The Current Triumphs and Failures of DC’s Arrowverse

While DC has been having some trouble in the movie department, in general, they’ve done a much better job with their live action TV shows. Lately, however, even this has been a bit of a mixed bag. I’ve written this piece to try and help you figure out which shows are worth watching.

Arrow
Let me just start by saying that this season of Arrow has been terrible, though the series has been a bit of a mixed bag for a while now. They let the Oliver in prison arc drag for far too long, and it didn’t help that they had already done the hero going to jail thing on The Flash last season. More recent episodes have Oliver being deputized into the Star City Police Department (What?) and finding out that apparently he has another half-sister (on his father’s side this time). If this doesn’t sound soap-opera-ish enough, his new sister has decided to take over as the Green Arrow vigilante while Oliver is going legit (the timing seems suspicious).

Meanwhile, Earth 2 Laurel is still somehow successfully pretending to be Earth 1 Laurel (who they never should have killed off) despite the fact that she is currently the DA and has no legal training. This season has also seen the show abandon its reliance on flashbacks and instead of splitting time between Oliver’s secret past and the present has moved to a flash-forward format, following the future adventures of Oliver’s son, William. This all sounds like an interesting and welcome change, but unfortunately the future shown is bland, uninteresting, and seemingly unconnected to the present storyline.

Verdict: 3/10 (I’d probably skip it if it weren’t for the crossover potential)

Flash
In general, The Flash has been the best of the Arrowverse and this streak continues into Season 5. The first three seasons revolved around the Flash fighting other Speedsters, so I was glad that Seasons 4 and 5 have focused on villains with different powers. Thinker possessed a superior intellect, which he used to stay ahead of Team Flash at every turn. Currenty, Team Flash is focused on stopping Cicada, a serial killer who exclusively goes after meta-humans using a dagger that negates their powers. I like how they’ve developed his character out of costume. His daughter being put in a coma following the Thinker’s meta-powered attack last season serves as the perfect motivation for his hatred of Metas.

The arrival of Nora (Barry and Iris’s daughter from the future) has also proved to be an interesting development. Her mysterious relationship with Eobard Thawne (the Reverse Flash, main villain of Season 1) in the future has served as an interesting side plot, especially since Eobard has shown repeatedly that he cannot be trusted. I am less thrilled about the new Wells. This is the Fourth version of Harrison Wells to join the show as main cast (Season 1 Wells was actually Eobard in disguise, seasons 2 and 4 used a version of Wells from Earth 2, and season 3 had HK who was kind of dumb).

In the meantime, Cisco has been working on a Meta human cure that could remove superhuman abilities. The current plan is to use this cure on Cicada to remove his ability to control his dagger. This cure has interesting moral questions of the type normally covered by an X-men series and based on how well Cicada has been doing could be a deadly weapon if it gets released and used against Team Flash in the future. Based on Cisco’s mood in recent episodes, I am also left wondering if he intends to use the cure on himself and if he did, what would become of him. He has already received much less screen time this season, which makes me wonder if the ultimate intent is to write him out of the show. I think this would be a big misstep for the series, as Cisco is probably my favorite character.

Verdict: 9/10 (One of the best seasons ever)

Supergirl
The current season of Supergirl has focused on a rising anti-alien sentiment following the revelation that the President of the United States is an alien. Because she is not a natural-born citizen and does not therefore meet the requirements of her office as well as the backlash of lying to the American people, President Marsden resigns from office. This is a big loss for Supergirl, especially as her successor the new President Baxter immediately caves to public pressure.  He appoints Col. Lauren Haley as the new head of the DEO, supplanting Kara’s sister, Alex who has been serving as acting head since J’onn (the Martian Manhunter) stepped down last season.

While I think this turn is interesting from a story-telling perspective and serves as an interesting problem for Supergirl to overcome, I also don’t think it’s very realistic for characters like Alex, who becomes very anti-alien. Alex has had numerous interactions with aliens besides Kara and her close friendships with both J’onn and Brainy (still a member of the DEO) would most likely prevent her from becoming anti-alien. A lot has happened this season and, in general, I’ve been happy with the fast pace. Sam Witwer has done a fantastic job of portraying Agent Liberty.

I’ve also enjoyed the conflict that Jimmy Olsen, a long-time friend of Supergirl, has at being used by the Children of Liberty as a propaganda tool. On the one hand, their support means that he can go back to being the human superhero, Guardian, which he was banned from last season, however this also means being presented as a poster-boy for a group whose racist ideals he does not support.

Verdict: 9/10 (Using aliens as a metaphor for the current climate v. illegal immigration makes this season topical and good TV)

Legends of Tomorrow
This show has only delved further and further into the absurd. Last season focused on fighting Mallus, an evil time demon, who could only be defeated by collecting a series of magical amulets, and combining them (Captain Planet style) into a giant version on Beebo, (a Furby parody). If this seems like a random mismatch of ideas and genres, then you may be getting an idea of what this show is like. This season sees the Legends dealing with the fallout of that fight, which apparently released a series of magical creatures throughout history including: a unicorn at Woodstock and a fairy godmother at the Salem witch trials.

Matt Ryan does a great job reprising his role as Constantine (who is now a full time member of the Legends), though I miss the days when Constantine had his own darker, more serious, and frankly better, show. The Legends are also joined by new member Charlie, a former shape-shifter which John permanently locked into the form of the Legends former teammate, Amaya. I loved her original character, but she was already with the show for two seasons and the fact that having to return to her time was constantly hanging over head was starting to get a bit tiring. Charlie is a much different character, and so far I like her sarcastic sense of humor and more criminal personality.

The Legends have started working under the Time Bureau this season, which puts Captain Lance in the somewhat awkward position of reporting to her girlfriend Ava Sharpe (head of the Bureau). For the most part, Ava trusts Captain Lance’s judgement, but I wonder if that might change. Nate has also left the Legends to join the Time Bureau. Personally, I think this is a waste of his skills and superpower, though I have found his burgeoning friendship with Time Bureau agent, and longtime punchline, Gary to be amusing. While I miss the more serious nature of the first few seasons, I must admit that, despite myself, I find the new wacky narrative to be a bit amusing, although the show is still just as poorly written.

Verdict: 6/10 (It’s alright I guess)

Black Lightning
Black Lightning presents an interesting case, because it has not, as yet, presented any connection to any of the other series. Last season, Jefferson, the title character, came out of a ten year retirement as a superhero to protect his family and community from gang violence related to the release of a need drug called Green Light, which is supplied by Tobias Whale (the man who killed Jefferson’s father). Sadly, the plot hasn’t advanced much from there. I do enjoy the unique family dynamic that this show has, especially between Jefferson and his two daughters who are just discovering that they have superpowers.

As far as characters go, I especially like his oldest daughter, Anissa, who has embraced the superhero lifestyle. His younger daughter Jennifer, however can be a bit whiney at times, and her woe-is-me attitude towards her powers is pretty annoying (though this may be starting to change). Some of the individual episodes are pretty good, but it really should spend more time developing the overall plot. The show does do a good job bringing to light social justice issues.

Verdict: 4/10 (Not really sure where it’s going, not sure I care)

The franchise may have its ups and downs, but overall, it’s still one of the most impressive feats of Television.  It’s far superior the DCEU, and remains a beacon of prestige for DC comics in general!