True Reviews, Updates and Common Sense Opinions
This episode of The Flash episode has a little bit of an ominous feeling to the beginning of this episode as Barry looks for his parent’s gravesite with no luck.
Continue reading “The Flash: Grodd Friended Me | 6 x13 – review”
After the blockbuster success of Joker in October 2019, there have been reports of a possible sequel to capitalize on its stand-alone success.
Continue reading “Maybe DC shouldn’t make a Joker sequel”
This movie was enjoyable for multiple reasons. Most specifically because it poked so much fun at the generation of kids that got pissed when Teen Titans went off-air in 2006 and eventually were replaced by Teen Titans Go! in 2013.
But I have to admit I felt silly when I realized the same actors are voice acting for both versions of the characters in both Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go! That made me laugh.
Continue reading “Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans (review)”
The season finale of Swamp Thing was good. It left me curious. How could you cancel the series but leave the season with a cliff hanger?
I think there will be another season at some point. Whether it will be on the DC Universe streaming service or another network remains to be seen. But, if DC does not follow up on this show, they will be making a mistake.
But I digress.
In the previous episode, a lot of things happened. Daniel Cassidy transformed into the Blue Devil to save Abby and Liz, Maria was committed to a psychiatric hospital, and Caroline Woodrue overdosed on her medication because she couldn’t remember if she took it or not. Most importantly Swamp Thing and Abby found out that Alec Holland died during the explosion in episode 1.
This episode was supposed to sum everything up. However, I think this episode left more questions than answers.
Spoilers ahead
Jason Woodrue is unstable at this point due to his fixation on the mysterious healing properties of Swamp Thing due to the mutagen mixing with Alec Holland’s blood earlier in the season.
Caroline is in “locked-in” syndrome due to the overdoes and Jason is now using the specimens he took from Swamp Thing to try and heal her. But he decides to experiment on himself first. Recall, he extracted Swamp Things’ heart and lungs. So he decides to cook up the heart and eat it. Eating the heart causes him to seize up and pass out in front of a helpless Caroline.
“… a thing born from his death.” – Swamp Thing
Meanwhile, the Conclave is still determined to capture Swamp Thing and use him for the “good of humanity”. But, he is uninterested and vows to take the fight to them as they invade the swamp.
The Conclave’s representative Ellery sees Avery on the swamp site and kicks him out tell him that basically because of his wife’s shenanigans and his mistress trying to kill him, the Conclave sees him as a liability. Avery sets off on a mission to clear up his affairs so that he can rejoin to Conclave and finish he’s life work to use the swamp to his advantage.
This leads him to Delroy’s bar where he finds out Matt is in the hospital. He goes to the hospital and pleads with Lucile to get back with him and start fresh, but she is not interested and threatens to kill him if he comes near her or Matt again.
Matt is still unconscious, but when he wakes up he somehow knows Avery came by. Matt and Lucile make up (sort of) and he tells her to go home to rest. However, he unknowingly sent her to her assumed death. Avery broke into her car and waited for her. He then stabbed her in the stomach and drove her car to the swamp. He dumps the car in the swamp just in time for Lucile to regain consciousness and drown in the trunk of her car (so I think).
Always check the back seat folks!
After watching Lucile drown, Avery coughs up a swamp leaf. Perhaps he’s suffering effects from the treat Swamp Thing gave him when he was injured.
Daniel Cassidy is being haunted by the Blue Devil since activating its powers last week. Liz catches up with him just in time to see him off because he can finally leave Marais. He speeds down the highway and past the ‘Welcome to Marais’ sign. Where is he going?
“A peace from which you may never return.” – Ms. Xandou
Ms. Xanadu made an appearance in this episode. She visited Maria who was committed to the psych ward by Avery. While in the ward, she began to have episodes that made her condition worsen due to the dabbling she did with the dark swamp spirits to see her daughter, Shawna. Ms. X offers to ease her pain and puts her into a hypnotized state where her daughter is with her. I am assuming she’s going to stay that way forever.
Abby arrives just after the hypnosis and Ms. X directs her to see Avery. I guess she hoped to find Avery and Jason Woodrue together because she goes to visit the Woodrue home. However, she found him in a heightened sense of awareness with the nature around him and planning to shove the Swamp Things heart in his wife’s mouth (she’s still unable to move, but her face says she’s terrified).
Luckily, Abby called 911 and they arrive in time to save Caroline and arrest Woodrue (who has crazy strength now after eating the heart).
“Alec holland is gone, the question is who do u wanna be” – Alec Holland’s ghost
Back at the swamp, Swamp Thing has massacred the entire Conclave unit expect for Ellery. He leaves him alive to go tell the story of what happened and hopefully convince anyone hunting him to back off.
After he finishes his attack, Holland’s ghost appears and asks him to decide who he wants to be now that the truth is out. Swamp Thing wants to go deep in the swamp, but can’t bear to leave Abby behind. As a result of his feelings for Abby, he stays.
Abby meets up with Swamp Thing at Holland’s old cabin and tells him that she’s not going anyway and they can face the future together. So I guess they are in love and now they are together, but I’m not sure.
End Credits and Season 2
During the end credit scene, Matt arrives at the police station to find it covered in plants and vines. He also notices Tyler (a fellow officer) down on the scene. Moments after a tree man rises from the ground and introduces itself as Jason Woodrue.
Jason transformed into this Tree Thing because he ate Swamp Thing’s heart. However, he is not friendly like Swamp Thing and attacks Matt Cable to end the scene.
This is why I am expecting a season 2 at some point. The episode is called Loose Ends but it didn’t wrap anything up.
Jason Woodrue is now a threat in Marais, Avery is still around after killing Lucile, and Daniel Cassidy’s fate is unknown. And let’s not forget that the Conclave probably won’t stay away from the swamp.
Episode 10 of Swamp Thing did not close all of the storylines. If anything it opened new ones. The rumor is that Swamp Thing was canceled due to financial costs. I say DC needs to invest in this story. It’s unlike anything that is available right now and this could be a great way to set themselves apart from Marvel.
Swamp Thing is different in a good way and needs to be invested in.
I sat down to try something I hadn’t watched before. As much as I’m enjoying Swamp Thing over on DC Universe, I decided to try some other DC shows that are available right now.
I’ve never watched Krypton before and I haven’t heard much about it. Going into the show, I only knew that it is a prequel to Superman, sort of.
Krypton follows the grandfather of Superman. So technically he has to father a baby and then that baby needs to grow up and have Superman.
Okay.
I started at season 2 episode 1. Being a television series on Syfy I was lucky enough to catch a recap at the beginning of the first episode.
However, after three episodes I found that I was lacking interest. Don’t get me wrong, the set design is great. The fight sequences are high paced and hard-hitting. Plus Brainiac looks completely creepy and Doomsday had a great design too! They have the best design on the show.
Not to mention General Zod is played by Colin Salmon, one of my favorite special ops soliders “one” from the first Resident Evil (2002).
But I think it’s because I didn’t start from the beginning of the series that it missed the mark. I started the second season so I was low-key lost. And then I also didn’t connect with any characters.
Seg-El seemed a little oblivious to me. I mean he had his moments where he looked cool and completely showed out, but other than the powers he developed on Brainiac’s planet, I didn’t connect.
Then I got confused because he was dating Lyta-Zod but then actual Zod came from the future and took over Krypton. And even after Adam Strange warned everybody (including Lyta, Seg-EL and everyone else important) that Zod was up to no good, Zod’s plan still succeeded.
Episode 3, the last one I watched as of this writing, had Strange and Seg-EL stuck on Brainiac’s planet captured by one of the only habitants left and Seg-El’s powers are overwhelming him. While a bunch of other people are planning a resistance.
I can’t say whether Krypton is a good show or not. Maybe I did the show a disservice by joining in on the second season. But then again, I’ve started shows late in the lifecycle before, enjoyed some and even went back to the start for some.
I should be excited to start from episode 1 in season 1. I don’t want to force it. I’m sure Krypton is a great show. But after 3 episodes, I stopped. Maybe I’ll get it another try later.
I keep asking the same question every week regarding Avery Sunderland.
Why do people trust this man?
His face doesn’t even come across as caring or trustworthy. Not to mention that he has betrayed or threatened almost every person that we’ve met during this season of Swamp Thing.
This week it became apparent that most of the people involved in the conspiracy in Marai are either greedy or naive and that is how they keep getting taken advantage of.
Spoilers ahead
Even though Lucille shot Avery twice with a shotgun before he fell in the swamp water, he only had a knee injury. He wandered the Swamp grounds and experienced hallucinations of Lucille and his father until Holland found him.
Now here’s the thing. At this point, Holland knows that Avery gave the order to kill him. He says as much when he’s talking to Avery. Yet, as soon as Avery promises to make him human again, he drops all angry and believes him.
How naive could you be?
This man tried to kill you! I can understand Holland is the good guy in this situation so he doesn’t retaliate, but you know Avery is not a good person. How could you believe him?
“The swamp would of let you die. I couldn’t. ” – Alec Holland
Now, I’m not sure if Avery had a change of heart after Holland saved him. But, he offers to bring Dr. Woodrue to the swamp to go over the options and see if his miracle serum (the one that nearly turned Daniel Cassidy into Blue Devil permanently) could help.
The Conclave already got to Dr. Woodrue and offered him a new lab, funding for research, and unlimited resources. So he’s pretty much been bought. So when Avery asks Woodrue to help, Woodrue talks him into capturing Holland instead.
Holland doesn’t know much about Woodrue, but he agrees to meet them and it ends up getting him shot three times with a shotgun (at the hands of Avery) and frozen in cryo-stasis!
Father vs. Sperm Donor
Matt and Lucille Cable are trying to keep up appearances around town because they know people will start asking questions about Avery soon. However, Matt is more focused on finding out Avery was his father. In his anger, he blames his mother for pushing away the man he knew to be his dad due to her obsession with Avery.
However, they don’t know that Avery is still alive and knows some information about Maria’s involvement in the plot to kill him.
“…your patient Alec Holland.” – Nathan Ellery
Meanwhile, the Conclave is running wild. They’ve followed Abby to Atlanta to have her talk Holland into coming to their lab. Of course, she refuses. But not before she tells her best friend, Dr. Edwards (the one that got the green flu a few episodes back) about Holland and his condition.
The Conclave representative, Nathan Ellery, tells Abby that Dr. Edwards went to Bangladesh, but I’m sure they just abducted him and he’s probably in danger. Hopefully, for convenience, he’s being held at the same facility they take Holland to. That way everyone can link back up easily.
After finding out that the Conclave knows where Holland is, Abby goes back to Marai only to find evidence of foul play.
With two episodes left for the season, how will they wrap this story up? It seems like things are getting more convoluted.
Questions:
Where is the Conclave lab that Holland is being transported to?
Is Dr. Edward dead or just in captivity?
How will Abby figure out where Holland went?
What will happen when Maria, Matt, and Lucille find out Avery is still alive?
When will Daniel Cassidy make another appearance?
Blackmail, tricks, and half-cocked explained bargains. That’s what this Swamp Thing series is made up of. That doesn’t make it any less interesting.
Spoilers ahead
Do you remember the friendly stranger that helped Holland become one with the green last week?
I’m beginning to think he’s not so friendly after all. We meet him again this week in a flashback with Daniel Cassidy. Last week he was knocked over the head during an attack on Liz. This left him in a coma with little brain activity.
In the flashback, we’re finally somewhat exposed to his life as a stunt double in Hollywood. He’s in the middle of a gig when a “friendly stranger” that Daniel believes is a part of the directing crew starts to chat him up.
While talking to the stranger, Daniel says that he’d give anything to play Blue Devil.
Be careful how you word things, people!
The stranger takes him seriously and tells him he needs a person to make themselves available for a new job staying in Marai. He gives no specifics or time frame. They just shake hands and BOOM, “miraculously” Daniel is recast as the lead Blue Devil.
Be careful what you wish for, people!
Fast forward to now, Daniel is in a coma and a nurse walks in to administer some blue liquid into his IV line.
Apparently, Liz is a very heavy sleeper because she was right there in the room. Either she didn’t hear the nurse or she wasn’t curious enough to squint her eyes open and say, “What’s that?”
“What did they do?” – Daniel Cassidy
The blue liquid jump-starts Daniels brain activity, he wakes up, jumps up all frantic and starts burning up.
Turns out that Dr. Woodrue is behind the blue liquid with his human experimentation. That concoction was synthesized from Hollands swamp DNA and now Daniel is 3 seconds away from turning physically into Blue Devil.
Daniel runs away to find Woodrue, but he’s challenged by Avery who thinks Woodrue has figured out a brain healing cure. Not that Avery really cares. He just wants to please his investors.
The Conclave maybe?
Caroline Woodrue ends up stabbing Daniel with a tranquilizer to keep him from transforming. He ends up sedated back at the hospital where Ms. X tells him that she can’t relieve him from his destiny, but she can ease his pain.
So, him turning into a Blue Devil is inevitable. Poor guy.
“I’ll always care about you, but if you accuse me of something like this again, I won’t be so forgiving”. – Avery Sunderland
Liz ends up telling Abby about the intimidation tactics of Avery that caused Daniel to be in a coma in the first place. Abby straight up confronts Avery and tells him to stop trying to hurt people and to leave her friends alone.
That was very brave of her, but it won’t stop the wheels that are already in motion.
Abby goes to meet Holland in the woods at the same time that Matt Cable is investigating animal attacks. It’s actually not animal attacks, it’s Holland trying to ward off bounty hunters from Avery.
He’s attacked four hunters by this point which prompted Lucilia to send Matt to the sight.
Abby is too trusting! She’s suspicious of all of the right people, but still too trusting of the wrong people. We’ve seen that with her letting Woodrue see her research data and now she’s revealed Holland’s true identity to Matt! And poor Holland, he’s lost all of his important memories so all he knows is that Matt is a friend to Abby.
But honestly, Matt is being blackmailed by Avery and that blackmail is the reason that Matt attempted to kill Holland in episode one. But, the only reason he was able to be blackmailed in the first place is because of Lucilia.
YUP!
His mother is a dirty cop and even though she’s literally in bed with Avery, he threatened to out Lucilia of all of her wrongdoings if Matt didn’t do his bidding.
Yikes.
“I’m not going to give up on you. You’re still Alex Holland.” – Abby Arcane
Matt ends up leaving the woods because Abby asks him to keep Holland’s secret until she figures out how to cure him. However, I think he’s going to report back to Avery.
I really hope not. I’m rooting for you to not be a total scumbag, Matt!
This leaves Holland and Abby alone. I think pheromones surround them or something because a flower blooms in Hollands plant hand and then Abby can see Holland as his former human form.
Aww, love.
But seriously, I have some questions.
Will Matt tell Avery about Holland’s identity even though he’s technically working for him by force?
Will Lucilia stop sleeping and watching out for Avery now that he has blackmailed Matt?
Are the Conclave, Avery’s investors, and the swamp stranger related?
Previous Episode: Swamp Thing S01 E05: Drive All Night (review)
Why did this show get canceled?
It just keeps getting better and better each week. It’s explosive, creepy, mysterious, suspenseful and slightly predictable all at the same time.
A lot of information was given to the viewer this week, including the fact that Avery Sunderland is a scumbag on purpose and he’s been bending the town to his will for far longer than we’ve been led to believe.
Spoilers ahead
During my recap of episode 3, I assumed that Sheriff Lucilia Cable was covering up for Avery Sunderland in some capacity. I was wrong, but now I’m right.
Let me explain.
In episode 4, Avery tried to feel Lucilia up in his dining room while Maria was upstairs drowning in her grief. Lucilia said no, leading me to believe that they once had a thing. Well, it turns out they still have a thing. And they meet up to do that thing at a hotel in Marais. We find that out right away during this episode (Drive All Night).
However, what surprised me the most is what happens when Lucilia gets a lead about who blew up Holland in the swamp. She visits Remy Debois and he reveals that Matt, her son, actually pulled the trigger while standing in Avery’s boat. This was his attempt at blackmail, but she immediately shoots him down.
So we find out that Matt did Avery’s bidding in killing Holland. My previous theory pegged Avery as the type to do his own dirty work, which he is, but apparently just not that time. Since my theory that Avery did it himself is debunked now, I have another one.
Matt is being black mailed by his father! His father is Avery!
I wouldn’t put it past Avery. He’s sinister. Just because he likes Lucilia doesn’t mean he’s above it. Who cares if he did give her a ring once. Plus, he has stock in a lot of the real estate in Marai’s. We find that out when he threatens Liz at the town bar because she’s now investigating the disappearance of Haas (the banker). He also has goons try to intimidate her while leaving the bar, but Daniel (the Blue Devil) comes to her aide.
“What’s in here, nobody can take away but you.” – Friendly Swamp Stranger
The supernatural aspect of the Swamp Thing is ramping up. The “green” appears in the form of a friendly stranger to Holland and helps him calm down long enough to hear the warning coming from the swamp.
Through Holland, we find out how Shawna Sunderland drowned. Something drug her down until she drowned in the swamp. Abby couldn’t save her. As a result, Abby was spared by the darkness in the swamp but pushed out of the town due to guilt.
Shawna is the representation of the darkness. She possesses Susie Coyle and draws her mother and Abby to the swamp. Maria is actually trying to drown herself to be with her daughter, but Abby tries to save her. However, Maria has a V for Vendetta so she turns and tries to drown Abby. Eventually, Holland comes to Abby’s rescue and disappears when Matt Cable shows up.
Ms. X (or Ms. Xanadu) tells Abby that there is a supernatural door open, Shawna’s soul has been corrupted by the darkness of the swamp, and she’s come to kill her. Abby is hesitant to believe her because when she was 8, Ms. X told her how to take care of her mom, but her mom still died. That’s actually Abby’s motivation for becoming a doctor.
Lastly, Dr. Woodrue’s curiosity about the specimen Abby showed him made him go investigate Hollands old lab. As you know, Abby gave him access to information in order to use science to figure out what is causing the mutation of Holland. But now that Woodrue figured out that there is something special going on and he’s been instructed to capture whatever being the specimen came from to do more research.
I’m wondering if Daniel (the Blue Devil) is going to aid Holland against Avery and the darkness or if he will act as another foe during the show. Remember, he’s bound to the town but forces we haven’t been introduced to yet. Could they instruct him further?
We are halfway through the season, and it seems like Woodrue and Holland are the only characters getting important information. Everyone else is still clueless. Unless you count Sheriff Lucilia, who probably already knew her son was involved in treacherous deeds.
We’ll see.
During this weeks episode of Swamp Thing, I was even more convinced that Avery Sunderland fired the rocket launcher that blew Alec Holland up in the Swamp in episode one. He’s resorted to even more dubious tactics since then and now there’s a little girl involved!
Spoilers ahead
This week we pick back up in the Marai swamp in Ocheo Forks. We’re introduced to a new character named Todd. He and a friend or his dad, I’m not sure, are searching around the swamp for something rare.
They find it, but not before a Tree Zombie jumps down, attacks Todd from above, and scratching his arm. Apparently, it wasn’t an actual Tree Zombie, just a dead corpse with a strong fear demon attached to it.
Todd ran away and went to work the next day as if nothing happened. He works with Liz (the town reporter) and her father Delroy at their restaurant. Unfortunately for Delroy, Todd starts hallucinating that a snake is on his arm.
Todd starts stabbing at his arm with a knife and eventually shoves his arm down the garbage disposal until he faints.
He dies, but not before scratching Delroy and transferring the curse of the Tree Zombie to him.
Alec is still in the swamp. The leaves, trees, and vines are communicating with him. They tell him that the swamp has darkness in it.
When I heard this, I began to think that Alec is in the swamp, but he’s not the Swamp Thing. There are two entities in the swamp. One is Alec and the other is whatever haunted the Tree Zombie and caused Todd to lose his mind.
Abby, being the curious doctor she is, goes to visit Ocheo Forks where Todd was exposed to the Tree Zombie and runs into Alec. He’s still in his feelings about her dancing with Matt last week, but he entertains her anyway because … love.
They agree to work together to find out:
a) What is happening to him.
b) Remove what is terrorizing the town.
Alec gives up a sample of his DNA for research. However, I think Abby makes a terrible decision when she lets Dr. Woodrue help her with the research.
I understand he’s a biologist, but he’s definitely on Avery’s payroll so this can not end well.
Back in town, Delroy experiences his haunting. It’s a recount of when his mother was killed by burglars when he was a boy. He almost shoots Liz, Abby, and Sheriff Lucilia but no one dies. Lucilia does get scratched next and ends up freaking out at the towns fish fry hosted by Avery and Maria Sunderland.
Lucilia thinks her son has been shot in the line of duty and starts pointing guns at everyone. Luckily, Abby gets scratched next and takes the haunting back to the swamp.
Abby is not immune to the hauntings and starts to freak out while being attacked by a man with no face. But, Alec is just in time and takes the haunting away from her. He puts it back on the corpse and leaves it there.
I wonder why he didn’t move it somewhere else. Someone could easily come to the same area and get exposed to the haunting again. But I guess we’re not supposed to think about that.
Alec and Abby save the day and the town is safe for now. The patients in quarantine can go home, no one is haunted, and little Susie Coyle is being adopted.
By whom?
Avery and Maria Sunderland!
Avery conned Maria into funding his research with Dr. Woodrue under the assumption that he is trying to make sure the “Green Flu” is fully out of Susie’s system. And he didn’t stop there! He paid off her uncle so that he would not claim her or speak to her again.
Not to mention, he burned the body of Haas (the banker) and buried him in the swamp.
What a dubious, dubious man.
Ms. X (the psychic, witch doctor) can sense a storm coming to affect the destiny of this town and everyone in it. While talking to Daniel (also known as Blue Devil) Ms. X states that Daniel made a bargain to stay in the town of Marai until called upon.
Could he have made that bargain with the Conclave? Haas made it seems like a secret organization, but we didn’t get any more information about what it is this week.
Theory
The same reason Daniel is in Marai, is the same reason Avery is obsessed with researching the swamp.
Alec tells Abby that the swamp is poisoned and now it will bring death. Is the Conclave the reason that the swamp has been poisoned?
During my first analysis of this show with episode one, I asked if this series was worth saving. Honestly, if the suspense and craziness keep building up as it has been, I think so. We’ll see what happens next!
Review: Swamp Thing S01 E03 | Avery in financial ruin, Holland’s new powers
Every episode of Swamp Thing is an information dump. This has been a good experience so far and I’m enjoying it. However, the conspiracy is proving to be very complex. So every time I think I’ve figured out exactly what is going on, something else weird happens and it throws me off.
As a result, I am bent discovering the major conspiracy before the show reveals it in episode 10. I don’t know if I will be successful, but it will be exciting to try.
Also, Swamp Thing continues to succeed in creeping me out without fail.
In this most recent episode, I have come up with another theory. You may remember in the last entry about Swamp Thing, my theory about Avery Sunderland being the mastermind behind the swamp contamination was proven correct.
Now, in episode three, I have decided that he did not hire anyone to kill Holland as I once suggested. I think committed the murder himself.
Spoilers ahead
We need to remember two things. First, Avery Sunderland took a financial hit when his swamp experiments caused people to get sick. Second, Avery Sunderland fired Holland when he got to close to the truth about what caused the swamp to mutate.
In episode three, Liz, the journalist in Marais confronts Gordon Haas, a bank supervisor, for giving loans to Sunderland off the record. So Sunderland has been funding his research but falling into debt as well.
As a result of Liz bringing this up to him, Haas decides to visit Avery’s home unannounced an threaten to expose him if he does not pay back the money in 24 hours. This causes Avery to visit Haas’ house unannounced later in the episode and try to intimidate him into giving him more money.
The intimidation tactic goes wrong and Avery ends up killing Haas with a golf club. So my theory is Avery Sunderland blew Holland up in the swamp himself. He didn’t need to hire anyone because he’s already a psychopath and is more than willing to get his own hands dirty and then wash them in the sink.
I also think the sheriff, Lucilia Cable, is in on the conspiracy in some way. In this episode, she keeps urging her son, Matt, to stay away from Abby. Remember, Abby and Matt saved Susie Coyle when she ran away to the swamp to save Swamp Thing/Holland.
She keeps saying that Abby is bad news. Sure Matt has a crush on her, but Abby is doing legitimate work in trying to cure the infected patients in Marais. So why would the sheriff have an issue with her?
It’s because she had a fling with Avery in the past (or present, I can’t tell yet) and she doesn’t want Abby to get to close to the ultimate truth to cover for Avery. She even tells Matt that they will close the cases as accidents if 24 hours pass and there is no further evidence.
There is a moment in the episode where Sheriff Lucilia is interviewing Avery for the investigation into Hollands death. They almost get intimate, but Maria makes a bump sound and that sends Lucilia running out of the door.
Abby and the Swamp Thing
Meanwhile, Swamp Thing is having flashbacks and hallucinations about one of the men he tore apart in the last episode. As a result, the swamp bugs bring him back to life and he goes on a vendetta to find Swamp Thing and avenge his death.
He crosses paths with Abby, who in the middle of searching through Hollands research for a path to a cure for the infected patients. She’s being undermined by the CDC who sent in another doctor, Eli Troost, and she wants to find a breakthrough.
Not to mention, Avery has his biologist, Jason Woodrue, at the hospital as well doing autopsies and researching the plants on Eddie Coyle’s body.
During this time, the bug swamp zombie attacks her and asks her where Swamp Thing is. Swamp Thing appears to be tracking Abby somehow because he appears out of nowhere and uses his powers to release the man’s soul from the swamp bondage and makes him rest in peace.
We find out that Swamp Thing doesn’t remember who he is or anything that happened before the explosion. He does manage to give Abby some useful information.
The swamp is not attacking, it’s fighting back. Which makes sense because Avery is the one who put a foreign body in the swamp in the first place.
This prompts Abby to change the treatment course for infected patients. They stabilize and she earns the trust of Dr. Troost in the process.
She also inadvertently gains the affections of Swamp Thing who is clearly stalking her as of the end of the episode. Abby goes to the town bar to decompress and meets Matt Cable there. They end up dancing and of course, Swamp Thing sees this. So Matt is probably going to end up dead or injured at some point due to this love triangle.
But the true story in this episode is Avery. He is out of money. He’s killed his bank connection. His wife has financially cut him off, and he’s tied up in his swamp adventures.
What does a man on this type of edge do next? And what is the Conclave? Haas mentioned telling the Conclave what Avery was doing before his skull was bashed in.
Might the Conclave have something to do with Daniel? He’s a new character that we were introduced to by the voodoo witch doctor. His tarot card reading hasn’t changed in 8 years.
Fool, hanged man, wheel of fortune.
But recently he met Abby and thinks she may be the key to change his destiny.
I guess we’ll see how they are all connected in episode four.
Episode 2: Review: Swamp Thing S01 E02 | My theory confirmed
Last week, I watched Swamp Thing for the first time. I watched it without referring to any source material and without any preconceived notions. The only thing I knew about the series was that it had been canceled. With only one episode available, the Swamp Thing series on DC Universe would end after episode 10.
After watching the first episode, I had a few opinions but I didn’t see anything that would warrant such a hasty cancellation. I actually enjoyed episode one. So I’ve decided to continue watching it. Episode two turned out really weird, so I’ll start with the easy stuff first.
Spoilers ahead
Last weeks episode left me with a theory of my own regarding Avery Sunderland. The first episode set him up as the wealthiest man in the town and we found out that he was Holland’s employer. This led me to believe that he had to be the person hiring boats to drop the mutagen accelerant in the swamp.
I was proven correct in this episode. Turns out that Avery is the reason that the accelerant is being dumped in the swamp. Apparently, he consulted two scientists (Jason and Caroline Woodrue) to find out ways to make use of the swamp.
The accelerant was their idea. It was supposed to help the swamp thrive, but of course, that backfired and now the townspeople are dying. Jason Woodrue stands firm that an accelerant would not cause disease. He pretty much said blame the swamp for doing swamp things.
Avery is definitely the big bad! All through this episode, he made strides to keep people from investigating the swamp and the dumping. He denied Abby the help she asked for to find Holland (who is presumed dead as far as the characters are concerned). He also threatened the scientist he consulted with blackmail, and he admitted to those same scientists that he is “handling business” to keep his name away from the swamp problem.
So, if we read between the lines, we can deduce that Avery had Holland killed by the mysterious man with the rocket launcher from episode one. Remember, Holland went up to Avery after a town hall meeting and told him that something was happening to the water. This must have prompted him to kill Holland so that he would not figure out the full scope of the conspiracy.
Little does Avery know, he created a swamp monster with a vendetta.
Here is where weird things start. Apparently, patient zero (Susie Coyle) has a psychic connection with the swamp.
I don’t understand how because she was not in the swamp when the initial attack by the vines happened. But okay.
In the last episode, when her father (Eddie Coyle) revived on the autopsy table, Susie had a moment where she called out to the dead corpse that was being controlled by vines. In this episode, she escapes the hospital in order to go meet the Swamp Thing.
The first time she tries to escape the doctor catches her. He asks her why she is trying to leave. Susie says it’s because the man in the dark is scared and needs her.
What could he possibly need from her? Does she hold the cure?
Eventually, Susie does escape and the sheriff’s office and doctors are looking for her in the swamp. Abby is scared because she has seen the Swamp Thing before and no one has believed her up to this point about the dumping, the monster, or the Holland conspiracy.
Susie ends up on a boat with some men who have been hired to dump by Avery. They don’t know she is there and after they have a disagreement, one of them kills the other.
This death prompts the Swamp Thing to rise from the water and save Susie. He rips the boat henchman apart and Susie is saved. However, Abby finds them just in time and takes Susie away.
After they escape the swamp, Susie tells Abby that the Swamp Things name is Holland.
Oh, snap. Here’s more information for the town not to believe.
We also have a bit of story progression for Maria Sunderland. It turns out that she has been dabbling in voodoo and having a witch doctor communicate with her dead daughter (Shawna) for the last 14 years.
As a result, we see that Shawna has not been able to rest in peace and is stuck in a realm between the living and the dead. The witch doctor tells Maria to let her rest because the balance with the living and the dead is shifting. The witch doctor felt that bad things are happening in the swamp.
Here’s the thing. After this weeks episode, I need to understand if Swamp Thing is a sci-fi horror thriller or a supernatural horror thriller. The characteristics of Holland as the Swamp Thing remain horrific. He’s killing people and groaning in pain. Normal stuff.
However, with the addition of Maria’s seance in the swamp, I got confused. How does this play into the swamp? Was the swamp haunted before the accelerant was dumped into it? The first episode never shows Holland and Susie speaking, so how is Susie connected to the Swamp Thing? When did the connection start?
This episode may have muffled the identity of the show a bit. But, it was still interesting. There are so many questions that need to be answered. I’m hoping as I keep watching, the show can clear up some of the confusion.
Before I even had the chance to watch Swamp Thing on DC Universe, the show was trending on Twitter confirming the cancellation of the show.
I don’t know the history of shows that have been canceled, but the decision to cancel Swamp Thing after only one episode had been aired felt rushed. So instead of automatically assuming that the first episode was complete garbage, I watched it for myself.
The pilot episode of Swamp Thing gave me serious sci-fi horror vibes. There is a lot of suspense in the first episode and the creators did a great job making the contaminated swamp graphics gross and unnerving. It’s a great presentation.
What about the story?
It’s a good story. However, I think the pilot episode may have given away the biggest part of the series too early in the season.
Spoilers ahead
We’re introduced to the swamp as a dark and mysterious place in Marais, Louisiana right away. A group of fishermen and a tech genius were hired to drop some sort of device in the swamp. They end up being attacked by the swamp and killed.
One fisherman, Eddie Coyle, makes it home somehow and infects his daughter. His daughter goes to school, passes out with a bloody nose and becomes patient zero.
Dr. Abby Arcane is ordered by the CDC to leave the Congo, where she is fighting an epidemic, to come back to Louisiana and cure the mysterious illness in Marais.
She ends up entrusting a somewhat awkward biologist named Alec Holland who has been commissioned by Will Sunderland, a wealthy member of the community, to run tests on the swamp. Initially, Holland is meant to help discover positive means to help the community flourish, but he discovers a fertilizer accelerate that is “jacking up” the mutagens in the swamp and causing the town to become sick.
There is also a side story line about Abby’s past where a childhood friend of hers died before they graduated high school. It turns out that friend was the daughter of Will and Avery Sunderland. Avery is not happy that Abby is back in town. At first, she attempts to intimidate her to leave the town, but then she asks her to save the town in the same breath.
Earlier, I stated that the pilot episode gave away too much information. What I am referring to is the end of the episode. Abby and Holland figure out some new information and plan to go study it more at the hospital. They are hoping that it will lead to a cure. However, Holland wants to go fish out the devices in the swamp first because they are causing the sickness.
A mysterious “I know what you did last summer” man somehow knows that Holland is going to do this and shoots him in the chest two times with a shotgun then blows him up.
While watching, I thought to myself, “Oh he’s definitely the Swamp Thing”. I didn’t realize that with 4 minutes left in the episode, this theory was going to be confirmed. That took a lot of the steam out of it. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t find out, but maybe not in the first episode.
Technically, there could have already been a Swamp Thing and Holland’s character could have been a bait to throw off the viewer. I guess he still could be, but I don’t think so.
At the end of the episode, Abby boats out to the area where Holland should be and finds fire, dead swamp bodies, and moving swamp branches. Then the branches subside and the Swamp Thing reveals himself.
Here’s a question. Why did the swamp bond with Holland and not with Coyle earlier in the episode?
I hope that we find out this season.
My Theory
There are 9 episodes left before the season ends. My ultimate theory involves Will Sunderland. I think that he is the anonymous financial backer to the fishermen boats that are poisoning that swamp in Marais. He’s already been cast as the rich member of the community. And maybe he has a “V for Vendetta” because his daughter died all those years ago.
Is this series worth saving? We’ll have to see. This coming from someone who has not read the comics and is going off of the show alone. I definitely think the episode was attention grabbing.
Finally had the chance to sit down and watch Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I went into this movie with no expectations and without reading the synopsis. It is a really enjoyable animated movie.
Spoilers ahead
The Story:
Shredder and the Foot Clan attempt to steal a machine that will allow them to engineer a mutagen and mutate all of the citizens of Gotham into their inner animal.
It turns out this plan was created by Ra’s Al Ghul who promised Shredder immortality for himself and his clan by using the Lazarus Pit. However, the mutagen had to be created first to cement the deal.
Our favorite pizza eating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles travel to Gotham City to stop this diabolical plan and end up clashing with Batman, Bat Girl, and Robin. They eventually realize they are working against the same evil and decide to work together to save the day.
Thoughts:
This movie had a lot of great moments in it. There were small nods to the story surrounding Batman and his past. Most notably when there was a subtle Jason Todd death reference when Damian was at risk of getting hurt.
Ace Chemicals were used to create the mutagen for Shredder and Ra’s Al Ghul. Keeping in mind that an Ace Chemical plant is where Joker fell into the chemical bin that caused him to become manic.
There was even a joke from Michael Angelo about New York and Gotham being basically the same aside from the huge blimps that are always flying in the air for some reason.
Even Joker and the rest of the reoccurring Gotham villains had their moment to shine despite not being the main protagonists. They used the mutagen on themselves and turned into huge snarling animals to act as a distraction while Ra’s Al Ghul prepared the infection of the entire city.
Batman (animated Batman) is always a cool untouchable renegade, but in this film is his interactions with Michaelangelo made him likable in a fun way, whether they were ordering pizza, driving the bat mobile, or fighting the Foot Clan.
Leonardo even had his moment to shine while fighting Ra’s Al Ghul. Realistically, I wouldn’t think he could beat him because Ra’s AL Ghul is a borderline immortal being with years of martial arts experience. However, the fight was actually very entertaining.
The biggest shock moment came after the credits rolled. After a fight with Batman, Shredder actually ended up going over the railing into a chemical bin. He emerges from the bin laughing and exhibiting manic behavior.
Unhinged Shredder? Now that’s a Shredder I want to see!
We’re 2 weeks removed from the season five finale of The Flash on The CW at the time of this writing. It was a finale that saw another change in the timeline due to the interference of Nora West-Allen all season long.
As a result, the Reverse Flash is back on the loose, Sherlock went back to his earth, Nora disappeared, and Cisco decided to take the cure and remove his Vibe powers.
Not only is Cisco a big part of Team Flash using his scientific knowledge and creativity (plus he’s the funniest character on the show), but his meta-human abilities to open dimensions were helpful for the entire team.
Now that Cisco is a regular human again, who will be able to step in and fill his shoes as an additional meta-human on the team?
Dr. Carol is Caitlin Snow’s/ Killer Frost’s mother. We were introduced to her while her relationship was strained with Caitlin. She kept the meta-human status of Caitlin’s father, Thomas Snow, a secret. Ultimately, Thomas tried to turn both Caitlin and her mother into frost meta-humans for good.
We saw Caitlin and Carol reconcile before the end of season five. But, we also find out that Carol now has meta-human DNA in her blood due to the efforts of Thomas Snow.
Dr. Carol could possibly enter Team Flash as an extra brain to assist with dissecting meta-human issues and as she realizes her meta-human abilities, she will be able to join the team in the field.
Maybe her name could be called Mother Frost.
My other suggestion is Harrison Wells. Every season they find a way to bring his character back into Team Flash. So perhaps they can do it again. But then again, bringing Dr. Wells back again will only fill the void that Sherlock Wells left.
So maybe no one can fill Cisco’s role and we’ll just have to deal with his absence and look forward to new additions to the team that we haven’t met before.