Arrow's main theme seems to be that tragedy is what makes one a true hero. Mr. Terrific hasn't undergone (any? enough?) tragedy, so he's less of a hero and more of a dilettante who likes tech and cosplay.

I see I'm late to this party, but I'm glad I'm not the only one with Standards.

Of more immediate concern is the fact that there are two — two! — people in the Onion Media Empire named, apparently, "Clayton."

Call me crazy, but I think Ezra is both less moody and less annoying this season than he was last season. Last year was still about him struggling to fit into the established "family unit" of Hera, Kanan. Sabine, and Zeb and battle his old demons, and if anything he had too little confidence in his abilities and that…

I'm firmly on Ted Sr.'s side in that conflict. Janet still does not seem to realize what a tremendous burden her emotions are (and have been) to her entire family, even after member after member has chosen to define their adulthood by staying as far away from her as possible.

And Black Sails! I never thought I'd have a reason to love Michael Bay. Although that one is ending next season, alas.

All-But-Dissertation Doom. "It's all politics, man."

I did listen to it when it came out, and again, it might be considered a decent album for a band that was just starting out, and the longer songs and heavier riffs were a step forward from the dumbed-down song structures on Load or any of that ilk, but it was in no way up to the standard set by the band previously. …

As one of the fans who began their disenchantment with Metallica with the Black Album, it's hard not to get impatient with listeners for whom that is Metallica's seminal work, the one that introduced them to the band and the standard by which everything else is judged. It is such a massive step down from their first…

These are all very plausible theories. And since we don't know very much about the Daxamite monarchy, I guess it's possible that it's been stable for so long that "palace guard" is largely a ceremonial role where no actual fighting is expected of you.

Kara (and holo-Mom) has indicated that this is a (stereotypical, but still) common trait among Daxamites, though. At least compared to the "selfless" Kryptonians. (Selfless like General Zod, right?) So there's still a lot of ambiguity there.

Wasn't Mon-El a palace guard on Daxam? I can see him needing to train to handle his powers so he doesn't accidentally kill one of us fragile humans, but shouldn't he at least know the basics of unarmed combat? I'm OK with Supergirl mopping the floor with him — she, after all, has both experience and training — but…

Did you see his turn as Amy's father on Veep last season? Totally different energy and somehow just as hilarious. (Kind of like when they made always mild-mannered Zach Woods Amy's boyfriend and had him play totally against type, as the only character who ever talked back to Sue.)

The thing is that an exceptional improv troupe is like an exceptional baseball team. Even your best hitters are striking out an awful lot of the time. It's just the nature of the beast.

I will vouch for Atlanta. If you're thinking it's some kind of artsy mindfuck or Great Big Statement TV and that's putting you off, don't worry. It has the bones of a low-key hangout comedy that throws the occasional satirical curveball at you, and the whole ensemble is really good.

According to 538, the Indians faced the fifth-toughest road to the Series in the past 21 years (since the wild card era started) and came within two runs of winning it all. That is a helluva season. http://fivethirtyeight.com/…

Baal has been presented as a seducer, so I expected most of his victims to be women, and yet I came at the question from the other direction — for a stereotypical small Midwestern town, Elk Grove is pretty progressive to have so many "lady cops" on the force, no? And zaftig ones to boot.

Everybody I've seen talking about this episode seems to have missed a point which is not really all that subtle: ultimately, this is a story about the arrested emotional development of young adult males.

I wonder if it means anything that Michael works mostly alone (with occasional assistance from Janet) whereas Trevor is accompanied by a posse of fellow douches, albeit ones with no lines. Perhaps some commentary that Heaven is the work of a devoted auteur, whereas Hell is assembled by committee?

Amelia's and Mike's storyline was kinda meh. Now that they outed themselves, what's the point of their relationship?