Supergirl - season 2 (The CW) (1 Viewer)

[TJPC]

The show does NOT follow the comics much at all, especially when compared to what they are doing with The Flash. For the most part, The Flash has followed much closer and changed events along the lines of how The Walking Dead does for TV and their comics. Supergirl is nothing but of political soap box this season and the main reason I stopped watching. None of these "issues" were any part of the comics and certainly not the obligatory lesbian sister.

The only good ones that were closer to the comics was season one, but the first two shows this year with Superman were good so hopefully fans still watching will get a return of that for the finale.

I agree that the lesbian sister plot, although it doesn't in the least offend me, is a bit out of place, but I must be watching another show, because I have completely missed the "political soap box" you talk about.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

This episode demonstrated how much better the show is when it centers around its title character. The show's vision of journalism continues to frustrate me, putting it mildly, but it was nice to see the focus back on Kara/Supergirl again. I continue to enjoy Ian Gomez's version of Snapper Carr. Kara not having a question ready at the press conference was embarrassingly amateur, like student newspaper amateur. On the other hand, being ready with a tape recorder and questioning the whistleblower's reason for leaking was good. Tailing Snapper and using her superhearing to steal his story was lazy and unethical. Breaking into Lena's ex's office was illegal and therefore unethical. Turning over her research to Snapper to make his story better, without any expectation of anything in exchange, on the other hand, met the moral standard that Season One Kara held herself to. I still think her breach in the prior episode should have kept her from getting rehired. But I am glad that she had to earn it, rather than having James hand it to her like Cat handed it to her in the first place.

I liked the bit at the beginning with Supergirl soaring through the city on the way to the DEO. Those little moments that showcase the joy of being a superhero are wonderful and have been few and far between this season.

The subplot with James and Winn and Winn's super-strong alien girlfriend was so-so.

I didn't miss Alex at all this week.

It sure seemed like they were laying the groundwork with this episode to let out Lena's evil side.

 

[David Weicker]

I disagree with a few of your points in regards to Snapper. IMO, he is not a good reporter/editor. His dismissal of Kara's story because he doesn't like her was wrong. We, as the viewers, knew she knew the truth, and was ultimately vindicated. Instead of killing her stories because they weren't ready, he should have helped to get them ready. The objective should be to get the truth out. When he didn't even ask what her FOIA was about (just because it was her idea) showed a lack of journalistic curiosity

 

[NeilO]

One weird thing is that we got a similar nano-robot threat on Doctor Who this week.

 

[Matt Hough]

The adventure story at the center held my interest and is what I expect from this kind of superhero show. And the ending with Lena coming into contact with Mon-El's evil, calculating mother sets up fireworks to come.

The romance stuff, this week with Winn and his alien girl friend and his attending to that rather than doing his job as the Guardian's assistant, is just too juvenilely-oriented to interest me at all. (I have the same reaction to Alex's romantic interludes.) These are supposed to be adults in their early to mid 20s, but they act more like high school freshmen with their romances, and I have to admit I fast forward through these every time they come up..

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I disagree with a few of your points in regards to Snapper. IMO, he is not a good reporter/editor. His dismissal of Kara's story because he doesn't like her was wrong. We, as the viewers, knew she knew the truth, and was ultimately vindicated. Instead of killing her stories because they weren't ready, he should have helped to get them ready. The objective should be to get the truth out. When he didn't even ask what her FOIA was about (just because it was her idea) showed a lack of journalistic curiosity

I actually think he does like her, in spite of himself. But she was handed a job she wasn't ready for, and he resents the hell out of that. This isn't an entry level job at a small market weekly, it's the flagship magazine of a major media conglomerate. At that level, the editor's job shouldn't have to involve hand holding and Journalism 101 lessons.

My guess is that he would have asked James to see what came back from the FOIA request, but didn't want to give her the satisfaction while she was in the room. The whole FOIA thing was a bit of a groaner for me, though. They're great for long-term in-depth investigative reporting, but they're not useful for breaking a fast-moving time-sensitive story. The federal FOIA law gives agencies twenty days to respond to requests, with plenty of avenues to extend that further. Even a request that merits expedited review has a ten day clock. And they don't care who the request comes from. State laws vary further. Under New York's FOIL law, for instance, State agencies have five days to acknowledge a request and then (at minimum) another 20 days to fulfill the request.

 

[Nelson Au]

Guys, I attended the Silicon Valley Comic Con last weekend. I was mainly there for Star Trek. I saw a lot of fans dressed as super heros including one girl as Supergirl. Lots of Star Wars of course and Marvel costumes. A lot hard work went into some really good costumes! Though I'm not that familiar with cosplay.

One of the guests that had a panel was Grant Gustin. I did not attend this panel but it's great that a lot of the panels are popping up on YouTube and it's the entire panel, 52 minutes long. So if you're interested, here's the link. And I'm sure after it's over, YouTube will suggest other videos from Comic Con.

 

[Matt Hough]

Good episode. I'm not sure I totally bought the climax with the father trying to do right by his son, but it's a nice sentiment, and it did show the two crime fighters can work together amenably.

And the Lena B-story is revving up nicely for the season finale episodes.

 

[NeilO]

Nice episode and some of the things I was wondering whether they would do, they ended up doing (taking the bad guy to the DEO, impersonating the father, reacting to "thank the gods", and more). It didn't look like there was a good forensic look through his computer equipment, but it appears that would have been part of the trap anyway. It was nice that they did call back to that earlier flashback and we saw the consequence.

The Lena B-story is worrisome, especially with the preview for next week. I hope that this isn't a case of rushing in without proper testing and safeguards.

 

[NeilO]

Supergirl is a TV show on the CW in the world of FOX's Lucifer. I just saw a billboard in Monday's Lucifer episode advertising the show.

 

[Matt Hough]

Oh, how I wanted Mon-El to pull that trigger! I know: matricide, but she's SO evil!

I'm still not real clear on Lena. Most of the time, she seems to be really trying to do good and be good and gets sucked into schemes unknowingly, but didn't she seem a few episodes ago to have turned to the dark side or was at least seriously contemplating it?

 

[Garysb]

I am still unclear what powers Mon-El and his mother have. Are they just strong? Can't fly, can be shot, don't appear to have vision powers. Why does Mon-El need a secret Identity ? I assume that is why he wears glasses at Catco when he visited Kara. Who knows who he is?

 

[Thomas Newton]

I am still unclear what powers Mon-El and his mother have. Are they just strong? Can't fly, can be shot, don't appear to have vision powers. Why does Mon-El need a secret Identity ? I assume that is why he wears glasses at Catco when he visited Kara. Who knows who he is?

In the comics, Daxamites have all of the same powers as Kryptonians, but are a bit stronger, and instead of exhibiting vulnerability to Kryptonite, exhibit vulnerability to lead. Exposure to lead pollution in Earth's environment can sicken or kill a Daxamite in no time, as shown in one storyline where a Daxamite invasion of Earth had an abrupt, War of the Worlds style ending. Mon-El gets to hang around because somebody develops an anti-lead serum.

On the TV show, Daxamites are weaker than Kryptonians, but are still strong and invulnerable. They don't seem to have flight, vision, or hearing powers. The lead vulnerability still exists, but requires more than casual exposure to environmental lead. Cadmus shot Mon-El with lead bullets – and I'm guessing that the knife that his mother used to murder his father had lead in it, too. If the bullets and the blade had been lead-free, Mon-El and his father might both have escaped any real harm.

Considering his lead vulnerability, Mon-El might consider wearing a Kevlar vest. Yes, he can safely rush into burning buildings where firefighters fear to tread, and if a building collapses on him, that's no big deal. But he might want to think about more mundane hazards of his DEO job, like bullets.

 

[Garysb]

In the comics, Daxamites have all of the same powers as Kryptonians, but are a bit stronger, and instead of exhibiting vulnerability to Kryptonite, exhibit vulnerability to lead. Exposure to lead pollution in Earth's environment can sicken or kill a Daxamite in no time, as shown in one storyline where a Daxamite invasion of Earth had an abrupt, War of the Worlds style ending. Mon-El gets to hang around because somebody develops an anti-lead serum.

On the TV show, Daxamites are weaker than Kryptonians, but are still strong and invulnerable. They don't seem to have flight, vision, or hearing powers. The lead vulnerability still exists, but requires more than casual exposure to environmental lead. Cadmus shot Mon-El with lead bullets – and I'm guessing that the knife that his mother used to murder his father had lead in it, too. If the bullets and the blade had been lead-free, Mon-El and his father might both have escaped any real harm.

Considering his lead vulnerability, Mon-El might consider wearing a Kevlar vest. Yes, he can safely rush into . burning buildings where firefighters fear to tread, and if a building collapses on him, that's no big deal. But he might want to think about more mundane hazards of his DEO job, like bullets.

Ah so that is how the season ends. The President dismantles the Environmental Protection Agency and all the Daxamites die of lead poisoning, followed by the humans.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

This show still has deep structural problems this season. The biggest problem is that Supergirl has become matter-of-fact. The first season showed us her being inspiring. This episode had to tell us that she's inspiring. All of the relationship drama -- and not just the romantic ones -- has caused the show to lose focus.

The one really great exception was last week, when Supergirl convinced the convict father do to the right thing. We need more of that Supergirl.

Watching last night's "Supergirl" and tonight's "Flash" back-to-back really reinforced how lifeless and dour this show has become.

I'm still not real clear on Lena. Most of the time, she seems to be really trying to do good and be good and gets sucked into schemes unknowingly, but didn't she seem a few episodes ago to have turned to the dark side or was at least seriously contemplating it?

She's got definite abandonment issues, which Lillian Luthor carefully stoked over Lena's lifetime. Her ex-boyfriend's horrific death didn't do anything to soothe those issues, and then in walks Rhea, enthusiastically stepping into the role of surrogate mother and presenting a utopian vision for LCorp's future. I can see how she got sucked into this scheme unknowingly, and it's to her credit that she immediately abandoned Rhea when she learned the truth about the portal.

On the TV show, Daxamites are weaker than Kryptonians, but are still strong and invulnerable. They don't seem to have flight, vision, or hearing powers. The lead vulnerability still exists, but requires more than casual exposure to environmental lead. Cadmus shot Mon-El with lead bullets – and I'm guessing that the knife that his mother used to murder his father had lead in it, too. If the bullets and the blade had been lead-free, Mon-El and his father might both have escaped any real harm.

They can leap tall buildings in a single bound and generally seem to have the same powers that Superman did pre-1941. I'm happy that they scaled back the Daxamites' severe reaction to lead. It also seemed like an empty plot device that a single exposure to lead would be guaranteed fatal. Having a slightly more aggressive reaction to lead than regular humans seems more reasonable; yes, being shot can kill them, but pretty much in the same way that getting shot could kill any normal person.

Considering his lead vulnerability, Mon-El might consider wearing a Kevlar vest. Yes, he can safely rush into burning buildings where firefighters fear to tread, and if a building collapses on him, that's no big deal. But he might want to think about more mundane hazards of his DEO job, like bullets.

For sure. If they ever give him a supersuit, it should have a little bit more like armor than what Superman and Supergirl wear.

 

[NeilO]

Oh, how I wanted Mon-El to pull that trigger! I know: matricide, but she's SO evil!

I was rooting for him to do that as well. Not necessary through the heart, but just to wound her would have been good.

Ah so that is how the season ends. The President dismantles the Environmental Protection Agency and all the Daxamites die of lead poisoning, followed by the humans.

Going the route of War of the Worlds - that would be a nice touch.

The Daxam invasion looks imposing, but as soon as some of them start dying due to being shot with lead bullets, I would think they would decide to move on. There should be enough guns in this world to take care of matters.

One thing about the invasion that stood out for me - either those ships were really small, or that portal was gigantic. Now, having such a giant portal should have been a really big red flag (shouldn't some government agency, perhaps the DEO have wondered about that?). In addition, everything that Lena and Mon-el's mother accomplished seemed to take relatively little time. If she had been working on this all season, I could buy it better. But this just seemed way to quick to build the portal and figure everything out.

 

[NeilO]

I am glad there was a practical reason why Jonzz was taken out of action for this episode.

 

[NeilO]

Okay, you have a special weapon on the roof of the DEO. Did anyone think to protect the weapon?

Well, at least we know they would have also killed Superman if they had fired.

The reveal of the President as an alien to Cat and Supergirl was a great scene. A lot of great lines in the episode. I am looking forward to the season finale.

 

[Matt Hough]

Very good and very involving episode, and how great to have that nice surprise at the end. Looking forward to next week's episode.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Say what you will about Cat Grant, but she knows how to make an entrance.

The episode had some of the problems that have plagued this whole season, but the rest worked so well that it didn't matter.

Loved that the DEO's mission and Lillian Luthor's anti-alien crusade aligned in this episode.

It was nice that they left Tyler Hoechlin's name out of the main credits so that (if you hadn't read about his return) the appearance of Superman at the end as Rhea's henchman would be genuinely shocking.

They still strain a bit too much with the real world political allusions.

The bit with Guardian and Cat Grant at Catco just killed me.

Very excited for the finale. It looks like the season's going to begin strong and end strong, even if the middle sagged quite a bit.