Showing posts with label Larry Teng. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Larry Teng. Show all posts

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Supergirl "Falling" Transitions From Generic To Painful In A Clever Way!


The Good: Good performances, Moments of character
The Bad: Simple plot, Issues with character/plot progression
The Basics: In a blatant bit of cross-promotion, Supergirl puts Cat Grant on The Talk while Supergirl is mutated by red Kryptonite.


There's a certain irony to going through Supergirl's first season now, years later; the show has since moved from CBS to The CW (with the other DC Television Universe shows) and some of the elements of the earlier episodes play very differently now. One that seems almost laughable is the way Supergirl was used, the way many network television shows are, to cross-promote their other programs. While the DC Television Universe does that at least once a year with its crossover events, while Supergirl was on CBS, it was used to promote other CBS programs, like The Talk (CBS's answer to The View). In "Falling," Supergirl was used as a tool to try to get the audiences of Supergirl and The Talk to look in on one another by including an "episode" of The Talk in the Supergirl narrative. It is, sadly, a pretty blatant and clumsy attempt at cross-promotion more than it is organic storytelling.

Following on the heels of "Solitude" (reviewed here!), which was noticeably lacking in Max Lord, "Falling" throws Lord back into the mix for the first time since he left DEO custody, armed with the knowledge of Supergirl's mundane identity and her connections with the DEO. And, as soon as the crossover with The Talk gets done, "Falling" gets going in a fairly decent direction.

Cat Grant appears on The Talk, where she is snarky to the hosts, but says positive things about Supergirl. Grant returns to CatCo where she continues to treat her employees badly and, after Kara witnesses Schott and Smythe hooking up in a closet, she reveals that Lucy Lane has quit. Kara is called in to the DEO, where Senator Crane is visiting and being more outwardly affectionate to J'onzz. Supergirl is called away to deal with a fire and, after rescuing people from the fire, she is exposed to red Kryptonite and goes rogue. Affected by the red Kryptonite, Kara gives herself a makeover and starts exhibiting constant anger. When she is tasked with capturing a K'Hund, she beats him down, then gets bored and lets him go.

The next day in the office, Siobhan Smythe tries to shop a story to Grant about Supergirl letting the villain go. Smythe attempts to sell the story to The Daily Planet, which Kara uses to get Smythe fired. After aggressively hitting on James Olsen, Supergirl is called in to speak with Cat Grant. Fed up with Cat Grant, Supergirl throws Grant off her own building. As the DEO team recognizes what happened to Kara, Max Lord arrives and reveals that he attempted to make Kryptonite and the experiment went wrong. While Max Lord searches for a cure to his red Kryptonite, Grant denounces Supergirl and Alex works to save her sister from herself.

"Falling" continues to illustrate how Cat Grant is a terrible corporate leader. Grant starts the episode snarky to the hosts of The Talk - it's not witty or sassy, it's just mean the way she treats some of the hosts - and returns to the office where she continues to address her employees in demeaning and dismissive ways. Grant's ability to create connections that would allow her to rise through the corporate world has now passed the point of suspension of disbelief; she is so mean and inefficient with the way she treats her employees that it is unrealistic she could have achieved her accomplishments.

Kara Danvers getting sudden attention at work for changing her wardrobe is another bit of suspension of disbelief a bit hard to bear. Danvers works at a major big business with hundreds of employees and changing her outfit alone seems like not enough to get people to suddenly look up from their own lives to notice her.

"Falling" makes some good points about how a hero might feel about being constantly relied upon. When Supergirl confronts Cat Grant, she has some legitimate ideas that would come from deep psychoanalysis. Unfortunately, the subtlety of the character concepts and conflicts within Kara Danvers are well-written, but when they are revealed in "Falling," it is after an unfortunate amount of generic "bad girl" outbursts. As the red Kryptonite continues to affect Kara, the outbursts become more angry, less subtle and actually make it seem like Kara is sick.

Melissa Benoist once again earns her paycheck by playing a new skill set in portraying Kara as both angry and ill. Instead of simply being powerful and dumb (like moments of her portrayal of Bizarro), Benoist gets to tap into anger and vulnerability in ways she has not been allowed to show on Supergirl before. The onscreen chemistry between Benoist and Chyler Leigh continues to be absolutely amazing. The two play their characters' relationship like that of realistic siblings and both rise to every occasion offered to them.

"Falling," outside its cross-promotional aspect, continues the general upward motion of the first season of Supergirl by, generally, playing well the "evil side of the hero" conceit.

For other works with Sara Gilbert, please visit my reviews of:
The Big Bang Theory - Season 2
The Big Bang Theory - Season 1
Laws Of Attraction

6.5/10

For other television season and episode reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Monday, November 27, 2017

Blase Beginning: "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" Is A Crowded, Divergent, Start To The Next Big Crossover Event!


The Good: Performances are fine, Good direction
The Bad: Continuity (kills the momentum of Supergirl), Final reveal is more dull than revelatory, No real character development, Formulaic plot
The Basics: Supergirl starts the "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" and it has so much to do to tie together the four DC Television Universe shows that it does remarkably little of its own.


One of the more unfortunate aspects of the DC Television Universe is the crossover episode. The trope is a problematic one, especially when Supergirl is forced to incorporate with the rest of the DC Television Universe and protagonist Kara Zor-El has to make a trip between universes just to include her. So, there's usually a contrived threat, then a contrived coming together, then a forced conflict between the characters - who range now from metahumans to vigilantes to time travelers to extraterrestrials - before a massive conflict that results in a solution that only works out because all of the various teams contributed. For the latest crossover, "Crisis On Earth-X," the binding initiating incident is the wedding of Barry Allen.

And that begins the issues with both "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" and the crossover in general. In Supergirl, the story has been going along just fine, building its own thing and the narrative momentum - shaken up just last week with "Wake Up" (reviewed here!) - makes a pretty abrupt stop to divert for the wedding of Barry Allen and Iris West. Starting the wedding on Supergirl is a conceit that comes from the days of the week the DC Television Universe shows air on instead of a sensible storytelling order. As a result, the first appearance of Supergirl in "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" has Kara fighting a Dominator (out of nowhere!) with the only real purpose being to make a joke that alludes to last year's big sweeps crossover event.

Opening on Earth-X, which is a world where the United States is under Nazi rule, an archer takes out an entire scientific team. The archer kills Guardian, who is still James Olsen in that reality. In Central City, The Flash prepares for his wedding day by taking on King Shark and in Star City, Felicity bugs Oliver to get him to commit to going to Iris and Barry's wedding. In 1183 England, the Waverider crew cuts their mission short to go prepare for the wedding and Kara, mourning the return of Mon-El (who is now married) talks with Alex about her feelings . . . and Barry Allen's wedding. While the four groups come together, on Earth-X, the scientists prepare to test their new super weapon, with a one-day deadline.

At the rehearsal dinner, Felicity tells Oliver she does not want to marry him. The next morning, Alex wakes up with Sara and freaks out. The wedding begins fairly normally, until the officiant is killed by the Earth-X version of Supergirl and Earth-X Nazis invade the church. In the ensuing fight, The Flash rescues his civilian guests and the bulk of the invaders are put down by the others. When the battle turns against the invaders, the interlopers retreat. While the heroes from Earth-1 manage to capture an archer from the invaders, Prometheus, the three main invaders manage to escape.

"Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" has a number of major events spread throughout the DC Television Universe on Supergirl, which is an awkward and somewhat ridiculous conceit. National City and the universe of Supergirl is entirely divorced from the other three shows. So, Dr. Stein and Jefferson Jackson's quest to separate Firestorm, Oliver and Felicity's on-again, off-again relationship, and even the wedding of Barry Allen is not even peripherally related to Supergirl.

The first half of "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" has everyone coming to our Earth (Earth-1). Barry and Iris suggest to Oliver and Felicity that they get married, the S.T.A.R. Labs team miraculously develops the cure Stein has been looking for in order to separate from Jackson. The only truly organic aspect of the many people coming together is that Kara brings Alex as her "plus one" and she gets super drunk and ends up in bed with Sara Lance. For a generally fluffy episode, "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" continues the realistic portrayal of a heartbroken woman (Alex) turning to alcohol and uncharacteristic decisions.

Unfortunately, most of "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" is forced and contrived. Barry Allen invites Kara to sing at the wedding, which is a particularly lazy way to get Melissa Benoist singing on-screen again (Grant Gustin and Benoist were both on Glee prior to being cast as super heroes) and it feels almost as forced as the Waverider crew talking about going to the wedding mid-battle. Ironically, most of the best lines in "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" are delivered by Mick Rory. Dominic Purcell might not have a huge role in "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1," but he makes the most of it.

"Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" is not actually a Supergirl episode; it is barely a television episode. Most of "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1," despite being very stylishly directed, feels like a trailer to an action movie or a commercial. The fast-pace, lack of depth, the obvious plotting (Stein's moral dilemma quickly turns into an incident that proves to him the value of Firestorm), and the lack of genuine surprises or character development make "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" a very disappointing start to the crossover event.

For other DC Television Universe Crossover episodes, please visit my reviews of:
"Flash Vs. Arrow" - The Flash
"Invasion!" - Arrow
"Invasion!" - Legends Of Tomorrow
"Duet" - The Flash

3.5/10

For other television season and episode reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Sunday, October 1, 2017

The Inevitable "Powerless Superhero Episode" Comes To Supergirl When Kara Is "Human For A Day"


The Good: B-plot is pretty good, Moments of acting and direction
The Bad: Utterly familiar plots, Schott character is mis-used in the episode
The Basics: Supergirl becomes "Human For A Day" like every other super hero.


One of the issues with the super hero genre exploding in popularity is that many of the works in the genre start using the same tropes. One of the most familiar conceits of the genre is the "super hero loses their power" episode. It is a pretty familiar story; the seemingly indestructible hero rather abruptly loses their exceptional abilities for a short time before they return in the nick of time to allow the hero to return to rise to a new height. In the DC Television Universe, The Flash went to that place fairly early on with "Power Outage" (reviewed here!). Supergirl's first season gets to that conceit even earlier with "Human For A Day."

"Human For A Day" picks up immediately after "Red Faced" (reviewed here!) and it is impossible to discuss the follow-up episode without some references to where the episode before it went. "Red Faced" climaxed with Kara losing her extraordinary abilities due to her fight with the military prototype Red Tornado. "Human For A Day" explores the heroine without her powers and mixes that trope with the "protagonist has to rely upon an enemy for survival" plot trope in the Alex Danvers b-plot. Alex has recently learned that her DEO boss, Hank Henshaw, was probably responsible for her father's death and that her father was an agent working for the DEO at one time. Since then, she has had a crisis of confidence in working for Henshaw - whom the viewer knows is something other than human. "Human For A Day" finally reveals Henshaw's true nature when Alex is able to take the direct approach in confronting her boss.

Opening with Kara at the DEO, being told by the medical hologram of her mother, Supergirl is informed that she is simply drained of her powers by the Red Tornado. Kara is relieved at work when she sneezes and she heads out into the world powerless. At the DEO, Henshaw and Alex Danvers interrogate Jemm, a powerful alien with psychic abilities that the organization has captured. Kara's mundane day off comes to an abrupt end when earthquakes rock National City (and she breaks her arm) and Jemm breaks out of the DEO.

When Max Lord begins to exploit the disaster in National City as an anti-Supergirl propaganda opportunity, Kara and James Olsen meet privately with him. Meanwhile, Alex Danvers finds herself locked into the DEO with limited weapons that can be used against Jemm. Alex begins to turn her co-workers against Hank Henshaw when he is the only survivor of a team scouring the building for the psychic alien. After Kara experiences helplessness in watching an accident victim die, Olsen comforts her. While Alex confronts Jemm and learns the truth about Hank Henshaw, Kara learns how to be heroic without her powers.

"Human For A Day" is a completely formulaic story and the unfortunate aspect of the episode is its missed character opportunities. Kara is realistically distraught over how having her powers and Melissa Benoist plays that new set of emotions for the character fairly well. Benoist manages to play Supergirl as uncertain in a way that feels very different from Kara's shy nervousness. Kara traverses the familiar super hero without powers arc well-enough to be watchable.

But Supergirl is comparatively young and new to the super hero game. As such, in the prior episodes, Supergirl has relied heavily upon Alex Danvers and Winn Schott for tactical guidance. That makes sense; Kara's skill set has not had to rely much on quick-thinking as brute force, eye beams and flying have managed to get her out of almost every situation she has been in. So, when Supergirl loses her powers, an accurate arc would have been for Kara to rely upon Winn for tactical guidance, as opposed to her reliance on Alex (which is cut off in "Human For A Day") and the moral guidance provided by James Olsen. Olsen's moral guidance is a weird thing as Kara's moral compass ought not to have been effected by losing her super powers. But, in "Human For A Day," Schott's plotline is relegate to pining for Kara and jealous of her relationship with Olsen and finally appearing on Cat Grant's radar - which is, sadly, an under-developed plotline in the episode.

In a similar fashion, "Human For A Day" misses out on an opportunity to make Max Lord a distinct character in his own right. Supergirl's writers put into Lord's mouth almost the exact lines of the best bits of dialogue from Lex Luthor in the comic books. Rather than being his own, distinct, character, Max Lord is Lex Luthor in "Human For A Day;" he has surprisingly altruistic motives for his implied sinister actions. Max Lord just wants to keep Earth safe from depending on aliens to save humans, which is not the worst goal ever. It is, however, the exact characterization of Lex Luthor in the modern Superman vernacular.

At the other end of the spectrum, "Human For A Day" manages to make the revelation of Hank Henshaw's true nature quite satisfying. While the "protagonist has to rely upon an adversary" plot might be a genre trope, "Human For A Day" uses it well to pay off the long-seeded reversal Hank Henshaw's glowing eyes have insinuated.

The direction in "Human For A Day" is as erratic as the storyline, though. Director Lary Teng does a good job of focusing on Kara's shaking hand when Supergirl has to bluff and talk down a looter. In fact, Teng does an impressive job of showing the audience the information needed to express Kara's internal fear, then putting nitpickers in their place by reframing the context so that the looter does not have the same information as the viewer. But in the DEO scenes, Teng uses close to realistic lighting, which is fine on one level, but not visually entertaining for the combat scenes. The fights are not particularly interesting to watch as a result of the lighting.

Ultimately, "Human For A Day" uses the familiar and banal tropes of the super hero genre and throws in a disappointing melodrama for Schott's character, which undermines Supergirl going where virtually every other super hero work has gone before.

For other "super heroes lose their powers" episodes, please visit my reviews of:
"Doomworld" - Legends Of Tomorrow
"Extremis" - Doctor Who
"Blowin' Up The Spot" - Luke Cage

4.5/10

For other television season and episode reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Monday, February 27, 2017

Mon-El Is The Legitimate Hero Of Dr. Jeremiah Danvers's "Homecoming!"


The Good: Mon-El's character, Good performances, Moments of character conflict
The Bad: Most of the characters are presented as naive and simplistic, Plot is an obvious trap
The Basics: "Homecoming" returns Dr. Jeremiah Danvers to the Supergirl narrative . . . and makes a fool out of everyone but Mon-El.


As Supergirl has progressed through its second season, there have been two main dangling plotlines hanging around Kara Zor-El. Kara and Mon-El have had a "will they or won't they" thing going on with Mon-El for most of the season and "Mr. And Mrs. Mxyzptlk" pretty much committed Kara and Mon-El to developing a romantic relationship. So, it seems natural that now that that is (generally) resolved, the other plotline would rear its head. "Homecoming" returns Jeremiah Danvers (Alex's father and Kara's adoptive father) to the narrative. Since Mon-El and Kara were captured by Cadmus and rescued by Jeremiah, Supergirl viewers have waited for Kara to commit to busting Cadmus up enough to rescue her father. In fact, how the hell has the DEO not gotten Jeremiah back given that Lillian Luthor is in custody and Cadmus is, presumably, suffering from a power vacuum at the top.

"Homecoming" follows "Mr. And Mrs. Mxyzptlk" (reviewed here!), though it follows up more directly on "The Darkest Place," which was the last time Jeremiah Danvers was seen. "Homecoming" is a joyful reunion only on the surface; virtually every savvy viewer of Supergirl will see it as the obvious trap episode that it is. Fortunately, Mon-El is pretty hip to that almost immediately.

The morning after Mon-El and Kara have sex for the first time, Mon-El wakes up alone. The news report, which is on the television, informs him that Supergirl has been out and very active fighting crime and doing good for the morning. Kara returns to the apartment and asks Mon-El not to talk to their friends about them dating, but the moment they show up at the DEO, Mon-El outs them as "dating." J'onn tells the pair to report to human resources, but before they can go, Schott detects Cadmus activity and J'onzz and Mon-El fly into action. The pair takes down a Cadmus convoy and, in the process, rescues Jeremiah Danvers.

Jeremiah Danvers tells the DEO team that Cadmus has a nuclear weapon, powered by the energy harnessed from Supergirl when she was captured. To welcome Jeremiah back, the Danvers's have a family dinner with Maggie and Mon-El accompanying the Danvers women. When Mon-El is cool to Jeremiah, Kara asks him to leave. Mon-El enlists Winn Schott in spying on Jeremiah when Dr. Danvers returns to the DEO. Schott observes Jeremiah breaking into the DEO server room and he appears to be spying on the DEO. When confronted, Danvers immediately comes clean, undermining Schott and Mon-El.

"Homecoming" makes incredibly good use of Mon-El. Mon-El is entirely skeptical of Jeremiah's return and his story and it is refreshing to see a character who is smart and recognizes a trap when he sees it. It is a little disappointing that Kara is nowhere near as skeptical as Mon-El in that she is the hero of the story. "Homecoming" takes on a somewhat melodramatic tone in presenting Mon-El's legitimate skepticism as a conflict between Kara and Mon-El.

Jeremiah Danvers was in Cadmus custody for fourteen years and his return is refreshingly not the rebirth of his marriage. Eliza does not leap to having Jeremiah back in her life and it is nice to see someone who is emotionally-realized enough to know that years apart are not years one can get back. Helen Slater plays Eliza with an emotional distance that even David Harewood's J'onn J'onzz does not. Slater is good in her brief part in "Homecoming" and she and Chris Wood make the most of their time on screen.

"Homecoming" is somewhat infuriating in that J'onn J'onzz is characterized as ridiculously naive. J'onzz is a telepath and when Mon-El raises questions about Jeremiah's return, it is an unfortunate use of his character to have him not telepathically scan Dr. Danvers. There are very few times I compare the source material with the derivations, but in "Homecoming" it is hard not to. J'onn J'onzz in DC Comics is the Martian Manhunter, one of the DC Comics Universes most skilled detectives. Seeing J'onzz not even in the ballpark for an analytical detective is frustrating, but in "Homecoming" he is played as a simpleton.

"Homecoming" is difficult to watch because Mon-El is characterized brilliantly and everyone else on Supergirl is suddenly an idiot. How did the DEO not have simple metal detectors?! How does a single incident completely turn everyone back against Mon-El?! And how do the writers of Supergirl not figure their audience is more savvy than this kind of dumb, obvious episode?!

For other works with Dean Cain, please visit my reviews of:
"The Darkest Place" - Supergirl

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Supergirl - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the sophomore season of the Kryptonian superheroine here!
Thanks!]

4/10

For other television season and episode reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Monday, November 14, 2016

Supergirl And Her Allies Are "Changing" Well!


The Good: Good performances, Good special effects, Good character development
The Bad: A bit thematically heavyhanded, Pretty standard plot.
The Basics: "Changing" is one of the better episodes of Supergirl as Alex comes out and Olsen rises to the occasion as a new superhero on National City's streets!


When it comes to superhero shows, it is very hard for the heroic protagonist to remain the focus of the show. Superheroes frequently get sidekicks and love interests and a surprising number of them develop entire teams of their own. The CW's DC Comics-based television shows like Arrow and The Flash developed into hero team shows over time, while Supergirl began with teams and allies built into the initial set-up of the show. So, in some ways, it is unsurprising that by "Changing," Supergirl is getting more super heroes added to the team. Instead of yet another alien being added to Supergirl's team, James Olsen develops into a vigilante hero.

"Changing" follows where "Crossfire" (reviewed here!) ended and it is impossible to discuss the new episode without some references as to where the prior episode left off. After all, throughout "Crossfire," James Olsen was developing his new superhero persona, which Winn Schott had figured out. In addition, Alex Danvers had come to realize that she had feelings for Maggie Sawyer, even if she had never thought of herself as a lesbian before. "Changing" picks up both of those threads very firmly.

Opening in Norway, two scientists who are part of a climate change outpost find a wolf, who was frozen in the ice but has a normal body temperature. In exploring the phenomenon, the primary scientist is attacked by something in the wolf. At the alien bar in National City, Kara and Mon-El drink excessively before Alex comes in. Alex consults with Maggie Sawyer, who advises Danvers to come out to her family. Before she can, though, Alex is recalled to the DEO. Schott has received an S.O.S. from the Norway outpost and the DEO sends a team to ascertain what has happened to the team. There, they find Dr. Jones, who is the only person left alive. Unbeknownst to them, Dr. Jones is infected with a parasite. Alex interrupts Kara's training with Mon-El to come out to her sister and Kara does her best to understand.

In his lab, Dr. Jones discovers that he is infected with a parasite that has made him stronger than both alone. When Kara and Alex attempt to bring Dr. Jones in to the DEO, Jones is able to incapacitate Supergirl. With Supergirl sidelined, Schott and Olsen square off over Olsen going into the field unprepared. Alex visits Kara and gets sisterly support, before Supergirl is called into the field to stop an alien. The alien turns out to be Mon-El, who is now working as an enforcer for a loan shark and mobster. But when the climate change denier Rand O'Reilly is targeted by the parasite-infected Dr. Jones, the Parasite emerges in the attack and both Supergirl and J'onn J'onzz are incapacitated. That leads James Olsen to take to the field and for Alex Danvers to reach out to the only other Martian she knows about!

Melissa Benoist gets a chance to expand her performance range for Supergirl when Kara gets a bit buzzed at the bar. Danvers getting drunk is a cute character twist and allows Benoist to play her in a surprisingly fun way. As well, having Kara Danvers in a mentor role with Mon-El gives Benoist the chance to play a more confident version of Kara than she previously has. Benoist rises to the occasion on both key acting moments to make "Changing" one of her more varied performances. At the other end of the spectrum, Benoist plays off Chris Wood's Mon-El beautifully, articulating an ethical position to Mon-El's lack of connection to Earth or its people.

Chyler Leigh does a decent job of playing Alex coming out. Leigh finds the right balance between Alex being uncertain and afraid and asserting herself as possessing a new understanding about herself. Leigh actually has something of a return to form in "Changing;" for the early episodes of the second season of Supergirl, Alex Danvers has been virtually incompetent in her professional life as she figures out her personal issues. "Changing" restores her to a more competent, confident individual and that is refreshing to see.

In many ways, "Changing" is a transition story for James Olsen as well. Olsen makes the leap from reporter and (now) boss to the vigilante hero The Guardian. Given how little time has yet been spent developing Olsen as boss, it seems somewhat odd that the show would leap into moving him into the role of The Guardian so quickly. But, with Supergirl and the Martian Manhunter struck down, The Guardian rises to the occasion.

"Changing" has a decent moral to it, up to and including Supergirl giving Parasite an out to try to save Dr. Jones's life, but it is problematic in its execution of its morals. Climate change deniers are a good villain, but virtually every line out of Dr. Jones's mouth about climate issues is over-the-top and lacks any real subtlety.

The details in "Changing" are somewhat off. The DEO goes into a situation they have no understanding of without any sort of protective gear. Sure, guns are handy, but why they go into the Norway facility without any sort of quarantine gear is a ridiculous oversight. Similarly, why a parasite would leave the mouth only to go back into the same person's ear is clearly less scientifically-driven than it is designed for cinematic effect. On the plot front, the whole "worms found under the ice that become parasites in humans" thing was pretty much done in The X-Files episode "Ice" (reviewed here!), so it plays as very derivative in "Changing."

The special effects for Parasite are awesome in "Changing," save for one odd shot that gets the physics of the character's movement wrong. Ultimately, the character growth, performances and effects add up to a pretty solid hour of television!

For other works with William Mapother, please visit my reviews of:
Lost
World Trade Center
The Grudge
Minority Report
Vanilla Sky
Almost Famous
Mission Impossible II
Magnolia

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Supergirl - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the sophomore season of the Kryptonian superheroine here!
Thanks!]

7.5/10

For other television season and episode reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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