Supergirl

[Cassandra]

Good episode overall, with a number of "Whoa!" surprises I did not see coming. I lost count of the number of game-changing reveals in this one episode - has there ever been a TV show so eager to shake up their own status quo this quickly/often? And I got literal chills down my geek boy spine when they said they were taking them to Cadmus.

 

I do wish they hadn't overplayed the Evil Government card. Honestly, finding out that the person running a top secret agency is an imposter *is* a significant security threat even without it being an alien powerful enough to take down Supergirl. Pile on shapeshifting and mind control and you have a recipe for justified paranoia. But then they play the Cadmus card and it's all about evil military bigotry. I know it's genre-consistent, but I think they had a real opportunity to explore genuine issues and I would've rather seen that episode.

 

OTOH, the motorcycle rescue was so perfectly ridiculous...

 

The flashbacks were interesting. I've always been bugged by the whole "and so I hid my powers..." thing, not just on this show but in general. How many people died because you were just trying to fit in? It's one thing as a kid, but once you're a grown up there is literally only one other person on the planet who can do what you do, and the fact that she was willing to hide it for so long for me really undercuts the character's nobility that they so desperately want to sell us on. [/rant]

 

Multiple interesting twists with Lucy, a character I haven't really had much of an opinion about because she has so far seemed to be defined only by her pining for James. We'll see what she can do when they give her more to work with.

 

And Siobhan...part of me is kindof embarrassed I didn't see that coming.

 

Looking forward to the Big Crossover!

 

Not sure about James Harper turning out to be a villain.  Might be redeemed as the Guardian.

[Cassandra]

Yeah, but Harper's job wasn't to merely remove J'onzz from his post at the DEO (a reasonable action), but to find anyone who knew about it and prosecute them all as if they were terrorists so that the government would have a pretense to haul J'onnz off to Cadmus (disappearing anyone who might sympathize or resist).

 

I'm just more than a little tired of our own government and military being portrayed as villains that are every bit as awful, corrupt, and malevolent as world-conquering Kryptonian exiles or evil high-tech corporate masterminds. That might have been fresh and sobering in the 1960s and 1970s after Camelot fell and comics had to turn the U.S. government into villains just to remain culturally relevent. But half a century later that trope is just plain worn out, at least for me.

 

Marvel had their own post Watergate corruption thread in Captain America facing the "Secret Empire."

[zslane]

Oh, it's not a DC-only thing, that's for sure. It pervades all movie/tv culture now. The predominant strain of most action/political thrillers today is that which makes the U.S. government/military ultimately behind the all the villainy. Of course, Hollywood wants to eat their cake and have it too by usually positioning the villain as a single rogue whacko (usually with a small team of unthinking stooges at his or her side) rather than trying to have us believe the entire government is rotten to the core. But even that tired scenario leads one to wonder what kind of government puts those whackos in charge in the first place, especially since their whacko philosophy is rarely ever hidden from view in their every-day lives.

[Pattern Ghost]

 But even that tired scenario leads one to wonder what kind of government puts those whackos in charge in the first place, especially since their whacko philosophy is rarely ever hidden from view in their every-day lives.

 

A quick perusal of the 2016 Republican primary results shows that truth is stranger than fiction.

[zslane]

Yeah, well, I would say that the 2016 Republican party isn't the Republican party we'd like, but it's the Republican party we deserve. In my efforts to escape our TMZ-fueled society, I turn to adventure/fantasy entertainment to let me vicariously experience a world I wish existed, rather than a reflection of the Kafka-esque world I live in.

[Bazza]

Not sure about James Harper turning out to be a villain.  Might be redeemed as the Guardian.

 

Already announced

Two Classic DC Characters Cast For CBS's SUPERGIRL

http://www.newsarama.com/28292-two-classic-dc-characters-cast-for-cbs-s-supergirl.html

 

The Guardian is Coming to Supergirl

http://comicbook.com/2016/03/15/the-guardian-is-coming-to-supergirl/

 

[Bazza]

For those finding the movie DC verse looking too grumpy...

The small screen cross over looks like it will be fun

 

 

If a girl that pretty said "YES" like that every time I got her ice cream, I'd be fetching fast too

 

This just reinforces my belief that within the Arrowverse: Green Arrow is Batman, and Flash is Superman, dark and light.

[bigdamnhero]

I kind of feel we have to cut god-like heroes some slack. If we go too far with the whole "Think of all the people who died because you took time away from superheroing; they're blood is on your hands!" attitude, then we put a completely unfair burden on them, and by extension, anyone with the ability to do good but an unwillingness to spend their entire waking lives doing it.

 

Maybe my libertarian roots are showing, but I think every hero has a right to decide for themselves when, where, and how they are going to help people. Or maybe it's because I didn't grow up in a household or culture in which guilt trips are turned into high sport, but I have zero desire to castigate Kara for not heroing sooner (or more often), nor do I feel morally entitled to do so. When Cat Grant tried to play that card, I just wanted to slap her in her CG-enhanced face.

Fair enough. But then don't insist that the character's defining traits are her selflessness and her desire to help others. It's not that the decision to hide her powers is in-and-of-itself hard to understand - but for me it undercuts what they want us to believe about the character.

 

This just reinforces my belief that within the Arrowverse: Green Arrow is Batman, and Flash is Superman, dark and light.

Oh very definitely! Last season's Arrow-Flash crossover was one of the best Batman-Superman stories ever told, specifically contrasting their personalities and approaches. (Certainly better than anything we're going to get from the Snyderverse grumble grumble...)

[Pattern Ghost]

My favorite things about the show are Supergirl's selflessness and her desire to help others.

[zslane]

Fair enough. But then don't insist that the character's defining traits are her selflessness and her desire to help others.

But don't you feel it is possible to have a strong streak of selflessness and a powerful desire to help others without being Mother Theresa?

 

I think Kara is successfully portrayed as someone who sincerely wants to help others and to always do the right thing. But she's not being portrayed as perfect, or necessarily capable of such Christ-like perfection. I just don't know that it's fair to expect that of her, regardless of the depth of her desire to do amazing things with her powers. She's just a Kryptonian refugee, after all, she's not a saint.

[Hermit]

We're going to build a wall, and we're going to make Krypton pay for it!

 

..err wait

[Pattern Ghost]

We watched the red kryptonite episode today, haven't seen the latest. But, I must say that the last few episodes have been winning me over to the show. I really like that they're not afraid to embrace the comic book stuff, even if a lot of it is borrowed from Superman rather than Supergirl.

[Lord Liaden]

We're going to build a wall, and we're going to make Krypton pay for it!

 

..err wait

 

If that wall ain't mortared with Kryptonite, won't matter who pays for it. It's not gonna stand long.

 

EDIT: That reminds me, is anyone else a little distracted by how ubiquitous Kryptonite is on this show? The government seems to have a lot of it, and they've adapted it to Kryptonite ray guns and room lamps They even have it calibrated on dimmers to weaken a Kryptonian down to human strength without hurting him or her. It makes the stuff seem almost mundane, which to me takes a lot of the drama out of it.

[Bazza]

But don't you feel it is possible to have a strong streak of selflessness and a powerful desire to help others without being Mother Theresa?

 

The person you are thinking of is Mahatma Gandhi.

 

I think Kara is successfully portrayed as someone who sincerely wants to help others and to always do the right thing. But she's not being portrayed as perfect, or necessarily capable of such Christ-like perfection. I just don't know that it's fair to expect that of her, regardless of the depth of her desire to do amazing things with her powers. She's just a Kryptonian refugee, after all, she's not a saint.

 

Kara Zor-El*...saint-in-progress.

 

*Remember that El/Elohim is the Jewish common name for God, and "el" is part of the name of most of the known Archangels e.g. Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel. So Kara is definitely a sci-fi archangel demigod avatar (depending on culture & religion).

[Greywind]

Images that have often been used to reinforce Superman in the movies.

[zslane]

If that wall ain't mortared with Kryptonite, won't matter who pays for it. It's not gonna stand long.

 

EDIT: That reminds me, is anyone else a little distracted by how ubiquitous Kryptonite is on this show? The government seems to have a lot of it, and they've adapted it to Kryptonite ray guns and room lamps They even have it calibrated on dimmers to weaken a Kryptonian down to human strength without hurting him or her. It makes the stuff seem almost mundane, which to me takes a lot of the drama out of it.

It was worse on Smallville, but at least the abundance of Kryptonite was explained in the first episode of the show.

[Clonus]

Fair enough. But then don't insist that the character's defining traits are her selflessness and her desire to help others. 

 

Actually they aren't.  Her real defining traits are her fear of isolation and her desire to please others.  

[Hermit]

Apparently the show has not yet been officially renewed for a season 2 yet

 

I'm going to be incredibly bummed if they cancel this.

[Greywind]

It has been renewed.

[bigdamnhero]

But don't you feel it is possible to have a strong streak of selflessness and a powerful desire to help others without being Mother Theresa?

Of course; it doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. Among other things, that would be boring. I'm not saying she has to spend every waking second helping people. But how about some seconds? Even part-time, maybe a few hours a week? What has Kara done to demonstrate this supposed selflessness and desire to help people? Even the plane crash that "forced" her to reveal herself was only because her sister was on the plane; if Alex had missed her flight, would Kara have let all those other people die? How is that selfless?

 

I know it's a common superhero trope, and if it doesn't bug you, that's great. But it bugs the crap out of me. Again, I'm not criticizing her (or more accurately the writers) because she hasn't saved every single life and stopped every possible disaster - I'm criticizing the fact that as near as I can tell the 2nd most powerful being on Earth did absolutely nothing heroic for the first 10+(?) years she was here, and for me that undercuts her supposed nobility.

 

Actually they aren't.  Her real defining traits are her fear of isolation and her desire to please others.  

...yeah, you could make a case for that. But those aren't exactly traits I would consider heroic.

[Lord Liaden]

Well, Kara is an alien, who came to this world knowing nothing about it. Clark Kent spent his whole life growing up on Earth, but it took him decades to learn to be Superman.  Unlike her cousin Kara actually knew her family, knew her people and home world... and saw them die. At the age of 14. Moreover, the purpose for which they sent her away from them -- protecting Kal-El -- was rendered entirely moot. Then you have Kara's foster sister, who while they were growing up always urged her to hide her abilities, to try to blend in.

 

I can accept Kara having a lot of stuff to deal with as justification for needing time before she could decide to be a hero.

[zslane]

I'm criticizing the fact that as near as I can tell the 2nd most powerful being on Earth did absolutely nothing heroic for the first 10+(?) years she was here, and for me that undercuts her supposed nobility.

Her nobility is a new development. Her role as alien co-savior of Earth is a work in progress.

 

By the by, I wouldn't say she's the second most powerful being on Earth. She may not even rank in the top ten when you take into account all the escaped prisoners from Fort Roz.

[bigdamnhero]

Well, Kara is an alien, who came to this world knowing nothing about it. Clark Kent spent his whole life growing up on Earth, but it took him decades to learn to be Superman.  Unlike her cousin Kara actually knew her family, knew her people and home world... and saw them die. At the age of 14. Moreover, the purpose for which they sent her away from them -- protecting Kal-El -- was rendered entirely moot. Then you have Kara's foster sister, who while they were growing up always urged her to hide her abilities, to try to blend in.

 

I can accept Kara having a lot of stuff to deal with as justification for needing time before she could decide to be a hero.

Granted that she had some baggage to work through as a kid, and the fact that everyone who knew she had powers urged her to hide them would've been a major factor. I'm not saying it makes no sense; I'm saying IMO it contradicts other things they want us to believe about the character.

 

Take Man Of Steel for example: a lot of people (myself included) hated Pa Kent telling young Clark that he should've let that busload of kids die rather than risk revealing his secret. Why is it okay for Supergirl to make basically the same decision, other than we haven't had to see all the buses of kids that dies through her inaction? Why does the same choice make MOS Clark a selfish bastard, but makes TV Kara a nice person who's just trying to fit in?

 

The bit about her whole purpose being to protect Kal-El is actually another minor pet peeve of mine. It makes sense to us narratively because we "know" Superman is more important than Supergirl, but from Krypton's POV why did Kara's parents feel their nephew was more important than their daughter? I'm not saying "look out for your nephew" shouldn't have been on the list, but why was it the only thing on the list? Kal-El gets the (posthumous) "you'll do great things" speech, while all Kara gets is "watch the baby?" Frankly the whole thing is a tad sexist.

 

Her nobility is a new development. Her role as alien co-savior of Earth is a work in progress.

I could buy that if I thought it was intentional, but I feel like the writers are trying to have it both ways. Again, YMMV.

 

By the by, I wouldn't say she's the second most powerful being on Earth. She may not even rank in the top ten when you take into account all the escaped prisoners from Fort Roz.

That's fair, tho for purposes of this discussion she didn't know any of that until after she came out.

[zslane]

...I feel like the writers are trying to have it both ways.

I think the writers are just trying real hard to make us like her, and piling on whatever personality traits they think will make that happen. Once you realize that they just don't know how to be subtle, what appear at first glance to be inconsistencies in behavior really turn out to just be a lack of finesse in the writing room.

[bigdamnhero]

Agreed - I'm criticizing the writing not the character. (Tho at some point that distinction becomes moot.)