This Week In The CW DC Universe (Ep. 2)

As a reminder, with the "This Week In The CW DC Universe" series, I'll be doing quick thoughts reviews only to cover some episodes on a case by case situation. The Penny For Your TV Thoughts full easter egg filled reviews will still continue on and will not be entirely affected by this new format. Think of this as a means to cover certain episodes for shows that I don't normally get to review on a weekly basis. With that out of the way, let's get into the reviews. This week in the world of CW's impressively expanding Arrowverse may not have been the strongest, but there were definitely some highlights worth mentioning.

Supergirl

S3 Ep. 13 - 7/10

This week's episode of Supergirl was decent, but nothing particularly noteworthy overall. Strangely enough, the best part of the episode was everything involving Wynn, J'onn, and Mon-El handling ship repairs and later talking about relationships. The banter between the characters coupled with the intrigue of advanced technology jibber jabber made for some entertaining filler scenes. We also get another inside look into the Legion of Superheroes' relationship (primarily Mon-El and Saturn Girl's) which I really enjoyed.

The discussion scene between Mon-El and J'onn about marriage may just be one of my favorites of the series thus far. Such an interesting scene diving into alien marital cultures and the emotional rewards and burdens that follow such life changing decisions. Honestly, I wouldn't mind having a mini series of just Legion adventures set into the future with a frequent special guest appearance by Martian Manhunter showing up as a wise father-like figure that helps put Mon-El in check. Think Jay Garrick on The Flash as a close reference. Either way, this episode gives me hope that this season just might be setting the stage for such a promisingly entertaining possibility as I've actually gotten more interested into the Legion of Superheroes component than the actual season villain story.

The Julia/Purity world killer stuff? Unfortunately, this was just another reminder of why I feel the producers have cheapen out on the unique world killer character designs from the comics. There's nothing intimidating about Reign except for her capabilities and resilience. The same can now be said for Purity. That is, and I'm surprisingly still holding out hope for this, if they're secretely leading up to them undergoing some profound visual transformation towards the end. Seeing Purity use her sonic wave powers just came across as an upgraded version of Black Siren and Black Canary's metahuman powers from Arrow and The Flash. The whole spit identity dilemma? Again, I feel like I've seen this concept done several times in other comic book TV properties. Overall, aside from some solid filler scenes with J'onn and Mon-El, this was merely watchable at best.

Highlight Scene

Sam's blackout/near transformation scene with Lena was actually pretty nerve wrecking. I'm not sure if it was the overall direction or the performances (or all the above), but for a brief moment, I actually got nervous for Lena's life. How will Lena help Sam? Hmmm.

The Flash

S4 Ep. 13 - 7/10

This week's Flash was definitely one of the weaker episodes of the season in my opinion, yet it still managed to deliver something entertaining and slightly thought provoking in the end. I loved the idea of Barry having to align himself temporarily with some of the criminals that he placed behind bars as the Flash. This may not be the first time where we've seen this concept tackled on the show, but it is one of the more refreshing plot ideas for this genre where we actually get to somewhat spend time with the villains aside from watching them simply wreck havoc on a weekly basis. As brief as it was, I did really enjoy the interactions between Barry and the bus metas all leading up to the big Thinker twist in the end.

As for the twist? I suppose I can safely say that I didn't see it coming, yet it didn't feel as rewarding as surprise plot twists go. Personally, seeing him take over Hazard's body, making a meta human roofied drink for his wife, then dancing with her didn't come across to me as a jaw dropping cliffhanger. I guess I'm not 100% onboard with the Thinker now being a body hopping parasite instead of the dangerous high intellect strategist that he was originally presented as. In regards to Ralph disguising himself as the Warden and considering himself a failure, this was just another step into the Elongated Man superhero arc that I enjoyed. Truthfully, I'm much more invested in everything else surrounding him. Although, the Davoe disguise courtroom scene was fantastic. Overall, not a bad episode, but nothing particularly memorable.

Bonus Thoughts

Ever since the big murder trial twist, I've been missing the original Thinker actor's cleverly devious stamp on the show. Neil Sandilands brought forth a refreshingly different kind of menacing presence to the series' roster of villains while also looking aesthetically interesting. It's a shame that they had to get rid of him for plot. Well, at least we got to see him somewhat return during this episode right?

Bonus Thoughts

One of the best pop culture easter eggs this season in my opinion has got to be the reference to "It" to which Cisco says that Ralph's failed morphing attempt looks similiar to the creepy painting from said film. Well, when you put the two side by side...he's gotta point. Yikes!

Arrow

S4 Ep. 13 - 9/10

Ending the week off is what I believe to be the best episode of the four CW DC series as Arrow places a highly climactic seal on the Cayden James story arc. Everything from the flashbacks (which I wasn't expecting) giving audiences a sympathetic layer to our villain's motivations that we were only merely told previously. One of the things Arrow has done a fantastic job with this season is giving its villains the flashback treatment in order to flesh them out as being more than just city dominating and/or murderous psychopaths. Although I wasn't a fan of William deciding to throw himself into the midst of a life threatening situation, I do love the way in which showing Oliver and his son together brought forth a glimmer of humanity to Cayden's character. I can happily say that this season utilized and developed its "first" season villain very well.

The Canary-Siren battle was a nice dramatic follow up to last week's tension driven cliffhanger. Also, I do like the way in which Quentin is now being fully used as Laurel's stepping stone towards redemption. I'm just hoping that things won't be as simple as a 2-3 episode arc leading up to Black Siren changing her entire outfit and name as the "new Black Canary" while Dinah continues to go off the deep end. However, at the end of the day, there's really just one essential scene that had me jumping up and down with joy. That's right. Words cannot describe how awesome that final scene was showing Richard Dragon coldly killing off Cayden right after outing himself as his son's killer. It's by far one of the best season villain reveals on the show and an incredible way to end off an overall solid episode.

Bonus Thoughts

Aside from getting exactly what I was hoping for with Richard Dragon being the true season villain as opposed to Cayden James, we also get a fun Flash cameo. If you've been following my reviews for a while, you'd know that I've been advocating the idea that this universe would greatly benefit with a bit more interconnectivity between the shows outside of the crossover events. Arrow offers up an entertaining example of this with Barry's transportation help. However, can't Oliver simply ask Barry to speed run the bomb away and place everyone in Cayden's group behind bars? Just a thought.