Karen’s Pull List: Series 01, Issue 03 – For the WE 10/02/16

Time to talk about the comic book shows that aired last week. All of these episodes were on point! My grades were an 8 or above.

Reunited, and it Feels so Good

Fear the Walking Dead 2×13: “Date of Death”

This episode gets 8 Idiot Sons.

• At least they had chicken (reference to Leeeerrrroooooy Jenkins)
  Chris joined the ‘gang’ of three, and decided to take Travis’ old advice to heart. We find out that dear old dad used to tell Chris that he needed to “fit in” when he was bullied in school. Now those words are coming back to bite them all in the ass. He fits in a little too much, and Travis can’t stomach it. It ends up with Chris leaving him behind and ditching any morality he had before the world went crazy-pants.
• Like moths to a flame
  Madison turned on the lights last week, and the consequences are coming to pass. The gates are being flooded with refugees that want to take advantage of the luxury accomodations. This scene struck me as super sadistic. The hotel residents just stood there saying “I’m sorry,” as the people begged to come inside. They could’ve at least negotiated with them to make some sort of a community inside the gates, right?
• Ending on a low note
  Madison and Alicia have another Mother-Daughter talk out on the pier, and Madison shares the info that daddy didn’t have an accident, he purposely killed himself. Alicia is rightfully upset, and Madison reveals the truth about her reliance on Alicia to take care of herself. Alicia says that she only took care of herself because she had to. Heartwrenching.
• Culling x2?
  Earlier in the episode, the lost boys killed baby James because he was dead weight. Just before we go to black, we see the two boys that were left – showing up at the gates of the hotel – looking for shelter. However, we don’t see Chris. Did they leave him behind as well? Breathing or not?

She’s no Darryl Hannah…

Gotham 3×02: “Mad City: Burn the Witch”

I give this one 8 Baby Carriages

• Flipping the Turned Tables (and Flipping them Redux)
  Val and James get intel that they need to find Selena in order to get to Fish, and Jim knows who might be able to tell them where they can find her. Unfortunately, it’s his crazy ex-girlfriend. They head to ‘Sirens’ to talk to Babs, and they have a Gotham-esque convo with her, where she asks him for a kiss, and then tells him about a weirdo dream before they get their info and leave. Here’s where James gets his comeuppance. Val turns the tables on him by locking him out of his car to get to Selena. Then she taunts him about it. I kinda fist-pumped.
  Flipping them Redux was of course the little preview at the end of the episode where we see a solo traveler depart a train. Lovely Lee. It comes just after James and Val share an angry kiss. James had to see Lee do the same with another man last week, and now Lee is back in town to perhaps see Jim in his own relationship.
• Stranger Things: Season Two
  Meanwhile, Fish has found Professor Strange in a glass booth, crazily scrawling equasions all over the walls. He doesn’t have an outlet for his experiments, and we can tell this is making him go slowly insane. That doesn’t mean he wants to be freed by Fish though. She explains that she needs him to “fix” her and the other Indian Hill escapees, and when the police show up, he begs to be saved, yelling that Fish will kill him. Unbeknownst to him – because James can work outside the law – he’s made a deal with Oswald to head them off in the back of the building, but he ultimately lets them go after Fish sweet talks him. Oh Oswald. You’re gonna regret that decision.
• Owl (I’ll) deal with it
  We catch up with Bruce as he wakes up at that conference room table we’ve seen several times now, and the mysterious woman in the mask is there with him. She unmasks herself, and Bruce recognizes her as someone that’s been at many Wayne Industries functions. She introduces herself as Kathryn, but when Bruce asks for more information about her and her organization, she refuses to answer. They dance around negotiating for The Company, and whatever information Bruce has gathered about his parents’ murder. In exchange for his complete silence and dropping the investigations, she won’t bother him and the people he cares about. Not the best bargain ever, and I highly doubt we’ve seen the end of the situation.
• Green around the gills
  Ivy washed up on shore with a few extra years on her, and is found by a guy who wanders by. She takes him up on his offer to come to his house – which is conveniently nearby – for water and to clean up. Luckily, his ex left stuff there, and it fits her perfectly. Unluckily, he doesn’t care about plants, and she takes offence to that. She kills him with a dead plant, and leaves in a slinky dress. Very Poison Ivy.

A Light-hearted moment Before All Hell Breaks Loose. (Get it? All Hell?)

Agents of SHIELD 4×02: “Meet the New Boss”

My grade here is 8 Straightjackets

• Ghosts in the Machine
  The female ghost that left that box has found her way to Momentum Alternate Energy Lab, where she reunites with a father and son ghost pair. They’re surprised to hear that they were stuck in limbo for years, not days. They think their status is due to a book called the “Darkhold,” which is an ancient book of black magic. This is where Karen gets frustrated because I want to talk about this at length, but I also don’t want to spoil everything for you guys. I’ll just say that this storyline ties to Ghost Rider, his family, and an upcoming Marvel movie. Also, Atlantis. The Atlantis part will never get brought up, but hey, I know some obscure stuff.
• Let the chips fall where they May
  Poor May. She’s definitley been affected by the ghosts, and this is where I don’t know what’s happened to her. Whatever forces are posessing/controlling her are making her paranoid because everyone she looks at has this wierd skull overlay on their face. The paranoia culminates with her going all ninja on some of her students, Coulson, and the new Director. This leads to…
• Hitting the Head
  In an odd twist, May can’t best the new Director (Jeffrey. How is THIS a manly name?), and in a weird turn of events, he seems to be an “enhanced” person. It’s only a secret to us though, until now. At least they let us in on it quickly – this would’ve been a frustrating storyline otherwise. We learn that Coulson stepped down and wanted his replacement to have powers, but now he might be having second thoughts.

Luke’s Not For Hire – But He’s Definitely a BAMF.

Luke Cage 1×01: “Moment of Truth”

Luke gets 8 Nicely Placed Painted Crowns

• It’s gettin’ pretty hectic (I’VE GOT THE POWER!)
  Luke is working in a barber shop as the episode opens, and Pops – the owner – calls him “Power Man”. This is one of his aliases in the comics, so it was a fangirl moment for me. They’ve both been in prison, and they commiserate over the experience. Pops thinks Luke should be using his power to help people, but showing off by lifting the washing machine is pretty cool too.
  Luke also moonlights in a nightclub called “Harlem’s Paradise,” owned by a criminal named Cornell “Cottommouth” Stokes. He works in the kitchen normally, but on this night, the bartender has called in sick, so he’s asked to fill in. He connects with a patron named Misty Knight, who is an undercover cop.
• Diamond is rattling, Cottoning on to throwing Shades
  Our miscreant crew are mainly these three guys. The big-bad is Diamondback – Cottonmouth’s patron. He doesn’t exactly trust Cornell, and rightly so. The absent bartender and two of his buddies intercepted a payment intended for Diamondback from Cottonmouth, and it causes some major issues between them. Diamond calls in one of his enforcers, Shade. Turns out Shade was in prison with Luke, and they have a near miss in the nightclub. I’m guessing we see more about that later on. Shade is sent to keep an eye on Cotton.
• Paying his rent
  Luke was confronted by his landlord, the owner of “Genghis Connie’s” restaurant (best name ever), because he’s late with his rent. He gives her what he has, which is not exactly the full amount. However, he pays it in full by taking out the guys pressing the couple for protection money. They ask to hire Luke to help them, and he says he’s not for hire, but he’s “got ’em.”

Great week in comic book shows! What do you think? I’ll be back next week with these shows:

Luke Cage 1×02: “Code of the Streets”

Sunday:

Fear the Walking Dead 2×20: “Wrath”
Fear the Walking Dead 2×21: “North” (Season Finale)

Monday:

Gotham 3×03: “Look Into My Eyes”
Lucifer 2×02: “Liar, Liar, Slutty Dress on Fire”

Tuesday:

The Flash 3×01: “Flashpoint”

Wednesday

Arrow 5×01: “Legacy”