Emily dives back into the dating pool.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Powerless may not be everything a superhero fanatic could want out of a workplace comedy set in the DC Universe, but it is getting pretty good about doing a lot with very little. This week's episode managed to deliver an entertaining, Batman-focused storyline without ever actually featuring the Caped Crusader in person.
Apparently a lot of time has passed in the Powerless universe since the pilot episode, as "Emily Dates a Henchman" opened with our plucky heroine celebrating her six-month anniversary at Wayne Security by moping over an ex-boyfriend. One "girls night out," Emily found herself a seemingly perfect boyfriend with one rather glaring character flaw.
Emily's short-lived romance with Riddler Gang henchman Reggie (iZombie's Robert Buckley) played about as well as can be expected given the limited room to work with. I do have to wonder if the writers would have been better served letting the romance play out over the course of several episodes before dropping the big twist. But ultimately, this brief romantic fling was more about Emily exploring her vindictive side. "Taking the low road," as she put it. Vanessa Hudgens brings a very sweet, innocent charm to the role, so any opportunity to see Emily try and be dark is worth taking. Mainly because she failed so utterly in her attempt to insult Reggie.
It was also fun to see the bond between Emily and Jackie strengthen, however reluctantly on the part of the latter. Jackie is amusing enough as the exasperated assistant to Van, but her character has a little more spark when she's playing the put-upon mentor to Emily. The show in general is still in the process of finding its voice, and Jackie seems to be one of the more tangible areas of improvement these past couple weeks.
The same can't be said for Jennie Pierson's Wendy, unfortunately. The writers don't seem to know what to do with her outside of using Wendy as an occasional source of gruff, vaguely inappropriate humor. It was disappointing to see her essentially drop out of the girls night out storyline after a couple minutes. Powerless has a solid all-around cast, and perhaps its cardinal sin is that only about half of that cast is allowed to shine in any given episode.
At least things are picking up where Danny Pudi's Teddy is concerned. There's still a nagging sense that Pudi's flair for physical comedy isn't being exploited to the fullest, with Ron Frunches tending to hog the spotlight in most of their scenes together. Nevertheless, the Teddy/Ron/Van team-up was definitely the highlight of this episode. The three got a chance to bond over their mutual love of Batman, though Van clearly had some baggage left over from his previous encounter with "The Dork Knight."
Based on the way these past few weeks have played out, it's doubtful whether we'll ever see Powerless treat the major Justice Leaguers as actual characters and not just fodder for background cameos. Whether that's due to studio-imposed limitations or an intentional choice, it's hard to say. But if we can't have Batman in the flesh, storylines like this are the next best thing. There was ample humor to be found in Ron's celebrity worship and especially in Van's harebrained attempt at becoming the next Robin. If you're going to spoof the Batman franchise, few gags are more reliable than the Caped Crusader's revolving door policy for sidekicks. And if anyone can waltz around the screen in a bad Robin costume while in complete deadpan mode, it's Alan Tudyk.
The Verdict
Powerless continues to improve each week. While the show still isn't particularly deep, and it still struggles to take advantage of every member of the main cast, it is developing into an entertainingly goofy take on the DC Universe. Emily remains as charming as ever as the show explores her lackluster love life. And the Teddy/Ron/Van trinity really stood out this week as they made an ill-advised attempt to join forces with the Dark Knight himself. At least it can't be said that Powerless isn't taking advantage of the DC setting now.
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