Captain America: Episodes 14 and 15

 

 Episode 14: The Scarab Strikes

"We have nothing to worry about from the District Attorney!"

Not much time to blog tonight, so I'm glad these are short.

A long reprise this time, in an episode full of fistfights- and including a rather nasty whipping to show just how nasty the Scarab is.  

It's the penultimate episode, but there isn't much to show this- even Gardner tracing a call doesn't (yet) led to the Scarab's headquarters. But Gardner's careless comment to where hes going (as Cap) to a goon will have consequences later.

The final cliffhanger- a building being bombed from the air- is admittedly a good one.

 

Episode 15: The Toll of Doom

"It's obvious the District Attorney and Captain America are the same man."

It's the final episode, so the plot has to stop. Gardner and the Scarab discover each others' secret identities in ways they could easily have done much earlier; Gail is put in some intriguing type of peril yet manages to be damn clever; the baddie gets a brutal comeuppance in a way that blatantly condones judicial killing as though no one would object. Wow.

Surprisngly, Gardner is outed as Cap, and it sticks. That's an interesting move.

This was, it has to be said, quite a good movie serial overall. It's a movie serial nevertheless, though. I don't think I'll be seeing another any time soon.

Captain America: Episodes 12 and 13

 Episode 12: Horror on the Highway

"You might as well accuse me of being the Scarab!"

Dare I say it, but this serial seems to be getting a little less aimless and more entertaining as we approach the final strait: this episode is the best in a while.

We begin just after Matson's resirrection as he and his accomplice getaway, although of course there is absolutely nothing in the way of philosophical musing on the miracle of a dead man being resurrected, even if the machine and its inventor are gone.

We then get even more absurdly exaggerated dramatic irony as Grant Gardner once again trusts the scheming Dr Maldor and includes him in his plans.It's all very insidious, and fun to watch, even if the Captain America costume isn't seen again after the first scene.

 

Episode 13: Skyscaper Plunge

"You may tell the Scarab I'll not aid his murderous plans even at the risk of my life!"

The cliffhanger (Grant's car falling off a cliff) is resolved without cheating if a little easily, and were off. This episode is a little less entertaining than the last one, being somewhat full of the usual filler, but we have a new MacGuffin and new Mayan archaeologist character who will presumably take us through the final phase of the story.

But for now it's all set pieces so, after a bit of fisticuffs, Cap falls out of a skyscraper window...