‘Powerless’ Review [1×02] “Wayne Dream Team”

Powerless takes a slump in its second episode but shows overall promise.

Emily (Vanessa Hudgens) attempts to bridge the gap with her team as she struggles for balance between boss and friend. After attempting to get her R&D team (Ron Funches, Danny Pudi, and Jennie Pierson) to focus more on work than fun, she takes her issue to H.R. hard ass Samuel Greene (Michael D. Cohen). Of course, it all backfires and Emily finds herself more distanced than ever.

Van (Alan Tudyk) feeling the embarrassment of being cut out of the corporate photo takes matters into his own hands. His efforts are not quite taken seriously when he turns himself into the butt of the office joke. Jackie (Christina Kirk) does what she does best, attempts to keep any of her boss’s craziness at bay.

The R&D team is in a fierce battle as they take on each other in the Superhero fantasy league and poor Susan just can’t get a break.

Tonight’s episode of Powerless despite the drag had some good laughs, so let’s get into some of our favorite parts!

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Friend? Boss?…Friendboss?

We said it last week that for this show to work it was going to ultimately come down to how well we liked the characters. This week faltered a bit with necessary element, but also gave us someone new to love. Emily continues to be absolute sunshine and optimism but we fear that she can’t always be this way. It was a nice departure, watching her struggle to be the friend but also still be the boss hinting at moments where she isn’t so bubbly. Tattling to H.R. was such a nice move, and showed a bit more depth to her character. We’ve all been there wanting to be the bad guy without anyone knowing we’re the bad guy.

Samuel Greene was a nice addition to this episode and we hope to catch another glimpse of H.R. before the season ends. This also opened the door to potentially seeing other department heads at Wayne Industries and we hope as the show grows we can see some memorable guest stars make their way to the office.

Samuel: “That’s very aggressive language Emily, you’re flirting with a six-hour anti bullying video”

Emily makes you root for her. So, watching her be exposed to the rest of her co-workers and becoming that boss that we’ve all undoubtedly talked about behind their backs, had us rooting for her to fix it. We were pleased when she took the hit for her team, earning their respect and some friendship.

We’re interested to see what the Powerless team gets up to as somewhat friends

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Wayne out the gate, finger guns blazing.

Alan Tudyk stood out as an instant favorite last week and he remained true this week. Tudyk manages to balance Van out with the right amount of incompetence and narcissism that never seems to be over the top. What completes his character however is assistant Jackie who is a perfect balance for Van. We loved at the end though it was revealed that while they may not be friends, they do care for one another. A nice touch that added a new layer to both characters.

In a pleasant surprise, Kirk manages to not only be the perfect balance for Tudyk, but for the show. Tonight, we got to see Jackie interact with Emily and others in the office. Jackie may very well be the saving grace of this show. While we do love everyone right now the constant pep tone of the show is something that could repel us if continued for too long. Kirk stone cold deadpan is a much-welcomed change in pace and had us cracking up every time she opened her mouth.

Emily: “Oh! Did I tell you I found a new apartment?”

Jackie: “You promised me we were gonna stand in awkward silence”

We’re hoping to see a Jackie centric episode coming soon. We’d love to see the composed assistant out of her element. We’re sure it’ll bring as much laugh as problems!

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Holy comic world references, Batman!

Continuing to be one of our favorite things about Powerless is the natural dip into the comic book universe. They never let you forget that you’re in the DC universe home of some of pop culture’s most iconic heroes. The way the show is intertwining that aspect with regular life is amusing. Things like the superhero draft were great. We hope as the series goes forward we keep mixing the normality and abnormality of living in a super world.

Teddy: “My pick goes to the Flash”

Ron: “You always pick the Flash!”

The R&D team is going to need some shaking up. We’re a little afraid that every week will consist of a cornball superhero gadget creation that’s a bit over the top. We don’t want to see the team story arc become stale and redundant. It also prevents us from seeing what the team of Funches, Pudi, and Pierson can do comedically. Hopefully we’ll get to dive a little deeper into the teams lives outside of the Wayne building and see how their everyday lives are affected.

It’s only the second episode and so far, they’ve done a nice job of speaking a lot of comic book references. Going forward we hope we meet some other office workers, rivals and more. We’re thinking seeing the team interact with others could open up to more fleshed out character development.

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Final Verdict: Powerless has the potential to be a cult ringer, if adjustments are made early

Still in its infancy Powerless is still living off the premise and the references alone but that can only last so long. We briefly mentioned last episode review that we had seen a rough-cut pilot at San Diego Comic-Con. The adjustments made were positive and necessary however there was a certain grounded quality to the rough pilot. It reminded us a tad bit of previous NBC cult classic Community. We think that balance in overall show tone may be something to strive for.

Christina Kirk and Alan Tudyk shine as the series constant comic relief and as of right now we’re more than okay with them taking the reins.

We’re still hoping down the line we get to see the team at Wayne Security interact more one on one with the city saviors. We want superhero interaction and we want it soon!

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QUESTION COMMENTS AND CONCERNS

• For the record, we choose Aquaman for our superhero draft!

• We love that Van Wayne may not have been as shady as we originally thought.
• What kind of superhero gadgets will the team invent next?
• The other departments of Wayne Security, who runs them?
• Don’t think we forgot about Lexcorp, will they be our teams villain?

You can catch episodes of Powerless on Thursday’s, 8:30/7:30c. Channel: NBC