TV Recap: Across the Arrowverse – Week 5

Across the Arrowverse
Week 5

Each and every week, we watch and recap all of the Arrowverse show so you don’t have to! We break them down for you and let you know what’s going on … Across the Arrowverse! This week, the uniting theme was fucking Beebo. That Blue Bastard was all over the multi-verse this week, appearing or mentioned in all three shows.

Check out last week’s action here.

Supergirl
“Ahimsa” (Episode 404)
November 4, 2018

With the atmosphere still full of Kryptonite, Kara is (unhappily) stuck in her detox suit and Alex and the gang are working on multiple angles to clean the air and track down the Graves’.  Speaking of the Graves, they (together with a resigned looking Agent Liberty) are busy flipping (and killing)  DEO agents and raiding a Site B for a parasite that will surely cripple the entire Earth.   Also, the parasites, using Fiona’s telepathic abilities as a source, allow Agent Liberty to mind control some aliens sprung from the DEO.

At his apartment, J’onn meets Fiona’s fiance, Manchester Black (David Ajala), who is town to find his woman. Him and J’onn team up to working on doing just that.  J’onn senses Fiona is being held by the Graves’and Manchester Black learns that there is something going down at the police station.

Alex spends the episode struggling with the weight and responsibility of leadership. From having to rally her DEO troops after two members have defected, to dealing with Supergirl and her stubborn refusal to lay low while she heals.

Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW

The whole team ends up converging on National City PD where one of the Graves’ mind controlled aliens invade, and clones himself a bunch, but the team subdues the bad guys. Unfortunately, Supergirl gets her ass handed to her a bit and the detox suit almost fails.  When her injuries become public, President Baker calls Alex and chews her out for failing left and right at running the DEO (allowing Supergirl to fight being the second to last straw).  Kara refuses to apologize for doing what superheroes do and fails to see the position Alex is in as Director of the DEO – it’s different now than when they were partners.

At Evil Incorporated’s Lair of Evil, Agent Liberty tells the graves they are thinking too small in their plans.  Attacking the Earth’s protectors (like the police and DEO) won’t make people scared enough; you have to make them feel fear in their bones. Make them fear for the safety of their children.

At the DEO,Brainy tells Alex that he and Lena have come up with a plan for nanites to eat all of the Kryptonite in the air, thereby cleaning it.  Great, get to it.

While talking to Manchester about Fiona and learning what kind of woman she is, he notices a ring that Manchester Black and Fiona both wore.  This is the kind of talisman J’onn needs to zero in on a connection with her.  He is able to open a bridge to Fiona which works for a bit (she gives a broad description of the kind of place she’s held in) but J’onn’s not able to maintain the connection.

Alex and J’onn commiserate over both struggling with who they are versus who they want to be and learn that the other thinks they’re pretty great.  These two draw some much strength from each other.  Brainy tells the team that using Fiona’s clues, he’s tracked her location to a nearby fair.  Alex goes to Supergirl and says she’s decided to trust her instincts and her instincts say to get Supergirl into the fight.  Suit up!

Supergirl begins fighting the mind controlled aliens at the fair but the suit begins taking damage before the air is fully cleaned by the nanites.  Meanwhile, James, who has been wrestling with not being able to suit up as Guardian all episode, finally gives in and heads to the fair to help out.  The fights is going fine until Supergirl’s suit gives out but, while Graves siblings are villain monologuing, the nanites finish cleaning the air and Jensen, the DEO turncoat breaks the mind control powers. Supergirl stops Otis while one of the aliens who is no longer under Agent Liberty’s mind control, kills the two Graves with spikes through their backs.  In the bad guy’s trailer, Manchester Black and J’onn find Fiona but they are too late and she passes away in Manchester’s arms.

The wrap up:

While the DEO is feeling fresh off the win, the mood dampens when a Colonel Haley (April Parker Jones) shows up – the President has sent her to oversee Alex since she disobeyed his direct order.

Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW 

At Catco, Lena is scolding James for jeopardize being arrested (he tells her that no one is looking to arrest him) when Nia comes in to say that Guardian is trending … in  a bad way. Seems he’s being appropriated for the Earth First movement – an Earth Guardian against aliens kind of thing.

The Danvers sisters hang out on their couch as Alex assures Kara that she’s convinced they did the right thing even if it got her in trouble with the President.

Manchester Black is going to war with … someone (he buys a lot of weapons).

In Russia somewhere, a clone of Kara is released from containment and told the air is clear of Kryptonite.  Clone Kara wants to get back to training then.

And Agent Liberty, undaunted from the death of Mercy and Otis, reminds Jensen that he switched sides for a reason, to make something happen.  He inserts one of the parasites into Jensen … “let’s see what we can make.”

And scene.

Arrow
“Level Two” (Episode 704)
November 5, 2018

Slabside.

Meet Dr. Jarrett Parker (Jason E. Kelley), the Chief Psychologist on Level Two. He’s here to see if Oliver is crazy and of he can reform Ollie from his killing ways. When Oliver proves resistant to confessing his sins, Parker sticks Ollie with some kind of truth serum and makes him relive his evolution into the Green Arrow as well as confront a future where William takes up his mantle.  Parker’s methods range from evangelical preaching, emotional manipulation, and down right brainwashing. Parker takes it up a notch with electric shock therapy. The therapy causes Oliver to have a vision where he takes his father’s place on the life raft and William is in his spot. Oliver tells his son to forget about him and live his life and shoots himself in the head.  The next day, Parker checks on his patient and Oliver tells Parker what he’s wanted to hear all episode. When Parker asks Oliver his name, he responds that his name is “Inmate 4587.” Good work here, folks. Torture works!

Star City.

Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW

In town, the new Green Arrow saves Zoe after some thugs detonate a bomb during a contentious town hall meeting Dinah is running with Rene acting as community liaison. FYI, the people were much happier when the vigilantes were around, helping out. As you can imagine, with the new Green Arrow being around, Rene and Dinah are on opposite sides of the vigilante fence. Dinah even locks him up at one point for preventing the NGA’s arrest, but she changes her tune after awhile. The “awhile” comes after Diggle drops by to tell Dinah that rules are good but some times, you still need vigilantes to get shit done – even Quentin Lance understood that. She springs Rene from jail for a one time team up – find who is behind the rash of arson fires in the Glades (someone is buying up the burnt buildings).  That person turns out to be Marcus Fish.  Dinah and Rene, with the help of the new Green Arrow, sort of stop the next arson but NGA is hurt in a badass attempt to turn the sprinklers on and Dinah gives him cover to get away. That night, Dinah heads to Rene’s apartment to give Zoe a Canary pendant. Rene remarks that it was nice to fight side by side again – Dinah doesn’t disagree.

Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW

Elsewhere, failing to get the Silencer to talk on her own, Felicity engages the help of Faux Laurel. Faux Laurel is very excited at bringing her particular skills to bear on a bad guy working with Diaz. When Faux Laurel’s scream doesn’t work, Felicity implores her to take it to the next level but Faux Laurel strongly cautions against crossing that line from which you can’t come back. Instead, she tells Felicity to use her big brain” to get Silencer to talk. Felicity engineers a trap for Silencer to free herself and take her Silencer belt with her. Felicity tells Faux Laurel she placed a tracking chip inside to lead them to Diaz. That’s using that big brain! Faux Laurel remarks that Felicity is acting like the Felicity on her Earth-2, a ruthless woman who runs an empire.  She asks Felicity is she’s prepared to be ruthless cause they are going to need to kill Diaz when they find him.

The Future.

Old William and Old  Roy have returned to a rough looking Star City.  Felicity’s arrowhead has updated its coordinates which lead the men to an abandoned “Smock Technologies” building. Inside a safe, they find a black sack with a Rubik’s Cube inside. Sure, okay. They also find a vigilante clad Dinah. Dinah tells them that the SCPD cops are now hired guns for the Glades, which in the future has risen up and built a wall to keep others out. “Star City fell when the Glades rose.”  I should mention that Dinah has a serious scar across her throat as if it had been significantly slashed.

Old William arranges the Rubik’s Cube in the pattern that Felicity showed him (a cube within a cube) which triggers a holographic map of the Glades.  It shows secret routes in and out of the Glades.  Oh, another vigilante drops by – its Old Zoe (Andrea Sixtos). She says she’s with the Vigilante Resistance but not Rene, no her father “wouldn’t be caught dead in Star City.” Dinah asks where they got the Rubik’s Cube and William explains it was Felicity who led them back to Star City. Dinah tells William that’s impossible because “Felicity Smoak is dead.”

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
“Dancing Queen” (Episode 403)
November 5, 2018

Remember when the Queen of England went to a Sex Pistols the Smell concert in 1977 and flashed her ass from the stage and sent the entire United Kingdom into a tail spin of anarchy and chaos? Yeah, me either. John fingers one of the band members as a leprechaun and cause of the magical mischief. Time Team to the rescue!

Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW

With Nate working for the Man at the Time Bureau and Ray too square to blend into a London punk rock club in the late 70s, the Time Team is down to 4. Unfortunately, John and Mick get into a fight causing a club wide brawl and all hell breaks loose. Luckily, Ray (who was left in the Volkswagen minibus) gets carjacked by the Smell and drives them to their hideout. Well, that was easy.

Using the name, Rayge, the band agrees to let Ray in on their shenanigans if he can prove his bona fides. In this case, that means stealing the Queen’s corgis.  With some undercover help from Sara, Ray secures one of the pups no problem.  Back at their HQ, the initiate Rayge into the gang with the band tattoo – when Ray hears their motto that sometimes you do bad things for good reasons, he’s all in (he’s thinking of Nora).  Their next heist? Stealing the Queen’s jewels!

Unfortunately, Rayge’s cover is blown a bit when the punks find proof of the Legends’ time as disco queens. Charlie comes to his defense – everyone has a past – and reveals to him later that she is a shapeshifter. When Ray reports his findings to the team, they want to send her back to hell but Ray doesn’t think she’s doing anything so wrong to warrant that punishment.  The Time Team infiltrate the Punks’ HQ to take Charlie in but Ray uses his Atom suit to fight his own team.  Except, its actually Charlie wearing Ray’s face – Ray is able to disassemble the suit but when push comes to shove, Zari can’t push Charlie through the portal to Hell (Charlie took Amaya’s form to plead her case).  John strips Charlie of her powers and they head to the ship to work out what they are going to do.

Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW

On the Waverider, in an effort to make a point that he is a bad boy, Ray  confesses to Sara that he is the one that let Nora go. But, no time to deal with that now, they need to get Charlie, still stuck in her Amaya form, off the ship.  Constantine says he can’t “unclip” her wings.  The episode ends with no resolution and “Amaya” still in their brig.

Earlier in the episode, Zari tailed Constantine to a bar.  He’s there to find his mother, who died in childbirth, and his father, who he tries to kick in the balls so hard he can’t have kids. Nora tries to remind him that you can’t erase yourself from the timeline – paradoxes – which just makes John grumpier.  He tells Nora, cryptically that his past is coming after him.   At the end of the episode, Zari hands John a picture from the bar’s security camera. It’s a photo of him with his mother.

Time Bureau.

Nate is underwhelmed by the lack of excitement but Gary assures him, they’re not all about the protocols, they eat tacos too. Nate peer pressures Gary into solving a time blip without appropriate approvals – the promise of being “time bros” is too much for Gary to resist.  They have an abbreviated time in the Pleistocene time period but the next day, the blip is gone. This doesn’t sit well with Nate but Gary advises him to take the win. He presents Nate with a plant to commemorate their first mission … unfortunately the Audrey II look alike comes alive the next day and takes off on its potted plant legs. “Today, we ride!” Nate yells as he and Gary charge into battle!

At the end of the episode, we see Gary and Nate defeated the plant but created an enormous to do it.  Sara pops in to lure Nate back to the ship to help deal with the Charlie situation.  But, when she hears that Nate wanted off the Waverider because he has unresolved Amaya issues, she backs off her request – smart move seeing as there is an Amaya lookalike on board.  Instead, Sara takes the opportunity to go have a night with Ava.

The Flash

Off this week.

Black Lightning

Off this week.

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