Tag Archives | Ali Trotta

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THE FLASH: Savitar Ruins Everything

The Flash’s 15th episode (“The Wrath of Savitar”) started off fun and lighthearted (the race! The billboard!)—and then quickly took a nosedive into Terrible Life Choices, a suburb of Nopeville. From discovering Barry’s proposal had other (albeit life-saving) intentions to Wally finally revealing he’s been hallucinating Savitar, nearly everyone suffers a setback, emotional or otherwise. […]

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Of Moping and Mercy on THE FLASH

The Flash’s 14th episode (“Attack on Central City”) was full of Cisco puns, HR/Harrison clashes, freakouts, and emotional manipulation. Plot-wise, the mind controlling of a general to get access to missiles wasn’t my favorite. But it did mean I got to yell at the screen—and by the screen, I mean Barry. This episode really brought […]

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SUPERGIRL: You Can’t Go Home Again

Supergirl’s 14th episode (“Homecoming”) managed to be both emotionally grueling and predictable (plot-wise). In this episode, I related most to…Mon-El. Okay, that’s a sentence I never thought I’d type, but here we are. Yes, he and Kara had a cute morning after (complete with flowers he puts in the lampshade!). But this is followed by […]

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THE FLASH: Big Trouble in Gorilla City

The Flash’s 13th episode (“Attack on Gorilla City”) was charming. From Cisco’s Fay Wray reference to everyone calling Julian Indiana Jones, it was an entertaining episode. Yes, Harrison was kidnapped. And sure, Barry had to take a spin in an arena against Solovar (voiced by GOLIATH! Sorry, Keith David. But SQUEE!) in what Cisco called […]

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Real Love vs. Illusion on SUPERGIRL

Supergirl’s 13th episode (“Mrs and Mr. Mxyzptlk”) made me laugh, while tackling some heavy relationship issues. First of all, whoever does the music on the show? You’re wonderful. Second of all, whoever decided to have Mxyzptlk (a compelling Peter Gadiot) sing Aladdin songs, make Hamilton references (“How do you like the duds, Monsieur Hamilton? I’m […]

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SUPERGIRL and the Power of Belief

Supergirl’s 12th episode (“Luthors”) was full of equal parts awkward, heartbreaking, and endearing. First, obviously, is Mon-El’s weird dance of lies. He claims to be dating Eve, but Eve tells Kara he spent their entire date talking about her. Kara tells Mon-El she was mad at him for dating Eve, but then…runs away. Okay, to […]

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THE FLASH: Can’t Touch This

The Flash’s 12th episode (“Untouchable”) was all about learning, although it did so in different ways. Sure, we learned that on HR’s Earth, Al Capone was the vice president. And we learned that Barry and Wally have a healthy competitive streak. But there were more serious lessons. Iris finally cracked and told Joe the truth […]

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Love and Risk in SUPERGIRL

Supergirl’s 11th episode (“The Martian Chronicles”—shoutout to Ray Bradbury) gave me a whole lotta feels, y’all. Let’s start with the awkward, shall we? It’s Kara’s Earth Birthday! Alex kiiiinda pulls a Sixteen Candles and forgets about it in favor of a date with Maggie…to see Barenaked Ladies. No, really. Is it suddenly 1999 again, or […]

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THE FLASH Dials It Up to 11

The Flash’s 11th episode (“Dead or Alive”) was so charming and so delightful. With the addition of HR and Julian, the dynamic is really working perfectly this season. And I’ve barely had the urge to yell at Barry, lately—something I honestly never thought I’d say. Julian’s role in this episode mostly involved snark masquerading as […]

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A Spark of Hope on SUPERGIRL

Supergirl’s tenth episode (“We Can Be Heroes”—Bowie reference ftw!) fell pretty neatly under the heading of heroism: what it means to be a hero, who can be a hero, the imperfection of heroes, and being the ordinary hero. But moreover? I think it’s about preconceptions and second chances. How, sometimes, even the supposed “villain” can […]

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Great Scott! THE FLASH Goes Back to the Future

The Flash’s 10th episode (“Borrowing Problems From the Future”) was a mesh of hopeless and hopeful. There are sweet, couple-y moments between Barry and Iris (guys, I love their new place, furnishing included. Is it bad that I’m jealous of fictional characters? Because yeah.). And then there’s having to re-watch the future, which means seeing […]

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Redshirts and Relationships on SUPERGIRL

Supergirl’s ninth episode (“Supergirl Lives”) covers a lot of ground, but with deft purpose. No slouch in the least, Kevin Smith brings his usual flair for humor and complicated, emotion-laden scenes. In short, it was good to have Kara and the whole gang back on screen. First, let’s talk about Winn. His confidence gets shaken, […]

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Count the Lights

The holidays often end up being a time of Claymation specials, bright lights, spiked punch, and—of course—reflection. Yes, family can be a bit of a minefield, and there’s always that one uncle that everyone avoids like the plague. And yes, the world appears to be quite the flaming garbage fire in a lot of respects. […]

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Welcoming the Future, Treasuring the Past.