Tag: TV Reviews

REVIEW: ‘Doom Patrol’ Remains Consistently Zany in Season 3

Doom Patrol manages to be one of the most unique and eccentric comic book television series around. More impressively, it manages to somehow be the least and most grounded series given its ability to present constant off-the-wall supernatural stories, as well as give its characters meaningful and intimate development. Season 3 stays the course and promises to keep the series’ signature zany spirit and hard spotlight on the characters’ continuing inner journeys.

What Season 3 of Doom Patrol might not offer – based on the first half of the season – is something sensationally different than what we’ve seen before. To be fair, how “different” can a show that embodies outlandishness actually end up being by the previous seasons? The answer might lie with the hidden foundational and conventional aspects of the show – the series is noticeably short of strong adversarial characters. Season 1’s Mr. Nobody is still the show’s gold standard, and no character or entity has risen to that villainous level since.

The fairly sporadic consistency and intensity of Doom Patrol’s villains tend to make the show feel like it hasn’t moved much over the course of multiple seasons. If the first five episodes of Season 3 are representative of the rest, the main team’s status as decidedly not the “Doom Patrol” may not be adjusted. But there are plenty of kernels of heroic ambitions, curiosities, and what it means to be a hero to think that this gaggle of superhumans could, eventually, be a super team. These bits and scraps have existed all along, though, but maybe two to three years in the title of the series could have a more direct meaning.

Some of the overarching plotlines from the first two seasons that felt weighty and more of a burden are mostly alleviated, though what haunted the team from the very beginning seems unwilling to let go. Perhaps that very haunting is the glue they need right now. Season 3 is a masterclass in forming individual unique episodes with absolutely and delightfully absurd micro-stories. This time around, the miniature adventures, while still feeling thematically removed from one another, fit better as puzzle pieces to the overall picture that is slowly coming to life. Episodes 2, 3, and 4 in particular are absolute gems as individual episodes a well as chapters of the same short story, and they are fun beyond expectation.

In any event, Doom Patrol is still doing what it arguably and sometimes surprisingly does best – its characters. Diane Guerrero is still an absolute powerhouse as “Crazy Jane” and while much of her story seemed to be tying itself to a close at the end of Season 2, the series’ most intricate and interesting character has plenty of additional journeys up her sleeve. Matt Bomer as Larry promises to keep being an anchor of tragedy and charm, but the character that truly steps into the spotlight this season is April Bowlby’s Rita. If any character has the ability to move the group—and plot—forward in a major way it surprisingly seems to be her.

Overall, Season 3 certainly understands its own assignment and admirably seems to refuse to sacrifice its bizarre and wonderfully unconventional style for anything else. Doom Patrol certainly has the ability to do so while simultaneously nailing the quality and depth of its characters’ stories. So, it undoubtedly has the potential to hit even more notes under the ever-present and ironic “Doom Patrol” label. Whether this season will see the group wind up in virtually the same enjoyable place they’ve been in since the beginning of the series or charge into genuinely new territory is still on the horizon yet to be seen.

September 17, 2021
REVIEW: ‘What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?’ – Episode 6

What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark? takes advantage of its freedom and the flexibility of the series to focus almost exclusively on upgrading an existing supervillain. It pairs with the Doctor Strange episode in terms of establishing a singular powerful villain as the overarching goal. The episode returns to previous What If… ? form by heavily tracking sacred timeline stories, though with dramatic alterations here. It’s an obvious mash-up of Iron Man and Black Panther, with hints of Iron Man 2, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and even a touch of Avengers: Infinity War—as a result, Episode 6 truly emphasizes how interconnected the existing MCU is in ways not obvious from the films alone.

Michael B. Jordan continues his iconic and powerful role as Erik Stevens AKA Killmonger, and the episode gives the role proper respect and recognizes his overall merit as a character. He is eight steps ahead of virtually everyone he encounters and completely dominates the entire plotline with hardly any difficulty. He continues a trend in the series of eliminating major characters and superheroes from the main MCU—in this case, Killmonger swiftly takes out Tony Stark, T’Challa, and James Rhodes.

Overall, though, Episode 6 falls flat. While it definitely explores more of Killmonger, it comes across as a kind of standard remix to our known universe’s plot without much more depth or even a solid grasp on what Killmonger’s bigger picture might be. His motivations—which are one of the strongest aspects of the character and what, along with Jordan’s portrayal with them, makes him as interesting as he is—are noted more heavily towards the end of the episode, but they are glossed over compared to their treatment in Black Panther. While Killmonger is given his due as a powerful character, it a fairly surface-level take on him.

The episode hones in on the general premise that one small change in a hero’s story can dramatically change the course of everything we know to be true. As our friend the Watcher reminds us, heroes are made, not born. If they miss their opportunity to “make” themselves, they merely become pawns in someone else’s story. Killmonger rescuing Stark—as a Navy Seal involved in an undercover operation with the Ten Rings—is all the grease Killmonger needs to succeed where he failed in Black Panther. Apparently, he already had plans for a weaponized automated drone called the Liberator, and Stark’s technology and help seals the deal to create these machines in contrast to the Iron Man suit.

In terms of performances, the voice acting in this episode is solid across the board. Michael B. Jordan is unmistakably great. Don Cheadle is quality, and Jon Favreau is very true to Happy. Andy Serkis is absolutely phenomenal and honestly gives one of the best performances of the series to date. Chadwick Boseman’s talent goes without saying. Mick McGill is decent as Tony Stark—the writing and his performance definitely capture the character well, but it’s near impossible to not stand out as not being Robert Downey Jr. in that role.

Episode 6 also continues a growing trend in the series of ending on a very obvious cliffhanger and/or generally being an unfinished story. Earlier episodes always left the door cracked for future implications, but this episode and the immediately preceding zombie episode very much leave the door wide open for their respective stories to continue. It certainly implies that What If… ? is building to something bigger and something that likely involves interconnecting episodes.

Even so, the Watcher—who certainly acts as a connector—does not involve himself whatsoever, leaving the Doctor Strange episode as the sole exception to his general narrator-only role. He does, however, look noticeably unhappy and disturbed as a giant head in the sky at one point. While Killmonger certainly rules the day in this episode as he makes his way to become the Black Panther, the Watcher does cue that heroes—specifically our classic heroes—never die as they live on in those they inspire. Perhaps we will get to see later in this season or further down the line what Shuri and Pepper have to offer against Killmonger in this universe.

September 15, 2021
REVIEW: ‘What If… Zombies!? – Episode 5

If there’s any pattern to the rollout of each episode of What If…?, it seems to be that each episode is getting more and more removed from the original source material and more willing to push the limits of what themes and concepts the MCU is willing to explore. Episode 5, What If… Zombies!?, is the most outlandish the series has given us so far, and it was also an extremely fun ride.

First, this episode is very loosely tied to the events of Avengers: Infinity War due to the starting point being Bruce Banner’s return to Earth that we see at the beginning of that movie. From there, we learn that essentially the entirety of Earth is infected with a brain virus that turns anyone infected into a zombie. This includes the original Avengers lineup, marking the second episode where they simply do away with the original six.

This episode, similar to the previous Doctor Strange episode, goes far beyond the plot of the source material to bring an entirely new story to the table. The result is an amusing mixture of reference after reference from previous films. Of the numerous examples: one of Sharon Carter’s skills was “Eulogies”, Bucky with the good hair found the “end of the line” with pal zombie Steve, the virus was contracted by Janet van Dyne in the Quantum Realm based on the events of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Kurt’s concern with Baba Yaga, Happy’s insecurities about his chauffeur profession, the New Jersey facility is visited once again, and Vision and Wanda’s romance ultimately leads to Vision’s iconic death.

The true stars of the episode are, of course, the remaining Avengers. The episode gives lip service to more of these “smaller” characters such as Hope, Bucky, Okoye, Sharon, and even Happy Hogan and Kurt from Ant-Man. The honest lead was Hudson Thames’ dominant performance as Peter Parker, who seemingly takes on a greater leadership role after the infection. While logically he is not any older than he was in Infinity War, he seems more mature in a lot of ways, including acknowledging his grief over all of those he has lost—including previously unmentioned in the MCU Uncle Ben. Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa also makes an appearance in this episode and Boseman’s performance is unsurprisingly extremely well executed. His character’s quotes about death also hit hard.

Episode 5 is undoubtedly a horror and apocalyptic episode genre-wise. It certainly has been the most violent, gruesome (toned down for a more wholesome audience), and dark episode graphically. There were plenty of decapitations and severely violent deaths of well-known characters to go around. All credit to the show for making the jump into this sort of territory—the major cliffhanger of zombie Thanos certainly sets up our zombie universe to play a significant role down the line in the series if not beyond. It is also yet to be seen if our remaining heroes—Peter, Scott, and T’Challa—actually get the cure into action.

Still, the episode was genuinely funny. Between Peter’s “How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse” video, the banter between the characters, Scott Lang’s head in a jar, and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce’s commentary at the beginning of the episode—among plenty more examples—the zombie episode was at times hilarious and generally delightful with the combination of both legitimate horror and legitimate comedy.

Episode 5 of What If…? is heavily suggesting that the series is picking up steam and more unique and boundary-pushing episodes are coming. We’re also at a point where the potential universes for live-action use are expanding so dramatically that the possibilities seem endless and also perhaps overwhelming, particularly for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Either way, the long-awaited zombie episode was truly a lovely experience and wildly fun.

September 8, 2021
REVIEW: ‘What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands? -Episode 4

What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands? is easily the best episode yet of the series. If you are looking for your standard happy ending, look away. What If…? truly and boldly takes full advantage of its own premise to explore a story of absolute darkness and destruction instead of a standard plot with an upbeat ending. It’s also the first episode that clearly ties into others that we’ve seen, which is particularly interesting given its potential to resurge down the line in other properties or stories.

Episode 4 is defined by gut-wrenching heartbreak and grief. Like the title suggests, in this timeline, Doctor Strange finds his path to Sorcerer Supreme through his search for answers and meaning after the death of the love of his life, Dr. Christine Palmer. Using Christine as the anchor actually places Strange in a lighter place at the beginning of the episode than that of Strange in the MCU’s main timeline. He’s kinder, he’s gentler, and though still incredibly arrogant, he actually seems like a nice guy. So, the countless repeats and variations of Christine’s death are absolutely brutal. The episode doesn’t particularly tone down the ruthless ways in which she is killed—the result is a very dark, aggressive, and hopeless backdrop for the rest of the episode. It also proves that the series can pull off a range of narrative styles and themes. While the previous episode had the “dark” premise of Avengers being assassinated, it never captured the level of tragedy and despair that this episode accomplishes. It’s phenomenal.

The episode is also the first to meaningfully explore the alternate timeline story after the events of the original timeline take place. We learn fairly early on that Strange takes essentially the same journey as he did in Doctor Strange, including the Ancient One’s death and the defeat of Dormammu. In other episodes, this would have been the section of the story that variates from the one we already know. Here, the bulk of the episode explores Strange’s voyage after everything we think we know of his story instead.

Strange’s arrogant nature is still a major player in this story. Whereas the loss of his hands in the sacred timeline led him simply down a path of desperation and later redemption, his all-consuming grief from Christine’s death leads him down a path of desperation with only a fleeting moment of redemption before desperation once again takes over. It’s another side of Strange that is just similar enough to what we’ve already experienced with him to be extremely captivating. Instead of moving on from his superhero origin story, he reverts into the past and his arrogance takes over.

Even with the Eye of Agamotto, all timelines in his universe result in Christine dying. He learns from the Ancient One that her death is an absolute point in time. If it doesn’t happen, Strange would not become a sorcerer and his reality would unravel and cease to exist. Not satisfied that he cannot overcome this, he studies for centuries how to absorb power from interdimensional mystic beings in order to gain enough power to break the absolute point. We see the same tentacle creature that Captain Carter fought in Episode 1, marking the first overlap in the series other than the Watcher. In the process, he becomes a literal monster.

Ironically, he doesn’t quite become a figurative monster until his path of darkness leads him to encounter an alternate version of himself—one that chose to move on—that exists in the same universe due to the Ancient One splitting the two in order to try and stop Dark Strange. Light Strange confronts Dark Strange in a worthy magical fight. It is so easy to assume that Light Strange will prevail that Dark Strange’s ultimate victory is even more poignant. Strange truly chose the path of darkness—one without redemption or light at the end of the tunnel.

Using the power he gained from the mystical beings and his other half, Strange goes about breaking the absolute point in time that is Christine’s death. When she is revived, she is horrified at the monstrous creature that Strange appears as. As the very fabric of the universe’s reality starts disintegrating around him, Strange realizes he very much botched…everything. He cries out in desperation to the Watcher, who he can sense. The Watcher declines to intervene despite clearly having the means to save this universe, but this episode makes it clear that Uatu is paying more attention than we might think. Strange’s absolute breakdown as his universe is destroyed is brutal and cruel and incredibly well-portrayed. The episode ends with the annihilation of this entire universe, save for a tiny pocket dimension that Strange remains in—a tiny dot in a vast sea of black nothingness.

What If…?’s venture into pure tragedy, darkness, and defeat is honestly beautiful. It stands in stark contrast to the generally lighter tones of previous episodes, even where previous episodes based their premises on darker themes. This episode left no room for interpretation of its essence. Benedict Cumberbatch absolutely shines with his work here and even manages to make you forget at times that this wasn’t live action. The episode’s exploration of the story past the general plot from the original film is remarkable both because it provides something new to the series and it showcases the infinite potential of what other universes can provide to the MCU. Going further than retelling Doctor Strange’s story, it imagines a greater universe of mysticism that sets the standard for multiversal creativity, weirdness, and possibilities until future episodes or films raise the bar.

September 1, 2021
REVIEW: ‘TITANS’ Season 3 Episode 5: Lazarus

Titans Episode 5 boldly attempts to navigate the mental and emotional spiral of Jason Todd that we know culminates in his adoption of the Red Hood mantle. While some of the series dives into the intricacies of its characters has paid off in the past, Jason’s spotlight here fails to reach the depth it needs to be absorbing. To be fair, the more intimate focus on Jason does give off a flicker of greatness in its examination of the long-term effects of superherodom on an impressionable and flawed teenager.

The episode essentially takes the scenic route to its explanation of how Jason/Red Hood wound up in criminal business with Scarecrow. The supposed reveal that Scarecrow is the mastermind behind the vague scheme is honestly a tad disappointing as it deflates any prowess that Jason at one point seemed to have as Red Hood. And the plan is…something? Turning Gotham into Fear City is certainly on brand, but the rest is fluff at the moment. Hopefully, a more menacing or even meaningful evil scheme will come to the surface, but for now, it’s about as gray as Gotham itself.

The series has plenty teased that Jason was internally scarred by his confrontation and near-death experience with Deathstroke last season. It seemed to play some role in his impulsive and angry departure from the Titans, but it was otherwise left alone. Dedicating this episode to Jason could have been an entrancing look at his festering inner demons. To be fair, the episode had the bones to make it work, but it never hits the right note. For starters, while Titans can be notoriously slow, but this really crawled. For the better part of an hour we watched Jason have a conversation either with the therapist or Bruce. Considering both played essentially the same role in drawing out Jason’s thoughts and feelings, the two felt duplicative. Jason’s revelations mostly felt like a re-watch of the tortured- and traumatized-by-Batman Robin story that still feels like is being played out by Dick Grayson.

The icing (or lack thereof) on the cake is that overall the portrayal of Jason and his troubles in this episode merely felt like it was scratching the surface—there’s depth somewhere that could have been tapped into, but we never get there. Despite this being about Jason himself, it was still hard to pin down his personality or character in general throughout the episode. The best moment for Curran Walters’ Jason came along with Bruce firing him as Robin. Jason more authentically comes unglued and shows the cracks in his psyche. His reaction to what he perceives as another rejection of his Robin encompasses his insecurities in not being good enough which has been well planted throughout the series.

While Episode 5 attempts to recreate some of the series’ past successes with character focuses, it did not quite rise to the occasion. While Jason had his moments, overall the narrative here dragged on slowly with static conversations that felt like Dick Grayson on repeat. Now that Jason is out to prove Bruce wrong, the interesting path would be to see when, where, and why the two former Robins diverge.

August 26, 2021
REVIEW: ‘What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?’ -Episode 3

What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes? is a fairly middle-of-the-road redux of Fury’s Big Week from Phase One that at the end of the day highlighted the original intentions and inspiration of the Avenger’s Initiative. Episode 3 found an effective way to do that while killing off (or not introducing) all six original Avengers. The overall moral of the story is, simply, that more mighty heroes are waiting and willing to save Earth in its time of deepest need.

The tagline for the episode could be or should be, “Hope never dies.” On one hand, this was originally in reference to Hope Van Dyne—who actually died in the course of being an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.—and her father Hank Pym’s descent into murderous madness seeking vengeance. The premise of Pym being the assassin that eliminated the Avengers before they actually began is interesting, because it gives a look at Pym being in action (as Yellowjacket) for the first time that we have really seen in the MCU. It also added a bit extra to the familiar plot considering he was not introduced in the main universe until the tail end of Phase Two. The mixture of elements now at the MCU’s disposal is entirely what What If…? is about, so the light overlap in stories is appreciated here but did not seem to be enough to make this episode particularly exceptional.

Fury was the absolute star of the episode in terms of his significance to the plot. Samuel L. Jackson reprised his role wonderfully, giving animated Fury an authentic feel that likely kept Episode 3 afloat at times where it could feel a bit tedious. We got a better glimpse of Fury as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a fuller capacity than he was afforded in the main universe given screen time constraints. While it did not fundamentally change the character, or how anyone viewed him, it certainly bolstered his persona by giving him room to stretch and simply be in control.

Considering that all the original Avengers, other than Steve Rogers, were killed off, the main consequence of this episode was Loki’s eventual takeover of Earth. His address to the United Nations at the end was an interesting and fairly comical look as to how King Loki would come about and rule Earth absent the dramatic and violent Battle of New York. Tom Hiddleston’s performance—particularly in light of Loki’s heightened popularity right now from the Loki series—was also phenomenal, and the transition from screen to voice was very smooth which similarly buoyed the episode.

Ultimately, “hope never dies” becomes a reference to the enduring spirit of the Avengers Initiative that dominated the latter half of Phase One and Avengers in particular. Despite the Avengers as we know them being utterly gutted, the idea of bringing together a group of remarkable people never died in Fury’s eyes, as the episode ends with Captain Marvel and, presumably, Captain America ready to continue the fight. While the episode never felt overly exciting, it was a nice reminder of where the Avengers, and the MCU, began and what they mean to both these fictional universes and our own reality.

August 25, 2021
REVIEW: ‘TITANS’ Season 3 Episode 4: Blackfire

After a relatively strong start for Titans, Episode 4 is starting to show a few more cracks in the operation. We interrupt a functional story with a new side story that doesn’t quite land on the same planet we’ve been working with. Optimistically, Episode 4 may just be an innocent stumble along the way to a satisfying story. Pessimistically, the episode might be foreshadowing the slow unraveling of the rest of the season—only the coming weeks will tell.

The episode briefly explores the emotional aftermath of Hank’s dramatic death last episode. Dawn is shockingly composed given the fact that Hank’s death is technically, or at least directly, her fault. This is all used as an excuse for her character to exit the series for the foreseeable future. It’s fully cemented that Titans has no vision to see Hank and Dawn as two separate people, but while it may have been interesting to explore her individual character more, the show never made her a particularly interesting one, to begin with. She and Hank always came across as unneeded filler, and maybe the series is trying to remedy that.

Unfortunately, it seems as though the show decided that the exit of two peripheral and plot-overflowing characters was the perfect time to add another significant character alongside a side plot that overpacks the existing story in the same way. While the Red Hood chronicle continues, Kory a.k.a. Starfire is handed a major arc in the form of her sister, Blackfire. The lazy arc origin does suit the story itself sadly – it’s bland. How the murderous, vengeful, Queen Blackfire managed to find herself completely helpless in a government lab secured by one person is supposedly explained, but it will just never be okay.

The situation makes both sisters and their powers come across as relatively arbitrary and insignificant. This is more a shame considering that Starfire’s character already suffered from that. It begs the question of whether the series is concerned with her being overpowered and is going out of its way at every turn to dampen her. Spending episodes with her blacking out and having visions just felt like a return to her amnesia in the first season. In any event, maybe the dynamic between the two rivals could have dormant potential, but hope for that feels lost on the delivery. At times it could be hard to watch given the dry and empty performances which automatically took you out of any scene.

Turning to our main story, it’s obvious that history repeats itself. While it could be an interesting theme to explore, it still sometimes seems unintentional at this point. Despite overwhelmingly constant reminders throughout the series as a whole that no Titan should go out on their own to confront a villain, Dick decides to once again do exactly that. Instead of being “a better Batman”, he is being as “Batman” as he can be. On one hand, it seems to suit his character—it’s fun to see him act so in control and with so much dark confidence, but the outcome is the same and he inadvertently lets both Jason and Scarecrow loose.

The good news is that having them together should fuel their master plan. However, the bad news is that the master plan doesn’t seem like much of a plan. Sure, we will probably get more elaboration on what the pair are up to down the line, but it’s looking like Scarecrow will more or less reduce Jason to assistant villain without anyone taking the place of head villain. Suffice to say, Titans has more “villain problems” on the horizon. Unless someone can truly climb the criminal ladder and sit on a throne of captivation, it’s going to be underwhelming.

Overall, the fourth episode keeps the Gotham City plot intact, though its potency may be severely threatened by the shift in villain dynamics now that Scarecrow is more in play. The episode tries to spice things up with the Starfire-Blackfire arc, but it is genuinely not compelling nor well-executed. The noticeable housekeeping and streamlining of storylines and characters Titans undertook at the beginning of this season is, unfortunately, looking to be in jeopardy now. Fingers crossed things will reorganize themselves, take a look in the mirror, and be better Batmen.

August 19, 2021
REVIEW: ‘What If… T’Challa Became Star-Lord?” Episode 2

Episode 2 of What If…?, What If…T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?, is absolutely stunning. It is an incredible joyride through an almost absurd amount of MCU nods and history that is gripping from start to finish. The episode impressively manages to be both hilarious and heart-wrenching in constant waves that at times are simultaneous. All eyes and ears are on Chadwick Boseman’s final role as T’Challa, and Episode 2 as a whole rises to meet his brilliant performance. Despite being in the form of a half-hour animated show, it manages to be a beautiful farewell to such an iconic and impactful actor and character.

Even armed with the heavy knowledge that Episode 2 marks one of Boseman’s final performances—and one of T’Challa’s final appearances—the episode hit an emotional depth that, quite frankly, didn’t seem entirely possible given the nature of the What If…? series and the Guardians of the Galaxy-based premise. It is no surprise that the sound of Boseman’s voice evokes such a mixture of joy and grief nearly a year after his death, but hearing his Star-Lord performed with such vibrant personality and passion both breaks and fills your heart at the same time.

The fact that T’Challa as Star-Lord completely changes character trajectories of Star-Lord himself, the Ravagers, and various side characters is a hilarious contrast to Guardians of the Galaxy, but it also doubles as what feels like a tribute to T’Challa and Boseman. The impact the two have had in the MCU and world at large is well analogized here. The utter goodness of T’Challa that turns the space explorers into world-saving heroes and Thanos righteous is heartwarming almost beyond words now. And wow—the quick bits of Black Panther score that would pop in and out constantly added another layer of intensity and emotion to the episode that kept on surprising.

While loosely following the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy, Episode 2 hits a family theme hard. Despite the fact that we end up exploring three or four different “families” by the end of the episode, they are presented and played out so well that it all comes across cohesive and genuinely a part of the same story without feeling overdone. Even the brief nod to Drax’s wife and daughter being alive in this reality was a noteworthy moment. While the Nebula-Thanos dynamic and arc is less compelling, the episode nails the portrayal of T’Challa’s relationship to both the Ravagers and Wakanda. The most gutting scene is undeniably T’Chaka’s message left for T’Challa that his Wakandan family would never stop looking for him, whether on this plane or the next. It’s simply both heartbreaking and heartwarming. In any event, it’s moving.

Throughout the unavoidable but captivating bittersweet emotion that shrouded this episode, it also managed to have countless laugh-out-loud moments stemming primarily from the dramatic character changes. Easily one of the best examples is Thanos who has seen the error of his ways yet his original genocidal plan becomes a big source of laughter and also spotlights a fairly joyful version of the Mad Titan which is just authentically fun. The banter between the characters is also well done, and the voice performances overall do well enough to pull it off.

In short, Episode 2 of What If…? is absolutely phenomenal. It was broadly fun and enjoyable from start to finish and likely could easily fill an hour runtime—or even longer—without faltering. The incredibly well-executed mixture of laughter and tears turned this unassuming, animated, and inherently wacky episode into a moving and compelling story that resonates far beyond this series. Truly, it seems to be an episode of this type fit for a king. Boseman’s and T’Challa’s final bow is such a gift here at the end of the day and that is something to be grateful for amongst the grief.

August 18, 2021
A Burning ‘STARGIRL’
Season 2 of CW’s Stargirl begins in a much different place than when season 1 ended. Courtney Whitmore has a fix, and it’s to fight supervillains. The one problem with that though; there’s more to life than being a superhero.

“The JSA is not the only team that you’re a part of. Our family’s a team too, okay?” Stepdad and S.T.R.I.P.E. creator Pat reminds Courtney. Pat’s attempting to normalize Courtney’s life while she’s trying to find a fight that doesn’t exist, not yet anyway. The new JSA members are also feeling the lack of threats in their own way.

The season premiere deals with trauma as Yolanda is dealing with her role in Brainwave’s death. Beth is struggling with the loneliness of not only her parent’s pending divorce but also trying to get Chuck (the famous AI goggles) back online. Rick is struggling with the idea of being a hero yet not getting any accolades from it. The theme had weight. These heroes are so young and were so excited to get into this without thinking of the cost.

Examining how a hero deals with the silent moments when the mask isn’t on is something Stargirl excels at. Courtney can’t take the mask off, so Pat makes her for a couple of weeks till she can get her act together. Even young Mike wants to get involved in the crime-fighting business instead of going on vacation. Our young heroes wanted everything right now and they most certainly got it. Now they have to deal with the idea of living somewhat normal lives from time to time.

Here are three other quick hitters from the premiere.
1. Cindy (who we love to hate) is informing her own Injustice Gang with the help of Eclipso. One of the pictures she chooses is Courtney’s step brother Mike Dugan. Oh boy, this could get complicated.
2. Green Lantern’s daughter Jennie-Lynn Hayden, or better known as Jade, has arived. We get an explosive debut from her as she battles Courtney and grabs her father’s lantern. Courtney has quite the journey on her hands with Jade in the fold.
3. Is that Starman? In the pilot we think Sylvester Pemberton is dead, but it seems like he’s alive and well. We find him in a diner talking to Pat Dugan’s ex-wife. Will he be making an appearance soon and what does that mean for Courtney?
August 15, 2021
REVIEW: ‘TITANS’ Season 3 Episodes 1-3

The first three episodes of Titans Season 3 released on HBO Max yesterday waste no time making it clear that Titans can be a very different show. Despite still being centered around darker themes, it is hard to miss that the start of the season feels like Titans is being dragged away from its overly broody, dispirited origins. Episode 1 immediately portrays our heroes as an actual team that takes down bad guys and sticks around for the San Francisco press—the people love them. Already, the show feels more optimistic and a bit more enthusiastic.

Dick Grayson himself is a bit jarringly more upbeat in these first scenes. He is snarkier and less dejected, fully embracing his role as the leader of the Titans. Koriand’r is similarly lighter and friendlier right off the bat. Season 3 also wasted no time in updating her look once again. While it’s a bit tedious to see her physically change so frequently—especially while the others remain exactly the same—each time Titans updates Kory she tends to look more and more like the strong and intimidating royal alien that we want her to be. The other characters showcased in the early minutes of Episode 1—Gar, Conner, Dawn, and Hank—all are given brief but meaningful re-introductions that emphasize how far the characters have come in terms of their physical abilities and relationships to one another.

The first three episodes are ignited by the death of Jason Todd. While Season 2 ended with the death of Donna Troy, using Jason’s supposed death as the focal point here is genuinely a clever move. Fresh off of the trauma and perceived abandonment he endured by the Titans last season, Jason as Robin impulsively and unpreparedly confronts the Joker alone, only appear to be quickly and brutally beaten to death. Already the show has married the internal tensions of the Titans with Gotham City lore, which Titans has repeatedly flirted with in the past. Dick’s discovery of Jason’s strange chemical inhalant and Bruce Wayne’s utter psychotic break following Jason’s death sparks a detective thriller that sees the Titans relocate to Wayne Manor to investigate.

There is heavy emphasis on Bruce Wayne/Batman, Gotham, Dick, and Jason in the first three episodes. While the show seems rightfully aware of its past success in its portrayal of Dick as a damaged former Robin and his relationship to Bruce, this theme starts to feel a bit excessive at times. The way in which Titans is going out of its way to literally tell (rather than show) us how Bruce is a psychopath who destroyed the lives of young Dick and Jason is too forced. Dick and Barbara Gordon talk about how Bruce is in denial several times, Barbara yells at Bruce in front of Dick about how horrible he was with the Robins, and Bruce promptly opted to murder to Joker all to bring it home that Bruce is, well, terrible. The introduction of Barbara has so far been positive, as she anchors our characters into Gotham a bit more smoothly. It also expands our known Bat-Family and exposes us to more of its secrets and scars.

Still, the show wasted an opportunity to emotionally hook the audience at the start by glossing over Jason’s “death.” Given the groundwork the series has laid, it likely would have been effective to wallow in the loss for a moment before quickly moving on to his Red Hood alias and continually focusing on how Bruce is, again, terrible. Not only does the rushed and vague death make the Red Hood twist more predictable, but it also dampens how much impact the story could have had with a more intense focus on the implications of Jason’s death on the Titans and even in Gotham. Instead, it is mostly used as a quick plot creator and a reason to aggressively communicate that Bruce is, once again, terrible.

The emphasis on Bruce is clearly a ploy to emphasize Dick. Showcasing Bruce as terrible and doomed to be terrible is any easy way to make Dick look worthier. It also spurs the recurring theme through these three episodes that Dick should “be a better Batman.” This will surely set the course throughout the season for Dick to continue to go through turmoil as Batman’s legacy. There were moments in Season 2 where this dynamic truly shined for the show, but at a certain point it gets repetitive. Dick’s character and the series’ exploration and development of it is no doubt one of its best assets, but it’s coming at the expense of Titans being about Dick and Gotham City rather than the Titans.

Jason’s Red Hood is an OK villain so far. While his presence isn’t particularly menacing or frightening, he does commit significantly violent and sadistic actions at the beginning of his tenure which cements him as a formidable and serious foe for the Titans. While Jason’s change in character is just convincing enough, it falls short of being truly gripping or believable. Still, his more manipulative and puppet master-type edge is more interesting than his Robin. His role does bring forth more intricate detective-type work and storytelling than in previous seasons. It has the unfortunate tendency to drag, but when it’s at its best it can be compelling. In any event, it’s certainly an upgrade to the splotchy and often incoherent plotlines of the past.

Aside from developing a cohesive and streamlined story, the first three episodes have also vastly improved on their portrayal of their titular characters. Gar remains cheekily charismatic, and Conner, the newcomer, has been well implanted as his number one companion. The two have an innocent, childlike dynamic that suits both characters consistent with how they’ve been established in previous seasons. Honestly, the two—especially Gar—deserve more screen time based on how well they interact amongst themselves and as side characters in others’ stories. Perhaps more is in store for them later in Season 3. Kory, on the other hand, is very slowly improving, but the script never seems to give her much personality or even room to express one. Rachel is absent for the first time. To be honest, it wasn’t all that noticeable until it was mentioned in the show. While I’m sure the character will return from Themyscira bringing potentially several major plot lines to the table, her absence is letting Titans breathe and regroup at the moment following the overly ambitious Rachel-centered Season 1 and Rachel-heavy Season 2.

The greatest praise that can be given to these first three episodes is Hank’s arc. Hank and Dawn always had the problem of being two characters that did not exist without the other. True, their relationship was a driving force of Hawk and Dove, but neither felt overly interesting. In the brief space where the two were no longer a couple, Hank was given more screen time and the character was actually one of the more enjoyable to watch. He gained aspects of humor and even joy without losing his short-tempered and sturdier ways. He also had warm moments with several Titans that he normally would not interact with much. When Jason implanted the bomb in his chest, it initially felt like a generic beat-the-clock episode. It played out as one, but the ending took the bold step to actually kill Hank at the very moment all seemed saved. It was a little disappointing to see him and Dawn make up so quickly in the midst of it all after they had finally been released from the constraints of being attached, but ultimately it was all in favor of making Hank’s death actually impactful. For the first time in the series, a death actually felt like a loss. Not only did the Titans lose Hank, but they seemingly lost Dawn as well after she decided to leave following his death.

Episodes 1 through 3 delivered a solid start to Season 3, and are undeniably of higher quality and more enjoyable than Titans episodes have been in the past. It comes with the unfortunate tradeoff of losing focus on the actual Titans in favor of a Gotham-centered plot. The action is also noticeably missing so far from the series, particularly with respect to any hero whose powers rely on (less than ideal) visual effects. Where some is included, it’s perfectly decent, but there’s not enough of it to drawn from at this point.

August 13, 2021