DC Live Action

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Supergirl is still the weakest of these shows IMO, but season two's premiere was already a substantial improvement over anything from the first season, IMO.

The Flash has an interesting setup for the rest of the season, though at this point I'm still not sure where the story is headed, but like Desensitized I'm also glad that the main villain isn't just another speedster for a change.

Arrow has gotten off to a really strong start this season, and Rag Man is such an interesting new character. I didn't expect him to be an anti-hero, and the fact that he gave up his revenge to save Olliver despite not even knowing him hints that there is a lot more to his character than just a typical drive for revenge. I also like how he is a survivor from the nuclear attack unleashed by Darhk last season, giving him a tragic background which makes his motives all the more sympathetic.

Much like Sipergirl, Legends of Tomorrow is already off to a much better start than the muddled mess that was its first season. That said, I thought that Heatwave and the new time detective character searching for the other members of the Legends to reassemble the team throughout the season made for a great setup. It's a shame that they just montaged through all of that at the very end to return everything to status quo, minus Hunter either being dead or MIA. Even so, I really like how this season is brining back great villains from previous seasons, and especially with Olliver guest-starring in this episode as well as Darhk being a major villain in this episode and the reveal of his alliance with the Reverse Flash at the end, all four of these shows are feeling a lot more interconnected in a really good way. It feels like in addition to being good shows in their own rights, there really is something being built up to for the upcoming four-night crossover.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Heard that the deal Kreisberg made with DC would be that Superman would only show up for Supergirl's first two episodes instead of being semi-occurring. That sucks, because his rapport with Kara was great. Show needs that now that Cat Grant's been demoted.

[Spark Of Spirit]

It's a shame since those first two episodes were two of the best the show has had so far. Without him and Cat around the show is going to need something to fill the void.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I did hear that Deadshot was un-embargo'd, so I guess DC's issues with their shows is mellowing out. Or maybe it's just because of Geoff Johns.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That or the fact that the movie isn't a priority anymore means the characters are free for the show. It was nice seeing him again tonight anyway.

[Dr. Insomniac]

So, we're going full Superfriends.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The Supergirl episode was a letdown. It had nothing to do with the crossover until the last thirty seconds... which ended up being in the Flash episode anyway.

But the first part of the crossover? Excellent! This is the type of stuff I want to see the shows do more often. I'm eager to see where the second part goes.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The Supergirl episode was a letdown. It had nothing to do with the crossover until the last thirty seconds... which ended up being in the Flash episode anyway.

But the first part of the crossover? Excellent! This is the type of stuff I want to see the shows do more often. I'm eager to see where the second part goes.

Pretty much this. It sucks too, because Supergirl, while not bad, is easily the weakest of these shows, and really could do with characters of a lot more personality and some depth. And this was really misadvertised, since it's clearly a 3-night crossover, not 4-night.

That said, damn was this worth all of the hype and build-up. It's also really cool to see Future Barry's message be revealed as a major plot point in this crossover, rather than as a Legends of Tomorrow reveal, which I was originally expecting. This is the right way to do a crossover between TV shows.

Also, is it just me, or does Kara come off as a lot more endearing and entertaining when her character and personality is bouncing off or clashing with a wide cast of more interesting characters than in her own show? I always felt that her actress was actually a good fit for the role. It's manly Supergirl's supporting cast that has always just been pretty "meh" to me.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Arrow's part was just as great. While Flash was more explosive and grand, Arrow was somewhat more introspective, which really helped add variety. It reminded me of that classic BTAS episode. It almost makes me wish they would edit the three parts into a long movie for home release. It's easily the best way to watch them.

But yeah, I haven't been feeling Supergirl outside of the first two episodes of the season. The cast is dull, the stories feel uninspired, and seeing Kara outside of her element here actually proves how much she has been held back by it.

By the way, where did Heatwave and Firestorm go? They weren't mentioned at all in the second part. I assume that will be a big part of part 3, but it was still strange that they were nowhere to be found.

[Avaitor]

I still like Supergirl better than Legends, which has only grabbed me as of late when other members of the universe show up, like Oliver in the premiere, or Damian Darhk in the last episode. But I do think that Supergirl hasn't recovered from losing Cat, and this week's episode was a let down.

I haven't seen Arrow's ep yet, but Flash's was a major improvement.

[Avaitor]

Just a reminder that Legends of Tomorrow moved to tonight, right after The Flash.

Last night's Supergirl was pretty good, but I think Kevin Smith's Flash episode was stronger. Still, a lot got done in this episode, and I liked Mon a little more than usual here.

[Dr. Insomniac]

So has anybody reacted positively to Savitar's real identity?

[Spark Of Spirit]

No.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I came across these two videos that perfectly sum up my thoughts on the last season of the CW DC shows.

The first is about why season 3 of The Flash failed: https://youtu.be/01v0jlrd7oc

And yes, I agree with pretty much all of it. The Flash really peaked with the back-half of season one, but ever since then the writers seem to have become so obsessed with redoing the same story arc that made that first season so successful that the show has stumbled into a boring repetitive formula of diminishing returns. I already found it redundant to have yet another speedster villain be the big bad of season two, with Zoom being a complete clone of the Reverse Flash in all but his origin story. Savitar was even worse, and this video really highlights why. I was actually on board with The Alchemist being the main villain of the arc and liked the idea of a villain who wasn't pure evil for a change, either. Too bad that was scrapped within the first handful of episodes. For what it's worth, season four does look to be addressing a lot of these problems, but the damage done from season three is so extensive that it'll be hard for the writers to dig themselves out of that hole. What does give me a little hope is the subject of the next video.

It's about the redemption of Arrow: https://youtu.be/ODfLODmjVKc

While I wouldn't say that it's as good as season two, it's easily the best the show has been since then. I'd also say that it's an overall better season than Luke Cage, Iron Fist, or The Defenders if we're comparing contemporaries here. It's not perfect, but it returned Arrow to the things that it did best, and most of the flaws were holdover plot lines from the last two seasons that had really damaged the show, but the writers really did a god job finding a way to work past most of those issues by the end of the season (hopefully The Flash writers can do the same). That last flashback scene in particular was perfectly executed. And yes, that literally being the last flashback that we'll ever have in this show, successfully completing Olliver's origin story arc, makes me really intrigued to see how the next season unfolds without that crutch to lean on.

Now you might be wondering what about Supergirl and LOT. And in response to that I would repeat, "What about them?" Both shows were so boring and forgettable that it honestly felt like a chore to keep up with them. The three-part crossover episode was a ton of fun, but that's pretty much the only exception. I heard someone say that the DC three-parter was a more entertaining team-up than The Defenders, and I tend to agree (I didn't even dislike The Defenders, but it was overall disappointingly underwhelming). I'll definitely watch the eventual DC crossover from this season, but in all honesty other than that, I plan on skipping Supergirl and LOT entirely. I just have better uses of my time. I'll give Bkack Lightning a shot, but if I'm to be honest I'm not looking forward to that, either. In all honesty I feel like Greg Berlanti bit off more than he could chew in trying to produce so many shows at once.

[Avaitor]

I agree with a lot of your points. Flash was more fun in season 1, while Arrow has really redeemed itself this year, Supergirl hasn't been the same since Cat Grant left, and I feel that it's just too late in the game for Legends to find a groove with its team. They all still have their moments, enough for me to stick around, but I do think Berlanti has too much on his plate.