Arrowverse Roundup - Week 20 Review

Arrow made its big return this week, and it was a monumental episode in the grand scheme of the show. Legends of Tomorrow answered some lingering questions, and Black Lightning took an enormous step forward. Continue reading to see my thoughts on all 3 episodes that aired this week.

You can see all of this season's reviews right here.

Legends of Tomorrow - Episode 3.16 - "I, Ava"

We finally got to the bottom of the Ava mystery this week, and other storylines like Amaya's journey are coming to an end. The episode was a nice use of Vancouver, where the show is filmed.

"This is the second worst Attack of the Clones I've seen" Ray Palmer quipped. It is a funny line, but it didn't give the episode enough credit. It was nice to see the origins of Ava (Advanced Variant Automation). It certainly wasn't expected, but then again, I should know not to expect anything with this ridiculously entertaining show.

Meanwhile, Zari had to teach Rory to use the fire totem, complete with a "pull my finger" joke. It didn't go well to say the least, but I think the relationship between those two is stronger for it. I still maintain that Jax would have been better for the Fire Totem, but it did make for some interesting moments with Rory.

Also Detroit got to represent this week! Wally and Nate got to go there to protect Mari - the current Vixen who is Amaya's granddaughter. While
Megalyn Echikunwoke didn't actually appear, it was still done well. Kuassa, Mari's sister, the water totem bearer, was there too, and ended up meeting her demise.

The most interesting part though, was Damien Darhk's evolution. He is realizing that he is losing his daughter, and is a bit lost in the mix because of it. His scene when he is supposed to be torturing Nate is great.

Overall, it was nice to get so much work done in an episode. There are only two episodes left - so everything is going to happen quickly now.

Black Lightning - Episode 1.10 - "Sins of the Father: The Book of Redemption"

The relationship between Peter Gambi and Jefferson Pierce finally came to a head this week. Anissa still wanted to give Gambi a chance. Jefferson didn't. But when Gambi got beat to within an inch of his life protecting Jefferson, it won him over.

It was a powerful scene. Both actors played it well. I was afraid that Gambi might not be around next season, but now it seems he could very well be still.

When the show started it had three aspects: Family life, Superhero life, and his career as a principal. Now, it has been somewhat streamlined, and the principal aspect has been nearly forgotten. The family aspect remains the most important part of the show, and it needs to stay that way. Jennifer is still dealing with the revelation of who her family is and what she can do, and there has been some great acting that came out of it.

The end might have proven me wrong though - it was revealed that Jefferson's vice principal is the spy in Freeland for the ASA. That was a great reveal, and with only two episodes left, there should be a satisfying conclusion to that soon. Plus, Jefferson wants to mentor Malik, which is bringing that principal aspect back.

With all of this heavy stuff going on, a little bit of levity is welcome. That levity came in the form of Two-Bit this week. He was a former friend of Jefferson. He saw kids get taken, and the way he reacts to it was funny. I hope he is recurring in the future.

One mystery I wasn't expecting was the death - and seeming resurrection - of LaLa. He is seeing the people he killed in his head, and is "talking" to them. Then their pictures get burned into his chest. I am not sure what to make of that, but it is taking the place of Tobias Whale, who hasn't been seen since the night club attack when his sister and Lady Eve were killed. He'll be back with a vengeance I am sure!

Arrow - Episode 6.16 - "The Thanatos Guild"

Normally, I'd want a picture of Colton Haynes as Roy Harper for this post, because him returning to the show is great. But he was so misused, that there are no great promo pictures of him. What a shame.

Look, I get it. His return was strictly to let Willa Holland exit the show. Roy was a means to end for Thea. This was a bigger episode than I thought - a character who has been with the show since the pilot is gone now.

In order for Thea to leave, the main plot had to come to a screeching halt. No Diaz stuff really, just the League of Assassins coming in to look for Thea. It is nice to revisit a bit of that world, especially when we get to see Nyssa Al Ghul again.

There was a b-plot, where Curtis has a new love interest. He is a cop that works with Dinah. Dinah and Curtis did find out that the new police chief is dirty though, which will come in handy for the tail end of the show. Still no Rene, but it seems that it is not permanent. Maybe Rick Gonzalez just needed some time off or something. Curtis is watching his daughter, so it seems like he is poised for a return.

It is nice that Thea got a happy ending. She gets to go with Roy, the only man she truly ever loved. The powers that be said they would never kill Thea, and they seemed to have held to that. It is not normal for a member of the Queen family to have a happy ending. So it was a breath of fresh air.

One thing that seems like it is going to escalate is Diggle wanting the mantle of Green Arrow back. Oliver doesn't want to give it back. I just hope it doesn't become too convoluted in how that breaks down. The split of the team earlier in the season has already gone on too long, if Oliver and Diggle fight too, it could be worse. It would be especially cringeworthy if Diggle went and joined Dinah's "New Team Arrow". I guess we will see how that plays out.

Overall, this episode had to accomplish writing Thea out. They succeeded. But it put a grinding halt on the flow of the overarching plot. Hopefully we can get back to the grindstone next week, if the Oliver v Diggle (I cringed typing that) doesn't take too long.