Black Lightning on the CW

[90'sCartoonMan]

Or is it that the melodrama feels organic when a character's journey is just beginning, and they aren't able to recapture the sincerity of the drama beyond that initial arc?

That's what I think it is. Characters have to have drama and bumps in the road, and the longer we see their successes and failures, the more it looks like they're making the same mistakes over and over or they're making mistakes that don't feel organic. It becomes forced the more it goes on. Like in the case of Jefferson and Lynn, maybe the idea was to not get them re-married until the very end of the series. So they have to keep throwing obstacle after obstacle in their way until they fix their relationship in the end.

[Lightning Rider]

That's what I think it is. Characters have to have drama and bumps in the road, and the longer we see their successes and failures, the more it looks like they're making the same mistakes over and over or they're making mistakes that don't feel organic. It becomes forced the more it goes on. Like in the case of Jefferson and Lynn, maybe the idea was to not get them re-married until the very end of the series. So they have to keep throwing obstacle after obstacle in their way until they fix their relationship in the end.

Yeah that's well-said. It's just unfortunate that so ofen it's clumsily done. I wonder how far they know what's going to happen later in a season (I think I recall a Flash writer saying that it's only several episodes ahead, and beyond that a general idea), because a lot of the conflicts will start in one episode and get resolved either by the end of it, or in the next episode. And usually a character is behaving in a pretty indefensible way. Like Jefferson asking Lynn, recovering addict who he judged incredibly harshly when she was hooked on greenlight, if she could try the meta-boosters, and asking "what's the problem?" It's just not even believable.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Well Smallville had similar problems with obstacles being thrown into the path of the Clark/Lana pairing that kept getting weaker and weaker as the show went on, as if the obstacles were just pulled out of a hat, so it's not just BL that did it...

[Frontier]

Well Smallville had similar problems with obstacles being thrown into the path of the Clark/Lana pairing that kept getting weaker and weaker as the show went on, as if the obstacles were just pulled out of a hat, so it's not just BL that did it...

At least we got Clois out of it...

[Lightning Rider]

Well Smallville had similar problems with obstacles being thrown into the path of the Clark/Lana pairing that kept getting weaker and weaker as the show went on, as if the obstacles were just pulled out of a hat, so it's not just BL that did it...

Very true, although I feel like most of the annoying dynamics were contained within that one relationship. It's been decades since I watched Smallville, but I don't remember Clark having the same level of petty arguments with Pete or his parents or Lex. When they did argue it seemed more organic and relevant to the plot. I could be wrong though.

Smallville is interesting to look at since it's the progenitor of these shows.

[Anarchist]

Oh, this thread is back up? Series almost ended a whole year ago. Crazy how time goes by. Oh well, then I might as well ask:

How would you rank the Seasons? My ranking would go:

1. Season 3. Great Season all in all. Especially since we got a break from Tobias Whale for a change and had the magnificent Gravedigger, as well as Odell as main villains. There were many great characters and arcs this Season overall.

2. Season 1. Good start for the Series, not perfect, but a solid foundation.

3. Season 2. It was at this point that Tobias Whale's infamous invincibility became a chore to watch. Had some decent moments, but overall much weaker than Season 1.

4. Season 4. Yeah, I think we talked about this in much detail last year. Left a lot be desired as a final Season. From Lady Eve not appearing again, to Lala, Khalil and Painkiller leaving with their arcs still open to Tobias Whale being at his most extremely obnoxious levels of Plot Armor. Oh, and that drama with Lynn was stupid as hell as well.

[Frontier]

Hmm...Honestly I'd put season 1 at the top and I'd have to debate where I'd put season 2 and 3, but season 4 would definitely be last.

[Lightning Rider]

I think my rankings would go as the same chronological order.

Season 1 - the family dynamic was strongest, and Jefferson was most involved as the principal of Freeland. I loved seeing a superhero with a cemented leadership role in the community and the actor carried it very well. Jennifer & Khalil's entire arc was also cool.

Season 2 - I really enjoyed the Greenlight story which touched on real world issues in a creative way, and Odell was a great villain with a lot of subtlety. Looker was somewhat cool, I liked Anissa's Blackbird approach, and Khalil & Jennifer had good development. I remember the arguments in this season centering around Jefferson's daughters chafing under his leadership, which I thought was logical.

Season 3 - The Markovia arc was decent and Gravedigger was a great villain, but given the ASA sites were so central to the plot, there was much less focus on the school and Jefferson was demoted. I also wasn't a fan of Lynn becoming an addict, and the family dynamic really started to suffer. RIP Henderson.

Season 4 - The less said the better, really. Gambi getting laid was probably the highlight.


Now that I think on it, Flash also neglected Barry's CSI abilities pretty consistently after season 1.

[Frontier]

Now that I think on it, Flash also neglected Barry's CSI abilities pretty consistently after season 1.

It's like modern Kamen Riders and their bikes. Shows up in the first few episodes but then you're lucky to see it 20-30 episodes later...