The Equalizer (2021) s01e09 – True Believer

This episode has a lot of stones. It’s very modern—a group of disaffected white guys become an alt-right terror cell because one of them’s a cop and really wants to use all his access to explosives for evil (it could potentially age very poorly)—and they all got together on a Parler knockoff.

And it tries really hard to be simple and direct about the stuff. Very empathetic but then there’s the “well, actually, cops kill Black people so we’ll not be doing the cops are okay either” ending and it’s very, very bold all of a sudden. For CBS anyway. I’ve long suspected “Equalizer” filmed before summer 2020 and only now is starting to get to recently filmed material. Queen Latifah and company—including now duplicitous cop Tory Kittles (who’s better this episode than he’s been in a while; he’s quite good)—are trying to stop a white supremacist bombing somewhere in the New York area. Complicating matters are white terrorist cop (oxymoron?) Christopher Cassarino being too smart to get caught being a white terrorist and then Laya DeLeon Hayes really wanting Latifah to do a TikTok even though Latifah can’t let her face get out online.

Even though the episode has the most (and sadly therefor worst) Adam Goldberg in a while, it’s also the most joyous in… ever maybe? The show leans super hard on parenting is the universal bond and it’s cute. Latifah’s cute as the awkward uncool mom who’s less hip than aunt Lorraine Toussaint. It’s predictable because it fits into the trope but also original because it’s Queen Latifah. Though it’d still be nice if Goldberg were better. He gets a bunch of exposition here and butchers most of it, his timing way off.

Excellent direction from Laura Belsey. The terror thrills—potentially too on-the-nose conspiracy plot or not—are excellent. Lots of tension. Belsey does a fine job creating this genre adventure in an existing show. It’s a spy show but also the suburban and urban procedural. I kept waiting to see if they’d be able to fit Chris Noth in (or to afford to be able to fit Chris Noth in). No, but they don’t need him either.

The writing credit goes to Keith Eisner; he and the room get a gold star for credit, because it’s a lot less apolitical than you’d expect. Especially on CBS Sunday night.

I’m all of a sudden very curious how season two’s going to work.

Batwoman (2019) s01e09 – Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two

So “Batwoman”’s Crisis crossover is rather instructional, at least in understanding what’s going to go wrong with it (the crossover). The writing. “Batwoman”’s script is all right. Not great, but leaps and bounds over the previous one. Even if the performances get a little shaky and they’re trying too hard to foreshadow, but Don Whitehead and Holly Henderson’s script does something “Supergirl” couldn’t manage. They make a decent “hour” of superhero adventure TV.

Albeit an hour with absolutely nothing to do with the regular “Batwoman” stuff, including having Ruby Rose play second-fiddle to pretty much everyone and then have this weird “straight-coding” moment with Melissa Benoist, which is a pointless Bechdel fail. How is it possible the Arrowverse shows can’t find a writer capable of not screwing up at least one of the characterizations. It’s not like comics got to have writers’ rooms or paid assistants so you’d think there’d be someone checking on this stuff, but whatever. It’s a short scene and soon gives way to the simultaneously successful and not successful Kevin Conroy cameo.

How does “Batwoman” get away with never having Batman on the show? Go to the future on an alternate Earth during the Crisis and introduce old man Batman Kevin Conroy (who voiced the “Animated Series” cartoon for years along with a bunch of other cartoon features and video games). Shame Conroy’s really bad at acting. Though director Laura Belsey gets major props for trying to hide it. Most of Rose and Conroy’s scenes together consist of Rose standing and listening to Conroy speak, close-up on Rose, maybe an over the shoulder from Conroy every once and a while because that way Conroy’s speaking but not having to emote. It’d be more impressive if the Conroy cameo added up to anything, but not really.

Meanwhile, there’s the Jon Cryer’s Lex Luthor hopping universes to kill Superman over and over again, leading to a shockingly good Tom Welling cameo. I’ve never seen “Smallville” but Welling seemed like he’d impress as an actor but he’s good here. Is able to play off Cryer without much setup. Good stuff.

Then there’s Brandon Routh getting to put on the Kingdom Come Superman outfit and do a Superman Returns sequel, with plenty of references… then a sad Joker one. And it turns out… Routh really was a lot better at playing Clark Kent than Superman. Maybe he’d have grown into the part if Returns had gotten its Man of Steel but… also maybe not. Though he’s in old age makeup and CG-buffed or something to play old man Superman here so who knows.

Oh, right, then there’s Grant Gustin and Caity Lotz (the best performance in “Supergirl,” decidedly not feeling it here; she seems exhausted) going on a secret mission with Green Arrow fille (Katherine McNamara, who’s not good) and exhausted too but still lovable Matt Ryan. Dominic Purcell shows up for some comic relief, along with an actual nice surprise cameo.

Candice Patton’s also around, participating in the continuing Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch “Superman Family” backdoor pilot. It’s still cute enough, more so here just because the episode’s a lot better television than the “Supergirl.”

Shame the Arrowverse producers didn’t care about consistent writing… with this crew on the whole crossover, Crisis might have had a chance. But hopefully it won’t ever be as bad as “Supergirl”’s entry again.

Got to be fair and point out there’s less LaMonica Garrett in this episode than the “Supergirl,” which means less absurdly godawful acting and just regular tepid TV performances and not even many of those… it’s a very professionally executed episode.