Karen’s Pull List: Series 01, Issue 08 – For the WE 11/19/16

To me, a television show should be judged on more than just good moments, it should be a cohesive story or stories that make up the episode, and make sense. Some of my grades may seem weird, because I liked the moments, but not the way they were assembled.

Sometimes being a reviewer/recapper is a bummer, because you have to watch a show differently than someone who’s just out to enjoy it for what it is. Entertainment. I envy that. It’s not that I don’t love these shows, it’s that I see them from a different perspective.

My soapbox aside, here are my rundowns of the Comic Book shows from the week ending November 19th, 2016.

The Walking Dead 7×04 – Service

Rating: 8 floorboard hidey-holes

• Still Reelin’
  The Alexandrians are still trying to bounce back after Negan’s brutal attack on Rick’s group. They prepare for his return, but he’s got another surprise – he shows up early, a power play to keep them on their toes. He tells Rick to carry Lucille around while he escorts him around Alexandria, such a dick move, but also so totally Negan.
• Kill the Girl and Make Her Cry
  Negan wants to see their supplies and armory, so they show him the commissary. Olivia has an inventory, but apparently someone swiped a couple of guns when she wasn’t looking. Negan tells Rick that he’ll let them keep all the food but he’s gonna take all the guns. Olivia has an inventory, but apparently someone swiped a couple of guns when she wasn’t looking.
  He’s enraged when he hears that they’re short two weapons, and decides that Olivia’s gonna die unless the Alexandrians cough up the goods. Rick and Gabriel go on a gun-hunt, and when they narrow it down to Spencer, they find the booty in an air vent under the floorboards of his house… along with food and booze. Alexandria has a dirty, dirty hoarder.
  Does Spencer not know about Karma?
  Rick returns to Negan and turns over the handguns and Negan spares Olivia. He’s all grumbly and menacing – and he pretty much tells them that they should be grateful for his kindness. Dick. But what an amazingly well acted dick. I mean seriously… Jeffrey Dean Morgan = rawr, amirite?
• The Kids Are Alright Tonight
  While the Saviors are in town, Carl has a showdown with a couple of them over their drug supply. Negan seems to admire his spirit. I wonder where that’s going? (hint hint – reading comics is pretty awesome). There’s also a scene where another of Negan’s dudes menaces Enid. He’s creeping on her big time. It’s super cringy to watch. He takes her balloons, which ramps up that oog factor times 50. Carl and Enid both escape unscathed, but “Go Getters” further their storyline A LOT. 
• Broken Men
  This topic is complicated. I have my own theory. The show is portraying Darryl and Rick as the broken men, and Dwight and the other Saviors as “free.” I think it’s the other way around. When you break someone, you control them. Darryl and Rick are just biding their time. Neither one of them is going to be in service to Negan long, and to me, that means they’re freer than the men who are part of the Savior army.
  Dwight wants to be Darryl so badly, I think at some point he’s going to break away from Negan. Whether that means he gets away or meets his end… well, we’ll see.

Supergirl 2×06 – Changing

Rating: 7.5 Pretty awesome ‘stumes

• They Got Pills For That
  Parasite was the “Monster of the Week,” and he really looked like the Parasite from the comics. I’m afraid that’s where the similarity ends. His comic counterpart never really had an agenda, he just needed to find hosts – thus… Parasite. I guess this is where I was dissatisfied with “Changing,” because I felt like they used this episode to tell the audience about Global Warming. (Mind you, they didn’t really give us more than that, just a general – “hey, the globe is warming.”)
  On the bright side, the CGI was encouraging. I’m glad CW is continuing to keep up the quality on their Berlanti-verse shows.
• She’s Just Not That Into You
  Okay, for the best part of this episode. Alex has apparently confided more in Maggie about her revelations, and she’s decided to approach Kara. Maggie is very supportive, and vows to be there for her afterwards, no matter what the outcome. Alex is nervous, but has faith in Kara that she’ll be accepted for who she is, now that she’s discovered her true self.
  Unfortunately, Alex’s sexual preference being different from what she expects is quite the shock to Kara, and she reacts in a rather ‘Kara’ way. Word vomit. She’s a blurter. She’s surprised, and she speaks before she thinks. In my opinion, I think the writers got this part right. I felt like it was in character for Kara to be this shocked. It wasn’t the optimal response, but it was a true one.
  Of course, we know Kara would never judge Alex for wanting to live her life as a lesbian, so she apologizes and makes things clear after she has a chance to regroup.
  The title of this storyline refers to what happens when Alex visits Maggie after she comes out. To be fair, I feel like Maggie has given her some mixed signals, but ultimately, she decides that she doesn’t want a relationship with Alex when all of this is new for her. Probably a self-preservation move, but we’ll see more about the two of them later. How will this affect their buddy-cop status? Awkward…
• We don’t need another hero
  After the Mon-El/CatCo debacle last week, he’s gotten a job as a “debt collector.” It’s shady, and Kara does not approve in the least. She’s pretty pissed that he won’t apply his powers to help others, so she resorts to a little betting to get him training. He doesn’t do very well when he spars with our Kryptonian killah, but when push comes to shove later on, he tries to take down Parasite and help National City.
  This week I have a few theories about the various shows, and here’s my first one. Perhaps Mon-El is downplaying his status on Daxom? Was he more than just a part of the Prince’s Royal Guard? He seems to be completely out of touch with the working class, and someone with a job, even just a guard, would know what work is. 
• Lying like a lead weight
  Lies are always good in CW shows, right? They always work out well in the end. Happy surprises that leave smiles on everyone’s lips. *birds tweeting*
  NOT.
  You might be guessing that I’m talking about James – don’t call me Jimmy/The Guardian – Olsen. He and Winn even went to the trouble to line his suit with lead so Kara wouldn’t be able to identify him. Yeah. Because when she does inevitably find out, she won’t be mad at all. Nah.
  Again, I have a bit of an advantage if they follow the comics. There *is* someone who can see through lead, if he learns how to use his powers correctly.
• Thanks for your donation
  In the course of fighting Parasite, J’onn is drained and needs a transfusion. Luckily, Alex knows of another Green Martian in National City. Yes, she even specifies GREEN Martian in case we weren’t paying attention over the last couple of episodes. Because we need to remember that.
  M’gann can’t tell Alex that she’s not a Green Martian or else she’ll out herself (flip side of Alex’s storyline?), so she decides to give J’onn her blood. I’m guessing she hopes everything will be fine, because she just says she’s sorry, and then once he wakes up, she says you’re welcome to his thanks.
  He gets the shakes near the end of the episode, so we’re gonna find out if she’s incompatible, or he’s just feeling her differences through the proximity of her blood in his system. It could be either. If I had to guess, I’d say the show would go the incompatible route.
• Alien Abduction
  After this episode, Mon-El may never want to help people again. He stops out of the kindness of his heart just to get abducted by Lucille Lane and Cadmus. *Cliffhanger!*

Gotham 3×09 – The Executioner

Rating: 7.5 Where’s Nygma Oil Paintings

• Is that… Robocop? No, not that one…
  Okay, could they BE any more overt with the Judge Dredd references? They could’ve at least given Barnes some “The Thing” lines, right? I mean, it was kinda clobberin’ time when he was meting out punishment. I know it’s a Marvel character, but Dredd isn’t DC either.
  Okay, okay, I digress. Barnes finally fell over the edge in this episode. He gave in to Alice’s blood and went full-on vigilante. Knowing that James had been a lone wolf for a while as well, he tried to recruit him, but he politely declined, and he was rewarded by an attempted frame-job.
  Luckily, James has friends that stick by him, and his partner – Harvey Bullock – who he’d already shared the “Barnes is crazytown” theory with, went to Lee and asked her to falsify some evidence in order to back up that supposition in order to save James’ ass. She has enough faith in her ex to know that he’s on the up and up, so they collude and Barnes is captured – to languish in Arkham… until it’s time to get him back on the show.
• Pardon his French
  Ivy is pulling some jobs by doing what a certain kind of woman does on a regular basis (I’m not judging). Dating men, leading them on, using them for material gain, then getting out of dodge. In her case, she’s using her budding (c wut i did thar?) apothecarian skills to knock out her Franco-American date, while she steals an emerald – or something like one at least.
  Next, she decides to go see her old friend Selena and reveal her new persona. When Ivy eats her out of house and home, it proves her identity – and then she tells her friend that she *may* be in a bit of hot water.
  Selena decides to call in Bruce for assistance just as her pad is broken in to, and a plan is formed for Bruce to buy the necklace so Ivy gets her booty and they can give the “antiquity” back to its rightful owner.
  When they try to do the right thing, they find ol’ Frenchie deader than a doornail. Selena is peeved and throws the necklace. They find out why it’s so valuable – it’s not the gem, it’s the key that was being kept in the fake emerald.
  There’s also an adorable scene where Ivy susses out that Bruce and Selena are dating. Selena’s walls are still at least halfway up, but Bruce is all in. So incredibly Catwoman/Batman – and I just love how these two are being written.
• Train of lies
  Well, apparently Isabella was really just into Ed – because she is dead, dead, deadski. Ed and Oswald are peering at her body when Oswald tells Ed that she fell asleep on her way home and that’s what led to her ‘accident.’
  Nygma is inconsolable. Oswald truly underestimates his BFF when he decided to off his true love, because he’s not going to just get over her and turn to him for comfort – which seems to have been Penguin’s plan. Something feels wrong to him, and Ed needs to find out what happened. The brake lines were cut (duh), she was four blocks from home, and a homeless guy heard her screaming before she was hit by the train.
  Apparently, that adds up to murder, which is correct, but because he’s so distraught – Ed is not coming up with the right sum. He assumes right away that the culprit is Butch – and in the next episode, some wacky hijinx will ensue. Eventually, the truth will come out and when that happens, Oswald better be out of town… seriously.

Lucifer 2×08 – Trip to Stabby Town

Rating: 8.5 Favors

• Just Another Demagogue
  Someone is a huge instigator. Can you guess who? Yeah, there was a reason Mummy dearest took Amenadiel to Uriel’s grave. She wanted Azreal’s sword – which just happened to be buried there. I’m betting she took the opportunity while Amenadiel wasn’t looking to dig around a bit and grab it. 
  I’m still not quite sure what her motives are, but for now, she says she wants ol’ hubs’ attention. She released the other-worldly weapon into the wild so humans would start killing each other with abandon – and she thinks it would definitely be enough to grab the “Big Guy’s” attention.
  Not the best plan. Lucifer isn’t down with it. Amenadiel seems to be more “team mum” at this point though – which is a little confusing, but it’s still a plan that needs to be nipped right in the bud.
• Grave Consequences
  Of course Charlotte wouldn’t have been able to execute this deed if Luc hadn’t just left the weapon out in the forest buried in a shallow grave. I mean… duh. He feels a lot responsible, so he makes a deal with Ella to trade favors – and she agrees. It’s a good thing she trusts him, because she has to do some fairly questionable things for him in order for him to find the sword.
  Speaking of favors, when he has to eventually pay her back, we find out that Ella asked Lucifer to accompany her to church – which is fairly interesting in itself. Not that he finds the building any different from any other building, just that there’s significant to Ella.
• Doctor, heal thyself
  Linda is back in his life, but she’s a little fixated on the fact that he’s the real Lucifer. They’ve traded places – she’s firmly seated on her couch, while he’s having to self-diagnose in Linda’s chair. It’s a shame, because he really needs her advice right now – and by the end of the episode Dr. Linda finally gets some perspective in order to work with him in a more normal way. After all, he’s just a guy in a dysfunctional family when it boils down to it.
• It cuts both ways
  Once the case is solved, the knife ends up in Dan’s hands before Lucifer can swan away with it. The two men, who have been bonding hardcore over the last few episodes, end up in an intense “squaring up” since the effects of the blade make the wielder enraged over trivial things.
  Dan has been blaming Lucifer in part for his trouble with Chloe, and there’s also some anger over stolen food from the Precinct’s fridge. Luc admits to stealing the food, but he makes Dan fess up to his own responsibility in regards to his divorce – and oddly enough, Dan can resist the sword after he admits Lucifer isn’t responsible for his relationship trouble. Is it because he doesn’t resent him for anything else, or is he stronger than he seems?

The Flash 3×06 – Shade

Rating: 8.5 Stubborn kids

• Diary of a Gimpy Kid
  Alchemy is at it again, this time he’s hitting close to home. Wally is being called to his Flashpoint destiny as Kid Flash, and he wants it bad. Ever since he saw The Flash saving people, he’s wanted to do the same, and getting powers would make his dreams reality.
  Joe and Barry have seen enough Alchemy to know where this is going, so they make a decision, with Wally’s consent, to lock him up at STAR Labs, with big sis watching over him.
  Alchemy still manages to get into his head and he goes all wack-job in the cell. It’s pretty intense, and Iris lets him out – because DUMB. 
  He converges with everyone else near the end of the episode, and we finally see how Doctor Alchemy is facilitating his transformations. I’m glad they decided to stick with the canon, which is by using the Philosophers’ Stone.
  He’s urged to touch the stone, and when he does, he’s frozen in a cocoon.
• Dampening the Mood
  Cisco continues his animosity towards H.R. and accuses him of stealing his “power dampening” cuffs. Turns out H.R. isn’t the thief, Caitlin is – and she lets Cisco in on the whole “Killer Frost” thing she’s rockin’. She asks him to Vibe her future, and when he sees them fighting, he lies to her and says it’s all good.
  He later outs her to the whole team, which Caitlin super hates, but is ultimately okay with. She also learns that she didn’t have powers in the Flashpoint storyline, so the frost powers didn’t come from Alchemy – so more on that later.
• The Dating Game
  When all the mayhem was going down, Julien was conveniently on a date. I think it’s a HUGE red herring because they pretty much waved it like a flag under our noses in this episode. There was also someone else who had a date in this episode, Joe finally made a move on Cecile – and my theory is that SHE is Alchemy, because she fits the same criteria as Julien and is kinda on the down-low – which would make for a really great plot twist. 
• The Changing Man
  I really only use this story title to call out the episode name – “Shade.” He was a virtual non-entity, but he reminded me more of the character in my link above, but lamer. Shade, The Changing Man is awesome btw. If you like weird comics, the Vertigo incarnation of the character is amazing.
• The Blue Man Group
  Once Alchemy announces that the danger is just beginning, Barry sees a zipping blue light who reveals himself as the “God of Speed.” It’s a character called Savitar, and I was way disappointed with the depiction of him by the FX Gods of CW. Because THIS:

THIS IS SAVITAR

Arrow 5×07 – Vigilante

Rating: 7.5 weird visors

• Serialized Storyline
  Vigilante is doing what a bunch of other people this week are doing, meting out justice without going through the proper channels – to put it nicely. Although he has no qualms with killing the innocent if they’re collateral damage.
  The Arrow-ettes seem to be fine with that while Oliver isn’t – which is pretty weird, since they were kinda upset when Ollie was doing the same thing… or am I misremembering things? Our man in green is wondering that as well, and I’m guessing they just don’t really want to take the time to track him down since he’s only going after bad guys.
  Typical Millennials… Lazy. (omg, no hate mail please – I’m just kidding!)
• Very Personal Banking
  Vigilante is going after a group of bank robbers wearing pretty awesome full-head masks. (I digress) The Arrow team tracks down someone who was in jail with the leader of the robber-gang-thing, and he gives up the info that dudesickel robs the banks furthest out from the police station (because of course there’s only one Precinct in the entire city) and works his way in.
  They can now plot out his next target, and they converge on the location along with the gang and the Vigilante. It works a little too well, and they go between catching him and not catching him – with the criminals getting caught in the middle.
  Some of them go down, the leader gets away, and the chick gets caught. When Ollie and his misfits try to go after him, Mr. V shoots at the van – stopping them.
  D.A. Adrian Chase shakes the chickadee down for info with a burst of anger at her deference. She gives up her boss’ hotel, where Oliver heads – ready to grab the dude before the Vigilante can get to him and pass his own kind of justice.
  Unfortunately, they arrive close together, and while Oliver gets away with the criminal, V-Man shoots up the place – mayhem ensuing all over the place. The team is now fully on board with the whole stopping him plan, so they take the place of the bank robbers to intercept Vigilante, and it works! *sigh*
  They have a chat, blah blah blah, some stuff happens, they agree to disagree – not very nicely, and part ways – again, not very nicely. The hunt is still on.
  I totally forgot why I mentioned the full-head masks. It’s because Vigilante’s “goggles” look SO amazingly cheap. I mean, really? They look like cardboard!
  
• Russian Cross
  In our flashback, Dolph “Kovar” Lundgren is still chewing up the scenery delightfully. He seems a bit impressed with Oliver’s stamina through his torture sessions, so he’s decided to give him a break and fill him in on a few things.
  He introduces him to one of his house staff, who just happens to be Taiana’s mother. Wow… way to rub salt into those wounds. Kovar is also telling Ollie how the Bratva isn’t all it seems either – because yeah, organized crime is always on the up-and-up. *head tilt* Did Oliver really think they were 100% honest with him?
  Ollie manages to get Kovar out of the room, knife to his throat, only to run into reinforcements in the hall – some Bratva amongst them. Cue sad trombone here. 
• Arte-Miss turncoat
  In an actual surprise, Artemis/Evelyn meets with Prometheus at the end of the episode, and it looks like they’re working together in secret. Wow, I did NOT see that coming. Does she still blame Ollie for the death of her parents? Is she playing a triple agent? Hmmmm. 

Legends OT 2×06 – Outlaw Country

Rating: 9 Bandanas

• Sitting Turn-Bull
  Our time-team finds another time pirate, and he’s in the old west. I gotta say, I was ECSTATIC! I love Jonah Hex, and I think Johnathon Schaech is doing an amazing job of personifying the character. Just pick up a copy of the Palmiotti/Gray mini: Jonah Hex: Origins and you’d see what I mean. Genius.
  Back on-topic… the gang finds Hex being strung up by his rival, Quentin Turnbull. Played by another fave of mine, Jeff Fahey. They rescue him, and team up with him yet again to fix America this week.
  You read that right, they’ve gotta fix America. Don’t you wish it was that easy? Seems like Turnbull has found some Dwarf Star Alloy in a mine due to that errant time pirate, and he uses it to close the pass that leads to the west – thereby cutting off all access and making “Turnbull: The Nation.”
  
  
• What’s Mine is Yours
  I mention the Dwarf Star Alloy mine, which is found by the pirate. Our gang destroys it, but not before Ray scrounges some for himself. He makes a suit for Nate, putting him in the traditional “Citizen Steel” garb – awesome, but dude, he’s got skin made of steel. Make yourself another ATOM suit… amirite?
• More Powerful Than a Locomotive
  Turnbull’s plan is to put the alloy on a train and blow up the pass in order to block off access. When they have no other plan, Nate decides he’s going to throw himself in front of the engine – and it actually works, when it really shouldn’t. Even they say so. My co-host on The Fandom Zone really wanted Brandon Routh to say “hey, I guess you’re more powerful than a locomotive!” as a
  shout-out to his turn at being Superman, so I used it here. You’re welcome Charles.  
• Not Tonight, I Have a Headache
  On-board the Waverider, Professor Stein has been having headaches, and Gideon can’t find a cause. He and Jax aren’t sure if they’re related to the message they found in the secret compartment, but Stein is getting flashes from an alternate timeline, and they’re starting to seriously consider sharing the message from Barry with the rest of the gang.

Luke Cage 1×07 – Manifest

Rating: 9 Mic stands

• Diff’rent Stokes
  Mariah is feeling the pressure from the reveal that she’s related to the recently incarcerated crime-lord, Cottonmouth. Her party leaders have decided to remove her from her city council seat, and her Youth Center funding has dried up.
  In this episode, we get to see the backstory for these two characters. They grew up together under the guardianship of “Mama Mabel” and an Uncle named Pete. As this story unfolds, Pete encourages Cornell (Cottonmouth) to follow his musical talents, but in secret, he’s assaulting his cousin Mariah.
  When Mabel finds out about Pete’s side dealing and Molestations, she forces Cornell to kill him, and puts him on the path to organized crime. He abandons his dream of becoming a musician completely, and most likely resents Mariah in some part because of this. (Keep that in mind, alright?)
• Misty-fied
  IA is investigating Misty Knight for a few reasons. I mean, when you’ve got a dirty partner and you’ve been seen with a guy who hangs around a bunch of crime scenes, you seem a little suspicious. 
• How Mariah Got Her Groove Back
  Okay, remember how I said Cottonmouth might have resented Mariah a bit from the incidents in their youth? Yeah. He does. Did. Whatevs. They get into it at his office, and he admits he was upset that she got the good upbringing when Mabel forced him to become a criminal.
  It leads to him saying something pretty shitty, and when I say that, I’m understating. Mariah proceeds to toss him out the window of his office and onto the floor of Harlem’s Paradise.
  She scurries down to his “resting place” where he’s not quite dead, but she’s so full of rage, she picks up a mic stand and pummels him until he’s tenderized. A fitting end for someone who had to give up his music for a life of crime.
  Shades enters stage right – and seeing that Mariah has taken out Cottonmouth, jumps to action. He works for Diamondback, not Cottonmouth, so helping Mariah is coolio with him. 
• He Blowed Up REEEL GOOD
  Meanwhile, Luke is headed to meet Claire to tell her about his real name and background when they’re intercepted by one of diamondback’s men. They’re gonna frame him for the murder of Cottonmouth – but not before they try out one of the Judas bullets. It seems to do the trick. It penetrates his “bulletproof” exterior and it also makes a dent when it explodes seconds later.
  Looks like Claire’s gonna have to do a bit of doctoring on Luke for the second time.

We’re a few shows down this week because… Thanksgiving, so here’s what’s coming up:

Luke Cage 1×08 – “Blowin’ Up the Spot” (Netflix)

Mariah campaigns to turn the city and the police against Luke, and not even Misty or Claire may be able to save him.

Monday:

Supergirl 2×07: “The Darkest Place” (8pm ET on CW)

While Guardian tries to clear his name after being accused of a murder committed by another vigilante, Supergirl heads out on a solo mission to rescue Mon-El who has been captured by CADMUS. While fighting to free Mon-El, Supergirl comes face to face with Cyborg Superman.

Gotham 3×10: “Mad City: Time Bomb” (8pm ET on FOX)

On the eve of their rehearsal dinner, a threat to Mario (guest star James Carpinello) and Lee (Morena Baccarin) is exposed, and Falcone (guest star John Doman) looks to Jim for help. Meanwhile, Nygma seeks revenge and Bruce learns more about The Court of Owls.

Lucifer 2×09: “Homewrecker” (9pm ET on FOX)

Following the murder of the owner of the building in which Lux is located, Lucifer and Chloe search for the killer, while Lucifer also deals with the fact that the new owner wants to evict him and demolish the place. Lucifer goes to great lengths to protect his home, and is entirely shocked when Chloe is supportive of him. Meanwhile, Maze and Amenadiel follow Charlotte around, as she comes up with a plan to upset Lucifer enough to want to leave earth and go back to Heaven.

Tuesday:

The Flash 3×07: “Killer Frost” (8pm ET on CW)

KEVIN SMITH DIRECTS; KILLER FROST EMERGES — Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) uses her powers to save Barry (Grant Gustin) but as her mother predicted, the effort unleashes her inner Killer Frost. Killer Frost goes on a rampage looking for Dr. Alchemy, kidnapping Julian (Tom Felton) and battling both The Flash and Vibe (Carlos Valdes). Meanwhile, Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and H.R. (Tom Cavanagh) have a heart to heart talk.