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Post by Brady Brown on Nov 6, 2015 15:42:40 GMT -6
REVIEW: 3.16 "Countdown"This was definitely one of if not the most ambitious episode of Watchtower to date. Creating, basically, an entirely new world with entirely new relationships an character developments, so I want to commend you for taking that task on for such a celebratory episode like the 50th. My favorite part of the episode was probably Barbara's involvement. We saw her much more experienced than in the present day timeline and her determination to help her father was really fun to read, as was her relationship with Nightwing. The little easter eggs of her clocktower and her leg injuries was really nice additions to draw that connection to her source material. So great job on that! Another thing I really liked was bringing back the original characters from Smallville and have them interacting with Chloe, particularly the opening of Act One. Seeing everyone together again was a really nostalgic moment, and you managed to maintain those connections and relationships as if there's never been a break or rift between them. The playful banter between Clark and Lois was great, and after that the team up between Chloe and Lana was a really great treat for the episode. I'm interested to see how Lana comes into the present day storyline and what she brings with her. However, with Lana came the relationship with Pete. This is probably just a personal preference so I don't know if there are any suggestions for it, but having Lana and Pete was just... weird to me haha. I think if there relationship had maybe a few more lines of exposition on exactly how they got together, it would have been better and their scenes, particularly the one on top of pg 46, would have been better connected. Speaking of Chloe, this was a huge realization episode for her. She needed to remember why everyone was in Gotham and why they were the way they were - because of her. They're together because of her, and I really appreciate dedicating an entire episode to that. One thing I think that could have made it have more of an impact was to have Chloe interwoven throughout the episode more, particularly between act two and four where she either seemed to be missing or her appearances were too and far between. We lost that momentum when we weren't with her, because while we were seeing what was going on in Gotham, we weren't seeing Chloe see it and we weren't with her getting these realizations, so I think being with her more would have made it feel more earned. It was great to see Guido back and to have him spend his entire time with Helena. I was a big fan of that relationship so I'm glad it got some focus. Their interactions with Dick and Barbara were great to read, because we got some insight on Helena and the Huntress. I think it would have been cool if Vicki's arc was somehow connected to their scenes or Bruce's scenes, because her scenes didn't really seem to have anything to do with what was happening. Not like with everyone else at least - Nightwing was helping Barbara, who was in term helping Gordon and Lana and Chloe, and Helena and Guido ending up making a connection with them. I hope that made sense haha. ARGUS was also a really big part of the episode. Steve was a great addition to the cast. I hope he can show up in the present day timeline. With him, Diana was brought into the mix. I wasn't a huge fan of how she came in and saved the day - it was kind of abrupt. But other than that, I really liked the scene with her suiting up. The writing was really good there, and it was so easy to imagine WW going to go and get ready for battle. Emil is always great to see, because he's kind of insane but he's also a genius haha. He's pretty much the definition of power crazy and all of his scenes were particularly great. Mia's involvement was a little weird, though. That also, for me, felt a bit rushed. It was great to see her though, and even though I thought it was rushed I thought was a clever way to incorporate her into the episode. It was just really great to see all of these old faces pop up  Overall, I really enjoyed this milestone episode. Like I said above, this was incredibly ambitious and I can't help but commend you because you did manage to pull it off very well despite my little quibbles with certain things. Chloe's realization was much needed, and I can't wait to see how she approaches the rest of the season and taking down Hush. Good job, Jack! And here's to another 50 episodes! 
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Post by Jack Malone on Nov 6, 2015 20:36:45 GMT -6
REVIEW: 3.16 "Countdown"This was definitely one of if not the most ambitious episode of Watchtower to date. Creating, basically, an entirely new world with entirely new relationships an character developments, so I want to commend you for taking that task on for such a celebratory episode like the 50th. My favorite part of the episode was probably Barbara's involvement. We saw her much more experienced than in the present day timeline and her determination to help her father was really fun to read, as was her relationship with Nightwing. The little easter eggs of her clocktower and her leg injuries was really nice additions to draw that connection to her source material. So great job on that! Thanks, buddy. Yeah, I definitely think ambitious was the right word. Most shows don't do anything celebratory for fifty episodes, but because the hundredth episode is essentially the last one, I wanted to do something to honor the past forty nine episodes, do something that had an impact on the present, and then have little things that kind of hint towards the future for the show. Barbara was a large part of looking towards the future. I think there was a balancing act that needed to happen in this episode between showing how much the city needed Chloe, and showing how the journey to Batman, and Oracle, and Nightwing, and things like that weren't dependent on her because that would feel a little disrespectful to the comics and to every other character on the show. So I'm glad you enjoyed Barbara's involvement, and the little nods towards certain things in her future. I had a lot of fun writing for the Smallville characters. I binge watched certain episodes to try and capture their voice. Lana was a little difficult this time around, and I think that's because of the circumstances and plot of this episode. I'm really proud of her involvement in the next episode, 'Wanted,' where I feel like you can hear Kristin Kreuk, and you can hear Lana, so I'm excited for everyone to read that one! As for her relationship with Pete in this episode, I knew it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I personally enjoyed it. The idea behind them certainly wasn't just "well it's a thing in the comics," as much as it was about looking at where Pete might be, and where Lana might be individually, and then finding a common link. I understand Pete isn't everyone's favourite character - hell, I despised the guy on Smallville - but if given the chance to explore him in the present day storyline, it would be nice to see him grow, and see where he is. I will say he has a role in 317 without actually being in it, and his relationship with Lana is of a different kind but in this one, it felt like a good opportunity given where those characters were in this alt reality, but also added a relevancy that grounded them in the story. In having Lois and Clark, I thought it was a fun twist to comment on their status whilst mentioning Pete and Lana, and I kind of dig the fact that Chloe is in the same position as you where she's like "that's just weird," haha! But yeah, I didn't write Dick/Barbara, or Pete/Lana with the intention of hearing an "I ship this so much." I'm also not sure knowing how they got together would have helped. I think no matter what they were intended to be an odd pairing, and something that no amount of exposition could change because we haven't had forty nine episodes in the past to set up the idea of them being a couple. There were a few scenes I had to cut where basically memories from this world were replacing memories of her old one, and so she was remembering things she'd seen on the news, and things she'd witnessed being outside of the city. I think there could have been more ways to have her interact with the city, but I also feel like her just being in there and seeing the state of it, and hearing the explosions and the screams, and all of that is enough for her to kind of have that realisation. But I appreciate you wanting more of Chloe. Going into this episode, I really wanted her to go from someone who was almost ready to give up on all of it, and then come around at the end where she not only has newfound faith in her mission to save Gotham, but now realises that Helena and Bruce, and Vicki and everyone that helps fight for the city in whatever way have been her family, and they're important to her. Going forward, you'll see Chloe treat them all like they're her family, and we've all seen what she's done under the idea of "I have to protect Hope," and so if you extend that to Helena in 318, for example, you'll see how much this episode has really changed her and her mindset. I'm excited for it Guido and Helena had a much larger role originally that I actually cut last minute. It just felt like a repeat of the season two storyline instead of something new, and so I wanted to change things up. Basically, Nightwing appeared in one scene at the end where Barbara was shot, and it was Helena and Guido she met up with in the city, and they would see how running wasn't going to do anything, and have their own realisation of joining the fight. So I guess that would have connected things more and made their scenes less of an issue. But the reason I cut it was because I wanted a different perspective, and I wanted things to feel new with them despite it being very much a callback to the way things were in S2. In terms of Helena as a character, I felt like in the first season, she was very much on a crusade to avenge her family. She discovered her father was alive, and gave up on this crusade. However, within that crusade, she had this developing friendship with Chloe, and that's what created a conflict in S2, and had that push and pull of whether or not she should fight or have this normal life. That didn't exist in this world, so when I thought logically about it, I was like... no, Helena might be the Huntress still but she wouldn't be that in Gotham, when everything going around her could not only kill her, but kill her father. I wanted to hint at the fact that she would still be the Huntress, by having the city be the famous "Birds of Prey," one, but in the end, it didn't feel right to have her go, "oh crap, I need to help." It was another perspective that I felt was needed for what was going on in this episode Dude, ARGUS was so fun to write. I loved writing Steve, and by extension, Pete and the rest of the soldiers that deployed in the city. They'll be involved in S4, and I'm excited to get to that point. As for Diana, I knew her appearance at the end as WW was abrupt, and a little like, "swoops in, day saved." And I just honestly couldn't find any other way to do it. I mean, it was something I really wanted to work on and find something different to do, and I didn't see it as a bad ending so much as a rushed one, but at the end of the day, I realised it was about showing Chloe that there is always going to be heroes out there who can help, and WW was an embodiment of that realisation. The one thing I refused to do was have Chloe go "Oh, this city would be like this if I didn't step foot in it" and then have her immediately back in the real world and everything is normal. So I made WW's appearance be almost like another gift Zatanna saved up for Chloe, telling her that she has one more thing to realise before this can end, and it was the fact that she wasn't alone, and it was the fact that there are heroes out there who can help. I'm just happy you enjoyed the majority of her role, and I share the irritation of the abrupt clean up, despite being able to justify that part of the episode I honestly had way too much fun with Emil and Mia in this episode, to be honest. I was picking apart comic book history for this one, and realised Emil's big bad name was 'Ruin.' As soon as I read that, I was like... I know exactly what is going down in this episode, haha! I think Emil is going to be that character who will just pop up here and there for the rest of the series because I not only love writing the character, but he always seems to get a good reception too, which is nice. I don't necessarily think Mia was rushed. I think it's a matter of coming into the conflict at it's very height and coming into the ending of this battle rather than seeing it from the very beginning. The idea behind Mia was that she was kept in isolation, and when she finally is let out of isolation, she realises that Gotham is as much of a prison as the place she escaped. Emil's experiments preyed on her HIV, and so it turned her into this weapon that appropriately grabbed Emil's comic book villain name of 'Ruin.' Nevertheless, I'm glad you enjoyed seeing her again, and I'm glad all the faces that popped up were appreciated Thanks so much. I definitely felt like there were things I'd love to have spent more time on and try to perfect, but I'm glad all the good outweighed any of the quibbles you had in the episode. More importantly, I hope the impact it had on Chloe going forward is noticeable in the last fifty episodes of the series, and I hope you enjoy it just as much to stick around to see how it all ends Thanks, buddy! |
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Post by Brady Brown on Nov 6, 2015 21:26:18 GMT -6
But yeah, I didn't write Dick/Barbara, or Pete/Lana with the intention of hearing an "I ship this so much." I'm also not sure knowing how they got together would have helped. I think no matter what they were intended to be an odd pairing, and something that no amount of exposition could change because we haven't had forty nine episodes in the past to set up the idea of them being a couple. I think if it was actually explained as to how they got together and where this connected link in their lives were, it wouldn't have been so out there and so weird and it just would have made more sense in the episode, because we've never seen Pete and Lana solely interact with romantic undertones or anything like that. I completely understand that an entire exposition of their lives couldn't have happened, but just a little mention of "like how we met at blah blah blah" would have made their relationship more solidified in the episode rather than just being an odd pairing, if that makes sense haha But yeah like I said, nothing major. Just something I thought would have made their relationship click more |
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Post by Jack Malone on Nov 6, 2015 22:12:27 GMT -6
I think if it was actually explained as to how they got together and where this connected link in their lives were, it wouldn't have been so out there and so weird and it just would have made more sense in the episode, because we've never seen Pete and Lana solely interact with romantic undertones or anything like that. I completely understand that an entire exposition of their lives couldn't have happened, but just a little mention of "like how we met at blah blah blah" would have made their relationship more solidified in the episode rather than just being an odd pairing, if that makes sense haha But yeah like I said, nothing major. Just something I thought would have made their relationship click more I guess it would have been cool to have a little line about it in Pete's final moments. I'm just not sure how one line would make the couple go from an odd pair to being completely accepted. I think it's in the same light as if I did an alternate episode and Helena and Bruce were dating. It's weird because there's no prior development to call for it, and even if I had x, y, and z in place to say, "no this is how they paired up," it's still strange, haha! But I completely understand that scoping them out and giving a little more history would help draw the dots, whether someone liked a ship or didn't like a ship. That makes a lot of sense to me. I guess, when writing it, I just accepted them for what they were in that one episode. If Pete and Lana were to become a couple in the real world, and this extends to any couple on the show, then there'll be that development in the writing. |
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Post by The Doctor on Nov 10, 2015 17:22:10 GMT -6
Watchtower Season 3 Review
Episode 15
So Jack. I decided im finally gunna stop being busy 24/7 and review everything that has been on the VPN. Which means, these final episodes of Season 3, prepare for my awesome reviews. As for everyone else, Im going to do it I swear. Work, My Private Investigation courses, and working on my pilot to present to you guys has been a work in the making and I apologize for not being so active in the forum. I promise this is all gunna change. And just FYI. I have re-read the show from S1-S3B episode 16, so be prepared for alot of that history to be brought up in the next review.hahahah.So without further ado, lets get started on this review.
The Things I liked:
-Bruce declaring War on Hush
-Chloe and Zatanna team up (Need More of This)
-Finding out what Helena was up to during the time jump
-Emil coming back
-Count Vertigo
-Helena Karate-chopping Yin
-Bruce curious about Hush
-Vicki and Ethan Bennett (I ship it)
-Kahn and Perry (Ship this even harder)
-Vicki risking her life to prove she can help
-Perry finally following his dreams
-Kyle being revealed to be Dusan Al Ghul (I had a suspicion it was him)
-Chloe, Zatanna,Emil,and Hugo Strange vs Dusan (Spoiler Alert......They get their asses kicked.hahaha)
-Emil revealing that Chloe is without a destiny
-Emil calling Dick “Boy Wonder”
-Dusan (Kyle) vs Perry
-Dusan channeling his inner Dark Willow.hahaha.
-The reveal that Vertigo was working with Waller
-Talia causing Mischief
-Selina being resurrected.....okay. I did not see that coming.
-Elliot Manor housing Hush
-THAT ENDING THOUGH!!!!!
Now onto the character analaysis for this episode. IM sure you are used to how I do things in my reviews. But I decided since its season 3B, time to change things up.
SO we have Kyle Williams aka Echo aka Dusan Al Ghul. From the start of the season, Kyle has been the character with the most mystery surrounding him. The League had him captured and were going to use him to defeat Ra's. However that backfired when Kyle escaped with Chloe and they ended up in Gotham. From their he joined Team Watchtower and started a friendship with Chloe, and a somewhat mutual respect with the other members. At the same time he has gained a multitude of abilities added on to his ability to mimic and teleport which caused Chloe to think of him as her new secret weapon. We get references to his past, but it isnt until episode 8 that things are sort of put into place when we realize that Hope Sullivan-Queen was the reason behind him getting his fantastic abilities. But the hits didnt stop until we got to the mid-season finale where we found out that Kyle was hit by Chloe's car and she saved his life and the only reason they are familiar is because of him teleporting to the past. Last Episode Kyle wasnt pleased to learn that their was a cure for his abilities, and learning that someone he trusted (Chloe) betrayed him, he ran off to Talia and became her new BFF. Now we are here at episode 15 and DEAR GOD. Kyle is badass. Or should I say Dusan.hahaha.
I will say that Dusan is very interesting. I enjoyed the fact that he gave absolutely zero-fucks to everything and did what he wanted. Him attacking Zatanna im sure was more Dusan tapping into Kyle's memories and doing what Kyle wouldnt do and attack the poor girl. His absorbing of the database and the Fate helmet are pretty much going to cause some major problems later on. The fight scene between Dusan and Perry was EPIC. I literally couldnt keep my eyes off the page. And I really hope the people over at the SCU comment on the fact that that Brownstone was a staging ground for Watchtower's most heartbreaking fight scene. I really felt personally victimized by that scene. And now that Dusan has stolen the future, I wonder what the HELL is gunna happen next? And if the gang put him under lock and key already.hahaha. I will say that the only reason I figured out who he was is because you kindof mentioned him in episode 4. Couple in the prophecy, Kyle getting stronger, and the fact that the League had him in his first appearance. It really solidified it for me that he was Dusan. But good job with the mystery, it is really sharpening my skills and I will discover your secret regarding the Fate Helmet. You cant hide that forever.
Helena Bertinelli aka Huntress
I enjoyed the fact that you finally answered another question regarding Helena. Finding out that she is an ex drug addict and her getting out was because of Lisa, answers alot of questions and gives us a clearer insight into her mindset from when she appeared at the beginning of the season. Her interactions with Vertigo were perfect and Im kind of upset that Dick and Helena arent going to be on speaking terms for a bit. I hope that changes.
Bruce Wayne aka The Batman
I was happy that Bruce didnt do much heavy-lifting in this episode. He was only around as needed and since this episode was alrighty huge in revealing Kyle’s turn to the darkside, at least he wasnt forgot about. I was very shocked that he didnt go and assist Vicki and have her back while she went after Vertigo, but i digress. Their really isnt a lot to talk about where Bruce is concerned.hahaha. When I discuss the 50th i’ll talk more about Bruce.
Talia al Ghul
What can I say about Talia in this episode? I mean from the moment she killed Selina in the last episode, we basically have a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. I feel bad for the poor girl though. I enjoyed that you had her and Kyle form a decent friendship with eachother. Her reaction to finding out Kyle is Dusan was very great and I felt for her when she blamed herself for what was happening to Kyle. I honestly think she had the best intentions and I hope that they dont think she did it on purpose. Her killing all those league memebers were fantastic and her throwing one into the pit was obviously her planning something else thats going to make things worse.
Vicki Vale
Im really liking where you are going with Vicki. I mean you have her in on the action more and she is able to take care of herself. Its been awhile since we last saw Batman and Vicki work together and I am really happy it happened here. I hope before the season is over they have another team up. Speaking of Team-Up, Im really enjoying Vicki and Ethan working together. They are really a good team and I cant wait to see how this partnership evolves. Of course my all time favorite part of this episode with Vicki was the fact that she saved the day by smashing a car into Vertigo. That was pretty badass. Any more badass moments with Vicki?
Chloe Sullivan aka Watchtower
Well to start I was very happy that Chloe was feeling remorse about deceiving Kyle. It was bad of her to do it, but you know it was kind of necessary.They are in the middle of a war. I did love that she spent alot of time with Zatanna. That partnership is my all time favorite and I really hope you keep teaming the two of them up together. Another thing I enjoyed was Perry and Chloe sharing screen time together. Their conversation inbetween the Kyle crisis was well needed and seriously it was well written and it literally had their relationship come full circle. I also enjoyed her encounters with Dusan. They were really heartbreaking because Chloe was trying so hard to save him, and of course her guilt once again was poking through. But I honestly think it was a good way to strengthen her resolve to save Kyle and to fix the problems she caused. And with Chloe seeing Emil, we learn that unlike the rest of the merry band Chloe hangs out with, she doesnt have a destiny anymore. Which means, she’s free to do what she wants. I find that aspect very interesting and I cant wait to see how that goes.
Zatanna Zatara
So considering she has basically appeared in a good chunk of episodes this season, she should be considered a main cast member at this point.hahahah. But I do love her dynamic with Chloe and that she is becoming more of a team player instead of running around erasing people’s memories. Her fighting off Dusan and getting beaten up, I honestly thought you were gunna surprise us all and kill of Zatanna. I more than want a round two with Zatanna and Dusan. But in any case, Im really glad you were able to find a way to keep Zatanna around. Last season we had Black Canary and I honestly like that you are bringing some of the old league back into the fold and making a place for them after what happened in the Mid-Season Finale last season.
Perry White
All Im gunna say about Perry: WTF?!
Yin and Bennett
Starsky and Hutch have nothing on these two. Im going to give you more details when I review episode 17.
Jim Gordon
As for our esteemed ex-officer, not alot to say considering he wasn't around. BUT, I will talk about him for episode 16
Pauline Kahn
My heart broke for her. Im honestly not touching this until episode 19 comes out. Sorry Jack.hahahah
Dick Grayson aka Nightwing
I.LOVE.HIM. Like Nightwing is a fantastic character. But like always.....you get the review next episode.hahhahaah
ALL In ALL Jack.....I enjoyed this episode. And I know this review is like several weeks old, but I didnt know how I was going to do this. So thanks for taking the time to read this.
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Post by Jack Malone on Nov 10, 2015 18:16:12 GMT -6
Watchtower Season 3 Review Episode 15 (With some added summaries and my thoughts on how far they have come) So Jack. I decided im finally gunna stop being busy 24/7 and review everything that has been on the VPN. Which means, these final episodes of Season 3, prepare for my awesome reviews. As for everyone else, Im going to do it I swear. Work, My Private Investigation courses, and working on my pilot to present to you guys has been a work in the making and I apologize for not being so active in the forum. I promise this is all gunna change. And just FYI. I have re-read the show from S1-S3B episode 16, so be prepared for alot of that history to be brought up in the next review.hahahah.So without further ado, lets get started on this review. Hey man, thanks for taking the time out of your ridiculously busy schedule to review 'Watchtower.' It really does mean a lot, and seeing anything in the S3 Discussion thread makes my day immediately brighter, so thank you for playing a role in that I've missed your reviews, and I look forward to reading this one and replying as I go! This was a lot of fun to write for me. I needed something to preface Hush's actions at the end of 317 leading into 318, and so this very much served that purpose, as well as leading us into the revelation that "Hush doesn't exist." I promise there's more of this coming up. There may even be a place for Zatanna in the fourth season, too Part of doing the time jump meant going back and filling in those gaps later. I'm glad Helena is very round out in regards to what we have seen and what we haven't. I feel like there's a much clearer picture of what she was up to in that year than anyone else, and knowing what she was up to serves her purpose more than it would if we explored Vicki and Mitchell, etc. I've decided he needs to make at least one appearance every season  I'm glad you liked Count Vertigo. I introduced him in an earlier episode, I believe episode 8, without physically meeting him yet. He was part of the Green Arrow's rogue gallery, and it served a part of the story taking place in offscreensville. So when I needed an antagonist for Helena's past, it only felt right to draw more connections and bring in someone who already existed on the show You and your girl fights! It feels important that Bruce be attached to the Hush storyline in a big way, and I felt like -- as episode 317 will explain -- bringing Bruce and his past into it will achieve that and honor that storyline from the comics. I'm excited for what comes out of his investigations going forward, and I hope they're just as satisfying. Vicki and Ethan have been so much fun to write. I adore their growing relationship. I'm in the process of making a decision in regards to those two in these final few episodes, and I'm conflicted between my head and my heart, but I definitely ship my own pairings, lmao. I'm glad you find them as enjoyable. Kahn and Perry are two characters that just clicked on paper, and so I thought to test the waters and see if something could happen, and it just clicked in the story too. Unfortunately, Perry is seemingly gone, but maybe there is a future for those two? For Vicki, her original storyline in S2 was about becoming stronger. No one believed in her, and she was always the "damsel in distress" to her own detriment. Now, she's a lot stronger, and a lot more capable. I think she continues to prove herself in the back half of this season, and hopefully finds closure in everything Hush related. There's a lot more on Perry and his dreams in 319 I'm really proud of this reveal and the way it worked out. I'm glad you liked it. As I said in response to Brady's review, I'm a little sensitive over the fact that original characters are held to a much higher standard, and/or craved for 'Watchtower,' so I was worried people would hate the twist because it effectively makes Kyle a DC Comics Character. But I'm all about story, and I was hoping it was a good one, and I'm glad the reception for it has been good! Yeah, Kyle/Dusan goes off. There's a lot more to come with him in the back end of this last run! I love continuity and trying to keep it running throughout, and so Emil having this interaction, and it coming out of knowledge he gained in the mid-season finale for S2 was something I definitely wanted to incorporate. I think Chloe's growing storyline over the last fifty episodes is the fact that she can literally carve her own path. And I had to include the boy wonder line Yes! Reference caught! Originally, Count Vertigo was going to play into a storyline in the future by revealing him and Waller at the end. But you'll see that fate has other plans for the antagonist in 318. Talia is probably my favourite character to write on the show at the moment. YES! I'm glad I got you on something! You're always predicting things, so that's a nice one to surprise you with! It's Catwoman, ya'll, I can't keep her dead for long! Since the very beginning of this season, I wanted to incorporate Thomas Elliot into the Hush storyline, whilst maintaining that level of mystery behind 'who is under the mask.' So while I have said since day one that Thomas Elliot is not Hush, I still aim to thread that character and that history into the story and into the origin. More on that in 317 I've been sitting on that ending for a long time, and getting to write it was very satisfying. That ending resurfaces in 319 That recap though! TheVPN needs to hire you to do recaps for their shows, that is awesome, man! Yes, I've really enjoyed honing in on the aspect of creating mysteries this season, and part of that involves planting the seeds, and revealing things at the right time. I'm still really proud of the reveal of how Kyle and Chloe knew each other, and am just as proud over the Dusan Al Ghul twist. I'm over the moon how much you like this character, and there's more Kyle/Dusan to follow Yeah, like I said, I enjoy planting the seeds and threading out the truth later. We learned in episode four that Talia had a brother, and while at the time I was worried it would be extremely revealing, I figured it would either be overlooked, at disconnected from Kyle completely. But like you said, he was introduced with the LoA, he was already in that environment, and I think rounding out the fully story comes in the final few episodes for him. I'm glad you liked the mystery and have a good eye with everything that goes down on the show! And you shall never guess who Doctor Fate is! Neverrrr I feel like Helena's grief over Guido was glossed over by the one year time jump. We knew she was struggling, and in pain, and we returned a year into the future where she was still upset but she was coping, and she had this crusade that was keeping her busy, and she was in love, and things were slightly better than they were in 221/222. There's a reason that grief isn't explored until now, and there's a reason why Helena's arc is igniting in this back half now, and once the final few episodes air, you'll see where I've been taking this character this whole season and why her arc had to be what it was. I'm really excited about how the season finishes for her, and I'm excited about how things go for her and Lisa, her and Dick, and all of that looking forward! I think part of Bruce and Vicki's development this season is allowing that trust to seep back in. At the start of the season, Vicki went off and tried to stop Hush, and it got her fiance killed. She blamed Bruce for not helping her, and he shot back at her. Now, Bruce is cautious of what she does, but he's noticing that she's fully aware of her choices and her actions, and Bruce doesn't really see her as someone who needs his help. So it felt right to have him hand over the information, give her a warning, and then be done with it. I'm glad you view Talia in the way that you do. I feel the same, and so it's nice to see that reflected. But I do try and write her as someone who you can either go, "Aw I feel bad for her," or "God, can they kill her already before she messed up anymore?!" As I said earlier in this review, she's my favourite character to write for and I've enjoyed her scenes in this back half a lot more than the first half when she was finding her footing as a character, and as another voice in the show. But yeah, everything you said here just makes me so happy I'm glad you're enjoying Vicki. I know there's speculation out there that she might be biting the dust this season, but we'll have to wait and see where her story is going. In terms of badass moments, I will say that there's a confrontation in 317 with her and Hush that is really intense, and that while everyone is dealing with Hush in those final three episodes of the season, Vicki will be fighting her own big bad and having all these action scenes that rely on her saving the day on her own. As I said, I'm excited about her role in the final few episodes, I'm excited about her relationship with Ethan, and I think you'll be happy with the amount of action she gets involved in for these last few episodes of the season! I loved writing the Zatanna/Chloe scenes in this episode, primarily because they're very mirrored in a lot of ways. They both did something they thought would benefit the world at the detriment of others, and I felt like their conflict found resolution in realising that they are no better than each other. Chloe has someone who understands that you have to do what is necessary to save the world, and not just do 'what is right.' And so I think there's a lot to be explored in that relationship going forward, and I do see them as equals in a lot of ways, too. This storyline about Chloe being without a destiny is something that will shape the rest of the series for her. Somewhere in all of Smallville, and the first two seasons of Watchtower, Chloe fulfilled her destiny. S3 onwards, she's carving out her own path, and that's exciting to write because I can take her anywhere from here on out. Revealing what she fulfilled, what her destiny was, will be something that will happen before the series is over Round two will happen in 319 And you will see Black Canary back soon, I promise! HAHA! I'm really proud of his storyline. I promise an explanation will come in 319. Yay! I'm excited to hear your thoughts on them. I love writing these two Gordon's arc fires up in 320-322. He's got a huge presence in those final three episodes! I have some news about Kahn I've been sitting on for a while, and I'm looking forward to revealing it... soon. Haha, I'm looking forward to it, then! Dick Grayson has been a wildcard all season. There hasn't been much of a game plan with him, but I definitely see a future on the show for him. Nightwing is one of my favourite DC Comics characters, and I thought he was the perfect to character to bring in as a supporting role for Helena this year. I'm not sure if we've seen the last of that in 315 - it might be or it might not be - but I'd love to find more closure for him and Helena considering he was a mentor at one point, and they almost sparked a romance together this season. But we'll have to wait and see. Thank you so much. You know I absolutely love your reviews, and this one was no different. You're the best, Karl! |
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Post by The Doctor on Nov 21, 2015 18:22:04 GMT -6
Watchtower’s Wishverse 50th Episode aka Episode 16 Review Alright. So the time has come. I have waited for this moment for 49 episodes and now its finally here and I cant imagine what the hell else I could say. I have been a fan of this project since it was first pitched, and I honestly knew that you would get this far and make a series everyone has enjoyed. I know it sounds crazy, but WT is my biggest inspiration and I want to hopefully one day have you review my series and say what you love. But enough about me. Lets get started on this review. ALSO, I apologize if this is super long. Their are a lot of questions and it beats everyone else asking the same questions Im going to ask. Hope Im helping!!! What I Liked: -The fact you used that song from smallville -Chloe celebrating her birthday with her “Family”. Im glad Zatanna got to be in attendance. Sucks Kahn couldnt be their. -Lois popping up. (I will pay top dollar to have her be a recurring Star next season. You know, considering the little present you left at the end of 317 and how she’s connected to that.) -Lois and Bruce actually talk to each other -The return of the Smallville gang (Im gunna be really happy when you do the 10 year reunion) -The Sullivan-Queen clan (Im really glad you acknowledged this. Also I wonder if anyone caught the fact that Hope was the eldest.hahaha) -The Fact that you got all of the Smallville casts voices (Mate. You are SO good at this) -Lana and Pete <3 -Chloe finding out she has two kids (Because THAT’S not gunna cause problems when Ollie gets back) -Reference to the Wall of Weird -Perry as editor of Daily Planet. -The return of Chlollie -Evil Season 1 Emil -Answering why Superman didnt go in and save Gotham (This right here.....pretty Genius) -Helena and Guido (Surprisingly.....I was happy to see Guido....even if it was an alternate timeline) -Barbara and her father playing saviors of the city -Nightwing and Oracle relationship -Steve Trevor and A.R.G.U.S -Chloe and Lana adventures -Bruce being a bad guy and killing off all the villains before Chloe could -Meta-humans attacking Gotham -Themyscira -Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor bonding -You acknowledging Chloe knew Diana (Thank You For That) -Vicki and Mitchell are married -Birds of Prey reference -Finding out Helena was fighting Emil in this version of Gotham -The Fact Ruin was Mia (Still Crying) -Wonder Woman saving the day -Barbara getting paralyzed -Chloe getting her groove back -Zatanna being vague as always -Wonder who A.R.G.U.S’ executive is?  -Chloe finally accepting that she was meant to help Gotham -Ra’s returning to the land of the living (Im sure nothing bad is gunna happen from this......) From Doe eyed sleuth, to Intrepid reporter, to Watchtower, to business suited cyber savior, to mother, to dying, to coming back to life, to saving the world.....alot, Chloe Anne Sullivan aka Watchtower has done it all. From the start of the series, Chloe has been waging a one woman war on gotham. Along the way she gathered allies and lost the love of her life, but that didnt stop our young heroine for long. Soon death took Chloe too soon and her city fell into darkness. But thanks to the magical properties of the Lazarus Pit, Chloe returns. Only now she must save her city from the dastardly Hush and the evil Dusan Al Ghul, who wears the face of a friend that Chloe has betrayed. Now we enter the 50th episode for Chloe, which calls her out on her past, her present, and towards the future, where for her, destiny cant shackle her any longer. I really enjoyed that you made this an episode for her birthday. Its a pretty eventful day of the year for Chloe, you know considering the last couple of times her bday was celebrated she was possessed, and turned into Lois for a good chunk of the time. So it was very fitting that you went and made her birthday “Wall of Weird” material. Another thing that caught my eye about Chloe in this episode is that no matter what spell or reality she is in, she would give up her happiness to save others and that she has grown from her time on smallville. Like for example, her leaving Oliver and her children to go run off to gotham and save it from Emil, was exactly what I was expecting from her and I wasn't disappointed. I was really sad that we unfortunately didnt get to have a chance for Chloe to have more of her memory altered. But Im sure you tried and thats all we can hope for. Meanwhile, her and Lana doing the buddy cop routine to Gotham, I really want her around now. Can you please get on this? Another thing that made me happy was the fact that you FINALLY addressed the fact that Chloe knew who Diana was. Smallville made me so mad that they went their and used Chloe to tease that Batman and WW existed, BUT didnt even use it when they did S11. I swear I wish you could have done it, because bro you are really good at capturing their voices. Ill get into it more when I get to the others. I also loved her speech about how they are all together even though they have all these hardships and the fact they are still a family.....Now I cant wait to see how Chloe handles protecting her new family in the final run. For someone who has anger issues and a pentient for dressing up as a bat, Bruce Wayne aka Batman, is pretty much the most grounded character. Over the course of Season 1-Season 3B, we have seen Bruce evolve into a capable man and Gotham’s saviour. After losing his parents and ending up in the employ of Checkmate, Jack Malone, started Bruce’s Batman story in a different place than most do. Bruce played on the side of the devils and was actually REALLY good at it. But that all changed when Chloe Sullivan entered his life and forced him to face his fears and accept that although he got the shitty hand, he has people to help him deal. He became an ally to Team Watchtower, then became a full time member as well. In season 2, he soon adopted his Batman identity and started taking on the crime in his city. During this time he was enamored by the sexy Selina Kyle and the two started a love affair that ended with Selina leaving him a dear john video and disappearing into the night. But the season ended in even more heartache for Bruce when he witnessed Chloe dying and his city descending into darkness. Season 3 picks up with Bruce making a literal deal with the devil to bring Chloe back from the dead, but he unknowingly brings Talia Al Ghul back with her and restarts his campaign against Gotham’s underworld as Batman. Bruce faced alot of trauma over these last couple of years, and its only going to ramp up with the final battle with Hush, and the “death” of his beloved Selina. But before we get their, lets see what happens to a Bruce who didnt have the loving influence from Chloe to save him from Checkmate..... So Bruce in this episode was very interesting Original Timeline: I really enjoyed that he was the voice of reason. This season has had alot of the characters interacting with Chloe and imparting their wisdom to her and I always found that really great. So kudos on getting that down. Another thing I enjoyed was the fact that he literally emptied his entire ballroom for Chloe to host her birthday....even though their was literally only like 6 people their.hahahah. I hope that we get more events like these on WT. Because some of Smallville’s best episodes (In my opinion) came from the main cast and their friends interacting with eachother. Alternate Timeline: HOLY CRAP. I didnt realize that this was what you were gunna do this with Bruce. I enjoyed that we learned that in this Chloe-Less Gotham, He went to jail for Vesper’s murder and plotted revenge with Harley Quinn of all people. I officially almost started balling. One thing I wish could have happened was Chloe running into Bruce Wayne and seeing how that played out. Oh well, I did enjoy that he killed the Emil Clone and Amanda Waller because lets be honest, their is no way in hell he didnt get to finsh her off. I enjoyed that he was very tortured and not all that put together. Treading the dark side of the force this season, Helena Bertinelli aka the Huntress, has been through enough these last 3 years and although their are glimmers of good, the bad totally overshines it. But lets start at the beginning, In the first season, Helena is searching for revenge for her parents that were both brutally murdered right in front of her. She wages a one woman war against the villainous Black Mask to finally seek revenge. However that all goes up in smoke when his men are attacked by Green Arrow and Chloe Sullivan and Helena is forced to help save them and then make a hasty retreat. When she finally caught up to Black Mask, she got in over her head, forcing Chloe and Oliver to save her. With this new alliance, Team Watchtower was born and Helena became a part of the team. Over the course of the season, Helena assisted the team against Emil, even crossing paths with other heroes like Speedy and Black Canary. But the real hits came when Helena learned that her father was still alive and being held by an evil organization. Risking everything, Helena got her father back, however, that cost her her friendship with Chloe and in doing so lead to the disaterous events of Season 2 where she revoked the identity of the Huntress and tried to live a normal life. That came crashing down when the Key Crime Syndicate threatened her father’s life which lead Helean to faking her’s and joining the Suicide Squad to take down the KCS. After that battle, trouble came to gotham in the form of the Joker and Harley Quinn where Helena found out that the family she had wasnt her own. Hit after hit came after our poor girl, but the final two straws came from the death of her father, Guido, and her killing Harley Quinn. With her best friend dead because of her inaction this last year, and the death of her family, Helena took off and thats the last everyone saw of this courageous woman. Until Season 3 rolled around, and we found Helena on a rampage cleaning up the streets of Gotham and taking no prisoners. But one has to wonder, what would have happened if Chloe never came to gotham in the first place and she was alone? Original Timeline: Although she didnt do much in the original timeline, it was good having this familiar face apart of the festivities before you literally put this girl through the wringer leading to the end of the season. IM just glad she got to be apart of the party. Alternate Timeline: So got to say, Alternate Universe Helena was a treat. Although I would have wanted to see her in the Huntress gear, Im glad you kept the story accurate with what would happen if Guido never died and he and Helena tried to be a family. I enjoyed their interplay alot in this episode. Another thing that got me excited was the fact that Helena was fighting a war against Emil and she only quit because Emil came to power. What I would pay to be able to read that if you ever get a chance to write that. Her interactions with Babs and Dick made me chuckle a little, and I love the BOP name drop their and Im still convinced you should do another episode of them. Meanwhile, Im gunna say this, but out of everyone in this alternate earth, Helena got a better deal....ish. I mean sure she lived in a city of evil, but in this world she is doing WAY better than the actual world where she is a wreck. I honestly hope she gets some happiness. Perry White Although he wasnt in the episode long, I did enjoy the fact that he was able to have a role in this alternate world and we finally got to see him behind that iconic desk doing his job. Although that just begs the question on how “Fate” is going to play out. And how much the group knows about where he is? Gabe, Moira, and Hope Sullivan Happy we got to see them aswell. I was beginning to think Chloe had them moved or under new identities. I really hope that we get into whats happening in Chloe’s family and if the war with Hush will include them!!! The Smallville Gang Clark Kent aka Superman: OH MY GOD. I have been waiting for Superman to be on an episode of WT since you first did this series. And you did not dissappoint. I was throughly impressed and you caught the Clark Kent voice so well. Im so intrigued on how you will master Smallville Superman. Because lets be honest, the writers of Smallville Season 11 were hit or miss a couple of times and I was just vaguely bored of it. Im glad, we got a glimpse of your take and it was spot on. Cant wait till he comes in next season!!! Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow: YOU’RE KILLING ME!!!! Like I cant believe that Ollie is back. And it honestly felt like he hadnt of left the show. You already know what Im gunna say so Im gong to skip over it. Im just going to say Im glad that we got to see him and Chloe live Happily ever After with her guy. Lois Lane Original Timeline: Although she didnt have much to do in this timeline, Im glad to say that Lois popping up was really great. I like that Lois is keeping in touch with Chloe’s friends and I wonder if that will extend to Vicki, and Helena , and hell maybe even Khan. Because lets be honest, I would die if Lois and Khan were in the same room. Alternate Timeline: I said this at the beginning of the season and Ill say it again, you NAIL Lois’ voice every single time. Everytime I feel like you get that much better at it and it really shows. So Im glad that you added her and Clark’s journey. It also gives us insight that even in this world, they still have YET to tie the knot. Which I hope you at least cover in this show, because lets be honest, we got promised Chloe as maid of honor. Pete Ross: DIRECTOR OF A.R.G.U.S. I have to say I was very proud to see Pete. I felt that his and Lana’s relationship was something Chris and I wanted to do eventually, and Im glad that you did it and made it fantastic. Can I just say that I enjoyed his little moment of bro-mance with Steve Trevor. I hope that makes it over into the real world. His death however, I dont know how I felt about it. It felt like a cheap shot and like a one last death before everything gets good again. But whatevs, Im still glad you got him in. The one thing I was always Curious about, Why didnt you cast Pete in this show from the beginning? Lana Lang: Review in Next Post. She LITERALLY got an ENTIRE episode about her. Team Oracle So now I’ve gotten to the part of the episode that DESERVES its own section. I know this is a Chloe story and its her show, but what I loved about this episode was that it took the time to HONOR all the characters that have appeared on this show, and give them their proper due. For example, We got to see Babs, Gordon and Nightwing basically being the saviors of Gotham, even though the whole city was turning to shit. It gave me S1 WT nostalgic vibes and although it ended on a paralyzed Barbara I would like to think they would have continued on protecting Gotham with help from ARGUS. Now to review its members: Barbara Gordon aka Oracle: Original Timeline: We havent seen much of her and I miss her. But the last thing I remember seeing of her is that she was in a wheelchair because of Hush and unconscious because of Hush. Im beginning to think Babs may need to sit this one out.hahahaha Alternate Timeline: Im glad you basically made her officially as Oracle even though you never identified her as such. It was great seeing her being the eyes in the sky and having her showcase in her prowess all on her own. The Dick/Barbara aspect was a pure treat and it was even better because they reminded me of the good old days of S1 and it also teased something that could eventually come to happening eventually in the show. Her getting her legs shot, MY GOD man. You just dont want any happy endings in this episode. But im glad you kept it their and even foreshadowed what could/would be happening to Babs in the future. Dick Grayson/Nightwing Original Timeline: So I have to say, what youve done with Dick this season has really been great. His side arc with being a mentor to Helena was really needed because it softened her up for all the pain and heartache we had to endure. Im also really glad that he joined Team Watchtower and became a hero Chloe and the others could trust. Hopefully they can count on him when the final battle with Hush comes to a close. Alternate Timeline: Well He basically made this perfect. I loved that he was impressed by Helena’s work. I even have to think that maybe she sort of inspired him to become Nightwing and maybe that's why in this world he was severely disappointed meeting his hero. But I will say that his and Bab’s screentime was still a memorable moment with me even though we didnt get to see them witness Wonder Woman saving the day!!! James Gordon Original Timeline: The last time we saw the Commissioner, he was turning in his badge to Yin and getting kicked off the force because of his affiliation to Batman. Now that that secret is out and the events that are happening now, I wonder if Gordon will be on the side of the Angel’s or does he now have his own agenda to wage the war against Hush. Alternate Timeline: I enjoyed the fact that Gordon and Babs worked together and were saving the city. It also was great that you had Gordon cross path’s with Lana and Chloe. I actually thought he and Bab’s would have ended up with the ARGUS agents and see Diana save the city. But of course, for story purposes Im sure their was a reason why he didnt stick around. I also liked the interplay between Gordon and His daughter. Especially considering it was the end of the world and all. Talia Al Ghul So she revived her father and kept the story in the present moving along, I honestly think Talia needs to stop helping because she is now making everything TEN TIMES WORSE.hahahaha Vicki Vale Original Timeline: Im SUPER glad that she was one of the guests at the party. You totally cant do Team Watchtower without their scrappy reporter. And I really hope Vicki and the rest of the team get episodes together because its been sad that she’s been going solo. BUT its also been a giant help and I cant wait to see how impressed everyone will be with how much she has endured Alternate Timeline: Im glad that she was married to Mitchell. I felt that her story in this was very small but it did show that without Chloe there, Vicki never got the strength to stand on her own and save herself. Im really glad that you included her in this episode. Kyle Williams Although he wasnt in this episode, Im really sad that he didnt get to attend Chloe’s Bday. Im sure thats all she could have wished for. But hopefully she gets to apologize to Kyle!! Zatanna Well Im glad to see everyone has forgiven Zatanna for what she did memory spell wise. Im also really glad that she has become a full time member of Team Watchtower. I am loving it. I cant wait to see if you keep her around for Season 4. Her whole entire role in this episode was perfect and Im glad you used her to supply Chloe with this birthday wish, since last time she did the same. Im glad that she played a massive role as the sort of guide for Chloe. But I do wish that she had an alternate self popping up. But Im glad that she played the role she did. And I cant wait to see what she pulls out her sleeve for the next run of episodes. Emil Hamilton Original Timeline: When you Cloned Emil at the end of the first season, I was very excited because Emil has basically become the wild card in the Watchtower Universe. He could pop up at anytime and either help or hinder the cast. SO far he has been cleaning up his original’s work, while also cutting deals and working with the Suicide Squad. However, the biggest shock came when he used the fate helmet and saw the future. Thanks to this helpful tip, he saw Chloe’s fate and realized with her back now, like him, she isnt bound by destiny any longer. I loved that alot. And I cant wait to see how Emil plays into the rest of this season, and next season. Alternate Timeline: All I have to say, basically S1 Emil is a beast and he was an evil Man. I really want to see a mini-series on how he got to power. Steve Trevor and Diana Prince The fact that these two finally made an appearance on Watchtower, it made my day. Another thing that made me happy was the the DC Trinity was all in the same episode just seperate from eachother. I loved the Wonder Woman montage of her suiting up and her saving Gotham from Mia. I hope that next season Wonder Woman will hang out with Chloe, and we can find out HOW the two met. Steve Trevor died, and I am heartbroken, but I could tell that he and Pete have an awesome bromance and I cant wait to see it later. Mia Dearden Original Timeline: When Mia first appeared on Smallville, I got excited. I thought for sure she was going to be their for the rest of the show and maybe be Oliver’s protege and become Speedy on the show. HOWEVER what we got was a two episode stint from her, and all of a sudden she just disappears and we dont hear from her until she reappears in the comic and they do a shitty job with her. HOWEVER, you did good work with writing Mia. When she first appeared in the first season, I was a little wary because you didnt make her Speedy, but I did like that you addressed her insecurities and took her out of the action. When you brought her back for Season 2, you made her stronger, confident, and you addressed all the things that most people would be asking about why she took off. Season 3 saw her return to the show and reunite with her old friends. After all of that Mia rejoins Team Watchtower in the mid-season finale and took off for Star City with Black Canary to take care of Oliver. As such, I really wish she could have been at Chloe’s birthday. I mean Chloe and Mia’s friendship was fantastic and I really want them in more scenes together. Alternate Timeline: I really enjoyed what you did with Mia in this episode. The fact that you turned her into Ruin and made her the secret weapon was really well done. I had thought she was going to be in the original timeline, but I really dig that you included her and showed what would have happened with her if Chloe, Oliver, and Helena didnt rescue her. Now time for Questions: 1.What happened to the KCS in this alternate world? Or was that not a factor for you? 2.Will Abigail, Emil’s assistant appear in the real world? Because I liked her 3.Did you feel Wonder Woman saving the day the way she did was to easy? 4.Did you plan on killing off a lot of people in this episode? 5.Is there one thing with this episode that you would change? 6.Why didnt Oliver go looking for Mia? 7.Since Chloe know’s Diana,will you address the other individual she told Clark about back in S10? because I dont think Batman will work considering you just brought him into the fold. 8.Why didnt Oliver stop Chloe from going to Gotham? 9.Will Oracle and Nightwing work together in the real world? 10.Why didnt you have Chloe come across Bruce or Helena? I know these arent all my questions, but I lost my list and I have to search for them. HOWEVER. I do give this episode a 9.5 out of 10. Im honestly going to start reviewing the other episodes as soon as i finish Hellbound. Greta job on this Jack |
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Post by Jack Malone on Nov 21, 2015 23:03:16 GMT -6
Watchtower’s Wishverse 50th Episode aka Episode 16 Review Alright. So the time has come. I have waited for this moment for 49 episodes and now its finally here and I cant imagine what the hell else I could say. I have been a fan of this project since it was first pitched, and I honestly knew that you would get this far and make a series everyone has enjoyed. I know it sounds crazy, but WT is my biggest inspiration and I want to hopefully one day have you review my series and say what you love. But enough about me. Lets get started on this review. ALSO, I apologize if this is super long. Their are a lot of questions and it beats everyone else asking the same questions Im going to ask. Hope Im helping!!! It means a lot that you've been here since day one for 'Watchtower.' You've actually been here since day one of all my projects, so it's really nice, and I think seeing your reviews always makes me happy because there's so much explored in the review that a lot of people wouldn't necessarily talk about, and it feels like every single detail is being looked at, it's nice. I love it. And I can't wait to do the same for your projects This was a nice callback. Part of what I wanted to do in that first half of the episode was create nostalgia for 'Smallville.' I remembered Clark, in the season one finale, saying that he picked Chloe's favourite song, and for the life of me, I knew it was Remy Zero but had no idea what the song was. When I looked it up, I found it, and I also happened to love that song so I threw it in there! I'm glad you caught the reference! Chloe and Kahn will have more interactions in the future of the series. Right now, they're just not really the kind of relationship to invite one another to their birthdays, and also, from memory, it was planned by Lois and Bruce, or at least, you get that opinion reading it, because Chloe didn't really want to be celebrating her birthday. But there's something coming up that really positions Chloe and Kahn to start interacting more, and that's something I'll explore in the future! I really enjoy writing Lois. The thing for me is I'll throw on an episode of Smallville, and feel like I can capture her voice so then I go off and write her and it's a lot of fun. I did the same for Lana in 317, and I'm really proud of how she's written in that episode. But yeah, you'll see Lois around in Season 4. Now that she's aware Chloe is alive, and all of that, there's less excuses to hide behind. And you'll see her in 319. The thing is, she has just as much her own story so I think S4 will be planting the seeds for her to finally go off and embrace her destiny too, and 319 kind of sets that up. So there might be less Lois than you'd like, but she's going to be in at least two episodes that I can think of right now! I was like "oh god, I don't remember them talking," and then remembered they helped plan the party together, haha! Yes, I think with Lois, one of the things that we saw early in the season was that she didn't like the idea that Chloe went back to being Watchtower, because she thought it was always a place where she could hide and cut herself off from the world, and it made her think Chloe died alone. This episode was kind of in response to that, for her, realising that Chloe is surrounded by these people. This family. And so she can trust Chloe will be looked after. Season 4 Yes! It was fun to add another little one to the mix. I feel like, if things worked out the way Chloe wanted them in S2, then they'd be having their next kid right now, too. So it made sense to include a boy and a girl! This makes me so happy. Thank you so much for saying that because it's something I've been trying to work on now that I'm not 15 and have gradually, hopefully, improved over the years. The fact you can hear their voices makes me happy! Aw, I'm also really happy this couple gets a love heart from you. Yay! Like I said, it just felt like it made sense that Chloe would continue to grow her family if things didn't go the way they did in S2. It was also a nice little nod towards the 'Smallville' finale where she was reading to a baby boy. Not that this explains that - that has an explanation all on it's own coming - but it was nice to tip the hat for that, you know? I would love to bring the Wall of Weird back in some capacity, and I have some ideas floating around for the final season in regards to that The decision to put him there felt right too, and will be explored more in 319. I fell straight back in love with writing these two together in that episode. I seriously love writing Emil. I have decided he'll resurface in every season at least once because he's just that character that I feel links us all back to the first season, and he was a slow burner, you know? A lot of people didn't like him in S1, and then the clone arc happened, and they really fell for the character and wanted more of him, and I'm glad I've found time in the story to really bring him back into it when I can. I think Superman poses such a problem by existing, haha! I mean, this is one of the reasons why I decided he should be missing in action for a while. I mean, we also have that established idea that Lois and Clark struggle to get married seven years after their first attempt, so it helps support that in the present while not having him available to just zoom in and save the day. But in this one, I felt like it was something Emil would definitely do... he would absolutely surround the area with Kryptonite to keep him away. As much as I love Guido, his story did finish in S2. There are some deaths where I'm prone to looking back and going, 'hmm, maybe I could have done more there,' but I don't see how Guido would have fit into this season. But with the alternate world, I didn't want to just kill him off again, or kill many people off, actually. I wanted to see something new, and in this world, Helena and Guido are somewhat happy, which is a huge contrast to what Helena is like in the present in the coming episodes. It's not really to say Helena's life would be better without Chloe, it's a lot more complicated than that and it's something I think I talked about in Brady's review, but yeah. Any opportunity to bring that dynamic back for an episode, and I'll jump at it. This is not the last you've seen of Guido this season! I loved writing their scenes together. It was like the new version of Chloe, in Watchtower, and Bruce in the field, haha! Last minute edits brought their scenes back. Originally, they were cut from the episode. I felt bad about not having what I planned in there, and so I did last minute edits about two nights before the episode was meant to air, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! Means I made the right decision. More to come in Season 4 I hope there's more to come in Season 4! Haha! I wouldn't call him a bad guy. I wanted to set him up for a different take on the Batman that would probably evolve to become what we know in the comics, but has a slightly different point of origin. It felt cool to have him influenced by the rogues in his gallery because he was framed to spend prison in there with them. So I thought of a Scarecrow/Batman take on it, haha! This was fun. I was like, "I can't have the entire city full of metahumans and it's beyond saving," so I thought it would be Emil using it on the city leaders, and the GCPD, and things like that where he can actually enforce the city. I genuinely had a lot of fun including the Wonder Woman elements. It felt like those scenes were part of a movie, if that made sense. I just loved getting Steve Trevor from Gotham to Themyscira, and then having those scenes with Diana, and then her showing up. It felt like something from an animated JLA movie, in my head. I loved it. And I mean, I wanted to start thinking about how things would be different in the present, and I thought... hey, Chloe's met her. Maybe that's something I can explore. I know Smallville just dropped the reference, and was like done with it, because you know how DC Comics are, but I thought I'd turn that reference into fact, and be like, "yes, yes she's met Diana." They would totally be married now too if it wasn't for Hush  More on that in the future! More on this in Season 4 Yeah, I wanted Helena to be like, "hey, I've tried, and I failed." I wanted to involve the Black Mask storyline from S1, and I wanted that entire time before Guido showed up to be like... yes, this city had a hero fighting for it. But the cops turned on her, and they went for her and not Emil, and so she got sick of it. She was angry. She met Guido, and she didn't feel like fighting for the city anymore because it was hunting her down as if she was one of the bad guys. It made a lot of sense, in looking at how things actually happened, and the slight twists for the alternate world. I had to throw in the line about Emil's persona in the comics. I thought it was a cool twist to have it be Mia, as heartbreaking as that was... I think, no matter how rushed the outcome was at the end of this conflict, I still kind of stand by it. It's the equivalent of Superman flying in and saving the day, but there were restrictions on that, and there had to be a way for Wonder Woman to enter the story and not just have her suit up, and then not make it to Gotham. If I had more time, I'd work around it, and I'll talk about that a little more in this review as I go through it, but I'm glad you enjoyed her showing up and being the one to save the day! I knew this episode would have to do it in an alternate way. I was like... if Barbara is going to play such a big role in the episode, then I have to nod towards her future too, and I have to play around with everything I've got planned for her. Yeah, I definitely wanted this episode to mark a change for Chloe, and from here on out, she does things differently, and I think it's in a way that you'll appreciate more in the last 50 episodes The thing I like about Zatanna is that she's grey. She's similar to Chloe in that regard. So she can do something like this for a 'lesson' and conceive it as a 'gift' and I mean, Chloe appreciated it in the end, but most people would be like "you made me live through the worst night ever just to teach me a lesson?" Haha! But it felt like a cool thing to do, and was also a nod to their first interaction together in 'Hex' of S8 Smallville. It feels like a step forward, right? I feel like we're going to see that mission from S1 come back full force, and who knows... maybe the city will be a much safer place in S4 than it was in previous seasons. Hahaha, more to come in this season with that one! TheVPN needs to hire you for recaps, I'm just saying I feel like Chloe realised this wasn't real. I mean, it took her until that scene with Zatanna where she's like... "wait, this could be my life?" And it made her stumble for a moment, but I think... her losing her memories of the old life and adjusting to this one would be painful for her and she wouldn't get to appreciate this world with the eyes she had of the last, you know? So there was that, and also, she couldn't live in bliss knowing that Bruce, Helena, and Gotham were crumbling, and knowing that the threat could reach the rest of the world too. So it made sense for her to run off, leaving Oliver and her children behind, because really, she didn't have 'Oliver' anymore, and she had a child waiting for her in the world she came from. So it was difficult, but also really easy for her to hold onto what was true and what wasn't. I'm hoping for a lot of Lana next season. I don't know how well it will pan out, and I know she'll be there for - like Lois - at least two episodes so far, but I feel like she has the potential to be in more. I just can't think about storylines yet when I'm finishing up S3. That scene at the start was to mirror the pilot. In the pilot, it was Perry who came out and basically told Chloe to go mingle, to make connections, to be friendly, to be thankful, etc. I wanted to mirror it and be like... Bruce will be that person now for Chloe. Chloe and Bruce's friendship has evolved now, and they're there for one another, so that's why he may have felt like the voice of reason at the start in this one! Yeah, I feel like he's not a criminal or a bad guy, to be honest. I feel like it was just a new take on Batman. It was more vengeful, and less retrained and held back. I think without Chloe, Emil wouldn't have turned himself in for Vesper's murder as a punishment for the crimes he had committed, and so that took Bruce away from Alfred, and I believe Alfred plays a huge part in shaping up Bruce's moral codes and what have you, and so it made sense to see him a bit darker, to see his course of action a lot less refined and narrowed in on justice but more on vengeance, and so it was fun to do that. I also liked finally revealing who killed Vesper Fairchild. It's nice to be in the third season, and reveal something that was withheld since the first season, you know? So it was fun. And what better episode to do that than the fiftieth Yeah, I think, in looking forward, it's clear that this episode helps bring Chloe and Helena back together, too. Chloe and Helena's relationship takes a lot more focus in the back end of 3B. Yeah, that was the idea. I didn't want to kill Guido off again in this alternate world, and I didn't want to kill Helena off either. I didn't want to give her some tragic story. The fact of the matter is... Chloe was a factor in her life in the real world, and she was torn between Guido and Chloe for a while. She got brought back into the role of Huntress because of Chloe, and the KCS, and everything that was happening that season. There were layers to it. I'm not saying if Helena didn't know Chloe, then Guido would still be alive. I mean, it sort of implies it, but it's not a direct link. Helena is without purpose here. And there's a tragic element to that. She doesn't have anything to really do other than make up for lost time as Guido's daughter. She doesn't have much of an identity outside of it now. I think there's a lot of ways to look at it. I mean, I certainly believe she'll go back to being Huntress down the line in this alternate world, and still have her father in her life, so she does get a good deal there. But she also doesn't have any friends. She's isolated. Her world has kind of become Guido. So it's still a mixed bag. And Helena deserves to be happy in at least one universe, right? Haha. I'll get killed for saying that... 319 is one of my favourite episodes of the series, hands down. I can't wait for everyone to read it Originally, Perry wasn't in this episode at all and I felt it was quite disrespectful so I found a way to put him in there that didn't make the episode go over time. I really liked writing that scene, and I like how Perry, in this world, is like "Chloe's a bad influence," purely because Chloe isn't a reporter anymore. It was fun. Perry grew a lot on the show, and I think a lot of it had to do with his relationship with Chloe, and Watchtower, and the team, and so I wanted to showcase that in the fiftieth for him. The family stuff will be more prominent in S4 onwards. This season, they are very much in the BG. There's more Chloe and Hope stuff coming up before the season is over, but I did make a decision to kind of have that be in the BG in S3, and play more of a role in S4. Chloe does spend most of her time with Hope when she's at home, and when she can't be there, she's got Guido and Moira, and I think Hope does have a good concept of family to look up to as she grows up, personally. I think she's very loved, and I hope by not showing that as much this season doesn't make it seem any different, you know? But more of Chloe and the fam bam wham kazam in S4 I love Bryan Q Miller. I enjoyed the SV Comics from what I've read of them, but I don't really accept it as canon, and it certainly has no role in Watchtower. I'm really glad you think I captured Clark's voice. I had a lot of fun writing the 'man of steel' scene between him and Lois in the beginning of the episode, and you'll see more of Clark/Superman next season! It felt like I was writing S2 Oliver again. It felt like I picked up where I left off, so I had fun with him back on the show. There is more Oliver coming this season, and I'm looking forward to how you react to it all! It would be fun to see all the current and former reporters of the DC Universe from Watchtower locked in the same room together, haha! Aw, that means so much. I can't even begin to explain how happy that makes me. Thank you, Karl! I don't think you'll ever see Clark and Lois get married on Watchtower. We might eventually hear about it, but the way the timelines are... it doesn't really seem to connect. But I can't really talk about that yet without spoiling stuff, but maybe flashbacks will give us insight, we shall see. Lot of stuff to talk about here, haha. I think, in anything, there's always that big 'oh no, we've lost' moment before there's a heroic turning point. I wanted someone to die to trigger that, and to really seal the deal of, 'this world is not worth living in,' sort of thing and to also make it feel like... Chloe could actually die in this world, and everything will change forever. Originally, the wounds to Barbara's legs would have her bleed out and it was her death, but then I feel like that ruined a good nod towards the comics, and wouldn't have as big a moment to create that sort of reaction from Chloe, and the others. And then I realised it had to be someone from the Smallville cast, and Pete just felt like the likely candidate. Going in edits, I was going to fix it, and make it different, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that it was the best direction to go in for that moment. But I am glad you enjoyed his presence in the episode, and I had a lot of fun writing him. I definitely want to bring him in for the present day storyline eventually, and we will see how that works out. As for not having him since the start, I'm not a huge Pete Ross fan. In fact, he's probably my least favourite character in all of 'Smallville.' I feel like he was a terrible friend to Clark, and later Chloe, and very selfish. Even his good deeds had a, 'what do I get out of it' kind of spin to it, and I just never really connected to him because of it. But in the same way that Dinah Lance / Black Canary on 'Smallville' was one of my least favourites, I thought... screw it, I'll write them and try to develop them and grow that universe. I wanted to do the same for Pete. I wanted to know where he would be now that 'Trinity' was gone, and now that I had this lens that was the alternate reality to sort of figure a path out for him. But yeah, I wouldn't have ever had Pete on the show from day one. He also had a role on 'Trinity,' and I already stole Chloe and Oliver from Chris, so I couldn't keep reaching from his well of inspiration, right? Haha! And no, I refuse. Jake and Pete were the OTP of 'Trinity.' Fight me on it Yeah, like I said before, it was like Chloe, Bruce and Helena but in Barbara, Gordon and Dick. I wanted to have that vibe there, and I'm glad it's something that was picked up on. This is why when I removed Nightwing from the episode, it just didn't feel right to me. So I had to go back and work him back into the story the way I had intended. Haha, prior to this, I believe Barbara was stabbed by Hush, and kind of put in a wheelchair until she recovers. And unveiled the Clocktower to Chloe as a new base of operations, and is slowly developing into that 'Oracle' character. There's more of this in 318, in a nice arc between her and Bruce that I really enjoyed writing. But yeah, she's slowly becoming that character. She won't be involved in the fight against Hush, and we will see why as these episodes play out. In this episode, though, I wanted to just foreshadow it, like you said. I think that's primarily what her role was, other than to mirror Chloe as Watchtower herself. It's very much the past, present, and future of all these characters in one way or the other, and Barbara was no different. Dick will be back in episode 20, I believe. If I don't change my mind and write him out. I'll keep you updated on that one, haha! As I've said, this was planned for the fiftieth, and then I scrapped it. In one draft, it was Helena who joined the fight alongside Guido, and they kind of 'redeemed' themselves a little. But it played too much like the S2 storyline, and I was like, "ugh, I've written this before," so I went back to the drawing board and worked Nightwing back into the story, and kept that spoiler of him being in a relationship with Barbara in this world. I think they're an iconic couple from the comics, and exploring that in whatever capacity was on the to do list, and I've done it. Gordon's arc really fires up in episodes 20 through to 22. He's a huge player in those episodes, and I'm excited for what's planned with him. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed writing Barbara and Gordon in this episode. I mean, they played a huge role in an episode that kind of reflects on the show as a whole, and they haven't been on the show since day one, so it's cool to see that, I think. But yeah, there's more to come with those two in the future This is my favourite thing you've ever said, hahaha! It's too real, man. Too real. But the truth is, I love that about Talia. I love that she's trying to help and ends up making things worse. She will redeem herself by the end. I mean, I don't think it's too spoilery to say that Talia isn't plotting to end the world or anything. I feel like she's come a long way, and her connection with Bruce has changed her in a positive way, and so you're going to see her... no matter what consequences come from resurrecting her father... you'll see her try to save Gotham because she wants to help Bruce, and because she may or may not be in love with the guy, haha! Vicki has gone through a lot, and the rest of this season will showcase that, too. I hope everyone likes what is planned for her in the finale! Yeah, I wanted to include Vicki purely to show the difference between who she is now and who could have been. I mean, there's not much you can do as a mortal against metahumans, so it felt right to include a death for her. But, at the same time, that scene was to show how the GCPD have infiltrated the city, and how they were under orders now to kill everyone. It was a two birds, one stone thing. I certainly don't go into an episode, any episode for that matter, and go 'I really want to kill someone off.' It's one of those... if it makes sense, if I'm backed into a corner, and I can't find an organic way to get out of it for this character, and they have no more story to tell for the series (in this case, the episode), then it's a sad goodbye, you know? Kyle is back in 319! Something happens with Zatanna in 319 that kind of creates an arc I'd love to explore in the fourth season. We'll see what happens. I'm not sure Emil will surface anymore this season. But he will, obviously, be back next season. He always weasels his way back into the story. For this episode, I wanted to crack into Emil's mind a little more. We didn't get the chance to see Emil go from, "I have this great plan," to "oh god, what have I done?" And in this episode, I wanted him to refer to the Frankenstein mythology a little, and to be like, "I may have created a monster, but I'm not blinded by this desire to create and to control, if it goes wrong, I will do what it takes to put an end to it." In his mind, Mia was the solution. She was his answer to fixing his problems, even though he used what created the problems to, in return, fix things. It was just a nice storyline I wanted to do for Emil that I didn't get the chance to do in S1. I'm glad you liked it I'm excited for more Wonder Woman. There'll definitely be more of it next season Along with ARGUS and Steve Trevor! I think it just comes down to story. I can't just grab all these characters and throw them in a scene. I mean, they'd need to have a different voice that kind give something to the scene and make their presence actually make sense, and so if I brought Dinah, and Mia, and all these other characters back for Chloe's birthday, it would just be them standing around, or five pages on one scene to let everyone have a go at speaking, so that's why Mia wasn't there for it. I'm glad you enjoyed her role in the alternate timeline. I feel like when it was established that Emil's drug would sort of tap into something for the individual person and give them a unique power, it made sense that it would prey on Mia's HIV, and turn her into this airborne weapon. I mean, her life was tragic in this, and it's upsetting to try and think what happened prior to this episode for her in this alternate timeline and I don't like thinking about it at all, but it was a twist that I felt was grounded in the canon of the show, and felt organic to do. And I'm glad it paid off. The way I see it... Gotham is already corrupt, and already under control. I mean, if Alberto Falcone was alive, it would be a lot harder for him to sort of take over and put his plan into full effect with all those metahuman officers walking about, being told to 'eliminate' everyone in the city. I did have to think about it, especially with Hush, which is an even more complicated story I can't talk about because the season isn't over yet and his identity hasn't been revealed yet, but it was something I had to consider and realised that they wouldn't have been able to take action. I mean, even The Joker... the second he would start to pull something off, Hamilton would send his best guys after him and lock the guy up. I would love to bring Abigail into the story. I loved writing their little romance as a side story for Emil's arc in the episode. I'm not sure how she would come into the story, or how we'd even see her and Emil cross paths, so at the moment it's one of those "it's highly unlikely," but it's not impossible. And if the story is right, maybe we'll catch up with her. I feel like there were ways to make it feel less easy and I didn't have the time to incorporate it without adding on probably another ten pages. I think it's something I would narrow in on and try to fix going back to the episode now if I had the time to do it and if it hadn't already aired, but I still feel very justified in how it all panned out. Technically, the war was already over. It was Mia who complicated things, and it was Wonder Woman who stopped her from killing off the rest of the city. So, it's a mixed bag. If I had more time to do something else, I'd take it, but I'm still happy with how it all worked out in the end Not at all. I knew Bruce and Helena would be safe because they're Batman and Huntress. I knew Barbara would need to be Oracle, or become Oracle. Nightwing and Gordon would be safe. There's a lot more characters who felt safe going into this that I didn't want to disrespect by saying, "hey, if Chloe wasn't here... all these DC Comics characters would not exist or be dead." That feels rude. Vicki felt like a death that couldn't be written differently. I didn't feel like I could change her outcome or have her survive. I didn't want a random reporter to be killed. After killing her, I wanted to follow up on Mitchell, and continue the tragedy, a little. I wanted it to be like this desperation to find Vicki, and then *boom* As for Emil and Waller, it made sense. I mean, with Emil, who knows. Maybe he had an escape plan, you never know with that guy, but with Waller, it was to showcase this new Batman, and how he functioned in this alternate world. And I know while things may appear to be headed in a similar path for Waller in the present day storyline, I can only say stay tuned for S4 As for Pete, I already talked about the decision behind him. I just wish I had more time to do more drafts. I had a lot of ideas and I think this reached 85% of it's potential. I would have liked to incorporate a bigger showdown between the metahumans and Wonder Woman before ARGUS kind of grabbed them all. It would have been really cool to see her land in Gotham, and just start pummelling these guys. I might even reconsider Pete's death, and chronologically shift some things between Chloe and Zatanna in the episode. But I'm still really proud of it, and really happy with it. I don't know. I mean, we can make a lot of assumptions, all of which I didn't really think about it when crafting this singular moment in their lives. I mean, I didn't sit down and think about every little detail from the past three years to create this world considering we were at the end of it, but perhaps everyone thought she had died? I mean, she'd have been missing for at least three or four years, so yeah... I think 'billionaire playboy with high tech toys' could mean anyone. Whether we meet someone from Chloe's past who fits that description, we shall see. There's still two more seasons to go, buddy There was a bit of a jump in the story. I mean, we can assume he tried and failed. But Chloe's a stubborn girl. She always has been, and once she sets her mind to something, she'll do it. I think Chloe had this emotional disconnect too which allowed for anything that came out of his mouth to have zero effect on her once she realised that this world wasn't entirely real, you know? Hopefully. I mean, I don't know how much Nightwing I'll include if Chris is launching a Nightwing series, but we'll see. I feel like it meant more for her to not see them. I wanted it to be about the mission she set out to do originally, and the city that came into play there. I didn't want it to be so much about seeing Bruce or Helena and going, "oh god, they need me so much in their lives." Bruce's role was more about a lack of Alfred, to be honest. Chloe's just the person you pluck from the storyline, and he lands in jail. But it's Alfred's influence that I think shaped him the most, and because he was in jail, Alfred couldn't expose him to his morals and his thoughts about the Batman identity. I think we can assume those two will meet up and Batman will slowly evolve into the version we know from the comics in this alternate world. But more importantly, one thing I hate is coincidental things. Where it's like... oh, we just happened to stumble into the same room as Helena in this scene, and in the next one, we just happened to run into Bruce. They had their own paths, and their own stories outside of Chloe, and I wanted to tell them, and show how much they've grown and how different things could be for them. Overall, I wanted it to be about Chloe and Gotham, and showing this realisation that Chloe has done good and now she's inspired to really fight back and be a hero. Thanks so much for the review, Karl. I really appreciate all the feedback, and as always, I love your reviews! |
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Post by Brady Brown on Dec 23, 2015 14:30:39 GMT -6
REVIEW: 3.17 "Wanted"
This was a really solid episode, which saw the return of Smallville alum Lana Lang and the organization Checkmate, the relationship between Ethan and Vicki reaching a romantic compromise, Helena learning of Batman's identity, and an encounter with Hush that was the highlight of the episode. We opened up with a really strong encounter between Waller and Hush and ended in a very gruesome way. Hush is a scary dude, and it was really reverberated in the teaser which worked very well, especially for him to so easily scar and overcome Waller, who was shown as a huge threat not only on Watchtower but in its sister show as well.
The return of Lana was a lot of fun. It was nice to catch up with her, and I really liked that end interaction with Chloe (the "red hair" line was brilliant"). It was rooted in really great nostalgia, and I wish we got more of that. Their plot really suffered from a lack of pacing and relevance, in my opinion. Everything that happened felt like there a scene missing between each moment, most specifically "We still have a city to save," to directly going to them walking down the streets at the end. It just also felt like Lana wasn't really needed for this episode. We got some interesting facts about her with "Q" and Pete, but those felt odd and out of place. It just felt like nothing plot-related was resolved with her being there and the entire "virus" storyline was incredibly open ended. I also thought Lana's dialogue was too metaphorical and speech-heavy way too often. I think spreading it out instead would have allowed her words to have more of an impact.
Other than that, I think everything else in the episode worked. I really enjoyed the Ethan/Vicki subplot. I think they have a really interesting relationship, and while I'm not 100% sold on it romantically, I liked that they had a conversation about where they stood with one another and how slow they were going to take things. The Mitchell flashes were a bit... weird and unneeded, in my opinion. There scene at the end with "Hush," however, was phenomenal. I loved every second of that, especially Vicki getting up and fighting back and tearing those bandages away. It being Helena was interesting, and I do wonder where that will go and whether or not it will link to her storyline in the next episode.
Speaking of Helena, we saw her and Bruce have a good scene. Her finding someone entering the Batcave seemed a little too convenient, but I liked what stemmed from it. Bruce sending Helena to Lucius because he needs to focus on the city was a really dark and genuine touch. It made Bruce all the more human with that decision, and I appreciated that. From there, Helena went and met Lucius, and that led to a really cool interaction. They bounced off each other well, and seeing more of them together in the future would be great. On Bruce's end, we were met back with Talia. Talia has been somewhat of a dark horse this season. I always wonder her purpose, but I think it's becoming clearer and clearer since she's been with Kyle. Anyway, Bruce reading his father's journals and discovering more about Thomas Elliot and Hush "being here the whole time" added a nice little *gasp* moment, if you will.
Hush's army was actually visible in this episode. I liked that we finally got to see the Army as a whole in action, even if it led to devastating consequences. The Clayface arc offered a nice twist at the end of the episode, but I'm not entirely sold on his story in this back half. I think it's fun and interesting, but it just seems so minuscule compared to Hush running around and literally tearing out people's eyes. However, I do understand their purpose, and I enjoy what's happening. I do hope Yin isn't dead, though. I feel like her entire "no vigilantes" arc didn't really reach full fruition. I also hope Waller isn't dead. I feel like that's such an easy death for her, and I'm just not really a fan of such a powerful, resonate character being taken out so easily. So hopefully that's not that case, but if it is then she still had a nice story in her send off episode.
Like I said, "Wanted" was a really solid addition to this third season. While I wish Lana had more to offer, she was still fun to see back, and knowing that she's supposed to resurface again (in the 4th season or earlier, I'm not sure) has me excited because she did end the episode with a good revelation. Everything else, story wise, worked pretty well, especially the end scene which was just fantastic. Can't wait to get to Helena's centric episode next, especially because of how this one ended.
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Post by Jack Malone on Dec 23, 2015 21:20:54 GMT -6
REVIEW: 3.17 "Wanted"This was a really solid episode, which saw the return of Smallville alum Lana Lang and the organization Checkmate, the relationship between Ethan and Vicki reaching a romantic compromise, Helena learning of Batman's identity, and an encounter with Hush that was the highlight of the episode. We opened up with a really strong encounter between Waller and Hush and ended in a very gruesome way. Hush is a scary dude, and it was really reverberated in the teaser which worked very well, especially for him to so easily scar and overcome Waller, who was shown as a huge threat not only on Watchtower but in its sister show as well. This is up there as one of my favourites for the season, so I'm glad you enjoyed the majority of it. The greatest thing about writing Waller is the fact that there's a power play with her and anyone she shares the page with, and if there's not, it's because that character has no power for her to even see them worth her time. So the interactions with her and Hush were great because I feel like Waller is the kind of character that wouldn't be terrified in that kind of confrontation, and it isn't until the virus is mentioned that it's like, "well shit, we aint playing around here anymore," and it turns more serious. So that was a really fun scene to write, and I thought it was perfect to start the episode. For the character of Lana, I went back to 'Smallville' and studied it pretty closely. She's very mature, and the way she speaks has always had that kind of flair, and that level of being wise beyond her years. It's a shame you didn't respond well to it, but I feel it sat pretty closely to what she was from the show, and reading it back, I stand by certain dialogue choices for the character. In terms of the virus, it's not accidentally "open ended." It would be the same as calling Hush open ended in the premiere as if we were to know his identity by the end of that first episode, and have all of this resolved. The virus comes back into play. It's been established as in his hands, and so it raises the stakes a little going forward. It also worked as a tool to narrow in on who Hush could be, as we discovered that it has to be someone familiar with the Watchtower database. All of this was important to the story going forward. I don't really agree with the criticisms of "Q" and Pete feeling 'odd and out of place,' only because we haven't seen Lana Lang since 'Smallville.' It's not something that doesn't fit, it's back story. And instead of just saying, "hey what's been happening in your life since I last saw you," and Lana regurgitating the last five years of her life in exposition, I decided to show the audience parts of her world with Pete as her handler, with this somewhat disconnected love story with 'Q.' As for the role Lana Lang played, I didn't see it as irrelevant. She was assigned to bring the virus back to Waller, this painted her as a Checkmate agent, in unravelling that aspect of it, we learned what was really going on, and through this entire interaction, it managed to service the plot going forward, but also progress a character we haven't seen for five years within the continuity. Also, it helps build around something I want to do for next season. But in the context of what the audience would only see and know, I didn't think it could be considered irrelevant when it served plot and character. But again, bias as shit here. But more times than not, if I agree with certain things, I'll say, it's just this time I'm not sure I see eye to eye on it, which is fine I'm glad you liked the red hair line. That was fun. I swear back in Season 4 they were adding like red touches to her hair, and Chris and I always joked about turning her hair red on 'Trinity,' and made posters and shit, haha. So it was kind of a nod towards that, and the comic book character, of course. In terms of seeing Mitchell, Vicki's arc - in regards to the romantic aspects of her storyline - is about letting go and moving on. She's conflicted because Mitchell was supposed to the man she married, the man she ended up with, and she's plagued with guilt. I wanted a development from her near-death experience in 312/313 to introduce this element of seeing Mitchell, and it's more of a subtle thing in terms of tackling a particular statement, or storyline. We're not going to get into head games here of, "Is it actually Mitchell, am I hallucinating, etc" but I wanted to take that guilt and visualise it and make it a physical thing to really get into her head space for this progression with Ethan. As for Ethan and Vicki, I love writing them. For me, and the way I see things and not technically write them, Ethan is more serious about his feelings, and about his entanglement with Vicki, whereas Vicki is almost trying to escape from something, and trying to prove that she can move on, and she can live without all this grief and guilt. She's definitely attracted to Ethan, and she does have those feelings for him, but there are two conflicting things here and it offered quite a problem in the planning stages for the season finale because there were two roads to go down, and I just hope I went with the right route here. I stand by it, but you never know what the differing opinions on things will be, so I'm not bothered on whether something is shipped or not, I just hope, when all is said and done, it's more about story and character over anything else so hearing that you liked Vicki fighting back against Hush, and that entire scene is a much larger compliment to me. That was another really fun scene to write because there are times when you've got an outline and you're looking at it going, "ugh, I'm so not feeling this scene but it needs to happen," and there are other times when you can picture it completely and this was a time when I could really picture it and so I was really proud with how it ended up. I hope you like where things progress with Helena. This wasn't a decision based purely on shock factor. I mean, I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Helena isn't Hush, haha. I certainly don't go into the next episode trying to convince everyone it's her. But it's a crucial step for her journey, and her big episode is definitely the next one, 'Salvation.' It'll tackle everything from Harley Quinn and The Joker, to the death of Guido, to her relationship with Lisa, her friendship with Chloe, there's a lot happening for her. Hahaha, I think it's more convenient that they have this bookshelf that leads to the bat cave and no one has spotted them before, but I totally know what you mean. It's one of those moments that, for lack of a better word, feel very scripted. I really liked writing the Bruce and Helena stuff in this episode because it was unplanned until it came time to breaking the story. That seems obvious, but I mean, I have a season plan with notes and episodes and all of that, and then it comes to breaking things, and stuff like Helena finding out the secret gets unearthed, and then you have the ramifications of that, and how that bleeds more story, and so that's why I talk about enjoying it so much. For me, I've grown up being told and reading things like, "Huntress is Batman, except she doesn't come with his level of restraint." So in making this season, it was exciting to have Batman come back to a city that was very much Helena's, and then see them have this huge conflict ('Taken'), and now the idea of them slowly bonding, and slowly having a friendship is very enticing. They'll have a nice scene in the finale that I can't really talk about. In terms of Lucius, that scene was one of my favourites from the entire season so far. The dialogue just kind of bled out. I was worried that this particular scene would seem unimportant, but in terms of Helena's character, and where things were going for her, it said more about her than establishing this new character into the world of 'Watchtower.' My memory is shocking, so I can't tell you if he pops up again in what has aired already, but he'll be in the finale. His scenes will be shared with Vicki, though, instead of Helena. But I hope you still enjoy it. He'll be in the fourth season as well, for sure As for Talia, for me, this whole season has been about identity, and so her arc is about being released into the real world, outside of everything she's known, and she's discovering what it feels like to love, and she's discovering what it feels like to have true purpose, and to fight for the beliefs she forms and not the beliefs she's been taught to fight for. And there's conflict in all of that, but an opportunity to explore some fun things that I've loved writing. I think, also, for her, that concept of love and belonging and family and all of it is at the forefront because it is so new. I'm not sure if that goes hand in hand with what's been forming for you as a reader, but as things buckle down in these last few episodes, and the arc kind of reaches for that conclusion, then that's what I kind of see her story being about in the grand scheme of things. It's certainly what's driven these interactions with Bruce, with Kyle, with Ra's. She has, hands down, been my favourite to write all season. I think we saw them a whole lot less polished in 307. They're lethal in 322 'Hush.' I can't wait for you to read them I will be honest with you as much as I can without spoiling stuff. But I almost took that scene out with Waller at the end because I knew the reception for it would be extremely mixed. I think some might accept it for what it is and go, "well shit, she's dead," and others, like you, would think it's such a waste of a character. All I want to say about it without giving anything away is that it does set up something interesting for the first episode back of next season, and it does set up something interesting for that season as a whole. If you're still interested in reading the show for another season, then I hope you can have faith in me in respecting a character that is such a powerful female role, and such a badass regardless of anything else, and 401 will definitely answer everything. That scene, to me, was essential because one, it does round off Waller's story for the episode, but it also introduced Maxwell Lord, who is the big bad of S4. So as much as I was almost swayed by what criticisms would follow, I completely stand behind it, and I promise that whatever happens, the character of Amanda Waller hasn't been disrespected, whether she's dead or alive In terms of Yin, I will say there's more for her coming up. She kind of parallels Gordon. She was introduced to rival him in a lot of ways, but was also heavily attached to the character of Ethan. In terms of the "no vigilantes" arc, I think you will see it translate to another character by season's end that will offer something for you in that regard in S4. And I hate how many times I've mentioned season four. Thanks man! As always, it's a pleasure to read your reviews. Sometimes I can agree with certain criticisms, and apply that feedback, and anything always helps, so while I didn't see eye to eye on certain things, I do appreciate what was said because it gives me a perspective to go back over and try to understand and figure out. I hope I didn't seem like I was saying, "Yeah, but no," haha! I hope you enjoy the rest of the season. I'm really excited about these last two episodes that are going to air. I'm even more excited for you to read 319. I have episodes that I just loved writing (this was one of them) and 319 was another that I'm eager for feedback on. I mean, hopefully you like 318 (and every other episode) but you know what I mean. Not every episode we write ends with us writing 'end of episode,' leaning back and going "this is perfect, from start to finish," haha, so when those rare situations happen where we're like, "this is sorta great," we get excited about sharing them. Thanks again, have a good Christmas buddy, and I'll catch up with you soon! P.S/Can you hurry up and see Star Wars. Sidenote: Sorry for consistently mentioning a fourth season. |
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Post by Jack Malone on Dec 23, 2015 22:44:25 GMT -6
Hey guys,
So in the process of Brady telling me he was reading 'Salvation,' I was re-reading it to remember what's going on for when I reply, and realised I posted an unedited one. This aired during the time I was flying back home, studying for an exam, and then flying back to Melbourne, so I must have stupidly added the title page and cast credits to the wrong file, and uploaded it. The story is the exact same (thank god, cause there's a version of 'salvation' that is so, so, so different), but it's a first draft that's riddled with SPAG issues that are going to haunt me for eternity if I don't fix them, so I'm off now to get my laptop with the file on it, and should have it uploaded soon.
If you have read it, nothing has changed except for the sheer fact that the actual version doesn't have crap like 'Helena' written for dialogue spoken by 'Bruce' or those pesky SPAG issues expected in a first draft.
Thanks,
Jack.
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Post by Brady Brown on Dec 23, 2015 22:52:52 GMT -6
Hey guys, So in the process of Brady telling me he was reading 'Salvation,' I was re-reading it to remember what's going on for when I reply, and realised I posted an unedited one. This aired during the time I was flying back home, studying for an exam, and then flying back to Melbourne, so I must have stupidly added the title page and cast credits to the wrong file, and uploaded it. The story is the exact same (thank god, cause there's a version of 'salvation' that is so, so, so different), but it's a first draft that's riddled with SPAG issues that are going to haunt me for eternity if I don't fix them, so I'm off now to get my laptop with the file on it, and should have it uploaded soon. If you have read it, nothing has changed except for the sheer fact that the actual version doesn't have crap like 'Helena' written for dialogue spoken by 'Bruce' or those pesky SPAG issues expected in a first draft. Thanks, Jack.  |
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Post by The Doctor on Jan 1, 2016 20:11:46 GMT -6
Watchtower Episode 17 Review After traversing a “what-if” scenario with Chloe, and getting nuggets of what to come, We come back to the main Hush storyline of the season. This episode sees the Notorious Hush break into Checkmate headquarters and rip out Amanda Waller’s eye all for access to a virus that could kill alot people. Luckily Waller decides to use her ace in the hole, Chloe Sullivan, and gives her 24 hours to stop Hush with the assistance of the long lost Lana Lang. Meanwhile Bruce digs deeper into his parents death in order to figure out who the hell Hush is, even though we ALL know who it is. I called that by the way. Just wait till episode 19 Jack....... But this episode was well done. I specifically love this episode because it finally brings one more smallville vet into the Watchtower fold. Lana Lang. She was a breakout hit in this episode and it really felt like the good old days of Smallville. I loved the references to Trinity and the story itself. Also the ending of the episode just about killed me. So I for one am very excited for my review for episode 18. So without further ado lets get on with this one Things I liked: -The fact that Checkmate gets broken into so much in this universe even though they are top secret organization. -Hush vs Waller (even if it is him tossing her into a desk) -Hush Taking Waller’s Eye -Chloe and Helena BFF moment (Need more of these) -Chloe getting captured by Checkmate -Lana working for Checkmate and A.R.G.U.S -”Q”. - Helena finding the batcave -Helena and Bruce’s rocky friendship speech. -Vicki and Ethan cuteness -Chloe and Lana time -Lana questioning her future -Vicki and her first One on One with Clayface -Clayface hiding the Hush army -Talia and Bruce seeing eachother again -Lucius Fox Jr. -”Knightfall” -Hush attacking Helena -Ethan and Yin cuteness -Lana learning about Q’s Betrayal -Lana’s Handler Pete Ross -Chloe hacking Checkmate -Lana’s nod to the end of the episode and Next season -Lana’s new hairdo choice -Bruce reading the journals -Thomas Elliot being real crazy like -The fact that you had two characters named “Thomas” in one scene and you handled it gracefully -Kyle . I was not pleased!! -Talia having a sibling moment with Kyle -Vicki’s guilt about Mitchell -Vicki and Ethan FINALLY getting it -Robed Warriors in the tunnels attacking Yin? . I see....I will get back to this later. -Yin finding out Clayface is Ethan -Vicki vs Hush. Round 2 -Helena is Hush?  ? (I already know how this plays out.hahaha. Although I damn near almost had a panic attack because I thought I got it wrong. But then I read episode 18 and it cleared it up for me). -MAXWELL LORD......oh shit Chloe Sullivan In this episode, We get to see Chloe finally interact with Lana Lang after all the years of being apart, and Jack Malone, you didnt disappoint. It was great having Lana and Chloe interact with eachother. It was a nice way to see how far the two of them have come and the different roles they both play now since the last time they saw eachother. Another thing that I enjoyed about Chloe in this episode, is that we also saw her finally come face to face with Waller again. That reminded me of Smallville when they kidnapped her the first time and I freaked out then because I had forgotten Waller is a boss bitch. The final thing that interested me about Chloe in this episode is that, as subtle as it is, the after effects of the 50th episode definitely bleed into this episode. Chloe has finally accepted everything that has happened to her, and she is still trying to make being a hero work, even though she knows she will never have that luxury of a normal life. I like that Chloe has grown from trying to leave this life behind. Also, Chloe and Helena need to have more coffee dates. Bruce Wayne So in this episode, Bruce is basically trying to get the Hush mystery concluded. I enjoyed the fact that he is playing detective more and more. I like that this aspect of the Batman persona is really great and I want it explored even more. His scenes with Helena, dear god their is a seriously MASSIVE change in their dynamic since S1. I love how Bruce still considers her a friend/ally although he still thinks she should rot in prison. Im glad that he put the city above Chloe. It shows that he’s grown so much from being the guy who acts without thinking. Bruce’s scenes with Talia, they broke my heart. I honestly was waiting for her to finally tell him, but when it didnt happen, I had to trudge through and see if it was going to come up. I jumped for joy though when Bruce finally figured out the Hush mystery somewhat and stopped Talia from taking out Kyle. Helena Bertinelli Oh boy. So for Helena this episode, I enjoyed that she and Chloe were able to have quality time together. It was a really nice display of their friendship that has taken a back seat for most of the season. It was also nice to see that Helena was on a rampage to save Chloe for the beginning of the episode. Her scenes with Bruce were fantastic and i like the fact that she was the one to find out Bruce was Batman. Her interactions with Lucius were fantastic and I enjoyed them. If their is more interactions between them i will be happy for it. The fact that Hush kidnapped her and had her dress up as him was pretty genius. Even though, we all know who Hush is at this point. But I get what was happening and I approve Vicki Vale Surprisingly, Im going to save this one. Wait till the finale. She had alot to do this episode but I have to wait on this Kyle Williams Wait for Episode 20 review. Because, I figured his secret out the second you revealed he was Dusan Al Ghul Talia Wait till Episode 21 Ethan Bennett and Ellen Yin Gunna have to wait on this one.hahahah Lucius Fox Jr. Have to say, when I saw this, I thought you had forgotten that you killed him off last season. But then I remember that he had a son. Iglad this plot point finally got addressed. I did enjoy him working with Helena and he should work with Team Watchtower next season. Amanda Waller Seeing how she cause alot of hassle for our heroes, it was very great that the offset of that had her eye get removed by Hush. Another thing i enjoyed, was the fact that she got gunned down by Maxwell Lord. Im sure something ominous is going to happen now. Pauline Kahn Wait till episode 19 Maxwell Lord I did NOT see that coming. Although, its good to see him again after that ABRUPT disappearance after working for the Red Queen. I really want to know what he’s planning. Thomas Elliot All i have to say for now, He is crazy. More on that in the finale review Q Oh what can I say....he gets a special mention. Im really glad that you incorporated him in this episode. I hope Q can pop up again later on down the line. But I highly doubt it. So I will take the special guest star appearance and call it a win. Lana Lang So, its been three seasons and 50 episodes so now its time to bring back in a smallville Vet. Enter Lana Lang. I know im beating a dead horse when im saying this, but you write the smallville gang so well. Lana was no exception. I was really happy that she showed up in this episode. It honestly felt like we are just picking up with her after she took off from Smallville. I was super excited for the fact that she was working for A.R.G.U.S and that Pete was her handler. it was great to see after the events of the 50th, had some more sway in the real world. Another thing that really sealed the deal for me, the fact that Chloe and Lana finally have a chance to reconnect. Their scenes together actually felt like i was re-watching smallville a little. Oh and the little nod to her red hair made me smile. You did a perfect job showing their relationship, and hopefully you get Lana to come back and play in the Watchtower sandbox again. I was very happy to see that Lana is finally wanting to lead a normal life. And as i said before, her wanting to erase her identity, reminded me of the fact that Lana is in the same place Chloe was during S10 of smallville. Her line to Waller gave me chills, and totally clued us into the fact that Lana might have known that something was going to happen soon, and of course we wont find out till S4. Very Sneaky. All in All, aside from random jumps that kind of threw me for a loop, and the great scenes between certain characters, I deem this episode a 9 out of 10. Sorry it took so long for me to finally finish this review. Episode 18 will be up next!!! |
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Post by Jack Malone on Jan 1, 2016 22:54:00 GMT -6
Watchtower Episode 17 Review After traversing a “what-if” scenario with Chloe, and getting nuggets of what to come, We come back to the main Hush storyline of the season. This episode sees the Notorious Hush break into Checkmate headquarters and rip out Amanda Waller’s eye all for access to a virus that could kill alot people. Luckily Waller decides to use her ace in the hole, Chloe Sullivan, and gives her 24 hours to stop Hush with the assistance of the long lost Lana Lang. Meanwhile Bruce digs deeper into his parents death in order to figure out who the hell Hush is, even though we ALL know who it is. I called that by the way. Just wait till episode 19 Jack....... But this episode was well done. I specifically love this episode because it finally brings one more smallville vet into the Watchtower fold. Lana Lang. She was a breakout hit in this episode and it really felt like the good old days of Smallville. I loved the references to Trinity and the story itself. Also the ending of the episode just about killed me. So I for one am very excited for my review for episode 18. So without further ado lets get on with this one I'm glad you liked the episode It's pretty easy to break into a top secret organisation when you can literally teleport in, haha I really liked writing this scene. The thing about Waller, for me, is that she's not terrified of anyone. She's always in control, and always has this level of power and self-awareness that gives her strength. So she can go up to Hush, and give zero fucks, basically, but the second he mentions this virus, this incurable virus that could wipe out whole cities... she suddenly realises she doesn't have that power over him, and she is in trouble, and to go a step further and have Hush rip out her eye... it was just a really cool scene to write, purely based on dynamics and how quickly that can shift. Chloe and Helena had a major falling out back in the second season, and I feel like it's kind of stained their relationship ever since. I don't remember writing too many overly friendly moments between them, and they have always kind of been in their own worlds, but there has been a connection there, and a "BFF" type quality there that is fun to tap into from time to time. This was one of those episodes where I felt it was needed to follow up on their friendship, and to have them take the time to say, you know, "Please don't go." I think that was huge for Helena to do. I knew that Lana would be affiliated with ARGUS but I wanted to have a bit of a surprise coming from the 50th, so I thought it would be cool to have her resurface on different sides. Also, my original story had a Checkmate agent break out of the organisation, and be on the run, and collide with Chloe on what she was doing. This felt more organic, and felt more interesting, in a less stand-alone kind of way. I think bringing in a character like Lana also made me want to write stuff that would be more important to the main story, as this episode very much was just going to be about Chloe moving on from Oliver, a little bit, and finding love in someone else, however brief that would be. So I'm happy with how things ended up First letter taken in honor of "Trinity" and Quentin, but not Quentin, haha! I'm always hopeful Chris will eventually write Trinity again, and I don't want to touch his original creations either. But when I needed a "codename" I thought taking the first letter of Quentin would be a nice little nod towards the show. This was totally not planned until it came to breaking the episode. I'm glad it was well received I'm really happy with the feedback for these two! Come back in the finale I like writing their scenes cause they're like best friends with a lot of history. More stuff coming up for them later I felt like it was important to play on the one thing that Lana has never really been successful with as a means of kind of having that familiarity for the character. She was always unlucky in love, and I think it felt organic to show her having this relationship that was digital, because that made it easier for her to connect, and to form feelings without the concept of getting hurt the way she did with Clark. Again, I wasn't asking the audience to be invested in this 'romance,' but it felt like a progression of the last time we saw her, imo. I thought you might like his addition. To be honest, I needed a handler, and I didn't want just any random. If there was a time to introduce Quentin, it would have been as a handler, but again, that's not my place to use someone else's material and characters, especially without permission, and while I'm sure if I asked Chris, he'd be fine with it, I wouldn't see the point because it'd essentially be a name, and not the awesome story Chris had planned for him. So I went with Pete, especially coming out of the 50th and having a lot of fun with the character there! Haha, I'm glad you noticed that one! Thanks for the compliment, lmao! I'm sorry. I loved writing that scene, though! Finally revealing Ethan as Clayface was fun, and I feel like having a character like Hush who can play with time, and mold things, and pluck people out of their timelines... the idea to bring Clayface on and do more with that character than what was originally intended was just an opportunity I couldn't pass up. Thanks, man! For Chloe, I wanted the 50th to be the real milestone for her as a character going forward, and I think part of what her character has been on 'Watchtower,' is someone very conflicted between the different roles she played, trying to figure out how to be a hero, how to do this, and how to balance that, and she's given up, she's been defeated, she's tried and failed, and the big thing that she learned in that particular episode was that not only wasn't she alone, but that these people she works with and sees every day, or every week, they're also included into her 'family,' and if there's anything Chloe does it's protect and look after her family. So that's the kind of after effects I wanted to bleed into these last S3 episodes, and onwards. There is no giving up from here on out, and that's exciting. The plan is to hone in on the detective side of things for the fourth season for Bruce. In terms of his relationship with Helena, I loved writing that scene because, as I said to Brady, Huntress is Batman without the restraint in a number of ways. And so I thought it would be cool to come back in S3 with Huntress sort of running Gotham, and being the primary vigilante, and having them at odds. And now, what I'm finding is an interesting development, is having Helena and Bruce form a bond, develop a friendship and a level of respect that we haven't seen before, and see where that can go from here on out. I don't think its obvious who Hush is at this point in the story, so I'm confused by that remark, but in terms of unmasking Helena as Hush, it was never intended to be the big reveal or be plausible even slightly. It's been confirmed that Hush is blonde, and in this episode, he's someone who has had access to the Watchtower database. What happens to Helena only works to dramatise and heighten her arc, and what she'll be going through in the next episode, particularly In terms of discovering the secret, it was something I hadn't planned until it came time to breaking the episode. It felt like the right time for that particular relationship. I also am getting really annoyed with having Chloe, Bruce, Helena, Vicki, etc, in the Clocktower and only Chloe knowing Bruce's secret identity. So I made a decision to let some of those mysteries no longer be mysteries, and for Helena, the time felt right for this one. I'm glad it was well received For me, I knew that an iconic character such as Lucius Fox couldn't not be involved in Batman's story. But I mean, we've had 'Smallville' show Jimmy Olsen, kill him, and reveal him to be Henry, and we've had on 'Arrow,' someone called Canary, dressed as 'Black Canary,' killed, and then finally Laurel Lance becomes the real Black Canary. I felt, due to Lucius Fox's age in S2, there was an opportunity to introduce a son now, and to have a storyline with someone carrying on their father's legacy, and I'm definitely interested in exploring him further in the next season, especially after the events that transpired in 'Hush.' I really can't talk much about Waller, her fate, or what happened in that final scene more than I have in my response to Brady, but I loved writing her in this episode. Our new 'Watchtower' big bad. I'm excited to write for a character like him next season. Things are still very early stages, but I've known since the beginning of S3 that he would be the next "big bad," and this felt like the perfect way to introduce him into the story, and really connect into what I do have planned for him in S4. I'm really proud of how I incorporated Thomas Elliot into the Hush storyline. I wasn't sure how people would feel about him not being Hush, but I knew I wanted him to be part of the story, and hopefully, as even more layers unfold, his presence will still be felt as part of the mystery and part of the story he was involved in within that mythology Using "Q" was a nod to Trinity, but he's not Quentin. I'm sorry, buddy. In this episode, I wanted to have some nods to Trinity involved, but I had zero plans of using the show's mythology. Quentin was an original character created by Chris, who was my absolute favourite character on the show and I wanted to give a nod to that by using the first letter of his name for a completely different character on 'Watchtower.' I'm sorry if there were any misunderstandings. Thank you so much, man. I went back and studied the character closely and tried to replicate that voice, and the way Lana was, but also keep in mind that it has been five years since we saw her, and she hasn't just been sitting around doing nothing for those five years. I'm glad you liked her involvement in this episode and the previous one. I wasn't going to mention Pete as her handler, but instead, show his number plate as reading the first issue the character ever appeared in for the comics, but then added the name anyway, because I didn't think people would go as far as to search a number plate up and go "who is that?" and then find out. But all this stuff about hearing the character, and feeling like you're watching smallville again, makes me happy, and is a huge compliment so thank you! I wanted that parallel to really show the impact of the 50th. Chloe is against the idea of faking her death, and leaving her entire life behind because that was a path she went down and regrets. I wanted it to be where Lana starts in this episode because it kind of reminds us of the history a little, and reminds us of Chloe's journey, and allows their interactions to be even more meaningful than just catching up with an old friend. For Lana, though, I felt it was important to keep her on the hero journey. I liked writing that line where she said she's realising she's not good under pressure, because it still allows everything she experienced in this episode to feel warranted, and she did want that normal life, and she did want to give it all up. Now she's filled with a new purpose, and that's making sure this suit doesn't end up in the wrong hands. How that storyline will go, we'll have to wait and see for S4 Lana definitely knew what was going to happen. She didn't have a specific note saying, "this person will shoot Waller in her office," but she knew there were people inside Checkmate that weren't really to be trusted. More in S4 Thanks for the review. I'm sorry for my terrible reply, I'm beyond tired today, but I appreciate it nonetheless |
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Post by The Doctor on Jan 2, 2016 19:27:30 GMT -6
So when I said that at this point it was obvious who Hush was, I was speaking about myself.hahaha
Sorry I should have made that clearer
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Post by Brady Brown on Jan 2, 2016 23:50:15 GMT -6
REVIEW: 3.18 "Salvation"
This was a reaaaally good episode. So many good character beats and a really engaging, fast plot. I really appreciated the focus on Helena in this episode and the ties ins to her list at the beginning of the season. I think it was nice that this episode fell at the tail end of the season, because it reminded us that this is still a very prominent aspect of Helena's life and shows us how broken she's been this season. It also saw the return of Lisa, who has an extremely complicated relationship with Helena, but regardless always boils down to a mutual love they share for one another. Lisa took an incredibly dark turn at the episode's end, but we'll return to that in a moment.
Helena was a real shining star in this episode. Facing all of these literal demons that she planned to rid the world of in such a frightening setting was really a nightmare come to life. It really encapsulated her list and put them all in their own hell, where she also believed she belonged with them. Helena's story has just been all around fascinating this season, because it's definitely one of the darkest but I think that's what makes it the most engaging. She really started this season in a terrible place emotionally, and when the gaps filled in that one year time jump it just made it all the more worse for her. I think this episode really saw a turning point for her in the series, not just season, because Lisa is dead - she's lost another loved one - and she's been confronted by Hush. I think Helena is in a real vulnerable state right now, and I'm extremely excited to see what's in store for her in these final episodes and to see how she (hopefully) continues to grow in the next season.
Despite being a Helena-centric episode, Barbara Gordon definitely stole the entire episode. Her dialogue was great and her interactions with Chloe, Bruce, and Gordon were all so well contrasted and constructed. Going from being 110% behind Chloe and her actions, to putting Bruce in his place about why she helps her city, to her adorable, illegal interaction with Gordon, Barbara has become such a complex character this season and she's been such a joy to read about. I love her drive and determination, and I also love her resiliency to people who try and put her down because of her character.
Lisa's decision to kill herself just really shows how dark this show can get and how dark everyone's lives have become. I think Lisa was always a tortured soul, and to see her not come out of this season alive was really heartbreaking. It's obvious she truly loved Helena, and Helena truly loved her, so I think that's what stings most about this death. I don't think I ever expected them to make it out of this episode, or season, together, but - gah! - Lisa's death just really stung, man.
There were three rather small things that I feel could have been improved upon, though. The first was Film Freak; I thought he was a really great idea to bring into the episode as the antagonist, and I really love his persona and character, but I feel as though he wasn't utilized to the best of his ability. I wanted more film references, I wanted more motivation to his antics, and I think more development on his part would have really helped. The second thing is Chloe revealing herself as Watchtower; now, the act itself I found to be really shocking and a good turning point, but I feel like it also lacked development? I mean, I get that it was supposed to be shocking, but I feel almost like we missed a scene between her telling Bruce to go get that information from Sarah to her popping up on everyone's TV screen. I think a scene, maybe contemplating this really big decision could have allowed this to have a bit more fluidity. And lastly, this is definitely the most minor and just a preference, I think a mini flashback to Talia or whoever healing Lisa with the lazarus serum would have been really beneficial, and would have stayed with the theme of mini flashbacks we got throughout the episode.
Some other points:
- I like that Gordon and Sarah have a past. I hope that's explored more. Sarah working with Hush was also a nice twist.
- I loved Bane's inclusion. He's a beast and the way he manhandled Bruce was extremely frightening. Also, the way he so easily turned on Burt because Chloe had more money was a lot of fun.
- Talia's role in this episode, while small, has me intrigued. I know this serum is going to come into play again, and I'm... both excited and worried for how. I don't know if I expect Bruce to use it on himself after what happened with Chloe last year, so I have no idea where this is going and I love that.
- I loved Chloe's determination to save Helena, and her decision to make such a risky reveal to do so just showed how much she cares for her. I think they've definitely had a strained relationship, and I'm excited to see where it goes from here.
Overall, really loved this episode; though, I don't think that's a surprise. The stakes have been raised so high and it's so easy to tell that this season is starting to wrap up. I loved the developments made in this episode, and I can't wait to see what happens (and who dies) next!
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Post by Brady Brown on Jan 3, 2016 13:16:26 GMT -6
REVIEW: 3.19 "Fate"
This was an extremely bittersweet episode that saw the sendoff for Perry White, a character that's been with us since the beginning of Watchtower. Going into this episode, I had absolutely no idea what to expect from it and having absolutely no idea how Perry would end his role on the series (for now, at least). This was definitely one of if not the most emotional episode of the season so far, especially towards the end where a majority of the character were just hit with a wave of depressing outcomes. All that being said, I thought this was an very well-crafted episode that gave a painfully beautiful send off for the new Editor and Chief of the Daily Planet.
Perry has always been somewhat of a dark horse on this show for me. He's never been my favorite, but he's never been my least favorite; I've always enjoyed his storylines and development throughout the seasons. This season, along with most of the characters, we saw Perry reach his ultimate low. Hell, we saw him each a different kind of low in this episode in attempting to make this literally life-altering decision when it comes to his relationship to Chloe. That's were the bittersweetness comes in. His goodbye to Chloe was pretty hard to read, because it's so obvious this is not how he truly feels but he has to say these words for her sake. It's really hard being left with Chloe thinking Perry wants nothing to do with her, and I commend you for being able to tug on those heartstrings especially when it comes to a character I have never outright loved.
Perry and Chloe's relationship was also put to its limit in this episode. These two have an incredible history on the show, and it was nice to see that they were at least able to spend one last moment with one another (with Adele playing in the background, hey). The line "I'm not your father" was just... a bit shattering, to say the least. Because it's so obvious that he's been such a prominent male role model for a Chloe - a father figure to her. Their relationship has been a real driving point of this series thus far, so I'm interested to see how everything is going to operate without Perry in the mix.
We also saw Dr. Fate in this episode, who had some real standout dialogue. I thought they were the proper mix of methodical and mysterious, so I commend you on the crafting of their character and involvement in this episode. The ending with the removing of the helmet has me all kinds of intrigued to see what comes of this, though if I recall correctly that aspect won't be answered for a while; however, the fact that it gave Perry the satisfaction and hope that Chloe will be okay without his presence in her life was a nice addition. My speculation is that Chloe herself becomes Dr. Fate by the series end. I think that would be a really fun and unique twist on both characters, but like I said I'm happy with just waiting to see how this plays out since it allowed Perry a sense of relief with his decision.
Lois Lane made a reappearance as well! I've really enjoyed her small involvement this season, and I hope we see more of her. Her witty dialogue was another huge standout this episode, and her relationship with Chloe just instantly feels so nostalgic and loved. I really liked the scene where Lois storms into Perry's office to tell him off on his mistreatment of Chloe, and Perry just starts to unravel to her. Really great stuff.
And then - AND THEN - we discover who Hush is. It was a nice way to conclude the episode by revealing it to be Oliver. I'm just guessing that the time travel aspect is brought in again, but I have no idea. I don't think this is a ploy, and I also don't think that Hush is truly Kyle. I think the latter would be a bit too predictable. With that being said, I'm going to have to wait until the next episode to see how I truly feel about it, to be honest. I love big reveals like this, but I can never actually settle down on my thoughts until I hear their reasoning behind their motives of world domination. But regardless, it was a very shocking reveal, and I'm extremely excited to find out what happens next.
Some other notes:
- The Ethan/Clayface subplot has me a little confused. I think I understand that he is Clayface, but... I'm not entirely sure. I'm assuming this time travel aspect is being incorporated into it. I just think this story gets a little swept under the rug with a lot of the other things happen, but that's in no way saying I don't think it's being done well or that I'm not enjoying it.
- Harley not actually being dead because she was saved from the fall off the roof... I'm a bit mixed about it. I love that Harley's back, but I'm not entirely in love with the reasoning behind it, but that's honestly just a personal preference and didn't take anything away from her and the Joker's involvement in the episode, which was crazy and depressing.
- I really enjoyed that final Kahn/Perry scene, as well as Kahn caring for Vicki.
- Helena's decision to almost end her life was another dark turn. I'm glad she didn't go through with it tho, not because she's my favorite character, but because that would have felt repetitive with what happened with Lisa last episode. And Helena was confronted by Hush again! Jeez! I hope she gets some kind of revenge on him, regardless if it's Earth 32 or the real Oliver or not.
Another standout episode this season. Things are continuing to rear up into the finale (the Joker AND Harley Quinn are back!) and so much craziness is beginning to ensue. Hopefully we start getting some answers about Hush and this reveal in the next episode! Seriously can't wait.
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Post by Jack Malone on Jan 3, 2016 16:28:48 GMT -6
REVIEW: 3.18 "Salvation"This was a reaaaally good episode. So many good character beats and a really engaging, fast plot. I really appreciated the focus on Helena in this episode and the ties ins to her list at the beginning of the season. I think it was nice that this episode fell at the tail end of the season, because it reminded us that this is still a very prominent aspect of Helena's life and shows us how broken she's been this season. It also saw the return of Lisa, who has an extremely complicated relationship with Helena, but regardless always boils down to a mutual love they share for one another. Lisa took an incredibly dark turn at the episode's end, but we'll return to that in a moment. Thanks, man. This entire episode was one where the file got corrupt, and I had to start it over a bunch of times, and it traveled interstate with me where I eventually finished it, and then, as you know, uploaded the wrong draft, so I was expecting the feedback to really poor on this one purely because the production behind it all has just been all over the place, so I appreciate finding nice feedback! Something I really wanted to do in the back half of this season was take any and all loose threads and kind of start joining them together, and while I felt that maybe the whole 'list' aspect of it all might be seen as "done," I personally felt there was more to tell and so that was the whole concept behind these games. I'm glad you saw it that way, too, and really enjoyed the idea behind the general premise. I didn't want it to be just a 'villain of the week / Helena stuck in a random plot,' I wanted it to really compliment her journey and start to wrap that journey up for this season. This was definitely the climax to her story. I think you might enjoy some aspects of how this season pans out for her, but maybe not others. I'm excited to see your thoughts on it, nonetheless. I was so, so, so worried about Barbara's role in this episode because I didn't want her and Bruce to overshadow such a big episode for Helena. But I'm very relieved you enjoyed it, and I think you can see how much fun I have with her character, especially in this episode. It was honestly never planned for her to become Oracle so quickly, or at least fill those shoes and that role this season, but it just made sense and kind of happened organically as things progressed, and I'm glad she's been welcomed on the show with open arms! She has a pretty big arc coming up in the next few episodes This departure took on so many different forms. The truth about Lisa is that originally, she was supposed to just leave the show, and leave it all behind, but then I found her devotion to Helena so interesting that I thought it would be out of character to have that, and it would be more interesting to see her sort of encapsulate Helena's greatest fear in that the people closest to her are just doomed. She's been a highlight for me in that new story just surfaced for her the more I broke episodes. For example, I liked the idea of Helena turning her into the cops because it tied back into the very beginning of her story, and I liked the idea of Lisa killing herself to essentially save Helena because it also tied back into the very beginning of her story in how she would sacrifice herself for Helena, sacrifice her freedom, and now her life. I think there's probably a lot of psychological stuff that could be explored with Lisa, because while some could just say "it's love," it's actually crazy and totally unhealthy, haha! I don't want to say I'm happy it stung, but I was worried the level of care behind this relationship and this character had kind of faded out, so I am glad that when push came to shove it was something that still resonated, so thanks for this particular piece of feedback, it means a lot Yeah, I would have loved to do more with him. I think more film references would have been great. I think if I had more time to go back and make changes, I would make the "salvation games," tie into more film references and less "every man for themselves, battle the death." But I think with the amount of characters there were in the games, and the amount of things I needed to tell, I just let that particular desire slip past me. But I totally agree, it also would have been a lot more fun to write. In terms of his motivations, I wanted to be more subtle about it. I think there's a line where Chloe directly asks him why he does this, and he talks about knowing corruption when he sees it, and talking about how criminals only get put away for whatever amount of time and then get free, or get forgotten about. It would be nice to bring him back at some point in the future, and round him out even more, so I see wanting to know more about him as a plus because it means, while there's a lack of information and complete back story, I'm sure there's a desire to see more from him, so we'll see No, you did miss a lot, intentionally. There's an entire discussion and an entire plan formed between Chloe and Barbara before Bruce comes into the picture, and that's when he sort of walks in on the middle of their conversation, and that ties into: "Some things are best left unsaid, right?" "I hope you remember that." And it sets up this idea that she knew almost instantly how she was going to have to get Helena out of this mess. So she had kind of figured out what she was going to do prior to all of it. But I promise revealing herself to the world isn't a storyline that is going to just be a plot device for saving Helena, it bleeds into where things are progressing for Chloe's character, and will play a huge role at the beginning of Season 4 You know what sucks, I'm a sucker for mini flashbacks at any point in time, and that would have been a great opportunity to use one! Thanks! There's a lot of that past explored in these last few episodes so hopefully you like whatever history is unraveled between them in the coming episodes. In terms of her involvement with Hush, I hope you like what comes out of it! Bane was a lot of fun to write. I thought to introduce him in this one, and then realised there's actual history between him and Burt in the comics, and I was like oh shite. Haha. But I think the reason behind bringing him in is that I was looking for more of an explanation behind the location of the Salvation Games, and I felt it could compliment things if he was raised in that hell hole. Also, my memories of him, aside from The Dark Knight Rises, is from Batman The Animated Series where he was like a hired hit-man and did jobs for money, and I felt it would be a nice twist for Chloe to figure that out and offer him more to help her. In terms of Chloe and the money, that's a plot thread that comes up later too. She had to get the money from somewhere, and it would have had to have been a pretty large sum, so where she got it from, and what comes out of that, is something that I think is revealed in the season finale. It seems minor at the moment, but it plays into something much larger Basically, you're right, haha! I'm happy you're suspicious of whether Bruce will take it or if it'll be used elsewhere Coming out of the fiftieth episode, I felt like Chloe made this group of friends her family, and because we've seen what she does for her family, it feels right, going forward, that she goes above and beyond for Helena, for Bruce, for Barbara, for Vicki, etc. I would love to have more Chloe/Helena stuff in the future I'm glad! Thank you so much, man. I just hope how the season wraps isn't a total mess of disappointment, haha! |
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More on that in the future! 
? (I already know how this plays out.hahaha. Although I damn near almost had a panic attack because I thought I got it wrong. But then I read episode 18 and it cleared it up for me).