December 10th's Weekly TV Thoughts

So you'll notice a new show on the list.  That's because, thanks to my brother and sister-in-law, I decided to give This Is Us a try.  While I'm only commenting on the most recent episode, I watched all 10 episodes in the last week.  Love this show.  I don't think I can wait a month to find out what happens next.  If you haven't given the show a chance, I highly recommend it.

Once Upon a Time – Wow!  I was not expecting any of that.  Rumple and Belle’s son grown up.  Regina and Emma trapped in a wish world with Robin.  And Snow and David still trapped in the sleeping curse.  Plus we have to wait until March to find out what happens next?  I thought when they said they weren’t doing the split season we’d get one or two episodes next month.  I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

The Librarians – I do find it fun that two shows talking about the price of magic happen to be on the same night and time.  I enjoyed seeing the characters working at the problem from two different sides; it’s not something we see on the show very often.  The character development hasn’t been outstanding this season, but they tried a little tonight.  Overall, another fun hour.

The Flash – Another prophecy of doom and destruction with that flash forward to Iris dying.  They’d better figure out a way to stop that.  But those last few minutes?  The scenes at Christmas Eve?  Wonderfully sweet stuff, and I loved it.  And yes, I did get a kick out of that stone being the philosopher’s stone with the actor they’ve got playing Alchemy.  BTW, glad to see that secret is out of the bag.  But is it really over, or is he still going to wind up being a villain?

College Team Ninja Warrior – I think this is the first time I remember seeing two teams face each other twice in TNW.  How fitting was it that it was UCLA and USC.  I’ve got to admit I was rooting a tad more for UCLA just because the LA Times Festival of Books was better when it was on their campus.  Yep, that’s all it takes.  Anyway, I was glad to see they won and are moving on.

This Is Us – Definitely a different episode with everyone, including the past, getting their own segment before they all came together at the end.  And yet somehow it worked.  That last scene of everyone together was fun and heartwarming – until the last few minutes.  Not happy about Toby there at the end.  He’s not my favorite character by far, but I don’t want to see that.

Arrow – Even with Felicity’s great line early in the episode, I did not see that ending coming.  We have six weeks to find out what happens next and where they are going with it, too.  I mean, yikes!  And it really was a one, two punch.  At least Oliver was up front about what happened and didn’t try to hide it.  Plus Diggle has been recaptured.  A long six weeks ahead of us indeed.

Survivor – I’d been thinking we had too many people left to go into the season finale next week.  Obviously, I was right since we eliminated two people.  What a wild and crazy ride.  Obviously, their editing is helping keep it unpredictable for us, but this is hardly the traditional steady alliances with maybe one or two people jumping ship over the course of the season.  Makes me very anxious to see how things play out next week.

Lethal Weapon – I was expecting a depressing Christmas episode, but it was good with plenty of emotion to it.  Considering Riggs’s wife’s death wasn’t an accident in the movies, I’m not sure where they are going with this.  That last scene was a bit confusing because it sure sounds like Riggs knows something he shouldn’t and someone is watching him.  But who?

Designated Survivor – Another thrill ride of an episode.  The political drama is fun and entertaining, but couple that with the conspiracy and it makes for a great hour of TV.  I can’t wait to see how things come together sometimes next year.  And I think next week’s winter finale is going to be very explosive.

Legends of Tomorrow – A speedster who can change forms?  That’s interesting, and something I didn’t remember seeing before.  All told another fun episode.  The different time periods certainly adds something to the show.  Plus we got an update on Rip at the end.  I’m wondering how he wound up in that time and place.  Was he blasted there or has he lived 20 years in the past?

The Great Outdoors – They made Emma too smart and Jack too dumb.  Still, it was a basically fun episode.  I think I liked the idea of magic at the bar the best, however.  Throwaway sub-plot, but it was pretty funny.