Falling Skies Season Five: Pope Breaks Bad

Pope, finally having enough of Tom, rebels and recruits other to his cause meanwhile the 2nd Mass go on a mission for fuel and Cochise shares news with Anne.

 

It seems like Pope and Tom are now enemies and I don't know how they are ever going to come back from this. I admit I'm not sure how much I am going to like this subplot because I really thought the whole Pope and Tom where enemies was finished after Season Two and they became sort of friends in my opinion. Plus Pope went through so much development through all of these seasons but it is almost like they have thrown that out of the window just to make him the antagonist in this season and it is mostly Tom's fault. His more aggressive stance was good at first but abandoning Sara really did take it too far in my opinion and while Tom can try to justify his decision it was still a d**k move for him. Also I am not really liking the arguments he is having with Pope either because again Tom can try and justify his choices but in the end his whole "Greater Good" view would not apply if it is one of his children in trouble. You know it is almost as if the writers have been listening to me because Pope brings up the good point; nothing bad happens to the Masons or those closest to them (there was Lexi but I hate Tom and Anne defending her all the time because she was a monster who deserved it). It is because of this that I really don't think Hal is going to die because the writers haven't had the balls to kill him off before (Season Three would have been the perfect time) and it is most likely going to be a secondary character or Pope. I would hate it is it was Pope because as I have argued before he is a major character who deserved to make it until the end. We would probably get some good action scenes out of this but in the end Tom is going to be so wrong about all of this.

 

As for the rest of the episode the subplot with Cochise and Anne was really, really good and the best part about the episode. We honestly do not get enough of the Volm in Falling Skies, I mean how long has it been since they have had a good portion of the episode dedicated to them like this? We got to see more of the relationship between Cochise and his father and more about the Volm's views on things. Anne also shined in this subplot because I really prefer her as the supportive doctor and not what she became in Season Four. The surgery was a great scene and I liked the whole silence moment between Cochise and Anne afterwards; while I never liked Lexi I liked this moment of closure Anne had with her death. Another part of the episode that was great was the mission at the police station because those flies are really cool and gave us another really gruesome death. We also got to hear from another person in the world in the radio and it was a nice break for Weaver going crazy over that car lol. Finally I do like what is going on with Anthony because it is something different for his character to deal with plus I guess Pope's rebellion will be easier to take if another main character is with him. I got to admit with the way Tom and the Masons have been recently I would most likely join up with Pope as well.

 

Overall I really don't like that Pope if being set up as the antagonist and could possibly die when all of the rest of the main cast is still alive and kicking. I just want to say that I still really like the main cast but it just annoys me how they are kept around after everything they have been through and if this show is supposed to be about a serious alien war then the Mason family should have had some losses (again Lexi does not count).    

 

SCORE: 6/10

 

Highlights: Anne's subplot with Cochise
                   The mission to the police station

 

Let - Downs: Pope rebelling

                      Tom is kind of annoying now with his change of character
                      It is obvious that Hal is going to be just fine

Arrow Season Three: Corto Maltese

"My young apprentice"

The episode begins with Arrow chasing down a lead on Sara's death however it was a dead end but back at the Arrowcave Felicity tracks down Thea's location to Corto Maltese. Oliver and Roy decide to go and later Diggle when A.R.G.U.S has a missing agent named Mark Shaw there they want him to find. Meanwhile Laurel meets with Ted Grant (J.R. Ramirez) owner of the Wildcat Gym about a crime involving one of his gym members, Ted denies this and then offers Laurel to come train because he notices her pent up anger. Oliver shows up at the house Thea is staying but leaves when she is not there however Malcolm was aiming an arrow at him in the distance, in a Flashback Malcolm begins to train Thea by pouring boiling water on his hand to show how to deal with pain. Oliver then finds Thea but she refuses to go back with him (even Roy tries talking to her later) while in Starling City Felcitiy is given a brand new office from Ray and asks her for all the files from the Applied Sciences Division. Oliver and Roy then decide to help Diggle with Shaw but they are lead into a trap by them however they manage to fight their way through it and Diggle completes his mission.

There is no better trainer than Wildcat

In Starling Laurel attends an AA meeting with Quentin and listens to the story of a woman beaten by her husband while in Corto Maltese Thea has a Flashback to where she failed the boiling water test so Malcolm came to the conclusion he is going easy on her and decided to hit her. Laurel then goes to beat up the wife beater however she is severely beaten up instead and while in the hospital Quentin says she was stupid for doing that and that Sara handles stuff like that (still not knowing she is dead). Oliver then talks to Thea once more, this time saying how both of their parent scarified themselves for them, which causes her to ask Malcolm if she can go home which he lets her. With everyone back in Starling Laurel approaches Oliver asking him to train her to be a vigilante however when he refuses she ask Ted, meanwhile at Queen Consolidated Felicity asks Ray for time off so she can visit a friend who woke up from a coma (Barry Allen) and Ray is seen going over certain blueprints. The episodes ends with Oliver and Roy discussing Thea but are interrupted by Nyssa Al Ghul who is looking for Sara.

"I think I'll stick with my gun thanks"

Looks like even Team Arrow likes to do some work outside of Starling City for once which is good because it is a welcome change for a different location. Thea was the main focus of this episode and I have to say she does have a nice haircut lol. Unfortunately one of the biggest problems this episode was the lack of the Thea/Malcolm relationship; a lot more screen time should have been given over to them, their Flashbacks and their training (all we got was the boiling water test!). However she did have some nice scenes with Roy and Oliver, especially the one where Oliver talks about their parents which was really well done. The other big problem with this episode was Diggle on his A.R.G.U.S mission and even though I like Diggle focused episodes I just don't like A.R.G.U.S that much except for their Suicide Squad. Maybe that is because I hate both Lyla and Waller so compared to the Thea/Malcolm subplot I honestly didn't care for Diggle's mission at all.

I wonder is Thea will be a Dark Archer soon?

As for everything else Laurel is still continuing to be an interesting character; her attempt at stopping a wife beater might have been a bit silly but it is a good character arc of her noticing the evils in the city and unlike Sara not being able to do anything about them. However looks like she might be able soon with the introduction of Ted Grant AKA Wildcat; a great hero in the comics who has trained many heroes such as Black Canary, Superman and Batman to name a few. It also looks like Ray really might be ATOM some time soon too with the look at those weapon blueprints he has been looking at so I am excited for more of that. All in all I think I more enjoyed the moments in Starling than I did in Corto Maltese if I'm honest. Finally looks like the League is coming back next episode now that Nyssa is back in town!

"I'm used to darkness not all this light an heat!"

Overall this is the weakest episode of season three so far because it's main storyline with Diggle's mission wasn't that good.

SCORE: 6/10

Highlights: A little insight to Thea's training with Malcolm
                   Laurel starting to become Black Canary and the introduction of Wildcat
                   Ray may also be ATOM soon

Let - Downs: Not enough background on Thea and Malcolm
                      Didn't care for the A.R.G.U.S mission

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/        

Arrow Season Two: Suicide Squad

Oh yeah the Suicide Squad!

The episode starts with Oliver having a nightmare about Shado so next morning he uses his Bravta connections for information on Slade however he insults them in the process, Diggle is then seen protecting Felicity from possible attacks and he is still in a relationship again with Lyla. Waller then meets them at their hotel and wants the two of them to go on a mission to retrieve a nerve agent from arms dealer Gholem Qadir who, it is revealed in several Flashbacks, Diggle, Lyla and Ted Gaynor saved his life in Afghanistan. Diggle and Lyla meet their backup on the mission; Task Force X AKA Suicide Squad whose members are Deadshot, Bronze Tiger and Shrapnel, meanwhile Arrow stops two criminals while Deathstroke looks on and leaves his old mask for Arrow to find. Diggle meets Qadir at an auction while the Suicide Squad backs him up and while there Diggle saves Qadir's life because Deadshot fakes assassinating him however Shrapnel is killed when he tries to escape with the bomb in his head exploding. This later angers Diggle but he is invited to a party Qadir is having for saving his life.

"Awww crap I'm screwed"

In Starling City Arrow finds Slade's hideout but only his dead Bravta contact is there meanwhile at the part Diggle, Lyla, Deadshot and Bronze Tiger infiltrate the party. Deadshot finds the nerve agent so Waller orders him to stay put while she orders a drone strike and that the rest of the team should leave however Diggle instead warns the party. Qadir then finds Lyla but is killed by Bronze Tiger and Diggle manages to convince Deadshot to leave by reminding him of his daughter Zoey. The team also manages to avoid the strike by taking out Deadshot's bomb which was a beacon for it, they get away but Waller is angry because of the failed strike. Bronze Tiger and Deadshot return to their cells and Diggle reassures Deadshot he could get out soon however Deadshot is sceptical. The episode ends with it revealing that Waller and Oliver know each other and Oliver asking for information which Waller then does by showing him footage of Deathstroke.

Bronze Tiger should have done more stabbing in this

Finally we get the Suicide Squad which I have been looking forward to ever since Waller said it to Bronze Tiger and it did not disappoint. This was also a Diggle focused episode which is always good because the guy just deserve more in this series, a costume and name to start with! It was good seeing Deadshot again because he and Diggle have an interesting work relationship now because even though Deadshot killed his brother Diggle is starting to understand and sympathise more with the sniper now. For example how he talked him out of being blown up; I think Diggle doesn't blame Deadshot anymore he blames H.I.V.E (which we still haven't seen yet) and I guess working together on missions creates a bit of a bond. Bronze Tiger is still as badass as ever and still one of my favourite villains, it was even good seeing Shrapnel again so he can get his head blown off lol. I kind of wish their mission could have been more action packed instead of infiltrating a party but I blame that on Qadir because he was a really underdeveloped villain and we don't even know how he went from terrorist in Afghanistan to rich guy throwing parties. As always Waller continues to annoyed me because I just do not like her or the casting for her; they haven't done her comic counterpart justice in my opinion. Plus I don't really like Lyla either if I am honest, I know she is Diggle's love interest but I'm just not bothered about her.

"Behind a scope is where I belong"

As for the rest of the episode I liked the moment with Diggle protecting Felicity at the beginning because it shows how much Team Arrow cares for one another, nice scene. Arrow's subplot was also really cool because I just love the way Slade is just toying with him and leading him on a wild goose chase. We also see that Oliver and Waller know each other which is probably going to be explained in more Flashbacks sooner or later and even though I hate Waller I do want to know more of this connection. Lastly I like the appearance of Ted Gaynor once again but more than that the cameo of Harley Quinn! I hope this means that we see her next time in the Suicide Squad because she is one of it's famous members in the comics and one of DC's popular characters overall. I do hope that next time the Suicide Squad is the focus that they get more members and if Diggle gets more involved then I think it would be great if he is the Arrow TV series version of Unknown Solider who is a member of the Suicide Squad in the comics. I think this could work because Unknown Solider is a character shrouded in mystery and they don't even have to use any of his comic backstory; just have Diggle dress up similar to him and give him the name.

Your famous Deathstroke!

Overall great introduction to the Suicide Squad and I hope we get at least one or two episodes focusing on them per season.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Suicide Squad
                   A Diggle focused ep is always good
                   Arrow's subplot

Let - Downs: Waller
                      Qadir was a poor villain


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/