Arrow SN4 EP16 – ‘ Broken Hearts ‘

It’s time to cover episode 16 of Arrow and this week we see the return on Cupid and we also get to see the preliminary hearing to see if Damien Darhk will have to face a court case against him for all his crimes in Star City.

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So after seeing Felicity walk out on Oliver in the last episode it’s only fair to bring Cupid back into the fold to kick love while it’s down on it’s knees and she has a plan to destroy love once and for all by killing happy couples on there wedding day. She starts of by killing her first couple after asking them how much they love each other and the couple state that they love each other to death probably the wrong choice of words considering the situation they are in and Cupid draws back two arrows and fires them into the couple.

Captain Lance contacts Oliver and advises him that there has been a double murder and the person responsible is someone he knows, Oliver appears at the crime scene and Captain Lance shows Oliver one of Cupids trademark arrows. The team try and figure out what the link between the victims and Cupid might be, Thea advises the team that the pair that were killed are a celebrity couple but they cannot figure out what the reason for killing them may have been.

The team get a tip off that another couple have been kidnapped and the team head off to try and stop Cupid from killing again it appears that she has stolen the wedding limo with the couple inside. Wiggle pulls up beside the limo with Thea on the back and she takes the leap and ends up on top of the limo until Cupid crashes through a garage door knocking Thea off onto the ground. Oliver ignores Felicity’s advise to not go after Cupid and to check if Thea is alright by chasing after her in the warehouse he manages to catch up with Cupid he manages to capture her with a trick arrow tying her up but as Oliver is distracted she manages to cut herself loose and knock Oliver down before escaping out of a window.

The team manage to track down Cupids hide out and it’s no surprise that it is a abandoned wedding dress factory and when the team arrive they find that she is targeting famous couples in a bid to destroy love it appears she really didn’t take  the apparent death of Deadshot very well. The team also find a picture of Oliver and Felicity so it appears that the pair have escaped by breaking up, Oliver comes up with a rather odd suggestion by asking Felicity if she will marry him in a bid to draw Cupid out into the open. Felicity eventually agrees to the crazy idea and Thea sets to work spreading the rumour about there secret wedding onto a message board.

The pair arrive at the wedding venue and get the fake wedding under way the pair are left to say there own vows Felicity’s are short and to the point and Oliver takes the chance to poor his heart out to Felicity. The pair are about to get to the I do part of the ceremony and they are then interrupted by Cupid just as she draws and Arrow at Oliver Felicity steps in front of him and starts to walk towards her and with tears in her eyes has a heart to heart with her about the true meaning of love before Cupid fires an arrow into Oliver. The team jump into action and eventually capture Cupid before Oliver gets up off the floor before revealing to her that he was wearing body armour.

We also see in this episode the beginning of Damien Darhk’s preliminary hearing before the judge to see if Laurel has enough evidence to take him to trial for all of his crimes. The trial does not get off to a good start with Darhk’s lawyer advising the court that his clients name is not even Damien Darhk and it is in fact Kenneth Bender and is a citizen of Markovia and that he was being held prisoner at the scene where William was being held. Things go from bad to worse when Diggle takes the stand and Darhk’s lawyer brings up the time that Diggle help Thea Queen buy and massive supply of Vertigo he tries to justify why he did this but before he can answer the question the lawyer then brings up the fact that he seems to work for Oliver Queen but does not understand how he is paid to do so as Oliver has no money.

Captain Lance has seen enough to make him think that Darhk is going to walk so talks Laurel into putting him on the stand and he will tell the court everything Darhk had him do while he was working for him even if it means the end of his career. Laurel agrees to put him on the stand after some persuasion, Captain Lance takes the stand and tells the court how he helped give Darhk police route schedules and even helped him plant a virus in a FBI server farm all because Darhk threatened to kill Laurel if he didn’t do as he was told. This testimony is enough to convince the judge that the case should proceed to trail and that Darhk will be held in prison until the date of the trial is set, we see the officers take him to his cell and once they have left he produces a gold wedding ring from his mouth and places it on his finger and has a big grin on his face.

At the end of the episode we see Felicity and Oliver are back at HQ alone and the pair begin to talk with Oliver apologising again and telling Felicity he does not want to loose her, Felicity tells Oliver that she can never forgive him for what he has done and places the wedding ring down before telling Oliver she can no longer be with him at night doing what they do and not be with him romantically before leaving.

As always for all your Vigilante needs stick with Deadpool_1984 only at skatronixxx.com

The Flash SN2 EP16 – ‘ Trajectory ‘

So it’s time for this weeks review of The Flash and this week we see Barry trying to improve his speed with the help of the team and we meet a new speedster in the form of Trajectory and the team uncover the identity of Zoom.

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So this week centers around Barry’s quest to get faster in case the team manage to find a way back to Earth-2 as well as dealing with another speedster in the form of Trajectory. The first attempt is to get Barry to build up enough speed to clear a canyon on the outskirts of the city, the attempt fails and we see Barry hurtling towards the river but is saved by Cisco and his and of drones holding a net.

Barry also uncovers the fact that Jay was dying before Zoom apparently killed him at the end of the last episode due to his use of a speed enhancing drug called Velocity 7. Caitlin also tells Barry that she was working on Velocity 9 and that she had seen positive results with Jay’s cells regenerating after only one use. This also leads Barry to take the sample and is considering using it to improve his own speed but Dr Wells had spotted that Barry had taken the sample and after a heated discussion Barry smashes it on the floor.

This is where the new speedster Trajectory comes in it appears that Caitlin enlisted the help of an old lab partner from Mercury labs for help as she was having some issues with the bonding element but she only sent her 4 out of the 9 genetic parts of the formula. This however is all her old lab partner needed to make a full copy of Velocity 9 and use it on herself and she uses her new power to rob a nightclub and all the party goers cash in front of Barry and the team due to having crushing debt issues.

During the final show down where Trajectory has collapsed a large portion of the bridge to stop Barry from reaching her we see Barry really tap into his speed force and make the jump and sending her crashing into a power station. Barry tries to talk some sense into her and advise her that she is killing herself, Trajectory is not willing to listen and she starts to run off into the distance but as she does so her speed force starts turning from red to blue something Barry notices before she completely evaporates.

This all eventually links into Cisco having a rather strange vibes throughout the episode every time he is near or touches the case where Jays flash helmet is kept, the vibes consist of Cisco being stood in a dark room with Zoom about to take his mask off. After Barry comes back from the fight with Trajectory he mentions to the team that her speed force was turning blue the same as Zoom. This leads to the team uncovering that Zoom is also dying and this is why he needs to steal other speedsters speed force very much like the symptoms Jay was experiencing.

Cisco then tells this team that this may be a bad time to bring something up but he has been vibing zoom every time he is near or touches the case containing the helmet the team begin to realize that there was more to Jay than they first thought. Caitlin does not want to hear this but the team advise her that it is not the first time a speedster has been in one place at the same time, Barry then walks up to the case and says there is only one way to be sure and smashes the case and passes the helmet to Cisco. Cisco then grabs hold and vibes back to the dark room with Zoom and this time is there long enough to see the face of Jay once it is removed, he comes back around and states that the teams fears are true and that Jay is in fact Zoom.We then see Barry run off and end up back at the canyon he failed jump and let out a scream of anger and the episode comes to a close.

As always for all your Scarlet speedster needs stick with Deadpool_1984 only at skatronixxx.com

 

 

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. SN3E17 – ‘The Team’

This review contains spoilers.

Last weeks episode saw the capture of the team by Giyera, Hive’s new right hand (Inhu)man and also saw a look into Malick’s backstory. We discover that Malick has been following the belief in the exiled Inhuman his entire life – and then we see it cost him his beloved daughter, Stephanie.

This weeks episode sees us gather some previously introduced Inhumans – Joey, from the opening episode of this season, and Elena (AKA Yo-Yo) from SN3E11 (Bouncing Back). Joey and Elena are called in by Daisy and Lincoln, in order to take back the SHIELD bus from Malick’s grip.

This episode was amazing. Remember last review when I said that SHIELD were launching pieces forward? This week, it was kind of like we were having a really pleasant, fast paced game, and all of the sudden the other player has flipped the board and started beating you with it, whilst jamming the pieces up your nose. In a good way.

The Kickass Stuff;

The Secret Warriors were absolute badasses this episode. Their rescue of the team and capture of Malick was fantastic – it looked great, and it was just awesome to see a team of all Inhumans going on the mission. They worked amazingly together, in incredible sync. Seeing Yoyo and Joey work together and take down six men at once in one hallway? Awesome.

Lincoln making his electricity into lassos and holds to throw his adversaries into the air? Awesome.

Daisy in general, but especially swinging down on that chain and sending Giyera flying? Awesome.

Malick had some really great lines this episode too, about religion and faith. I really liked two in particular;

“I believed I could resurrect a God; but instead, I freed the Devil.”

“Oh no, Mr Coulson, it is a God. It’s just not ours.”

I really like these lines because it really is about his faith and how awry it’s gone. All of his and Phil’s interrogation scenes this episode are like that. Phil asking Malick what he expected from bringing back a creature like this, and Malick explaining he was brought up in the faith that it was a God due to bring him good fortune – a God he thought he could work with for power. The breakdown of all of the Malick belief systems has been a great watch, and I love it.

There was also more fun, violent grossness that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seem to be piling on lately, including but not limited to Simmons cutting open Lucio’s head to examine his brain, us being treated to his scalp being pealed back, his skull pulled off and his infected brain placed on show. But, alongside this grossness, comes the solid evidence that Malick is telling Coulson the truth – Hive can infected Inhumans, make them part of his hive, and control them under his bidding.

Family;

Malick’s grief over Stephanie is absolutely heart breaking to watch. He’s so blatantly devastated by his loss, and it’s hard to watch him talk about her. When he tells the story about her riding Arabian horses, and how he felt so proud she could tame such a difficult breed of horse to ride, it was just really damn sad. I never thought I’d feel this awful and sympathetic to a member of Hydra, but the writers managed to do that with Malick and Stephanie.

The relationship between FitzSimmons is just so wonderful now. It’s developed so naturally, and in the beginning, I never would have wanted this relationship – but now that it’s happened like this, for all these good reasons and through a lot of character development, I’m really happy. And their adorable little interaction near the end of the episode; “I have a magnificent thing right here…it’s the painting, my painting of space.” It’s such a sweet, funny couply moment.

“The seal gonna hold?”

“I hope so, it’s chlorine gas. If not, we’ll all go blind.”

“What?”

Elena and Joey really shined in this episode. Them two speaking Spanish to one another was a lovely touch – shows and movies tend to overlook this small detail, and often make two characters whose first language isn’t English, speak it even when they’re alone together. I like that SHIELD gave them these moments, which are very real and how they would communicate naturally.

MACK AND ELENA. They’ve clearly been keeping somewhat in touch – and I find it beyond sweet that whilst Elena has been learning English, it isn’t all on her to learn how to communicate in his language – Mack has been learning Spanish for her. How cute can two people possibly be?

It makes it all the more devastating when later this episode, she no longer speaks to him. The team had this amazing synergy and togetherness, and it was ruined in one episode.

Witnessing the secret warriors team, who flew into this episode being so kickass and having this really great team dynamic, be torn about. Hive manipulated them horrendously easily, by turning their very fears on each other. It destroyed the trust the team had for each other, by aiding in trying to show that it was Humans vs. Inhumans in this episode. Hive played on all their insecurities and drove this really great start just straight into the ground. The paranoia even spreads to the human agents – May instantly pointing out that Lincoln tried to “pump her full of meds” and Mack having to point out that Lincoln is a doctor and she was injured.

The “OH MY GOD” part;

Yeah, I replaced the “Meh” section with an “Oh my God” part, because this episode deserves it more than anything else. That reveal at the end was absolutely heart-breaking, and it was a huge deal. This episode is just pure, everything people love about this show, because when it kicks it up a notch, it kicks really damn hard. The utter betrayal and loss of someone who is their own is so evident, and it’s a pain we haven’t felt since Grant Ward’s betrayal to Hydra.

After all that happened this episode, Daisy is the Inhuman who’s been infected by Hive. She frames Lincoln, using memories of his violent and short tempered history to manipulate how everyone sees him, destroys her team, steals alien tech and destroys their base – their home. She’s also the one revealed as killing Malick.

I do love that Hive isn’t just controlling Daisy – she’s not totally brainwashed or unaware. She’s completely aware, but it’s more like a heavy inclination – a euphoria and desire to do what she’s told. It’s insanely creepy She’s also so dangerous – she’s a formidable Inhuman, and her fighting skills alone without her Inhuman abilities make her scary enough – throw in the fact she’s a master hacker and that she’s been alongside Phil to know some seriously deep info, and the team are hugely screwed.

If anything, I think this is worse than the Ward betrayal – Ward was in complete and utter control of his senses, and he made the decision to go undercover and hurt the people he was with. Daisy is infected, and doesn’t have a choice in what she’s doing, and no one knows how to cure her or if she even can be cured. It’s a precarious situation for her to be in, especially when we know someone from Team SHIELD is going to die by the time the finale rolls around.

I also noticed this fits in with a recurring theme that’s been going on since season 1 – once again, it’s Grant Ward trying to bring Daisy onto his team. It’s been happening since the beginning, with Ward trying to convince Daisy that his side is the right side, that they could be unstoppable together – and now it’s two seasons later, and Hive possessing Grant Ward’s body goes after a woman he still refers to as “Skye” – it’s pretty sickening, actually, that this need to have her on his team never seems to end regardless of how much they change in-between.

I’m just so absolutely blown away by this weeks episode. It was absolutely excellent, with some of that cold-hearted betrayal I’m somehow still unused to after three seasons. It had awesome acting, great fight scenes and just really flung our story forward full force. I can’t wait to see what more this show has for us, as we are only four episodes away from the two part finale.

The Singularity will air 26th April 2016.

 

 

 

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. SN3E16 – ‘Paradise Lost’

This review contains spoilers.

Last weeks episode, ‘Spacetime’, finally saw the rise of Hive over Malick, and Daisy was shown a horrifying vision of someone on a shuttle in space being killed in an explosion.

‘Paradise Lost’ opens on a mansion, with a lot of black, old school cars leaving it’s grounds. We’re then informed the year is 1970, and that the two boys are in fact Nathaniel and Gideon Malick – and that this is their fathers funeral. They’reordered into a car and taken to none other than Whitehall. As the car rolls by, we’re brought back to the modern day .

This episode was absolutely fantastic. Filled with wonderful acting, intense scenes and a phenomenal ending. This episode not only moved pieces for the finale forward, it flung them at the audience with a lot of aggression.

The Kickass Parts;

I loved seeing Hydra’s belief system broken down – it’s finally made Hydra look like a larger organisation with different belief systems and branches, rather than just one cult-esq driven united front. It added some serious depth to these guys, making them more like separate forces rather than just hashing out the same murderous villain each time.

I also enjoyed seeing Whitehall again – he was scary as all hell, and he helped add to that layered belief system of Hydra’s – he absolutely mocks the Malick family beliefs, and asks the boys to join his Hydra. Gideon vehemently refuses this.

Leading off from this, I absolutely loved watching Malick’s belief system be so utterly shattered. Usually, Hydra are pretty damn unwavering in everything they do – because most of what they do is murdering and leading the way for world domination. The Malick Family belief was that someone would bring back the exhiled Inhuman and that this would grant them untold amounts of power and control. Granted, it’s still world domination, but it’s very much a deity method of doing so. So watching that firm, almost arrogant belief he has be pulled apart is fascinating – Agents of SHIELD has always been great at character development and emotional stories, so this is just awesome. Top it off with the fact that Malick’s beliefs are being torn to shreds by the very thing he worships – Hive.

Hive taking over Malick’s house – damn. He’s shown in this episode he is in total control over Malick, and it’s so very obvious how frightened Malick is of Hive now. He has absolutely no trust in him, and he’s completely devoid of the arrogant happiness he had earlier this season. I also really love watching Malick’s daughter, Stephanie, and how she interacts with Hive. She follows him with the same awe and devotion that Malick began with, and it’s fascinating to see that contrast of an intense believer vs. someone whos faith has been shaken.

We can also see exactly why Malick fears Hive so much in this episode. Malick reveals the vision that Charles showed him in the last episode; the vision is of his own painful, violent and bloody death. I do really feel like the writers are turning up the violence this season – the vision, which we also get to see, involved Malick’s eyes full of blood and swelling to the point of bursting, while he screams with blood pouring down his head. It’s really intense and creepy, and it’s genuinely understandable as to why Malick’s more terrified of him than anything else. It’s not just that this idol he discovered is more powerful and out of his control – it’s that he saw a future where this idol, who he was promised would grant him an incredible life, is tearing his body to shreds.

We’re also part way to finding out what Hive is, and as we all probably predicted when Ward’s gross skin-crawling corpse showed up in the mid-season finale, it’s not good. Simmons inspects some data and finds out that the way in which Hive is tearing these bodies apart, is that he’s sending parasites to feast on them. Worst part – these little parasites aren’t controlled by Hive – they are Hive. Which is about a thousand times worse and disgusting.

We also kind of get a reveal of Hive’s “true self” – and it isn’t looking pretty, even from the back. The Malick’s and their audience didn’t look overly thrilled at the arrival of this HYDRA Alien they’d all been waiting for, for all these years.

We’re also introduced to a would-have-been Inhuman, James. He’s Australian and clearly beyond paranoid, with minefields planeted around his trailer property, a huge barbwire fence, and a gun in his hand upon arrival. It’s absolutely fascinating to watch him, because he is angry, and he’s clearly feeling the emptiness Lincoln mentions all Inhumans have before they go through the change. Lincoln dangles the Terrigan Crystal right in front of his eyes, and when he pulls it away, James is furious – lashing out and spitefully telling Daisy nods to Lincoln’s past. He’s clearly bitter, and has some drinking and trust issues brewing. I would like to see more of Jiaying’s failed Inhumans explored, and find out just how banishment or denial has affected them.

Of course, to finish off this section – the fight scenes. The fight scenes always get a mention in these reviews, but that’s because they always look absolutely fantastic. This weeks episode had one particular fight scene I adored – May vs. Giyera. This scene was excellent in every single way. The scene looked fantastic for one thing – it was in a stark white room with two people in black gear, who also have dark hair. It just looked awesome. And then the choreography is utterly mind-blowing – Giyera’s fighting style is one I haven’t seen in this show before, and it was so inventive and painful looking. Let’s also give a massive shout out to Melinda May running up a wall and using it to backflip over Giyera. Iconic.

Family moments;

There were some great bonding moments in this episode, and not all of them SHIELD related.

In the SHIELD department, I thoroughly enjoyed Phil and Fitz’s talk about Ward – about whether or not Ward “deserved” to die, and if that’s what SHIELD is about. It’s an interesting conversation to see them have – by all accounts, Ward was vicious and dangerous, putting him down most likely was the right choice. But in Phil’s eyes, it was the right choice done for the completely wrong reason – once again, it’s SHIELD discussing openly about doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, and doing something that could lead to positive results but doing it for personal reasons.

I also really liked this small interaction between Daisy and Mack (yay, Mack’s back!) where he gives her a nice hug and they just talk. It’s so small, but it’s because it’s so casual and looks so comfortable that it’s so important in showing team dynamics.

Also on team Daisy, there was a really great moment between her and Lincoln. I like seeing Lincoln break down – not because it’s funny to see someone try and rebuild their whole life, but because it’s so interesting. Lincoln was a vision of pure calm and serenity when he was at Afterlife – after that all ended, we’ve watched Lincoln react with fear and in some cases violence. He’s not in control the way he was in Afterlife, when his days and life were planned and everything was fixed and perfect. Now he’s been flung full force into the real world, and it’s a lot to take.

I also enjoyed finding out more about him, and this episode featured some pretty dark stuff. It explains that Lincoln was once a violent alcoholic, struggling to fill this empty depression inside him, and that he caused a collision drunk-driving that nearly killed the last girl he was with. Luke Mitchell brings a lot to that confession, with so much emotion in every movement. I’m really enjoying his performance as Lincoln, and I’d like to get to know more.

Honestly though, the family that truly stole the show this episode? The Malick family.

The writers of SHIELD did such an incredible job on this, and I’m beyond pleased Malick isn’t some schmuck Hydra villain they churned out – he had a family and a lot of raw emotion went into it.

There was obviously the relationship with his brother – he put a lot of work into defending that relationship, and trying to keep the truth about their father. There was then the awful moment he betrayed him, and the look on their faces as it happened. It’s clearly a stand-out moment in Malick’s history, one he’s kept hidden all these years. It was so painful to watch Nathaniel talk to Malick through Hive – the horror only coupled by Brett Dalton nailing it by completely changing the tone, by matching this young man Hive met in the 70’s perfectly. It’s a raw, wonderful moment and I loved/hated it.

Then, of course, there was Stephanie Malick. This episode well and truly mastered the art of presenting a deep, loving relationship to it’s audience, before absolutely decimating it. We spend the whole episode watching Stephanie support her father, and her talking about how he’s supported her too. It’s made very obvious that through high and low, in his own way, Malick has supported and raised his daughter with only the best intentions, with love and the need to make her strong and independent. Stephanie then spends this episode bonding with her dad, teasing him and reminding him of the lessons he taught her – they share a scotch in front of the fire and he thanks her, for reminding him of how he should be. It’s incredibly touching and loving, and not what I expected from a family built on Hydra values.

It’s what makes this episode all the more utterly horrifying when it rips your heart out as Hive murders Stephanie in front of her father. First, he completely breaks down her trust in her dad and outs him as a traitor and a coward. Then, when the moments right, he just straight up kills her from the inside out, messily and painfully right before Malick’s eyes. To then add to this, he drops her corpse on the hands with a non-chalant wave of his hands and this statement; “now you know the true meaning of sacrifice.” It’s so beyond cold, and vicious.

I’d like to also take this moment to mention the music choice for this episode, for one particular scene, was perfect. Malick is drinking a scotch in his daughters chair, sitting in front of the fire they were looking into not that long ago. The music playing is this sad, slow piano tune – then as Hive rests his hand on Malick’s shoulder, and tells him he no longer has anything to fear, the music takes this jarring drop. It’s so perfect, and the delivery of the line after the events of this episode gave me absolute chills.

I am pleased to say I have absolutely zero “meh” moments this episode – this was a really solid, exciting episode from beginning to action packed ending.

The ending then leaves us with this; all of our team aboard the bus have been captured by Hydra, taken in by Giyera. The only two outstanding members are Daisy and Lincoln – and Lincoln and Daisy agree it’s time to call in the people on the Secret Warrior’s Initiative. This episode also leaves us with a reveal from Daisy that the vision she had, of the SHIELD agent aboard the exploding space craft, is actually a member of their own team.

This episode was beyond solid, and with an episode focused entirely on Daisy’s recruited Secret Warrior’s only a moment around the bend, I am so excited for this action and fantastic story-telling to keep building on this show.

 

SEYA Haul & Experience

Hey everybody found out how our resident vlogger Aly got on at SEYA 2016 !

Aly Takes On The ‘ Backwards Title Challenge ‘

What happened when our resident vlogger Aly tried the ‘Backwards Title Challenge’ find out below!!

Aly Organises Her Shelves!

In the latest video from our resident vlogger Aly she takes us on a look into the mind of someone tasked with the impossible! A bibliophile rearranging their collection!

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow SN1 EP10 – Progeny

Episode 10 ‘Progeny; examines the question “If you could go back in time and kill Hitler before he rose to power, should you?’

In the WaveRider  our heroes are faced with a similar dilemma in the year 2147, in the Conglomerate of Kasnia.  Their despot is young Per Degaton played by Cory Gruter-Andrew, who will in 5 years release the Armageddon Virus which provides the springboard Vandal Savage needs to achieve world domination. Once he has released the virus, Savage will kill him.

The episode opens with Rip apologizing to Mick for enlisting him under false pretenses and in denial of Mick’s true nature.  He confesses that he was the one that asked Leonard to deal with him, and that Mick’s quarrel should be with him, not Len.  Mick tells Rip he wants to kill them both.  Rip feels that he has failed Mick.  He mentions that they need Mick’s help, but what form that help will take is never really explained.

On the bridge, Rip explains that the only way to stop Savage in this time is to make Per Degaton useless to Savage.  Snart catches on very quickly that Rip is talking about killing a child, and offers to do it. The rest of the team are aghast at the thought.  Stein is especially eloquent, presenting the argument that if they do this, it makes them no better than Savage.   They decide that perhaps taking Per Degaton from the timeline will be enough to disrupt Savage’s plans. Ray notes that they have gone from killing to kidnapping, and dryly comments that this is progress.  Kendra must stay with the ship, as her presence could alert Savage that the team is about to interfere with his plans. The rest of the team leave the ship to scout the Conglomerate HQ. Ray is shocked to see that the Atom suit technology has been adapted to autonomous robots that are being used as the peacekeepers of the police state, and not in a good way. He needs to sabotage the robots, not wanting to be the Werner Von Braun of Robotics.

The team is split up into Team Kidnapping and Team Robot Sabotage.  Team Kidnapping consists of Rip, Sara and Len; Team Robot Sabotage is made up of Ray, Stein and Jax.

The conglomerate tracks and monitors all of its citizens through bio metrics.  Rip wears a pair of contacts that allows him to enter a shareholders only meeting at the Conglomerate headquarters. While in the meeting, he discovers that Savage is a shareholder who espouses culling the population outside of the Conglomerate’s borders.  Tor Degaton, (Matthew Harrison), Per Degaton’s father and the CEO of the conglomerate flatly refuses to consider this plan.

Rip covertly follows Savage and discovers that Savage is also Per Degaton’s tutor.  He overhears Savage telling Per Degaton that his father refuses to make the hard decisions. Per Degaton has the idea, actively fostered by Savage, that his father is weak.  Team Kidnapping decides where and how to kidnap Per.  When the child leaves HQ to go to his gymnastics lesson accompanied by a squad of  very Nazi looking bodyguards, Sara snipes the rear guard, which gives Rip the opportunity to disguise himself and join the squad.  Len hits the rest of the squad with his cold gun, and Rip grabs the child.  Surprisingly enough, the gunplay does not attract the attention of the peacekeeper robots.

Meanwhile Ray, Stein and Jax have met with Dr. Bryce, the head of the Robotics Department at Conglomerate HQ.  Dr. Bryce is played by Jewel Staite, the Canadian born actress (woot, woot!) whose previous works include The Killing, Firefly, Serenity, Supernatural and Warehouse 13.  Dr. Bryce is giving them a tour of the department when they round a corner and Ray discovers to his shock that her many greats grandfather, is not only the father of the autonomous robots, but is also a dead ringer for him.  Which leads him to the conclusion that he had a child that he didn’t know about when he left 2016.  They return to the ship, not having accomplished any sabotage.  Kendra senses that there is something wrong, but Ray is not ready to tell her about his descendants.

Kendra, having nothing else to do except stay on the ship, has been having flashbacks of her life with Carter and their son Aldus.  Specifically of an instance where they are having to move again because she has sensed that Savage was close.  These flashbacks serve to remind her that Carter is the only great love she has ever known, and make her feel that she is cheating on Carter with Ray.  She struggles with the question of whether to share these memories with Ray.  It occurred to me that this might be an opportune time for Carter to reappear and rejoin the team.

Per is sedated in the med bay.  Sara is watching him, and wonders out loud what genocidal maniacs would dream about. Gideon tells her.  Sara is surprised and chagrined to discover that Gideon can monitor their dreams. Rip asks Gideon if the kidnapping has had the desired effect on the future.  Unfortunately not as Savage will still rise to power.  Rip reconsiders Plan A.  Stein questions Rip as to whether he thought he would be able to look his son in the eyes if he carries out Plan A.  Jax suggests that just talking to Per might do the trick.

A troubled Sara goes to the brig to talk to Mick.  She tells him that they are considering killing a child to save the future.  She tells Mick that Len doesn’t think he can change, but she hopes that he can.  Mick observes that Len doesn’t really care one way or the other about him.  Sara tells him about the conversation she and Len had when they were trapped in the engine room and thought they were about to die.  She says that she thought he ought to know that Len is loyal to him.  As she leaves the brig, Mick tells her that killing a kid is not very heroic.

At the Conglomerate HQ, Tor Degaton is going over the video footage of the kidnapping. He remarks that for the past 50 years, everyone from the conglomerate has submitted bio samples so that they can be tracked and monitored, but that the three people who kidnapped him cannot be.  Savage tells him that this is because they are not from the conglomerate, or even from the last 50 years.  He knows that they will not kill Per Degaton because he knows them, and so he can get Per Degaton back.

Rip leaves the WaveRider in the jumpship, taking Per Degaton with him.  He turns the jumpship’s transponder off so that the team will be unable to stop him from doing what he feels he must do.

Kendra finally tells Ray about the flashbacks she has been having.  She says they are more than memories, they are feelings.  She feels like she is cheating on Carter.  Ray proves once more that he is her future with his understanding and that adorable puppy dog face. Ray tells Kendra it was his many times great granddaughter who created the robot army, which means that he had a child that he did not know about.

Sara advises Len that it is obvious to her that marooning Mick is weighing heavily on his mind, and that he should stop being an ass and go deal with it.

Rip and Per Degaton have landed at the river.  Rip tells Per that his son never got the chance to learn to swim, because he was killed by Savage.  Per Degaton asks Rip  if he is going to kill him.  Rip says he is not killing him but saving his son. Semantics!   But Per Degaton has been an apt pupil.  Savage has taught him what killers look like. He believes that Rip is weak like Tor Degaton, and is not a killer. Rip tells him that Savage will ultimately betray him.  Per will not believe this.  Rip goes on to say that his reticence to kill is not weakness, it is goodness. Since he has found that there are things he will not do to save his son, there is yet hope of a shred of goodness in Per Degaton.  He urges Per to become the man that his father wants him to be, not the man Savage wants him to be.

Kendra senses Savages’ presence outside the ship, just as the ship comes under fire.  Our heroes suit up and engage the enemy.  Ray unsuccessfully tries to draw the robots away.  Firestorm takes the robots on while Ray and Kendra head for the command centre at HQ.    Dr. Bryce  catches them in the act of trying to override the robots.  Ray tells her that he is her grandfather.  She is understandably surprised to find Sidney Palmer in her command centre.  Ray realizes that it was his “stupid” brother who allowed the tech to be perverted, and that he is not a father after all.  Kendra encourages Dr. Bryce to listen to her Palmer blood and do what is right.  She shuts the robots down.

At the fight scene, Savage has Sara at knifepoint.  HUH?  Okay then.  Rip proposes an exchange; Per Degaton for Sara and the safety of his team.  Per tells his father not to do it, but Tor Degaton pulls the knife away from Sara’s neck and agrees.

Len goes to the brig and tells Mick that people think they should have a heart to heart. Mick points out that they don’t have hearts so where does that leave them?  Len says that they each have reasons for killing the other, so the deal is he will open the cell, they will fight to the death and if Mick wins he can take the jumpship and go.  If he loses, he dies, which Mick decides is ultimately better than being locked up.  They have a bare knuckle fight in the cell which Mick handily wins, but cannot bring himself to finish Len off.

Savage tells Per Degaton the myth of Oedipus Rex, and gives Per his knife.   Per Degaton, now convinced that his father is weak beyond redemption, kills Tor Degaton in his sleep.

Gideon breaks the news to the team that nothing has been accomplished by this venture. In fact, the virus that was to be released in 5 years will now be released within days.  At an emergency shareholder’s meeting, Savage announces that he will be acting as Per Degaton’s proxy, and that population control will proceed.

Rip meanwhile is wondering if he did the right thing?  Gideon assures him that not killing is generally considered the right thing.

Mick tells the team that nothing matters now anyway.  The truth is that they are all dead, himself included.  He failed to bring them in, so now the Time-Masters have sent mercenaries after them.  They have even less humanity than Mick and they will not stop until the team has been wiped entirely from the face of history.

My Favorite Moments:

Professor Steins eloquent speech against killing Per Degaton.  Some days the man could sell ice to the Inuit!

Sara’s discomfiture at being told what her dream last night was about.  Naughty girl!

The fist fight between Mick and Len.  A good brawl always clears the air.

Ray understands Kendra’s position, but he will not give up them, even though the math is against him.  And that whipped puppy face!  Have I mentioned that I would just like to squeeze it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. SN3 EP14 – ‘ Watchdogs ‘

This review contains spoilers. 

Last episode saw the team say a tearful goodbye to two of their most loyal and longstanding friends, and the precarious position S.H.I.E.L.D. is in politically.

This episode featured the Watchdogs, the online hate group Daisy mentions, that want to take out Inhumans – and now they’re finally on their way to making that happen. This episode also included a look into Mack’s background – at long last! He’s an incredibly mysterious character and I’m glad we get to know more about him.

The kickass stuff;

Once again, fight scenes. I can’t fault them at all. Not only was the choreography great, but there was this really amazing action scene that took place in the Mack household that I just loved. It mostly involved them walking around a dark house, being stealthy and kick-ass, but it was a great scene.

The Agent Carter reference – hell yes! The Nitramene weapon used by the Watchdogs is very much the same weapon Howard Stark designed, and the weapon that appeared in season one of Agent Carter.  I’m so glad to see more references to Peggy and the good ol’ days of SHIELD – I hope they do that more, with more nods to the things we’ve learned from Agent Carter.

Also, Fitz and Daisy team up! Their friendship was so special in Season 2, so I’m glad they’re still showing them as friends, even if Fitz nearly got imploded in the process. Though really, I knew this show probably wouldn’t let that bomb go off on Fitz neck – it isn’t his time. (I refuse to put a “yet” here because I swear to God, I’ll never forgive Marvel if they kill Fitz.)

I loved seeing the two sides of the Inhuman argument meet in the form of family – Mack’s little brother and Mack himself at odds with each other, Mack firmly (and obviously) on the side of “Do Not Murder Inhumans” and Ruben sharing the same fear-mongering view that the Inhumans will cause nothing but death.

Further to that, I loved the different way that people deal with that hatred – because Daisy is all for the SHIELD method of scaring someone into telling you what they need, whereas Mack points out that using fear for answers will only ignite further fires. I think they’re both right, in a way – of course Mack is right, that proving them right by going after them and spreading fear isn’t the way to go, but on the flipside, this group have gone from Trolls to Terrorists real quick, and there needs to be a way to stop them planting more imploding bombs.

Family moments;

Obviously, Mack and his brother were the outstanding Family Moment of the episode, what with them being brothers. It was really good to not only see a SHIELD agent with regular family (something we haven’t seen before) but also to see how Mack’s involvement with SHIELD touches his relationship with his brother. It’s good to see how he hides who he is, and how is brother is so un-trusting and angry towards him for that. I also just, in general, like knowing more about Mack, where he came from, and how it’s shaped him today.

I loved seeing May and Simmons together – it’s not a usual combo for this show, but after the events of Andrew/Lash, it’s not all that surprising they would come together to help each other. I’m hoping they build on this particular relationship, because it’s mad adorable.

I also really liked Lincoln this episode – his whole life’s been changed so it’s about time he reacted with some anger and got treated like a part of his team, even if Phil’s introduction was…unorthodox. I also appreciated that he’s still furious, still so full of anger – but when push came to shove, he wasn’t happy to outright kill someone.

And speaking of someone…Agent Blake is back! And he’s against SHIELD now? And unwittingly working with Hydra/Malick so that’s super awkward. And also really stupid of him. But I hope they explore his feelings on Inhuman’s a little more rather than just leaving it at “He is ANGRY” – of course he’s angry, for good reason, but his anger might not necessarily be directed entirely at Inhuman’s and I’d like a good arc for him.

Finally, I really loved how this episode ended with Ruben and Daisy coming to an understanding. It seemed corny, but I liked seeing them bond over how much they love Mack, and watching as Ruben started to shift his stand on Inhumans slightly from talking to her – and Daisy had this little look of realisation that maybe it isn’t about scaring people, but about trying to talk and show them what the good Inhumans are really about.

The meh;

I’m not so sure how I felt about this episode in terms of plot development. Or much of a development really. It shuffled some pieces along, but it didn’t feel like we made any significant jumps at all. We made little improvements, and it was nice to see certain interactions I mention about, but overall, I just want something to happen. Top it off with the fact there was hardly any actual progress in the realm of HiveWard, and Malick’s plan (other than one moment at the end which felt so out of place after this episode, involving Blake and Mr. Giyera chit-chatting over a missile). I just want to see this show kick it up like a thousand notches, and I really hope episode 15 blows my freakin’ mind.

Overall, I didn’t hate the episode – it had enjoyable moments, and a nice look at our own Mack’s (Alfie’s) background! However, I feel like I’m just waiting and waiting for something bigger to happen, and the two-hour season finale is ever approaching.

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. SN3E15 – ‘Spacetime’

This post contains spoilers.

This weeks episode leads off from “Watchdogs”, where we got an inside look on how Maleck is turning Trolls to Terrorists and investing in weapons on a mass scale, while simultaneously we get introduced to Mack’s Inhuman fearing brother, Ruben.

“Spacetime” begins with a homeless man carving a small bird outside the back of a restaurant, and he’s then asked to please leave by the owner because him sleeping out there has put off customers coming in. The owner, realising what’s asking is harsh and unfair, reaches out to give the man some money for a hot meal. The homeless man freaks out and tries to move away – understandably, because when he touches the own, he writhes in pain, staring at the sky and choking, seeming to have some kind of seizure.

After the title card, we are then led to a 911 call recording, in which the attacked owner asks for Daisy Johnson. Understandly, the team are more than confused, especially as this person has zero involvement with SHIELD or any other government body. They get to the scene, to find this owner narrating a sequence of events; then, we watch as the next five minutes play out a horrific massacre – a massacre the owner saw coming. And as Daisy races to catch the homeless man they’ve established as an Inhuman, her fingers brush his – and a horrifying series of events that SHIELD must prevent are shown to her.

This episode was off the chain amazing. For the past few episodes, the audience has been waiting for something to happen – and episode fifteen took us there.

The kickass stuff;

Man, where to begin.

I’ll kick off with this weeks Inhuman – I really enjoyed it. I know the “tortured powered person who can’t touch others” thing has been done a lot, but this was portrayed really well. His power wasn’t just hurting people – it was revealing terrible futures to them. Not only that, but the whole process was excruciatingly painful.

Then, as his past comes out, we find out he was a happy man named Charles, with a wife and a little daughter. After he went through the transition, he left, because not only could he never touch his child again, but if he did ever touch her it gave her nothing but absolute pain, and visions of death. The writing of this episode, combined with the acting of both Bjorn Johnson and Lola Glaudini (Charles’s wife) really portrayed this as absolutely agonising and a heart-wrenching decision he had to make.

Once again, fight scene choreography. I mention this every single review, but hey, when this show stops giving good fight scene, I’ll stop mentioning them. But, seeing as the fight scenes were all wonderfully executed, with gorgeous cinematography and fluid, violent motions, I’m going to keep mentioning that they were great.

Speaking of awesome scenes, I really loved the whole, rushing to change the future stuff – I know, again, it’s done a lot in sci-fi TV shows, where somehow the future is shown to them and the future is awful, so they rush to change it – and they either change it, or the exact same outcome comes about but just in a different way they expect. Watching them rush to change fate, and then how everything falls into place and comes around exactly as Daisy saw, is absolutely amazing. I love putting the pieces together, such as when Daisy thinks Phil is shooting at her and it turns out she’s looking at him in a one-way mirror. This show executed this racing against the future plotline really well, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it all unfold.

HiveWard is back and goddamn, Brett Dalton, can I get a round of applause for you? His acting this episode (as it has been the entire time he’s been in this show) was out of this world. No pun intended, I guess. Seriously, though, he’s kicked it up into damn good villain notch – again. He looks fearsome, he’s quiet and incredibly formidable. He’s so calm and absolute, and is so all knowing whilst being so new to the Earth. His intelligence and calmness is so measured and easy, that it’s terrifying to watch him, never knowing what he’s going to do next.

What makes HiveWard so much worse is the calmness in which he executes everything. At least with Malick, you can read his emotions – he’s happy, or lying, or angered. For a villain, he was fairly easy to read for an audience; he was generic bad guy 101, here to take over the world.

Hive is an entirely different ball park because he gives away absolutely nothing. He tells people what to do, with no rhyme or reason, he just asks that they do it. He’s calculated and completely devoid of emotion; that is a million times worse than any crazed man looking to take over the world, because this is someone who can, and will, calmly strip human beings down to bits of flesh on a skeleton, and then carry on a conversation as if all he did was bump their arm a bit. That is the sign of something ultimately horrifying.

Finally, I just want to throw out here how goddamn violent this episode was. Like, there was a moment in this episode that made me scream “HE MOUNTAINED HIM!” – Game of Thrones fans, you know what I mean.

Yeah. I’ve mentioned before that Agents of SHIELD, whilst having some gross moments, was never overly violent. It rarely crosses particular lines, especially not the lines its more violent friend Daredevil tends to take – so when it does cross over into violent, bloody territory, it’s always all the more shocking and engaging. The whole episode was full of a lot of blood, death and really graphic imagery that most Agents of SHIELD fans won’t be used to. I mean, not only did that poor schmuck have his entire head crushed, there were other moments, including the pure beating Daisy took. It was so drawn out and aggressive, and it genuinely made you feel like there was a rock in your stomach, watching her suffer that way.

The “Family SHIELD Team Moments;

This episode was not only ripe with kickass stuff – this was such a great episode for character bonding time.

Phil Coulson, back with the quips as always;
“I haven’t seen the original Terminator.”

“…You are off the team.”

And also – “Yeah. Day got weirder.”

I am also completely and utterly here for the “Papa Phil” thing – I don’t care, Phil looking out for Daisy, struggling to cope with her name change and slipping up, and oh the look on his face as he tells her to, “Just come back safe” – it melted me. It’s been a while since we saw Phil care for Daisy the way he seemed to fret about her 24/7, and I’ve missed that dynamic. Now, if we can bring back “A.C.”, please.

I really loved the scenes where they try and re-create the vision Daisy had so they can stop it happening – by sending May instead, and walking her through every single moment. Obviously, this was an important sequence, but it was really good to see them all working so hard together, to watch them try so hard to pull this all together. They looked adorably goofy doing it too.

Final family moment, and this one really broke me, starting with a line from Phil Coulson – “If you don’t go and be with him right now, you’re gonna regret that for the rest of your life.” Andrew, seconds before they get May ready to leave to face Malick and HYDRA, is brought into their base after surrendering himself. He’s about to change for the last time, and he wants to say goodbye.

This whole sequence was pretty awful – May was throwing her all into finding Lash so she could put him down, and then Andrew came to her, calm and knowing, and needing to say goodbye to her. It was a really awful scene, after everything they’d been through and their incredibly rocky relationship, to watch as May witnessed the destruction of the man she loved. It was brutal.

The “meh” stuff;

Honestly, I loved this entire episode. I had but one fault – why did Charles die? Like, I mean, I know he got grabbed by the throat and all by RoboMalick but…nothing, seemed to happen except he got gripped a bit hard? And given the tonne of bloodshed and the crushing of a mans skull that took place not even fifteen minutes prior, you’d think they wouldn’t have an issue being a bit more graphic and clear on why Charles just decided to die then and there. But as I said, this is my one gripe.

Overall, this was such a solid episode. Finally, it’s moved things forward, and not only has it moved them forward, it’s moved in significant and engaging steps. This episode was action-packed, with emotional moments, wonderful characters and fantastic writing. Top it off with the fact Hive has very clearly become the head villain to deal with as the season finale creeps upon us, I’m really excited to see what this show is going to throw at us next. I’m also very interested to see what Malick’s death vision was, and what it is that’s got him so shaken up.

My prediction so far, is that Malick has waded into something way bigger than himself that he cannot hope to control – but I think we all saw that coming after two seconds of HiveWard. I also have a very big feeling that Lash is going to become part of the plan of dealing with Hive – he’s an Inhuman who has a primal urge to murder other Inhumans. And Andrew did say he felt like he had a purpose – so I think this will be it.

I’m also really interested to see what this recurring vision of the view from space, with the cross necklace and the SHIELD logo burning up horrendously – because this isn’t the first we’ve seen of that, and I doubt it will be the last. I’m hoping it’s not a horrific sad sacrifice but when has this show ever been afraid of killing someone?

Also, I’m anticipating perhaps Hive gathering them all in one room under Guest Right then stabbing them in front of their parents. No, just me?

Next episode will be Paradise Lost, airing on Tuesday 12th April.