 |
| Not good. |
In a continuing finale vein, we wrapped the three 'long' DC series this
week, in the usual apocalyptic style.
'Nevertheless She Persisted' – once more, Supergirl wearing its
politics on its sleeve – opened with Supergirl forced to fight her cousin,
Superman having been dosed with silver kryptonite which makes him see her as
his greatest enemy (Zod.) It's an epic smackdown, but she prevails and Superman
recovers in the Fortress of Solitude, where they come up with a potential plan.
Supergirl, as champion of Earth, challenges Rhea to single combat for the fate
of the planet. Meanwhile, Lillian Luthor reveals an unfinished prototype of
Lex's which would impregnate the atmosphere with kryptonite. Lena and Winn can
adapt it to fill the air with a fine lead mist (apparently) which would be
harmless to humans (they say,) but render the planet Daxamite-proof. This is
plan B.
Kara fights Rhea and is doing well until it is revealed that, thanks to
the destruction of Daxam by pieces of Krypton, Rhea literally bleeds kryptonite. When Kara still kicks her arse, she unleashes the army. The rest of the DEO –
including J'onn, who has been woken by a vision of M'gann – battle Daxamites in
the street, eventually joined by M'gann and a cadre of other liberal White
Martians. Lillian tries to activate the device as soon as it is ready, but Lena
reveals that she gave the remote to Supergirl. Sadly, Rhea's determination to
destroy Earth outweighs her commitment to Daxamite convention and Supergirl is
forced to activate the device. Rhea dies as Mon-el refuses her any more help
than she gave his father (as he now knows that she killed him,) and the other
Daxamites flee.
 |
| No. I don't even like this ship. You're crying! |
Kara sends Mon-el away in his pod, which is pretty moving even for
those of us who were never aboard that ship. Cue sad montages. Lillian claims
credit for driving off the invasion. Lena doesn't learn Kara's true identity,
but the reveal that Cat Grant has always known makes it less likely that she'll
turn out to have been aware. This means that after being pretty much in the
thick of the season, Lena still hasn't had her big choice moment. This is a
shame.
Also, Mon-el falls into a wormhole and we see a flashback to a group of
black robed Kryptonian cultists launching a baby called 'it' towards Earth,
where they predict it will reign.
'Nevertheless She Persisted' is a barnstorming conclusion to a sometimes
patchy sophomore season, but lags when it's away from the epic. Henshaw
vanishes and James is sidelined in which ought to be an ensemble piece, and the
arrival of the White Martians really needed to be more significant, rather than
just dropping into a random street brawl. When it's good, however, it's
excellent, and one of the highlights is Superman's reaction to getting his butt
kicked by Kara (albeit in a very close fight.) He makes no excuses, offers no
platitudes, and instead insists that the silver kryptonite didn't weaken him,
and that Kara is the legit champion of Earth. He even allows that he doesn't
think he could have made the tough call if it meant losing Lois. This guy is
like the least toxic man on TV, and that's awesome.
 |
| So, hey; Speedster punch up. That's new. |
Meanwhile, in The Flash, Iris
turns out not to be dead, just dying, and also not Iris. To make up for
revealing her location, HR swapped places with her using his holographic projector
and thus was stabbed not in the heart, but merely heart adjacent. Thus, Barry
rushes him to hospital where emergency medical treatment no, wait, they all
just sit there as he dies. I wouldn't mind if they'd suggested it and ruled it
out because he was too hurt to go that fast.
Anyway, Savitar realises what's up, although at this stage his existence
is uncertain enough that memories are taking time to catch up with him(1), and
kidnaps Cisco to create a Speed Force godmaker out of the Bazooka. Barry
distracts him for a time by inviting him to come back to Team Flash and be
healed, since they did kind of make him what he was by kicking him out in the
future. He is not reformed, however, and runs back to make his final push –
after getting Killer Frost to deep-freeze Black Flash – only for the modified
Bazooka to release Jay Garrick to join the other speedsters in giving Savitar a
shoeing. It's hardly a curb stomp, but eventually Barry phases through his armour,
pushes Savitar out and shakes the armour to pieces, and the time remnant fades
as his paradox is resolved.
 |
| So, if Caitlin's powers don't make her Killer Frost, is she actually a homicidal maniac? |
All seems happy and well - apart from Caitlin, who shakes off the Killer Frost persona, but opts to keep her powers and seek to discover who she really is, leaving Julian looking as if she's frozen his puppy - but then the Speed Force starts to destroy
bits of the city now that the prison is empty. Barry accepts that it is time
for him to take his place in the Speed Force, which in the form of his mother
assures him that he won't be in hell.
He has reached his 'Finish Line', and it is time to rest.
Damn.
Finally, Arrow brings us full
circle. Digger Harkness betrays team Barry, but the mirakuru-free Wilson seems
solid. They rescue most of the hostages, but Dinah, Rene and William are still
missing. Malcolm Merlyn takes Thea's place on a landmine and is apparently
blown up, which is a touching but unlikely way for the Magician to go. Wilson turns
Oliver over, but this turns out to be a ruse to get Curtis' new sonic device to
Dinah, who is then able to bust herself and Rene free. She then clashes with
Black Siren, with Quentin popping in to deck his not-daughter, and giving his
blessing for her to be the new Black Canary. Nissa defeats Talia and all seems
to be going well, until Chase makes a run for it and Felicity realises that a)
his plane doesn't work and b) he's wired the entire island with explosives with
his own heartbeat as a deadman's switch.
 |
| ... |
Chase's revenge is thwarted when Oliver refuses to kill him, even rescuing
William with a leg shot, but then he cuts his own throat and the island explodes
with everyone but Oliver and William still on it.
D. Amn.
So, yeah… That was a round of downers. My predictions for the future
include something Doomsdayish for Kara (because we've already had a Braniac), a
return for Barry under circumstances I haven't yet put together in my head, but
probably involving some negative manipulation of the Speed Force which needs
Barry to sort it out, and an early Season 6 in which Olly is called on to
rescue his team from probably Talia and her fringe Leaguers. Or possibly Hell.
Not ruling that one out, given the shit we know to have been on or under that island.
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