My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 5x09: "The Great British Fake Off"

Written by Jackie Canino
Directed by David A. Geddes

Constantine (to Zari): "The bloody ring. Must have been here the whole time."

With five episodes left to go and two out of three Fate sisters determined to get the Loom of Fate in working order again, it's great that the show isn't wasting time as this episode certainly got the final piece - a ring. Now we just need to see everything go to hell when Lachesis and Atropos inevitably gain the upper hand.

For now, this was an episode that saw Zari and Constantine dominating the A plot as they searched for the ring, following Charlie/Clotho telling the team of a past encounter with Enchantress (Samantha Liane Cole). Long story short, John's spell went awry, both him and Zari wound up in the past where the mild mannered Mrs Hughes (Marion Eisman) was hosting a dinner party with some select Encores.

The Encores being the not so charming bunch of Dr White/Jack the Ripper (Timothy Lyle), Henry the Eighth (Chris Gauthier), Brutus (Peter Ciuffa), Black Caesar (Sean Millington) and Bonnie (Abby Ross) and Clyde (Ben Sullivan). The latter two were more than happy to bump off the competition and even bought Constantine and Zari's cover until the real Jack made his presence known.

Along with working together to find the ring, the episode did hint at a possible future hook up with John and Zari. I'm not sure how I feel about that tbh. No denying that Tala Ashe and Matt Ryan do have chemistry but the writing for it feels a little forced. Still though they did make for a good team in this episode.

Elsewhere with Sara taken out of commission for most of this one, it was up to Ava, Gary and Mick to venture into hell to get some answers out of Astra, who of course got some of her own when Lachesis introduced her to Atropos and by the end of this one, Astra chose to change up sides, even if John didn't seem happy to see her on the Waverider.

As for Sara, going by the brief appearance here, it seems that surviving her encounter with Atropos has given her some kind of ability to see in the future. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out in the remainder of the season.

- Like Constantine, Enchantress has also been a member of Justice League Dark (which is getting a streaming show on HBO Max) but is this version friend or foe here?
- Nice that Nate had some bonding scenes with Charlie and Zari here, not to mention we had reference to Rip, Amaya and Vandal Savage.
- Zari might have posed as Cleopatra here but it's nice we got a bit of a look of her DC comic look as well.
- Chronology: Ancient Egypt for the Charlie/Enchantress scene, 1910 for the main plot as well.

The Great British Fake Off had plenty of great moments with John and Zari definitely getting all the best scenes in this episode. I genuinely didn't expect the addition of Enchantress into the mix (though this version has a more comic accurate look than the Suicide Squad version) and with Astra switching teams, Sara's powers making themselves known, things are definitely getting more interesting.

Rating: 8 out 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 2x04: "Thawing Hearts"

Written by Tom Hyndman
Directed by Vinton Heuck

Mr Freeze (to Nora): "Goodbye, my love. Have the life I could never give you."

And we were doing so well. Two whole episodes where a Batman rogue gallery member didn't die. I'm not mad by the way, just more sad that after only two appearances, we can add Mr Freeze to the body count with this show.

On the other hand, this was a very emotional episode as Harley and her crew attempted to after Victor only to get captured by him, learn that he had been experimenting on rats unsuccessfully and he was now moving on to human experiments. This of course was in his mission to help save his beloved Nora, which Harley had a hard time believing.

This episode delved into Harley's still unresolved issues with the Joker, in which even her male crew members castigated her on over his cynicism of true love while at the same time providing another poignant take on Mr Freeze's tragic tale.

The good news for Victor was that Ivy and Kite Man were able to cure Nora but it also meant Freeze making the ultimate sacrifice so that his beloved could live. This was something Victor had no problem in doing but it's a pity we lost the character after he was only just introduced.

Elsewhere we can Kite Man in full Groomzilla mode trying to book a particular venue for his and Ivy's upcoming nuptials only for Condiment King (Alan Tudyk) to scupper the plan. The B plot was amusing enough but with the seeds being sown for the eventual Harley/Ivy pairing, you just know this wedding won't be going ahead anytime soon.

- I really loved Freeze's icy lair. Shades of both Batman: The Animated Series and Batman And  Robin.
- King Shark speaking for everyone when he was relieved that Dr Psycho didn't get to finish a certain sentence during Freeze's lunch.
- I assume both Frank and Sy Borgman were keeping an eye on Riddler this week.
- Chronology: Not long where the previous episode left off.

Thawing Hearts had a lot to say about relationships while also foreshadowing the one that many fans of this show are clamoring to see and while I would have rather that the show hadn't  killed off Freeze at least they treated him well in this one.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Legends Of Tomorrow's 5x08: "Zari, Not Zari"

Written by Morgan Faust & Tyrion Carter
Directed by Kevin Mock

Atropos (to Behrad): "You don't belong here. No more defying fate."

After a month off the air and following the lowkey exits for Ray and Nora, the Legends enter the second half of this fifth season with no mucking about as the Fates begin to be a very big problem for the gang.

To get the obvious out of the way first, it seems that Astra's mentor, the coin maker is one of Charlie/Clotho sister, Lachesis and the other sister, Atropos (Joanna Vanderham) has also arrived and wasted no time in making her presence felt.

This show has been calling out for a strong female villain and with Astra soon to switch sides, it looks like we've got one with Atropos. In this episode alone, she caused headaches for Charlie, Constantine and Sara and while she might have failed in killing the latter two, she did however succeed with Behrad.

In the space of eight episodes I've actually enjoyed Behrad and this week it was to see him genuinely help out Zari when she started having more memories of her other selves. I should've seen Behrad's death coming a mile off as Zari started to get to know herself but if the last scene between Zari and John was anything to go by, Behrad might not stay dead for too long.

As for the Zari scenes. - Tala Ashe really does bring so much to this show, differentiating between two versions of the same character. I've missed the previous Zari and it was great to see her back here for a bit. Also like Behrad, she's also going to be back sooner than later.

With the Fates plot kicking off nicely here, the B plot had Ava and Mick working together so the latter could have a better relationship with his daughter. It didn't quite pan out as well as Mick hoped it would have but it was a good way to utilise Ava this week.

- Sara, Charlie and Constantine were at a filming location for Supernatural and the comments about filming Season 15 practically wrote themselves.
- Clotho spun the weave, Lachesis decided how long they live and Atropos would kill them. Sara surviving looking at Atropos true form must be linked to that superpower we haven't seen yet.
- Nice references of Ava's own past with Rip in this episode as well as current Zari not being attracted to Nate.
- Chronology: 1977 London (Atropos killed Charlie'a former bandmates), Central City 2004-2020 for the Mick/Lita story and 2020 British Colimbia for the main plot.

Zari, Not Zari has definitely kicked off this Fates storyline with a solid punch. We've got a strong baddie with Charlie's sisters, hints of Sara's new power (whatever it may be) and the Zari/Behrad scenes were fantastic. So glad the series is back.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 2x03: "Trapped"

Written by Sarah Peters
Directed by Brandon McKinney

Catwoman (to Poison Ivy): "Girl, please, I'm never not stealing jewels."

Did anyone call for a Gotham City Sirens  episode? Well, you kind of have one here as this week Catwoman (Sanaa Lathan) finally made her debut on the show and needless to say that some hijinks ensure when she teamed up with Harley and Ivy to steal a plasma flamethrower formerly of Firefly but now in the current possession of Doctor Trap (Alan Tudyk).

Yeah, Harley was determined to mark Mr Freeze off her list and when ordinary fire wouldn't  do the trick, she knew she needed the best thief in Gotham to aid her cause. The problem was that Catwoman seemed more interested in needling Ivy and making off with a nice ring than really helping with the heist at hand.

I have to admit while I was looking forward to Catwoman in the show, the characterisation for her was somewhat disappointing if I'm honest. The voice acting was fine, design pretty good but a bit too bitchy, even if she did make Ivy get back to her activist roots by the end of this one. Hopefully it was just a blip and she's better written next time we see her.

Meanwhile when Harley and Ivy weren't getting help securing Firefly's gun and bashing Doctor Trap for good measure, the rest of the gang managed to lose Riddler before the latter admitted that watching Harley's gang being such screw ups was too fun to escape from. I guess I can see where he's coming from here.

The other big take away from this episode was also having Ivy accept Kite Man's third marriage proposal just as this one ended on a sign that her and Harley are likely to become a romantic pairing before the season ends. I'm just hoping Kite Man isn't killed off or vilified in order to service that though.

- All the main players were in this episode for the first time this season. It seems a few of them are fans of  The Babysitters Club book series.
- Catwoman seemed uninterested in Batman's whereabouts. That was another minus for this version of the character.
- I hope it's not too long before we see Batgirl again.
- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off .

Trapped made for an okay introduction to Catwoman and an all too brief encounter with Doctor Trap but the hints of Harley/Ivy and the B plot with the rest of the gang and Riddler were clear highlights though.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 2x02: "Riddle U"

Written by Sabreena Jalees
Directed by Colin Heck

Poison Ivy (re Barbara): "Hopefully she grows out of her awkward Batman obsession phase. I mean we all did."
Harley: "I don't know. I feel like we awakened something in her."

Ah, I was expecting a Batgirl origin story and this episode gave me that in a rather unusual but delightful way. In the past Barbara Gordon (Briana Cuoco) has been an enemy of Harley and Ivy but in recent times they have worked together and here they do that too in an unusual environment as the Riddler happens to be the target this week.

Taking all of the city's power for himself and only letting a selection few into his university, the episode had Harley, Ivy and Clayface as Steph going undercover to find out what he was plotting while Barbara was doing the same thing and trying to boost her depressed father's spirits to no success really.

With Clayface being in his element as Steph, it was Harley, Ivy and Barbara sort of working together when the Riddler was using college students as human batteries to power things along. Needless to say, Harley, Ivy and Clayface came afoul of Nygma but it was Barbara who inadvertently saved the day and became inspired to become Batgirl by the end of the episode.

It's a good origin story for Batgirl and I was actually relieved that instead of killing the Riddler, Harley and Ivy gave him a taste of his own medicine for a change. I'm not sure how long they'll keep him prisoner but it's better than bumping him off though.

Elsewhere Killer Shark and Dr Psycho got the B Plot, which mostly saw them taking out henchmen from both the Two Face and Bane corners of the city and not much else. I'd complain but I really liked their scenes together, so I didn't mind them having much less to do this week.

- Dr Psycho was making candles out of zoo animals as well as hats. Yeah, he's still evil, folks.
- There was a shameless 90s feel to this episode including Ivy being revealed as an Indigo Girls fan for good measure.
- Kite Man briefly popped up but Batman, Joker, Frank and Sy Borgman sat this one out.
- Chronology: A couple of months since the opening episode.

Riddle U worked better than the opening episode. I'm glad the show seems to be maybe avoiding having Harley kill off every one of her enemies and as I pointed out earlier, it also made for a good origin story for Batgirl. Next week, Catwoman.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 2x01: "New Gotham"

Written by Adam Stein
Directed by Vince Heuck

Harley (to Ivy): "It's about to get more 'Yikes'."

We did not have to wait long for this one. In just a few weeks since the first season ended with both Batman and Joker out of the mix and Gotham in ruins, the second season of DC Universe's animated series came back on a decent note.

Long story short, instead of actually taking over the city which has now become a No Man's Land situation, Harley decided it would be better to liberate some goons and let chaos be the order of the day. Ivy pointed out this was a bad idea, Harley didn't listen and consequences were had.

The consequences being an Injustice League formed with Penguin, Two Face, Riddler, Bane and Mr Freeze (Alfred Molina) quickly putting Harley on ice in order to carve out their own territories in the ruined city and restore organised crime (and get their goons back of course).

As for Harley, when the gang used one of Clayface's plans to finally get her free, she wasn't pleased that most of her work had been undone, leading to a fight between her and the Penguin, which the latter did nor survive. First Scarecrow, now Penguin? This show is not saying with killing off Rogue Gallery members. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Meanwhile Jim Gordon rejected Robin's help, got ousted from the GCPD by Two Face, had formerly good cops go bad and Barbara wants a divorce, so he's having a rotten time of it. On the other hand, Bruce Wayne turned up just about alive at the end of the episode and I don't doubt a certain clown won't be far behind in a few episodes time.

- They got a Batman Returns homage in with Harley biting the Penguin'a nose clean off before she killed him.
- Damien made me laugh dressed as Batman and other projects did Dr Psycho put on hold to save Harley?
- King Shark continues to be a delight, Sy Borgman was okay but where were Frank and Kite Man?
- Chronology: A week became three weeks, then over two months since the finale.

New Gotham while not as good as the previous episode did serve as a good opening nonetheless. However how long will it take Harley and her crew to take out the rest of the Injustice League and how long before two other characters re-enter the picture? Other than that, this was still a lot of fun to watch.

Rating: 7 out of 10