The moment when a villain reveals their master plan in a superhero story is a special moment indeed. Because it finally allows for the audience and the hero to understand exactly what is at stake and it also gives us great insight as to what kind of villain we are dealing with. Are they bloodthirsty? Are they misunderstood? It all comes together in that titular moment and at long last, the Thinker’s grand plan was revealed on last night’s episode of The Flash, ‘Don’t Run’.
 
But in classic Flash fashion, the reveal wouldn’t come right away because that would in fact spoil the story and that just wouldn’t be the Thinker’s style. Instead, the story built up to that titular moment by putting a few roadblocks in front of Team Flash by allowing for Barry and Caitlin to be kidnapped by their two biggest adversaries at the moment, Mister DeVoe and Amunet and we spent a fair chunk of the tale watching them try their best to escape their evil clutches.
 
As it turns out, Caitlin had the harder time getting away simply because her powers were curtailed and the point of her kidnapping revolved around Amunet’s need for Caitlin’s medical skills in order to save a Meta that she needed in one piece to sell on the Black Market and what made this storyline so incredibly fascinating is the fact that it explored something special about Caitlin. In that, she now feels inferior to her Killer Frost alter ego, to the point where its shattering her confidence and ironically enough, it took being free of her powers for a short time and being presented with a complex situation to remind herself of her worth and her abilities, before being rescued by Ralph and Cisco.
 
While Caitlin dealt with her mess, Barry worked to figure out how to escape a Speedster designed cell that DeVoe created to keep the Flash on the sidelines and while Barry was indeed able to figure out how to escape this prison and seemingly defeat the Thinker in the process, it would seem this was all part of the plan. Because in reality, what Clifford has been looking to do, is to get Barry out of the picture period and everything he’s been doing behind the scenes was designed to accomplish this, since he was able to transfer his conscience into the Meta that Caitlin helped save, and incarcerate Barry by making it seem like he was responsible for Clifford’s death and well, that’s quite the impressive plan to say the least because now he can begin the ‘Enlightenment’ without his biggest roadblock in the way.
 
Granted, while the details of the plan weren’t exactly laid out, it sounds like the Thinker is simply looking to remake the world as he sees fit, but what made this so impressive and so cool is the sheer fact that he’s willing to go to the extra mile to ensure that it is done in simple and smooth fashion and the fact that he was able to create this long con to get Barry in trouble is diabolical to say the least and really, how the hell is Barry going to get out of this one? All the evidence points to a grudge that Mister Allen harbored against Clifford. His prints are on the knife and the corpse was in his apartment and now with Barry out of the way, who can stop the plan from going into motion? Guess we’ll find out when The Flash returns in January…until next time.

Learning one’s purpose in life, is supposed to be a joyous occasion. Because in order to reach that point, someone spent months and/or years of soul searching and determination to build up the confidence necessary to chase their true calling, so why wouldn’t we celebrate such a powerful and wonderful moment? Well the answer to that question is simple, in that…unfortunately when someone finally discovers that their purpose in life is intended for evil, no one celebrates the pain that comes with that kind of epiphany and that darker side to this kind of discovery was put on full display in last night’s episode of Supergirl, ‘Reign’.
 
Because when we last left Sam on this show, she was standing inside her Fortress of Pain learning about her true identity and this episode picked up shortly after that revelation came to pass, with Sam completely oblivious as to what happened to her in the desert. But it doesn’t take long for injustice to bring out her fury and Reign slowly begins to remove ‘unsavory’ citizens of National City with extreme prejudice, even going so far as to target Malcolm Edge when he crosses Lena, and shortly after she begins her own vigilante brand of justice, she garners the attention of the DEO.  
 
Which puts Kara on the case and as she tries to figure out the meaning behind the Kryptonian symbols that Reign is burning into the landscape, she receives a perfectly timed phone call from Thomas Coville, who you may recall is the Religious Zealot that sees Kara as a God, and it turns out that he has some information for Kara regarding this mysterious new vigilante from Krypton and none of what he has to offer is good, since he lets Kara know that the arrival of this being, means that the end is nigh on Earth. Kara of course, takes little stock in the religious aspect of Reign’s arrival so as to not engender fear and instead, challenges Reign to a good old-fashioned throw down to put an end to this mess before it gets any worse.
 
That’s when the episode takes a turn for the supremely dark because the showdown between good versus evil does not go quite as planned, and in a stunning action sequence, one worthy of cinema to be quite frank…Kara finds herself overpowered and outmatched by the Worldkiller, and despite Supergirl’s best efforts to put an end to this, Reign wins the battle in epic fashion. Which leaves us with quite the sobering finale since the closing moments of this episode show us a battered and bruised Supergirl that is barely hanging on and that’s where the midseason finale leaves us, with a beat down reminiscent of The Death of Superman and the fate of the world in the balance.
 
So, if anything, I guess the best word to put to this one is wow. Just wow. I did not expect this one to have such a serious tone to it, especially with the Holiday theme hanging heavily over this one…but here we are. Supergirl is on death’s door, the whole world watched her get her tail kicked by a powerful Kryptonian and who knows where the story goes from here. I’m sure of course she’ll survive, but my main concern going forward is whether or not Kara’s psyche will be shattered further since her superhero persona was the only safe place she had mentally, and a beat down like that, will rattle anyone’s confidence and the world needs a fearless Supergirl now more than ever. Either way, this was a definitely an ‘edge of your seat’ style midseason finale and I’m already anxious for January 15th to get here to see how Kara will recover and put an end to Reign. Until next time. 

Often times when we hear about or know someone that has suffered serious loss or trauma in life, our heart goes out to them and we wonder and hope that they have people that care about them and support them because we fully understand the need to have a safety net in our lives when things are rough. Because without one, bad things can happen to us and oddly enough, the need for support and how it impacts us in our darkest hour was explored in fascinating fashion in the next episode of The Punisher, ‘The Judas Goat’.
 
Because for the first time ever, at least when it comes to this series, we were finally able to understand just what Frank means to others, and how much they care about him and this was quite frankly, a lovely little twist to inject into this story. After all, it’s been one dark and gritty story after another, so to see people genuinely concerned for Frank and his future now that he is in essence, in the midst of a second chance at life was a beautiful thing to say the least, and it started with Curtis taking the time in the middle of the night to heal Frank’s body and as he recuperated from his wounds, others took over the mantle of caring for him.
 
In fact, a fair chunk of concern for Frank came from the most unexpected of characters, Agent Madani, since she carefully worked to piece together what happen at Gunner’s cabin in this episode and in order to learn what Frank knows about the operation from Kandahar so that she can finally close the case that has haunted her for so long, and give Frank the freedom from this mess that he deserves, she reaches out to Billy Russo and reveals the fact that Frank is alive and well and that she desperately needs his help, and Billy’s for that matter. The revelation is one that leaves Billy stunned and of course, he quickly begins to dig and broadcast on the radio to confirm this possibility, leaving Frank to make a tough decision, stay hidden and stay the course, or reach out to a man he calls family.

Surprisingly, Frank chooses the latter, and schedules a face to face meeting with Billy and man, this was truly something special. We finally saw Frank Castle, the man. We finally understood the pain he’s carrying and the conviction that comes with his quest and it also seemed that he might be willing to give it all up to enjoy a life of peace and quiet, since Billy offers him one hell of an out and the hope that stemmed from little plot twist sent my sprits soaring watching this episode, since it seemed that maybe, just maybe…Frank was going to be free of his pain at last. But alas, that little twist was not meant to inspire hope, it was meant to draw us into cruelty.
 
Because as it turns out, we know now how Billy got his ‘out’ from Cerberus and what has helped make Anvil such a grand success for him as well. He’s working with Rawlins, and he’s undoubtedly giving the Spook an endless supply of soldiers for his black ops missions and to top it all off…he was ready to hand Frank over to Rawlins as well, making all of the good will he sent Frank’s way null and void and the only thing that saved Castle’s life in this instance, is the fact that he’s still going through with his plan and he had given in otherwise, he’d be dead right now.
 
Which brings us back to the beginning of this article, wherein I made mention of the need to be cared for and supported in our time of need. Because in many ways this episode turned out to be quite the tragedy since Frank Castle is in essence…too far gone. Perhaps if that support network was there early on, he could have put the pieces of his life back together and moved on from his pain. But instead, revenge has indeed consumed him and while it may have saved his life in this episode, his soul still hangs in the balance and who knows what awaits him down the road once he learns that he has lost another member of his family in Billy Russo. Until next time. 

​When we last left Agent Phil Coulson and the gang on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the situation was…strange. After all, they had just escaped the horrors of the Framework and only wanted to settle in for a nice slice of pie, only to be kidnapped and find themselves in the depths of space and let’s be honest, that’s one of hell of a cliffhanger because every last fan of this series was in the same boat as Coulson. We were dying to know where they heck they were in the universe and why they were there, and at long last geeks and nerds, our questions were answered by way of last night’s season five premiere.
 
Because ‘Orientation’ wasted no time in giving us every single detail of what happened to this intrepid group, even going to so far as to fill in the blanks as to how they got into space by way of an incredibly meta (thanks to a soundtrack assist from the Talking Heads) opening sequence involving an alien and a different style of monolith. But once we returned to the intergalactic facility in question, we learned that Coulson and his team are aboard a space station and they are not alone. There are other humans here, and one of them was more than happy to see them since he firmly believed they would save all of mankind. From what exactly, well we didn’t learn that part right away, simply because this poor soul lost his life to some freakish aliens and they weren’t the only E.T.’s on board for that matter either, since the Agents quickly discovered that the Kree run this place.
 
Yet, none of these breathtaking moments answered our questions as to what the heck was going on and honestly, I think it was brilliant that the show took the time to not show its hand right away. Because such a move left me engaged and on the edge of my seat the entire time and honestly, the delay made the powerful reveal all the more worthwhile. Since as it turns out, the Agents aren’t lost in the depths of space, nor are they in their own time. The Monolith transported them to a time far in the future where our planet has been blown to pieces and the last vestiges of mankind are trying desperately to survive aboard this space station while under Kree rule and well…that’s about the only way you can top season four’s storyline and really, this little twist is a game changer for this season in so many ways.
 
After all, the Agents no longer have their vast resources at their fingertips. There are no ice guns and no Quinjets coming in to save the day. They will have to rely on good old-fashioned brain power and their own skill set. But as they quickly learned last night, sheer wits and brutal force can only take you so far. Because without proper knowledge or the ability to gather resources and plan, they’re already out of sorts and out of place and in debt to people that they should not be associating with and it will take pure gumption and resolve and guile to figure out what the hell happened to Planet Earth and how to get to back to their own time as well so that they can figure out how to stop this cataclysm before it even occurs and I’ll be honest, I’m hooked, this is an incredible way to kick off season five and I’m dying to know where it is headed next.
 
If anything, kudos to the powers that be for once again finding a way to take this MCU spinoff into bold new territory because in many ways, this already has the grittier and stronger feel of the Framework storyline from last year, and while it is devoid of evil doppelgängers, it still takes the chains off of the characters and allows them to go in powerful new directions since in order to save the world, this group has to survive above all else and considering how tough the future appears to be, that’s going to be quite the tall order indeed. Also, I do hope they find a way to pop in Fitz as well since he had the toughest story imaginable last season and it would be nice to see that he’s getting along and healing up mentally. Either way, what a kickass way to start Season Five, and despite the move to Friday nights this year, I’ll still make sure to be on my couch when the time arrives for this show to start, to see how this wild storyline turns out. Until next time. 

When we last left Frank Castle on The Punisher, it truly seemed as though this shattered man was in a heap of trouble. After all, he had revealed himself to Special Agent Madani, and with her fully aware of the fact that Castle was alive and well after all, it seemed as though she would be coming after him with every single resource she could approve. But as it turns out, she had other plans in mind.
 
Because instead of going after Frank in relentless fashion, Madani viewed Frank’s ‘resurrection’ as a wonderful gift. After all, every single lead she has when it comes to the Zubair case has dried up, but having the Punisher return into the fold…well, there’s a chance that Frank can lead her to some kind of clue and oddly enough, his return gives her the idea to take a closer look at that tape because if Frank is still alive, others from his unit may also still be around and one name stood out to her when it came to the other survivors in Frank’s unit, ‘Gunner’.
 
In fact, Gunner Henderson is on everyone’s radar in this particular tale because as Madani begins to question those that Frank knows to see if there’s an easy way to get to the men in Frank’s unit, Micro and Frank ponder upon who might have been the cameraman on that all important tape and they too come to the conclusion that Gunner would be the only man with the conviction to do something as dangerous as that, and that if Gunner was bold enough and angry enough to shoot that tape, what else did he know? Which means it’s time for a road trip to see if by chance, ol’ Gunner knows the true identity of Agent Orange.

​As the road trip comes together, the audience comes to learn that Agent Orange’s real name is William Rawlins and it would seem that Will has returned to full time work at the CIA after recovering from his own injuries sustained overseas and well, it doesn’t take long for him to reveal that he’s going to cause plenty of trouble for Madani and Frank since he’s spying on Madani and dispatching his own black ops group as necessary to deal with any loose ends, including Gunner, and while Rawlins’ order to assassinate another former member of Operation Cerberus doesn’t go as smoothly as planned, he is successful in the end and he’s even able to critically wound The Punisher in the process.
 
So, that’s where this episode ends, with Frank’s existence revealed to his target, and with Micro doing his best to save Frank’s life and it would seem that this series is starting to gather some serious steam. Because now we’ve officially met our big bad in Rawlins, and the Punisher is hot on his trail, and heck he even has an ally in the government for a change and once he gets patched up…because there’s no way in hell Frank Castle is going down THAT easy, I’m sure he will do everything and anything to get his hands on Agent Orange. 
 
But it’s clear now that this task won’t be simple in the slightest. Because Rawlins is quickly becoming quite the powerful man at the CIA and he clearly has endless, off the books resources at his fingertips and I’m quite curious to see how exactly Frank will come face to face with the man that truly hurt his family. Either way, this was another intense episode, I love the fact that everything is coming together at a steady pace and once again, I need to excuse myself so I can see how Frank gets out of this medical pickle to resume his quest for vengeance. Until next time.

As the inaugural season of The Orville begins to wind down, it would seem that the series is taking every opportunity available before the season one finale to explore the human condition to the fullest. Take for example last week’s episode, wherein we were privy to how grief and loss can impact us on a fundamental level, and this week’s episode continued the deep dive into our emotions and our psyche by exploring in great detail the power of fear and doubt and how they affect us.
 
But as this series is wont to do, ‘New Dimensions’ didn’t go with a by the numbers exploration of such matters. Instead it took the time to explore how those two elements of our mind can shape our lives if they are introduced to us at a far younger age, and how they can in fact, cause trouble for us as adults even when we’ve achieved everything we’ve ever dreamed of and all of this was accomplished by focusing on two key characters in the story, Captain Mercer and Lieutenant LaMarr.
 
It was the latter of those characters that was able to help us explore how fear and doubt can form an interesting future for us because in this tale we learned that John, just so happens to have an incredibly high I.Q., and is more than happy to keep this fact under wraps. Why? Because as a young child living on a colony filled to the brim with average Joe’s that wanted to focus on farming and a simple life, he found himself ostracized for his intelligence and the fear of reprimand and the doubt that formed from such bullying, resulted in a highly intelligent man making the choice to hide his talents away from the world.
 
Which leaves us with Ed Mercer’s story, and how exactly fear and doubt can find us in adulthood even when we’ve enjoyed some measure of success in life. Because this episode allowed for a key moment from the series premiere to resurface since it finally slipped out that Kelly had a hand in getting Mercer command of the Orville, and that revelation rattled him to his core. Suddenly he firmly believed that his commission to Captain was nothing more than a sham and he quickly began to doubt his abilities as a leader and second guessed every decision he needed to make. 

If anything, it was simply heartbreaking to see the Lieutenant and the Captain in this kind of funk. Simply because, they were utterly shattered and uncomfortable with everything swirling around in their mind and you felt for them through and through. I mean goodness, it was tough to watch LaMarr pace and panic over having to lead, and it was equally as rough to watch the Captain sweat bullets over every decision made on the ship. But therein lie the beauty of this episode. Because by bringing these two men to their lowest point, they were ripe for redemption and the story was happy to deliver just that, in unique fashion of course.
 
Because the answer as to what ailed the Lieutenant and the Captain was to put their nose to the grindstone and face their fears head on so they could accomplish wonders and save the crew from a strange realm of space and time where two dimensions was the norm. But what made their redemption and ability to overcome their fears so special, is that in its own unique way, this part of the story managed to find a way to inspire hope and wonder in the audience by giving us an incredible gift; guidance to those who are currently dealing with their own issues when it comes to fear and doubt.
 
After all, the show was quick to point out that sometimes, we need to be objective when it comes to those thoughts rolling about in our head, and look at the wonderful people surrounding us and embrace the fact that they see us in an objective and respected light, just as Mercer did with Kelly, and also that sometimes…we have to forge ahead and see what we are capable of because we might find fulfillment in ways we used to think were unimaginable as was the case with the Orville’s new Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander John LaMarr and I’ll be honest, I love the fact that the show took the time to send that message across.
 
Because the best science fiction stories out there not only analyze our world and its wonders and issues, they inspire us to be better people and that’s precisely what happened here. Because we’ve all battled fear and doubt at some point or another and we will likely will again, but this time around…a friendly suggestion will be in the back of our minds to help us out when the going gets tough and it just goes to show, yet again, that not only is The Orville one of the smartest shows out there, it truly cares about its fan base as well. Either way, this was just a lovely episode through and through, one full of great jokes as well since the whole feeding Yaphet to Bortus thing was utterly hilarious, and it was a story full of wonderful meaning and as season one now comes to a close, I do hope Fox gives this series a larger episode order next year because this saga deserves the opportunity to fire off more incredible tales such as this one. Until next time.