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Mar. 21st, 2018 12:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
geebsTV commentary:
Black Lightning- Hmm, what universe does this take place, exactly? Grace mentioned the Outsiders as a comic in their universe, but they've also hinted at the existence of other heroes. Now when Jennifer freaks out about learning about how her sister is Thunder (which, when did she start having a superhero name or doing enough stuff that she has fan sites dedicated to her? Like she wrecked that statue, but it seemed pretty quickly after that she and her dad had to keep a low profile. Or maybe it was just Black Lightning, though it seems like the ASA guy would be just as likely to want to kill her too) and her dad is Black Lightning, she's all, don't tell me you're Vixen to her mom. Which, heh, look at Lynn being all funny with the "Busted!"
But yeah, that seems to point to Vixen being an actual superhero in their universe. But then Lynn is all, she's just kidding, and she's not Supergirl either. Which, is this yet another dimension where both Supergirl and Vixen exist. Does Supergirl's Earth have a Vixen? Or is it in the Arrowverse universe, and they've seen enough of Supergirl from the crossovers for her to be a thing? Or was she just name dropping Supergirl the comic character?
Anyways, it is nice to see how different Jennifer's reaction is to her burgeoning powers. Anissa was always the activist in the family, the one who wants to be a hero. Jennifer just wants to be normal. Last time she tried to be an activist, her boyfriend got crippled. But yeah, she's freaking out at the loss of a normal life, even concerned if she can have kids, but though it goes unsaid, you can tell she was also worried that if she did, would they be like her dad and sister?
It was nice to see Black Lightning and Thunder kick ass together. And even though Jefferson doesn't trust Gambi, Gambi is still there for the Pierces, giving Anissa her new outfit. Which, its also amusing to see how good Anissa is at this hero business. Like Jefferson said last time, she has great instincts. And skills beyond her powers, like being able to read lips to see what Mitch Hunztberger was saying.
Rise- Heh, heavy on the drama here, but look at people surprising you! So we see Simon's parents talking to someone about the school doing that play, but surprise #1, its not to like the school board or the PTA or whatever all, "this musical is a sin, we should stop it from being produced!" I can kinda respect that despite the issues they have with their son being in this play, they're not trying to ruin it for everyone else. Nope, they're actually talking to their priest to get him to convince Simon to drop out of the play.
Which brings us to surprise #2, the priest is understanding, all the play is provocative, but it deals with some pretty important issues, so it comes down to trust, if Simon trusts the director, and he does. So that's the end of that tact.
And so, not before Simon has gay panic about the kiss in the play. Jeremy is all, "Oh, its just acting, I am also totally straight!" but then basically asks Simon if he wants to run lines. On a Saturday night. And so Simon runs away and immediately asks Barb from Stranger Things on a date. Seriously, dude?
Anyways, he comes home to find his parents are enrolling him in St Francis Prep! (presumably a similarly named HS in Pennsylvania, and not that he's moving to NY and attending my Alma Mater)
The coach is skirting the terms of the deal for Robbie, saying he can do whatever if he "needs" Robbie, and so he's been holding him for extra practices. Even the other players are guilting Robbie into practicing more all, "If you don't do good, I don't do good, and scouts are coming this Friday, so I need you!"
Which leads to issues with Lilette- Lilette wants to run lines, and he agrees, and she's excited and gets all dolled up for him. Only for his friend's guilt trip to make him miss their not really a date but totally a date. She's pissed, because she shifted her schedule around to be free that night and she has work the rest of the week, so she's like, whatever, if he really wants to run lines (which he needs to, he kinda sucks right now), he can show up during her break time. Which she prolly thought was the end of that.
So imagine her surprise when he does show up! They have fun and its sweet, and even her boss is encouraging it all giving them free milkshakes and stuff. So she's happy. Until she's leaving practice one day and sees Robbie kissing another girl. Which to be fair to Robbie, there's nothing going on between him and Lilette yet. Like, they hung out, and they clearly like each other, but they're not even dating yet. Still Lilette is crushed.
Oh, Lilette also goes to apologize to Gwen- she found out Gwen was telling the truth about their parents, and she just wants Gwen to know she's not like her mom. Which, what is she apologizing for? Like I could understand if Gwen and Robbie were dating or something. But its not like she intentionally got cast as the star, and that seems like a totally different situation anyways.
Speaking of Gwen, you know she's just my type- high achieving blue eyed brunette, who's totally awesome but is inexplicably being overlooked for someone else (although to be fair, before the show started, she was the star, so she's not exactly that). Things are tense at home, with her mom complaining/criticizing everything all, how could Lou cast Lilette over Gwen, its amateur hour over there, and how the Coach could "let" him poach Robbie and all that. Her mom tells her things are never set in stone in show biz, so Gwen should let Mr Mazzu see what she can do.
And poor Gwen does just that, overdoing her lines and obviously trying too hard. Which one thing I like about this is its not like Rachel Berry, where she pulls that crap and ends up sounding amazing. Gwen isn't terrible, its just, she's singing her lines way too showy, and it comes off wrong.
So in the end, she confronts Mr Mazzu, all its not fair, this is what she's been training for all her life. They finally have a really good musical to do, and she doesn't get to be the star, that she's being overlooked because Lou wants to do something different. Which Lou apologizes and says he wasn't doing it to be diverse for diversities' sake, he saw something in Lilette. Them's the breaks, and instead of fighting to be Wendla, they can work together to find Ilse. Because there's a lot of depth to Ilse that a talented star like Gwen can do a lot with.
And so Gwen finally sings her heart out in "The Song of Purple Summer". Its heartfelt and soulful and she's not overdoing it like she did before. Which is exactly what Mr Mazzu was looking for.
But we're not done with the drama yet! Because of the stunt with the costumes and sets, the principal is "charging" their budget for the loss. And so they have 0 funding. Its all part of his new tactic to destroy the musical- he can't stop them, but he can sure as hell set them up to fail big time.
Tracey is pissed, but she thinks they can get funding at the next school meeting. But Lou does not want to go to them hat in hand, that's not how he wants to start his relationship with the board. And so Tracey is willing to concede. UNTIL the night of the actual meeting, when after Lou gives a speech about the arts, the football boosters come up next asking for a $117,000 jumbotron. And that just makes Tracey livid. They never get anything, yet the school wants to spend thousands of dollars for football. She's all, they're in freaking high school, they should not be spending this much. But then she also goes on how football provides nothing and how art separates us from the apes. Which, she's being truthful about how they keep getting overlooked for funding when they're provide something real for the community. But I wouldn't have shit all over football like that.
Still, she does end up getting $750 out of the 14K she requested. And so she tells Lou, they may not get along, but he needs her. And he didn't even say thank you! And he clearly doesn't understand the concept of good cop/bad cop. Having her do this takes the heat off him!
But yeah, its not just school and the play where he's facing problems. There's the whole Gordo situation. Gail is freaking out about Gordo's drinking, especially since Lou's father was an alcoholic. But they seem to be missing the obvious problem right in front of their faces, with Gordo so exasperated that he can't help but laugh at how clueless they are, which only makes them think even more that he's drinking.
Now, the issue is, Lou is all big into the arts, wants Gordo to play guitar and take up photography. And its funny, because this is like the total opposite of the kid who's dad is trying to turn him into a star athlete. Gordo likes football, he wants to be an athlete, but it seems Lou keeps trying to push him into the arts and it makes him feel like a massive disappointment. And bringing home Masshous is only freaking him out more, because it really does feel like he's being replaced by someone who might be the kinda son Lou always wanted. Heh, his sisters are no help either, with the youngest being all, "Are you our new brother?" to Masshous and saying he'd be a way better brother than Gordo. Which, harsh!
So yeah, his parents are totally blind to this, even after Gordo outright tells Lou all this. Lou has the principal and coach open up his football locker. And its like, I was hoping Gordo was being truthful and he wasn't drinking and the attitude his parents think he has really is about them being shitty to him. But it turns out he did have a bottle in his locker.
Which brings us to another person being surprising. The principal wants to ship Gordo to rehab. Gail agrees, but Lou thinks it won't work. And even though he and the coach are at odds, the coach agrees with him! He volunteers to take Gordo under his wing- Gordo has never missed practice despite riding the bench and always give it his all. The coach respects that, and thinks he can do a better job than some rehab center.
So yeah, I appreciate how not the antagonists aren't all bad. Well, technically the principal hasn't done anything redeeming yet.
Black Lightning- Hmm, what universe does this take place, exactly? Grace mentioned the Outsiders as a comic in their universe, but they've also hinted at the existence of other heroes. Now when Jennifer freaks out about learning about how her sister is Thunder (which, when did she start having a superhero name or doing enough stuff that she has fan sites dedicated to her? Like she wrecked that statue, but it seemed pretty quickly after that she and her dad had to keep a low profile. Or maybe it was just Black Lightning, though it seems like the ASA guy would be just as likely to want to kill her too) and her dad is Black Lightning, she's all, don't tell me you're Vixen to her mom. Which, heh, look at Lynn being all funny with the "Busted!"
But yeah, that seems to point to Vixen being an actual superhero in their universe. But then Lynn is all, she's just kidding, and she's not Supergirl either. Which, is this yet another dimension where both Supergirl and Vixen exist. Does Supergirl's Earth have a Vixen? Or is it in the Arrowverse universe, and they've seen enough of Supergirl from the crossovers for her to be a thing? Or was she just name dropping Supergirl the comic character?
Anyways, it is nice to see how different Jennifer's reaction is to her burgeoning powers. Anissa was always the activist in the family, the one who wants to be a hero. Jennifer just wants to be normal. Last time she tried to be an activist, her boyfriend got crippled. But yeah, she's freaking out at the loss of a normal life, even concerned if she can have kids, but though it goes unsaid, you can tell she was also worried that if she did, would they be like her dad and sister?
It was nice to see Black Lightning and Thunder kick ass together. And even though Jefferson doesn't trust Gambi, Gambi is still there for the Pierces, giving Anissa her new outfit. Which, its also amusing to see how good Anissa is at this hero business. Like Jefferson said last time, she has great instincts. And skills beyond her powers, like being able to read lips to see what Mitch Hunztberger was saying.
Rise- Heh, heavy on the drama here, but look at people surprising you! So we see Simon's parents talking to someone about the school doing that play, but surprise #1, its not to like the school board or the PTA or whatever all, "this musical is a sin, we should stop it from being produced!" I can kinda respect that despite the issues they have with their son being in this play, they're not trying to ruin it for everyone else. Nope, they're actually talking to their priest to get him to convince Simon to drop out of the play.
Which brings us to surprise #2, the priest is understanding, all the play is provocative, but it deals with some pretty important issues, so it comes down to trust, if Simon trusts the director, and he does. So that's the end of that tact.
And so, not before Simon has gay panic about the kiss in the play. Jeremy is all, "Oh, its just acting, I am also totally straight!" but then basically asks Simon if he wants to run lines. On a Saturday night. And so Simon runs away and immediately asks Barb from Stranger Things on a date. Seriously, dude?
Anyways, he comes home to find his parents are enrolling him in St Francis Prep! (presumably a similarly named HS in Pennsylvania, and not that he's moving to NY and attending my Alma Mater)
The coach is skirting the terms of the deal for Robbie, saying he can do whatever if he "needs" Robbie, and so he's been holding him for extra practices. Even the other players are guilting Robbie into practicing more all, "If you don't do good, I don't do good, and scouts are coming this Friday, so I need you!"
Which leads to issues with Lilette- Lilette wants to run lines, and he agrees, and she's excited and gets all dolled up for him. Only for his friend's guilt trip to make him miss their not really a date but totally a date. She's pissed, because she shifted her schedule around to be free that night and she has work the rest of the week, so she's like, whatever, if he really wants to run lines (which he needs to, he kinda sucks right now), he can show up during her break time. Which she prolly thought was the end of that.
So imagine her surprise when he does show up! They have fun and its sweet, and even her boss is encouraging it all giving them free milkshakes and stuff. So she's happy. Until she's leaving practice one day and sees Robbie kissing another girl. Which to be fair to Robbie, there's nothing going on between him and Lilette yet. Like, they hung out, and they clearly like each other, but they're not even dating yet. Still Lilette is crushed.
Oh, Lilette also goes to apologize to Gwen- she found out Gwen was telling the truth about their parents, and she just wants Gwen to know she's not like her mom. Which, what is she apologizing for? Like I could understand if Gwen and Robbie were dating or something. But its not like she intentionally got cast as the star, and that seems like a totally different situation anyways.
Speaking of Gwen, you know she's just my type- high achieving blue eyed brunette, who's totally awesome but is inexplicably being overlooked for someone else (although to be fair, before the show started, she was the star, so she's not exactly that). Things are tense at home, with her mom complaining/criticizing everything all, how could Lou cast Lilette over Gwen, its amateur hour over there, and how the Coach could "let" him poach Robbie and all that. Her mom tells her things are never set in stone in show biz, so Gwen should let Mr Mazzu see what she can do.
And poor Gwen does just that, overdoing her lines and obviously trying too hard. Which one thing I like about this is its not like Rachel Berry, where she pulls that crap and ends up sounding amazing. Gwen isn't terrible, its just, she's singing her lines way too showy, and it comes off wrong.
So in the end, she confronts Mr Mazzu, all its not fair, this is what she's been training for all her life. They finally have a really good musical to do, and she doesn't get to be the star, that she's being overlooked because Lou wants to do something different. Which Lou apologizes and says he wasn't doing it to be diverse for diversities' sake, he saw something in Lilette. Them's the breaks, and instead of fighting to be Wendla, they can work together to find Ilse. Because there's a lot of depth to Ilse that a talented star like Gwen can do a lot with.
And so Gwen finally sings her heart out in "The Song of Purple Summer". Its heartfelt and soulful and she's not overdoing it like she did before. Which is exactly what Mr Mazzu was looking for.
But we're not done with the drama yet! Because of the stunt with the costumes and sets, the principal is "charging" their budget for the loss. And so they have 0 funding. Its all part of his new tactic to destroy the musical- he can't stop them, but he can sure as hell set them up to fail big time.
Tracey is pissed, but she thinks they can get funding at the next school meeting. But Lou does not want to go to them hat in hand, that's not how he wants to start his relationship with the board. And so Tracey is willing to concede. UNTIL the night of the actual meeting, when after Lou gives a speech about the arts, the football boosters come up next asking for a $117,000 jumbotron. And that just makes Tracey livid. They never get anything, yet the school wants to spend thousands of dollars for football. She's all, they're in freaking high school, they should not be spending this much. But then she also goes on how football provides nothing and how art separates us from the apes. Which, she's being truthful about how they keep getting overlooked for funding when they're provide something real for the community. But I wouldn't have shit all over football like that.
Still, she does end up getting $750 out of the 14K she requested. And so she tells Lou, they may not get along, but he needs her. And he didn't even say thank you! And he clearly doesn't understand the concept of good cop/bad cop. Having her do this takes the heat off him!
But yeah, its not just school and the play where he's facing problems. There's the whole Gordo situation. Gail is freaking out about Gordo's drinking, especially since Lou's father was an alcoholic. But they seem to be missing the obvious problem right in front of their faces, with Gordo so exasperated that he can't help but laugh at how clueless they are, which only makes them think even more that he's drinking.
Now, the issue is, Lou is all big into the arts, wants Gordo to play guitar and take up photography. And its funny, because this is like the total opposite of the kid who's dad is trying to turn him into a star athlete. Gordo likes football, he wants to be an athlete, but it seems Lou keeps trying to push him into the arts and it makes him feel like a massive disappointment. And bringing home Masshous is only freaking him out more, because it really does feel like he's being replaced by someone who might be the kinda son Lou always wanted. Heh, his sisters are no help either, with the youngest being all, "Are you our new brother?" to Masshous and saying he'd be a way better brother than Gordo. Which, harsh!
So yeah, his parents are totally blind to this, even after Gordo outright tells Lou all this. Lou has the principal and coach open up his football locker. And its like, I was hoping Gordo was being truthful and he wasn't drinking and the attitude his parents think he has really is about them being shitty to him. But it turns out he did have a bottle in his locker.
Which brings us to another person being surprising. The principal wants to ship Gordo to rehab. Gail agrees, but Lou thinks it won't work. And even though he and the coach are at odds, the coach agrees with him! He volunteers to take Gordo under his wing- Gordo has never missed practice despite riding the bench and always give it his all. The coach respects that, and thinks he can do a better job than some rehab center.
So yeah, I appreciate how not the antagonists aren't all bad. Well, technically the principal hasn't done anything redeeming yet.
