Boomb Tube, The Week in Comic Book Television: 10/9-10/15/2022

Welcome back to Boomb Tube! Here, we will be catching you up on the week in comics TV, both through micro-reviews, as well as links to our full-length TV reviews. We also tend to review series that are dropped all at once weekly so there are a few ‘older’ shows mixed in for good measure. Are we missing your favorite show? Let us know in the comments!

Oh, and check out our still ongoing, for a couple more weeks at least, 2022 Summer TV binges, where Multiversity staffers reach back in time to review comics/comics-adjacent/nerdy shows all summer (and the first half of fall) long. (Here’s a handy list of what’s being covered too.) Thanks y’all.

Andor – “The Eye” (S1E6, Disney+)

Read our full review by Brian Salvatore.

Dead End: Paranormal Park – “Take the Angels Bowling” (S2E1, Netflix)

Tune in tomorrow for our full review of the season 2 premiere by Elias Rosner

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – “The Beginning of the End, Part 2” (S3E8, NETFLIX)

In case you missed it, read our full review of the series finale by Henry Finn

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – “Alloyed” (S1E8, Amazon Prime)

Read our full review of the season finale by Christopher Chiu-Tabet.

Pennyworth – “Silver Birch” (S3E4, HBO Max)

Our heist this week is to rescue Thomas from the Tower of London after his drug-influenced attack on Martha. The best part of this heist are the Batman gadgets that Lucius supplies for it including a grappling gun. Alfred is working at the request of Patrick Wayne who agrees to pay him a million pounds for the safe return of Thomas to Gotham. The crew is excited that this money could change their lives, but we all know they aren’t getting paid.

Alfred first approaches Aziz to see if there is an easier way to get Thomas out, but Aziz says the coming Commonwealth Summit makes things complicated politically. I will be keeping an eye out for this Commonwealth Summit as the season progresses as I bet it’ll be important.

Alfred and Daveboy both start and end the episode with Sandra and Sally respectively. Alfred was pretty horrible to Sandra last season and I don’t think this season will end any differently. On the flip side it looks like Sally has ulterior motives with Daveboy. She brings him to an art gallery as if to show off this new weird animal she’s found. I don’t trust her.

Rather than being sent back to Gotham, Thomas wants the truth about the lullaby drug and his father’s involvement. Alfred goes to see Patrick and meets Virginia for the first time. When Virginia finds out that Patrick was paying Alfred to break out Thomas she’s pissed. Thomas shows up early to punch his dad at which point Patrick spills the beams. Virginia is his CIA handler because he got himself into legal trouble. Alfred’s plan works out in the end as he’s got Aziz protecting Martha and the police showing up to hear Virginia’s confession.

But the lullaby story isn’t over yet folks. The episode ends with Dr. Glubb tied to a chair by a man in a Guy Fawkes mask. I doubt this is a crossover with “V for Vendetta,” but likely Warner Discovery corporate synergy. –Matthew Vincenty

Quantum Leap – “A Decent Proposal” (S1E4, NBC)

This episode of Quantum Leap has two milestones in it that make it feel very much like the original series: a first intergender leap, and the first guest star that future generations will go, “Oh shit, it’s that guy!” ‘That Guy’ in question is Justin Hartley, aka Oliver Queen from Smallville and the star of the failed Aquaman pilot for the CW (plus, you know, a little show called This Is Us). In this episode, he plays the boyfriend/bounty hunting partner of Ben’s leapee, a woman named Eva. This doesn’t give us the comedic value of Ben in high heels and stockings that the earlier iteration would’ve, but it also doesn’t dwell on outdated understandings of gender and ickiness when it comes to things like same-sex (for Ben) physical interactions. I’d say that comes out as better than a wash, though I do miss some “I hate eyeliner!” type outbursts.

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There are two other elements of this episode that will push the plot forward quite a bit. First of all, Magic is aware that he was leaped into by Sam during Vietnam, which is something we weren’t sure about as viewers. So, Project Quantum Leap is incredibly important to him for personal reasons. But the bigger driver of the plot for this season at least is Ben remembering that Addison is his girlfriend. She, of course, breaks protocol by confirming this, but we all get why she does it. I hope this will allow her presence to be a little more fun and memorable than just being the respectful, kind presence that Addison has bee throughout.

The good and bad of this new series becomes more clearer each week. While it may not be the Quantum Leap that I wanted it to be, it is finding its footing and, with a full season order, it will have even more time to shape itself into something special. But still, bring back the theme song in some way and give us a fucking “oh boy” every now and then. – Brian Salvatore

Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles – “Willow Branch” (S2E7, NETFLIX)

Seeing as how this episode is framed by O-Dokuro’s bone related powers, I should probably start by offering a correction. I initially thought I saw Sungwon Cho’s name in the credits for our favorite creepy skull but it turns out he has a different voice actor: Eric Bauza. Sorry Eric! But now I can praise him directly for his delivery on the line calling everyone “bone incubators” on the way to the main plot.

Speaking of, the gist of the episode is that after discovering that Willow Branch, Usagi’s original sword which I thought was Auntie’s sword but apparently wasn’t, is needed to cut the Clavis off the Ki-Stone, our band of goofs use O-Dokuro’s battlefield knowledge to track it down to a haunted valley where they have to first get the ghosts to move on before they can find the sword in a gauntlet of comedicly haunted swords. Standard samurai fare, of course.

Snark aside, this was actually a pretty good episode and the kind of focused adventure I was hoping to see more of. It’s nice and simple, the perfect autumn tale, and isn’t afraid to let the serious moments play out to full effect. Plus, there’s a good atmosphere (a creepy valley,) a clear objective (find the sword) and an obstacle that made me want to tear my hair out (these two pig ghosts). OK. Maybe it’s not a perfect episode but two out of three ain’t bad.

Those pigs though. UGH. Such a frustrating bunch. Their voice actors were clearly given bad direction, where they’re trying to sound ancient and ghostly but instead just come across as loud and wooden. Their conflict is also very weak, which is par for the course in the show but I was hoping for more by this point. The “two rival villages can’t see eye to eye” thing is dull not because it’s the go to plot for these situations; it’s that the show feels the need to bash us over the head with a bare-bones version of the plot AND indulge in bickering that isn’t funny when it’s supposed to be nor serious in moments when it should.

Instead of actually exploring the futility of unyielding battle or unfounded distrust, the episode explores what happens when two pig-headed generals are like two 8-year olds fighting over a swing set that could easily fit them both. I get that this is a kid’s show but these archetypes have always been grating – to kids and adults – and could easily have been done better, mostly by cutting out the attempts at humor and giving us more of that sweet 2D flashback animation. The earnest moments in the episode were great! Lean more into that and I think the show could overcome a lot of what’s holding it back.

Or it could lean in even harder and set up and entire plot just for one joke. I saw what you did with O-Dokuro, writers. Don’t think I didn’t. Next episode better not be the same or I will be very cross. Ikuzo! – Elias Rosner

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The Sandman – “Dream of a Thousand Cats/Calliope” (S1E11, Netflix)

Read our full review of the actual finale episode of season 1 by august (in the wake of) dawn.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – “Whose Show is This?” (S1E9, Disney+)

Read our full review of the season final by Quinn Tassin.

Stargirl – “Frenemies – Chapter Six: The Betrayal” (S3E6, The CW)

This is the episode that the season has been building to since it began, and yet, it does maybe the least to further the overarching ‘who killed the Gambler?’ plot. “The Betrayal” takes time to check in with each member of the JSA, even the lowly All-Stars, and looks, initially, like this will be an episode of small movement. Yolanda is grappling with her faith and what she needs to do; Rick has fixed the hourglass, which I’m sure won’t be problematic at all. Beth is still pushing her folks away; Cindy’s transformation is speeding up. Pat and Barbara are trying to get to know the Mahkent grandparents a bit, while Courtney is training Cameron. Hell, we even get a Zeke update and, let me tell ya folks: Zeke fucks. Confirmed canon.

But all of that changes in the last third of the episode, where everyone’s secrets come out. Courtney’s mentoring/dating of Cameron comes to light, as does Cindy’s physical transformation. The team seems way more concerned with Court’s behavior than they do about Cindy turning into a lizard, which seems like a ‘let’s deal with what we can’ situation, but is also pretty shitty. I know no one trusts her, but she’s literally growing scales and people are like “but Courtney was dishonest!?!?”

The situation with Courtney and Cameron is going to come to a head at some point; Cameron puts his father on a pedestal, and when he hears that the JSA killed him, he won’t hear the parts about his dad being a criminal mastermind. He’ll just learn that his girlfriend’s brother shattered him with a car. Add to that the grandparents being aware of the entire situation, and this won’t end well for Courtney. If her team was more forthright in that aspect of the relationship, maybe she’d listen. But the “he’s going to be evil!” argument doesn’t carry a ton of water for Courtney, with good reason.

This episode saves the two biggest moments for its last act. Sylvester finally gets the words right with Courtney, and speaks to her in away that a peer or a parent never could. And in doing so, he reveals his feelings and history in a way that makes him, for the first time, seem really vulnerable. Connecting Courtney’s memories of Henry’s death to his own feelings of loss has bonded Starman and Stargirl together in a way that is more profound than the Cosmic Staff ever could. But the other reveal is that Beth has discovered the surveillance cameras pointed at all of their homes, and one squarely in the Whitmore/Dugan kitchen. Now, why she couldn’t text Courtney this instead of come to their house and make juice is something to consider, but the revelation will force the team to likely take things a little more carefully from now on.

Also, the puzzle we see through this episode is a photo of Mr. Bones. So, either he’s making a puzzle of himself, or someone else is a big fan. – Brian Salvatore