Wow. So much in this one. So much already well-said. I'll just add that...
Up 'til now, I was actually almost convinced that Adrian, after basically steering Mayor Queen into the cornered position of declaring The Green Arrow to be shoot-on-sight Public Enemy #1, was trying to get Oliver to confess publicly that he is The Green Arrow. A sort of long and twisted version of making him dig his own grave.
But, now, it seems that Adrian doesn't care about that at all. It was all more about breaking Oliver and his Monster. At least... it seems so... so far...
I am curious though: did they say clearly which block the Bowmans were headed into? San Fernando was mentioned, but that's because that's to where everyone else was purported to be evacuating to. I didn't necessarily get the impression that that's where the Bowmans were headed. Was it? Or...? (As long as it's not Santa Monica, right?)
Wow. Quentin driving home that vanquishing the big bad Beast doesn't necessarily make everybody's everything go right back to happily-ever-after normal.
Well, Quentin, and what's floating in the Wellspring, that is.
Wally starts having taunting Savitar visions, so the team thinks Savitar might be able to spy on them through Wally, so the team cuts Wally out of the planning loop, so Wally doesn't know that the team has figured out that the remaining Stone sliver is the last piece that Savitar needs, so Wally tries to get rid of it by throwing it into the Speed Force (where Savitar is), so... oops.
Savitar's detailed planning around his deep knowledge of his enemies is not only freaky, but a little too very much like Prometheus's. If Savitar turns out to be Adrian Chase...
Gypsy's "Are you trying to Luke Starkiller me?" was such a little throwaway line, but I guess that's part of why I had to flail for the pause button while I was laughing so hard at it.
"Well, take care of yourself Gypsy. I guess that's what your best as, isn't it?" ;-)
I'm a little annoyed at Talia for being so simplistic with her own you-killed-my-father contribution, like she couldn't know the whole story behind dad-Ra's al Ghul's obsession with Oliver as the prophesied next-Ra's al Ghul and all the wild implications and complications that that inflicts on everyone. I'm still hoping that some spark of sense will flicker in there somewhere.
Or maybe Señor Inigo Montoya can show up out of nowhere and tell the both of them to just shut the hell up. ;-)
But other than that... wow. This ep was dense with holy-crap moments, just getting worse by the moment. More than once I've thought that they should just tank Adrian any way they can (preferably permanently) and depend on the team (and Felicity's new friends) to find Susan, but at least it's reasonably believable that they might worry about the risk and hold on just a little longer... just a little longer... just a litt--OH, CRAP.
Did anyone else wonder just a bit if Martin's odd musical moment -- besides just being plain funny (complete with Mick's expression and join-in) -- might also have been a little yes-he-can-damn-well-sing-too nod to another very musically talented Arrowverse actor who won't happen to be included in the upcoming big Music Meister-driven The Flash and Supergirl musical crossover? (Or will he...?)
"My name is Barry Allen, and I'm the fastest man alive. Except when the writers forget that basic tenet (which they do all too often) and write some lazy plothole that doesn't make any sense with The Fastest Man Alive because it's just quicker, easier, and more seductive..."
They do kinda screw that up now and then, don't they? I mean, I know Gypsy's very well advanced with her vibey talent, but she caught The Fastest Man Alive's approach far too easily when they tried to ambush her by the waterfront.
C'mon writers, thinking through a little more consistency wouldn't hurt that much.
After last episode -- "Large Blade", which I liked some of, but whose plot-sloppiness level had me again wondering if I should keep watching -- I kinda liked this one. Frank Whaley's character was very likable and believable here, despite everything he'd been through. And the plot-stretches weren't near as bad as in "Large Blade". The series so far is giving me a bit of whiplash, though, with such erratic levels of plot-execution quality. I keep hoping that it's just finding its feet...
One specific nit, though: Matty's insistence that, after having read through Mac's mission history, he prove to her that his improvisational work-style actually works despite her high level of dubiousness. What? She just read his mission history, so she already has plenty of said proof. Hello? Is this thing on? Sigh.
Anyone else a little disturbed that Team Witness didn't go back in and verify the effects of the explosion? If the stone is still intact, it needs to be divided and hidden again; if not, that'd be good to verify. And verifying Dreyfuss post-kaboom state just seems like a good idea. And good ol' Headless... But... nah. It's Miller Time.
Otherwise, fun stuff. Although... So it seems that Dreyfuss survived the blast, but we don't see thousands of dead in Sleepy Hollow, so... What exactly happened? Is he fully immortal? Or just enough to protect him against the blast, given the limited life-source fuel involved. Or are we to buy that the explosion somehow bypassed the whole costs-lives-to-grant immortality thing.
Guess we'll find out soon enough.
If Red's ever dependable for something, it's getting very creatively interesting when he finds himself again "under siege".
Now to wonder what the "Truman Protocol" is going to turn out to be. Some shady dealings related to the Truman Doctrine or the Marshall Plan or some other big initiative of around that time? Or something entirely else...
"Quantum" is a simplistically used buzzword, there -- wonder if they'll delve at all into this new artificial brain model concept at all beyond that -- but at least they didn't call it "positronic". (Would've been a cool reference, but an overused one, and I'd've been expecting R. Daneel Olivaw to show up next...)
Aaand yet another bonehead discovers what a mistake it is to threaten those that Will truly cares about.
Others have said much already, so I'll just add my own highlight moments...
Yeah, okay, the writing around the speedsters vs. the motorcycle wasn't some of The Flash's tightest. It was somewhat saved, however, by Kid Flash's rather spectacular takedown move -- that was a moment worth a bit of wait for, at least.
Plunder does seem like a bit of a dimwitted thug. So how'd he escape prison so quickly? And where the hell is he getting these futuristic high-powered weapons? (Yes, plural. They confiscated the first one when he was caught the first time, he breaks out of jail days later, and immediately has another one?) I hope the writers don't just sloppily let that go, and have some sort of shady explanation. I hope we later meet [more effects of] whoever was supplying this guy (even if it's on Arrow instead of The Flash), but I have the feeling that we won't. Difficult, when the show's writing has been so uneven -- some great moments and storylines, and some real sloppinesses -- but... we'll see.
That future-vibe... H.R. on the rooftop, with some sort of futuristic gun that kinda resembles one of Plunder's futuristic weapons, sighting on the about-to-kill-Iris Savitar but doesn't fire... Makes me wonder if something odd happens to H.R. along the way. (Or if it's just something we don't know about H.R. yet, like the teaser for next week hinted could be important.) Or if the team hatched a plan along the way that H.R. was there as part of. What if, in this team-altered future, that's not actually Iris? Hmm...
Time to stop targeting any old headline you can change, guys, and start targeting changes that will matter. As soon as you can... you know... figure out... what those are...
And how can I not mention The Speedster and the Turtle? Wonder if McSnurtle will have some interesting lesson for us someday, like it's not all about being fast...
I just hadda share a couple of moments in this episode... not that the rest of the ep wasn't lots o' fun...
At the beginning, at the recognition event for Agent Daisy Johnson, did I see some political-looking "Mace/Johnson 2020" signs in the audience?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPaasuijHrq/
Niiice.
After the crash, when the pilot, Agent McCafferty, was found still in his seat, speared through by a big branch, did anyone else think wistfully for a moment of the Leaf on the Wind, Hoban "Wash" Washburne?
I definitely enjoyed Jenkins's wandering interactions with the carnival attendees at the beginning -- only he could be so perfectly politely engaging while mistaking a stranger for a friend, etc. We appreciate you, Jenkins.
And it's about time the idea of recently-created magical artifacts was brought into play. Magic's out there, and these artifacts come from somewhere. Shades of Warehouse 13, in a way, but still...
I agree with others that Felicia Day was very under-utilized here, though; she's capable of contributing so much more, and I'm sure her fans were hoping/expecting for such. Ah, well.
And the campy unrealism of simple things like crazies and clowns standing around looking menacing while the good guys discuss their theories and declare their plans... I know this show leans toward the campy, but the writers/directors really (IMO) should be careful of overdoing that to the point of driving us away for better.
Overall, fun, and important for the introduction of the fact that heretofore unknown magical artifacts can be created and brought into havoc, but... leaving us all knowing that every actor involved is capable of so much better...
At least the DOSA agents at the end weren't as hyper-over-dramatic as their debut. #littlethings
I hope DEA Agent Palmer shows up again from time to time in the future. She made for an interesting addition to the dynamic, and particularly in her evolving interactions with Riggs. Not that he's ready to be pushed to together with someone, but... I kinda see him evolving closer and closer to some semblance of non-suicidal normalcy largely as a result of eye-opening interactions with various people, including Roger and Trish, Karen Palmer... and this kid next episode...
I think the only part that stuck out enough to bother me was the "training" exercises. What exactly was the value in a bunch of assorted team members throwing whatever moves and weapons they have at the one team-member alien hovering in the air whom none of their weapons could hurt at all no matter what they did or how they used them? Seemed like a complete waste of time (and ammo).
Ignoring that, though, and maybe a little over-simplification of a plot that screams out to be spread out over multiple movies,... lots of fun seeing the whole extended group together like that. And some great lines. Oddly enough, Diggle's deadpan "I'm convinced" was the one that most had me flailing for the pause button so that my wife and I could finish laughing and regain our breath. All this meta-and-alien weirdness won't get to you, Diggle; you're good.
And tossed in the midst, Barry finally having to face the effects of his time-traveling, the reactions to others as they find out what and who Barry's actions changed and erased. That was a long time coming, and what a way to complicate this impromptu team's dynamic.
Liking this overall, but...
Was anyone else bothered a bit when Mari ordered the dogs to "sic 'em" at the police? Funny (and powers-appropriate) as that may have sounded at the time, that order's obvious results are that some police (who're just doing their jobs responding to a criminal-activity call) are going to get hurt and/or (more likely) the dogs are going to get shot. Mari seems like one who'd want to be less careless than that.
BTW, did anyone else get the impression, while Robbie was growing more and more upset and talking about "the other guy", that Robbie Reyes should hang out with Bruce Banner for awhile?
Eli Darkhold, eh?. Whodathunkit?
Lots of interesting madness going on, with a bit of a hanger to eat at us over the few-weeks' break. (Phil? Fitz? Where'd you... C'mon guys; not funny!)
Although I'm getting a little tired of Director Mace's hypocritical "a team that trusts" lines. A team that trusts doesn't subject its innermost members to constant invasive lie-detection examinations, Jeff. (Or... does he already fully realize that?) That needs to get thrown back in his face, hard and soon.
On watching them first ride into hearing range of Hex's would-be hanging -- BTW, where'd they suddenly get horses? -- oddly enough, the first thing I thought was "Of the whole group, Sarah Lance seems to be able to fit in anywhere/anywhen so easily." Was that just me?
I almost look forward to AUSA Matthew Weitz attempting to follow up on his "process" threats. And getting squished.
While some of the details and interactions are still fun, the overall mechanics of the show still stretch things beyond reasonableness in too many places. A show that's fundamentally centered around a genius talent for applying physical sciences knowledge to all sorts of crisis situations, some of those applications -- and the plain old plot-holes sprinkled about between those crises -- are asking a bit much of the whole suspension-of-disbelief thing.
I enjoy some of the show's moments, but, while I want to like a modern reconception of MacGuyver, and I'm okay with truly reconceiving some aspects for a new and different take on the telling, it's difficult to like this when its overall writing and execution seem this half-heartedly careless.
I'll probably watch a couple more eps and keep hoping, but...
Ennis Esmer in overdrive (as Rich Dotcom) is always fun to watch. That said, after that fiasco (and the multiple deaths he brought to the FBI), if they don't lock him (and sidekick Dobby-- er, I mean, Boston) up in a hole someplace verrry deep, they're going to be kicking themselves when he breaks out and shows up somewhere yet again.
But, even then, I wouldn't be surprised if the writers dragged him out from that hole at some point at which his unpredictable talents could be uniquely useful...
Finally, a good use for the captured Chinese destroyer. ;-)
This officer-for-hire JD Richter seems rather promising - if he can get over the crazy-lady first impression...
