Category: Reviews

RETRO REVIEWS: Arkham City

The downtime caused by this quarantine has offered me some opportune time to get back in touch with my gaming roots. The last console I owned was a Playstation 2 which should give you an idea of what generation of video games I peaked on. Everything that came after, I missed out on. So as I relive the carefree gaming days of my youth, I thought it’d be a fun idea to review some of the games I missed out on. Spoilers ahead.

A huge fortified wall is built around the slums of Gotham, with psychiatrist Hugo Strange leading the project with a shoot-to-kill strike team called TYGER, in an attempt to quell the criminal element of the city for good. Bruce Wayne publicly lobbies to shutdown this inhumane fortress, now called Arkham City, and is arrested by TYGER forces. Bruce is brought right into the belly of the beast and therein begins his investigation into this fortress of misery.

I should preface my thoughts on the game with the fact that I clocked in 36 hours of gameplay – DLC and all Riddler challenges completed – when I finished it. Suffice to say I got the most out of Batman: Arkham City.

It’s no surprise that the game’s biggest star is the core gameplay. You put a character like Batman with all his fancy gadgets and skills in a sandbox as huge as Arkham City, you’re bound to spend hours just trying to parkour across rooftops, gliding to the next district, hanging on to patrolling helicopters, divebombing from tall structures, Batarang-ing unsuspecting villains, and drop-kicking enemies from the roof. The mobility you’re given with the character is just too damn fun.

Of course, you got the signature Arkham combat which has become the gold standard for games of this kind. There’s almost nothing new left to be said about it at this point: it’s fluid, dynamic, graceful, stylish, and whatever adjective applies to fighting mechanics. The game does a great job of keeping it dummy-proof which incentivizes players of all skills to really excel with the combat. Being able to utilize gadgets like the Batarang and grappling hook in the middle of combos takes the whole thing to another level. The combat almost has a relaxing addictive component to it; you fight waves of bad guys and it slowly becomes this choreographed dance where it becomes a fully instinctual exercise for your fingers on the controller. If I didn’t have other games queued up on my list, I would have definitely spent more time topping those Riddler combat challenges.

The stealth component is also stupid fun. The game gives you the freedom to either just brutally assault enemies head-on like the tank Batman is in a room or to use some of his League of Shadows ninja skills. Granted, I do wish the stealth mechanics were more developed (more options on how to ninja your way around a room and better level designs that accommodate it) but it’s just absolutely hilarious to watch goons react to dangling unconscious bodies from your grappling hook. I’m curious on how succeeding Arkham games improved on this component.

Much like the groundbreaking first game, one of Arkham City’s biggest strengths is how it builds on the Batman mythology. There’s a slew of classic villains waiting to ruin Batman’s day. Two-Face, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Bane, Mad Hatter, Victor Zsasz, Solomon Grundy, Clayface, Ra’s Al Guhl, Deadshot, Hush and Riddler all make an appearance in this game. For someone like me who rarely gets to read Batman comics and see his villains, anytime I get to see pop culture’s best rogues gallery showcased is always a win.

Going through from point to point and seeing villains in different parts of the story (main mission and side missions alike) felt like I was playing various episodes of the iconic Batman: The Animated Series. There’s an episodic quality to the way the rogues gallery are spread out in the game and it keeps things varied and fresh. Overall, I do wish some villains were given the limelight more than others which brings me to the game’s biggest weakness: the actual story.

Arkham City doesn’t really know what story it wants to tell. The game oscillates between two arcs: the titular one centered on Hugo Strange’s Arkham City and a continuation of the Joker story from the first game. Now, this wouldn’t generally be a problem if these two arcs intersected in some way but they don’t. The momentum constantly shifts between you dealing with neverending Joker problems and getting to the heart of Hugo Strange’s sinister Protocol 10 plot that neither end up being a fully satisfying story. It also doesn’t help that you’re forced to play Catwoman at times in a plot that also doesn’t connect to the main story, save for one or two scenes.

The main plot, which is the Hugo Strange one, is by far the more interesting one. On paper, the notion of Arkham City as a whole sounds ridiculous. More than anything, it feels like a cheap attempt to keep the Arkham name alive in the franchise but the game actually manages to explore some intriguing ideas that pertain to incarceration, criminality, fascism, and human rights. Even though you don’t actually see Strange until the third act of the game, him being a constant voice you hear in the prison’s PAs reinforces those themes as he recites the inhumane laws that govern this city and counts down to his endgame: Protocol 10, an order to kill all inmates inside the prison.

Sadly, beneath this mammoth of a plot lies a narrative foundation that’s basically made of straws and the entire thing collapses once the nature of Strange’s role in the story is revealed. Turns out, he’s an errand boy for Ra’s Al Guhl. Now, if you’re a comic reader or have a semblance of basic Batman knowledge, you know that Ra’s and the League of Shadow masterminding the plot to get rid of Gotham’s crime makes sense. The problem is that the game doesn’t make an effort to tell you this. Ra’s makes a 10-minute appearance as a boss mid-game in a subplot that has nothing to do with Arkham City. Suddenly, he’s the big bad pulling the strings and the game just expects you to go with it. Strange is reduced to a bumbling lackey. Even worse, within like a minute of the reveal, both Strange and Ra’s die and you’re back to dealing with Joker’s bullshit. The game doesn’t care to explore Ra’s and the League of Shadows’ twisted sense of righteousness.

Joker’s bullshit by the way is just as frustrating. The effects from hulking out from the previous game are killing Joker so he devises a plan that leaves Batman and the rest of Gotham poisoned. The Caped Crusader is forced to find a cure via the Lazarus Pit which is how Ra’s comes into the picture. Of course, the pit becomes the Joker’s eventual endgame of immortality. It’s not a bad story in itself but in the wake of the more interesting Arkham City plot, it ends up being a detriment to the big picture. If the developers managed to find a way to blend the two stories and have them connect in a big way (what does Joker think of Strange’s attempts to get rid all criminality? Surely, Joker has some things to say about that!), my feelings would be a lot more different.

All that said, the weak story does not take away from how fun and immersive of a game Arkham City is. With so much to do and explore as the Dark Knight, the shortcomings of how the story comes together feel inconsequential. I groaned when I was about to face off with the Joker in the final fight but was jolted with excitement when Clayface surfaced as the final boss. The Riddler challenges were painfully grueling but the promise of getting to knock the shit out of Nigma was enough to get me to complete the damn thing. The game truly is greater than the sum of its parts. I’m probably not gonna play any more Arkham games given how this and Arkham Asylum checked those boxes for me but I am more than excited to check out Rocksteady’s next offering which is the Suicide Squad game that was just announced.

August 7, 2020
‘StarGirl’ Review: 1.10, “Brainwave Jr”

After Barbra’s shocking discovery at the end of last week’s episode that left us all hanging, Stargirl picks up right as the staff hit the ground. ‘Brainwave Jr’ cements itself as possibly one of the best episodes of the season so far, its got the best juvenile JSA teamwork we’ve seen all season, stellar character development, and yet another classic cliffhanger. With Courtney’s future in Blue Valley and as Stargirl in doubt, she’s looking to do whatever it takes to finish off the ISA and stop their nefarious plan that could see the very way of life in America changed forever.

One of the biggest revelations of this episode was Barbra’s discovery of Courtney’s alter ego, driven into immediate shock Barb doesn’t hold back and begins to question everything about her new life in Blue Valley. I think a reaction like Barb’s would be natural when you take into account what her life had been like the past 15 or so years and finally having a real family and a real home, I just think she clung to that feeling of “I did it on my own before, I can do it again”. Watching her come around at the end and begin to believe that Jonah was Icicle was exciting to see. Although we don’t know what her final thoughts are on the topic of Courtney playing superhero with her friends, I think if she realizes what lengths Pat went to, to keep her safe, that she would be fine with it knowing she had someone watching her back.

The standout of this episode and cementing himself as one of the best characters on the show, Henry King Jr. took the spotlight here. After realizing that Icicle may have had something to do with the death of his mother, who is also revealed to be the sister of Starman, he takes a complete turn around and goes searching for Courtney to take up that offer she’d given him in the previous episode. When Courtney attempts to bring Henry into the fold once more it causes even more tension among the group, while they’re not for it, the team suits up and heads down into the tunnels previously discovered by Beth. This is where they confront Dragon King, who is hard at work on trying to restore the memory of Henry’s father, Brainwave. The team’s position is given up by a captive Shiv, whose been put in time out by her father, which I wasn’t too fond of her being sidelined like that when she really could’ve helped her father, especially when his only backup was Brainwave and his minions that move at a snail’s pace. But alas the ISA forces proved to be more than enough for the JSA to handle, having only escaped due to Henry’s sacrifice. This scene had to be the highlight of the episode, Jake Austin Walker knocks it out of the park, his final moments had a genuine amount of regret and the guilt he felt for what he did to Yolanda shined through in his apology to her before he was seemingly crushed under falling rubble that his father brought down upon him. The death of Henry was something that I didn’t expect at all, but this is a comic book based property, so does anyone ever really stay dead?

With an ending like that and only 3 episodes remaining this season, the repercussions of this episode will undoubtedly shake the team to their core. Seeing how it affects the team dynamic or even if it makes some of them question if they belong on the team, but hopefully help some of them get their head screwed on right and be able to focus on the mission and honor Henry’s’ noble sacrifice, many of them have spent their time as heroes focusing on what they want to do, this would be the perfect thing bring them together and stop the ISA.

July 24, 2020
‘DOOM PATROL’ Review: Episode 2.06, “Space Patrol”

Jumping straight into the aftermath of Candlemaker’s assault on the underground, we’re shown Dorothy in shock as to what she’s just done and the immediate regret in her choice to make a wish. With the supposed death of baby doll and the rising coup within Jane’s subconscious ‘Space Patrol’ offers yet another change of pace and shows us the much stronger and developed characters being able to face what’s been bothering them and attempting to find freedom in their lives and take back what they’ve lost.

When it comes to living in the stationary freak show that is Doom Manor, Nothing seems to phase the team, so when the long lost cosmonaut gang known as the Pioneers Of The Uncharted, lead by Valentina Vostok land on their front yard, Chief’s first reaction is to hide. Using their ship and fearing what could happen if she was ever to make a wish again, Dorothy steals Valentina’s ship and takes off for the vast and unforgiving vacuum of space. This leads Chief and Cliff to take off in their very own cosmic shuttle tailing Dorothy to the moon.

One thing I really love about this episode was seeing Chief being able to really face what he has done. Feeling as is life had been devoid of normality he saw Dorothy as his one chance to finally have something normal for once. He only saw few ways to do this and in doing so pushed her farther and farther away from him. This leads us into Dorothy and her reluctance of growing up, her desire to remain youthful has become a burden on herself and is beginning to take a toll on her, as she becomes weaker Candlemaker becomes stronger and stronger and once hes strong enough to take a permanent form Dorothy will have to face her biggest consequence yet. This season Cliff has reeled with the fact that Chief is the reason behind all his struggle and the loss of his family, through that he’s taken parts of his anger out on Dorothy, but being the only one who can safely venture out onto the surface of the moon, he must console Dorothy leading him to see this as another chance at raising a child while still hanging onto the past.

Taking more of spotlight this episode, Larry finds solace of some sort in Valentina. When she reveals to also be housing a negative spirit within her, its ironic to see after all this time that Larry has spent searching for some sort of comfort to rescind his years of built of guilt, that person comes right to him. She informs him that it takes awhile but once you’re able to bond with it and see yourselves as one then you can truly be free and comfortable in your own skin. Larry takes this advice and believes that he may still have a chance to reconcile with his family, and thinks he can make it right.

After decades of being hidden away from the world and working towards conquering her own inner demons that have plagued her since adolescence, Rita has taken back control of her ever expanding issues, and attempting to venture back into the real word would be no easy task. Joining a community theater production, Rita finds herself in a retelling of her first time back in society, the day she lost control and rained havoc onto the town. Towards the end of rehearsal, Rita meets with the actress that will portray the ‘Blob Monster.’ The actress continues to describe her ideas of the role and goes into full grotesque detail, seeing the pain in Rita’s eyes, it doesn’t seem like an easy task, but she hold its together. An excellent and quite cathartic callback to season one where a waitress describes how Rita Farr’s career fell apart, where shes unable to keep it together and commits the onslaught that the play is based on.

With only three episode left in this season its strange to see how much is still being setup, I am unsure if they weren’t able to complete a episode or two due to the worlds current unfortunate circumstances. The developments within Jane are interesting to see but I feel as if more if needed to justify whats happening with her character, and this episodes cliffhanger is surely something that’ll leave you scratching your head.

July 24, 2020
‘STARGIRL’ Review: Episode 1.09, “Brainwave”

After delving deeper into the background of the diabolical Dragon King and his just-as-Sinister daughter Shiv, Stargirl shifts focus to one of its longest running subplots and puts the spotlight on the King family. For a majority of the season, Henry’s father, Prominent ISA member Brainwave, has been rendered comatose from his encounter with Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E with the ISA membrers having little to no success in their attempts to awaken him. This forces the ISA to look for alternative options for the plan for a new and better America, a plan in which Brainwave’s telepathy is integral. They find this potential in his son, Henry, who presented with two paths in this weeks episode ‘Brainwave’.

While still reeling with the discovery of who Cindy and Courtney really are, and simultaneously dealing with his developing psychic abilities, Henry becomes a hot topic on both the ISA and JSA agendas. Courtney believes recruiting Henry to join the JSA could be their next best move and be crucial in figuring out who within Blue Valley is a member of the ISA. This causes further discord within the newly formed team, splitting the team on whether or not its a good idea, with Henry and Yolanda’s troubled past. The ISA believes Henry to be essential to their plan if Brainwave doesn’t awaken in time for project new America. While all this is going on Henry is stuck within his own mind figuring out how to control his newfound powers, going through his father’s old research to try and figure out the extent of his abilities.

This episode may have had some of the weakest writing and overall delivery of lines for this season so far but Courtney’s words of inspiration to Henry, when trying to convince him to choose them and help save the innocent, using the death of fellow classmate Joey Zarrick to to try and turn the tables. Henry’s development is another shining star in this episode, his mind reading capabilities have shown him the darker part of those around him, the selfish and vile that drive Henry to believe those around him are out to get him and he himself is probably the only one he can really trust. On the issue of recruiting Henry, the loudest response from Yolanda indicates what lengths she would go to keep Henry out of her life, Showing a darker side to her that most figured was there but had never reared its ugly head, goings to such far lengths as to threaten Henry’s life.

Biggest thrills of episode come right from the dinner table, where Courtney and Pat unexpectedly walk into an ambush of sorts that sees them sharing a meal with the Mahkent family. The pair at first aren’t aware of who Jordan Mahkent really is, until the end of the meal when Jordan exposes himself by placing his hands on a hot pan that Courtney realizes who Jordan could quite possibly be, sending her into a frenzy. Courtney’s impulsiveness shines brighter than her staff once more and continues to be her biggest foe as her first idea is grab the staff and go after the Mahkents right after they leave. Courtney’s inability to learn a lesson is a glaring flaw in her character, and down the line will undoubtedly be the maker of a foe, with seeds already be planted around Blue Valley, who knows where Shiv will end up? It isn’t until the final few minutes were left with possibly one of the biggest cliffhanger of the season, that’ll leave any eager fan crawling back for the next episode.

July 20, 2020
RETRO REVIEWS: Alan Wake

The downtime caused by this quarantine has offered me some opportune time to get back in touch with my gaming roots. The last console I owned was a Playstation which should give you an idea of what generation of video games I peaked on. Everything that came after, I missed out on. So as I relive the carefree gaming days of my youth, I thought it’d be a fun idea to review some of the games I missed out on.

With its elevator pitch of Stephen King-meets-Twin Peaks, Alan Wake was probably one of the last games to catch my interest as I was easing out of my gamer phase in 2010. In fact, I still have the pirated installer in one of my old external hard drives. The idea of playing a horror game that was less of your run-of-the-mill horror game and more of a cinematic experience intrigued the college student in me. But alas, college life hit and I just didn’t have the time to get to it. A month or two ago, this game celebrated its 10th anniversary and went on sale on Steam so I knew this was my chance to finally play it.

As with a lot of King stories, the game is centered on a writer, whose latest novel manuscript may be behind the supernatural disappearance of his wife in a lonesome Washington town. There’s a strong emphasis on psychological horror here as the titular character wrestles with visions and memories he can’t quite trust. All of these personal issues Wake has to face himself amidst a backdrop of townspeople going crazy, inanimate objects getting possessed, and an unseen force wreaking havoc everywhere.

With decent characters, good voice acting, and a consistent tone, the story is mostly fine, save for the fact that a lot of what happens doesn’t actually make much sense in the big picture. A lot of things here just happen because… psychological horror stuff and you kinda just tread along with it because the game really wants you to. I guess you could blame me for this nitpick having read Twin Peaks in the elevator pitch but it’s my biggest caveat with the game and psychological thrillers in general. It doesn’t necessarily make the game terrible but it just left me wanting way more from the story as the credits rolled. The two DLCs that are set after the game are even more nonsensical.

Another thing for me is that the story riffs on a bit too hard into Stephen King for my taste. The first thing the titular character literally does is quote King. The mere fact that King exists in the game’s world is so odd when the story posits Wake as the celebrity horror author of the world, much like King is in our real world. King and his work are continually alluded to throughout the game that by the end (there’s a Shining-esque hedge maze sequence that is pretty dope), I wondered if my Steam purchase went straight to King’s residual checks. I think it would have been more effective to just make Wake the Stephen King of the story instead of verbally referring to him every step of the way.

But I digress.

A game isn’t worth much if it doesn’t give you a fun gameplay experience and Alan Wake does that really well. It may sound simple but it mostly consists of you walking through a dark foggy forest armed with a flashlight and various guns, facing a bunch of townsfolk possessed by this dark, evil entity. They’re terrified of light so you point the flashlight at them to weaken their defenses and you finish them off with your gun. However, you’ve got a limited battery life for the flashlight and an even scarcer set of bullets so balancing the usage of these two weapons is a big part of the combat system. The combat system is surprisingly modern for a decade-old game. There’s a smoothness and weight to the aiming system which makes it feel somewhat real.

Much of the game shines when you’re out in the dark trying to find the nearest checkpoint, which is presented as various sources of light like lamp posts and floodlights. The atmosphere of this game is absolutely great and it’s mostly thanks to the visual and sound designs. Fog beautifully nestles over treelines and the moonlight illuminates just enough for you to get by a dirt trail. Suddenly, you hear a guttural scream from the shadows. Music swells as silhouettes of possessed people wielding chainsaws and axes dramatically emerge from the shadows, reminiscent of classic slasher films of the 80s.

With a limited set of ammunition, a slew of possessed townspeople to fight at a single time, and sound design that gets more unsettling by the second, every enemy encounter was followed by me needing to take an Alt+Tab breather. There are instances in the game where I’m faced with at least 5 enemies with only 3 bullets and 1 flashlight battery to spare, and I just run like hell past them towards a light source. I like that the game allows for desperate decisions like that to progress.

The true charm behind this game is how the storytelling is presented. The whole game is framed like a season of television; each chapter literally ends with a cliffhanger or some giant soap opera twist and each chapter begins with a recap of the previous episode. This format was immensely satisfying to me, someone who consumes content in bite-sized definite chunks (I hate not finishing an episode of TV or an issue of a comic book. Either I finish the whole thing or not do it at all). As a sucker for serialized mediums, this was easily the most notable highlight for me. Also, the songs that they got to play after each episode is amazing. Props to Remedy for sneaking in Bowie into the game.

It’s obvious the game takes pride in its countless nods to pop culture, like its blatant references to the classic Twilight Zone show as well as to literary figures like Raymond Chandler and Brett Easton Ellis. A lot of the story beats in the game are downright Hitchcockian. From the mere fact that you battle a flock of evil birds in various points in the story to the way tension and fear are dramatically escalated. My complaints about the game being a Stephen King lovefest aside, these references to other forms of media help elevate the game’s push for cinematic storytelling.

Was my decade-long wait worth it? Yes, even if only in a completist sense. I’m glad to have finally experienced it and cross it off my list. The story may not have been perfect but the tone, atmosphere, and overall direction of the game are more than impressive. It’s a game that absolutely holds up after all these years. I highly recommend this to anyone who’s a fan of horror films in general.

July 13, 2020
‘DOOM PATROL’ Review: Episode 2.05, “Finger Patrol”

A quaint return to Doom Manor is brought to us in ‘Finger Patrol’ after last weeks provocative festivities, but not before we see many of the main characters split up into multiple diverging story lines that offer more of a build up for what is to come later on in the season. While at first glance there doesn’t seem to be much going on, we’re treated to a some delightful character bonding and development that was well needed, but its not until the episode reaches it end that we’re thrown a curve ball that could quite possibly change the dynamic of the team and even the show in episodes to come.

The dynamic robotic duo takes quite the spotlight this episode, with Cliff dubbing them “Steele & Stone.” After being given hope by The Chief that Cliff may one day be able to feel again, Cliff believes he could speed the process up with help from Silas Stone. This leads Cliff to drag Cyborg back to Detroit where Cliff is only met with disappointment. One thing that stuck out here and one of the first plot holes that I’ve noticed, Silas recollects that he denied helping Niles with the development of Cliff’s metal prison as it would make him an accessory to Niles’ crime. Yet in season one Silas says that if Niles would’ve taken his notes, that Cliff could’ve been so much more, which makes one wonder which story is true. Following this, we’re given some great development and bonding between Cliff and Victor, and for once Cliff offers some helpful advice to Vic about his current love endeavor with Roni Evers.

On the other side of things, that is about as delightful as it gets for this episode, for a second it feels as if Larry is going to be able to confront the guilt and regret he feels towards abandoning his family and never being honest to them about who he really is. He decides enough is enough and he and Rita venture out to help Larry’s family empty out his late son’s old home. All seems well and it felt almost cathartic to see the sulking seep out from beneath Larry’s bandages and see him happy for once. That is until his son, Paul, reveals that when he said he “followed in his fathers footsteps” he really followed his footsteps and joined the Bureau of Normalcy, and spouts years of pent up rage, anger, and blame towards his father, blaming him for his family’s troubles.

Finally we’re given a rather interesting side plot focused on Jane’s alter ego, Baby Doll, and Dorothy. Chief believes that the two would be the best of friends and for bit they are. since the season started there has been an interesting dynamic going on within Jane, a power struggle between her and those who reside within her head. she’d been dealing with the stress of being the main personality while the others demanded more time above ground. This delivers a more irritable and more sensitive Jane that has become much more of a hot head this season. Finally when we reach the boiler room were shown a distressing chain of events that leads to one of Jane’s personalities killing Dorothy’s best friend, Manny the Wendigo. As an act of childish rage Dorothy makes the decision to make a wish, the full might of Candlemaker is put on display, being stuck as voice within Dorothy’s head for a better part of the season it was unclear what exactly his abilities were, but once he infiltrates the underground and slaughters those who get into his way were setup for an interesting end to the season.

It is wild to think that we’re already halfway through the season, and with only four episodes left in season 2 and so much set up for the future just in this episode it’ll be interesting to see how they wrap things up in the end. Doom Patrol has become such outside of the box, breaking down limitations, type of comic book show. It doesn’t follow any sort of formula and just focuses on the characters and lets them push the story forward, and with this episode even though its basically one big recipe for the main course that is the rest of the season, it continues to deliver on every aspect.

July 13, 2020
‘STARGIRL Review: Episode 1.08, “Shiv: Part 2”

Following last weeks cliffhanger ending, “Shiv: Part 2” picks up where the previous episode ended, concluding the Shiv origin storyline, and proves to be just as good, if not better than part 1. Being already halfway through season 1, it’s great to watch it go full steam ahead, it has yet to show any sign of fatigue and is still introducing to new and exciting possibilities for the rest of this season and its newly confirmed second.

We pick up right as Pat is hurdling down the road, and in order to keep Courtney’s extracurricular endeavors a secret, crashes his prized 1955 Buick special hardtop. The relationship between Courtney and Pat has come a long way over the course of this season and one of the best parts of the show has been watching this newly blended family come together each in their own way. The two barely spoke when the show began and now we’re shown what Pat is willing to do to keep his new stepdaughter safe. Pat’s character is surely one of the best on the show, and Luke Wilson’s charming and vigilant performance perfectly captures the character of Pat Dugan from Geoff Johns “Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.” Watching him lead the new JSA in this episode was quite gratifying, even though we didn’t see much of him in his Stripesy days, the show gets the point across what an integral part of that team he was, and to watch his rise to mentor status was exceptional.

You’d think a show with this many villains would have a problem properly developing them and getting each a modest amount of screen time, luckily that problem has yet to rear its ugly head. We are treated to multiple fantastic and diverse villains, Icicle and Shiv being the standouts. With what little screen time he’s given to proves himself to a force to be reckoned with, Neil Jackson’s Icicle is a standout in every scene. He’s keeping his cool yet getting down to business. Yet Meg Delacy continues to kill it as Cindy Burman, aka Shiv, eating up every scene she steps into. Cindy’s visit to a wounded Courtney still reeling the consequences of their first altercation quickly turns cold as Cindy makes it known shes aware of Courtney’s alter ego and threatens the lives of those around her. Having learned nothing from the previous battle, Courtney’s impulsiveness makes itself even more obvious as before, leading us to another epic brawl, one of my absolute new favorites, between the new enemies as they clash in street, but not before Henry makes an appearance, and being so overwhelmed with the discovery of who Cindy and Courtney are, is unable to control his newfound abilities and sets off a psychic finishing the fight on both sides.

I trust that this show will deliver on everything its been building on this past season and work to set up the future. I am immensely curious to see what happens with the mystery of the janitor and Henry and hope that we won’t be forced to wait long for answers. It would be great to see them setup new members of the JSA and and plots for the future of the show, they’ve proven to be able to handle a large of amount of characters. If you’re still on the fence about ‘Stargirl’ now might be the best time to jump in and experience the vintage and charm of Blue Valley.

July 10, 2020
‘STARGIRL’ Review: Episode 1.07, “Shiv: Part 1”

Stargirl season 1 has spent its previous episodes really establishing the characters and the antagonist they’ll be facing throughout the rest of the season and it’s something they’ve done quite flawlessly. I found myself craving another episode after finishing each and trying to savor them as they released. Now that we’ve got most of the setup out of the way, it’s time to finish what they came to Blue Valley to do. As the story begins to develop further and we witness the dawn of the new JSA, other foes will rise and “Shiv: Part 1” does a great job of setting up Cindy Burman as the sinister Shiv, daughter of the Dragon King.

Beginning with the JSA’s first official training session, Courtney’s impulsiveness rears its ugly head as she makes the whole session about her, irritating her teammates and Pat. Courtney’s impulsiveness is something that’s followed her since the first episode: from running off with the Cosmic Staff, to looting the old JSA headquarters to begin her recruitment process, her lack of self-control is becoming her one her biggest foes, but not as much of a threat as Cindy Burman is becoming. Since episode one, Cindy has been the resident “Mean Girl” at Blue Valley High and is now taking it even one step further. Cindy’s relationship with her father had become strained ever since the death of her mother, now she wants her spot on the ISA, but her father does not believe she is ready stating that he only gave her abilities so she would be able to protect herself.

The blended family dynamic at Courtney’s house is working great as Courtney and Pat’s constant back and forth is helping the two understand each other and work better as a team and Mike’s rising jealousy between the two getting closer feels incredibly natural.. To see where they’ve come since the first episode this fast and this well-done bodes well for the future of the show as the writing just gets stronger as the relationships and rivalries do as well. The choreography is another thing to behold, the fight between Shiv and Stargirl in the gym was amazing, reminiscent of the fight between the Stargirl and Sportsmaster.

Stargirl is a strong contender for being one of the best DC shows. The atmosphere is charming, yet threatening, and the progression of the characters and the story is elegantly done, along with the mystery of the Janitor who may know more about Blue Valley, and Arthurian Legend, then he is letting on.

July 7, 2020
‘DOOM PATROL’ Review: Episode 2.04, “Sex Patrol”

Doom Patrol has never been one to stray from the weird and outlandish and they don’t seem too keen on changing that anytime soon. Season 2, episode 4, ”Sex Patrol”, makes its mark as one of the weirdest and yet most important episodes, featuring big turning points for many main characters.

Even when there’s a party going on around the team, there is so much more going on inside their heads, making this episode so much more special than what it appears to be. Doom Patrol wouldn’t be the show it is if it didn’t take the time to give these characters room to grow and show that even when you’re super you aren’t perfect and that isn’t always your fault.

Dealing a lot with past and present family trauma, “Sex Patrol” gives us different perspectives of each separate issue while all revolving around one similar topic, whether it be Larry’s guilt of abandoning his children or the feeling of rejection Cliff felt from his daughter. It’s not until the Dannyzens arrive to help invigorate Danny The Brick to the once lively and free-spirited street they once were that the Team can work out some of what’s been eating them up inside. This week’s episode features the return of Flex Mentallo (Devan Long) and Marau Lee Karupt (Alan Mingo Jr), who propose a party is just what Danny needs to begin healing, but it ends up benefiting more than one.

Rita’s story has been one many have been quite keen on since season 1. Her development since the beginning has been nothing short of phenomenal and watching her start to grab life by the horns and take control of what once held her back and face her insecurities is incredibly satisfying. Here she must deal with events of the past that she has long blocked and buried deep within her psyche and she recruits the help of Flex, asking him to “Do the thing he did” before sending them into the white space when they first confronted Mr. Nobody. They begin exuding highly unnatural levels of sexual energy, attracting the shadowy Mr. Evan, countless sex ghosts, and of course, the Sex Men. This is the part where you remember what you’re watching and this doesn’t seem entirely out of the norm.

Season 2 has brought out a shining star when it comes to newcomer Dorothy Spinner the delightful yet dangerous daughter of Niles Caulder, played by Abigail Shapiro, whose theater background comes in handy in her elegant rendition of Gene Wilder’s ‘Pure Imagination” to get the ball rolling on Danny’s celebration. But her constant battle with the candlemaker and the fear of being locked away once more is what makes her such a fascinating character.
“Sex Patrol” may be one of the wackiest episodes yet but its also an incredibly important one, possibly one of the best episodes since “Danny Patrol.” The fact that they’re able to pull off something so unconventional and still keep you focused on the progression of the characters around it should tell you just what this show is really about.

July 6, 2020