01 - Pilot
The pilot episode of the new DC Comic superhero - The Flash does a serviceable job to introduce the character, secondary characters and the setting of Central City into the same mix that makes Arrow a great success. The first episode touches on the fallout from the failed particle accelerator disaster and our hero dealing with the re-imagination of Weather Wizard.
(+) They get the casting right. Grant Gustin is without question, the most accurate actor to don the titular character by vigilante and Barry Allen by day job as an assistant forensic investigator.
(+) The supporting characters are quickly established and handled well. I enjoyed watching these characters - Dr Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), Henry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) and Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin), particularly in how the on-screen chemistry is established together with Barry.
(+) The tones are very consistent with those that make Arrow TV series a success – gritty, focused and balance in humour; albeit lighter.
(+) The pilot episode has more hearts and emotions than in any other superhero-themed TV series so far.
(+) Even with occasionally campy actions and illogical facts, the series cares about being fun than getting all too serious.
(-) With the fallout from the accident nine months ago, it is clear that the focus of the premise could be relying too much on finding the meta-humans – something that reminiscent Arrow in the first season (a point when Arrow is struggling to stand up nicely).
(-) The whole set up on the villain of the week – Weather Wizard is badly done. When will we respect villains as they are?
ARROW S03E01 - The Calm
The season premiere of Arrow continues the momentum from the last season. Canary is back in town, Green Arrow is given the recognition he deserved and the city is facing the third wave of the Vertigo. Behind those significant events, the city is experiencing a drop in crime rate and the fate of Queen Consolidated remains uncertain.
(+) The first episode of each new season is always about coping from the event from the preceding finale and this works the same – as shown in the week’s episode title. They get it right by justifying Arrow’s fear and emotion about his immediate future with everything that happens to those around him.
(+) The visual treat never disappoints with action sequences are always the strongest plus for the show.
(+) The addition of Atom (Brandon Routh) is mesmerizing and effective to set the future stories.
The start of the whole flashback sequence of Oliver’s third year in isolation – this time in post-Lian Yu excursion in Hong Kong, is filled with promising potential and potent story building.
(-) The events in this episode is not entirely engaging, partially affected by CW’s obsession of not leaving out a single romantic part in any episode.
(-) The whole Vertigo story arc is very tiring and I am not sure why they never make this character more role to play in the previous seasons. But the fact that Peter Stormare is donning the new impersonation of the character means we might stick with this for more.
This week’s episode bears little significance to the probable endgame of the premise, but it turns out weirdly to offer much more consistency in build-up and thematic feature. The highlight of the week is the first thrive towards the establishment of vigilantism in Gotham city, which is long-stricken by corrupt men in power. The vigilante chooses the weather balloon as the weapon of choice and it sounds quite absurd yet intriguing, and silly yet fun at the same time. That practically sums up this week’s episode and in pretty much can be used to summarize the whole series at the current rate.
(+) The tone of this show will continue to revolve around the corruption and criminality in Gotham, which is by now quite established.
(+) This episode feels better because I think that it is written with better cohesion, direction and motivation than last week’s “Selina Kyle”. Well, at least they also got the bad guy’s (or not) motivation on the spot.
(+) Looking on the bright side, Ostwald Cobblepot is still running (and stealing) the show on his own and Jim Gordon is the one with a moral compass to do the police work.
(-) “Gotham” is still not rooting or growing on me – a big concern whether the series can relief to its full potential and vision.
(-) I wonder how much weapons are left for the showrunners to use since the fatigueness is about to set in.
(-) When you thought that Oswald Cobblepot will be out of the picture for some time, he quickly returns to the city and is now working for the rival boss. I want to see him experiencing more desperation and psychopathic behaviours during his time driven out of Gotham.
(-) I really hope they do have some characters in the arsenal for Jim Gordon to really work with because all I can see is a bunch of incompetent cops on the force. It seems like the villains are providing the most interesting arcs on the show.
(-) It is true when I said this last week that the only way forward is to continue to hinge on the procedural genre – which is not necessarily a good thing. Downhill will come any moments now.
Rating: C+
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. S02E03 – Making Friends and Influencing People
After spending the whole week teasing about the possibility of Simmons already defected to HYDRA, it takes no longer than 10 minutes to resolve it neatly that Simmons is now officially a double agent. This week, HYDRA and SHIELD races on to hunt for the same assets – Donnie Gill AKA Blizzard is one of those hunted. This week’s episode marks another step in the positive side of the show, which is threatened by inferiority in the beginning of last season.
(+) Once again, this episode is propelling the series into a definite zone of character-driven story week in week out.
(+) The new SHIELD continues to work in a way unlike before. There was a time when SHIELD will let these unwilling super-humans out of the grid in the wilderness, but it is now likely that SHIELD will do anything to deny them from being seized by HYDRA. That explains why Skye decides to gun down assets.
(+) Characters are really the biggest influence on the series. People that you hated so much last season (Skye, Fitz and Simmons, even for Raina) are evolving into something more solid. Even Coulson is now a different person.
(+) Donnie Gill is another example of how SHIELD has got their villains or baddies correctly integrated in the episodes of this season. After a strong outing of The Absorbing Man, the story of this week offers a redemption for that character which was misguided in the first season.
(+) That scene between Ward and Fitz is gold and heart-wrenching.
(-) Ward gives more role this week, but I fear his redemption story can be a distraction at the moment.
(-) There is no clear direction of how this season will eventually lead up to The Avengers: Age of Ultron yet. Let’s just say the brainwashing procedure shown in this episode may have something to do with Baron Strucker.
Rating: A-
THE FLASH S01E01 - Pilot
The pilot episode of the new DC Comic superhero - The Flash does a serviceable job to introduce the character, secondary characters and the setting of Central City into the same mix that makes Arrow a great success. The first episode touches on the fallout from the failed particle accelerator disaster and our hero dealing with the re-imagination of Weather Wizard.
(+) They get the casting right. Grant Gustin is without question, the most accurate actor to don the titular character by vigilante and Barry Allen by day job as an assistant forensic investigator.
(+) The supporting characters are quickly established and handled well. I enjoyed watching these characters - Dr Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), Henry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) and Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin), particularly in how the on-screen chemistry is established together with Barry.
(+) The tones are very consistent with those that make Arrow TV series a success – gritty, focused and balance in humour; albeit lighter.
(+) The pilot episode has more hearts and emotions than in any other superhero-themed TV series so far.
(+) Even with occasionally campy actions and illogical facts, the series cares about being fun than getting all too serious.
(-) With the fallout from the accident nine months ago, it is clear that the focus of the premise could be relying too much on finding the meta-humans – something that reminiscent Arrow in the first season (a point when Arrow is struggling to stand up nicely).
(-) The whole set up on the villain of the week – Weather Wizard is badly done. When will we respect villains as they are?
Rating: B+
ARROW S03E01 - The Calm
The season premiere of Arrow continues the momentum from the last season. Canary is back in town, Green Arrow is given the recognition he deserved and the city is facing the third wave of the Vertigo. Behind those significant events, the city is experiencing a drop in crime rate and the fate of Queen Consolidated remains uncertain.
(+) The first episode of each new season is always about coping from the event from the preceding finale and this works the same – as shown in the week’s episode title. They get it right by justifying Arrow’s fear and emotion about his immediate future with everything that happens to those around him.
(+) The visual treat never disappoints with action sequences are always the strongest plus for the show.
(+) The addition of Atom (Brandon Routh) is mesmerizing and effective to set the future stories.
The start of the whole flashback sequence of Oliver’s third year in isolation – this time in post-Lian Yu excursion in Hong Kong, is filled with promising potential and potent story building.
(-) The events in this episode is not entirely engaging, partially affected by CW’s obsession of not leaving out a single romantic part in any episode.
(-) The whole Vertigo story arc is very tiring and I am not sure why they never make this character more role to play in the previous seasons. But the fact that Peter Stormare is donning the new impersonation of the character means we might stick with this for more.
Rating: B+