The Flash SN2 EP23 – ‘The Race of His Life’

It’s time for your latest The Flash review! This episode was directed by Antonio Negret, and written by Aaron Helbing & Todd Helbing. As the episode’s name hints, Barry has the race of his life … against Zoom.

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Zoom comes to Barry demanding a race to determine who is faster, threatening that if he refuses, he will kill everyone that Barry loves. Wells tells everyone at S.T.A.R. Labs that Zoom stole a magnetar from Mercury Labs that can be used to destroy every world in the multiverse if Zoom and Barry can create enough energy from their race to power it up. Everyone at S.T.A.R. Labs agrees that Barry is too emotional, from the recent loss of his father, to make a rational decision about the race.

When Barry refuses to back out, Joe with the help of the team locks Barry in a containment cell for his own protection. The team develops their own plan to send Zoom back to Earth-2 and seal the breach behind them. One small fault makes the plan turn into a disaster: Wells’ gun jams. In the chaos of getting Zoom through the breach, Joe is pulled in with him. On Earth-2, Zoom reveals to a restrained Joe that the man in the iron mask is the real Jay Garrick.

Back on Earth, the team tells Wally that Joe has been taken hostage, so Wally releases Barry to rescue Joe. Cisco vibes to Zoom, so that Barry can tell him he has agreed to race him, so  long as Joe is returned without harm if he wins. Barry and Zoom race while the magnatar begins to charge. However, Barry creates a time remnant of himself, who gives up his life to stop the magnatar, while Barry frees Joe and takes on Zoom.

Barry kicks Zoom’s butt (collective sigh of relief), and two Time Wraiths appear. Zoom is unable to fight them off and is taken away by the Time Wraiths who basically suck his life dry, Dementor style. Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, the true Jay Garrick is revealed to be Henry Allen’s doppelganger, much to Barry’s shock.

Wells and Jesse return with Jay to Earth-2 to live their lives. Just when we think everything is back to normal, Barry confesses to Iris the true depth of his pain —having lost both his mother and father. After Iris tells him that she will always wait for him, like he waited for her, he leaves Barry to his thoughts. Barry unable to cope with the way things are goes back in time, to the night his mother died… and saves her.

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What are your thoughts on the finale? Disappointing or up to par? I myself was expecting more of a fight between Zoom and Flash, but I guess it goes to show they were equally matched by this episode. What are your predictions for the next episode? Comment, share and like below, or tweet me @SohoDoll. And as always, “Run Barry, run!”

Supernatural ‘Finale’ SN11 EP23 – ‘Alpha And Omega’

SN11 EP23:  Alpha and Omega

Written By:  Andrew Dabb

Directed By:  Phillip Sgriccia

*A special thanks to the creator of the gifs used in this article:  tumblr user –  It’s Okay, Sammy (Michael)

Wednesday, before The Show aired, I was contemplating things I might say in this review.  I considered the fact that it might have to be an obituary posted here in place of an actual review, because I was absolutely sure that The Show was going to kill me.  I’m still alive… but only hanging on by a thread.  Once again, I’ve done some reading on social media (because I like to get other opinions… even if they’re wrong), and I know that a lot of people are b!tching and whining about this episode.  I guess they didn’t watch  the same Show I watched.  The whiners are all up in arms because their favorite character wasn’t featured enough, or their “ship” didn’t sail… or was sunk all together.  I guess I will never understand why these people continue to  watch a show that they dislike so much.

But, all of that aside… This was an awesome finale!  Once again, I watched with my daughter and Lucy.  Before Showtime, I had a detailed phone conversation with another fan who is a great friend of mine (and bt-dubbs a famous author….hi Taryn Elliot!).  We discussed the new character that was supposed to show up and what we thought she might do and be.  Of course, I’m talking about Lady Toni Bevell (played by Elizabeth Blackmore)… we were sure she was either a hunter or a Woman of Letters (nailed it), and I said it would be great if when she met The Boys, she ran down a laundry list of all their worst screw ups … i.e. The Apocolypse, letting Lucifer out of his cage… etc.  (nailed that too!)  But, I’m not sure I like Lady Toni.

At ALL.

There were a lot of things that I liked about this episode.  I liked that Love (specifically familial love) saved the day instead of a big fight.  I loved Dean playing the role of psychoanalyst and family counselor for Amara and Chuck…and the list goes on and on.  But, most of all, I loved that the biggest hero of the whole episode was a little old lady feeding pigeons in the park.

Oh we got our tear inducing brotherly hugs and good byes…

And, ya know what… it wasn’t the hug or the “chick flick moments” comment or the tears in both their eyes that made me reach for a tissue.  It was when Dean looked at the keys in his hand then went to give Sam the keys to Baby.  That’s the trigger for me every single time.  Dean giving up Baby’s keys just makes it all so …. final.

Dean mended Amara’s and Chuck’s sibling bond, and Amara gave him a little parting gift in return.  I have to admit… I screamed at least 5 times (only pausing to breathe) and I’m pretty sure my neighbors are never going to speak to me again.  But, c’mon… Mary Winchester as a parting gift?  That’s worth the  awkward moments at the mailbox from now on.  Don’t worry about Sam.  No really.  Come on fellow addicts… uh… fans… we all know that Sam’s okay.  Because, if he’s not, Chuck help Lady Toni when Dean gets a hold of her.  But, realistically… there’s a Season 12 coming, and Jared Padalecki signed on for it, just like Jensen Ackles did.  So, we know that Sammy’s okey dokey.  Let those words comfort you throughout Hellatus.  And, if you’re a Trenchcoat Angel kind of girl, don’t worry about Cas either… Lady Toni only sent him “away”… she didn’t kill him.  He’ll be back in Season 12 too. (Misha Collins signed up too, ya know)

Speaking of Season 12… there’s some questions that will still need some answers come October.  First… where is Lucifer?  Is he going to be a thorn in The Boys’ sides?  Second… what about Rowena and The Book of the Damned?  Is she going to get away with that…again?  Thirdly (is that a word?)… what about Mama Winchester?  Does she have all her marbles?  Does she just magically recognize Dean?  And how long will she be sticking around?  Because, I really wouldn’t wanna be in Lady Toni’s shoes with Mary and Dean on her @$$… seriously.  Mama Winchester was a bad@$$ in her day… and nobody wants to come between a mother and her child.

Well, I could go on and on and wax poetic about The Show all day…. but I have a Hellatus Survival Kit to put together.

The Flash Finale Reveal – The Man In The Iron Mask

A few months ago in The Flash episode 14 of season 2 — ‘Escape from Earth-2,’ we were introduced to an unidentifiable character: the man in the iron mask. This character was a prisoner of Zoom’s and was held hostage in, what I like to call, the Zoom Cave. He couldn’t talk due to the iron mask, but continued to tap on the glass of his prison wall. Barry and Jesse successfully had a crack at translating what the message was: J-A-Y. They assumed that the imprisoned man was simply telling them what they already knew: that Jay was Zoom. The poor, hapless soul. The frustration must have been killing him.

[I recommend watching the season 2 finale before reading this spoiler paragraph.] Theories spewed out of fans — I read theories from Wally West to Henry Allen, but oh no. None of them were correct. As of last night’s season finale, the man in the iron mask was revealed to be the real Jay Garrick. So who is this real Jay Garrick? A heroic, resident speedster from Earth-3, captured by Zoom. It also turns out that he is Henry Allen’s doppelgänger. You most certainly read that correctly.

Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp)

Why choose John Wesley Shipp to be the real Jay Garrick? Perhaps in tribute to the actor because he played Barry Allen in CBS’s The Flash from 1990 to 1991.

John Wesley Shipp in CBS’s The Flash (1990-1991)

For many, this reveal wasn’t a surprise, however for Barry Allen and myself it most certainly was. What are your thoughts on the big reveal? Shocked? Predictable? Comment, share and like below, or tweet me @sohodoll. And as always, “Run Barry, run!”

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow SN1 EP16 – ‘Legendary’

If you have not yet seen the season finale, due to channels not airing it when they were supposed to (that happened to me), be warned that this article contains major spoilers.

The Time-Master’s most powerful tool is destroyed, the Timeline is unclear, Rips’ family cannot be saved and Savage has escaped, with Kendra and Carter as prisoners, in a time ship gifted to him by the now defunct Time Masters. With all of that in mind, Rip returns the team to 2016, but having a little foreknowledge, returns them to a point months later than when he recruited them. They land in Star City, May 2016. The team is less than happy with Rip leaving them while the mission is unfinished. Rip’s next action will be to go to the Last Refuge, and return their younger selves back to the time line. The team discover that Rip never got off the ship with them as the Waverider pulls away. Rory mutters that he never did like that guy anyway.

Sara finds her dad (Paul Blackthorne) in Arrow HQ, babysitting the monitors. He breaks the bad news. While she was gone, Damien Darhk has caused them problems, not the least of which is that he killed Laurel during his prison break.

Over in Central City, Rory has wasted no time in finding a new partner, and we find him at the tail end of a successful bank robbery. This new partner, wielding the cold gun, shoots an unfortunate guard. As Rory sees it, this was unnecessary, as they were just about at their getaway Charger, and the guard was on foot. He heatwaves the idjit, collects the cold gun and hops back into the Charger, to find that his driver is now Ray Palmer. Ray wants to talk to Rory. In a parking lot away from the scene of the crime, Ray tries to apologise again for Snart’s death. Rory knows that it was all Snart’s doing, as he never did anything without a plan. Ray wonders if Snart’s plan was for the two of them to be partners, to look out for each other. Rory kinda looks like he might have puked a little in his mouth, until Ray explains that he wants to finish the mission.

At Martin’s house, he and Clarissa (Isabella Hofmann) are playing Trivial Pursuit. Martin won’t talk to Clarissa about what happened during the time he was gone, but he does say that he has left some very important work unfinished. The next morning, Martin and Jax return to the landing site with a Quantum Entangler, and meet Ray and Rory who have arrived with Ray’s radio beacon. A visibly upset Sara also comes back to the site and wants to know how they can get the WaveRider back.

On the WaveRider, Rip is reviewing recordings of his wife and son. And he is wallowing in his grief, no doubt about it. Gideon interrupts his pity party with the news that they have picked up a transmission from Star City 2016. When Rip gets off the ship this time, Rory pushes him, just to make sure. The team tells Rip they want to finish the job. Rip admits to having had no success in tracking Savage, but he also has not been involved in any bar fights, or put dwarf star tech into the hands of terrorists, or been turned into a scary angry bird monster. Rory interrupts “We got your point. Now get ours. That ship’s not taking off without us. You got that?”.

In Sainte-Lo, France 1944, Kendra has escaped from Savage’s ship, and runs into a young Sargeant who is hunting Nazis. She realizes that she has seen his helmet on the WaveRider, begs the soldier for paper and a pencil, scribbles a quick note and puts it inside the soldiers’ helmet. Although his name is never mentioned, hard core DC fans will no doubt recognize this young soldier as Sgt. Rock (Blair Penner). I had to look him up, lol, having come to my superhero geekery later in life. Savage uses him for knife target practice, and recaptures Kendra.

Once on board, a very pissed off Sara sucker punches Rip because he knew about Laurel. She wants to go back and save Laurel, but Rip insists that they can’t. Sara is subdued, and taken to her room. Jax knocks a soldier’s helmet down. Rip realizes it was in a different spot from where it was originally kept, due to chronometric repositioning. He examines the helmet closely, and finds Kendra’s note. They plot course for Sainte-Lo, 1944.

Carter has come out of stasis, but is disoriented, knowing only that he is going to kill Savage. Savage takes a vial of blood from each Hawk, while chortling about his plan, which involves the three meteorites that hit the Earth in ancient Egypt. He plans to activate the Thanagarian technology in the meteorites using their blood, to erase time and reboot it at 1700 BC. Only this time, he will be in control. He will be a God.

On the WaveRider, Rip goes to Sara’s quarters to explain himself. He knew that if he returned them to when they first met, not only would Darhk have killed Laurel, he would also have killed Quentin and Sara herself. This is a point in history that cannot change, so no matter how many times they go back, the outcome will always be the same. She is undone by this, telling Rip that she can’t do it without Laurel. Rip disagrees. “You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. Laurel may be beyond your help, but Kendra and Carter might not be.” She wipes her tears, straightens her shoulders and determines to help rescue the Hawks.

Gideon locates Savage busily trying to hijack a meteorite from the Nazis. Heatwave, Atom and White Canary keep Savage and the Nazis busy while Firestorm rescues the Hawks. Firestorm accidentally discovers his ability to transmute things when he grasps a rifle, and it crumbles to dust. As the team makes their way back to the WaveRider, Kendra is hit and recaptured by Savage. They have rescued Carter, but have lost Kendra. For the time being.
Carter is still confused, but as they are a little short on time, they need to know what Savage wants. He tells them about Savage’s plan to activate three Thangarian meteorites with vials of blood from himself, Kendra and Carter. Carter tells them that Savage plans to reset time back to ancient Egypt. Gideon provides some relevant surveillance video. The team realizes that they have seen one of these meteorites in 1958. While Jax is trying to figure out how he transmuted the rifle because that would be a handy tool, Stein realizes that Savage will need to activate the three meteorites in three different time periods to accomplish his goal. Jax thinks this is the craziest bad guy plan in the history of bad guy plans. Stein’s math shows that the three time periods will be 1958, 1975 and 2021, each one a year in which Thanagar and Earth align.

In 1958, Savage meets himself and gives himself a vial of blood. He explains what he wants himself to do with the meteorite and how.

The question of the day is how to stop Savage. Stein says they have to kill him when he is triply exposed to the meteorite radiation during the activation. At that point, Savage will become mortal, briefly, so that anyone will be able to kill him. They must split up into teams of two, one team per time period. All three teams must strike simultaneously.
Savage has taken the 1944 meteorite to a rooftop in 2021, and has Kendra tied up out of the way, but where she can see it all. Rip and Hawkman are in hiding, waiting for the right time to strike.

In Harmony Falls 1958, Heatwave asks Atom when he can kill Savage. Atom tells him that they have to wait for the meteorite to go critical.

In Norway 1975, Martin, Jax and White Canary are in place, watching their past selves find the nuclear warhead and take it to detonate harmlessly underwater. They wait for the third meteorite to be delivered to Savage, and for Savage to start the ritual.

Savage starts the ritual in each time period. Each year has its’ title bout, and each Savage has his ass handed to him. In 1958 it is Rory and Savage while Atom keeps the crazy angry birdmen minions busy; in 1975 it is Sara and Savage while Firestorm keeps the thug minions busy; and in 2021, Kendra has broken loose and hawked out, so she and Hawkman take Savage on while Rip keeps the trooper minions busy. In 1975, Savage breaks free of Sara, grabs a rocket launcher and fires at her. She doesn’t even flinch as Firestorm swoops in and destroys it. Savage tells her she is too late, but she retorts that “a Time -Master is never late.” She engages, gets behind him and breaks his neck. In 1958, Savage gasps “You can’t kill me, I’m immortal” Rory says “Guess you haven’t heard the news” and turns Savage into a crispy critter. In 2021, Carter is holding Savage for Kendra, she stabs him once, says “Goodbye….. my love” and stabs him again. Rip grabs the dying Savage. “Ah, you can feel it can’t you? Things are different this time. You’re mortal.” He twists the knife, but Savage sneers “and yet my death does not save the lives of your family. I may die, but you will live knowing that you failed to save them.” Rip throws him into a building transformer for good measure.

In 1975, Firestorm transmutes the meteorite into water. In 1958, the Atom shrinks the meteorite out of existence. The two teams rejoin the rest in 2021, where both Firestorm and the Atom try a repeat performance with the third meteorite. Unsuccessfully. Rip takes the meteorite on board the WaveRider with the intent to fly into the sun. There is a conversation via comms between Rip and the team, during which Rory admits “I don’t want to lose another friend”. Rip tells them it has been an honour to serve as their Captain, and the comms cut out.

While Rip is heading towards the sun, he closes his eyes and has a poignant vision of himself hugging his wife and son. My eyes got just a lil wet. He wakes out of his vision to say goodbye to Gideon, but the AI informs him that she is not ready to die. Having said a proper goodbye to his family, Rip decides that he isn’t either. They do some fast power rerouting, dump the meteorite into the sun, and time jump out of there to when the team realized he was gone. As they realize the meteorite and the WaveRider are both gone, the ship reappears. They enter the badly beaten up ship and Rip tells them what has occurred. Another notable moment happens as Jax notes that Rip could have been killed, and Rory says “you should have been. You’re a moron.” Kendra can’t believe it is really over. Rip says “for some of you, yes. But my journey, it seems is just beginning. The Time-Masters are no longer a going concern due to the destruction of the Oculus. Someone needs to be responsible for protecting the time line. Who better than a former Time Master and any of you who would like to join me.”.

The team are taken once again to 2016. Sara visits Laurels’ grave with Quentin. Lance tells her she needs to go with Rip because justice for Laurel will happen with or without her. Sara agrees that this time she will do it for Laurel.

Martin and Clarissa are playing Trivial Pursuit again. Martin tells her that he is going to decline the offer this time. Jax enters the house, and Clarissa and he convince Martin that Firestorm is meant to have a dynamic role in history. Clarissa seals the deal by telling him that she will always be there, waiting.

In a bar in Central City, Rory has asked Snart to meet with him, just to talk. Rory tells Snart that he just wanted to say something important that shouldn’t be left unsaid. He is obviously struggling, so Snart responds with “Mick, I don’t do touchy feely. You got something to say, say it.”. Rory manages. “You’re the best guy I ever knew. You may not think you’re a hero, but you’re a hero to me. Ya got that?”. Snart says “Yeah, I got it”, and watches Rory walk away with an odd expression on his face, not the cold Snart expression it should have been for that time. But maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part, lol.
Outside, Rip tells Rory that he can always bring him back to this time and place whenever he wants. So it seems that some times and places can be visited repeatedly.

In Star City, the team assembles, to Rip’s delight. But Kendra breaks the news that she and Carter will not be going. Carter adds that they want to start fresh. Kendra thanks them all. She wants specially to say something to Ray, but he stops her, saying that “this was meant to be. I wish you both nothing but the best.”. The Hawks take to the sky. As the team walks towards the WaveRider, they are halted by the sight of another WaveRider careening out of the sky. It lands hard and an unknown man steps out. This man approaches them, demanding to know if this is May 2016. When he is told that it is, he tells them that they are exactly where they told him they would be. And to not get on that ship. If they do, they will all be dead. Rory, immediately suspicious, wants to know who sent him. The man tells him, “You, Mr. Rory. You sent me.” WTF? Rip asks him who he is exactly, and the man introduces himself as Rex Tyler (Patrick J Adams), a member of the Justice Society of America.

Whiteout.

And so we have the shape of things to come. The Legends will take on the responsibility for protecting the timeline against those who would manipulate it for evil. And somewhere along the way, they will meet up with the Justice Society of America. Look for more DC heroes old and new, from Earth and Earth-2 to join our team in their adventures. Some will be just passing through, but I am sure that one or two will stay on.

Who would you like to see join the team on a permanent basis? Will Hourman be one of them? (Yes I had to look him and the JSA up too, lol). How about Sgt. Rock? Yes I know he died, but we are dealing with time travel here. I personally am rooting for Jonah Hex. I would love to see Leonard return, and he will, but he will only be passing through. The question there is, will there be a Captain Cold-Canary relationship again? I hope so. That was just getting interesting. And be sure to set your PVR’s for the big Crossover event next season – Supergirl, Arrow, Flash and the Legends!

Thanks for reading my ramblings! I hope you enjoyed my style, and I hope to see you all back here for the second season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow! Meanwhile, check out the rest of the gang at Skatronixxx.com, and if you are also a Dreadful, be sure to take a look at my Penny Dreadful reviews.

The Originals SN3 E22 – ‘The Bloody Crown’

SN3 EP22:  The Bloody Crown

Written By:  Diane Ademu-John & Beau DeMayo

Directed By:  Matthew Hastings

I didn’t get to watch  with Lucy this time.  I was late getting home on Friday night and she’d already watched without me.  So when I talked to her on Friday night, the first words out of her mouth were, “Have you watched it yet?”.  I told her that I hadn’t, so being the good friend that she is, she told me that she wouldn’t give me any spoilers, but that she hadn’t been impressed.  After watching it, I had to agree with Lucy.

Oh, don’t get me wrong… it had it’s tense and emotional moments, but overall it just left me saying… “meh”.

To be honest, last week’s episode would’ve made a better cliffhanging finale.  I was so d@mn excited to see Rebekah (Claire Holt) in the previews for this episode last week that I may have built my expectations way too high.

Klaus’ sacrifice was quite unexpected and very emotional.  It reminded me slightly of The Winchester Brothers, Dean in particular, who always feel the need to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.  But, it shows the growth in this character.  In the past, Klaus would’ve fought to save one of his siblings…. would have killed for them, but I doubt he would’ve been willing to die for them.  However, Hope is an entirely different story.  Becoming a parent will do that to you.  It changes your perspective on everything.  Klaus has grown as a … well… I was going to say person, but since he’s not human….hmmm…. man (that’s a safe one) since becoming a father.  It’s made him downright lovable.  Don’t get me wrong, he was always likable even when he was a villain, and he’s always been hotter than my grandma’s homemade salsa.  But now, I’m invested in what happens to him, and that’s the mark of a great character and a great actor.  Joseph Morgan has taken Klaus from likable villain to lovable dad.  And, that’s the remarkable part about this episode.

Don’t get me wrong.  This wasn’t a bad episode per se … it just wasn’t the big spank-my-ass-pull-my-hair-and-tell-me-I’m-a-bad-girl finale that I was expecting.

But, I knew they were going to have to do something to jump the story line at least 3 years forward, because they gave us a clue in The Vampire Diaries.  Remember?  When Caroline said she had went to New Orleans looking for help from Klaus and he was nowhere to be found.  She had taken the twins and run to Louisiana and hadn’t found the help she’d been seeking.  Well, now we know it’s because he’s behind a brick wall with Cami’s dark object knife buried in his chest and the rest of his family is sleeping in coffins with their minds in some sort of magical time out while Hayley searches for a way to cure them all.  To be honest, I’m thinking that Elijah and Kol are going to be ready to kill each other for reals when they finally wake up.

BT-dubbs, remember what I said a few reviews ago?  That they’d finally given us Haylijah which meant one of them was probably going to die.  Well, I’m not one to tell you, “I told you so,” buuuuttttt……..

Hopefully, the season premier in the fall will gimme that whole hair pulling thing I was talking about earlier and make me want the cigarette that I was hoping I’d need after this finale.

The one I didn’t really need that is.

The CW’S Big Crossover: Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl

It’s time for the biggest crossover in CW history! Since Supergirl was moved from the CBS network to The CW, The CW now has four superhero shows. Arrow on Wednesdays, The Flash on Tuesdays, Legends of Tomorrow on Thursdays, and now Supergirl to be aired on Mondays.

Mark Pedowitz, President of The CW

During The CW’s upfront presentation on May 19th, CW president Mark Pedowitz officially disclosed that next season an epic four-show crossover is set to take place. “Next season, Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and now Supergirl will join forces in our annual crossover event, our biggest ever.” A round of applause please, for the words that will make our universe explode come that episode.

We already know that this is definitely an attainable possibility, having seen annual crossovers, starting with Arrow and The Flash. Both shows later crossed over with select members of Legends of Tomorrow ahead of its premier, and most recently The Flash crossed over with Supergirl.

Until Fall, I’ll leave you with this juicy, action-pumped trailer of the CW heroes.

What are your hopes for the upcoming season crossover? Did you like anything in particular during previous crossovers? Comment, share or like below. And as always, “Run Barry, run!”

Supernatural SN11 E22 – ‘We Happy Few’

SN11 E22:  We Happy Few

Written By:  Robert Berens

Directed By:  John Badham

OK, so my daughter is home from college for the summer, and she joined Lucy and I to watch The Show on Wednesday night.  The three of us were huddled up on the couch ready for The Battle Royal that was scheduled for the night.  It was a championship bout, winner takes all.  First, in the red corner was the upstart challenger, The Darkness… Sister of God… Amara!  In the blue corner was … well… everyone else.  Let’s get reaaaaaady to RRRRRUUUUUUMMMMMBLE!

They didn’t immediately throw everyone into the ring and let ’em duke it out.  There was a little bit of story stuff beforehand.  I particularly liked the scenes with Lucifer being all Emo teenager hiding in Sam’s room playing his music too loud until his Dad (Chuck/God) was willing to give him the apology he’s been waiting for ….well…. ever.  And, Sam and Dean playing “Dr. Phil” trying to work out the problem.  That’s right… use your “I feel” statements.  ‘I feel’ like this was probably the best thing all season.  I loved watching The Boys and Casifer going around and rounding up all of their ‘help’ for the bare-knuckle brawl for the Championship Title.

But, then they got down to the business at hand.  Chuck said that he was going to transfer The Mark to Sam; that’s when Lucy and my daughter sucked in enough air to bend the sides of the house inward.  I was just like… Really?  Ya’ll didn’t see this coming?  Somebody had to take The Mark to lock her up.  And let’s be real, it IS Sam’s turn for the sacrificing crap.  (Yeah, I’m aware that I just pissed off all the Sam girls out there.  Now, ask me if I care.)

So, back to the Championship Bout…. It didn’t exactly go as planned.  Amara kicked major ass once she realized they weren’t going to kill her, they were going to lock her up again.  She even knocked Chuck for a loop.  It was Dean that finally slowed her down when he pleaded with her “don’t do this”.

Now, I have a theory, and I’m gonna share it with all of you.  I think that Chuck/God left the “Chuck” vessel and went into Rowena to make good his escape from Amara so that he could come back and fight another day.  We’ll see if I’m right next week.

What do you think?  Tell me in the comments below!

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow SN1 EP15 – ‘Destiny’

When we last left our Legends, Rip had discovered, much to his chagrin, that the Head of the Time Council, Zaman Druce (Martin Donovan) is actually *gasp* in league with Vandal Savage. And so, by extension, are the rest of the Time Council. Ray, Martin, Kendra and Rory are in cells at the Vanishing point, Carter is medically out of it, and Sara and Snart are hiding somewhere in the WaveRider. Jax, meanwhile has been sent to 2016 on a one-way trip in the jumpship to reverse the aging effects of the Time Drive reboot.

The opening scene revisits the night in 2016 when Rip showed them the future that he wants to avoid, after he had forcibly rounded them all up. When they each leave to think about it (or not), Stein tries to convince Jefferson into the trip. He asks Jefferson to meet him in his office the next morning. Jefferson agrees and leaves. Future Jax asks Stein’s help to get him back to the Vanishing Point.

In the cells at the Vanishing Point Martin is dying, because he sent Jax back to 2016 to save his life. As we know, Stein and Jax must merge occasionally to keep their separate physical bodies coherent. Rory knows his worth to the Time Masters as Chronos, so he knows they will try to re-induct him. He survived his first induction by focusing on his need for vengeance against Snart and the team. Troopers enter the cell block and take Kendra away, while Rip is taken to Druce. Druce offers to release the others if Rip will help him to capture Snart and Sara. He shows Rip the invasion of the world by warlike beings from Thanagar in 2175. Apparently, without Savage uniting the world under one rule, all life is extinguished. Rip tells Druce that he is as mad as Savage if he thinks that Savage is the world’s only hope. Druce tells him that they have considered the time line carefully, and that there is no other hope. But he has something else to show Rip that may help to convince him.

Snart and Sara climb out from under the bridge floor where they have been hiding. Len wants Sara to get into the Captain’s chair and get them out of there, because he feels that the rest of the team is done for. Sara refuses. Snart pulls his cold gun on Sara. She tells him he is not the same cold-hearted bastard that she first met. She recalls how Len stopped her from killing Stein in Russia. Snart replies “Yeah, because you seemed to have a problem with being a killer. I, however, don’t.” She dares him to shoot her. Len hesitates just long enough for Gideon to contact them through the antiquated telephone sitting on the desk. Land line on a time ship, lol. Why not? She was able to upload herself into the latency core to avoid being wiped out. And she has come up with a plan.

Kendra wakes up restrained on the time ship that the Time Masters have given Savage. He tells her that Prince Khufu is on board in stasis. Savage has an appointment with destiny to keep in 2166.

Time Master Declan (Peter Bryant) has Rory strapped into the induction chair. He tells Rory that by the time they are done, temporal criminals and time pirates alike will tremble at the sound of his boot-steps. Mick retorts matter of factly “Well for your sake, you better hope that plan works, because if it doesn’t those boots are gonna crush your skull”.

Druce escorts Rip into the the ‘Holy of Holies’, the Oculus Chamber. The Oculus is the Time Master’s most powerful tool for looking into past, present and future. But it can also be used to manipulate time, as they see fit. The Captains know nothing of this tool because, well, ‘need to know’. Druce tells Rip that everything that has happened from the time he went rogue has all been according to plan. There is no such thing as free will, except here in the Vanishing Point. Rip is not convinced, as everything that he has done has been to save his family. No one controls him. Druce reveals that he and the Council ordered Savage to kill Rip’s family to spur Rip on. To give him purpose. To make him go rogue, so that he will be nudged in the correct direction. The words strike Rip like a hammer blow to the midsection. Druce invites Rip to see for himself. He makes contact with the Oculus, and sees that what Druce has said is true. Shockingly, he also sees Ray’s death. He is returned to the cells, a broken man.

In 2016, Stein and Jax are working to get the jumpship capable of getting back to the Vanishing Point. Stein is shocked that an auto mechanic knows more about it than a nuclear physicist, prompting Jax to say that he had forgotten how arrogant Stein was. Stein picks up on the past tense and, understandably concerned, wants to know what happens to him in the future. Jax, mindful of the dangers of future knowledge, can’t tell him. Stein asks who told him that, and Jax says “You did! Now why don’t you stop worrying about yourself, and get back to work instead of being an insufferable know-it-all!”.

Back in the induction chamber in the Vanishing Point, Time Master Declan apologizes for the pain of the induction. Modifications have been made, which can dig out the deepest rooted memories. Each time Rory says his name is Mick Rory he is zapped again, until finally we see something snap on Rory’s face and he tells Declan his name is Chronos. Declan orders his release and tells Chronos that he needs to hunt for Sara and Snart.
Sara and Len are busily booby-trapping the other time ships in the hangar.

In the cells, Ray is recapping their circumstance. Mick is being turned into Chronos, Stein is about to have a nuclear meltdown and the Captain thinks their future is already written. He calls them quitters, and reminds them that Sara and Len are still out there.

Sara and Snart, on the bridge of the WaveRider, are now waiting for Gideon to finish transferring herself back to the operating system and bring the time drive back online. Snart impatiently taps his pinky ring on a support. Sara wants to know why he wears it, so Len tells her that it is a souvenir of the first job that he and Rory pulled. 3 weeks of planning went south, and all he ended up with was this ring. So for him, it is a reminder that even the best laid plans can go sideways. Gideon announces that she is ready, and they strap in and pilot out of the hangar. A guard tells Druce that the WaveRider has time jumped. Druce orders all Captains to their ships to pursue. The pilots fire up their respective ships, and the booby traps kick in, which disables the ships and forces their AI’s to sing the old Captain and Tenille one-hit wonder. Off-key. Nice touch, Gideon!

Druce tells the prisoners that he has no use for them now, and orders the attendant guard to kill them. This guard tells Druce that the WaveRider has jumped to the present. The room shakes as Gideon opens fire on the Vanishing Point. Snart appears, and  knocks Druce out. A re-suited Chronos and Declan enter the cells, getting the drop on Snart. Len tells Mick to put it down. Declan tells Chronos to fire. Chronos says “sure thing”, and fires at Declan. Declan falls, and Mick says to Declan “If I recall, I made you a certain promise.” He walks over to Declan and stomps his skull. These boots were made for crushing not walking, apparently! Lol.
Len gets Stein into the med bay so that Gideon can help stabilize him. Rip tells Gideon to get them out of there, and Sara tells Gideon to punch it. And then realizes that she has perhaps overstepped. Rip is very okay with that, as Sara has proven to be quite adept at piloting the WaveRider. The Vanishing Point employs a tractor beam, Rory tries to tell them something about it, but is ignored. Rip and Ray try to disable it. They realize that they need to remotely tell it to turn off, and use Chronos’ OS to do so.

Back in 2016, Stein and Jax have completed the jump ship mods, and say their goodbyes. Stein apologizes for being an “insufferable know-it-all”, but Jax has come to learn that it is just Steins way of caring. Jax does tell Stein about the rufying, and that he will be pissed off about it, but that it will be the best decision he never made.

Back on the WaveRider, the team is discussing their next plan of action, the Oculus and the Time Masters’ manipulation of them. They try to figure out what they can do that will not be a manipulation, and decide to blow up the Oculus at the source. Snart voices his opinion. “This is madness.. I like it!” They set course for the Oculus Wellspring.

Ray has decided that since he is going to die, there is no point in keeping up with his diet, and so is gorging himself in the galley on sugary snacks. Rory joins him. He tells Ray that Time Masters do make mistakes. Ray says that he has to stop thinking about what may be part of the Time Masters’ plan, because the temporal implications are infinite. Rory agrees. “That’s why I don’t think”. He bites into a donut. Ray asks Rory how he managed to survive the induction process this time, Rory tells him that he focused on how royally screwed the team would be without him. He goes on to tell Ray that if he can survive not being turned back into Chronos, Ray can survive anything they throw at him. Then he adds “If you tell the team I actually care, I’ll shave your head!”.

Snart meanwhile is trying to apologize for holding Sara at gunpoint, but notes that he was apparently just following a script. Sara tells him that doesn’t excuse him for being a jerk. Snart agrees.  Sara feels responsible for everything she has done. Things that still keep her up at night. Snart tells her “It’s the things I didn’t do that keep me up at night. Maybe it’s being on this ship, travelling through time, I started to wonder what the future might hold for me…. And you…. And me and you”. Sara snorts “you wanna steal a kiss from me, Leonard? You better be one helluva thief!”.

Stein has been thinking about their plan. He thinks that they have a chance, however infinitesimal. He believes that the oculus is powered by a scaled down supernova contained at the bottom of the wellspring. Rip says that he and Dr. Palmer will deactivate the core containment which should create an anomalistic event. Mick looks somewhat confused, so Stein clarifies. “A very big explosion”. They exit the ship, only to be met by Druce and a platoon of Time Master Troopers, right on schedule. Rip tells him “For all your posturing, all your claims about doing what’s best for the time line, it all comes down to cold blooded murder”. Druce sneers “The difference between murder and execution is only a matter of authority. I have it. You don’t. Kill them”. The troopers are hit by laser fire from above. Jax is back! YAY! Stein and Jax merge to kick some temporal trooper ass. The three R’s enter the wellspring chamber, and Ray gets to work while Rip and Rory hold off the guards inside the chamber. Snart, Sara and Firestorm inflict major damage outside the chamber.

Flash to London, 2166. Kendra appeals to Savage to spare Rips’ wife and daughter, but Savage points out that cosmically speaking, it’s already done. He exits to keep his appointment with destiny.

Ray has removed his gloves and helmet to work on the containment more easily. Rip tells him that this is how he dies, but as long as it means that the team can work without Time Master influence, Ray accepts that. He discovers that there is a switch that needs to be held down in order to blow the containment field. He tells Rip and Rory to go. Rory knocks Ray out, and takes over holding down the failsafe. Rip shrinks Ray, puts him in his pocket and leaves. Snart wants to know where Rory is, and when Rip tells him, he races into the chamber. Rory tells him to get out of there, so Snart KO’s Rory, and takes over holding down the switch.

He tells Sara to get Rory out. Sara refuses, Snart says “just do it”. Sara plants a lingering kiss on Snart, right dead on the lips in front of God and everybody, and drags Rory and the heat and cold guns out.

Druce begs Snart to shut it down. Snart looks at him with those incredible blue eyes, and snarls “There are no strings on me”. Ka-BOOM!!

The mood is somber on the WaveRider. Ray tells Rory that Len was a hero, even though he wouldn’t want to be remembered that way. Sara tearfully agrees. Mick is in complete shock. Rip asks Gideon for a review of the timeline data, but because the Oculus has been destroyed, time is unmoored and there is no data. A review of news clippings from 2166 confirms that Rip’s wife and son are dead.

Rory, in the galley looking at Len’s pinky ring, is joined by Ray. Ray tries to comfort him, saying “From this point forward our actions are our own. We have free will. It means that Len didn’t die for nothing”. Rory tells Ray that he has killed Declan, Druce is dead and the Time Masters’ ship is destroyed, but he still feels a need to kill someone for Snart. Ray reminds him that Savage still has Kendra and Carter. Rory notes that he will do nicely.

Savage re-enters the time ship, and tells Kendra not to weep for the dead. He tells the ship to connect him with Druce, but another time master tells him that Druce is dead. “We have lost the ability to manipulate time. You are beyond our aid, Mr. Savage. We cannot help you any longer”. The Time Master continues “Without the oculus, time is unmoored, events will no longer unfold as we have seen, or as we have engineered”. Kendra laughs at Savage. “Looks like your friends have cut you loose. How long do you think you can hold onto power without them backing you up?”. Savage admits “Not long, I’m afraid. But they have provided me with a timeship. I no longer need to rule the world, Chay’ara. I now have the ability to change it.”.

Fade to black.

OMG!!! Does this mean that my favorite character will no longer be part of the team? How is that even possible? Never fear, Ledgendaires, according to writer Greg Berlanti in an interview with Deadline, the premise of time travel means that we have not seen the last of my beloved Leonard Snart. Thank all the DC gods!
Stay tuned for the Season Finale – Legendary, airing on May 19th. Teaser trailer!

Favorite Moments:

• Rory keeping his promise to Declan. Off-screen Gore, but SO satisfying!
• Rory’s growing humanity.
• Any scene involving Sara and Snart.
• Snart, Snart, and SNART!! ‘Nuff said.

Make sure to check out the rest of the Skatronixxx team’s work at Skatronixxx.com.

The Originals SN3 EP21 – ‘Give ‘Em Hell Kid’

SN3 EP21: Give ‘Em Hell Kid

Written By:  Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson

Directed By: Jeffery G. Hunt

OK.  The Vampire Diaries let me down.  So, I was hoping for a big Originals episode to make up for it.

They did NOT let me down.

I got home late on Friday night and had to watch this episode on the trusty DVR.  So, when I hit the play button, I said “Bring it, Mikaelsons.”  And, they did.

They soooooo did.

I knew there was going to be another Civil War in New Orleans after Davina died, and the first shots were fired in this episode.  If you want to avoid spoilers, don’t read any farther!

The whole “one by friend, one by family, and one by foe” prophecy finally makes sense.  It’s all one person… or vampire.  Marcel is the friend, the foe, and the family.  At least, that’s what Freya and Elijah saw when they watched the whole prophecy trailer play out.  And after seeing that, did anyone expect Elijah to react in any way other than he did?  I didn’t…. and yet, when he pulled out Marcel’s heart, I’m sure I had the same look on my face that Marcel did.  And, so did Lucy.  I was so stunned that I didn’t even remember to hit the fast forward button to rush through the commercials.  I just kept muttering “what did I just see?”  When I finally did hit a button, it wasn’t the fast forward one… I hit rewind.  I had to watch it again to fully let it sink in.

The goodbye scene with Davina and Kol was very sweet and sad all at the same time.  Wait, I’m a writer; I can do better than that.  It was bittersweet.  Yeah, that’s the word I was looking for.

We even got a Haylijah kiss in this episode.

But the thing that got me?  The very end when we learn that Marcel drank the win10 hybrid juice!  I kept saying, “Oh this is bad… this is very, very bad”.  Just how bad is it?  On a scale of 1 to Meghan Trainor …. this is Carly Rae Jepsen.  Yeah, that’s like a Spinal Tap 11, Readers.

This episode would’ve made one hell of a season finale…but we get that next week!  And, according to the scenes…. Rebekah’s back next week!!

Hey, TVD writers…THAT’S how you do a season finale!

Vampire Diaries SN7 EP21 – ‘Gods & Monsters’

SN7 EP21:  Gods & Monsters

Written By:  Brian Young

Directed By:  Michael A. Allowitz

I have to say that I wasn’t really impressed with this episode.  As far as season finales go, this one really sucked (no pun intended).  Hold off on the public stoning though, because I have a few things to say.

After the big build up last episode, I was disappointed by this one.  This episode seemed rushed, in a hurry to tie up all the loose ends and give us a nice little bow of a finale.  The only time I was even sort of on the edge of my seat was the scene with Bonzo when the stake was just about to pierce his heart.  At that point (pun intended), I was saying “Hurry up, Damon!”

I know that I’ve made my feelings about Matt perfectly clear.  But, I think the writers have too.  Seriously, Sheriff $h!thead is just an after thought to them.  No one even wondered where he was or if he made it?  I totally get it that Damon didn’t wonder about him, but come on… Hero Stefan didn’t even ask about him.  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!  If the writers don’t want him to be a part of the group, why  not just vote him off the island… why have him be rescued at all?  Why not just let him go with Penny?

And now to the last point… I was all psyched up for a big cliffhanger.  I seriously hope that wasn’t the writers’ idea of a cliffhanger.  They’ve left us with this ending before… just some minor differences.  But Damon and Enzo on a killing spree?  Really? That’s their idea of a cliffhanger?

It needed work.

Let the stoning commence…. if you can find me, I can take it.