What I’m Watching: Supergirl

Supergirl: Season 4, Episode 2 “Fallout” (B+)

If nothing else, there’s a whole lot going on here. This show has always tried to be politically relevant, and this episode really was in so many different ways. The president’s resignation in the face of an unrecoverable scandal was of course the farthest thing from our reality, but what ensued definitely looked a whole lot like what we’re experiencing, with aliens standing in for the “other” in society. Agent Liberty getting the crowd to chant “Earth First!” at the end of the episode was probably the most haunting echo of our world, and it was jarring to see Brainy, or Barney, as he’s known when he gets coffee or pizza, freeze upon being targeted when his image inducer went offline and his true form was exposed. It’s great to see this show embracing diversity with a trans character who, fantastically enough, is played by a trans actress, Nicole Amber Maines. I’ll be very intrigued to see if she has a romance with Brainy, who has now reached a very good point with Alex. The humans got to have some superpowered fun too in this hour, with Lena and Mercy shooting from arm-guns at each other while Kara had to stall to get out of Lena’s sight and transform into Supergirl. Hank may not be any closer to finding Fiona, but he has stumbled across something unsettling that definitely seems to be sweeping this fictitious but very recognizable nation and may be far more dangerous than the Kryptonite which just took down Supergirl.

What I’m Watching: The Man in the High Castle (Season Finale)

The Man in the High Castle: Season 2, Episode 10 “Fallout” (B+)

I was thrilled to see that this show was finally reaching its potential at the end of its second season, and this transformative finale didn’t disappoint. I’ve expressed frustration at the notion that Juliana is the center of the world, but apparently that’s true - she was in all of the films and played such a vital role. I never would have expected her to shoot George since she doesn’t always follow through when other people tell her that she can’t do what she wants, and fending off an assassination attempt and walking away clean showed her inner strength. Finding Stephen Root’s Hawthorne acting like the man behind the curtain demonstrated her success, and who would have thought that, after all this, Trudy is still alive? We didn’t see any of supporting characters like Ed or Robert, and Frank is long gone, and so instead we got to watch two of this show’s most notorious and magnetic villains, Inspector Kido and Obergruppenführer Smith, come together to act in the service of both of their countries, preventing catastrophic war based on totally false pretenses. It was stirring to see John honored in Berlin, and a harsh reminder that, decent as some of these people may be, they’re still Nazis. Thomas giving himself up didn’t seem all that honorable since it accomplishes nothing, and better for him to achieve greatness in spite of the limitations he is supposed to have given his condition. I have no idea what comes next but after these two strong episodes, I’m more than willing to come back for what I hope will be a better-defined and more satisfying season three.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Rufus Sewell as John Smith

What I’m Watching: The Flash

The Flash: Season 1, Episode 14 “Fallout” (B)

This episode was jam-packed with lots of actions, and things happening very quickly where they had previously been building over the course of a number of weeks. Having Ronnie and Dr. Stein back seemed too good to be true, and of course it would make sense for them to merge, separate, and then merge again all over the course of a day or so to combat a villain, General Eiling, who theoretically could find them anywhere, like, say, Pittsburgh. Yet things are never sewn up so simply on shows like this, and that’s part of their appeal. There was plenty of entertainment to go around from the lines spoken, particularly from Dr. Stein as uttered by Victor Garber, about his unshakable connection to Ronnie. I like the notion of having recurring characters who might pop up now and again, but I do wonder how long Ronnie could feasibly stay away from Caitlin and whether something tragic has to happen to separate them fully instead. I wouldn’t mind have Ronnie as a regular member of the team, but I’m not sure that’s in the cards. Iris is doing a great job of fulfilling her role as the intrepid reporter, and she’s soon going to find herself in trouble, likely not from Caitlin or Cisco but from Dr. Wells, who will surely go to great lengths to protect the secrecy of his operation. It turns out that Wells is Reverse-Flash, which isn’t a big shock, and he’s still, to an extent, a good guy, sicking the gorilla on Eiling to make sure that his friends stay safe. I’m sure we’ll soon see Reverse-Flash going into the past to kill Barry’s mother to make sure he stays on his path while Barry makes a desperate but likely unsuccessful attempt to change history.

What I’m Watching: Masters of Sex

Masters of Sex: Season 1, Episode 10 “Fallout” (B-)

The backdrop of this episode, the Cold War chaos and disaster simulations, was relatively effective, but there was something about this hour that felt off to me. Perhaps it’s because all of our characters seem to be in such bad places at the moment, so angry with one another and unable to treat each other humanely and kindly. Even Jane threw Lester under the bus when he revealed too much about their extracurricular activities, though that was rectified by a confession of affection which proved unexpectedly smooth on Lester’s part. Virginia suddenly being in a serious relationship with Ethan is somewhat jarring, although it doesn’t feel as awkward or strained as it did before since he seems to have learned how to be a decent human being. Bill, on the other hand, is an absolute monster, and his disregard for anyone else’s feelings is going to be a serious detriment to his ability to continue his research with anyone’s support. Ethan has unsurprisingly lost the support of Scully, who delivered a scathing takedown of his character almost as hurtful as Bill’s. Margaret didn’t have to look far to find someone who was able to immediately peg her husband as gay, and she bounced right back from that news by reuniting with the similarly devastated Austin, whose reaction to the news of his impending fatherhood was only slightly better than Bill’s response. Virginia coaching Dr. DePaul on sucking up was decent, but her attempt felt very forced, and not in the way that it was supposed to. Virginia quitting and coming to work for her should prove interesting, though I’m sure it won’t last long. Let’s hope that the final two episodes of this season return things to a more peaceful and manageable place.