I am often in awe of television writers for one particular reason, they have an incredibly difficult job ahead of them when they head into work every single day. Audiences are smart and in this day and age they demand top notch stories that feature the best elements of that show's particular genre and if they don't get what they want, they simply stop watching. 

One show that falls under that magnifying glass is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and with good reason. It's part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a franchise known for top tier storytelling and if you ask me, the show has delivered for all of us throughout its three seasons, but last week we discussed the fact that the show suddenly felt different after coming back from the winter hiatus and I was curious if this week's episode was going to continue to take us into new and darker territories that we've never seen on the series before. But as it turns out, "The Inside Man" was a pleasant surprise, giving us another twist in the show's mythos...by turning out to be a best of reel. 

I mean really, everything we have ever loved about the show popped up in this single hour of storytelling as our beloved agents finally teamed up with General Talbot for a conference regarding Inhumans and that's where all the cool stuff happened. I loved the banter between Talbot and Coulson and seeing these two actually work together was a total delight to say the least and I look forward to more team ups as the season progresses. But in addition to those lovely moments, I thoroughly enjoyed the slick spy sequences with cool technology that came about as the team worked to find an inside man working for Malick and Hydra and the surprises that came with that were equally as entertaining. This was simply a fun episode through and through and I ate up every single second of it since I was dying to know what other grand twist was waiting for us around the corner. 

But despite all the fun and joy, the gritty nature we have also come to embrace for this series arrived by way of Grant Ward/Hive and well, this new threat gets scarier by the day. I'm still not one hundred percent sure what he's doing to make a believer out of the Inhumans since they always cut away, but I'll be damned if that final shot, where it's clear he liquified the five people he asked for and used their skin sludge to heal his damaged body wasn't the stuff of nightmares. I like that they're keeping his plan and his intentions in the shadows, it will make the big reveal of what Hive's all about all the more terrifying when the time comes.  

I also have to give the show a little bit of credit for exploring the ramifications of an Inhuman vaccine as well. The debate between Lincoln and Daisy was thoughtful and fascinating because both sides have valid points. Some folks would love to avoid the possibility of ever becoming an Inhuman, and some will embrace it, good or bad. I say that I give the show a little bit of credit for this simply because this is the tip of the iceberg of such a debate and I'm hoping they take the time to properly flesh it out rather than throw it in quickly as they did last night. Either way though, I had tons of fun watching this particular episode. It was really great to see the series get back to its roots at least one more time before Hive comes forth to no doubt bring about more heartbreak for our heroes. Until next time.  

The last time I sat down to recap and discuss the wonder that is Supergirl, I made mention of the fact that it seemed that the writing was getting stronger week in and week out and I meant it. This is a show that continues to find new ways to tell incredible stories and do it in magnificent fashion and once again, the show proved that point by putting together an absolute jaw dropper of an episode this week.  

Red Kryptonite was the focus this go round, an age old annoyance in the comics since it always brings out the worst in Kryptonians and good heavens did it bring out the worst in Kara. This was an episode that dealt with every single thing that has bothered or irritated Supergirl in ugly and angry fashion and consequences will no doubt resonate for weeks to come, but when all was said and done I think I'm ready to declare "Falling" the best episode of season one for so many reasons.

The first one is the obvious one, Melissa Benoist. You can't sell the fury that comes with Red Kryptonite without a quality actor and Melissa pulled it off in impressive fashion, completely transforming the character. For the most part we completely said goodbye to the mousey Kara Danvers and the humble hero that we know and love, replaced instead by a cocky and power thirsty individual, hell bent on doing and saying whatever she wants and while that was entertaining at first, it didn't take long for us to be completely uncomfortable with everything we were seeing. Her whole attempt to "win" James' heart was done in malicious and terrifying fashion and let's be honest, I don't think anyone recognized Kara at all by the end of the episode, especially after she threw Cat off of her own balcony.

But really, the two most heartbreaking moments of the night came by way of the DEO. There was nothing harder to watch than when Kara told her sister Alex exactly what she thought of her and the fact that eventually J'onn had to reveal his true identity and throw away his career as head of the DEO in the process. All of this led to what I mentioned earlier, consequences, and that's really what I loved the most about this episode. Rather than wrap everything up in a lovely bow and move onto next week, Kara has to face the repercussions of what she's done, regardless of the Red Kryptonite since a lot of her darkest moments came from someplace buried deep within and that's brilliant writing.

After all our perfect hero with her perfect life, one where she was able to stop a bully just by saying hello to a girl dressed up like her, lives in a shattered world now. Her friendships are hanging together by a thread, and those that believed in her, that little girl included have turned their backs on her...at least for the moment. Either way, this was truly a magnificent episode, one that surprised me at every single turn and I can't wait to see what next week has in store for us fallout wise from Kara's actions this week. Oh, and a quick round of applause for the show runners throwing in a little homage to Superman III with the peanut flicking scene in the bar. Until next time.

As I settled in last night to enjoy the midseason premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I was hoping that the show was going to answer a pair of questions that were now burning in my mind. For starters, I was dying to get a better understanding of what the hell Ward had become at the end of the last episode, and I was also curious as to what kind of a man Phil Coulson would become after crossing the line and killing Ward in cold blood.

The good news is the show was happy to provide us with answers to both those questions, though Ward's storyline brought forth more questions while answering others, but we'll get to that in a moment. Because what took me by surprise last night was the fact that there was an interesting shift in "Bouncing Back", and well, I'll just say it now...this didn't look or feel like the same show I was watching a few months ago and quite frankly, I liked this change. 

Something about this series feels darker and grittier now and in all honesty I think that comes from the fact that Phil is a changed man. There's a certain edge to him now after putting Ward down and it's a bit of a thrill to see our favorite agent become a little more ruthless and dedicated in his quest to shut down Hydra. After all, watching him wrench information out of a brain damaged Werner Von Strucker was brutal to say the least, but it's clear now that Phil will stop at nothing to find Malick and put an end to Hydra once and for all and I'll be damned if I'm not fascinated to see exactly how far down the rabbit hole we are going to go when it comes to Coulson.  

As for the Ward issue, well...this is the scariest he has ever been. Yeah he was a big time egotistical jerk before, but now...he is literally a monster. Sure the showrunners have confirmed his true identity as Hive, but what impressed me about last night was the performance from Brett Dalton. He has completely and utterly transformed the character, not an easy task to do and it was downright creepy to see Ward's flesh speaking but see zero traces of the man on that face. Not to mention his "need" for Inhumans is disconcerting and I'm curious to see what he means by needing to make other Inhumans "believers" and I know I'm not the only one wondering if he eats them. 

Of course this episode also served as the kickoff to the Secret Warriors storyline and I have to be perfectly honest when I say...that part of the story was just okay. It was cool to see Daisy start to put together her team and give them all the freedom they deserve rather than lock them up in the basement of their base, but let's be honest, it just wasn't that epic of a storyline. Everything that was fascinating last night came from Coulson and Ward, but I have no doubt that the Secret Warriors plot will gain steam quickly. Either way, as a whole I was quite impressed with this episode. It takes guts to give a show this kind of drastic change in the middle of its third season and I'm quite curious to see where everything is going to go. Until next time.

The season finale has become quite the big deal when it comes to television. No longer are they allowed to fly under the radar or simply conclude an unimportant or simple story. They must be bold. They must be powerful and they must take our breath away, and most importantly...they better have one hell of a cliffhanger. 

It's been a long time since I've seen a TV show not include that all important list for a season finale, every show wants us to watch and every show wants us there for those final moments, so imagine my surprise when Agent Carter decided to end the grand storyline surrounding Whitney Frost and Zero Matter...in a low key fashion because "Hollywood Ending" in no way was glamorous or stunning, it was merely an ending and as it turns out...I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it.

On one end of the spectrum, there was a lot to like about the finale. After all, Howard Stark returned and that's always a good time because he steals the show every single time he pops up on our screens. Plus, there was a wonderful sense of unity and teamwork this go round since everyone set aside their differences to put an end to Whitney Frost's quest for power. I was also particularly fond of the fact that even Joseph Manfredi realized the threat that Zero Matter and Whitney posed to the world. Sure his real motivation in stepping in to intervene might have been a little selfish, but hey, he saw the light and helped out and that's all that really matters. Plus, we finally got that magical kiss between Peggy and Sousa that was wayyyyyyy overdue. 

Yet despite the fact that everything appeared to conclude with a happy ending, minus one thing we will get to in just a moment; I have to admit that I felt underwhelmed by this finale. If anything it felt...rushed. I had been hoping for some kind of epic final showdown between Carter and Frost and instead Whitney was handled in neat and tidy fashion. Which is a shame since some of the best moments from the show this year came from Whitney and Peggy squaring off and the two of them deserved a much stronger showdown than a quick blast from a Gamma Cannon only to have Whitney whisked away moments later. Not to mention, while last year wrapped up everything nicely, there are still loose ends left on the table this year. The Atlas Club, albeit fractured still exists and let's not forget Dottie is on the loose as well.

But, I don't want this to become a complete and utter bash session. I just expected more. The first season was so solid and so enthralling that I thought this season would go above and beyond and not play it safe. If anything, I suppose I may need to watch this one a few more times and see if my opinion changes. But as of this moment, this was an inconsistent episode for me, and all things aside I do have to give the episode credit for that all powerful final moment when Jack took a bullet before our mystery man swiped the SOE file on Peggy from his luggage. We did at least get one hell of a cliffhanger and I hope that ABC gives this show another season to not only wrap that up but give the fans what we all deserve, the birth of S.H.I.E.L.D. Until next time.

Over the course of fifteen episodes, Supergirl has proven itself to be one of the smartest and consistently well written superhero television shows out there. It's challenged our minds, our hearts and our characters week in and week out with its sheer brilliance and every week seems to be an improvement on the last episode.

This week however, the show decided that it was high time to take a break from the cerebral and thoughtfulness of its writing and instead, throw a little fun our way. It's not a bad thing, sometimes you have to kick back and enjoy yourself and I'm glad the show decided it was high time for that as well, because "Solitude" turned out to be an episode filled to the brim with easter eggs and geek out moments galore and I loved every single second of it. 

But before we get into those geekier moments, we do need to cover the fact that the show did bother to wrap up a lingering plot line in classy fashion...the resolution of Kara's anger and hurt over the death of her Aunt Astra in battle, and the discovery of who actually put her Aunt down. I really enjoyed that the show continues to emphasize teamwork and unity over all things and it rammed that point home over the fact that Indigo was able to get far into her plan without everyone coming together as a team and I especially loved those final moments when Alex finally told her sister the truth and the fact that Kara handled it with grace and class.

However, as much as I enjoyed all that, nothing compared to all the fun this episode brought forth. First and foremost, we got a member of the Brainiac family to pop up on the show in Indigo, played by none other than Smallville alum Laura Vandervoort and I must say, she did a fine job bringing the evil in this episode and while she was a treat to watch, I geeked out way harder over the Fortress of Solitude. I mean, they had the key and everything inside was simply perfect. That entire sequence left a smile on my face and I'm so glad they took the time to put it on the show and do it right for that matter. But the best part of the night for me turned out to be the race to stop the nuclear missile headed for National City. The show has had some pretty epic superhero moments before, but this was one of those classic comic book moments that managed to take my breath away.
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Of course, while it seems at first glance this was a standalone episode with zero ties to the rest of the season, it turns out that was not the case since the mystery that is Myriad popped up once again and Indigo is the only character to give us any sort of insight on what it is and well...I'm curious what she meant in regard to Myriad being part of Astra's plan to live alongside the humans. Guess we will have to continue our long wait to find out what this program is all about. Either way, as I mentioned before, this episode was one incredibly fun ride with enough action to keep me on the edge of my seat after taking us through the emotional ringer the last few weeks. Oh, and the show also gets mad props for bringing forth the first real tie in to the 1984 Supergirl movie with the brief but awesome appearance of what looked like the Omegahedron, that was nicely done. Until next time.