IMPACT! WRESTLING - October 25, 2108

IMPACT! WRESTLING - October 25th, 2018:  Johnny Impact's 1st Title Defense

This week's edition of IMPACT!  Gave us a World Title Match, some tag team action, and the return of the Undead Bride.  Plus, some set ups for next week's show.

The show opened up with Scarlett Bordeaux, as she strutted her way out to the ring, basically she's scouting talent.  We also get her in a bubble bath later in the show to promote the fans to send in their talent clips.  She ends up staying out for the first match of the night, but obviously seems disinterested in the match and more interested in her nails.  What kind of talent is she looking for?

TREVOR LEE v. SAMI CALLAHAN (w/Crist Brothers) - Trevor Lee, having lost last week, was still looking for another win, and he had some great offense early, even managing to hold off the interference from the Crist Brothers.  He has Callahan prepped to be finished off, but the numbers game gets to Lee, and Callahan scores the win with a piledriver.  As they celebrate in the ring and beat on Lee, Brian Cage comes out, and lays waste to the Crist Boys, as Callahan rolls back into the ring with a baseball bat.  Cage dares Callahan to take his best shot.  Callahan goes to swing, but Cage blocks it, nails Callahan with an F-5, and Callahan bails.  Match was alright, but the interference got in the way.  Cage's appearance is an indicator that last week's attack by Callahan didn't go unpunished, and we see Cage's next challanger for the X-Division Title.

King is pissed with how Konnan disrespected him last week, but he knows the Boss said the OGz can't touch LAX.  However, King says he may have found a way to get to LAX without touching them.


Gama Singh is training for his match with Rohit Raju, who still doesn't see the point of it.

LAX v. HEAVENLY BODIES - Had never heard of this incarnation of the Heavenly Bodies (and believe me...ONE of their bodies wasn't that heavenly...and also...NO Jim Cornette?!), but there was some back and forth between them and LAX early, before Santana & Ortiz started asserting control with some of their areial moves.  The Bodies, however, managed to gain the upper hand halfway through the match to do their damage.  Just as they got Ortiz on the top turnbuckle, he broke it, and LAX re-took control with a top rope Blockbuster for the win.

We later see Konnan and LAX celebrating, but run into Eric Page & Matt Sydal, who challenge LAX to the Tag Team Titles for next week.  LAX agrees, and walks off, mocking Page & Sydall with their "third eyes"

I should note that Eli Drake showed up prior to this match, and threatened Don Callis about the lawsuit he's bringing against IMPACT! for an "unsafe work environment".  He took over color commentary for the LAX match, and pretty much bitched the whole time about how he was wronged at Bound For Glory, and how he figured if you can't beat 'em, join 'em in the lawsuit department against IMPACT!.


Backstage, Tessa Blanchard is arguing with Taya Valkyrie about their match at Bound For Glory.  Tessa is upset that Taya thinks she has to cheat to win, and then tells Taya she'll face her again for the Knockouts title next week.  Taya agrees and walks off.

There's a promo from Moose & Kross about their match with Fallah Bahh & KM

There's a promo video of Fenix as he gets ready for his match with Johnny Impact.

Willie Mack & Rich Swann are backstage talking about Swann's match last week with Cage.  They're drinking, and seem drunk.  Mack says, he'd love to have his first match on IMPACT! TV be against Swann.  Swann agrees.  They walk off in need of a refill.  Not sure either knows what they got themselves into for next week.

GAMA SINGH v. ROHIT RAJU - This match really didn't last long.  Singh taunted Raju the whole match, poked him in the eye, pulled hair, sucker punched him, and basically was doing any dirty thing he can think of.  Raju looked like he had enough, and was about to deliver a beatdown until another man entered the ring and blindsided Raju.  The mystery man then helped Raju up, who was confused, and Singh made it all good again with a hug and raising of the hands.  Waste of tv time---what is the point of this situation?

Johnny Impact is interviewed prior to his title defense.

FALLAH BAHH/KM v. MOOSE/KILLER KROSS - KM and Fallah were up early with quick tags and offense.  At one point, KM did a flip over the top rope and landed feet first on the guardrail as he also landed on Kross & Moose.  Bahh tried to clothesline Kross, but to no effect.  A distraction by Moose allowed Kross to nail Bahh with his own clothesline.  Moose and Kross would hold the offense for a bit until Bahh managed to make a tag.  He fell out of the ring, and KM went to work on Kross.  Moose was then attacked outside by Eddie Edwards, who started choking him with a kendo stick.  Edwards dragged Moose off, and Kross managed to get the upper hand and scores the pinfall with a slamming chokehold.  He goes looking around for Moose, as we see Moose and Eddie battling on the roof of the arena.  At one point, it looked like Moose was going to toss Eddie off the roof, but Eddie got the kendo stick and started beating Moose again, but Moose escaped, and closed the roof door to keep Eddie out.  Eddie went nuts, and his wife Alisha shows up, screaming at him, as she unlocked the roof door to get Eddie.

There's a quick promo package, letting everyone know Jordynne Grace is coming.

KEIRA HOGAN v. SU YUNG - Allie comes to ringside to be with Keira, and Keira goes after Su early, as they trade blows.  Keira gets the early offense, but Su then takes command, and starts delivering the damage.  Laying Keria on the top of the corner, she lays into her with several rapid kicks, runs to the far corner, comes back, grabs Keira by the eyes, and turns it into a neckbreaker.  She then reaches for the bloody glove to deliver the mandible claw, but Keira fights back.  They work outside onto the ramp, where Su is about to deliver the Killswitch, but Allie pulls Keira off of Su, and saves her.  She then screams at Su to come at her, but as Su turns around, Allie is frozen in place---as if she's in mortal fear.  Su starts coming towards her, and Allie backs away...eventually running from her friend, and back into the locker room.  Keira tries to fight back, but Su grabs her through the ropes, and delivers a Pedigree before turning Keira's lights out with the Killswitch.  Su gets the pin.  What in the bloody hell is going on with Allie?  One week, killer psychopath, next week, frightened child.  Allie losing her soul has taken its toll.  Can Keira even trust her anymore?

IMPACT! WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:  FENIX v. JOHNNY IMPACT (C) - This was, by far, the match of the night...as it should've been.  Both men came to wrestle, and there was A LOT of high spots early, as both men battled each other.  Several close pinfalls, with some excellent chain wrestling, and, at one point, Johnny looked like he hurt his knee during after a dive off the top rope.  Fenix went for the pin, but Johnny kicked out.  Fenix then hit a hurricanrada off the top rope, but Johnny kicked out.  Back and forth the match goes, until Fenix gets Impact with an elbow, and Impact climbs the 2nd turnbuckle, Fenix kicks him, but Johnny pushes him off, delivers the Starship Pain for the win.  Afterwards, the two shake hands and hug in a show of respect.  Great match.  After Johnny leaves, Fenix is jumped by the OGz, who beat on him until Pentagon Jr. shows up with a chair to chase them.  Looks like King found his way to get to Konnan and LAX.

Killer Kross is backstage, saying his crazy.  And when people call him crazy, they assume he isn't intelligent.  But he'll show everyone that all roads lead to damnnation.  As the camera pans down, you see a helpless Johnny Impact, laid out.  Show ends.


NOTES:

There is still work to be done with this show.  Don't need a couple of the filler matches, and the Singh/Raju angle kind of sucks and seems pointless---there's no real direction for it, other than to fill time on the show.  They still need to learn how to work people into the show, but not have to rely on SEEING them every week.  It's good when you season the show, not try to deliver a buffet, where you feel stuffed and kind of sick afterwards.  Unless Scarlet Bordeaux is going to be a valet/manager---she serves no purpose on the show other than eye candy, and no one needs that.  They need to focus on the stories that will drive the show.  It appears that the LAX/OGz war WILL continue, but now drag Fenix and Pentagon into it.  There has to be an end point for this feud.  Problem is, as I said last week, that until they get some other tag teams to come up or start pushing the ones they have, LAX and the OGz will have NO ONE to battle but each other---and at some point, that story is going to get stale.  Even though you have Willie Mack & Rich Swann facing off next week, they'd still be a tag team you could invest in to make a run at LAX's titles.  

I like that they've put the foundation in place for Tessa and Taya.  How well this gets executed in quality matches and a good story will be anyone's guess.  Both are immensely talented (do we really need to say more about Tessa?  She's THE best woman on the roster, period!).  Again, though, this seems like a story that can end quickly if they don't know how to tell it with conviction.  But Tessa feeling she needs to prove herself after saying she DIDN'T...played right into Taya's hands.  

BTW---Congrats to Tessa Blanchard this week for having the longest women's wrestling match in history with her 75 minute battle with Mercedes Martinez.  Haven't gotten to see it yet, but I heard it's good.

Like the interesting wrinkle in Allie's story.  The mind games from the Undead Realm has really played a number on her.  The unpredictability of WHICH Allie we'll get from week to week is exciting, and the side story of whether or not Keira can trust her.  

Kross taking out Johnny Impact sets him up as apparently the next challenger for the Champ to face.  

Great to see Eddie Edwards back with a vengeance.  Him and Moose will be a decent story to tell, and a feud that will wind up as a midcard or early match at the next PPV.  

Eli Drake sounds like your typical whiny heel...and his "lawsuit" angle will net him nothing down the road.  Unless there's some kind of new challenge for him, his "me against the company" crap isn't going to go anywhere.

I know some people might be turned off by the hokey parts of Allie's story, but hey...remember how we all marveled and were in awe of all those Undertaker segments back in the day?  Don't bitch.  IMPACT! is taking a chance with this storyline, and people ARE invested---especially once you get Rosemary back full time.  

Overall...a strong "B".  The production value needs improvement (and yes, considering their budget, they have to shoot like an indie movie, but even then....), and having too many backstage segments hurts the show.  Need to keep moving it along with story AND with matches that will keep the audience engaged.  

That's it until next week!

THE FLASH - Season 5.3

REVIEW:  THE FLASH - SEASON 5, EP. 3:  "The Death of Vibe"

This episode of our favorite Monarch of Motion saw some doors open on a couple of our mysteries this season, only to have more doors in front of us.  When last we saw our team, Iris was playing back the footage from the Gridlock attack by our new villain, making everyone listen to the sounds the villain made.  They collectively figured out the noise was insect like, with Nora saying it sounded like a Cicada.  Hence our villain's name.

We see Nora open up the show with her own little flashback...to when she was in the Flash Museum in 2032.  She said that out of all the villains on display there, Cicada scared her the most...because they never caught him.  Not Supergirl, the Legends, or even Green Arrow could put an end to the serial killer.  So, it's up to the team to devise a plan to stop a killer they apparenlty never stop.  Seems simple enough.  This is where we get a double dose of Wells (Finally!  was wondering WHEN he was gonna show up!).  Cisco brings in the German sounding Wells (Hell, I forgot what his name is), but he seems stoked to meet the Flash Family, much to Cisco's surprise.  While he can't help 'em, we get another Wells instead:  Sherloque Wells (A FRENCH Wells...who's much like the actual Sherlock Holmes).  We find out that he's VERY perceptive much like the real Holmes, but a bit of a schuyster too....commanding a HUGE fee for his services.  Money he then blew on paying alimony to all his ex wives---what a guy.  Great plot device though---since he now has to pay BACK Team Flash for his lies...it keeps a Wells in the show for a good part of the season.

We continue to see Nora take some initiative, but see her keep messing up as well.  You can tell she's her father's daughter---headstrong, willing to help, but not thinking things through.  As much as Barry has tried to train her, it seems to fall flat.  Iris to the rescue though, as she assures Barry that Nora is trying to help, but she's trying to live up to her Dad's legend---and he's just gotta teach her patience.  Eventually, they have their heart to heart, and it does help later in the episode when Barry's in trouble, because Cicada sucked his powers out again, and Cisco's powers were gone, and he was being hunted.  Nora remembered that well Sherloque tried to bail on the team, she had thought the electrical power sources fried him, but Cisco reminded her they power the Pipeline.  Hence, her patience and wit helped save the day.  Cisco (still not over Gypsy), ended up damaging Cicada, vibing out, then back in, giving Cicada the impression that Vibe was dead.  Hence, no more breach jumping for Cisco for awhile.

With Wells staying, Barry invites Nora to stay with him and Iris.  One can only hope that we can get to the bottom of Nora's issue with Iris.  We DO get one hint, though, when she went to get her purse, and Wells used his deductive abilities to guess what Nora's real motives were.  Of course, he lied to protect her, but we could tell as she walked away that she knew he caught on.  I have to say...Jessica Parker Kennedy is just killing it as Nora.  She's got this part nailed down perfectly.  

Mystery #2 comes in the form of Cicada himself.  As we saw last episode, he halted his death blow to Flash when Irish yelled out "DAD!" before Cicada could stab Barry.  He hesitated, then left.  Turns out, not only do we find out his real name (or an alias), David Hersh, but that he has a daughter that is terminally ill.  The doctor monitoring her says she won't make it...and knows what Hersh is up to.  He took a wound from his last battle with Cisco & Barry, and the injury isn't healing.  He says it doesn't matter, and after the doctor leaves, he kisses his daughter.  Prior to this, he went after Joe, when he found out Joe and Cisco knew each other.  He captured Joe, and wanted him to bring Cisco to the West house, but Joe refused.  Hersh had said that he should love and value his family while he still has them.  Rather cryptic until we saw the end of the episode, but we now have a better idea of what drives Hersh to kill.  Not only to keep himself alive, but to also save his daughter.  Could explain WHY he wanted to capture Cisco---so that Cisco could vibe him to the past possibly---and prevent whatever's happening to his daughter FROM happening.  Chris Klein is doing a marvelous job playing our mysterious villain.  He's somber, sounds defeated to a point, but driven to try and complete whatever mission he feels he has.  But we can see he has very little to no remorse.  That makes him incredibly dangerous.  

Mystery #3 is the continuing case of Caitlin Snow.  While the rest of Team Flash use Wells as their detective, Ralph continues to help Caitlin solve the case of her missing Dad.  They head to her Mom's lab, where her mother flat out denies forging the death certificate, and tells Caitlin to simply drop it.  Caitlin is about ready to give, when Ralph lets her know that her mom is lying.  They later break into the lab, where they get access to her mother's files.  There, they find a periodic table of imaginary elements that Caitlin and her dad made up when she was a kid...and a letter.  Turns out it was a suicide note written by her Dad.  We find out from her that her Dad wasn't a letter writing type of guy.  At the end of the episode, we see her with the file they procured from her mom's office, and she was going over it...trying to make sense of it.  When Caitlin was handed the periodic table, she discovered there was a message her dad left for her:  "Caitlin. Come find me."  As we can see, Caitlin's mystery is just getting it's footing, and we're going to discover more about her as we go along, and quite possibly, who her dad really is.  I like that Ralph is the one helping her out---it allows Ralph (who did have his superhero moment this episode, which was quite comical), to show off more than his superpowers, and will make him a little more renowned in the community down the road (yes, I'm foreshadowing, but I've read the comics, dammit, and I'm allowed to!).  It also forges a stronger friendship between Caitlin and Ralph...both of whom are still trying to find their real selves in the world.

Ralph's busting up the robbery in the convenience store was awesome...and funny as hell.  Especially since the Elongated Man will soon become a household name in Central City---although Ralph could've done without the pics everyone took with their cellphones while he was still stretched out like a flat thing or whatever round shape he was.  It keeps Ralph the lighthearted one, even though we get to see his huge heart this episode.

Joe, once again, even in the throes of danger, keeps a level head when Cicada is torturing him.  Begging Cecile, who just happen to be behind Cicada, to NOT call Cisco.  That plan failed, obviously, but Joe has been through enough scrapes as a cop to weather another one...especially one to save his friends and family.  We haven't seen Joe play much of a cop thus far (still on maternity leave with Cecile perhaps?), but the moments he HAS had this season have been very impactful.  

The season is moving along at a nice pace.  We're getting our share of action, and we're seeing just how dangerous Cicada really is.  The humor is sprinkled in there as well, and the writers are managing to keep these three mysteries balanced, and they're not dragging the show down.  Each one gets a good amount of time without absorbing the entire episode (though Cicada is still the main focus).  Barry and Nora's relationship continues to grow, and it's just sweet and awesome to see their interactions.  You can see just how much Nora loves her Dad, and how put off a bit she is by Iris.  Iris' role this season is still big, but not overtaking the entire show.  She's giving Nora & Barry her space, but she's still saddened that she can't connect with Nora, and it DOES bug her...she's just hiding it well.  I won't be surprised (since seeing the preview of next week's show), if we get to the bottom of THAT mystery before too long.  

Again. this show has bounced back and found its footing again after last season.  I'm enjoying the ride.

Of course, don't be afraid to leave a comment.  I do appreciate the views!  

Until next week....keep on running!

DC's LEGENDS OF TOMORROW - Season 4.1

REVIEW:  DC's LEGENDS OF TOMORROW - SEASON 4, EP. 1: "The Virgin Gary"

We're back with a brand new season of our favorite misfits---The Legends!  When last we left this motley group, they had battled Nora Dhark and her father, and the demon known as Mallus in the past, using their combined totem powers (temporarily as it were), to defeat them.  They took time off after a job well done, only to have John Constantine drop in with a severed dragon's head, saying they messed up...yet again.

This season kicked off with them protecting the Beatles, who were arriving for the first time in the US in 1964...from Paul Revere.  As you know, they'd been cleaning up all the anachronisms that had spawned all over time, and this was their last stop.  Job was well done, and they headed back to Washington DC, where they were greeted to:  a surprise party.  Lightheartedness is something you can always expect in some form or another on this show.  It's the one show that doesn't take itself seriously---too much---and is seen as more comic-book in terms of pacing and keeping it fun.  And this team is fun.  Not that there isn't a fair share of drama...it just seems to find that right balance.  Not sure IF---or WHAT---is going to be the "Big Bad" this season, but I do know one thing...it's a nice change of pace compared to its Arrowverse counterparts.

We see that among the many backdrops for this season, we're definitely getting a supernatural element, the relationship between Eva and Sara, and its development, and apparently, Ray's growing feelings for Nora Dhark.  Mick is his usual seft, and Nate is---well, Nate.  His issue with his Dad in this episode was a bit forced, and felt a tad unnecessary, but I guess it allows him to move on further ahead character wise.  Mick was his usual dick self...especially with the Beatles segment where he questioned WHY they had to protect these "Moptop Idiots".  Was cool for Nate to explain that without the Beatles, there'd be no Led Zeppelin...or Black Sabbath.  That managed to hit the right cord with him.  He's a bad boy...but a lovable one.

While it's not out of the realm of reality for Sara to have a serious relationship with Eva, it's weird to see her trying to put down some sort of roots.  But I see that she would like SOME sense of normalcy, considering her job.  John, of course, feels that Sara isn't cut out for this serious a relationship, and I feel she'll wanna prove him otherwise.

This episode focused on an evil unicorn that pooped what looked like rainbow sherbet ice cream, and sprayed some "rainbow special sauce" on the team, causing them to hallucinate.  Of course, this unicorn is going around on a killing spree in Woodstock in 1969...and you can see the fun ensue.  Naturally, the team goes back in time...along with our resident geek boy, Gary, who still desperately wants to fit in.  And, what to do you know...he's useful this episode.  To stop the unicorn menace, John requires items from certain types of people to concoct a spell to banish the demon.  Turns out, it takes the spit of Jerry Garcia, the hair of Janis Joplin, and something from Jimi Hendrix to make the spell work---oh, and Gary...because he's a virgin.  Gary sadly lost a nipple in the fight, because the damn unicorn bit it off, but they saved the day.  Not sure if they do nipple transplants, but John feels the lad earned a badge of honor for the whole ordeal.

Speaking of John...the man has issues.  After turning down Sara's offer to join the team, he's at home relaxing when he senses a supernatural prescence.  Ready to confront it, it instead grabs ahold of him and tosses him into his mirror.  Once he gets up, he sees a note written in red on the broken mirror:  "I've got my eyes on you, Johnny".  So, whatever shit HE stirred up...or even the Legends...they apparently got a mad on for him.

Nora got a lot of mention in this episode, because Ray obviously loves her, no matter how much he denies it---and Zari isn't fooled.  It's nice to see someone ELSE have a bit of a level head besides Sara.  Though it WAS humorous to see her trip out after getting hosed by the unicorn.  Her story is sad, as at the end, we see her and Ray on a bench in the past...looking at her younger self and her Mom.  Her not knowing why someone hated her Mom so much they had to kill her.  But it helps that she's becoming more entrentched with the team.  

Was also pretty great to have the on running joke about Wally and his constant disappearing act.  It's a great plot device that allows Keiynon Lonsdale to reappear for future episodes, and explains quite easily why he isn't with the team.

Overall, this episode was fun, zany, had a touch of drama...everything you'd expect from a Legends episode.  I have the feeling it's going to be a fun season, and hopefully won't get bogged down like Arrow and Flash did in their Season 4's.  It's off to a rambunctious start, and look forward to seeing more crazy adventures.  The Legends will be on their own this season, as they will NOT be a part of the "Elseworlds" Crossover event this year.  And I HAVE seen some stills from THAT event, thanks to Stephen Amell and his Twitter account...and I'm DROOLING over it!  I can't wait!  It's going to be EPIC!  

That's all the time we have this week.  Please leave a comment if ya can and subscribe---I'd sure as hell appreciate it.

Same time next week....

ARROW - Season 7.2

REVIEW:  ARROW - SEASON 7, EP. 2:  "The Longbow Hunters"

This week's edition of The Emerald Archer had A LOT more action that in the season premiere, gave us an introduction to The Longbow Hunters, as was teased last season, and more of the flash forward story with William & Roy.

We check in on Ollie, and it appears he's in solitary for fighting, and after a couple of days in isolation, he's let out by the security guard, whom we've come to know as York.  I have to say...York is a typical prick prison guard---gets off on his authority, isn't afraid to throw his weight around, and has a read mad on for Ollie.  We cut to Ollie chatting with Brick about how Diaz managed to find out where Felicity and William were.  Brick has info---but will only share if Ollie does him a favor---take out York.  Ollie refuses to kill, but Brick reminds him the clock is ticking.  Ollie pretty much spends the episode trying to figure out a way to convince York to leave, without having to shiv him.  Ollie DOES get creative, however---by getting close enough to York to make it look like York stabbed him.  Actuality, Ollie does it to himself (crazy bastard), and plays the part to get York taken out of the prison.  It works like a charm, and Brick is impressed.  Have to give props to Ollie for thinking on his feet---but DAMN, dude...you're crazy!  York should consider himself lucky---sure, he'll be transferred, but he's alive.  How do you feel about a cape now, you sanctimonious ass?

The rest of Team Arrow are hanging out, celebrating a long awaited reunion, and all agreeing that Diaz needs to be taken down.  However, everyone has a different idea on how it should be done.  Dinah wants to follow proper police channels, Diggle feels it's an ARGUS situation, which means Curtis is in his camp.  Felicity feels she's lost everything, and she's going after Diaz regardless, and Rene brought up the New Green Arrow, which Dinah shuts down real quick.  

We meet the members of the Longbow Hunters this episode, as they begin a raid on an installation housing weapons.  Weapons that are powerful enough to level the city---which is what Diaz wants.  These characters are pretty bad ass---Kodiak, Red Dart, and Silencer, all have powers that quickly nullify.  Kodiak is strong and has this shield he pummels foes with, Red Dart...well...she uses darts for various things, and Silencer---who creates this wall of silence around her.  All three of them are effective in their jobs in securing the weapons Diaz has requested.  Team Arrow gets a taste of them, and it takes a combined effort to try and stop them.  And while Team Arrow does foil Diaz plot this time around---their battle with the Longbow Hunters ends in a stalemate.

This episode also shows that while the team is back on good terms with each other---for the most part---the ideals of how to bring about justice and change for each of them has diverged immensely.  While Diggle and Felicity---the two original members of the team, share the same goal of ending Diaz, their methods of how to achieve that end are different.  Felicity is more gung ho, and willing to do whatever it takes for the sake of saving Ollie AND William...while Diggle is trying to do it in an official manner.  As the saying goes, "what once was lost, can never be regained", rings true as Felicity and Diggle argue over how to stop him.  She tries to work with him on his mission to stop Diaz from hijacking a train with the weapons on it---but when it came to a situation where it was secure the weapons or stop Diaz...Felicity froze.  She didn't want to let Diaz go.  Curtis had to intervene to save the day, and that meant letting Diaz get free.  

Rene was willing to help Felicity cut as many corners as possible, because he feels that being proactive is the best approach.  At this point, he's not much more than a tag along to the group, just to provide semi back up, and throw out the occasional joke or two.  Dinah feels that with Diaz's reappearance, it means that Laurel's life is in danger.  I have to say...I did appreciate the bickering the two do in this episode---it still shows there's not quite any love lost between them, but Dinah is willing to do what it takes to protect Laurel...because it's what Quentin would've wanted.  They had to actually combine their sonic powers in order to defeat Silencer during the final battle in the episode.  We do see the signs of a Laurel redemption here, but I feel it's a bit rushed as far as Dinah forgiving her.  

With the tension obviously built between Felicity and Diggle---Felicity plays her own card, and goes directly to the woman who put Ollie away---telling her that she's essentially going to help Felicity take down Diaz.  Interesting that Felicity goes directly to the source of her anguish, and is willing to get dirty.  I like that she's willing to take the initiative in ending Diaz's terror once and for all.  I do also like how well Diggle handled himself against Diaz.  I felt it sucked last season that he looked like too much of an equal with Ollie on a combat level.  It's one thing to be as good as your show's hero, but I felt it came out of nowhere really.  I was happy to see Diggle pretty much not only hold his own this episode, but prove that, on any given day, he can kick Diaz's ass.

The flash forward scenes gave us a little more insight on what exactly happens in the future---and it isn't bright.  It seems that Ollie and Felicity never see William again, and that creates some angst for him.  Roy pretty much asks him why he is there, and William said the object Felicity gave him had a tracker that led to Lian Yu.  They soon discover that there's something Ollie buried there with the bodies.  After digging it up, they soon find Ollie's bow and arrow...and a note that Roy promptly burns, thus not allowing William to see it.  The fact that they're being led BACK to Star City leaves me intrigued as to what comes up next.  Because it's apparent that in this sequence---there is NO Team Arrow.  

Anyone else liking Stanley as sort or a comic foil and Ollie's eyes and ears in the prison?  Yeah, me too.  It breaks up the overall hard drama that the prison part of the show has.  

Overall, the show is coming out the gate strong, and sets some things up to get even more intense down the road.  We've gotten some pretty heavy action, and we're seeing everyone's nerves a bit frayed at the seams, and that's leading to some decent drama playing out.  I feel bad for Rene and Dinah right now, as they're just essentially background characters, while Felicity and Diggle will do most of the heavy lifting for now to move the plot along.  I do commend Stephen Amell's work thus far, giving us an Ollie that feels about as helpless as he's ever been.  His frustration, sadness, and anger at not being able to protect his family is shown in great detail here.  

Anyway, thanks for checking in, and---as always---leave a comment if you can!  I appreciate it!

As always---keep your sights locked on the bullseye!

SUPERGIRL - Season 4.2

REVIEW:  SUPERGIRL - SEASON 4, EP. 2 - "Fallout"

This season of the Maid of Might certainly isn't pulling any punches, and most certainly NOT going at a slow pace. After the premier last week had us tackling the issue of immigration involving the alien population of Earth, the introduction (finally) of Mercy Graves to the Arrowverse, and seeing just what in the hell they're doing in Kaznia with the Supergirl clone, and President Marsdin's identity as an alien exposed.  "Fallout" is definitely an appropo term for this installment.

Having been exposed, President Marsdin knows her sticking around would only make matters worse, despite Supergirl's thoughts, and she stoically resigns.  Leave it to Lynda Carter to portray the President with grace, dignity, and gravitas as only she could do (and goodness knows she got A LOT of practice as our Amazonian Princess).  While I feel it's a quick way to write her off the show...I feel this is NOT the last time we see her before this season ends.  

The political spectrum of immigration---illegal or otherwise---is a hot topic subject to tackle for a superhero show.  The verbal spats becoming physical violence is not anything we're not subjected to in our own country.  Pulling from actual reality can often be seen as a bold move by writers---but also seen as a way to politicize a show, and bring it down.  However, when looking at Supergirl---and SUPERMAN for that matter---it is shown that not only has a world ACCEPTED them as champions of truth and justice, but as an inspiration around the world.  Having them (and yes, Clark WILL get dragged into this as well---can't see how they can NOT at some point---even if only briefly), as the center piece trying to play peacemaker with all sides makes their task as heroes even harder tenfold;  they must remain vigilant in their quest for peace, but also show that all aliens aren't evil, as Agent Liberty, the Graves siblings, and those who are scared of the alien presence on Earth, and stamp out their brand of prejudice, fearmongering, and hatred.  It's fascinating to explore the fact that we hold these two heroes in high regard, yet they are, in the purest forms---illegal aliens.  I'm wondering if that issue will come up before season's end?  Again---"fallout" is going to be a key word running rampant through this season.

Nia standing up for Brainy in the pizza parlor gave us a glimpse into the hero we will know her to be.  Brainy thinking he recognized her is also something interesting to note.  It is, perhaps, they DO have a familiarity with each other.  We don't know much about Nia's past.  Speaking of Nia---her confession to James about her being transgender was well done, and Nicole Manies...being transgendered herself...draws upon her own experiences to deliver a strong performance.  You can hear her anger, fear, and frustrations in her portrayal.  Her insistence that James write an editorial, showing that CatCo is a place where the truth CAN be told---ugly or otherwise---and show the world there IS a better way.  Show that both sides, while having genuine concerns, can also come to a mutual understanding.  

J'Onn's investigative skills come into play in this episode, as he searches for his friend and support group mate, Fiona.  He manages to get into her apartment, and discover her laptop, where next to it, she had a series of numbers on a notepad.  J'Onn pulling up one---a cop---gives J'Onn a possible clue as to her disappearance.  (J'Onn...in his secret ID while on Earth in the comics, was a PI).  I believe she was doing her own investigating as to who some of the perpetrators to this sudden outbreak of prejudice and hate against aliens were, and she paid the price for it.  J'Onn did meet up with the cop in the bar--just to listen to him, and the cop sounded like he didn't like the direction the country was going, showing possible racial hatred towards aliens.  

Kara getting info about Mercy from Lena (and we get a Big Belly Burger appearance--yay!), and finding out that Mercy was like a sister to Lena leads to Lena finding out that Mercy hacked the L-Corp mainframe to mess with the facial recognition hardware (which is why Brainy's face got exposed when it went on the fritz, and Nia's subsequent rescue of him), and she managed to block Mercy from doing anymore damage.  Mercy then attacked L-Corp itself, and tried to destroy the mainframe from within.  With the help of Kara and her own assistant, Eve Tessmacher, Lena managed to prevent that from happening.  It WAS a bit comical to see how helpless Kara was to an extend when they were under attack, and she had to hide all the times she pulled her powers out, and faking a phone call from Alex, trying to find a way to escape to change to Supergirl.  Leave it to Lena, though, to push her out the door, while she battled Mercy with her own weapon.  Mercy did what she could to stir the pot this episode---and worked it to effect on Agent Jansen of the DEO..as he helped her not only escape after he found out Brainy was an alien, but managed to help her get a weapon to use the stolen Kryptonite she had managed to procure.  Mercy's hatred bleeds through, and she doesn't hide it either.  She's a chip off the old Lex---figuring that she can solve the Superman like issue to a greater degree than Lex ever could.  

Agent Liberty is a mysterious one---hiding in a battle armor type outfit, and having an iron mask adds to the mystery of him.  But one thing is for sure---he's a shit stirrer.  He is the voice of the people who are afraid and angry at the alien population---and he feeds into that fear and hate with his impassioned speech towards the end of the episode, which J'Onn happens to catch.  I haven't seen any clues laid out YET as to who he really is.  But I feel it will be a couple more episodes down the road, before the groundwork gets laid, and the suspects pile up.  I just know it will HAVE to be someone familiar in the story...but that's me.  

Alex being the voice of reason in this episode, while also feeling the stress of dissent among the ranks of the DEO allows her to stay human, all the while consoling Brainy when he actually shows a little emotion in regards to his situation at the pizzeria earlier in the show.  Her dressing down of the team, and of Agent Jansen was cool, showing great leadership and strength.  With this political backdrop, I kind of wonder when Alex's own situation will come into play as well.  She IS a minority herself, in a way.

Kara, for all that's happening around her---tries her best to be the beacon of truth, justice, and peace in a world falling apart.  Her rescuing the rioters from the flagpole crashing down on them, and the heroic stance while making sure the Stars & Stripes stay aloft is a great picture, and very reminiscent of several shots of Superman dong the same thing.  Her insistence on believing in America, and standing by the new Administration, shows her willingness to bring peace to the country in a time it is starting to crumble.  Her passionate speech at the end of the episode was both uplifting and truthful.  It calls into the old Superman adage of "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" as he used to say.  But I feel she will be in a tight spot if the new Administration and President---played now by Bruce Boxleitner, will roll back whatever bills or laws that President Marsdin signed in.  And maybe it's just ME---but does the new President give you that funny vibe?  Like he's got more up his sleeve than we're to believe?  I'm pretty sure the story will go there, and I'm gonna go out on a limb and think HE might be involved in the conspiracy to incite the racial breakdown of aliens and humans.  I see another hard lesson for Kara coming, and I think it will test her faith in humanity.  It is here where Clark will be essential to the plot---as her voice of reason.  But before anything ELSE happens...with that little K-Bomb going off thanks to Mercy, Otis, and now Agent Jansen on their side...what's going to be the result of Kara being exposed...other than possibly dying?  The episode ends with her getting hit with the K-Gas (see how easy it is to abbreviate Kryptonite to just "K"?), and falling from the sky.  

Nothing new on the Kaznian Supergirl this episode...but I guess they're slowing building her up to attack at some point.  Right now, she isn't the focal point of the plot.  But I feel she WILL be used as a tool at some juncture.  We need a Supergirl vs. Kaznian Supergirl fight before the season ends, right?

I'm just gonna say this:  Agent Jansen is a prime example of someone getting caught up in the hatred without really knowing all the facts, and just taking everything at face value.  Most people like that are easily manipulated.  Mercy played on his fears to a T.  We'll see how long he lasts.

One thing I forgot to mention before in last week's episode:  Nice that Sam and Ruby got their happy ending.  Not sure we'll see them again unless Supergirl just happens to run through Metropolis again, but it IS nice that SOMETHING good came out of last season.

Overall, I enjoyed the episode.  They're moving at the right pace, not having too many dangling plots, and the villains' motives are crystal clear.  While they're isn't a lot of humor to be had right now, and there hasn't been TOO much "Supergirl kicking ass on the villain of the week" scenario, I feel they're building up to her big battle with her clone---and it will be epic.  We're also seeing the story from many angles:  Brainy's , J'Onn's, Kara's, and even Nia's...and we know SHE will have a much bigger role to play before this season is over.  We're getting more character depth, but it's not being done at a snail's pace, and no one side plot is dragging or slowing down the main plot in general.  The show's creators have to be careful though:  they're walking a VERY fine line this season, creating political drama, and need to make sure they're not shoving an agenda down everyone's throat, and making sure ALL sides---good, bad, or indifferent, get to have equal say.  Meanwhile, they also need to ensure they're also telling a good superhero story...it's pretty much what Supergirl is SUPPOSED to be about.  This show has endured enough controversy about it being too feminine, shoving the feminine agenda down the viewer's throats, and not being enough of a Superhero show.  Yes, we all like kick ass superhero action---but you GOT to have a story that's going to grab your attention.  And as far as the empowerment of women in leadership roles, or hero roles---Wonder Woman has been doing that for 80 years, people.  She set the bar---Supergirl is just another woman running with the baton.  It's a show that allows women to see that, they too, can be heroes, can be leaders, and don't have to take a back seat.  The female IS the hero...and a role model to many.  Gotta get over that.  Don't get too overworked by it.  Anyway, we'll see what happens next week, as Agent Liberty ups his game to ensure Supergirl doesn't stop him from creating anarchy in the streets, and the destruction of the alien population.

Up, up, and away!

IMPACT WRESTLING - October 18, 2018

IMPACT! WRESTLING REVIEW - October 18, 2018:  BOUND FOR GLORY FALLOUT

Bound For Glory was not quite as good as Slammiversary, but DID provide some interesting stories going forward for IMPACT!, as well as a lot of water cooler talk with the Austin Aries controversy at the end of the show.  However, let's dive into the fallout of BFG, and see what this week's edition of IMPACT! brought us:

Tonight's show came from the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY, and the show featured highlights from Bound For Glory, as well as Rich Swann taking on Brian Cage for the X-Division Title in the main event, Taya Valkyrie facing Katarina, Allie going up against Alisha Edwards, Ethan Page locking up with Trevor Lee, and Scarlett Bordeaux continues her talent search.

Make way for the Champ:  The show kicked off with new IMPACT! World Champion Johnny Impact in the ring talking about his victory at BFG.  He discusses his love for the business, doing things many thought he shouldn't have done, like "Survivor" and "Boone", but stated he isn't a flake champion.  He won't hide behind goons---taking a shot at Austin Aries.  He then lays down the gauntlet and said he'd hold and open challenge for anyone willing to step into the ring with him.  No mean tweets, no politicking.  He feels if someone deserves it, he'll give them  a shot.  Music hits, and out comes Fenix.  Fenix comes up to the Champ, congratulates him, and says he's willing to take him on.  Johnny says that he respects Fenix, and though they're buds, when they step into the ring, it's all business. So next week, Fenix gets his shot at the title!

IMPACT!  Will move to 10pm EST starting next week...or, as Josh Matthews states:  "IMPACT After Dark".  How this will help with their ratings is anyone's guess...

Moose & Violence:  McKenzie Mitchell is interviewing Tommy Dreamer backstage, and Dreamer is throwing down the challenge to Moose, saying that he's going to kick the hell out of him, and threatening to beat him with a chair and give him a concussion.  Eddie Edwards is not here this week, because of the powerbomb he took on the apron at BFG at the hands of Moose and Kross.  Mitchell then interviews Moose and Kross outside, and respond to Dreamer's challenge.  Kross says that Moose isn't accepting...they BOTH are!

Taya Valkyrie v. Katerina: Katerina got in the early offense in this match, and tried to sustain it for awhile, but Valkyrie was just too much for her, and eventually hit the Road to Valhalla for the pin.  Afterwards, she was interviewed, and said she makes no excuses for her Knockouts Title match with Tessa Blanchard, and that Tessa didn't need to use the apron to distract the ref, and gain an advantage to win. She feels Tessa's better than that, and has now lost all respect for her.

In Tune With Their Third Eye:  Matt Sydal & Ethan Page are out back, saying that their loss at BFG Sunday was a learning experience, and helped Sydal get in tune with his "third eye".  Sydal said he's using Sunday's loss to show he's grown.

Ethan Page (w/Matt Sydal) v. Trevor Lee:  The announcers say that Trevor Lee is due for a win.  Apparently he's been on a losing streak as of late.  Never heard of the guy, and doesn't look like anything special.  Page comes out with Sydal, and the match begins.  Lee gets his offense in, and his big move was when Page was on the outside of the ring, and Lee hit him with a boot to the face from the ring apron.  He got Page back into the ring, got in a little more offense before Sydal used the mask he was carrying to distract Page, and see if he wanted to get in tune with his Third Eye.  The distraction was enough for Page to turn the tide, and earns the win with a Big Urange to score the pinfall.

Swann & Mack:  Rich Swann & Willie Mack are backstage, boasting about Swann's big win Sunday night.  Mack said that Swann's got this, in regards to the title match he has tonight with Cage.  Mack said he was gonna hang back, and let Swann take care of business.

Dark Allie?:  Keira Hogan sees Allie bounce in, but is taken aback by the fact that Allie has a new dark hairdo.  Hogan asks what's up with her, since she hasn't heard from her.  Allie said all is cool, and she's got a match tonight.

Scarett Bordeaux is on the hunt for talent---and apparently she isn't limiting it to wrestlers.  She bumps into Petey Willaims, who feels he could be the right fit.  She says leave a video, and at her viewing party next week, she'll take a gander.  How sporting of her.

Raju what?:  Rohit Raju was backstage, trying to get his mind right, when Gamma Singh shows up and starts beating on him again.  Singh tells him he has one test to get through next week:  Singh himself.  Raju is left wondering just what in the hell is going on.

Tommy Dreamer v. Killer Kross (w/Moose):  Kross and Moose come out, with Moose looking like one of P. Diddy's entourage with the white satin looking pajama suit thing he has on.  Dreamer comes out with his kendo stick.  Announcers remind everyone Eddie Edwards is out this week with an injury, so Dreamer's on his own.  There's a bit of back and forth that goes on, and spills out of the ring.  Dreamer takes a sip of water from a left over water bottle, intending on spitting it in Kross' face, but Kross gets him up and split legs him onto the railing outside, resulting in Dreamer spitting the water out.  Action gets back into the ring, and Dreamer gets the upper hand.  At this point, Moose comes in to interfere, but Dreamer catches him and puts him AND Kross into a double neckbreaker/RKO kind of move.  Dreamer then grabs the kendo stick, intending on pounding both  Kross and Moose with it, but Kross catches him.  As Kross goes to deliver the Doomsday Saito, Dreamer catches him and bites him.  But the numbers game is too much for Dreamer, and Kross delivers the Saito...but doesn't cover Dreamer.  Instead, him and Moose go to work on him, he delivers another Doomsday Saito, and the ref calls for the match.  Kross wins by ref stoppage.  But they didn't stop there.  Moose and Kross continue to work over a helpless Dreamer until the refs from the back come into break it up.

Eli Whine:  Eli Drake is backstage bitching about how Abyss put him through a table, even though he already beat his challenger.  He feels it's an unsafe work environment, and plans on suing IMPACT!.  He feels there's a conspiracy against him.  Hey, you issue an open challenge for a Hall of Famer...what the hell did you expect?  

War Over?:  LAX is celebrating it's victory over the OGz in their Concrete Jungle match in a bar when the OGz enter.  King says he talked to the boss, and said that the OGz can keep a piece of New York, but they have to stay in their own territories.  Konnan reminds him he's in LAX territory and that he needs to leave.  The OGz leave, and LAX continues to party.  What's next for LAX?  Is the war finally over?  And what about the OGz?  where do THEY go from here?  


Jordyanne Grace is soon to make her IMPACT! appearance, according to Josh Matthews.  She's a bright star on the horizon, and will look to make waves in the Knockouts Division.  She's recently coming back from an injury, so she'll be looking to work off the ring rust, and be ready to beat down the opposition.

Allie v. Alisha Edwards:  Allie comes out all peppy and cheery with Keira Hogan, as she looks to get back on track with a victory over Alisha Edwards, who's also on an upswing as of late.  There's some early back and forth between the two, until Edwards gets a bit more aggressive, and takes advantage.  She gets Allie into a sleeperhold in the corner, and Allie moves out to try and break the hold.  Allie does by flipping Edwards over.  It's then that we see the results of Allie leaving her soul in the Demon Realm---she starts slapping herself, and has a crazed look in her eye.  She immediately goes after Edwards with reckless abandon, and kicks her into the bottom turnbuckle.  Edwards gets a slap on Allie, but all it seems to do is enrage Allie.  Allie runs her hands over her face as if she seemed to ENJOY the pain and punishment.  She then grabs Edwards and delivers the Codebreaker for the pin and the win.  But she wasn't done.  Allie's mind had gone into the dark place, and she immediately attacked Edwards by crawling on her and pounding her.  Keira Hogan was in shock, but snapped back just enough to break up Allie's assault on Alisha.  Allie snaps back to normal, and can't believe what she's done.  Hogan helps Edwards up the ramp as Allie, still in shock, can't believe what she's done.  Does this promp a heel turn of sorts for the Bunny?  Is the darkness and lack of soul going to be too much for her to handle, and snap her mind from reality?  Can Keira save her, or will it have to be Rosemary's resurrection that finally gets Allie her soul back?  Has her feud with Su Yung finally been too much?

Rich Swann v. Brian Cage (C) for the X-Division Championship:  Cage suffered a defeat at Bound For Glory, and had his left leg wrapped up due to the beating he took Sunday night, but was ready to defend his title against Rich Swann.  This was power vs. speed and agility.  Cage got the upper hand early with his power game, but constant kicks to the head by Swann kept him in this match.  One of the more brutal aspects of this match was when Cage was on the outside, and Swann dove on him to perform a Hurricanrada, only to be caught by Cage in midair as Swann locked his legs around Cage's head, only for Cage to then proceed to powerbomb Swann into the outside post...and I mean TOSS him into it.  It looked extremely painful.  There was another spot in the match where Swann once again tried an aerial attack, only to be caught by Cage, and quickly slammed to the mat.  Cage took his share of head blows, as well has some kicks to his injured leg.  In the end, Swann's quickness wasn't enough as Cage delivered the Weapon X for the victory.

After the match, Sami Callahan comes out to confront Cage, and challenge him to a title match.  He reminds Cage of how he beat him Sunday by showing the video clip of him pinning Cage.  Callahan then kicks Cage in his injured leg, and then tries to nail Cage with the title belt, but Cage overtakes him with a clothesline.  Callahan's cronies The Crists show up to try and join in on the potential beatdown, but Cage isn't having any of it.  Jake Crist ends up taking a Drill Claw for his troubles.  Callahan and Crist then drag Jake back up the ramp as Cage looks on.  

That's the end of the show.  It was an alright show for a PPV fallout.  The Singh situation is kinda boring...Bordeaux's story isn't anything to write home about, and she seems more there for looks and as a manager than anything else.  A real bummer that there wasn't more on the Austin Aries situation---IMPACT! has dropped the ball with that one.  Swann & Cage's match was pretty good, with some decent high spots in it.  Allie's descent into madness is compelling, wondering if/when/where she'll end up turning on Keira Hogan, and will she head back into the Demon Realm to find Rosemary?  Taya's feud with Tessa Blanchard seems like it's about to heat up, and after their match at BFG, I'd like to see more.  Johnny vs. Fenix looks to be like a damn good match for next week.  But again...will we get ANYTHING on the Austin Aries situation?  And after the OGz/LAX feud coming to an apparent end...what's next for BOTH the factions?  Will Tommy Dreamer be able to respond to Moose & Kross' attack next week, or is he on the shelf like Eddie Edwards?  And do we really need Matt Sydal and his "Third Eye"?  

This is my first IMPACT!  Review, so I hope you like it, and drop me comment...good or bad, I appreciate it.  I'm new at this, so I hope you give me time to find my rhythm.  Thanks so much!

THE FLASH - Season 5.2

REVIEW:  THE FLASH - SEASON 5, EP. 2 - "Blocked"

Episode 2 of The Flash jumped right back to the West household for a little truth---which I wasn't expecting.  I had thought after the Season 5 premiere, "Nora", that the secret of Nora's arrival would be kept secret by both Barry AND Nora.  Surprise, surprise.  They wasted no time in this episode for Barry and Nora to confess the REAL reason why she's there.  Everyone was fairly surprised...and Cisco actually being ANNOYED, considering he practically maxed out his credit card to buy the parts necessary to get Nora home (which begs the question---where in the HELL do Cisco and Caitlin get money from?!  Is STAR Labs pulling down ANY profit from research grants, etc?  How in the hell are they able to support themselves?  Everyone else on that team has a job OUTSIDE of STAR Labs, so it's just a little something that bugs me, and boggles the mind all at once).

This episode really sees Joe step up as the father we all know him to be---listening to his kids, and yet, doling out the kind of advice to not only Barry, but to Iris AND to his wife Cecile as well, shows just what an integral part he is to this team---NOT just being a cop.  It's cool to see him say WHY Nora came back once the truth was revealed, and be totally understanding.  To see him be supportive of that, as well as seeing as to WHY Iris feels so upset when she feels the cold shoulder from Nora.  Joe telling her to keep busy allows Iris to go and do what she does best---be the investigative reporter we know her to be.  You also had to laugh when you hear Barry lay down his thoughts about trying to teach Nora, but being bad at it, and having her not listen to him.  Joe's nodding is comical, because, if you're a parent, you've been there before, and know all too well.  Having him remind Barry that it's okay to NOT always know the right thing, but to make the effort nonetheless is what parenting is all about--and that it's okay to be scared.  Cecile hearing that in the wake of her fear losing her power, and thus her connection to Jenna, was powerful in and of itself, and allows Cecile to be more accepting of letting her powers go.

Seeing Chris Klein's first appearance as Cicada and in his civilian role is both haunting and mysterious at the same time.  We see him as somewhat a frail man, but also see in his flashbacks that his slaying of Gridlock was not easy...Gridlock didn't go down without a fight.

Block was someone who broke out of Iron Heights and decided to use her unique powers to inch in on a gunrunner's territory.  Her powers aren't like any we've seen, and DID present problems for Team Flash...mostly Barry, in trying figure out HOW to stop her.  In the end, she was easily defeated by Nora, who figured out that the more Block used her powers, the more tired and weaker she got.  So, using her super speed, she managed to win the day by applying that strategy.  And, in the end, saved her Dad as well.

Cicada's appearance at the end, and basically laying waste to Team Flash by robbing them of their powers, shows what an incredible threat he is.  And just as he was about to lay the death blow to Barry, Nora shouting out "DAD!" seemed to stop Cicada dead in his tracks.  Later on, once Team Flash was back at STAR Labs, and Iris...thanks to her stellar investigating, found out more about their assailant, had them LISTEN to Cicada's sound as he was heard in the video that killed Gridlock and injured the security guards that Cicada injured in his attack.  It was then Nora let everyone know that it sounded like a Cicada.  Which begs to wonder as to whether or not Nora KNOWS who he is, and just how they'll be able to stop him.  

On the side of the main plot, we see that it's difficult for Cisco to just let go of Gypsy, and despite Ralph's 27 steps to mend a broken heart, it won't quite be that easy.  On the other side, we see the mystery begin to unravel just a bit with Caitlin when we see Cisco vibe her and the death certificate to see that the name on it was forged by her own Mother.  It gives Ralph a chance to put his PI talents to work, because I see Caitlin wanting answers.

Once again, the dynamic between Barry an Nora is just delicious.  It's comical and sweet...especially wanting to actually SEE him work on the job as a CSI.  Her lack of understanding that HE isn't privvy to the technology that SHE possesses in the future is humorous, but we also continue to see how much of a daddy's girl she is.  She's still learning the father/daughter dynamic just as much as she is...but both realize that this time together is precious for both of them.  Jessica Parker Kennedy is such a delight to watch, and her chemistry with the cast is stellar.  

Overall, I enjoyed this episode, as it has just enough humor, drama, and fun, and it isn't weighted down.  They're giving us just the right amount of balance that I like to see, without it being brooding, or overbearing.

Hope you liked my review.  Leave a comment, and until next week...keep on running!