Traveling deeper into the game than they expected, William and Logan find themselves in Pariah and are ready to take on their next mission.  Finding the gang leader Alonso who can make their dreams come true, the two decide to jump a wagon packing explosives that will help the former confederate's cause in the story kill off the union, but Alonso has something more sinister in mind when all is said and done. Being able to get the wagon to stop, the union soldiers get the jump on Logan and William is forced to pull the trigger once again, this time killing the unarmed soldiers to protect his pseudo friend. Arriving back in town, the two are given a hero’s welcome, however, William gets a hint that things are just not right.

Trying to get a malfunctioning host back up to speed, Elsie keeps her eyes open around the lab to see the wood cutter bot come back through, but this time it is not to be fixed, it is to be incinerated. For her own sake, Elsie needs to find out what happened and why it malfunctioned so badly, but most of the doors are shut to her.  Finding a little blackmail on one of the repair techs, she is able to get some free time with the bot and finds something strange hidden in its arm. Pulling out a transmitter, Elsie takes her find to Bernard and wants now more than ever to know who is taking aim at the park and why information is being transmitted out.

The Man in Black is continuing his own game, trying to locate the entrance to the maze, but is finding out that his companion Lawrence may not be the key he was looking for. After pulling a dying Teddy down from a tree, he realizes the bounty hunter may be able to give him a better shot at finding what he seeks. Killing Lawrence to keep Teddy alive with his blood, The Man in Black makes it to town only to find that he is not the only human lurking around when he discovers Robert Ford is already there and ready to have a drink with him. Wanting to know what the end game really is, The Man in Black is forced to continue his adventure deeper into the game since Ford is not willing to give up any information, because the adventure is different for everyone.

Sticking with William and Logan, Dolores is remembering more and more every moment and is now starting to understand some of the things that William is staying to her about the outside world and the robots inside of the park. After seeing herself in Pariah and trying to track down the duplicate, she is left alone with Dr. Ford for yet another session, but instead of being forthcoming with the creator, she has found a way to keep a secret of her own. With a message from the second half of the creation team to destroy the park, she knows that there is something more to her existence, but it will take time and the maze to show her what that meaning really is.

In the chop shop, repair tech Felix is still struggling with having a host wake up and wander off during her patch work. Not being able to explain, much less understand what is happening he takes notice that Elsie from the behavior department is snooping around. Thinking that she has found a malfunction, he is worried that she might know about his little side project as well, the little bird that he is trying to bring back to life. With his own failed programming for his new pet, he is not willing to give up on what can be done with the hosts in the park, but when he finally gets the bird to fly on its own, he gets a visit from an old friend on the chopping block that wants to have a little chat.

People getting heated and tensions flaring may be an understatement for this episode as strange things are starting to come to light after the programming glitches have taken place. Doctor Ford is dealing with his own issues, but is keeping something hidden from everyone else and is happy in finding solace talking to the hosts for the time being, yet, he and The Man in Black have a history to discuss as well. Finding the town of Pariah seemed to be on Logan’s list of things to do, but the rules seem to be off of the table in this sinful town when he starts to get the crap kicked out of him. While William is facing his own demons in this town, his so called friend is nothing but power hungry and makes sure that William knows his existence is nothing more than a blip on the radar. Dolores has found a way to handle a gun and besides being a very good shot, is finding her way in the world and has found that William may be her greatest teacher yet, at least to figure out who she really is. Really digging on the Elsie story right now as her search for the truth has uncovered something more drastic than anyone has seen in the park to date and I cannot wait to see what kind of sabotage is found when the game truly comes to unfold in the theme park. Well, have to wait another week and I am curious to see what comes next, especially since a guest in Logan has been harmed by the hosts, which is not supposed to happen if he really is human and I have to wait to find out more about The Man in Black, especially since he is challenging the park and its creator in Robert Ford, which is fascinating because these two should be the best and oldest of friends when it comes to the park.

The best television shows out there, often feature an episode where everything simply comes together. Every single element of the plot assembles, massive character growth occurs and answers to our burning questions are answered. It's a magical moment when all of that arrives on our favorite shows and last night, Blunt Talk just so happened to have that kind of episode, in fact, it's safe to say that this was an outright perfect episode because 'It's Been Months Since I Kidnapped You' managed to accomplish all of the things I mentioned a moment ago, along with delivering the funniest episode of the season of date. 

​If anything, I have to say I'm quite amazed with just how much they managed to pack into this half hour episode and that means credit is due to the writer's room and show runner Jonathan Ames for weaving such an intricate story that advanced the over reaching plot of this season with a blast from the past, Duncan Adler. Thanks to some fine detective work from Shelley, she was able to uncover the fact that Mister Adler spent plenty of time before his incarceration going after Rudolph Global in the papers, accusing him of stonewalling a water recycling plant in Los Angeles. This revelation added some gravitas to Walter's interview with the man, and after a wild moment where things go awry in prison, Walter is able to get a lead out of Duncan; the death of a L.A. Councilman that was oddly suspicious.  

While Walter dealt with that, Jim was coming to terms with the fact that he's now a prostitute and this storyline served up all of the comedy this week. Because after being inspired by some classic comedians, Jim merely pretended that his split with Celia didn't matter and the confidence he exuded from this...made him a stone cold pimp around the office. The ladies simply couldn't resist the new Jim and wow, every bit of credit needs to go to Timm Sharp and his portrayal of Jim this episode. Because his dead pan comedy abilities, alongside the wild and crazy moments he was put into this week, made for some incredible, side splitting laughs. However, despite all the fun, there were some consequences to Jim's actions, only because of the fact that eventually...Celia found out about his new side gig, and his one and only paying customer, leading to a tense moment of anguish for her, and it spelled more trouble for their already shaky relationship.

As Pop’s Barber Shop is forced to clear out for the two super powered titans to fight it out, a small group of people start to assemble on the street to finally see Luke Cage in action. Not knowing or caring about the masses, Luke and Willis continue to pummel each other and the fight makes it onto the street. Hearing all of the words of encouragement for him, Luke tries to defeat his half-brother at his own game, but is losing the fight. Taking a step back and begging Willis to end the feud once and for all, Luke takes all of the powered up Diamondback’s best shots, but refusing to hit back, Luke seems to be facing certain death, but the fire in his heart will not allow it and seeing Claire, he knows his final move.
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With the fight finished up and Willis Stryker lying motionless on the ground, Misty goes to work and first makes sure that Mariah does not have a chance to shuffle off again. Arresting the former council woman, Stryker and Luke, her day is looking good and she is ready to make sure that all of the blame is put where it should have been from the start. Wanting to get a shot at Mariah for the death of her cousin and several others, Misty plays second fiddle to Inspector Ridley who gets to hear the story of a lifetime. With the recording of Candace on her computer, Misty throws all of her cards on the table, but it winds up not being remotely enough.

As Candace spends her time hiding in Claire’s mother’s apartment, she is safe, but when the phone that Misty gave her starts ringing, she knows that it is time to leave. Heading out to meet with the detective she has fallen into a trap that she will never escape. Shades meets up with the witness that has all the dirt on him and Mariah and makes sure that she will never be able to talk again and getting the news of Candace’s death, Misty loses it once again. Being forced to let Mariah take to the streets is not what she had hoped for, but with the lack of her witness, there is nobody to testify, thus no reason to keep the former councilwoman behind bars.

Luke is able to tell his story to Misty and anyone in the station that will listen, about how he handled everything when it comes to Cornell. Being asked repeatedly why he did not get the police involved, Luke comes clean about how the system does not work and there has to be someone that can actually get something accomplished. As he is no longer the man the cops are looking for, Luke is finally able to get a bite with Claire in the station and the two are ready to set up a coffee date, but when seeing Mariah walk out of lockup, he is intrigued. With no case on her, she is free to leave and Luke knows that there will be more work to do, but before he is able to hit the streets once again a couple Federal Marshals show up from Georgia to arrest Carl Lucas and take him back to Seagate. Refusing to run any longer, Luke goes with the peace keepers to pay the price that he still owes society.
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The story in this episode was not as packed as most of the episodes for this season, but with plenty of boxing flashbacks of Luke and Willis, it shows how deep their love ran for each other. It is good to know that the people of Harlem will be safe for another day, but with Mariah and Shades running things, I wonder how long it is before Luke gets word that the city has gone back down a dark path. It is difficult to know where the storyline will take this little piece of the cake when The Defenders take to the small screen, but I am sure it will be good either way. With a surprise re-opening of Harlem’s Paradise, the musical act faded out season one with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, singing about a hundred days and I hope that is the count until the next Marvel series hits Netflix.

I have decided that I liked this series the best out of the Netflix Marvel Universe and it is for one main reason, there are no dead storylines. Everyone of the characters introduced in this series have shown plenty of strength in one way or another and that is what made them so love-able. I know I said it earlier, but I miss Cornell ‘Cottonmouth’ Stokes the most out of the baddies in this series, he had a contained madness that we only got to see briefly, while Willis ‘Diamondback’ Stryker was just off his rocker most of the time. Even though I did not like Mariah taking over the family business, her madness has been seen as well and she is just as bad as Diamondback whether she wants to admit it or not, but with Shades by her side, she will be somewhat contained for the time being. I really loved the musical guests on the show as well, and while it did not add to what was happening with the fighting on screen, it did tell a bit of the story that you wanted to hear. I am also pleased with the fighting scenes, although it did take a little while to get to that point as the first couple of episodes were pretty poorly done, but as the series moved on, you got to see Luke looking like he actually had some training somewhere. Well, another Netflix Marvel series is in the bag and I cannot wait for the next one, but until it arrives, at least I can always remember some wise words from this show to make the wait a little easier. Forward always, always forward.

As the hostage situation at Harlem’s Paradise has finally come to an end and Luke Cage is being led out in handcuffs, Misty knows that the man that saved her must know what is on the horizon. Telling Luke of the ultimate time to break free, she has trust in the Power Man to do the right thing and with others in custody, she will be able to tie together everything that is going on one way or another. Listening to the drivers in the police van, Luke waits for it to stop and takes to the streets once again, dodging shots from the Judas 2.0 and trying to find a way to freedom.

Shades is waiting to hear about his fate and after Inspector Ridley is unable to break him, his bail is posted and he is heading back to the street. Not knowing what is waiting for him, his trusted right hand Zip has a meeting set up with Diamondback, but Shades will never make it. Being able to fight off a strangulation attempt, Shades knows that he has made his employer's hit list and must find a way to live long enough to take Diamondback out. Needing to recruit an old friend, Shades is surprised to see that she may have already taken a side in the fight.

Getting a call from a witness, Misty is surprised to hear what Candace is willing to say about Luke Cage and makes sure to hide her away from the world. Little does she know that Candace is being followed by Mariah Dillard’s people who have other plans in mind for the woman that started the public hatred towards Luke Cage. Getting a call from Cage to be updated, Misty decides that is may be better for her to follow him and see what else he is getting his hands into, but when she arrives at the final meeting spot of the day, she sees that she is up against something much worse than she ever expected.

Being halfway on the run and trying to get his affairs in order, Willis Stryker is planning his next move to take out Shades once and for all. But that is far from enough as he needs to ensure that Mariah is on his side moving forward, if not, he will have to take a different route. Putting down his payment for the damages done to the club and the Harlem rejuvenation project, Willis makes it clear that he needs her on his side. Without knowing that there is another force in the city that is ready to take up arms against him, Diamondback is surprised to see that Domingo Colon and his men are willing to die to take over the business. With only one card left up his sleeve, Diamondback pulls it out and lets wrath take over the situation that only he or Luke Cage could have possibly stopped.

While trying to find a safe haven on the street, Luke sees a robbery taking place and cannot put his hero shield aside. Being able to defuse the situation and meeting an icon of his, Luke takes back to the streets since Harlem needs a hero until Diamondback is taken down once and for all. Focused on the knowledge that the cops want him back in prison, Luke finds out that most of the public is standing with him, but to what lengths he may never truly understand. Watching as the cops try to raid Pop’s Barber Shop, Luke lies low until the coast is clear, but when he is approached by Shades and Mariah about an opportunity that can prove beneficial to both sides, it becomes obvious that the neutral barber shop is going to be in need of many repairs once again.

Yet another great episode and you can tell that the series is coming to a close very quickly as a stack of paperwork that can prove that Carl Lucas was not guilty has been thrown into the mix. The teaming up of Shades and Mariah has proven to a good thing and with them trying to change the frame up that was meant for Luke Cage to Diamondback, they have their work cut out for themselves. But as 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' mentality may take them far, the fight has come to their doorstep and they just might be caught in the crossfire. Misty has more evidence proving that Luke is not the one the police should be trying to arrest and while Inspector Ridley seems to believe her, hearsay is not enough to keep Cage from going behind bars. Diamondback has his own agenda and whatever he is hiding inside of a box inside his warehouse may have more power than we have ever seen before and it is time for the world to check it out and either side with him or his estranged brother. With musical guest Method Man spitting on the radio since Harlem’s Paradise is in shambles, a pretty fitting rap sums up what Luke has been doing for the city complete with a little nod that more people have his back than he could ever know. One episode left and I have a feeling that at least one thing is going to be resolved and that is the battle of the brothers between Luke and Willis to prove who is once and for all the savior that Harlem really needs.

Showing up at Harlem’s Paradise and seeing Misty Knight making her way up to arrest Diamondback, Luke Cage knows that he needs to protect her, but when shots are fired, all attention is directed to her. Seeing that Misty has been shot, Luke is forced to run amuck through the club to get her to safety. Being pinned down behind the bar, Luke tries to think of a way to escape, but not for himself since he can take on the former Cottonmouth gang, but for Misty who is not bullet proof and is starting to lose plenty of blood.  Seeing Claire in the distance, Luke gets an idea as only he can and is ready to wait out the standoff until he is able to get help.
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Not overly surprised to see his brother looking to take him out, Willis Stryker is trying to figure out the perfect way to spin the story that Luke Cage is in charge of the new hostage situation. Assuming Luke’s role, Willis holds the hostages downstairs and brings his new friend Councilman Boone upstairs to talk to the police. With demands being made, Willis knows that Mariah will be able to get the approval for his weapons to be purchased to take Cage out and it is only a matter of time before she makes that happen. With Shades not giving him the answers that he wants, Willis puts the situation all on his own shoulders and needs to draw Cage out before the cops get in, and threatening to kill a hostage every ten minutes should do the trick.

Helping Luke get out of harm’s way for a moment, Claire makes her way toward all of the other hostages and sees that a young woman is in pain. Being able to treat young Candace’s injuries, Claire finds out that she is the one responsible for everyone suddenly trying to kill her friend. Telling Claire that she lied about seeing Luke kill Cottonmouth and that she was paid off by Mariah, Claire needs to find a way to get the information to the right people and get Luke out of the basement. Knowing that time is short for the hostages, Claire is able to make her way down to find Cage, but she does not know what she is in for when she heads downstairs. 

Outside of Harlem’s Paradise, Inspector Ridley is trying to control the situation, but there are many people keeping her from doing so. With the trigger happy officers ready to break into the club to try and kill Luke Cage on the spot, she has to keep them under control until she is able to find out what is really happening.  Not being able to reach Misty Knight, Ridley is forced to go by hearsay and when Assistant District Attorney Tower shows up, she knows that there is no time to waste. Getting word that Mariah Dillard and the Mayor are in talks about using more powerful weapons that could take Cage out, Ridley wants to avoid the bloodbath and when hearing that the freed hostages are not blaming Cage for the situation, everyone may have the story wrong. Wanting to keep everything under lock and key, Councilman Boone is delivered to the front door of the club dead and now there is no chance that she can keep her officers from doing what they are trained to do.
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Knowing the layout of the club, Luke is able to hide himself and Misty in a hidden cellar from the prohibition days. With nobody being the wiser, the two will be safe for some time, but when Luke sees that Misty’s arm is bleeding more than it should, that time will be limited. Needing to find a way out of the basement to save her life, Luke is surprised that Claire has found them and is ready to work. Trying to keep everything quiet, Luke is tormented by the voice of his half-brother Willis and must come back up to the fight or more innocent people will die because of him. Hearing the punch that killed Councilman Boone, Luke turns it on into high gear and gets the hostages out of the club before Diamondback can stop him, but little does he know that his psycho brother has one hostage left and a choice for the re-engaged Power Man to make.

Did I say this last time, every episode is better than the last and I am starting to think that I have no idea what is about to happen next. While this does make me feel a bit helpless, it also makes me enjoy this show so much more. I must admit that I really liked Willis ‘Diamondback’ Stryker in this episode as we finally understand his hatred for his half-brother and none of it was told in a flashback! Thank you writers, that was a dream come true! Misty has everything figured out about Luke or Carl or whatever his name is, but has little power to accomplish anything with that knowledge as she is gushing out blood like nobody’s business. Claire is able to save Misty’s arm and shows that she is more than a nurse, she is a kick ass nurse that nobody should ever get in the way of. Luke is now faced with another foe as the police have gotten their hands on the Judas ammo and are not afraid to use it. It will be interesting to see what comes of this, especially since Misty is preaching to Ridley that he is innocent, but the Inspector does not seem to be listening for the time being. No music at Harlem’s Paradise this time as it has been shot up, damn, I was really hoping for another classic song.

For a moment there, it seemed as though during the closing minutes of the last episode of Designated Survivor, that President Tom Kirkman was saying goodbye to the tough challenges his young administration was forced to face in rapid fire fashion. After all, he had dealt with the insurrection in Michigan head on by putting Governor Royce in jail, he finally dealt with the defiant General Cochrane by asking him to resign after disobeying a direct order and most importantly, he made the first critical military decision of his career as Commander In Chief by ordering Admiral Chernow to attack the compound harboring Al-Sakar leader, Majid Nassar.  It seemed as though Tom was finally coming into his own and demonstrating to all that he was as tough as they come, and could make this job...look easy. 

But this week's episode, 'The Mission' was a fine reminder that there is nothing that comes easy for those who serve, for while they seem calm and cool and collected, their humanity never leaves them and it turned last night's episode into an intense character study of what the decision to send troops in does to a man, all while finally bringing the conspiracy that has been brewing behind the scenes into the light and well, let's just get one thing out of the way, this was an incredibly good episode, one so well crafted in fact that I found myself hoping for just a few minutes more to get a little bit more of the story and it's safe to say that this freshman show has found its stride because of its ability to tell such a  quality human story set in the middle of real world problems. 

Because really, it was stunning to see the President struggle and struggle mightily with his decision to bomb the compound early on in this episode. Tom knew full well that bad guy or no bad guy, he had just given the order to kill several human beings and while it was the right decision, it is still the act of taking a life and those emotions were only complicated further when Nassar escaped the compound, forcing Kirkman to send Navy Seals in to do the job. In fact, I was particularly fond of Kirkman's decision to meet the Seals before their mission, to see the men that were expected to pull off the impossible and know more about these men and the lives they lead and well...those scenes not only gave us more insight into just how good of a man Kirkman truly is...it raised the stakes for the audience as well when the Seals went in to capture Nassar at last.  

But while one would expect for everything to end happy when it comes to this mission and this episode, there was little to celebrate about the capture of Nassar. A Navy Seal lost his life in the process, something that weighed heavily, and will no doubt continue to weigh heavily on Kirkman's conscience and well...there's a chance he captured the wrong guy since the conspiracy that the show has been toying around with took shape. As it turns out, through some deep digging Hannah came to discover that where the intrepid young senator was discovered recently was inside a secret office, that had been re-designed to become an outright bomb shelter, and those that worked on said shelter, have all turned up dead. It's a chilling revelation to say the least, one that implies that Senator MacLeish is in on the mess and judging from his strange behavior this episode, no good will come from Hannah's discovery.  

At least, on the plus side, Aaron was absolved of any wrong doing since now we know the file he received was to find out everything and anything he could about the President and his family to prevent people from taking advantage of him in the press and in the process we learned Tom may not be Leo's biological father, but that's going to be an issue for another day. Because in the here and the now, MacLeish is of grave concern, and the fact that he is working so hard to keep a low profile is odd to say the least considering this is a time of need for America and truly, it's now a race against time for Hannah to uncover exactly what the suspicious senator is up to, before another tragedy strikes. Either way, it should be interesting to see exactly what MacLeish's role is in all of this, and to find out...who else is involved in this mess. Until next time.

For the most part, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a show that tends to keeps things on the lighter side when it comes to storytelling. Sure there are some darker episodes out there, but the fact that our heroes save the day on a regular basis negates some of the ugly and despite going a little grittier this season, it's still lighthearted and fun. Now this is by no means meant to be a knock on the show, because it is great entertainment, but at times, it does leave you longing for the stories to dig deeper and give us something a little more from the characters.

Oddly enough, last night, there was an opportunity for some in depth exploration of the characters, in darker fashion for that matter and this time around the series didn't shy away from it. Because 'Lockdown' ended up being an in depth analysis about revenge, and how it changes a person and how the fury that comes with it can become inescapable, all while delivering plenty of cool action packed moments, a surprise from Director Mace and of course, the hunt for the Darkhold...which started in the past. Because early on in this episode, we were privy to the moment when Lucy and her husband finally found the mysterious tome and we quickly learned that it knows how to attach itself to a human mind to reveal its secrets, and the key word there is human.

Because Lucy did get her wounded husband to tell her where he buried the book and upon opening it once again, the fact that she is some kind of hybrid corporeal entity/human...the book, denied her access to the words within its pages, meaning there was only one other man left on the planet that could help her in deciphering its secrets...Robbie's uncle. That meant it was a race against time for S.H.I.E.L.D. to arrive at the prison before Lucy did and well...that's when things got interesting. Because during the raid, we learned that the Watchdogs are doing their recruiting within the prison's walls, and that the head of the gang responsible for hurting Robbie's brother was behind bars as well and both Daisy and Robbie saw a grand opportunity to not only be heroes, but to settle the scores with their enemies once and for all.

Granted, they both had a chance to avoid confrontation and apply themselves to the mission. But revenge is a powerful thing, and the opportunity to put personal demons to rest, or feed them since vendetta never quite solves that problem, was too much for Robbie and Daisy to bear and they gave in to their darker sides. Daisy locked herself in with the Watchdog's recruits, beating them mercilessly before finding her life in danger because of it and thanks to Coulson and May she walked away with her life and a ton of bumps of bruises. But Robbie's desire to settle the score was perhaps the costliest decision of the night since after the team rescued his uncle, he sent him along on his own so Robbie could deal with the gang leader, unleashing the Rider, and unknowingly handing his uncle over to Lucy so that he can now help her reclaim her human form and as she so chillingly put it...'finish what we started.'

But to see two members of the team give in like that was astonishing to say the least. Daisy has clearly let the events of last season completely and utterly break her and Robbie is starving to see justice in a world that doesn't provide it in his eyes and the end result is that their anger, causes more harm than good since there's a fair chance Daisy will be out of commission for a bit and Robbie, well it's hard to say if Coulson can trust him after letting his Uncle fall into the wrong hands. Plus, there will be consequences for their actions as well, because the secret will soon be out that the team went after Robbie's uncle without sanction from Director Mace and despite the fact that Mister Mace revealed to the world that he is an Inhuman to stave off attacks from Senator Nadeer, a secret mission with a criminal Inhuman's involvement, won't go over well. Either way, this was a wonderful episode. I love the fact that we got some intriguing depth for Daisy and Robbie and I hope the show continues to pepper that in as the season progresses. Until next time.

There's really nothing wrong with a television show taking the time here and there to remind us exactly why we fell in love with a particular series in the first place. After all, if it wasn't for those special moments, we wouldn't be watching years later and when those little reminders do pop up, all you can do is smile as they instantly evoke the sense of wonder you experienced when you realized how awesome said show was going to be.

It's something that ​The Flash decided to do last night, because 'The New Rogues' was an episode that instantly reminded the audience of the groundbreaking first season of this show, where we, alongside Barry and his friends, came to understand the wonder of being a speedster and well, it's safe to declare this retro episode of the show an outright success because holy cow, it was a lot of fun, and it was done in brilliant fashion, because in order for us to enjoy those first steps into becoming a hero once again, someone had to cross that threshold and face off against a tough as nails villain and that's exactly what came our way last night, courtesy of Jesse Quick.

Sure she helped out last week in getting Magenta to step away from a life of crime, but this week, she adopted the speedster uniform and a new identity and she and Barry took on quite a powerful villain, that just so happened to have that classic feel in the Mirror Master. This poor soul, known to his friends as Sam Scudder, had ties to the legendary Leonard Snart three years ago, that is until he decided to enjoy some of the profits from a job with Snart, and the night these two were about to throw down over what should happen with the money, just so happened to the be same night that the S.T.A.R. Labs reactor exploded, changing Sam into a being that can use mirrors, or any reflective surface to travel and while that alone was as cool as it could be, the show was just getting started. 

Because the real fun came by way of the hunt for the Mirror Master, since that was flat out vintage ​Flash if you will. There is just something magical about seeing the team come together to figure out the villain's powers and their particular weakness and it's something that quite frankly, I think the show stepped away from in season two, and with good reason. Zoom was a huge threat, but it was outright wonderful to see that part of the show make a triumphant return and take us back to the good old days, including how the gang used mirrors to finally bring down the Master and capture him at last. But in addition to the throwback this week, an interesting new plot line was thrown into the mix by way of Harrison Wells. With Harry and Jesse getting ready to return to Earth-2, Caitlin and Cisco came to realize, they needed a Harry on the team and sent out a special signal to other earths to see if by chance a particular Wells could crack their code and potentially come to Earth-1 to help in the fight against meta humans.

The results of this search were outright hilarious, with a western themed Harrison Wells popping up in the responses but they instead settled on recruiting the Harrison Wells from Earth-19, one that Harry didn't get a good vibe from and whether or not he can be trusted, well only time will tell, but in the meantime all is once again right in Central City, save for the fact that slowly but surely, Caitlin's powers are coming to light and one has to wonder if the Killer Frost that is coming to fruition will be friend or foe. Either way, this episode was an outright blast. It brought back the fun after a season of darkness and it was a welcome change of pace to break away from Alchemy and the evil that he is quietly brewing behind the scenes, since I'm sure we'll be back to that mess in no time. Until then.

As the second season of Supergirl continues to unfold before our eyes, one thing is becoming inherently clear; this year is going to be a year of firsts for the show. After all, last week was the first time we saw the series introduce a truly vicious and powerful villain and this week, the series went to a place that it had never gone before, the world of social commentary. 

Granted we've seen this series look at the human condition on a fairly regular basis, analyzing our hopes and our fears and the greater challenges we often face within and quite frankly, it's worked well for the show, allowing for messages of empowerment and teamwork and unity to stand out and keep the series rolling in positive fashion. But last night, the series delved into some darker territory, taking the time to analyze one of the hottest topics in America right now; immigration, and when all was said and done, the show did quite a fantastic job of taking this topic head on without delivering it to us in heavy handed fashion. 

In fact, the show was able to handle this topic by way of its characters and its story because 'Welcome to Earth' revolved around a ceremonious event; the arrival of the President of the United States in National City. The purpose of her visit was simple, to sign into effect an Alien Amnesty Law, giving the many interplanetary citizens now roaming the world the same rights as the humans they live amongst and well, that set the stage for the discussion. After all on one end, you had J'onn J'ozz upset with potentially giving criminal aliens more access to just about everything on this planet and on the other hand you had Supergirl who thought this was an outright wonderful idea, or so we thought. Because the mysterious alien that fell to earth a couple of weeks ago finally awoke and after a touch of hostility, he escaped into the night and was immediately seen as a criminal. 

That mattered because from the moment the President arrived, she was under fire from an alien with heat vision and well, the visitor, later revealed to be named Mon-El, was the prime suspect. Why exactly, well that came more from Kara, because Mon hailed from another planet in the same system as Krypton, Daxam and well...on Krypton the inhabitants of that planet were viewed as intergalactic thugs. It was a jarring experience to see Kara suddenly resort to slang and fury when speaking of his kind, but therein lie the lesson. That kind of disdain for others is taught, and despite the fact that Supergirl stands for more on this world, she was raised to see Daxamites as...less than ideal beings. Of course in the end Mon-El turned out to be another refugee on earth and in reality a different alien that saw the Amnesty Act as an opportunity to have her every move tracked on this planet was discovered to be the failed assassin before being defeated and the story ended in the only way it can on television, in the happiest of fashion.

Either way, kudos to the show for taking such a topic head on, and even more kudos to the fact that they didn't slam an answer down our throats, they simply reminded all of us of the fact the real answer to such matters is to put our differences aside and treat people with respect and understanding and the rest will follow. It's another beautiful message from another beautiful episode and if the show is starting to embolden itself to tackle our world, one has to wonder what else they have in store for us as the season progresses. But before we go, we do need to take a moment and geek out because the show did feature some pretty awesome moments as well. Case in point, Lynda Carter as the President was an outright amazing decision and please tell me everyone caught that awesome Wonder Woman reference at the end, and despite the beautiful lessons learned here, the final moment of the show, that featured a little surprise about the President is a big deal and we will have to wait and see as to what will come out of the fact that we now know that she just so happens to also be an alien. Until next time.