First thing I have lined up to post are some of my reviews of DC Superhero Girls 2019. I worked on these for a long time, writing review after review until I’d finally reviewed all of season 1! Me wanting people to read them is actually how this blog got its start too, so I thought it was only fitting that they be my first post.
Of course, I won’t be posting all of them at the same time; that would be insane. This is just a few of them, hence the “part 1” of the title, but I hope you enjoy them!! Each one is a labor of love; trust me.
I think the system by which I’m reviewing them is pretty obvious, so let’s get this party started!!
Episode name: Sweet Justice
Episode number(s): 1-4
Synopsis: Barbara Gordon moves with her father to Metropolis and assembles a team of superheroes led by Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman trains the team while they help her get adjusted to ordinary teenage life.
Thoughts: A good introduction to the series that definitely holds up its end of the bargain by setting up all the heroes you’ll need to know, telling why pretty much all of them don’t want to donate their normal lives to charity by becoming superheroes while also showing why they need to and why the entire city would probably be doomed if they were left to train themselves. It also does a great job of setting up future plotlines like Babs’ friendship with Harleen; and the Luthor twist makes a lot of sense and does a good job of making you think you know what the twist is going to be until they actually reveal it. Not the best episode the crew’s ever produced, but definitely a pretty great one, which is exactly what you want in a pilot!
Rating: 8/10, definitely watch.
Episode name: Adventures In Bunnysitting
Episode number(s): 5
Synopsis: Zee asks Kara to look after her two magical bunnies, which quickly start to multiply to unmanageable numbers, wreaking havoc all across Metropolis.
Thoughts: Massive downgrade from Sweet Justice, but still a decent episode! A weird joke to base an entire episode off of, but I adore seeing Kara’s soft side and any episode that shows it off is ok in my book!!! Not really sure why Zee really bought a male and female rabbit in the first place if she knew this whole disaster would happen if they ever got anywhere near each other but the oceans of rabbits lead to some amazing jokes, so I can forgive that. Overall, I can see someone finding this episode bland (especially since the last one had two villains, both of them great) but I personally just find it laughable fun.
Rating: 4/10, optional watch.
Episode name: Hate Triangle
Episode number(s): 6
Synopsis: Hal’s ex-girlfriend Star Sapphire shows up at a Metropolis High football game and attacks him with love. Jessica tries to control the situation with nonviolent tactics.
Thoughts: First episode to truly explore Jess’ pacifist nature, and the first appearance of Carol/Star Sapphire!! Hal is just such a delightful character to laugh at, and I love watching the frustrated brother/sister relationship he and Jess share. A little too much of the episode is spent making fun of Garth for existing, but overall, it’s a great episode!! It helps you understand why Carol is completely in the right to be upset at Hal but also understand why her coping mechanisms are taking it way too far. They also deliver their lesson of how to let go of the past and heal the hurt you feel inside incredibly masterfully (may or may not have teared up watching this part), but also in a way that still leaves Carol as a villain with the same motivations as before: to claim Hal Jordan for her own. Get rid of the good two minutes we spent making fun of Garth for no reason, and it would be a classic.
Rating: 8/10, could go as optional or definite watch.
Episode name: Burrito Bucket
Episode number(s): 7
Synopsis: Babs is at her job at the Burrito Bucket fast food restaurant. A bank robbery breaks out across the street, and Babs tries to thwart the bank robbery while following the instructions of her boss Shane O’Shaughnessy.
Thoughts: This is clearly one of the episodes that’s just there to make you laugh and nothing more, but that’s not a bad thing at all!! I get the feeling it was supposed to air a lot later considering she calls Barry to come help her and very clearly knows he’s The Flash. At this point, she’s not supposed to even be friends with Barry, let alone know his secret identity. But Barry adds enough laughs to the episode that I’m willing to forget they don’t actually know each other yet. The episode really just tackles what it must be like to be a superhero with an actual job, complete with stern boss who looks uncannily like Spongebob; and there are so many great lines that it’s really just pure enjoyable fun from start to finish. And don’t forget everybody, Babs is the employee of the night!
Rating: 6/10, optional watch.
Episode name: Meet the Cheetah
Episode number(s): 8
Synopsis: Barbi is envious of Diana who keeps upstaging her. She uses a cheetah statuette from her dad’s collection to place a curse on Diana, but instead, Barbi is turned into Cheetah, and she attacks Diana and the team.
Thoughts: Literally the only problem I have with this episode is that the whole “looking for then nearly getting murdered by the Cheetah” scene goes on for a bit too long. The rest? Perfection. The atmosphere of this episode is insanely well-done as well as the choreography of Diana and the Cheetah’s fight. Everyone involved in the making of this episode needs to seriously give themselves a pat on the back! I absolutely adore the way they handle this version of the Cheetah, too. She’s not just pretending to be an animal, she is an animal, and she is 100% cursed. She runs on all fours and attacks anyone and anything she sees. It’s like the only emotion she has left in that form is anger and the only memory she has left is what made her angry. Taking my hat off to you for this one, Lauren.
Rating: 9/10, definitely watch.
Episode name: Beeline
Episode number(s): 9
Synopsis: When she stumbles across a villainous plot to blow up a bridge, Bumblebee shies away from the challenge of taking on the baddies and reaches out to her friends.
Thoughts: I used to really hate this episode because it broke the continuity (Catwoman doesn’t form her gang until Frenemies) just to tell a story that keeps building up to a fight but never ends up giving you one. Rhile I’m still not a fan of that ending, I can really appreciate the story they’re trying to tell now. What just seemed like an episode trying to please the censors before I can now see as the story of Karen trying to gather her friends so she doesn’t have to gather the courage she needs to face Harley and the others. It’s a noble story they’re trying to tell here, but the fact that I couldn’t even tell what it was supposed to be until my second viewing really tells just how successful they were in telling it. They focus too much on the jokes, and while they still definitely make for an enjoyable episode, this one really needed just like…one more rewrite.
Rating: 5/10, optional watch. (I’d say it’s worth watching just for Harley’s energy and the jokes they tell.)
Episode name: Super Who?
Episode number(s): 10
Synopsis: Kara deals with not getting her equal share of the credit for rescuing the people of Metropolis, while her cousin Superman gets all the credit.
Thoughts: This episode started the “Kara blames Karen for everything” running joke, so it already gets a special place in my heart just for that. But even without that, Super Who? really is a great episode. They set up everything they need to about Kara’s ego and jealousy, Clark’s sibling rivalry with her, and Karen being the only person who actually pays attention in school perfectly. They don’t hit you over the head with it, but don’t make it too subtle either, and it all comes together so beautifully at the end. This one unfortunately falls into the trap so many episodes fall into of having half the episode just be a montage, but until it inevitably overstays its welcome the Kara vs Clark montage is really funny and entertaining. Honestly, this is one of those episodes I can’t really describe; you just gotta watch it to know what I mean. I’d definitely recommend it though.
Rating: 7/10, optional watch (though def a favorite of mine)
Thoughts of a Literate Hyena 