Karen’s Pull List: Series 01, Issue 04 – For the WE 10/08/16

Trixie *might* need some help from Doctor Linda.

Time for me to don my mask and don my alter-ego costume so I can talk to you about the comic book shows that aired last week!

Fear the Walking Dead 2×14 “Wrath”

My Grade: 9 missing noses

• Trade Relations
  The drug-dealing warehousers made a pact with the Tijuana drug cartel, and they’re going to make a move on La Colonia. Luckily, Nick decides to sneak out of town to have a chat with Marco, who advises him to get the Colonians out of dodge. Nick takes the warning back to Alejandro, but he’s steadfast in his belief that they’ll be able to weather the storm. The elder statesmen is quickly proven wrong when they can’t even fend off one walker in the med-bay, as it attacks and takes down Alejandro and two others. He addresses his people later and urges them to leave with Nick.
• Bro-back
  
  

  Bigoted Bros

  The Bros appeared at the gate at the end of the last episode sans Chris, and they’ve come seeking shelter and medical care. Are they gracious and grateful? Of course not. They’re bros. They’re hurling racial slurs and just being general douchebags, so Madison decides to have a chat with them. In doing so, she finds out that they were the guys with Chris, and Chris didn’t make it out of the accident that injured the brown coated bro. She has to tell Travis. She also has to get them out of the Parking structure, but that does not go over well. The other refugees think they’re getting preferential treatment. In a perfect storm of events, Travis notices the angry mob, and sees that the bros are the ones being hunted by them.

• Un-Truckin’
  Ofelia is still on her journey for closure. Headed for the US, her truck finally gives out. It looks like it just overheated, probably because in an apocalypse, who has time for maintenance, amirite? Like a good camper, she gathers up her things, and sets off to hike the rest of the way. She almost immediately encounters some infected, and with her new confidence, dispatches them easily. 

Fear the Walking Dead 2×15 “North”

My Grade: 8 fallen drug lords

This episode takes up exactly where the last one picks up, since they aired back-to-back, but I’ll separate them like AMC did.

• Invasion!
  The drug cartel, led by Marco, makes it to La Colonia – to find it deserted. They’re elated by this find, and celebrate by dancing in the town square, and shooting their guns in the air. Yeah, waste bullets, dummies. Soon thereafter, we discover that Alejandro stayed behind. Since he was fated to turn and close to death after being bitten in the attack in his office, he was there to execute a plan to take out the invaders. He heads to the bus, and drives it out of the gap in the fence. That leaves a huge hole for the walkers to descend upon the cartel, and they can’t take them all down – so they’re overrun and are defeated rather easily. This leaves a dying Alejandro on the bus.
• Not so Different
  This is a TV Trope that’s used in shows to mirror storylines ironically. Earlier in the season, Ilene Stowe, the mother of an infected woman who was mercy killed by Strand, turns on him and stabs him in the gut. The hotel contingent makes the decision that if someone becomes violent, they are expelled from their group. In this episode, when Travis finds out that the tourist bros killed Chris because he was hurt in the accident, he goes apeshit and brutally attacks them until they’re both dead. In the process, he also gravely injurs Oscar. The decision is quickly and ironically made to toss out Travis. Madison implores them to let them stay overnight, and they reluctantly agree – only because of her earlier contributions. When Andre can’t save Oscar, he descends on Travis with a gun, but Alicia intervenes and stabs Andre. Strand helps them get out of the hotel immediately, but declines to tag along, and the three go north. They head for the warehouse, where they find the executed family (they were shown to Nick in the previous episode as a warning), and get the Colony’s address from a wallet. Travis drives them to La Colonia and the only thing they find there are the group of walkers which now include the cartel – and Alejandro – who is now a hair’s breadth away from death. He manages to inform Madison that Nick is on his way north before expiring, and Madison insures he won’t turn by knifing him in the head. They head north.
• Border Patrol
  

  They made a run for the border, at least there’s no wall!

  Speaking of heading north, Nick’s group is making their way towards some kind of base that Nick saw through his binocs. Helicopters are seen flying in and out, and it gives them hope that there is some sort of civilization there. When they make it to the border, they’re gunned down. The people that remain unhurt turn and run, leaving Nick and Luciana with two violent attackers.

  Meanwhile, Ofelia continues her trek, but is stopped by a man who seems similar to the men who intercepted Nick’s group. He pulls a gun on her and says, “Welcome to America”.

That’s it until next season. At least we’re not left with a huge cliffhanger. I can wait for a while to find out where we go from here. I’d like to know where Strand fits in, and I hope he still has a place on the show when it comes back. He’s one of my all-time Walking Dead show faves.

Gotham 3×03 “Look Into My Eyes”

My Grade: 8 Terrible Bachelor Pads

• Through the looking lab
  Jervis Tech, Hypnotist, is performing at ‘Sirens’. While Babs absolutely loves his act, Tabby is disdainful. I think perhaps Babs would dig it if Jervis could put the power of suggestion to work for her. His real gig is grifting the crowd, so he spots a couple with some dough and plants a seed for later. He runs over to their home later on and sets up a murder/suicide – then takes their stuff. Pretty nifty setup. He’s also looking for his missing sister, Alice. He spins a pretty sad tale to Boba-Jim (all credit to my Fandom Zone co-host Charles Skaggs for that nickname), so he’ll bounty hunt her down. Jim finds her, but despite Jervis’ tall-tale, she doesn’t want to be found. She was one of Strange’s experiments, so she’s “enhanced” with saliva that drives people insane. She’s not a baddie though, so she makes sure the people she infects (unintentionally) are put down and erased by fire. A little later, when Jervis decides to off James by walking him off a building, he’s saved by Alice, who doesn’t want her brother to cause mayhem. She’s thanked by getting cuffed and taken in to GCPD headquarters. Well, a bounty is a bounty, right?
  
• STILL not as crazy as the real election.
  
  

  No misogyny here. Just a bit of crime lord.

  Whether it’s true or not, Oswald declares Mayor Aubrey James unfit for office. He throws his hat into the ring, and a bit of a press frenzy ensues. I dunno, I think I might enjoy a Penguin mayor. He also bribes the head of Arkham to release his friend Ed, so I’m sure he’s got something in mind for the two of them. Three if you count Butch. Probably spells trouble, but I’ve always loved their storylines. I can’t wait to see what happens next. A Penguin/Riddler ticket? YESPLZ!

• The Lee-fector & Fixer-Upper
  Lee is back in town, and she wants her coroner job back. She’s assured by Barnes that she won’t see James, and of course, that’s when James arrives to get his bounty for hunting down one of Strange’s escapees. Like salt in the wound, she confronts him, and tells him all about her new life – fiancee and all. Rude and rude. When James gets a bit of a head wound after being rescued on the rooftop, he goes to the ER to get stitched up. It’s then that he meets Lee’s Doctor Fiancee – Mario Falcone. In this episode, Lee and Mario meet Carmine for a meal. This is where Lee has some hesitation in her relationship. I mean, what did she expect? She’s marrying a FALCONE!
  Also, last week, Jim and Valerie shared a hate-kiss, and apparently it led to a steamy night at his dingy apartment.  As soon as the sun came up, (does the sun ever come up in Gotham?) Valerie was out the door. She definitely wears the pants in that… relationship? Pairing? Hookup? Whatever that is.
  
• Five is Alive
  Bruce’s doppelganger tells Alfred and Bruce that he was called “514A,” but his nickname was Five. He looks at Bruce and Alfred sparring – and Bruce offers to let him try. He does, and is quite adept even while admitting that he’s never fought before. Alfred manages to get in a nice pop to the face which leaves Five with a nose-bleed. He can’t feel it. Hmmm. Interesting. 
• The Cat Comes Back
  Selena runs into James and he asks her about Alice. She doesn’t know anything about her, but she would like him to keep an eye out for Ivy. He’s oblivious, and nods, but you just know he doesn’t give a crap. She then goes to see Bruce to ask him to help her find Ivy, where he totally blows her off. She does not take this well and throws quite a bit of shade his way. She storms off while Five lurks and watches the scene unfold. He cuts his hair, trying to look more like Bruce, and takes the car to meet up with Selena. Five apologizes, acting as if he’s Bruce. I gotta say, I groaned here because I really didn’t want wacky twin hijinks, but hey, whatever. He says he’ll help her look for Ivy, and they’re off.

Lucifer 2×02 “Liar, Liar, Slutty Dress on Fire”

My Grade: 9 decaying wings

• The Case of the Missing Mum
  Charlotte gets her first major storyline two episodes into the season, and it’s pretty much about her slipping away every chance she gets. I wasn’t quite sure why she was doing this, since she kept saying she wanted to “reconnect” with Luc, but it was kinda funny at some parts. Maze wanted to torture her again, Lucifer wanted her to tone things down and put on some real clothes, and Amenadiel was AWOL. Finally, she decided to make Lucifer some comfort food and tell him the real truth about ignoring him once he got banished to hell. Mum revealed that Daddy wanted to kill him, and she convinced him to send Luc to hell instead. So she was a hero, not a villain. He buys it, and when he walks away, she looks up – to God assumedly – and evilly smiles, like she’s gotten one up on him. Such a great moment.
• The Plumage Don’t Enter Into It
  
  

  Molting or Just Bad Karma?

  We find out why Amenediel is out of touch when we see him in his old law office poring through books. Doctor Linda reads him the riot act but good. She comes back later to find a completely defeated Amenediel still there, and she’s still steamed. She starts up again and he apologizes. It’s heartfelt, and Linda knows it. She accepts his apology. I’d like to see them becoming friends, because he really needs one. After she leaves, he stares into a mirror and unfurls his wings. They’re decaying and they look horrible. He is devestated, and the look on his face is heartbreaking. DB Woodside KILLED it in this episode. 

• Lawyer, Lawyer, pants on Fire
  This is the case, but who really cares about that. It was there to further Charlotte’s storyline – since mum’s “container” was the body of one of the deceased. A lawyer was the main victim, and a lawyer was the killer. Done and done. I don’t watch Lucifer for the cases… do you?
• Puppet Master
  Okay, I love Trixie SO HARD. She wants a new American Girl Doll, so she turns one of her current dolls into the creepiest looking amalgam of doll parts, crayons, and markers I’ve ever seen. Detective Douche and Chloe aren’t having it, but Lucifer – who is totally projecting his own parent issues – gets a new doll and gives it to Chloe. When I was discussing this episode yesterday, we decided we’d love to see an episode where Maze and Lucifer have to babysit Trixie. An hour of that would be AMAZING.

The Flash 3×01 “Flashpoint”

My Grade: 8.5 “Does he poop IN the suit”s?

• He was Flashppointed
  This means Flash/disappointed, and past-tense of Flashpoint. Barry has lived in his fantasy alternate reality now for three months. He’s spent his time not saving lives, stalking Iris, and living with his parents. Another task he has is taking care of Eobard Thawne, who he pulled through time and stashed in a warehouse. He taunts Barry, telling him that soon enough Barry will be begging him to set things right – as in, go back to that night and kill his mother again. His prophecy turns out to be correct, as Barry sees that not only are his memories of the “real” timeline disappearing more and more, but Wally – who is the true hero in this reality – is gravely injured and unable to heal. He begs Eobard to help, and makes the decision to go back and allow Reverse Flash to kill his mother. Once they get back, RF confesses that there might have been some tampering done on his part, and smirks before he takes off. Everything seems to have been put right, except that Iris and Joe are estranged. Rut Roe!
• Wonder Twins… ish
  Okay, Wally and Iris aren’t twins, but in the altered “Barry Fantasy” timeline, they work as a team to fight crime. I thought this was pretty cool. Barry also didn’t have to give up any secrets in order to have both of them on his team.
  

  The Alterna-Flash, Zuckero, and Opthalin. Weirdest team ever.

• The Cisco Kid
  Cisco was a incredibly different in the alternate universe. I struggle to find a real-world comparison… maybe Zuckerberg? At any rate, he’s rich – and a bit of a tech-magnate, but when Barry knows about an incident from his past, he reluctantly agrees to help Flashx2 with their plan to make things right and save the city from The Rival.
• The Dating Game
  I mentioned in the first story point that Barry took a little of his three month fantasy life to stalk Iris. Just as things are heating up with The Rival, he finally works up the courage to ask her out. I’m sure it felt weird since she hardly knew him in this timeline, but it turns out that she felt like something had been missing – and when she met Barry – that something clicked into place. Odd how destiny works.
• One-Trick Rival
  I’ve talked a bit about The Rival, and he was mostly there just to be a way for Barry to use his speed. In doing so, he lost the memories of his “real” life faster than he would have. It was his impetus to talk to Eobard, and when Wally gets hurt in the face-off with The Rival, that’s the last straw. But… I noticed that Mr. Rival was truly a one-trick pony. Okay, he was a speedster, but when it came to his “finishing moves,” he was all about the whole running in circles thing. Did he not learn anything else? 
• Mirror, Mirror
  Speaking of The Rival, after Barry resets the timeline, Rival’s alter-ego (Edward Clariss) wakes up to a disembodied voice and the word “Alchemy” being scratched into his bedroom mirror. He’s gonna have a hard time explainin’ that to the wifey.

Arrow 5×01 “Legacy”

My Grade: 8 leftover bad guys

• Getting the team back togeth…
  
  

  I’d totally subscribe to this newspaper. Level of snark: over 9000

  I felt like we were back to the grittier first season Oliver Queen in the Season 5 premiere of Arrow, and that’s a good thing. Ollie is going it alone for the first time in ages – and he’s digging it. He’s a loner Dottie, a rebel, well, except for that whole Mayor thing. Because of this, he’s having trouble meeting all of his obligations as the city’s head honcho, and he’s being skewered in the press. His new Press Secretary – Thea – is covering for him as best as she can, but he’s spread pretty thin. Finally, late in the episode, he conceeds that he’ll have to form a new team. Felicity and Curtis are on-board, Lance not far behind, and a few other candidates lingering in the shadows. We met Wild-Dog here, and I’m guessing he may be recruited as well.

• Take me to Church
  The baddie in this episode is a crime lord named Tobias Church (played by The Walking Dead alumni Chad L. Coleman). I so wanted him to call that bat Lucille. He took Ollie hostage, along with some Aldermen, using them as bait for the Green Arrow. I giggled when Oliver said he was quite sure the Arrow wasn’t on his way to save them. Eventually, they’re saved by Speedy (Thea) who breaks her vow not to don the red hood again.
• Aren’t all cops “anti-crime”?
  Lance isn’t back with the force, but in his absence, they’ve set up another “Anti-Crime” task force. I’ve always rolled my eyes at that – I mean, all policemen fight crime, right? They should really call it something else. The only reason I put in this bullet point is so I could bitch about it.
• Fire-stealer (Prometheus)
  At the end of the episode we get a glimpse of our new villain, Promethius. I used the words “Fire-stealer” here because Prometheus of mythological fame stole fire and gave it to mortals. I don’t know if it will figure into his character here, but it’s something related to his powers in the comics.
• драка (pronounced draka/translation: fight) club
  The flashbacks are set in Russia this season, where we’re learning about his connections to Anatoli post-island, and his initiations into Bratva. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the flashbacks are awesome this year? I’d settle for good.

From EW: Lance tosses Oliver a paper with the best-ever headline: “Mayor Handsome misses city council meeting.” Thank you, anonymous Star City Star copy editor; your snark is appreciated. (Also, did we know that the town newspaper was called The Star City Star? That is amazing.)

Luke Cage 1×02 “Code of the Streets”

My Grade: 8 straight razors

• Chico is the man
  All of the contingents – Cottonmouth, Misty, Pop – they all figure out that since Chico is the last one of the theives alive, he must have the money. Since Pop’s is the place that usually has the answers, Cottonmouth heads there first. His visit is super tense, and filled with innuendo-speak and pointed gestures. Incredibly menacing. Misty and her partner show up later with the same questions, but Pop isn’t going to hand Carlos over to anybody. He sends Luke out – bounty hunter stylez – to bring Chico back to the shop, but Chico isn’t having it. Until… he figures out he’s in trouble. Then he shows up expecting to be sheltered. Unfortunately, Turk sees that he’s hiding out and tattles to Cotton’s men. The dumber of his two Leutenants takes it upon himself to shoot up Pop’s place and mucks things up, BUT GOOD. He killed Pop, and that angers Cottonmouth greatly. Tone, exit stage left.
• Father where art thou
  
  

  We’ll miss you Pop.

  As I mentioned above, the wonderfully portrayed Pop died in the shootout. Luke chose to save the boy in the shop instead of Pop, which was absolutely the right choice, but it doesn’t mean he won’t blame himself. We can see he agonizes over it during the rest of the episode. I’ll miss this character, and the understated way that Frankie Faison played him.

• She had to cop to her lie
  When Misty visits Pop’s, it just happens to be while Luke is working and hidden in the back room. He overhears her and recognizes her voice, but since she lied about who she was the night they met at the bar, he’s a tad displeased. He emerges, and she totally tries to play it off. Introducing herself as “Detective Misty Knight,” Luke follows her lead, and then outs her by saying, “Looks like you found some better clothes to audit in”. Whoops.
• He ain’t got all night
  The episode is bookended by a confrontation Luke has with a boy from the neighborhood. I’m guessing he’s trying to hold up Luke for some quick cash, but again, Luke ain’t having it. The first scene is cut short, going straight into the bulk of the action. When it’s picked up again after seeing all the crap that Luke has lived through, we can see the weight pulling him down as he challenges the kid to pull the trigger. Street-thug boy gets increasingly agitated as Luke finally resorts to shooting himself in the abdomen, and the bullet skitters off – as does the kid. Fade to black.

Nice Girl Ange sent in some feedback! She says:

I was expecting Flashpoint to go for a couple of episodes. I would have liked to see a bit more of that world, or are we in another Flashpoint world? I’m so excited for the return of Supergirl too!

That’s it for this week! Here’s what I’ll be covering next week:

Luke Cage 1×03: “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight?”

Monday:

Supergirl 2×01: “The Adventures of Supergirl”
Gotham 3×04: “New Day Rising”
Lucifer 2×03: “Sin-Eater”

Tuesday:

The Flash 3×02: “Paradox”
Agents of SHIELD 4×03: “Uprising”

Wednesday:

Arrow 5×02: “The Recruits”

Thursday:

Legends of Tomorrow 2×01: “Out of Time”