The Review at the End of the Universe
“Anaconda” The 100 takes a break from the main plot of the season and turns the clock back to the time of the first Apocalypse in order to set up a potential spin-off. Backdoor pilots are a strange beast. They are episodes of a TV show designed to set up the major elements of a…
“Shiv (Part 1)” Stargirl shifts its focus from young superheroes to their teenage criminal-in-waiting counterparts by spotlighting the first of several second-generation villains, someone who is already evil enough on her own. Heroes and villains are more interesting when they function as a mirror of one another, or at least operate on a comparable level….
“Adapt or Die” Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. evolves the threat of the Chronicoms as some lingering questions find answers. If anyone’s following these reviews to read my thoughts on how this show handles time travel then you’ll get your fix early. Any questions over whether this show was allowing the characters to play their part…
“The Queen’s Gambit” The 100 continues to heighten the tension in Sanctum as the Bardo prisoners have little to do but discuss their issues with one another. This season remains a difficult one to understand just because of the volume of plot being burned through. So far the strongest episodes have been the ones that…
“The Justice Society” Stargirl reaches its midway point and sees the teenage superteam assemble for their inaugural mission, learning for the first time what they’re capable of. The premise of Stargirl has so far been Courtney’s decision to recruit for a new generation of the Justice Society, but rather than make that the end goal…
“A Trout in the Milk” Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. heads to the 1970s to stop the Chronicoms and HYDRA from changing history into something significantly worse than came before. I really like that this season is playing fast and loose with whether the timeline can be changed or if the characters are simply playing their…
“Nakara” The 100 catches up with Clarke’s group on the ice planet as Diyoza’s whereabouts become known and the situation in Sanctum continues to deteriorate. At last we learn what happened to Diyoza and, to begin with, it’s more or less the same thing that happened to Octavia. Those in Bardo tried to forcibly extract…
“Hourman and Dr Mid-Nite” Stargirl continues the rolling out of teenage superheroes with a double dose of introductions, completing, for now, the new generation of the Justice Society. Much of the focus of Stargirl so far has been the motivations of why its growing ensemble of characters turned to either heroism or villainy, with each…
“Out of the Past” Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. takes the form of a noir thriller as the team investigate the events leaving to the well documented death of Agent Sousa. So many shows eventually do an episode in the style of a noir thriller because it lets the production team play around with the visual…
“Welcome to Bardo” The 100 properly introduces Bardo and its complicated command over time as Sanctum destabilises even further thanks to Sheidheda. Without a doubt the most difficult thing to keep track of this season is the timeline. There are different planets where time passes at different rates and rules around what characters can remember…
