Monday, March 8, 2021
Starman Plays The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk : The Amulet Of Chaos - Part 62
In which we finally confront Zangdar and prepare to kick seven kinds of crap out of the dungeon master. Will our heroes succeed? Will this be the final chapter? Why am I asking you?
Sunday, March 7, 2021
Superman and Lois: Season 1, Episode 2 - Heritage
For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.
Plot
As the family adjust to life in Smallville and Lana Lang Cushing invites them to a cook-out to welcome them to the small town, Lois continues to wage war upon Morgan Edge. Meanwhile, the Stranger seeks out an unlikely ally, even as General Lane and Clark continue their search.
The Fortress of Solitude seen here doesn't resemble the one pictured in earlier episodes of Supergirl. (It's appearance may have been changed after Crisis.)
Performances
Any worries that Elizabeth Tulloch wouldn't be given anything to do as Lois Lane are blown away by this episode. Here we see Lois Lane, defender of the innocent, unwilling to take Hell from anyone but ready to give it back in spades to anyone who dares cross her.
It's au understated moment, but Jordan Elsass gets a great delivery on the line where Jonathan tells Lois that they both left their lives in Metropolis as Lois is trying to lift her son's spirits regarding everything he lost in moving to Smallville for the sake of his brother. Jonathan is immediately established as wise beyond his years, clearly recognizing his mother is also trying to convince herself they've done the right thing given her own career setbacks in coming to Smallville.
Artistry
Again, the special effects work is of cinematic quality, with the fight between The Stranger and Superman being of particular note.
Super Trivia
Clark's description of how he made the Fortress of Solitude is taken directly from Superman: The Movie.
The hologram of Jor-El refers to Kryptonopolis being the second largest city on Krypton and the center of the House of El. This is taken directly from the Superman comics. (Kandor was the largest city on Krypton, until it was shrunk and stolen by Brainiac.)
Lois' research into Morgan Edge's dirty business dealings leads her to investigate the city of New Carthage. In the comics, this is a college town in upstate New York, where Dick Grayson went to college at Hudson University.
Chrissy Beppo's name is a nod to Beppo the Super Monkey - one of the many Super Pets that Superman had in the Silver Age of Comics. Beppo was a Kryptonian monkey who was used in a test rocket Jor-El made before sending his son to Earth. He later made his way to Earth and gained the same enhanced abilities as Krypto the Super Dog and Kal-El.
Smallville Mayor George Dean is played by actor Eric Keenleyside. Keenleyside had a role in the pilot episode of Smallville, playing Chloe Sullivan's father. Sadly, his scene was cut.
One of General Lane's underlings is named Rosetti. This may be a nod to Colonel Reno Rosetti - a member of the Human Defense Corps, which was a group established by then President Lex Luthor to end America's dependence on non-human superheroes.
One of the small towns Lois says Morgan Edge ruined was named Granville. This was the name of a small Kansas town in the television series Smalllville which housed a secret lab used to study Kara Zor-El's ship.
Captain Luthor gives General Lane a dog-tag with the number 7734 on it, as he claimed to be a friend of General Lane on his Earth, where they both fought Kal-El of Krypton together. This is a nod to Project 7734 - a group led by General Sam Lane in the post-Crisis DC Comics Universe, which was a secret US Military imitative devoted to defending the Earth from alien invaders.
Technobabble
The device Lois and General Lane use to summon Superman is called an ELT.
General Lane was able to use a residence identifier to track Captain Luthor's ship.
The explosion of Captain Luthor's ship is strong enough to knock Superman out of orbit.
Jor-El speaks of the photo-nucleic effect that Jordan caused (i.e. his heat vision) being insignificant.
Captain Luthor has a robot duplicate that is as well armored as he is.
Captain Luthor's drone deploys a sonic projectile weapon capable of knocking back an entire squadron of soldiers.
Dialogue Triumphs
Lois: (voice-over) What can you say about leaving a place you loved? All the memories? All the experiences? It can be heartbreaking... until the excitement takes over. Because you soon realize you get to make new memories. Have new experiences... And best of all... Fall in love all over again.
(Clark is wearing a heavy winter coat. He hands Jordan a similar coat.)
Jordan: Why do we need these big winter jackets? Are we flying somewhere?
Clark: Kind of have to. Hold on, okay?
(Jordan smiles as his father holds him and looks him in the eyes. Suddenly the two jet into the air and a small sonic boom is heard. Jonathan looks up at his brother, clearly jealous.)
Jonathan: How come he gets to go flying with Dad and I have to go to school?
General Lane disagrees with Clark and Lois' decision to tell their children that Clark is Superman.
General Lane has an aide named Rosetti.
Morgan Edge says his plan with bring 600 jobs to Smallville.
Lois questions Edge on his numbers and notes that his plans for New Carthage missed their target job creation numbers by 50% and paid below a living wage.
Edge admits the mining project in New Carthage underperformed, but that was not his fault.
Kyle Cushing says he looked into the New Carthage situation and blames the failure on people trying to unionize and demanding a wage that prevented Morgan Edge from making a profit right off the bat. He claims that what Edge is offering is short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain.
While at the cookout at the Cushing house, Lois realizes that her article on Morgan Edge was rewritten without her permission into a puff piece praising him.
Captqain Luthor attacks the Department of Defense.
Captain Luthor claims to have been a friend and ally of General Sam Lane on his Earth. He gives General Lane a dog-tag, shaped like the House of El seal, with the number 7734 engraved on the back.
The Captain Luthor that attacks the DOD is revealed to be a drone.
General Lane admits that the DOD has a secret stockpile of Kryptonite that it gathered to stop people from using it against Superman.
Clark tells Lois about the secret Kryptonite stockpile.
As the family adjust to life in Smallville and Lana Lang Cushing invites them to a cook-out to welcome them to the small town, Lois continues to wage war upon Morgan Edge. Meanwhile, the Stranger seeks out an unlikely ally, even as General Lane and Clark continue their search.
Influences
Injustice: Gods Among Us (idea of evil Superman taking over the world), The Death of Superman (black Superman costume), Superman: New Krypton (reference to Project 7734) and Superman: The Movie (general appearance of Jor-El hologram)
Goofs
The Fortress of Solitude seen here doesn't resemble the one pictured in earlier episodes of Supergirl. (It's appearance may have been changed after Crisis.)
Performances
Any worries that Elizabeth Tulloch wouldn't be given anything to do as Lois Lane are blown away by this episode. Here we see Lois Lane, defender of the innocent, unwilling to take Hell from anyone but ready to give it back in spades to anyone who dares cross her.
It's au understated moment, but Jordan Elsass gets a great delivery on the line where Jonathan tells Lois that they both left their lives in Metropolis as Lois is trying to lift her son's spirits regarding everything he lost in moving to Smallville for the sake of his brother. Jonathan is immediately established as wise beyond his years, clearly recognizing his mother is also trying to convince herself they've done the right thing given her own career setbacks in coming to Smallville.
Artistry
Again, the special effects work is of cinematic quality, with the fight between The Stranger and Superman being of particular note.
Super Trivia
Clark's description of how he made the Fortress of Solitude is taken directly from Superman: The Movie.
The hologram of Jor-El refers to Kryptonopolis being the second largest city on Krypton and the center of the House of El. This is taken directly from the Superman comics. (Kandor was the largest city on Krypton, until it was shrunk and stolen by Brainiac.)
Lois' research into Morgan Edge's dirty business dealings leads her to investigate the city of New Carthage. In the comics, this is a college town in upstate New York, where Dick Grayson went to college at Hudson University.
Chrissy Beppo's name is a nod to Beppo the Super Monkey - one of the many Super Pets that Superman had in the Silver Age of Comics. Beppo was a Kryptonian monkey who was used in a test rocket Jor-El made before sending his son to Earth. He later made his way to Earth and gained the same enhanced abilities as Krypto the Super Dog and Kal-El.
Smallville Mayor George Dean is played by actor Eric Keenleyside. Keenleyside had a role in the pilot episode of Smallville, playing Chloe Sullivan's father. Sadly, his scene was cut.
One of General Lane's underlings is named Rosetti. This may be a nod to Colonel Reno Rosetti - a member of the Human Defense Corps, which was a group established by then President Lex Luthor to end America's dependence on non-human superheroes.
One of the small towns Lois says Morgan Edge ruined was named Granville. This was the name of a small Kansas town in the television series Smalllville which housed a secret lab used to study Kara Zor-El's ship.
Captain Luthor gives General Lane a dog-tag with the number 7734 on it, as he claimed to be a friend of General Lane on his Earth, where they both fought Kal-El of Krypton together. This is a nod to Project 7734 - a group led by General Sam Lane in the post-Crisis DC Comics Universe, which was a secret US Military imitative devoted to defending the Earth from alien invaders.
Technobabble
The device Lois and General Lane use to summon Superman is called an ELT.
General Lane was able to use a residence identifier to track Captain Luthor's ship.
The explosion of Captain Luthor's ship is strong enough to knock Superman out of orbit.
Jor-El speaks of the photo-nucleic effect that Jordan caused (i.e. his heat vision) being insignificant.
Captain Luthor has a robot duplicate that is as well armored as he is.
Captain Luthor's drone deploys a sonic projectile weapon capable of knocking back an entire squadron of soldiers.
Dialogue Triumphs
Lois: (voice-over) What can you say about leaving a place you loved? All the memories? All the experiences? It can be heartbreaking... until the excitement takes over. Because you soon realize you get to make new memories. Have new experiences... And best of all... Fall in love all over again.
(Clark is wearing a heavy winter coat. He hands Jordan a similar coat.)
Jordan: Why do we need these big winter jackets? Are we flying somewhere?
Clark: Kind of have to. Hold on, okay?
(Jordan smiles as his father holds him and looks him in the eyes. Suddenly the two jet into the air and a small sonic boom is heard. Jonathan looks up at his brother, clearly jealous.)
Jonathan: How come he gets to go flying with Dad and I have to go to school?
Lois: At least we have the radio.
(General Lane and Clark are out on the porch of the Kent farm house. Night has fallen.)
General Lane: Sure is quiet out here... simple.
(There's a long pause. Clark says nothing but he seems to be bracing himself.)
General Lane: You still looking for the simple life? 'Cause those days are gone, Clark... long gone.
(Clark says nothing. He's too polite to argue.)
Clark: (starting to turn away) Let me know when you find the ship-
(General Lane and Clark are out on the porch of the Kent farm house. Night has fallen.)
General Lane: Sure is quiet out here... simple.
(There's a long pause. Clark says nothing but he seems to be bracing himself.)
General Lane: You still looking for the simple life? 'Cause those days are gone, Clark... long gone.
(Clark says nothing. He's too polite to argue.)
Clark: (starting to turn away) Let me know when you find the ship-
General Lane: (cutting him off) Why'd you move the family here? You took Lois away from where she needs to be, hurt Jonathan's football chances. Jordan's got no chance of fitting in with kids here. Must have had a hell of a reason.
(Clark says nothing, clearly uncomfortable with the direction this conversation is going.)
General Lane: You told the boys you're Superman!
Clark: Couldn't lie to 'em anymore.
General Lane: You sure as hell could.
Clark: Sam...
General Lane: You have any idea what you just did? You ruined their childhood, Clark! I've seen the toll this life's taken on Lois over the years. She never says anything to you, but I know! Now you're gonna put the boys through that same hell?
Clark: This is gonna keep my family together.
General Lane: No, Clark. It's gonna tear it apart.
Clark: Your dad knows that we told the boys. He figured it out the other night.
Lois: What'd he say?
Clark: Oh, you know, just that we're making the biggest mistake of our lives.
Lois: (smiles) See, now I know we're on the right track.
Clark: (chuckles, as he looks at Lois's laptop) What's that?
Lois: It is about an article I am working on about Morgan Edge.
Clark: Edge?
Lois: (protesting) He was at the Smallville city council meeting last night.
Clark: I thought you weren't getting involved?
Lois: Well... yes, but then he started spouting this BS about helping the town. Morgan Edge is not here to save Smallville, Kansas. He's here for cheap labor because people are desperate, just like he did with New Carthage and Hazel Green and Granville. He is eating these small towns from the inside out.
(Clark motions to the chair. Lois gets out of his way so he can look at what she has.)
Clark: Thank you. (reading outloud)"Morgan Edge is a corporate vampire". You remember that Edge owns the "Planet"?
Clark: Your dad knows that we told the boys. He figured it out the other night.
Lois: What'd he say?
Clark: Oh, you know, just that we're making the biggest mistake of our lives.
Lois: (smiles) See, now I know we're on the right track.
Clark: (chuckles, as he looks at Lois's laptop) What's that?
Lois: It is about an article I am working on about Morgan Edge.
Clark: Edge?
Lois: (protesting) He was at the Smallville city council meeting last night.
Clark: I thought you weren't getting involved?
Lois: Well... yes, but then he started spouting this BS about helping the town. Morgan Edge is not here to save Smallville, Kansas. He's here for cheap labor because people are desperate, just like he did with New Carthage and Hazel Green and Granville. He is eating these small towns from the inside out.
(Clark motions to the chair. Lois gets out of his way so he can look at what she has.)
Clark: Thank you. (reading outloud)"Morgan Edge is a corporate vampire". You remember that Edge owns the "Planet"?
Lois: So?
Clark: So he's not gonna let you publish this!
Lois: You know what, babe? You do your Superman stuff, and I will do my Lois Lane stuff.
(Clark raises his hands in surrender and takes the seat next to Lois, smiling, clearly in love with how she gets when she is angry.)
Lois: I'm serious, Clark. I'm getting this gut feeling that this is one of the reasons I was supposed to come to Smallville. I am not going to let Morgan Edge destroy this town like he did the others.
Lois: Jonathan... you're a really great brother, you know that? I know how much you gave up by saying yes to coming here. Your whole life's in Metropolis. Your girlfriend's there. Your entire identity is there, but you said yes to coming here anyway 'cause you wanted to help your brother.
Jonathan: (shrugs) You and I both had lives we left behind.
Lois: Yeah.
(Morgan Edge is holding a meeting of Daily Planet executives. Lois Lane walks up to him, ignoring the other people in the board room and the fact that Edge is talking.)
Morgan Edge: Let me make this very clear. Either the website gets more clicks, or various people sitting in this room will...
Lois: You rewrote my story.
Morgan Edge: I merely corrected what was wrong.
Lois: So just to confirm, we can't do any actual reporting here anymore, correct?
Morgan Edge: Ms. Lane, I won't have my paper printing this kind of nonsense.
Lois: That's what I thought.
(Lois drops an envelope on the desk before Edge and turns around to walk out.)
Morgan Edge: What's this?
(Lois stops and turns around.)
Lois: That is the best writing I have done since you took over.
(Lois walks past a female reporter on her way out.)
Female Reporter: He's going to crush you.
Lois: Let him try.
Lois: (voice-over) What can you say about leaving a place you loved? You hope it made you who you are... Challenged your beliefs...Pushed you out of your comfort zone...And gave you the strength to demand better... So you're prepared for what's to come.
Continuity
Jonathan never got a copy of the Smallville High School football team playbook, which he was meant to study before his first practice.
The head coach at Smallville High is named Gaines.
Jordan is taking two AP classes (he wanted to take more) and was put in Spanish instead of French.
Clark decides to keep Jordan home from school until they learn more about his powers.
Jonathan is still trying to maintain a distance relationship with his girlfriend, Eliza.
Captain Luthor attacks a black market weapons' dealer in Moldova searching for Kryptonite. He says that he hasn't had any and can't get anymore.
Captain Luthor's armor and suit are apparently powered by Kryptonite.
Clark takes Jordan to the Fortress of Solitude.
Sarah notices Jordan is missing.
Sean, Sarah's boyfriend, taunts Jonathan about not getting the playbook and warns him that Smallville High School already had a quarterback.
One of the other lead football players is named Timmy.
Clark confirms that the crystal Jordan found was a Sunstone and that it is basically a flash drive containing all the information that is known about Krypton, as well as an AI interface based on the personality of Jor-El.
Kryptonopolis was the second largest city of Krypton.
As Lois works in a local diner, she sees a woman watching her from a distance.
Lois runs into Lana and Kyle. Lana invites Lois and her family to a cook-out at her place at 7 pm the next evening.
Lois learns there is a city council meeting that night and that the mayor and Kyle have some big surprise planned. This is later revealed to be Morgan Edge coming to speak in person about his plans to revitalize Smallville.
According to Jor-El, Krypton's destruction was brought about by the natural resources being exhausted and war breaking out as people fought over what was left. It is suggested, but not stated outright, that advanced weapons may have triggered the destruction of the planet.
Clark: So he's not gonna let you publish this!
Lois: You know what, babe? You do your Superman stuff, and I will do my Lois Lane stuff.
(Clark raises his hands in surrender and takes the seat next to Lois, smiling, clearly in love with how she gets when she is angry.)
Lois: I'm serious, Clark. I'm getting this gut feeling that this is one of the reasons I was supposed to come to Smallville. I am not going to let Morgan Edge destroy this town like he did the others.
Lois: Jonathan... you're a really great brother, you know that? I know how much you gave up by saying yes to coming here. Your whole life's in Metropolis. Your girlfriend's there. Your entire identity is there, but you said yes to coming here anyway 'cause you wanted to help your brother.
Jonathan: (shrugs) You and I both had lives we left behind.
Lois: Yeah.
(Morgan Edge is holding a meeting of Daily Planet executives. Lois Lane walks up to him, ignoring the other people in the board room and the fact that Edge is talking.)
Morgan Edge: Let me make this very clear. Either the website gets more clicks, or various people sitting in this room will...
Lois: You rewrote my story.
Morgan Edge: I merely corrected what was wrong.
Lois: So just to confirm, we can't do any actual reporting here anymore, correct?
Morgan Edge: Ms. Lane, I won't have my paper printing this kind of nonsense.
Lois: That's what I thought.
(Lois drops an envelope on the desk before Edge and turns around to walk out.)
Morgan Edge: What's this?
(Lois stops and turns around.)
Lois: That is the best writing I have done since you took over.
(Lois walks past a female reporter on her way out.)
Female Reporter: He's going to crush you.
Lois: Let him try.
Lois: (voice-over) What can you say about leaving a place you loved? You hope it made you who you are... Challenged your beliefs...Pushed you out of your comfort zone...And gave you the strength to demand better... So you're prepared for what's to come.
Continuity
Jonathan never got a copy of the Smallville High School football team playbook, which he was meant to study before his first practice.
The head coach at Smallville High is named Gaines.
Jordan is taking two AP classes (he wanted to take more) and was put in Spanish instead of French.
Clark decides to keep Jordan home from school until they learn more about his powers.
Jonathan is still trying to maintain a distance relationship with his girlfriend, Eliza.
Captain Luthor attacks a black market weapons' dealer in Moldova searching for Kryptonite. He says that he hasn't had any and can't get anymore.
Captain Luthor's armor and suit are apparently powered by Kryptonite.
Clark takes Jordan to the Fortress of Solitude.
Sarah notices Jordan is missing.
Sean, Sarah's boyfriend, taunts Jonathan about not getting the playbook and warns him that Smallville High School already had a quarterback.
One of the other lead football players is named Timmy.
Clark confirms that the crystal Jordan found was a Sunstone and that it is basically a flash drive containing all the information that is known about Krypton, as well as an AI interface based on the personality of Jor-El.
Kryptonopolis was the second largest city of Krypton.
As Lois works in a local diner, she sees a woman watching her from a distance.
Lois runs into Lana and Kyle. Lana invites Lois and her family to a cook-out at her place at 7 pm the next evening.
Lois learns there is a city council meeting that night and that the mayor and Kyle have some big surprise planned. This is later revealed to be Morgan Edge coming to speak in person about his plans to revitalize Smallville.
According to Jor-El, Krypton's destruction was brought about by the natural resources being exhausted and war breaking out as people fought over what was left. It is suggested, but not stated outright, that advanced weapons may have triggered the destruction of the planet.
Lois takes Jordan and Jonathan with her to the city council meeting.
General Lane comes to talk to Clark in person about The Stranger.
Sarah is also at the city council meeting. Jordan lies and says he was feeling better when Sarah asks why he's there. Sarah also apologizes for not stepping in to help Jonathan with the whole playbook situation.
Lois sees the woman who was watching her at the meeting. She strikes up a conversation and learns that she is Chrissy Beppo - a writer with the Smallville Gazette.
The mayor of Smallville is George Dean.
General Lane comes to talk to Clark in person about The Stranger.
Sarah is also at the city council meeting. Jordan lies and says he was feeling better when Sarah asks why he's there. Sarah also apologizes for not stepping in to help Jonathan with the whole playbook situation.
Lois sees the woman who was watching her at the meeting. She strikes up a conversation and learns that she is Chrissy Beppo - a writer with the Smallville Gazette.
The mayor of Smallville is George Dean.
General Lane disagrees with Clark and Lois' decision to tell their children that Clark is Superman.
General Lane has an aide named Rosetti.
Captain Luthor is sighted in Mongolia, where he is shown to be searching for Kryptonite.
Morgan Edge says his plan with bring 600 jobs to Smallville.
Lois questions Edge on his numbers and notes that his plans for New Carthage missed their target job creation numbers by 50% and paid below a living wage.
Edge admits the mining project in New Carthage underperformed, but that was not his fault.
Again, Captain Luthor claims that Superman destroyed his planet.
Captain Luthor plants a bomb on his ship and sends it toward a city to force Superman to allow him to escape.
Jonathan asks for a chance to show he can run a play at football practice. Unfortunately, he is sabotaged by the other players.
Clark tells Lois about what her father said.
Lois tells Clark that she's working on an article on Morgan Edge and the other small towns he's ruined, including New Carthage, Hazel Green and Granville.
According to Jor-El, Jordan is not 1/100th as strong as Clark and his ability to hold solar radiation is vastly inferior to Clark's. He says there is no way, based on his tests, that Jordan can reliably replicate Clark's powers.
Captain Luthor plants a bomb on his ship and sends it toward a city to force Superman to allow him to escape.
Jonathan asks for a chance to show he can run a play at football practice. Unfortunately, he is sabotaged by the other players.
Clark tells Lois about what her father said.
Lois tells Clark that she's working on an article on Morgan Edge and the other small towns he's ruined, including New Carthage, Hazel Green and Granville.
According to Jor-El, Jordan is not 1/100th as strong as Clark and his ability to hold solar radiation is vastly inferior to Clark's. He says there is no way, based on his tests, that Jordan can reliably replicate Clark's powers.
Kyle Cushing says he looked into the New Carthage situation and blames the failure on people trying to unionize and demanding a wage that prevented Morgan Edge from making a profit right off the bat. He claims that what Edge is offering is short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain.
While at the cookout at the Cushing house, Lois realizes that her article on Morgan Edge was rewritten without her permission into a puff piece praising him.
Captqain Luthor attacks the Department of Defense.
Captain Luthor claims to have been a friend and ally of General Sam Lane on his Earth. He gives General Lane a dog-tag, shaped like the House of El seal, with the number 7734 engraved on the back.
The Captain Luthor that attacks the DOD is revealed to be a drone.
General Lane admits that the DOD has a secret stockpile of Kryptonite that it gathered to stop people from using it against Superman.
Clark tells Lois about the secret Kryptonite stockpile.
Jordan apologizes to Jonathan for not thanking him for agreeing to move for his benefit.
Jonathan promises to help Jordan figure out what's going on with his powers.
Clark gives Jordan a signal device of his own and tells him he can start going to school.
Lois goes to Metropolis and presents a letter to Morgan Edge. It says two words: I QUIT.
Lois takes a job with the Smallville Gazette. She discovers that Chrissy Beppo is the editor; not just a writer. She agrees to run Lois' article about Morgan Edge as it is.
Captain Luthor begins planning the construction of a new battle suit. His AI tells him it will take time to get the proper materials, but it seems this world's version of Kal-El is not entirely like the one from his, so they have time to prepare.
The final scene of the episode shows a memory of Captain Luthor fighting a Superman in a black suit, similar to the one worn by the evil Superman of Elseworlds.
Location
Moldova
Mongolia - Siberian Taiga Region
Washington DC - Department of Defense
The Bottom Line
Another solid episode that does better by Lois Lane than the pilot.
Jonathan promises to help Jordan figure out what's going on with his powers.
Clark gives Jordan a signal device of his own and tells him he can start going to school.
Lois goes to Metropolis and presents a letter to Morgan Edge. It says two words: I QUIT.
Lois takes a job with the Smallville Gazette. She discovers that Chrissy Beppo is the editor; not just a writer. She agrees to run Lois' article about Morgan Edge as it is.
Captain Luthor begins planning the construction of a new battle suit. His AI tells him it will take time to get the proper materials, but it seems this world's version of Kal-El is not entirely like the one from his, so they have time to prepare.
The final scene of the episode shows a memory of Captain Luthor fighting a Superman in a black suit, similar to the one worn by the evil Superman of Elseworlds.
Location
Moldova
Mongolia - Siberian Taiga Region
Washington DC - Department of Defense
The Bottom Line
Another solid episode that does better by Lois Lane than the pilot.
Saturday, March 6, 2021
The Flash Episode Guide: Season 7, Episode 1 - All's Wells That Ends Wells
For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.
Plot
When the latest attempt to restore Barry's speed fails, Nash proposes a dangerous plan. Meanwhile, Iris comes to a startling realization in the Mirror World, as Cecile has a disturbing encounter with The Top.
Influences
Grant Gustin does a fine job impersonating the various versions of Harrison Wells.
The scenes of Nash coming to terms with his death and the roll-call of Wells saying goodbye are a brilliant swan-song for Tom Cavanagh and would be a worthy end for his tenure on the show if, indeed, we thought he truly were done with The Flash.
Flash Facts
Barry: Nash, please. I can't let anyone else die for me. I've already lost so many people.
Nash: Do you know what I feel right now, Allen? Pride. Honor. It's been so long since I felt those things. And it's not just me. The Council feels it, too. And we've made our decision. We're doing this, Allen. (groans) Is it charging?
(Chester runs to the controls to check.)
Chester: Yeah, the Fusion Sphere is charging.
Barry: How can I be the Flash without a Wells on this team?
Plot
When the latest attempt to restore Barry's speed fails, Nash proposes a dangerous plan. Meanwhile, Iris comes to a startling realization in the Mirror World, as Cecile has a disturbing encounter with The Top.
Influences
The Flash comics of Joshua Williamson (The Black Hole organization, mention of Meena Dhawan.) and the Geoff Johns (The Top's new power set.)
Goofs
The retcon that Mirror Master has always been a mirror clone created by Mirror Mistress and the retcon that The Top was always the brains of their operation are not explained very well.
Iris' apparent transformation/death in the final scene of 619 amounts to nothing, as this episode opens with her perfectly fine apart from continuing to hallucinate and suffering from migraines.
Why did Joseph Carver save a video file that proved his story about his wife dying and being replaced with an evil mirror duplicate on a portable hard drive in a file labeled FOR EVA and not ever show it to any of the authorities he was asking for help who had no reason to trust him last season? (There was no reason since Barry just unquestioningly agreed to help him.)
Given that Black Hole is meant to be a secret group, why do their jets have the group logo painted on them?
Performances
Grant Gustin does a fine job impersonating the various versions of Harrison Wells.
The scenes of Nash coming to terms with his death and the roll-call of Wells saying goodbye are a brilliant swan-song for Tom Cavanagh and would be a worthy end for his tenure on the show if, indeed, we thought he truly were done with The Flash.
Flash Facts
As the episode opens, Chester is reading a physics textbook by Dr. Meena Dhawan. This is a nod to a character from The Flash comics of Joshua Williamson, who was briefly a love interest and ally of Barry Allen, before becoming taken over by the Negative Speed Force and becoming the Negative Flash.
The first fight between Barry and Mirror Mistress as the episode opens begins at 2nd Street and Walczak. This is likely a nod to The Flash writer Katherine Walczak. It then moves to 3rd Street and Certo, which is likely a reference to The Flash writer Lauren Certo.
This is the first episode to feature a new title card sequence which includes Allegra and Chester as part of the team. Ralph Dibny is notably absent from the new sequence.
The map of Central Ctiy which Barry uses to chart the Black Hole hideouts Eva hit mentions several districts from The Flash comics. These include Leawood, City Center, University Town, Westminster, Petersburg, Englewood, New Brighton and Lawrence Hills. The general layout of the map also roughly resembles the map of the city featured in the 1990 Atlas of the DC Universe, save that the Arrowverse version of the city has a large river bisecting the city in a North-South direction, just to the west of City Center.
The new Harrison Wells variant introduced in this episode, Harrison Orson Wells, is a clear tribute to legendary actor/producer/director Orson Wells.
The Top's new empathic power set is taken from the Geoff Johns run on The Flash, where the original Top, Roscoe Dillon, had his power set changed to develop "mind over matter" telepathic abilities which he used to change the personalities of the other Rogues, pushing them to reform. For Rosa Dillon, this translates into empathic powers like those of Cecile Horton.
Sherloque makes reference to a villain known as the King Tut Killer of Earth-66. This seems to be a nod to King Tut - a Batman villain from the 1966 Batman show., who apparently became murderous despite the villains of that universe being relatively non-lethal.
Allegra starts calling Chester Chuck for short. This is a reference to the Chunk nickname Chester was originally given in The Flash comics, where he was a fat guy whose power was generating black holes.
Technobabble
Barry's costume now has a nanotech hood that covers his face with a touch.
The fusion sphere powers the Artificial Speed Force. It absorbs whatever touches it while it is active, so it should not be touched while it is turned on, as it fuses the atoms of whatever touches it, bringing about complete molecular degeneration. (An important safety tip Nash relates to Chester.)
Multiversal particles made of synaptic energy, taken from every version of Harrison Wells in the multiverse, exist within Nash Wells. These particles could be used as a power source for the Artificial Speed Force but an organic receptor is required to contain them long enough for the fusion sphere to absorb them, due to the volatile nature of the particles.
Multiversal particles oscillate at certain frequencies of light. Nash theorizes that Allegra can use her powers to transfer the particles from him and into the fusion sphere.
Chester uses the Mobile Gideon to confirm that an abundance of multiversal particles inside Barry's mind are causing his cerebral cortex to overload.
Chester says he can build a particle magnet that can contain the particles long enough to charge the fusion sphere so Nash doesn't have to die.
Chester fashions a vest covered with ionic circuits which can contain the multiversal particles as Allegra shifts them from Barry back into Nash.
Dialogue Triumphs
(Nash, Allegra and Chester are watching Barry stir, after he was zapped by the multiversal particles. He groans and they all sigh in relief... until he starts speaking with a French accent.)
Barry/Sherloque: Hello. Qu'est Ce qui Se passe? What are you all doing?
Chester: Uh, since when do you speak French?
Barry/Sherloque: Since always, no?
Allegra: Why is he talking funny?
Nash I think when the particles left the Fusion Sphere, they transferred to Barry Allen.
Chester: So all the brainwaves of all the Wellses who've ever lived...?
Barry/Sherloque: Are inside Monsieur Allen's mind!
(Harry Wells has taken over Barry's body.)
Barry/Harry: What happened to the J.V. squad?
(Nash grunts dismissively.).
Barry/Harry: Why are you moping around here instead of helping them?
Nash: Oh, they don't want my help.
Barry/Harry: Right?
Nash: Mm. Frankly, I don't blame them.
Barry/Harry: Garcia found out the truth?
Nash: Yeah. You know what Cisco said after Crisis? He said, "An infinite number of Harrison Wells, and we're stuck with the one who killed the Multiverse." And every day I ask myself, why? Why am I the one left standing?
Barry/Harry: So who should've gotten the slot? One of us bozos?
Nash: (sighs) You're not bozos. I only called you that because I find the Wells very annoying... Present company excluded. But you know what you are? You're a daily reminder that even though we may all look the same, we're not the same. Because you're all good men. And I'm... I'm not.
Barry/Harry: So you're a selfish jerk. You think that I wasn't? That we all weren't? Hell, when I met this team, I was working for Zoom. H.R. lied. Sherloque... kept secrets. We all came here broken men. Thanks to Team Flash, eventually we learned to be better. That's why I believe in you, Nash. There's a good man in there somewhere. You just need to dig him up, let him breathe.
Barry: Nash, please. I can't let anyone else die for me. I've already lost so many people.
Nash: Do you know what I feel right now, Allen? Pride. Honor. It's been so long since I felt those things. And it's not just me. The Council feels it, too. And we've made our decision. We're doing this, Allen. (groans) Is it charging?
(Chester runs to the controls to check.)
Chester: Yeah, the Fusion Sphere is charging.
Barry: How can I be the Flash without a Wells on this team?
Nash: You've always been the Flash. You always will be... with or without me.
(Nash grunts and an energy halo circles his head. When it dissipates he smiles wide. It's HR Wells.)
HR Wells: Hey, B.A. How's it going? (chuckles then sees Barry is tearing up)You're so fast. No, no, no. B.A., don't be upset. This... this is not goodbye. It's just... till our next communion.
(HR Wells grunts and another Halo appears. This time when it dissipates his expression is cool and dispassionate. When he speaks, he has a French accent. It is Sherloque.)
Sherloque Wells: Not great, hmm? Our current situation, huh? But... it will be.
(Sherloque grunts and the halo appears again. This time when it dissipates, Wells refuses to meet Barry's gaze and speaks in a sarcastic growl. It's Harry Wells.)
Harry: Allen... you know, when I came to your stupid Earth... (chuckles) With its good burgers... I was a broken man... Lost, angry, blah, blah, blah, and you showed me... how to be a better person. And I'll always be grateful for our friendship. Now... (sighs) Run. Barry... run!
Continuity
Mirror Master and The Top escaped from Iron Heights at some point in the past year.
The Bottom Line
A lackluster start to the season, made tolerable only by the scenes centered around Nash Wells and his sacrifice. Yet even those moments are underwhelming, since there's no real emotional resonance with the death being witnessed by Barry and "the JV Squad" with no Cisco to snark at Harry one more time or Joe acknowledging HR's passing. The scenes with Iris are utterly pointless. The scenes with The Top and Eva are confusing and it's greatly disappointing that Eva's motivations have basically been reduced to her being utterly insane and not really human. This Mirrorverse storyline can't end fast enough.
HR Wells: Hey, B.A. How's it going? (chuckles then sees Barry is tearing up)You're so fast. No, no, no. B.A., don't be upset. This... this is not goodbye. It's just... till our next communion.
(HR Wells grunts and another Halo appears. This time when it dissipates his expression is cool and dispassionate. When he speaks, he has a French accent. It is Sherloque.)
Sherloque Wells: Not great, hmm? Our current situation, huh? But... it will be.
(Sherloque grunts and the halo appears again. This time when it dissipates, Wells refuses to meet Barry's gaze and speaks in a sarcastic growl. It's Harry Wells.)
Harry: Allen... you know, when I came to your stupid Earth... (chuckles) With its good burgers... I was a broken man... Lost, angry, blah, blah, blah, and you showed me... how to be a better person. And I'll always be grateful for our friendship. Now... (sighs) Run. Barry... run!
Continuity
Barry has been kept in cryogenic suspension as much as possible to preserve what Speed Force energy he has left. As the episode opens, he is down to 1%.
Barry is awoken when Chester detects a fractal anomaly at 2nd Street and Walczak. She is quickly detected moving to 3rd Street and Certo.
Mirror Mistress confirms that her fractal photons move at the speed of light.
Mirror Mistress attacks a warehouse on 199th street that is a hideout of Mirror Master (Sam Scudder) and The Top. They last appeared in an alternate future in 319.
Mirror Mistress seemingly kills Sam Scudder, but reveals to a stunned Top that he was one of her fractal duplicates - the first one she created.
Barry is knocked out and arrives at the warehouse to find The Top in shock next to the shattered remains of her boyfriend.
Iris hallucinates a "take out world tour" dinner date with Barry that includes Big Belly Burger, a hot dog chain with a bag labeled "I LOVE GOTHAM," coq au vin from Paris, sashimi from the Arctic and the funnel cake from the Kansas State Fair. This last item was apparently recommended by Superman.
According to Barry, Eva hit nine sites the previous evening and was gone before he could get to them each time.
Sam Scudder and The Top were apparently working for Black Hole and one of their pins was among Scudder's remains.
The Top and Mirror Master reportedly broke out of Iron Heights sometime within the past year.
Ralph Dibny is in hiding with Sue Dearborn, having gone deep off the grid after being framed for the murder of Joseph Carver.
Caitlin is still in the Arctic with her mother, having left for a while in 619.
Cisco is still in Atlantis, after leaving to get a part for the perpetual motion machine he thinks he can use to open a path to the Mirrorverse in 618.
Cecile takes up The Top's defense, in the hopes that she can get her to tell her where the Black Hole tech she and Sam Scudder were moving is.
Chester and Nash connect a fusion sphere to the Artificial Speed Force. This leads them only needing to find a fuel source to power the ASF.
Another new Wells variant is introduced: Harrison Orson Wells, who was a legendary film and stage director, actor and producer on his Earth.
The Council of Wells solved the problem of how to power the ASF. This information is conveyed to Nash by Harry, HR, Sherloque and Harrison Orson Wells.
The synaptic energy of all the Wells can be used to power the ASF, but Nash has to die in order for it to work. Naturally, he's less than thrilled about this plan and tries to think of an alternative.
Iris is confronted by another version of herself in the Mirrorverse, as she thinks to try and use a laptop in her apartment to send a message to Kamila. This Iris is wearing the same dress Iris wore while working as a barista in the first episode.
Mirror Mistress discovers a video file labeled FOR EVA on a portable hard drive in Joseph Carver's office. She almost opens it, but then closes the file before she can do so, as she remembers Joseph Carver telling her that she was not his wife and that his wife died six years earlier in 619.
According to The Top, Mirror Master handled all the details of their business dealings with Black Hole. Cecile detects that this is a lie.
The Top's record shows that she ran a psychotropic drug ring while in Iron Heights.
Cecile determines that The Top wasn't really sad about her past crimes but was projecting a false emotion to her.
The Top reveals that beyond causing other people to experience vertigo, she's a powerful empath who can project emotions onto other people and sense the emotions of other people.
The Top claims that she was the real brains of her gang and that she was made a better offer by Mirror Mistress after Mirror Master got involved with the Black Hole and got in way over his head.
The Top is apparently okay with her boyfriend having been a mirror clone, because she has been given more power and money working for Mirror Mistress then she ever had pretending to be Mirror Master's ditzy girlfriend.
The Top was placed in charge of the next step of Mirror Mistress' plan, but refuses to tell Cecile what it is.
Allegra brings Nash some coffee while he's reading up on organic receptors.
Nash has a revelation about how to power the ASF while talking to Allegra, whom he thinks can use her powers to contain the particles after blasting them out of him with a focused light burst.
Chester points out that multiversal particles are too chaotic to be contained under normal circumstances, but Barry elects to trust Nash.
The particles refuse to be contained and hit Barry when he moves to push Allegra out of the way. This results in the Council of Wells taking control of Barry's body.
Barry manifests Sherloque Wells, HR Wells, Wells the Grey and Harry Wells.
The Barista Iris claims to be a product of Iris pushing her mind too far and snapping.
Iris runs into another version of herself - the one who was killed by Savitar in a potential future. This one taunts her, saying she is insignificant and destined to be a victim.
Chester references 613 and when Grodd and Barry's minds became interlocked to describe what is happening with all the Wells inside his mind. The only thing keeping him alive while this occurs is his speed-healing.
When Chester mentions needing an organic receptor, Allegra recalls what Nash was studying earlier and puts two and two together regarding why he was trying to push her to use his powers instead of sacrificing himself.
Allegra calls Chester Chuck. He later decides that's an okay nickname.
Nash admits that he's afraid he can't be as good as the other Wellses. Harry tells him that none of them were really good men until Team Flash changed them.
Iris meets another version of herself - one who resembles the older Iris of the alternate future of 2049.
Iris realizes the different versions of herself are Eva in disguise trying to break her will.
Cecile projects all her repressed fear on The Top and gets her to confess to planting a bomb on a Black Hole private jet carrying lots of their technology, which will explode over Central City.
Nash sacrifices himself to charge the Artificial Speed Force.
Harry, HR and Sherloque get a chance to say goodbye to Barry before Nash dies.
Barry regains his speed and is able to get the bomb off the Black Hole jet before it explodes.
ARGUS is later able to capture the Black Hole jet once it lands.
Allegra keeps the photo of Nash with her alternate universe self and regrets never really getting to know him.
Barry says that he'll call Caitlin and Cisco and let them know that Nash is dead.
Allegra writes a story about The Flash stopping the bomb.
Iris attempts to send an e-mail to Kamilla and Singh.
Eva watches the file on Carver's drive and sees the real Eva McCulloch die. This causes her to realize that she is a fractal clone as well.
Untelevised Adventures
Mirror Master and The Top escaped from Iron Heights at some point in the past year.
The Bottom Line
A lackluster start to the season, made tolerable only by the scenes centered around Nash Wells and his sacrifice. Yet even those moments are underwhelming, since there's no real emotional resonance with the death being witnessed by Barry and "the JV Squad" with no Cisco to snark at Harry one more time or Joe acknowledging HR's passing. The scenes with Iris are utterly pointless. The scenes with The Top and Eva are confusing and it's greatly disappointing that Eva's motivations have basically been reduced to her being utterly insane and not really human. This Mirrorverse storyline can't end fast enough.
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Black Lightning Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 4 - The Book of Reconstruction: Chapter Four: A Light In The Darkness
For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.
Plot
Angrier than ever, Jefferson turns to Lala's fight club to work out his issues in the wake of Tobias' openly working to rebuild Freeland and earning acclaim in the process. As Grace and Anissa try to settle into sharing a living space together, Gambi continues to undermine Monovista International from within as The 100 plan to take down Tobias once and for all.
Influences
The Outsiders comics (Anissa gives Grace a copy of the book.)
Artistry
Again, the use of music throughout this episode is one of its best features.
Technobabble
The new DEGs are estimated to be likely to explode 37% of the time, even without TC introducing an intentional flaw.
In addition to the new stun setting, the second generation DEGs can have their range and intensity adjusted on the fly.
The maximum range on the new DEGs is 1000 meters.
The flaw TC and Gambi introduce into the DEGs will cause them to misfire more often than they hit their target, due to the capacitor bank position.
Terrestrial resonance is a theory proposed by Nicola Tesla that electricity could be safely transmitted without wires. He attempted to construct a model at Wardenclyffe Tower, but it was never completed.
Dialogue Triumphs
Tobias: Have a seat, Jefferson.
Jefferson has another nightmare: this time that he's been poisoned and can't move. Lynn is there but she injects herself with the same poison, leaving her helpless as Tobias comes and kicks in Jefferson's head.
Gambi is more of an Otis Redding fan.
Gambi's current plan to stop the new wave of DEGs is to have TC introduce a design flaw into the blueprint that will delay their roll-out long enough for him to figure out a way to protect Jennifer, Anissa and Jefferson from them.
TC is apparently living with Gambi and has his own room in the same place as Gambi's new lab.
It has been three days since Jefferson saw Tobias and Lynn having dinner in 403.
Lynn has not told Jefferson about her dinner with Tobias, leaving Jefferson wondering if he can trust her anymore.
Gambi says he trusts Lynn to tell him in her time and asks Jefferson to leave it alone for now.
Gambi says he has been watching Tobias Whale since he returned to Freeland, but he hasn't done anything illegal yet. All of his land dealings have been above-board and openly made.
Jefferson confronts Tobias at a local restaurant.
Untelevised Adventures
Jennifer tells Lynn about Jefferson taking part in the fight club off-camera.
The Winick Factor
Granting that Jennifer doesn't always think things through, it's unbelievable she'd never consider that her parents might hear about Lightning having an Instagram account.
The Bottom Line
An explosive episode, no pun intended, which escalates the stakes even as we start to see the Jefferson Pierce we know and love once more.
Angrier than ever, Jefferson turns to Lala's fight club to work out his issues in the wake of Tobias' openly working to rebuild Freeland and earning acclaim in the process. As Grace and Anissa try to settle into sharing a living space together, Gambi continues to undermine Monovista International from within as The 100 plan to take down Tobias once and for all.
Influences
The Outsiders comics (Anissa gives Grace a copy of the book.)
Artistry
Again, the use of music throughout this episode is one of its best features.
Technobabble
The new DEGs are estimated to be likely to explode 37% of the time, even without TC introducing an intentional flaw.
In addition to the new stun setting, the second generation DEGs can have their range and intensity adjusted on the fly.
The maximum range on the new DEGs is 1000 meters.
The flaw TC and Gambi introduce into the DEGs will cause them to misfire more often than they hit their target, due to the capacitor bank position.
Terrestrial resonance is a theory proposed by Nicola Tesla that electricity could be safely transmitted without wires. He attempted to construct a model at Wardenclyffe Tower, but it was never completed.
Tobias: Have a seat, Jefferson.
Jefferson: No. No. I think I'll stand.
Tobias: Let me rephrase; sit your weak monkey-ass down before all the people of Freeland learn that the Pierce family is the chocolate-covered Incredibles.
(Jennifer walks in on TC watching her father fight in The 100's underground club.)
Jennifer: What are you watching?
TC: It's an underground fight club.
Jennifer: Wait - Fight Club? Like the movie?
TC: What movie? (looks back to the screen) I was waiting on you to get here so we can fix your IG problem, but I got bored and started scrolling. Somebody posted it on their live feed and... it's crazy! It's like Mike Tyson's Punch-Out in real life!
Jennifer: Mike Tyson's punch what?
TC: ... never mind.
Jefferson: Not now.
Lynn: No. You talk to me.
Jefferson: That's really funny coming from you.
Lynn: What? What's that supposed to mean?
Jefferson: It means I saw you, Lynn. You and your little cozy dinner with Tobias, which was three days ago. No word from you. Now, why is that? Is he your new type now?
Lynn: You son of a bitch! You hid things from me our entire marriage, and I don't tell you one thing-
Jefferson: Oh, one thing?! You're a drug addict. You hid that from us for months! You know, you could be on something right now, and you tell me that you weren't? I wouldn't believe you. I don't trust you!
Lynn: Right. Because the only person you truly trusted is gone now, right? Henderson? What would Henderson say if he was here right now, Jeff? Huh? What would Henderson say if he could see you right now, Jeff?
Tobias: Let me rephrase; sit your weak monkey-ass down before all the people of Freeland learn that the Pierce family is the chocolate-covered Incredibles.
(Jennifer walks in on TC watching her father fight in The 100's underground club.)
Jennifer: What are you watching?
TC: It's an underground fight club.
Jennifer: Wait - Fight Club? Like the movie?
TC: What movie? (looks back to the screen) I was waiting on you to get here so we can fix your IG problem, but I got bored and started scrolling. Somebody posted it on their live feed and... it's crazy! It's like Mike Tyson's Punch-Out in real life!
Jennifer: Mike Tyson's punch what?
TC: ... never mind.
Jefferson: Not now.
Lynn: No. You talk to me.
Jefferson: That's really funny coming from you.
Lynn: What? What's that supposed to mean?
Jefferson: It means I saw you, Lynn. You and your little cozy dinner with Tobias, which was three days ago. No word from you. Now, why is that? Is he your new type now?
Lynn: You son of a bitch! You hid things from me our entire marriage, and I don't tell you one thing-
Jefferson: Oh, one thing?! You're a drug addict. You hid that from us for months! You know, you could be on something right now, and you tell me that you weren't? I wouldn't believe you. I don't trust you!
Lynn: Right. Because the only person you truly trusted is gone now, right? Henderson? What would Henderson say if he was here right now, Jeff? Huh? What would Henderson say if he could see you right now, Jeff?
Jefferson: I can't do this.
(Jefferson goes out the front door, leaving Lynn gasping in anger.)
Continuity
(Jefferson goes out the front door, leaving Lynn gasping in anger.)
Continuity
Jefferson has another nightmare: this time that he's been poisoned and can't move. Lynn is there but she injects herself with the same poison, leaving her helpless as Tobias comes and kicks in Jefferson's head.
TC is a big fan of Kid N' Play.
Gambi is more of an Otis Redding fan.
Gambi's current plan to stop the new wave of DEGs is to have TC introduce a design flaw into the blueprint that will delay their roll-out long enough for him to figure out a way to protect Jennifer, Anissa and Jefferson from them.
TC is apparently living with Gambi and has his own room in the same place as Gambi's new lab.
It has been three days since Jefferson saw Tobias and Lynn having dinner in 403.
Lynn has not told Jefferson about her dinner with Tobias, leaving Jefferson wondering if he can trust her anymore.
Gambi says he trusts Lynn to tell him in her time and asks Jefferson to leave it alone for now.
Gambi says he has been watching Tobias Whale since he returned to Freeland, but he hasn't done anything illegal yet. All of his land dealings have been above-board and openly made.
Jefferson confronts Tobias at a local restaurant.
All of Grace's belongings are still in storage.
Anissa and Grace have a fight after Grace asks about moving her things into Anissa's loft and Anissa says her comic collection and favorite chair wouldn't fit the aesthetic.
Anissa and Grace have a fight after Grace asks about moving her things into Anissa's loft and Anissa says her comic collection and favorite chair wouldn't fit the aesthetic.
Tobias finances an $83 million proposal to rebuild the south side of Freeland.
The city is also financing a gun buyback program.
Tobias suggests they announce the new second-generation DEGs at an event at the Blackbird Homeless safe zone. Mayor Black agrees.
Tobias suggests they announce the new second-generation DEGs at an event at the Blackbird Homeless safe zone. Mayor Black agrees.
Jennifer is continuing to feel burned out following her recharge trips into the ionosphere.
TC says he's been reading up on the ionosphere and doesn't think it is safe for Jennifer to charge up there.
Lightning now has 2 million followers on Instagram, some 65 hours, 22 minutes and 22 seconds after TC set up her private account.
The 100 Gang acquire some what they were told were next-gen DEGs, but they aren't as powerful as advertised.
Lala consults with an ex-soldier he killed on why the guns aren't working. He has no idea as he isn't a scientist.
The deputy police chief of Freeland is working for The 100, to pay off his gambling debts. He tells Lala about the shipment of 2nd Generation DEGs that are being shipped to the police in two days. He is in charge of logistics for the shipment.
Lauren elects to release the flawed DEGs anyway, even after Gambi points out the flaw.
Jefferson is still fighting in Lala's underground club.
Lala tells Jefferson that he needs to quit while he's ahead, because it will lead to trouble if Jefferson dies in his arena.
The Deputy Police Chief advises Chief Lopez that trusting Tobias Whale is not a smart thing.
TC discovered Lala's underground fight club steam.
TC has not seen the movie Fight Club.
Jennifer has never heard of the video game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out.
Jennifer recognizes her father even before TC is able to remove the electric distortion hiding his face.
Lynn reads Jefferson the riot act about his taking part in the fight club.
Jefferson tells Lynn he knows about her dinner with Tobias.
Lauren shows up at Gambi's apartment. She admits he was right about the DEG alignment being off by 2.5 millimeters.
The 2nd Generation DEG release is delayed for a few days.
Lauren says she has another project Gambi can help her with.
Rebecca Larsen is now claiming the real footage of Lightning saving people is fake.
Jefferson overhears people in a bar wishing Black Lightning would come back. When he asks what Black Lightning ever did to help Freeland,one man talks about how Black Lightning talked to him and got him to quit a gang and go back to school.
Anissa gives Grace a pristine copy of The Outsiders: Volume 2, Issue 16 - the comic that was in her back pocket when they met in 103 - as a house warming present, which they can hang on the wall.
Anissa's smart house, Shonda, informs her that Mayor Black doesn't have adequate security for his event at the Homeless Safe Zone. She and Grace go to protect the people.
Lightning goes out with them at first, but the decides to patrol the rest of the city.
Grace shape-shifts herself a masked costume and decides to give herself the code name Wylde, as an effort to reclaim her original last name.
Jefferson apologizes to Lynn for getting lost in his grief. She also apologizes for not telling him about Tobias right away.
Lynn says she has no intention of working with Tobias, but Jefferson thinks she should so that she can spy on him and figure out his plans.
The 100 attempt to kill Tobias, but Thunder takes the DEG shot meant for him fired by Lala.
Grace throws down all the officials on the stage where Tobias and Mayor Black were delivering their speeches.
Mayor Black is shot and killed in the crossfire.
Chief Lopez blames the metahumans for getting in her way before she could protect the mayor.
Tobias arranged for his security to use police issued rounds, so the coroner will believe Mayor Black was killed by the police.
Lauren reveals that she is working on an energy field emitter, similar to the one proposed by Nicola Tesla, built around terrestrial resonance. She's managed to get the field to work, but it will only cover a few blocks.
Gambi agrees to help her work on it.
Tobias calls a press conference where he announces he is personally doubling the number of DEGs going to the Freeland Police.
Jefferson tries to talk to Jennifer and apologize to her for how he's acted. She leaves out her bedroom window when he's done talking.
TC notes Jennifer's energy levels spiking through her costume as she flies into the ionosphere again. As he calls her to check on her,
Jennifer's power levels overload and she's left unable to move.
The episode ends with Jennifer seeming to explode.
TC says he's been reading up on the ionosphere and doesn't think it is safe for Jennifer to charge up there.
Lightning now has 2 million followers on Instagram, some 65 hours, 22 minutes and 22 seconds after TC set up her private account.
The 100 Gang acquire some what they were told were next-gen DEGs, but they aren't as powerful as advertised.
Lala consults with an ex-soldier he killed on why the guns aren't working. He has no idea as he isn't a scientist.
The deputy police chief of Freeland is working for The 100, to pay off his gambling debts. He tells Lala about the shipment of 2nd Generation DEGs that are being shipped to the police in two days. He is in charge of logistics for the shipment.
Lauren elects to release the flawed DEGs anyway, even after Gambi points out the flaw.
Jefferson is still fighting in Lala's underground club.
Lala tells Jefferson that he needs to quit while he's ahead, because it will lead to trouble if Jefferson dies in his arena.
The Deputy Police Chief advises Chief Lopez that trusting Tobias Whale is not a smart thing.
TC discovered Lala's underground fight club steam.
TC has not seen the movie Fight Club.
Jennifer has never heard of the video game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out.
Jennifer recognizes her father even before TC is able to remove the electric distortion hiding his face.
Lynn reads Jefferson the riot act about his taking part in the fight club.
Jefferson tells Lynn he knows about her dinner with Tobias.
Lauren shows up at Gambi's apartment. She admits he was right about the DEG alignment being off by 2.5 millimeters.
The 2nd Generation DEG release is delayed for a few days.
Lauren says she has another project Gambi can help her with.
Rebecca Larsen is now claiming the real footage of Lightning saving people is fake.
Jefferson overhears people in a bar wishing Black Lightning would come back. When he asks what Black Lightning ever did to help Freeland,one man talks about how Black Lightning talked to him and got him to quit a gang and go back to school.
Anissa gives Grace a pristine copy of The Outsiders: Volume 2, Issue 16 - the comic that was in her back pocket when they met in 103 - as a house warming present, which they can hang on the wall.
Anissa's smart house, Shonda, informs her that Mayor Black doesn't have adequate security for his event at the Homeless Safe Zone. She and Grace go to protect the people.
Lightning goes out with them at first, but the decides to patrol the rest of the city.
Grace shape-shifts herself a masked costume and decides to give herself the code name Wylde, as an effort to reclaim her original last name.
Jefferson apologizes to Lynn for getting lost in his grief. She also apologizes for not telling him about Tobias right away.
Lynn says she has no intention of working with Tobias, but Jefferson thinks she should so that she can spy on him and figure out his plans.
The 100 attempt to kill Tobias, but Thunder takes the DEG shot meant for him fired by Lala.
Grace throws down all the officials on the stage where Tobias and Mayor Black were delivering their speeches.
Mayor Black is shot and killed in the crossfire.
Chief Lopez blames the metahumans for getting in her way before she could protect the mayor.
Tobias arranged for his security to use police issued rounds, so the coroner will believe Mayor Black was killed by the police.
Lauren reveals that she is working on an energy field emitter, similar to the one proposed by Nicola Tesla, built around terrestrial resonance. She's managed to get the field to work, but it will only cover a few blocks.
Gambi agrees to help her work on it.
Tobias calls a press conference where he announces he is personally doubling the number of DEGs going to the Freeland Police.
Jefferson tries to talk to Jennifer and apologize to her for how he's acted. She leaves out her bedroom window when he's done talking.
TC notes Jennifer's energy levels spiking through her costume as she flies into the ionosphere again. As he calls her to check on her,
Jennifer's power levels overload and she's left unable to move.
The episode ends with Jennifer seeming to explode.
Jennifer tells Lynn about Jefferson taking part in the fight club off-camera.
The Winick Factor
Granting that Jennifer doesn't always think things through, it's unbelievable she'd never consider that her parents might hear about Lightning having an Instagram account.
An explosive episode, no pun intended, which escalates the stakes even as we start to see the Jefferson Pierce we know and love once more.
Monday, March 1, 2021
Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 6 - Do Not Resuscitate
For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.
Plot
Ryan's Kryptonite wound worsens and begins to hamper her ability to protect the people of Gotham, as Sophie approaches her with a threat regarding Angelique and her connection to Ocean and the False Face Society. Meanwhile, as Alice and Ocean struggle to figure out their mutual amnesia and a plan to fight back against Safiyah, Mary and Jacob are taken hostage by a madman with anger management issues.
Influences
The Rebirth Batwoman series (Safiyah plotline), Shadow of the Bat (character of Amygdala) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (the subplot about Alice and Ocean having all memory of their romance erased.)
Bat Trivia
Aaron "Amygdala" Hellzinger first appeared in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #3 and was created by writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle. An inmate at Arkham Asylum, Amygdala's name came from the portion of the brain that regulates emotions. A doctor attempted to surgically remove Hellzinger's amygdala in a bid to make the violently angry man more docile. Instead, the surgery made him permanently angry, which was something of a problem as he had enhanced strength, endurance and durability. While Hellzinger's condition could be managed with medication, he was often recruited by as dumb muscle by Arkham's many supervillains.
The Arrowverse version of Amygdala lacks the super-strength of this comic book counterpart. He also has a slightly different origin story, have been a test subject for a secret program at Hamilton Dynamics which involved treating his abnormal amygdala with UV light. The treatment worked for a week, but apparently gave Amygdala brain cancer which aggravated his condition, resulting in frequent random outbursts of rage.
The idea of humans being able to be poisoned by Kryptonite has been explored before in the comics and in other media. In the comics, Lex Luthor wound up developing cancer after wearing a Kryptonite ring for several years to keep Superman away from him. He managed to survive by having his brain transplanted into a younger clone body, which he passed off as his son, just before the Death of Superman storyline. Lex Luthor developing cancer from Kryponite poisoning was also a major subplot of the Justice League animated series. Previously in the Arrowverse, it was suggested that Lex Luthor acquired cancer from his experiments with Kryptonite, but it turned out Lex was faking his illness.
Untelevised Adventures
We see more flashbacks of Ocean training Beth Kane to fight and the two making out.
Ryan's Kryptonite wound worsens and begins to hamper her ability to protect the people of Gotham, as Sophie approaches her with a threat regarding Angelique and her connection to Ocean and the False Face Society. Meanwhile, as Alice and Ocean struggle to figure out their mutual amnesia and a plan to fight back against Safiyah, Mary and Jacob are taken hostage by a madman with anger management issues.
Influences
The Rebirth Batwoman series (Safiyah plotline), Shadow of the Bat (character of Amygdala) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (the subplot about Alice and Ocean having all memory of their romance erased.)
Bat Trivia
Aaron "Amygdala" Hellzinger first appeared in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #3 and was created by writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle. An inmate at Arkham Asylum, Amygdala's name came from the portion of the brain that regulates emotions. A doctor attempted to surgically remove Hellzinger's amygdala in a bid to make the violently angry man more docile. Instead, the surgery made him permanently angry, which was something of a problem as he had enhanced strength, endurance and durability. While Hellzinger's condition could be managed with medication, he was often recruited by as dumb muscle by Arkham's many supervillains.
The Arrowverse version of Amygdala lacks the super-strength of this comic book counterpart. He also has a slightly different origin story, have been a test subject for a secret program at Hamilton Dynamics which involved treating his abnormal amygdala with UV light. The treatment worked for a week, but apparently gave Amygdala brain cancer which aggravated his condition, resulting in frequent random outbursts of rage.
The idea of humans being able to be poisoned by Kryptonite has been explored before in the comics and in other media. In the comics, Lex Luthor wound up developing cancer after wearing a Kryptonite ring for several years to keep Superman away from him. He managed to survive by having his brain transplanted into a younger clone body, which he passed off as his son, just before the Death of Superman storyline. Lex Luthor developing cancer from Kryponite poisoning was also a major subplot of the Justice League animated series. Previously in the Arrowverse, it was suggested that Lex Luthor acquired cancer from his experiments with Kryptonite, but it turned out Lex was faking his illness.
Technobabble
In the opening scene, a doctor at Hamilton Dynamics attempts to transfer the white blood cells of a 10 year old boy who had Stage IV leukemia but managed a full recover after being treated with The Miracle Serum into an 80 year old man with a comparable condition. They did this by replicating the cells and mixing them with a synthetic granulocyte. However, it caused him to begin hemorrhaging and vomiting blood immediately.
The Desert Rose antidote can permanently cure all manner of blood-based ailments, including anemia, malaria and advanced leukemia.
The active agent of the Desert Rose antidote cannot be synthesized and attempting to pass it on second-hand makes it toxic.
The Crows determine the Napier painting they have is a fake, based on the viscera testing positive as pigs blood rather than human remains. However, they do detect a fingerprint which they trace to Ocean.
The Crows make use of an invisible high-frequency generator/receiver app to bug smart phones, turning them into digital microphones. Its use can only be authorized by the Crows Commander. However, it is hardly foolproof and Angelique detects its presence because it also makes static on her regular phone calls and half her apps stopped working.
According to Mary, the Miracle Serum only retains its stability after one generation. Once the cure was extracted from the blood cells of someone treated with the first generation serum, it became toxic and lost all of its curative properties.
After Jacob is stabbed in the stomach, Mary asks if he was hit in the celiac artery.
Mary recognizes that Amygdala has a scar from a craniotomy.
Kryptonite is said to be composed of sodium, lithium, boron and several elements that do not exist on Earth or the standard periodic teable.
In the opening scene, a doctor at Hamilton Dynamics attempts to transfer the white blood cells of a 10 year old boy who had Stage IV leukemia but managed a full recover after being treated with The Miracle Serum into an 80 year old man with a comparable condition. They did this by replicating the cells and mixing them with a synthetic granulocyte. However, it caused him to begin hemorrhaging and vomiting blood immediately.
The Desert Rose antidote can permanently cure all manner of blood-based ailments, including anemia, malaria and advanced leukemia.
The active agent of the Desert Rose antidote cannot be synthesized and attempting to pass it on second-hand makes it toxic.
The Crows determine the Napier painting they have is a fake, based on the viscera testing positive as pigs blood rather than human remains. However, they do detect a fingerprint which they trace to Ocean.
The Crows make use of an invisible high-frequency generator/receiver app to bug smart phones, turning them into digital microphones. Its use can only be authorized by the Crows Commander. However, it is hardly foolproof and Angelique detects its presence because it also makes static on her regular phone calls and half her apps stopped working.
According to Mary, the Miracle Serum only retains its stability after one generation. Once the cure was extracted from the blood cells of someone treated with the first generation serum, it became toxic and lost all of its curative properties.
After Jacob is stabbed in the stomach, Mary asks if he was hit in the celiac artery.
Mary recognizes that Amygdala has a scar from a craniotomy.
Kryptonite is said to be composed of sodium, lithium, boron and several elements that do not exist on Earth or the standard periodic teable.
Dialogue Triumphs
(Ryan is getting The Hide Out opened. She hears someone come in through the door.)
Ryan: Not open yet.
Sophie: The door was.
(Ryan glares at Sophie, having realized who it is.)
Sophie: Good to see you staying out of trouble.
Ryan: Good to have your approval that... I don't care about. Still not open.
(Sophie continues to give Ryan a hard time about her loyalty to Angelique.)
Sophie: I know this was hard for you-
Ryan: But you don't, though. Because you don't know what we've been through.
Sophie: I know you're right back in the exact same situation you've already served time for and you're choosing to stay there. Why?
Ryan: You've never been in love, huh?
Sophie: Of course I've been in love.
Ryan: And now you're alone. See, when I care about someone, I fight for them.
(Sophie says nothing. She just turns around and walks out of The Hide Out.)
(Alice is trying to convince Ocean their memories of each other were erased.)
Ocean: She doesn't want anyone knowing the location of the island, so she blitzed my memory so I can never get back.
Alice: She didn't just erase that day. She erased our entire existence from each other! That's not strange to you?
(Ryan is getting The Hide Out opened. She hears someone come in through the door.)
Ryan: Not open yet.
Sophie: The door was.
(Ryan glares at Sophie, having realized who it is.)
Sophie: Good to see you staying out of trouble.
Ryan: Good to have your approval that... I don't care about. Still not open.
(Sophie continues to give Ryan a hard time about her loyalty to Angelique.)
Sophie: I know this was hard for you-
Ryan: But you don't, though. Because you don't know what we've been through.
Sophie: I know you're right back in the exact same situation you've already served time for and you're choosing to stay there. Why?
Ryan: You've never been in love, huh?
Sophie: Of course I've been in love.
Ryan: And now you're alone. See, when I care about someone, I fight for them.
(Sophie says nothing. She just turns around and walks out of The Hide Out.)
(Alice is trying to convince Ocean their memories of each other were erased.)
Ocean: She doesn't want anyone knowing the location of the island, so she blitzed my memory so I can never get back.
Alice: She didn't just erase that day. She erased our entire existence from each other! That's not strange to you?
Ocean: (sarcastically) You're right, Alice. Maybe you were the one busted stealing the Desert Rose and maybe you framed me to save your own ass.
(Alice seems to consider this for a few seconds.)
Alice: I don't think I would have done that.
Ocean: Why? Too honorable? You helped me gut three men yesterday.
Alice: You really don't remember, do you?
Ocean: Remember what?
(Alice takes Ocean's hand and squeezes it.)
(Cut to a flashback of Beth Kane sitting next to Ocean before a campfire, where he takes her hand and squeezes it.)
(Alice seems to consider this for a few seconds.)
Alice: I don't think I would have done that.
Ocean: Why? Too honorable? You helped me gut three men yesterday.
Alice: You really don't remember, do you?
Ocean: Remember what?
(Alice takes Ocean's hand and squeezes it.)
(Cut to a flashback of Beth Kane sitting next to Ocean before a campfire, where he takes her hand and squeezes it.)
(Cut back to Ocean in the present, looking disturbed.)
Alice: You and I had a thing together. From the looks of it, it should have been memorable.
Ocean: ... oh, crap.
Alice: Yeah. My thoughts exactly.
Alice: (To Safiyah) I've never asked this to a woman, but... you didn't happen to roofie me for six months straight, did you? Because I'm hitting a lot of potholes on Memory Lane that need filling.
Alice: You and I had a thing together. From the looks of it, it should have been memorable.
Ocean: ... oh, crap.
Alice: Yeah. My thoughts exactly.
Alice: (To Safiyah) I've never asked this to a woman, but... you didn't happen to roofie me for six months straight, did you? Because I'm hitting a lot of potholes on Memory Lane that need filling.
Continuity
Alice's bat attack in 202 took place on January 31.
The Desert Rose antidote developed by Hamilton Dynamics is dubbed BP296 officially. Unofficially, it is called The Miracle Serum.
Dr. Ethan Rogers, a doctor with Hamilton Dynamics, sends a violent patient, Aaron Hellzinger, after Mary Hamilton to find the source of the Miracle Serum.
Ryan has a spasm from her wound while chasing two burglars. She calls Angelique to help her.
When Ryan sees a doctor about her wound, he prescribes antibiotics after she says it was a spider bite.
The insurance Ryan gets from The Hide-Out doesn't cover blood tests. When Angelique finds this out, she says she'll pay for whatever Ryan needs out of her own pocket.
Ryan encourages Angelique to get out of drug dealing. Angelique says she likes her job, is good at it, and with the crew she works with and the rich clients she has dirt on, there's no way she can just "quit."
Ocean denies having anything to do with Kate Kane's disappearance or sending a message to Alice about Safiyah being responsible. Ocean further says that he's a simple botanist and that picking a fight with a warlord would be too much work, even if he had a reason to do it.
Ocean admits he did train Safiyah's army, but that he got bored and tried to leave Coryana with one the Desert Rose flowers.
Alice theorizes that she and Ocean tried to flee Coryana together and that Safiyah somehow erased all the memories they had of each other.
Mary and Jacob have a meeting with a lawyer who pressures them to have Kate declared legally dead. It is on the drive back home that they are attacked by Aaron Hellzinger.
Sophie has been building a case against Angelique, claiming that she can prove she's been involved in selling Snakebite and that she has five cases with rich party kids that will turn on their dealer in a heartbeat.
Sophie says she recognized Angelique as the woman who attacked her at Ocean's apartment in 204.
Sophie says Ocean is growing the psychedelic mushrooms used to make Snakebite.
Sophie offers to "lose" the information on Angelique if Ryan helps her install some spyware on Angelique's phone. Ryan reluctantly agrees.
Amygdala takes Mary and Jacob to Mary's clinic. Mary plays dumb as to where they are at first, but eventually confesses that she had been running it for two years.
Mary relates the events of 108 and how she learned of the Desert Rose poison, the antidote and how Alice gave her a sample of her antidote-filled blood to save the people of Gotham to Jacob, along with how she's been running an underground clinic for two years.
Ryan's wound continues to get worse.
It is revealed that Ryan's favorite plant was a gift from Angelique five years earlier.
Ryan pulls strings to get Angelique a job working with her at the Hide Out. Angelique rejects it. It is only after that happens that Ryan bugs her phone.
Ryan gets a call from her doctor saying they need to redo the blood tests since they show she has severe radiation poisoning. He says the only way her tests are accurate based on what she said is if she was snapping selfies in Chernobyl.
Aaron Hellzinger says his doctors started calling him Amygdala because his circuits were mixed up and he reacted the wrong way to things. Cute puppies made him angry. Sad children made him laugh. His doctors tried to treat him by frying the 'bad' parts of his brain with UV light as part of a secret experiment. It cure him for about a week after two dozen treatments, but then he developed brain cancer as a side effect and his condition became worse, with the tumor rubbing against his amygdala and causing him intense pain and leaving him unable to feel anything but anger.
Mary tells Amygdala about Coryana and says she can cure him if she can find a way to get there.
Ocean says that Alice helped him gut three men yesterday, indicating this episode (or their scenes, at least) take place the day after 205.
Ryan researches Kryptonite on the Bat Computer while Luke is out.
Luke tells Ryan about his encounter with Alice and her working with Sophie in 204, the existence of the Coryana map under the original Napier painting
Sophie told Luke that Ocean forged the Napier painting that was on display in 205. This is why they need to find Ocean before Alice does so he can help them find Kate and Coryana. Ryan points out how incredibly stupid it is to think Alice is telling the truth.
Mary calls Luke, makes a point of calling him Lucas and telling him that she needs the map to Coryana, trying to give him the hint that something is wrong, up to and including mentioning her father being in her clinic.
Ryan has a spasm at this point and Luke finally learns about her wound.
Alice tries to call Tatiana but Safiyah answers the phone.
Safiyah admits to altering Alice's memories but says she will tell her what she lost if Alice is really sure that's what she wants.
Alice tries to kill Ocean, but the two have more flashbacks of sparring and apparently making love.
Sophie finds Alice and Ocean and demands the real Napier painting. Ocean gives it to her.
Sophie calls Luke to tell him she has the painting and he tells her about Jacob and Mary being held hostage at Mary's clinic.
Despite her pain, Mary suits up as Batwoman to save Mary and Jacob as well.
Luke tells her he can give her an adrenaline shot through the suit if she needs it.
Neither Mary or Jacob can say for certain that Catherine Hamilton didn't sign off on the tests that resulted in Amygdala being created.
Sophie is knocked out by Amygdala. Thankfully, Ryan is able to stop him, after getting revived remotely by Luke.
A group of masked mercenaries show up, take Sophie hostage, and agree to exchange her to Batwoman for the Napier painting. She accepts the deal.
Jacob thinks someone at Hamilton Dynamics was involved with tipping off the mercenaries.
Jacob closes down Mary's clinic.
Angelique figures out Ryan had a hand in slipping spyware onto her phone and dumps her. Sophie overhears the whole conversation.
Alice gives another man Ocean's face and kills him, in a bid to fool Safiyah.
Alice's bat attack in 202 took place on January 31.
The Desert Rose antidote developed by Hamilton Dynamics is dubbed BP296 officially. Unofficially, it is called The Miracle Serum.
Dr. Ethan Rogers, a doctor with Hamilton Dynamics, sends a violent patient, Aaron Hellzinger, after Mary Hamilton to find the source of the Miracle Serum.
Ryan has a spasm from her wound while chasing two burglars. She calls Angelique to help her.
When Ryan sees a doctor about her wound, he prescribes antibiotics after she says it was a spider bite.
The insurance Ryan gets from The Hide-Out doesn't cover blood tests. When Angelique finds this out, she says she'll pay for whatever Ryan needs out of her own pocket.
Ryan encourages Angelique to get out of drug dealing. Angelique says she likes her job, is good at it, and with the crew she works with and the rich clients she has dirt on, there's no way she can just "quit."
Ocean denies having anything to do with Kate Kane's disappearance or sending a message to Alice about Safiyah being responsible. Ocean further says that he's a simple botanist and that picking a fight with a warlord would be too much work, even if he had a reason to do it.
Ocean admits he did train Safiyah's army, but that he got bored and tried to leave Coryana with one the Desert Rose flowers.
Alice theorizes that she and Ocean tried to flee Coryana together and that Safiyah somehow erased all the memories they had of each other.
Mary and Jacob have a meeting with a lawyer who pressures them to have Kate declared legally dead. It is on the drive back home that they are attacked by Aaron Hellzinger.
Sophie has been building a case against Angelique, claiming that she can prove she's been involved in selling Snakebite and that she has five cases with rich party kids that will turn on their dealer in a heartbeat.
Sophie says she recognized Angelique as the woman who attacked her at Ocean's apartment in 204.
Sophie says Ocean is growing the psychedelic mushrooms used to make Snakebite.
Sophie offers to "lose" the information on Angelique if Ryan helps her install some spyware on Angelique's phone. Ryan reluctantly agrees.
Amygdala takes Mary and Jacob to Mary's clinic. Mary plays dumb as to where they are at first, but eventually confesses that she had been running it for two years.
Mary relates the events of 108 and how she learned of the Desert Rose poison, the antidote and how Alice gave her a sample of her antidote-filled blood to save the people of Gotham to Jacob, along with how she's been running an underground clinic for two years.
Ryan's wound continues to get worse.
It is revealed that Ryan's favorite plant was a gift from Angelique five years earlier.
Ryan pulls strings to get Angelique a job working with her at the Hide Out. Angelique rejects it. It is only after that happens that Ryan bugs her phone.
Ryan gets a call from her doctor saying they need to redo the blood tests since they show she has severe radiation poisoning. He says the only way her tests are accurate based on what she said is if she was snapping selfies in Chernobyl.
Aaron Hellzinger says his doctors started calling him Amygdala because his circuits were mixed up and he reacted the wrong way to things. Cute puppies made him angry. Sad children made him laugh. His doctors tried to treat him by frying the 'bad' parts of his brain with UV light as part of a secret experiment. It cure him for about a week after two dozen treatments, but then he developed brain cancer as a side effect and his condition became worse, with the tumor rubbing against his amygdala and causing him intense pain and leaving him unable to feel anything but anger.
Mary tells Amygdala about Coryana and says she can cure him if she can find a way to get there.
Ocean says that Alice helped him gut three men yesterday, indicating this episode (or their scenes, at least) take place the day after 205.
Ryan researches Kryptonite on the Bat Computer while Luke is out.
Luke tells Ryan about his encounter with Alice and her working with Sophie in 204, the existence of the Coryana map under the original Napier painting
Sophie told Luke that Ocean forged the Napier painting that was on display in 205. This is why they need to find Ocean before Alice does so he can help them find Kate and Coryana. Ryan points out how incredibly stupid it is to think Alice is telling the truth.
Mary calls Luke, makes a point of calling him Lucas and telling him that she needs the map to Coryana, trying to give him the hint that something is wrong, up to and including mentioning her father being in her clinic.
Ryan has a spasm at this point and Luke finally learns about her wound.
Alice tries to call Tatiana but Safiyah answers the phone.
Safiyah admits to altering Alice's memories but says she will tell her what she lost if Alice is really sure that's what she wants.
Alice tries to kill Ocean, but the two have more flashbacks of sparring and apparently making love.
Sophie finds Alice and Ocean and demands the real Napier painting. Ocean gives it to her.
Sophie calls Luke to tell him she has the painting and he tells her about Jacob and Mary being held hostage at Mary's clinic.
Despite her pain, Mary suits up as Batwoman to save Mary and Jacob as well.
Luke tells her he can give her an adrenaline shot through the suit if she needs it.
Neither Mary or Jacob can say for certain that Catherine Hamilton didn't sign off on the tests that resulted in Amygdala being created.
Sophie is knocked out by Amygdala. Thankfully, Ryan is able to stop him, after getting revived remotely by Luke.
A group of masked mercenaries show up, take Sophie hostage, and agree to exchange her to Batwoman for the Napier painting. She accepts the deal.
Jacob thinks someone at Hamilton Dynamics was involved with tipping off the mercenaries.
Jacob closes down Mary's clinic.
Angelique figures out Ryan had a hand in slipping spyware onto her phone and dumps her. Sophie overhears the whole conversation.
Alice gives another man Ocean's face and kills him, in a bid to fool Safiyah.
Untelevised Adventures
We see more flashbacks of Ocean training Beth Kane to fight and the two making out.
The Killing Jokes
The entire episode is based around the inability of various characters to deal with one another honestly. This starts with Dr. Rogers deciding it's easier to manipulate a violent patient than try simply ask Mary Hamilton where she got her blood sample from, assuming it's too valuable for him to just ask. It continues through Sophie manipulating Ryan, Ryan deciding to work with Sophie against Angelique rather than trying to find a way to fight together against Sophie and Ryan keeping secrets from Luke when he's the only person who might have a clue how to treat Kryptonite poisoning. The grand irony in all of this is that it's the allegedly irredeemable psychotic Alice who attempts to talk openly and honestly with Ocean and Safiyah, despite having far less reason to trust them.
The entire episode is based around the inability of various characters to deal with one another honestly. This starts with Dr. Rogers deciding it's easier to manipulate a violent patient than try simply ask Mary Hamilton where she got her blood sample from, assuming it's too valuable for him to just ask. It continues through Sophie manipulating Ryan, Ryan deciding to work with Sophie against Angelique rather than trying to find a way to fight together against Sophie and Ryan keeping secrets from Luke when he's the only person who might have a clue how to treat Kryptonite poisoning. The grand irony in all of this is that it's the allegedly irredeemable psychotic Alice who attempts to talk openly and honestly with Ocean and Safiyah, despite having far less reason to trust them.
The Bottom Line
A decent episode that makes use of another obscure Batman villain in a way that's more accurate to the idea of the character than the actual execution in most comics. (Even the Batman wiki notes that the doctors who worked on Amygdala seemed to confused the amygdala with the hypothalamus). The best part about this is that all the stupid lies that had been pushing the drama so far are out in the open now, so hopefully the show will work past some of the problems that came about during the first season.
A decent episode that makes use of another obscure Batman villain in a way that's more accurate to the idea of the character than the actual execution in most comics. (Even the Batman wiki notes that the doctors who worked on Amygdala seemed to confused the amygdala with the hypothalamus). The best part about this is that all the stupid lies that had been pushing the drama so far are out in the open now, so hopefully the show will work past some of the problems that came about during the first season.
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