That was a VERY strong week, but as I was watching it, I felt there was a flaw to the arc that was bugging me. It didn't ruin things for me, but it bugged me. But what's great is the ending means that specific thing I worried about might actually work out okay.

First off, I love that Crusher calls Pat and his family "their people". And the show has done the legwork to make the audience care about the Crocks and invest in their reform. Their deaths are tragic, and weirdly beautiful for that reason. What I think is fascinating about the Crocks, (and you can tell me if this is wrong), is that they are far more invested in their reformation than the good guys are. Forget Sylvester, while Barb has grown close to Paula, the truth is Crusher makes Pat a little uncomfortable. He accepts the idea that Crusher says he wants to live a normal crime-free life, but his reactions to Crusher's enthusiastic buddy-buddying suggests part of him thinks it's a con. And the part that doesn't is uncomfortable anyways. What I loved about the Crocks is either that prejudice on behalf of Pat and the Whitmores never registered, or it never bothered them, or made them think less of them. And I love and will miss the Crocks because they were far more open and genuine with their feelings than many of the heroes.

Look at Cameron. Courtney couldn't even tell him the truth about who supposedly killed Icicle. And Cameron suggests maybe his dad was not the best guy, but he was his dad, and Courtney took him away from him. And regardless of the phony drama the show loves cooking up between the characters, that element is basic, raw, and totally relatable.

The thing that bugged me was remedied by Icicle Sr. being alive, the potential killer of the Gambler, and possibly the Bigger Bad than the Ultra-Humanite. My concern in the episode was the elder McKents leaning towards learning to forgive Courtney and her family for what happened. And I was like "Are they seriously positioning these people for a redemption arc with the heroes? Am I the ONLY one who remembers and is bugged by the fact that the grandmother murdered Cameron's beloved art teacher for no reason JUST last week?" And Icicle being back suggests complicated family matters are ahead, and that doesn't seem like a thing the show is going to ignore after all. After all this, it would be dramatic malpractice to do so.

I think it's important for us to see Jakeem and Mike relating to and talking to Thunderbolt. It's makes Thunderbolt's trickery a lot more forgivable to understand a little bit more about his laid-back personality. What his friendship with the boys says is that as much of a hindrance as he is, it's not due to actual malice on his end. Which helps a lot for me.

For the record, I think it's wonderful that it's Sylvester who suggests the McKents are probably being set up. Great character growth for him there.

So yeah, as strong week. In another world, I would complain about the show killing off the Crocks, because they are an asset to the show, and now the show doesn't have them anymore. But knowing this is going to wind up the last season makes that specific complaint irrelevant. If the show had lasted seven seasons I would have approved of that beautiful death in the final one. I would have been otherwise miffed if it weren't for the fact that the show HAS been canceled. It feels appropriate now, as much as it saddens me.

So, yeah, that was a damn good week. ****1/2.

It looks like the Ultra-Humanite is the killer and the season's Big Bad. I don't like that it's someone we hadn't met. That's not the proper way to structure a mystery, which is how this season billed itself as.

I think there were individual good elements in the episode, and I found the ending with Cameron's grandfather exhorting him to choose love refreshingly and unexpectedly positive. But I'm calling the episode a failure anyways. And I think really, it's an unacceptable failing.

Regardless of how it turned out, regardless of the mistakes Rick made, Courtney never should have decided to tell Cameron the truth at his spooky mansion where his possibly criminal grandparents are always lurking in the shadows. She should have chosen to take him to a place they both felt comfortable and where they wouldn't be disturbed. And this specific failing makes me give the episode a failing grade because as far as mistakes go, it's not a remotely forgivable one. Why did Courtney make that bad choice? Because a ton of the bad conflict in the climax would not have happened if she hadn't. She deliberately made a bad, stupid decision, to make it easier for the writers to write conflict.

That is bad. That is a failing. If you ask me, I personally believe it is one of the worst writing failings somebody could ever do. A ton of genre fans find that sort of thing acceptable, which is why I've never felt comfortable in those specific fandoms. You guys excuse far too much. You and I both deserve better than stuff like this. We all do. And the first step is to stop pretending it's remotely acceptable. It's not. Your TV is failing you. Don't give it that permission by tacitly approving of something this badly written. It's not fair to you, and frankly, the writers (in this case Geoff Johns) should be ashamed of themselves.

I mentioned there were some good individual elements. I thought Luke Wilson brought his A-Game as Pat talked about his concerns with Mike with Barbara. And him bonding with Crusher was great, as was Barb telling Paula they were friends, and Paula appreciating it because no-one has ever said that to her before. There is a lot of good pathos going on with the background characters in this episode. It does not change the fact that the episode wrote the story poorly, simply because poor writing made the drama easier for them to come up with. That's false drama. That's bad drama. That's unacceptable on any level. **.

What the hell, man?

I loved that because it raised questions. Good ones. And I love not knowing the answers yet.

Yolanda's confrontation with her mother was a long time coming. I find Mom a far more despicable character than anyone in the ISA. When she talks about "What Yolanda did" she's actually blaming her own daughter for being a victim of revenge porn. It's actually quite sick. If I were in social services I would take Yolanda away to foster care to not have to put up with that level of cruel emotional abuse. I'm not kidding about that. That "What you did" moment was absolutely sick on every level.

I'm worried about Rick, but him punching out the camera was a good act break.

I know the Shade loves complaining about helping the heroes, but I think his problem is that deep down he enjoys it. Not because he's righteous and likes doing good for goodness' sake. But because it's fun. That is pretty much the biggest drawback to being a supervillain in the DC Universe. Superheroes get to punch out talking gorillas. As a rule, supervillains don't. I'd want to be a superhero in that Universe for this reason.

Zeke has turned from annoying to amazing. When did that happen and how did I miss it?

For the record, Keith David should have gotten a "Special Guest Star" credit. If you ask me, he's a bigger name than Seth Green.

Man, I was about as confused by the premise as an average episode of Twin Peaks. Trust me, that's high praise. ****1/2.

Ultimately, I'm giving the episode a mediocre two stars, solely for Sylvester's amazing scene with Courtney at the end. But the scene being amazing is a double-edged sword. He is now the prime suspect of being the murderer again in my mind.

There were two things in the episode that totally sucked and wrecked it for me. The first sucky thing was Yolanda in the confessional. I am aware Berlanti shows are crappy at lawyer stuff and police stuff. But do they have to be absolutely crappy at every single profession they choose to portray? All they need for a credible priest is for him to say wise-sounding platitudes. Instead he's this hot mess personally inserting himself into Yolanda's decisions. Perhaps one could argue this is the show's shot at organized religion and it's portraying the priest poorly as a reflection of that message. But that's not actually readily evident to me. I sincerely think it's just likelier the show's writers are so crappy they can't do the SUPER easy job of making a priest sound comforting and wise and staying in his lane.

For the record when Yolanda tells Beth she wouldn't involve her parents in this nonsense she was right to point out the notable difference that her parents actually sucked. Food for thought.

The second thing that ruined the episode for me, was Cindy begging Yolanda to let her explain herself and Yolanda says, "It's too late for that." You know, Yolanda, you don't exactly have the high ground for refusing to hear her out as long as you broke into her house and cast the first blow. This is something that would be evident to any sane person, but this show is badly written, and the producers hope you aren't smart enough to actually know that true thing. The fact that Cindy isn't like "She broke into my house TWICE, and attacked me unprovoked in my own bedroom," shows the writers are sincerely that clueless. This is not a put-on. It doesn't occur to them the specific reason Yolanda doing that is over the line.

As long as Yolanda is doing that, NONE of the team have any business judging Courtney's choices. And I think Courtney's choices regarding Cameron SUCK. But I am not going to for one second pretend those kids have the high ground against her after attacking Cindy in her own damn house unprovoked. Not even a second.

I woulda given that a single star but Sylvester went up and done amazed me. Damn him. Bonus damning points because he's probably the murderer. **.

What is this show doing? What is wrong with it?

What's wrong with it is it's television, and television is terrible. That's all this show's (and most show's) problems boil down to.

We know Court and Cameron are going to end badly. Even the characters seem to know it. So why do it? Why put Courtney in that specific painful scenario with nothing but a bad outcome possible? Is this Geoff Johns' way of keeping his sister's memory chaste? Because man, this is NOT working. It won't work. And every time a TV show does something like this I complain my head off, and fans of that show inevitably tell me to slow my roll and trust the producers. And I'm always right anyways, while the fans seem dumbfounded after the plot has fully shaken out that that the show has actually been destroyed by it. I'll tell you the silver lining about that. The show has been shaky enough for the past two and a half seasons that for once, I don't think anyone reading my review will protest my dislike of that. Sometimes when I push up against bad television, I seem to be knocking down what many people consider icons. I don't think I really have to worry about offending anyone who reads this review. The viewers and fans of this show are very well aware of its virtues AND faults. I'm not torching any sacred cows for once.

And why was Rick SO rude to Cameron at the table? I understand why he doesn't like or trust him. But Cameron doesn't. Is Rick so dumb he doesn't realize his uncalled for rudeness is actually suspicious? And if he truly believes Cameron is a threat is that the vibe he was wants to send to this potential threat with his behavior? What is this show doing?

I don't like seeing Joel McHale lose his cool. His cool is Joel McHale's entire selling point. Maybe you could argue the show is trying to let him stretch for once, but that's not an acting muscle I believe he needed to have pulled, or one I felt rewarded for him flexing. What is this show doing?

Why was Thunderbolt in the JSA to begin with? The bit with the "nicer" bullies was truly funny, but it puts into sharp focus that he's a hindrance. Mr. Mxyzptlk was also similarly mischievous, and his intentions were similarly harmless. But Superman never asked him to join the Justice League either. Jeez.

The one thing in the episode I liked was kind of painful. I like that Beth has good parents. When she tells them what she needs from them, they actually listen to her, as hurt as they are. Compare that to the outright monsters Yolanda has to come home to every night.

But man, what is this show doing? Why does it insist on being television? **.

If it's not Sylvester, Cindy turning into the Dragon King is a good alternative culprit. Messy. Good.

Cameron's stuff is messy in a way I DON'T like. Whatever Courtney thinks she's doing, her having to be so dishonest with him about everything is going to backfire. Especially since his grandparents know her secret. If they didn't, I wouldn't be as concerned.

This episode is a solid reminder that Yolando's mom absolutely sucks. Every time I find Beth's parents too insufferable I look at what poor Yolanda is stuck with and find their smothering refreshing in comparison. Do you know what pisses me off the most about Yolanda's parents? There has been no growth there. In three seasons her parents are exactly as horrible to Yolanda as they were when we first met them in season one. In a season subtitled "Frenemies", and one where Sylvester and Crusher are tossing beers back and forth and watching The Outlaw Josey Wales together, her mother being in the same nasty rut as always grates especially for that reason.

I liked it, although I do have a few concerns about the future. Cindy being the killer sounds all right. But they could screw it up. And Cameron's stuff is iffy too. ***1/2.