So it has been a big few weeks for both Marvel and DC in the news, Marvel with their big Cap 3 announcement, DC dropping their eniter movie line up and then the release of the jaw dropping Age of Ultron trailer… god dam! But also the TV shows have all been really good to! Often over looked esp in the MCU since AOS is directly involved in it, there are plot threads coming left right and centre!
But anyways this update has been a little delayed, mainly because I wanted to at least see a couple of episodes from each show (thou I have also been pretty distracted lately too), but with walking dead starting much later than the others, I have already hit episode 5 for Gotham and AOS. So this can be more of a recommendation for those wondering if they should pick up these shows or not… and all I can say is, yes you should!! None have been disappointing at all and are all looking right on track to be favourites. Not to mention they work into a nice schedule too. Walking Dead Sun/Mon night, Gotham Mon/Tue, AOS and Flash Tue/Wed and Arrow Wed/Thur. So right there you have your week mostly covered! Anyways on to my first impressions.
Gotham
Have been waiting for this to come out, have managed to avoid most of the lead up to it so wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the show, it is kind of nice going into something with little expectation these days as shows and games etc are often over hyped. For me this wasn’t the case with Gotham. Without giving to much away ill briefly go over how the show went for its piolet/episode 1 debut.
Based on the time before Batman and no it isn’t set in Nolans Batman universe (thou it feels like it could easily be so) we are introduced to a young detective Gordan who seems to be just starting out in Gotham as well as a young Bruce Wayne and we also see his parents murdered so it gives you an idea of the current time line. The show follows the detectives as they rush to solve the murder and quickly opens up the current political and social climate of Gotham (you will also have some idea of this from the batman movies as well or the comics) It acts as a nice introduction/reintroduction into the world and also managed to introduce some of the famous Batman villains in their younger years before they become criminals. The show itself is said to build more on these characters as the season progresses. It will be interesting to see just how far the show progresses before it ultimately runs into time with a grown up Bruce Wayne.
For a piolet episode it achieves what it sets out to with relatively few hiccups, the characters are believable and the setting and scenery capture a nice Gothan City, a good mix of the Cartoon darkness mixed with the real world. It does feel a little force fed in parts but that’s to be expected for a piolet and I have been excited for each new episode to come out and as it has progressed it has got better and better
AOS Season 2
So with season one, I was one of the people who enjoyed the slower paced beginning and the set up to what ended up being a very good finale and final quarter of the season, obviously with the huge hydra reveal in Cap 2 and the writers knowing about this in advance they used the first half of the season well to set things up for this. Season 2 kicks off a few months after we are left in season 1, Hyrda has gone to ground and Shield is now under Director Coulson with Fury still presumed dead. We still don’t know the status about Hawkeye or Widow or even Cap etc but they will obviously show up in Age of Ultron, so for now we get to see the rebuilding of shield as they try and mop up after the fall.
They are still branded as criminals so it has given the show a nice place to start from and we know at least to some degree what it will be building up to eg Age of Ultron before dealing with the fallout from that at the end of the season. The start of the episode gives us a nice throwback which also will set us up for Agent Carter, and I am really looking forward to that and the Howling Commandoes.
I won’t say too much about the first episode except to say it introduces a new powerful villain and a host of issues the team has to deal with, some expected and others, well done in a way I wouldn’t have thought of. It was a good first episode, solid enough to stand on its own, but the fact we know it is set in the MCU, well our expectations are somewhat higher for this show knowing the resources they can pull from. I really hope they don’t hold back too much this season, and episode 1 seems to be the right way to start and can’t wait for the season to play out and every episode so far has been pretty dam good
Flash
This is a difficult one because a lot of people had already seen the first episode since it was screened at one of the cons and so we already had an idea of what to expect. The first episode was solid enough given we have already been introduced to his character during season 2 of arrow and it seems that that link between the 2 shows will be kept strong so that is a good thing! The first episode itself was ok, obviously set as a piolet and to set up the world of flash. Arrow mostly deals with humans, however Flash will obviously stray from that and meta-humans will be introduced into that world so they managed to do this in a simple and easy way.
The problem I have with the show is that it won’t be attached to the larger DC universe. Which to me is annoying because the first episode was good and I like what they have done with Flash not to mention a nice little mind f##k at the end of the episode as well. After watching what was possible with Quicksilver in X-men, I am hoping they can bring in similar effects with Flash (budget allowing) and have high hopes for this show with already a few plot threads keeping you thinking, wait, wtf?
Arrow Season 3
So it has been awhile and a little time has passed since season 2’s crazy finale, and we are right back into the action off the bat as well as back to the team dynamics and possible fractures. It works well however there is a few points that I was thinking oh, so that’s how they are really going to do that story plot? There is a few re hashes from the first 2 seasons which could worry me (its the drug that never ends) But hopefully with the introduction of Flash into that universe we will see Arrow start to branch out from the norm a bit too. At least the ending was a nice shock! Hopefully they can carry on with this but arrow feels like it is getting to its make or break season. Still yet to see who the main antagonist will be… (a few possibilities but nothing concret yet)
Walking Dead Season 5
Season 5 already, and still going strong and this episode was a great way to get back into it, thou it wasn’t without a few um really moments, but yeah it’s not perfect but still pretty dam good. It still has its brutal ness and new ways of seeing zombie madness. Rick has hit another turning point, Carol was straight gangsta, Tyrese managed to do what matters in the end (or did he) despite having some reservations so it looks like everyone is back on song again. For those who might be new to the walking dead, obviously you should start from the beginning, it is a long haul to catch up to season 5 but it is def filled with some good moments, lots of blood and gore and new and improved ways to kill those pesky zombies!
However we are now getting to the point in the show were some kind of end game should come into sight, it was obviously eluded to in the previous season, and it looks like that could continue to develop this season, as always it is hard to tell with shows like this just how long they will last for, I think season 5 ish is def the telling point in many shows weather they will continue for many seasons to come or if they are starting to wane. But walking dead seems to be in a strong position, it is still widely watched and there is plenty of content still to draw from with the comics and the potential to find either a cure or some kind of end game scenario is something that could still cover at least a couple of seasons to come. However personally I feel an end game scenario needs to start to feature more heavily in the story line and it appears the writers feel the same way
Thats it for now, have a long overdue anime review to post up next week as well as some other posts that are sitting finished on my Ipad. Will try and get them up asap 🙂
akadjblaze 