Bromance.

****SPOILERS FOR ARROW AND SUPERNATURAL AHEAD****

Am I the only one who thinks Stephen Amell is not the best of actors?

This episode showcased another bump in the “Ollicity” road, and while Felicity was her usual great, believable self, Oliver was as flat as ever. But it didn’t take away from the episode as a whole, which was pretty good. Ray’s return was handled well, although I would have loved to know exactly how he fell into the hands of Damien Dahrk, who continues to be a true SUPERvillian. I’m very much looking forward to how Team Arrow deals with his supernatural nature (more Constantine, please). Elsewhere, Sara was dealing with the aftermath of resurrection, and like Thea, she has the bloodlust that comes with it. I can’t say I enjoyd this; I feel like we saw the same thing with Thea already, and it wasn’t handled very well at all. Her leaving (again) is probably the best the writers could do for her character on Arrow.

Felicity had to deal with her mom being back, but surprisingly she brought some heartfelt relationship wisdom. I don’t know what the point of her starting something with Lance, but I guess we’ll find out.

The flashbacks did little for the story, expect to further expand the mysticism that’s entering the world of Arrow.
On Supernatural, the Brothers Winchester finally came face to face with Amara. I’ve been enjoying this season a lot, as its been moving at a frantic pace with Amara having a hand in nearly every episode since the premiere. And man, did this episode continue the trend! The revelation of Amara being the casualty of God’s creation of the world was excellent and unique. Speaking of which, could this finally be setting the stage for God’s appearance, or is that still too big for the show?

Finally Castiel got back in the game as well. I was growing tired of him being a trauma victim; he used to be one of the most formidable characters on the show, and it was good to see him flex his muscles once again. This time, he did what Dean couldn’t, breaking down Metatron to reveal crucial details about Amara. Metatron had a great appearance, too, with a Nightcrawler-type job that was hilarious. That being said, I couldn’t help but sympathize with him begging for death in the face of continuing on as a human. Imagine being the Scribe of God and then going on to film dead victims for cash?

My only issue with his episode is that it seemed to deny the season’s earlier premise of Sam and Dean no longer lying to each other. Once again, Dean withholds important information. But, it seems Sam is getting inside information himself, so we’ll see where this goes.

Cards & Curses.

     *******************************SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ARROW AND SUPERNATURAL******************************

Can I just say I love J.R. Bourne? The man is an excellent actor (who did a great job on Teen Wolf), so you will forgive me if I wish he was playing a character more…essential than Double Down? But, as in all early season superhero shows, they need episodic enemies.

Yet, even though Double Down will probably not appear again for some time, I’m glad Ollie and John were able to start a dialogue and expunge some tension. It would have grown old if it was episode 18 and they were still acting like wronged exes.

The other members of Team Arrow, Thea and Laurel, were out in Nanda Parbat, where Thea is being taught how to indulge in her growing bloodlust by her maniacally cheesy father, Malcolm. I don’t know, I liked him better in a suit, pulling strings, than as the new Ra’s. Laurel is trying to bring Sara back to life, and I just don’t get how she could want to considering the consequences. Its a strange story arc for Laurel; in my opinion, I would prefer her taking the next step in her evolution as the Black Canary. Plus, that horrible Sara-corpse-puppet. Nyssa was the one bright spot (and the one voice of reason)

-Felicity is one of my favorite characters. Not just in TV, I mean in general. With that being said, what the hell is wrong with her phone? Maybe Ray aka The Atom is inside it (wishful thinking)!

-Since the departure of Manu Bennet aka Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke, these flashback Ollie scenes really leave much to be desired. I honestly don’t care what happened to Ollie after he left the island, which is saying something consideration the flashback scenes made this show unique.

-Diggle’s helmet…why. He looks like Magneto. And not in a good way.

-Neal McDonough’s Damien Dahrk continues to be a terrifyingly sophisticated villain, both mysterious and formidable.

With “Supernatural”, I am so happy Amara is growing at a superhuman pace. Having the Darkness be an infant was too “3 Men and a Baby” for me. In other news, I’m glad to see Crowley embracing his evil side again. He’s been the most consistent villain on this show, complex and hilarious, though it seems he may have bitten off more than he can chew with Amara. Speaking of which, Supernatural is great at taking extremely serious concepts and making them funny. Making Amara watch Hitler’s speeches in an effort to accelerate her evilness was too funny. Rowena out here pitching her “Mega Coven” like a freelancer was another great aspect. Another excellent scene was when the angel and the demon were having a drink together, discussing the stresses of the “job”. Talk about grounding a show based in mythology and other forms of genre fiction.

-I wonder if God will ever make an appearance on the show. I’d love to see what the show runners do with him/her.

-Every season, the antagonists are bigger and badder, and every time, Sam and Dean find a way. The show runners have their work cut out for them with the Darkness, who was rivaled only by God.

-Castiel cursed isn’t working for me. Just seems like a worse version of him without his grace. The writers seem to be stretching this too thin. And him running around like a zombie didn’t help. I’m glad he was cured.

-The reveal of Sam’s secret deal with Rowena wasn’t that impactful. It just seems like the whole “Winchester brothers keeping secrets and getting mad at each other about it” is overdone.

Good night!

Simple Post Saturday VIII

“ ‘What did occur to me,’ he said, ’was that if God were to go ahead and get rid of everything except little old me, I’d be in exactly the position He was at the beginning. I’d be Him. Rich, don’t you think? Lucifer ends up where God started.’

‘It wouldn’t be the same and you know it.’

‘How not?’

‘Because you can’t create anything,’ I said.”-Glen Duncan, I, Lucifer