Last Rounds

My last blog of the year and appropriately a look into some of the final episodes that aired for various shows as well.

Arrow: I have to be honest, aside from the flashbacks still not working for me (and even they are a step up from last season), the fifth season has been something of a marked improvement for the show. The dynamics with the team - old and new has given the show some renewed energy, the Olicity stuff has been kept to a bare minimum, there's been some interesting guest allies like Human Target and Prometheus has shaped up to become one of the toughest villains that Oliver has gone up against. Oh, and there was that appearance of Laurel at the end too to spice things up in the New Year.

Once Upon A Time: Keeping with the improvements, this season has also shaped up rather nicely. While it was disappointing that Jekyll & Hyde were abruptly done with too quickly and the Evil Queen has outstayed her welcome, I did like the arrival of grown up and clearly evil Gideon and the reveal of the Black Fairy being Gold's mother was a nice twist along with the latest curse to affect Snow and Charming. Then there's Emma and Regina stuck in a different world which should generate a few more episodes in the Spring before the former faces off Gideon.

Scream Queens: I kind of binged through this divisive show's second season and with E4 even giving up on it and relegating it to a midnight slot (along with the abysmal ratings it actually got on FOX), can we assume that this show won't be coming back for a third season? The Green Meanie plot had it's moments with more characters being bumped, the reintroduction of a character from the last season before the killers were unmasked and subsequently killed off. I did like the coda of Brock/Hester going on their own killing spree, Cathy setting up her own sex clinic, Zayday/No5 still working at the hospital and No 3 assisting Chanel on the latter's TV series. If the show doesn't come back, then the final episode wrapped up things better than expected for the series.

Supergirl: It seems a little weird talking about this show as I've actually discussed the mid-series finale when I reviewed the crossover event earlier in the month. Anyways, the episodes before that though saw the series going strength to strength. While I haven't been keen on Jimmy's Guardian storyline, I have liked Mon El as a character and Alex and Maggie's growing relationship has been fantastic to watch unfold this season. Along with the dynamic between J'onn and M'gann, the uses of Parasite and Cyborg Superman and a genuinely interesting baddie in Lillian Luther and the nice ambiguity felt with Lena, the show's new characters have certainly added brilliantly to the series.

The Flash: Season 3 hasn't been always the strongest we've had with the show but it certainly continues to deliver and the mid-season finale left us and Barry with one hell of a dilemma concerning both Savitar and Iris. I did like that we found out the Julian/Alchemy connection and that he's becoming a grudge friend of sorts with the gang. Caitlin's Killer Frost arc has also been pretty satisfying to watch (more so than Wally's reckless abandon with his newfound powers). Overall though, we've got some exciting stuff ahead of us when the show returns.

Final Note: I just want to say to everyone who reads this blog a) thank you and b) have a Happy New Year. Let's hope 2017 continues to be brilliant in television but also better for us all in our day to day lives.