Anna Daniels
(Welcome to The Clock Tower, where we’ll break down the goings on of the The CW network’s Arrowverse. We’ll touch on things like themes, cultural impact, lead-ins to major events, ships, and more every week! Warning: this Clock Tower is filled with spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.)
It’s been a few weeks, but the band is finally all together again. Supergirl, Batwoman, Black Lightning, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow all saw new episodes this week. With the full Arrowverse back in force, we’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s hop right in!
A Girl Named Sue
After years of searching, Ralph Dibny finally found his Sue Dearbon. But nothing could have prepared him for the spitfire he was dumb enough to think he was rescuing. Like so many iterations of former damsels in distress, this Sue is quite different from her comic counterpart in all of the best ways. Purists will still see plenty of parallels to the pages though!
When Ralph first met his future wife in the comics, it was under the pretense of hunting jewel thieves. On The Flash, it’s Sue who’s working under pretenses. She also just so happens to be the jewel thief. This dastardly new anti-hero is an exciting addition to the the show’s lineup, and Hartley Sawyer and Natalie Dreyfuss are swimming in chemistry. Here’s hoping this pair sees a ton of screen time in the future.
Sue’s thievery serves a deeper purpose than her delightfully owning Ralph after his white knighting. It turns out that she’s after Black Hole herself, which will undoubtedly bring her and Team Flash back together sooner rather than later.
Off with Her Head!
When the Captain’s away, the Legends will party in the French Revolution. Of course, Ava’s management style’s always been a little different than what the team’s used to, and no one takes more advantage of that than Zari 2.0. Despite the frustration of losing my favorite character of the series, this new iteration of Zari has had a solid couple of weeks. Though she initially mean girl’s Ava in the beginning, the two come together throughout their mission and ultimately save the day. That includes when Zari does the selfish thing and accidentally sabotages herself in the process.
It also appears that we’ll be seeing snippets of the old Zari, as made evident by her love affair with the donut and her flash back after futzing with the computer last week. Begrudgingly, even this new iteration has been a fun addition now that she’s back into the mix.
We can’t talk about this episode of Legends of Tomorrow without acknowledging the stunning hair, makeup, costuming and set work that went into this week. Every single aspect of it was gorgeous, and that includes Zari’s release dress and her weird s’more boyfriend. The Legends don’t always get to play with budget in the way other series’ do, but this episode was a very fun exception that I hope we see more of in the future.
There Can Only Be One
This week’s Batwoman answered just what was going on with Beth and Alice in the most gut-wrenching way possible. This universe literally aint big enough for the both of them, and Kate’s forced to choose between her two sisters. Though she ultimately makes the obvious decision, it doesn’t make the call any easier for Gotham’s newest Caped Crusader, and the emotions we see from Ruby Rose are some of the most solid we’ve seen in her tenure as an actress. No matter what she’s done, who she’s killed, and the knowledge that she’ll never change, Kate will always blame herself for Alice’s pain.
Turns out, Kate won’t have to deal with the devastation of letting her Earth Prime sister die for too long, because Mouse’s creep of a dad came back and shot Beth in the back thinking she was Alice. It also turns out that Alice is a little bit pissed off that Kate was willing to let her die. Looks like things are about to get a lot worse for the citizens of Gotham.
I Ship It
You had to know this section was going to bring up Sue and Ralph again. Cecile Horton’s gift doesn’t lie. Sue’s a skilled liar, but there’s no way she could have tricked the empath’s powers. There is a lot going on between these two star-crossed dummies and it is going to be a hoot and a half to watch it unfold.
I Trust You
Though it kills me to see Brainy in pain, his current arc is the best thing that the Supergirl writers have ever done for his character. When Winn left behind a humor vacuum, Brainy was used more for comic relief than anything. It’s very exciting to get to see him live out his potential as the literal smartest being in existence. Knowing that is what gives me hope for this current Lex Luthor arc.
Making the brainiac the Director of the DEO is a move that Lex suspects will work in his favor. While he might be right in the short term, I suspect we’re going to see Luthor meet his match when it comes to playing chess. Considering all the pain Brainy’s been through already, that day is going to be an exciting one.
These Are a Few of My Favorite Things
- And now, “Africa” by Toto.
- Mick going to the sick bay for having a crush.
- Brainy’s Leroy Jenkins moment.
- Ava and Zari’s mini girl gang.
- Sue saving Ralph’s life and politely asking if he still wants her to wait in the car.
- Winn reclaiming the name Toy Man.
Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel
We’ve reached the time in everyone’s respective seasons where everyone’s worlds are very complicated. Iris West-Allen is still stuck in a mirror, Ralph Dibny’s romantic escapades, Brainy is doing his best, and Nia Nal is still somehow inexplicably missing from the story. With Crisis being as big as it was, it appears we’ll see the respective series’ start to go harder during a time that episodes may have typically hit a slump, which means a lot of exciting stuff in our future!
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