Arrow Season Two: Time of Death

"Time for you to die!"

The episode begins with two thieves being guided through a robbery by William Tockman AKA Clock King (Robert Knepper) however even though they get what they came for one of the thieves kills a guard meanwhile at the Arrowcave Oliver, Sara and Diggle are comparing war scars making Felicity feeling left out and Oliver wants to throw a welcome home party for Sara. In a Flashback the group sees a plane but it is shot down and in the present Clock King kills the thief who messed up while at the party Laurel is notably absent. Quentin and Arrow later investigate the body of the thief and Quentin says he stole a skeleton key earlier, in a Flashback the group find the pilot of the plane gravely injured so Slade and Oliver go to find medical supplies. In the present Arrow and Black Canary show up at a robbery however it is done by Clock King who uses this as an opportunity to hack Felicity systems and escape however they where able to get a blood sample. Arrow and Black Canary go to Clock King's sister's address (after finding out he and his sister are both suffering from a fatal illness) however it is another hack and their computers are destroyed this time, Felicity later admits to Diggle she feels inadequate now Sara is here but Diggle reassures her she is invaluable.

"Let's finally bury the hatchet"

The Lance Family hold a dinner with Oliver (as a way to mend things between Sara and Laurel and Quentin wants to get back together with Dinah) however Dinah admits she is in another relationship and Laurel storms out after realizing Oliver and Sara are together. This is the last straw for Oliver who says Laurel needs to do a better job taking reasonability for her actions and that he is done caring about her. Arrow, Black Canary, Diggle and Felicity all go to stop Clock King and Felicity is able to knock him out by exploding his phone despite being shot in the shoulder, Oliver later reassures her that she will always be "his" girl on the team. Sara later takes a job at The Verdant and has a moment with Laurel who admits she was wrong and even goes to AA with Quentin. In a Flashback the pilot dies but not before giving Sara a picture of her daughter who is Sin. The episode ends with Oliver going home and finding Moira in a meeting with someone who turns out to be Slade Wilson.

"So where are yours two costumes?"

We got another villain from the comics the episode and that is the Clock King and those who have read my Flash review know I really like Robert Knepper as him. The guy is really similar to his comic counterpart and Knepper really portrays him as being borderline psychotic but that is because the guy has almost nothing to lose because of his disease. They also create a lot of sympathy for his character because of the disease and his sister that you almost wish that he got away with the robbery. However what was really great about him was that he was more of an intellectual opponent against Team Arrow this time who outsmarted them twice and was more of an enemy for Felicity this time. Speaking of Felicity I am glad that she was one of the main focuses this episode and that it dealt with her personal conflict of being inadequate now that Sara is here. This could have been made out to be really silly of being jealous but no, the dialogue she had with Diggle and Oliver really made it feel relevant. Plus I like that she is the one to take down Clock King because she really needs an arch - nemesis of her own sometime.

If he was able to hack Team Arrow's systems then you think he got their address?

We also got some great moments with the Lance Family again and I just thought I'd say I am really glad that Quentin is now on friendly terms with Oliver and the Queen Family now because him being a constant ass to them and Tommy annoyed me last season but he is a way better character now. However Laurel of course had to spoil parts of it again with her damn outbursts but I am really glad now that Oliver has finally had enough with her. Liked the scene when he told her so because it was one of the few times we see Oliver crack and I never liked how in season one he was so obsessed with Laurel sometimes. Luckily it looks like Laurel is finally, finally to getting out of the drinks and drugs which is about time but I didn't like the reconciliation between Laurel and Sara because that whole "I was on the boat with you" dialogue and the rest that followed sounded like a load of crap. Lastly for a quick mention I like that we got some more origin on Sin but those Flashbacks but like last episode felt really unnecessary.

"Surprise boy"

Overall I really liked the villain in this episode but it was a shame it didn't focus on him more but at least he was on The Flash after this. Oh yeah I didn't expect to see Slade at the Queen Manor but I can't wait to see how Oliver will handle it next episode.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Clock King was a strong villain
                   Felicity felt more involved this episode
                   Did like the moments with the Lance Family except with Laurel

Let - Downs: Laurel again
                      Didn't like the Flashbacks


The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/               

The Flash Season One: Power Outage

"Which letters you want me to show you next?"

The episode begins at the night the particle accelerator exploded and a drunken young man named Farooq Jibran (Michael Reventar) climbed an electrical tower to see; he was electrocuted, becoming Blackout, while his two best friends looked on. In the present Wells is using his hidden computer to make a log of Barry's development and thinks that his desire to help people is holding him back. Later Barry is called to a crime scene where a body has been charred beyond recognition but with the help of the team at S.T.A.R labs they discover his identity and find out he worked at a power company. Barry then rushes to it as The Flash when they find out Blackout is draining electricity there and after a short fight Barry finds himself outmatched and his powers drained from him. This is then confirmed after several tests at S.T.A.R labs and that it could be permanent and when Wells looks at his future newspaper and finds The Flash is in no records.

"You better no be stealing my powers!"

While Barry contemplates never having his powers again Blackout arrives at the lab to get his revenge on Wells for the death of his two best friends who died when he couldn't control his power. Meanwhile at the CCPD William Tockman AKA The Clock King (Robert Knepper) takes the place hostage after using a blackout, caused by Blackout, to his advantage and his hostages includes West and Iris. When Barry tries unsuccessfully to negotiate with Blackout, Wells believes they can restore Barry's powers by using the treadmill and a lot of power meanwhile at the CCPD Clock King wounds Eddie who was hiding until the right moment. Back at the labs Wells enlists the help of Girder to fight Blackout who agrees while Barry, after convincing Caitlin to help, doesn't believe the treadmill has worked. They then both try to escape and run into Girder who dies after failing to kill Blackout, this angers Barry especially when he finds out Wells basically used him as a distraction. The team then discovers that Barry does have his powers back he just mentally believes he cannot do it anymore.

"I'm back!!"

At the CCPD Clock King takes Iris hostage for when he gets on his helicopter however Iris manages to pull a gun on him, after secretly removing Eddie's spare, and a shot is heard. At the labs while the team is escaping Blackout catches up with them and tries to kill Wells however Barry saves him by regaining his speed. He battles Blackout who dies after absorbing too much of his power again, Barry then rushes to the CCPD to find Clock King shot in the leg and Iris okay. Later Barry apologies to Wells for his comments earlier and to Iris as The Flash for not being there and then promises Wells to work more on researching his power. The episode ends with Wells discovering the future as been restored and extracting blood from Blackout; wanting to know how he could absorb Barry's speed.

Awesome!

I guess first I want to talk about one of the most important events in this episode and that is the subplot involving Wells trying to restore the future. I mentioned in an earlier review that I think Wells is from the future and I kind of think this might confirm it. At the beginning of the episode I think Wells wanted to change the headline of the newspaper which reads; "Flash missing in crisis". Maybe this means that something so terrible happens in the future because The Flash wasn't there and Wells wants to guide Barry as much has possible. It would also explain why Wells cares about his safety more than anything because he always prefers if Barry just stays in the lab; maybe he doesn't know exactly what happen The Flash and wants to be cautious. Whatever the reason I found it interesting when the newspaper changed when Barry lost his powers and when he took blood from Blackout; could this mean Wells wants to absorb Barry's power or make him immune to another absorbing affect?

You got to love drinking while climbing very high

Now on to the first villain of the episode and that is Blackout and he was a really good one as well with a cool power. I like that it wasn't just electricity that he can absorb Barry's power because it made for a good subplot; I liked the moment Barry had when he said he could not live without his powers, just shows how much he wants to keep being a hero to Central City. Back to Blackout you are probably tried of me saying that the villains have some great backstories but when it comes to comics what makes an awesome hero and villain is a great origin story. They might not be that fleshed out but they do a good job with the time in one episode and they learned from their mistake with the lacklustre Weather Wizard. It again shows just how much lives where ruined by the particle accelerator and how much guilt Wells has to live with such as Blackout's two friends. Because of this, and the fact that Blackout comes across as a drug addict to absorbing power, does make him more of a villain to sympathise with along with Multiplex and Plastique.

Special guest time!!

As for the other villain I am glad that we get to see Clock King again because he was awesome in Arrow. I liked that he had a role in this show because it is just a little reminder that the shows The Flash and Arrow are connected and hopefully we will see more characters cross over. For example I read that the team behind Arrow haven't ruled out the possibility of having Meta Humans on their show which I am looking forward to because even though Arrow is one of my favourite shows, I wish some of their villains wasn't so grounded they need some powers. Again I liked Clock King in this because he is a villain that uses his intelligence to fight and with it he took a whole police station hostage. Don't like that he was stopped by Iris since I just don't like her that much because like Laurel in Arrow they put her in every episode and try to make her seem so important but at least Laurel is going to become a vigilante soon so that might make her character better. I hope to see Clock King again, maybe still in The Flash or in Arrow's Suicide Squad.

"This is so much better than writing it down

For what I didn't like in this episode firstly it was the events with Girder; don't get me wrong he is an awesome character but he was wasted here. Firstly we didn't even see his fight with Blackout and that had the makings to be absolutely epic and he was basically killed off screen as well; Girder looked like he had the advantage at first but we didn't get to see how Blackout turned it around. Next I can't believe they killed him off!! He was a cool character and I liked that we had a Meta Human who knew Barry from his past. I honestly thought Girder would live and become sort of an anti - hero; reluctantly teaming up with Barry to stop other Meta Humans before finally redeeming himself and maybe even being friends with him. Sorry but I got to shake my head at this; such wasted potential of a character and future good storyline. As for what else that annoyed me I am getting tired of Caitlin constantly being against Barry all of the time; whenever the team comes up with a plan she is always the one who says it can't be done. I know this is because she cares but why does she always have to be the annoying voice of doubt?

Eddie shouldn't have tired sneaking up on him

Overall this was a great episode with Wells and his plans for the future and having Clock King on it but I just hate that Girder is now dead.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Blackout and the plot of him stealing Barry's powers
                   Clock King
                   The mystery of Wells continues to deepen

Let - Downs: Didn't see Girder vs. Blackout and Girder is now dead
                      Caitlin constantly being the voice of doubt
                      Iris is the one to stop Clock King

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/