This was a bit mind-blowing when I first realized it, and I’m now starting to think that’s precisely what’s gonna happen. As w/ any dangerously addictive drug, this problem is definitely gonna spiral for Jacob, and while he’ll certainly believe that he has it under control at 1st, it probably won’t take long for even an incredibly stubborn person like him to realize that he really doesn’t. But self-awareness probably won’t be enough for him to fully stop, and so an overdose will then become the more likely outcome. Given his high status as the Crows’ boss, having such an overdose reported would be the end of his career…unless he were to be treated at a certain clinic that doesn’t report ODs. While it does suck that Jacob doesn’t quite have enough empathy to understand how important the clinic is in the way it operates just from Mary’s word, the “until it happens to you” approach should still remain effective in convincing him further. Of course I’m sure he wouldn’t feel great about bending the law in a way that’d allow him to look the other way and let the clinic keep going, but that would also further cement his status as the Commissioner Gordon of the series: the man who leads the city’s biggest policing force and preaches following the law, but who gradually realizes that sometimes some legal gray areas need to be embraced in order to do what’s right for Gotham
While I could see it being one of those things that I just get used to over time, I can’t really say I’m a fan of it at the outset. We got through all of season 3 just fine w/ Khalil and Painkiller sounding the same, so I’m not sure why the writers now feel a need to distinguish them this way now. The way Jordan Calloway plays these 2 is still plenty for me to know who’s who, as Khalil is generally gonna be kinder and more focused on doing good while Painkiller has a harder edge to him and acts colder than Khalil, though we did start to see that fade toward the end here
What’s also confusing about this move is the way they tried to make it look like Painkiller’s always sounded like this. Did anyone else notice how, during the recap, the Painkiller scenes from BL were given the same filter they used in this episode. That would only seem to influence people who hadn’t already seen BL before, and I can’t imagine that particular audience is sizeable at all. Plus, both Khalil and Painkiller’s voice sounded the same in the initial trailer dropped for this episode, but now Painkiller sounds much deeper. This tells me that the decision must’ve been made at some point in the last month, which is doable as it probably wouldn’t have taken much work to do some last-minute editing and apply that filter to Painkiller’s voice. If the show does get picked up, maybe they’ll ultimately decide against this and chalk it up to a failed experiment, but even if it does stick, it’s only a relatively minor negative in what was otherwise a strong debut
Considering that we’ve already got a few characters in the supporting cast who don’t seem to have any connections to characters/places we’ve seen before, I think having someone like Maya as the main villain will help form more of a necessary connective tissue w/ BL as the show would look to establish itself in just the 1st season. If it’s fortunate enough to go for multiple seasons, then it should definitely feel more comfortable breaking away more and further cementing its own legacy, but for now, it feels like there’s enough of a balance of familiar and new to work. Based on this 1st impression, Maya looks like she’s learned plenty from her dad about being cunning and ruthless, and the fact that they’re not estranged or anything leaves the door open for Odell to make more appearances further down the line. While I wouldn’t want this prospective show to have to rely too much on BL’s legacy, I’m certainly intrigued by Maya after her debut and hope to see more of her in the future. I’d imagine her operation goes even deeper than we’ve been told so far, and seeing what sort of highly advanced science she’s got her hands in should make for an interesting opening arc
While I do certainly understand both sides to this argument, I find myself leaning toward the rest of Team Flash’s logic in believing that Frost has already made up for her prior crimes. I’m certainly not saying that this is how it should go for every criminal, but the reality of the current situation still needs to be taken into account first and foremost rather than blindly sticking to something that could’ve happened earlier, even if maybe it should’ve happened at the time. If this was season 3 Frost getting arrested, it’d make more sense, but the Frost who’s been helping Team Flash save the city for the last couple years? Well arresting her ultimately harms the public good, contrary to what Kramer told Joe. But something also tells me that all the good deeds in the world wouldn’t sway Kramer from going after Frost. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s revealed that she has some sort of personal grudge against Frost for something that happened years ago, and I was half-expecting that sort of reveal in this week’s episode
I also have to question how this looks when it seems to be public knowledge that Frost has been working alongside Flash. The state obviously doesn’t have a problem w/ his actions, so you’d think they’d realize that those 2 working together is proof enough that Flash trusts Frost. And if Central City’s greatest hero trusts her, shouldn’t that be enough for the state to not bring her in? There’s obviously a lot to process w/ this, though I’m ultimately anticipating that Frost’s trial (in a few weeks after a brief-ish hiatus) will end w/ her being acquitted. Still, neither she nor anyone else knows that, and in fact Frost seems to anticipate that she’ll be imprisoned. But perhaps seeing Frost be so willing to pay for her previous crimes will ultimately wipe out any doubt the citizens of Central City had left about her intentions, thus completely solidifying her reputation as a hero. Well everyone except Kramer, but it’d be pretty damn satisfying seeing the look on her face if/hopefully when Frost goes free
I don’t wanna see Lena completely abandon her business endeavors, but in the short term, I do hope her ditching Lex’s games does mean she’ll be able to be a full-fledged member of the Super Friends. She certainly deserves to be fully in the fold, and I know it’s something that I and a lot of other fans want to see after the fracture of last season. We know that if she’s able to dedicate herself more to the effort to get Kara out of the Phantom Zone, then that’ll certainly reduce the amount of time she’s trapped there. Though I feel that there are probably still some lingering issues amid the group dynamic when it comes to Lena, most likely w/ Alex, Lena spending more time w/ everyone will also give them a better chance to work on those issues so they can move past them in a healthy way and better focus on the mission at hand
That said, I’d also love it if Lena ends up starting a new company from scratch a little later on. She deserves to build a true force for good where she doesn’t have to worry as much about moving past an ugly legacy like she did when she took the lead at L-Corp. I’m sure she still wants to further more scientific development that’ll be used for the betterment of humanity, and she still has so much more opportunity to inspire hope in her own way. One specific theory I’ve seen going around that’s really growing on me is that she could start a new company w/ essentially the same name, but it’s spelled differently: El-Corp. While it’d be pronounced the same as L-Corp, it’d ultimately be taking Kryptonian inspiration (Kara Zor-El, El Marayah, etc.) as a way to really further the message of hope. Perhaps she could have a public partnership w/ Supergirl similar to how they operated in the alternate timeline from the 100th episode where they were partners from the very beginning. Wherever this goes, the important thing is that it’s a hugely important step in Lena’s growth and self-appreciation, and I couldn’t be more proud of her for it
