S05.E01: Event Horizon

[Trini]

Quote

"Event Horizon"

SEASON PREMIERE - Kara is surprised to find that CatCo has a new owner who has brought in a star reporter. New couples emerge and explore their budding relationships while J'onn J'onzz receives an unexpected visitor.

Jesse Warn directed the episode written by Derek Simon & Nicki Holcomb.

Airdate: 10/6/2019.

[mtlchick]

I mean, we could go on and on about James leaving, Andrea "I'll be rolling my Rs like I'm playing Roll Up The Rim to Win at Tim Horton's" Rojas coming in, CatCo being sold AGAIN and the real life ties of print journalism becoming a dying breed, but we have all season for that.

Tonight can be summed up in one word.  "PANTS."  I can't wait until she get pockets! 

Edited October 7, 2019 by mtlchick

[Lantern7]

Damn it, Lena.

We couldn’t have her completely forgive Kara about the exclusion of certain facts. We couldn’t have her shiny AI carry out her will by its lonesome. Hope, Lena is a Luthor. Lena has to be the bad guy. Lena can watch Kara blubber about being Supergirl, offer her support, then continue to carry out her grudge. Shit, man.

Looks like a lot of balls have been flung into the air, and we have a crisis looming. New boss lady takes over and basically out-bitches Cat in her first season prime, handcuffing everyone to their contracts as she tries to make CatcCo “current.” J’onn has a brother with a raging mad-on for him. Brainy and . . . and . . . fuck, I forgot her name . . . Amanabe try to get closer. Also, Brainy is still Brainy, so he’s gotta be ham about most everything. His redesigned suit for Kara is awesome, though. Also: “PANTS!” Such a cute moment.

Seriously, Lena is evil. What the hell, damn writers?!?

ETA: God’s honest, I dunno where “Amanabe” came from.

Edited October 7, 2019 by Lantern7

[bettername2come]

The suit looked better here than when they first showed photos online. Same for the hair.

They got me all excited that Lena was going to forgive Kara and we weren't gonna have to deal with the evil Lena bullshit. Sigh. If anyone's gonna have a dark storyline I still want it to be Brainy. But he's all cute and awkward in a relationship, so I don't want that interrupted.

Great use of "Supermassive Black Hole." I love that song. 

Well, if they're not going to give James a storyline, Mehcad should walk.

All right, I'm happy Kara has a Pulitzer, but I need to hear for certain that Clark has one. I will not be okay with her being a more respected reporter than him.

2 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Brainy and . . . and . . . fuck, I forgot her name . . . Amanabe to get closer.

Oh, I am so glad it's not just me.

[Lady Calypso]

Well, I managed to binge watch the several episodes I missed from last season just a couple of weeks ago. But part of me is wondering why, since this premiere left me feeling like we've been here before.

I mean, sure, we haven't gotten this particular story arc before....but it still feels like I've seen it all before. The whole CatCo stuff could be interesting with this new Editor in Chief but not when she's already coming out of the gates, guns blazing and threatening people's jobs. 

Honestly, I'm not even surprised that Lena is pissed at Kara. It's a pretty big secret to keep. Lena also laid it on REAL thick with Kara all episode until she told her the truth. Finally! But what makes me feel uneasy is how Lena is going to play Kara and try to stab her in the back at some point this season. It doesn't make me feel happy to see Lena fake it with Kara, all to use it to her advantage to essentially destroy her and Supergirl at the same time.

And it's more annoying because we all knew Lena would tap into her dark side eventually, so it was always a matter of when...instead of them actually subverting tropes and have Lena remain on the side of good. However, I guess it's not as fun or as realistic if Lena never gets tempted by her Luthor side? 

So, James quits and now isn't going to be a reporter anymore. So...what is he going to do? Alex and....James' sister (whose name I already forgot) are still going strong, and Sister Olsen will be working for Evil Editor in Chief Lady. Brainy and Nia are still figuring out their relationship, but I did roll my eyes at the cheesiness of their kiss. It was just shot weird for me. 

And J'onn has a secret brother who is hellbent on destroying J'onn and I guess being the Last Martian standing? Ok? At least he's getting a potentially interesting plot, depending on how they handle it. 

Now, to end on a happy note: "Pants!" The new Supergirl suit is actually pretty awesome. But can this suit last as long as Winn's created suit? We shall see. That suit, cape and all, lasted four full seasons. 

[Oreo2234]

Quote

They got me all excited that Lena was going to forgive Kara and we weren't gonna have to deal with the evil Lena bullshit. Sigh. If anyone's gonna have a dark storyline I still want it to be Brainy.

Or Alex. The show has forgotten about her edgier side and she needs a real plot of her own. I don't think the writers are going to turn Lena evil in the end. They love her too much. 

Quote

Brainy and Nia are still figuring out their relationship, but I did roll my eyes at the cheesiness of their kiss. It was just shot weird for me. 

I thought it was pretty nice. I find Brainy and Nia very cute and a more convincing couple than Alex and Kelly. 

Quote

Spoiler

Though Crisis on Infinite Earths was not overtly addressed I think the J'onn storyline is supposed to connect to the Crisis.

Edited October 7, 2019 by Oreo2234

[BaggythePanther]

I can’t be the only one who thought “Lena has her own Gideon!” right?

 I know a lot of stuff happened in this episode but I mostly cared about the Lena/Kara stuff. I enjoyed watching Lena be petty and I’m glad not all is forgiven. That would have been too easy. I hold grudges longer than that and I’m not a Luthor. I don’t want her to go completely dark but I’m looking forward to a season of her playing both sides.

I’m also looking forward to seeing everyone deal with an evil shapeshifter. If they don’t come up with a password I’m going to be annoyed.

[scarynikki12]

I think the bangs are cute on Melissa but I’m so disappointed that no one asked Kara how she got a haircut. Presumably with Kryptonite scissors but I still want to see that scene. Maybe it’s still to come. 

[quarks]

I have questions. Like, lots of questions.

1. Why did Lena/the AI time the article dump to occur right during the speech - the one time when Lena would presumably be too busy with the speech to send the file over? "Because we need dramatic tension" doesn't quite cut it.

2. Why is Supergirl giving us a "Kara fights with a senior editor/boss" for at least the third time in four seasons?

3. Why oh why is Supergirl giving us yet another good looking guy with dark hair who manages to irritate her on their first meeting and why do I have the suspicious yet sad feeling that he may end up being another love interest?

4. How exactly did New Evil Boss Lady manage to get a group of supposedly skeptical, hard hitting journalists to sign three year non-compete contracts? Were these a standard part of the Catco hiring package? If so, why hasn't this plot point gotten mentioned before this? And if so, did none of the Catco hires manage to negotiate a more reasonable non-compete clause?

5. It's in-show canon that James Olson isn't just a prize-winning photojournalist and editor, but a close friend of regular headline-makers Superman and Supergirl. Isn't this the sort of person you at least want to try to keep around, even if the paper lost readers when he was editing it? Every paper in the country is losing readers right now. (That would be something interesting to explore, but knowing this show, it won't be.)

6. How exactly has one of Lena's supposed friends been working just one floor below the Catco offices and this has never come up before?

7. For that matter, how has a major VR company been working just below the Catco offices and this has never come up before?

8. Are the employees of Catco - I hardly know how to type this - just BAD JOURNALISTS?

9. How big is J'onn's family?

All that said -

PANTS!

[Writing Wrongs]

So we're preaching against social media this season?

The new suit is cool, but I hope it doesn't always take that long to cover her body.

I was really hoping they'd go a different way with Lena.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I thought Midnight was pretty disappointing as the villain of the week for the Season premiere episode.

Evil Lena -- come on show, you can do better than that.

[Oreo2234]

Quote

Why oh why is Supergirl giving us yet another good looking guy with dark hair who manages to irritate her on their first meeting and why do I have the suspicious yet sad feeling that he may end up being another love interest?

He was wearing a wedding ring so I hope that's not where they are going with this. 

[scarynikki12]

16 minutes ago, quarks said:

1. Why did Lena/the AI time the article dump to occur right during the speech - the one time when Lena would presumably be too busy with the speech to send the file over? "Because we need dramatic tension" doesn't quite cut it.

I think it was to maintain deniability. Andrea would presumably not reveal where she got the information and Lena would have been on stage twisting the knife giving her speech about Kara's virtues when the news hit. Then she could sit back and watch the resulting chaos without being implicated. And, if she wanted to keep going, she would be free to do so since her involvement wouldn't be known.

[thuganomics85]

And that's why you don't keep secrets from your friends, kids!  One of them could be a mega billionaire with a lot of resources and power, and will really, really take it personally!  I'm glad that Kara at least did finally confess and Melissa Benoist knocked it out of the park.  Katie McGrath did a great job too at making me believe that maybe Lena was willing to move forward, but nope, it sounds like she's just going to adjust her grand plan to ruin Supergirl/Kara.  Of course, I suspect this will eventually end with her seeing the error of her ways, but I suspect a lot of damage will be done before then.

Midnight wasn't that impressive of a villain, and it felt silly that they needed to have the entire team struggle against her.  At least J'onn's suddenly alive brother could be a fun recurring one (and I believe he's voiced by Phil LaMarr, which is cool, since he voiced John Stewart/Green Lantern in the Justice League animation series.)

Can't wait to dodge all of the anvils that will no doubt come out of the whole dying "old-school" news reporting vs. the "hip" loud social media and click-bate war.  Especially when the latter mainly consist of a smug new editor and an even smugger British journalist.

Not surprised that Brainy is still a bit off over what happened last season, but I'm optimistic he and Nia will keep moving forward.  Still really enjoy this pairing.

Still not wild about Alex/Kelly, but at least they seem to be giving Kelly her own storyline.  Plus, I'm with her about Hans Gruber being the best movie villain.

Oh, hi, Eve!

PANTS!!

[statsgirl]

Welcome to a new season of Supergirl.  Ticked all the boxes, I thought, until I was watching an episode of Killjoys afterwards and I realized, I didn't laugh once during this episode.

Alex and Sister Olsen really took their relationship up to 80 during the summer over the month (since Brainy and Nia have been dating that long too).

43 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

 But part of me is wondering why, since this premiere left me feeling like we've been here before.

Evil boss? Every season.  Max Lord. Jack Spheer,  Snapper Carr, Lillian Luthor, Colonel Haley and President Sheridan last season.  And now Super Evil Boss Lady and this guy who is going to re-write all Kara's articles.

54 minutes ago, quarks said:

5. It's in-show canon that James Olson isn't just a prize-winning photojournalist and editor, but a close friend of regular headline-makers Superman and Supergirl. Isn't this the sort of person you at least want to try to keep around, even if the paper lost readers when he was editing it? Every paper in the country is losing readers right now. (That would be something interesting to explore, but knowing this show, it won't be.)

Not the New York Times and the Washington Post. The 2016 election saved them.

James' implied that Catco was heading that way, Pulitzer Prizes, reporting on all the candidates with as much information as they can find.  Apparently Evil Boss Lady who Is Editor-In-Chief-with-no-journalism-experience wants to keep it as shallow as possible, competing with the thousand other shallow news sources.

16 minutes ago, quarks said:

6. How exactly has one of Lena's supposed friends been working just one floor below the Catco offices and this has never come up before?

She had just bought the building from Lena, and it included buying Catco. Since it was Kelly's first day, maybe Obsidian had just moved in. She wasn't supposed to take over until the following day when Lena had had a chance to tell everyone.

I assumed that the three year no-compete contracts were signed before she bought it when Lena still owned Catco.  I'd like to see how everyone who worked for Catco reacts to the betrayal, James, Nia, various staff ... but we'll probably only get Kara reacting because that's the arc of the season

[AnimeMania]

I laughed when they were giving the tour of the VR Company, Obsidian, and they walked past the gym and the people inside were hardly moving.

[angora]

Agree with everyone who said both the new suit and Kara's bangs look better in action than they did in the pictures. And Kara's joy at her pants was just so cute! I also liked the scene of Brainy bringing her the "gift" of the microchip. "...Did you forget to bring it?" Kara and Brainy's friendship doesn't get a ton of play, but I always enjoy them together.

I'm annoyed that Kara apparently kept dicking Lena around for another month, but when she finally did confess the truth, Melissa Benoist sold the hell out of Kara's abject contrition over having kept her secret so long. I really hope Lena's vengeance kick doesn't last too long and doesn't reach a point of no return - they definitely got me with thinking Lena was really going to forgive Kara.

I will always love an action scene set to "Supermassive Black Hole," even if the title was a little on-the-nose for this situation. SUCH a great song.

Also, just before that, I got a kick out of Alex running into the scene after everyone else, exclaiming, "How do you all get changed so fast?!" Ha!

I'm so here for Brainy and Nia navigating their relationship. I like how Nia broached the issue of Brainy's experience or lack thereof, and I love that it was really about the Brainiac stuff from last season (and that Brainy explained it through a Miranda Priestly comparison, no less!)

[scarynikki12]

8 minutes ago, angora said:

And Kara's joy at her pants was just so cute!

My mind immediately went to Kevin Smith's story of attending her wedding: he went out and bought pants, ties, and collared shirts so he would look appropriate for the occasion (instead of the shorts+sneakers+hockey shirts he normally favors). After the ceremony when Melissa and Chris were doing the receiving line thing, she hugged Kevin's wife Jen and whispered "Kevin's wearing PANTS!", which got a big laugh out of Jen. Now, the updated suit certainly had nothing to do with Kevin Smith but her exuberance at the pants matches how Kevin tells the story.

11 minutes ago, angora said:

Kara and Brainy's friendship doesn't get a ton of play, but I always enjoy them together.

Nia and Brainy are so sweet that I don't want them to pivot to him and Kara like I did when he first showed up but I agree that they're great together so I'll happily take them becoming BFF without any hint of jealousy or triangles.

13 minutes ago, angora said:

I really hope Lena's vengeance kick doesn't last too long and doesn't reach a point of no return - they definitely got me with thinking Lena was really going to forgive Kara.

I don't think she'll go full black hat but we may see some casualties that she wasn't anticipating and she has to work to undo or minimize. That could be a great story for her.

14 minutes ago, angora said:

I got a kick out of Alex running into the scene after everyone else, exclaiming, "How do you all get changed so fast?!" Ha!

That was so funny. Alex is the best.

[Jediknight]

Not a fan of them turning Lena evil.  Just have her and Kara work things out.

Was iffy on the suit, but in footage it looks better.  And yeah, filming in Vancouver constantly would necessitate dropping the skirt and going with "PANTS."  On the shallow side, Melissa and Candice Patton can give seminars on rocking a dress in the Beeboverse.  Just Melissa in that pink dress, dayum.

Still like Brainy and Nia together.  Although the debate as to greatest movie villain can only be between Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter.

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎9‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 4:13 AM, Trini said:

"Event Horizon"

SEASON PREMIERE - Kara is surprised to find that CatCo has a new owner who has brought in a star reporter. New couples emerge and explore their budding relationships while J'onn J'onzz receives an unexpected visitor.

I started to watch but lost interest when Leena laid it on super-thick about keeping secrets from each other to an oblivious Kara. On the shallow side, what the hell happened to her hair?

7 hours ago, Writing Wrongs said:

So we're preaching against social media this season?

And about journalism helping make informed voters.

[AnimeMania]

So Lena's fake speech about no more secrets while hiding that she has super powers.

Anybody know what Lena's powers are besides super strength.

What are Jimmy Olsen's powers?

What was that mechanical lens thing that shoots the beam that Brainy/Nia (can't remember which one) was using?

[Winston Wolfe]

2 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

So Lena's fake speech about no more secrets while hiding that she has super powers.

Anybody know what Lena's powers are besides super strength.

What are Jimmy Olsen's powers?

What was that mechanical lens thing that shoots the beam that Brainy/Nia (can't remember which one) was using?

This could be wrong, but I don't think Lena has powers anymore. Didn't all of that end with her experiments last season?

The device that Nia uses was created by Brainy. It channels her "dream power" into some kind of concussive force blast. The concentric circle effect kind of reminds me of Havok in the old X-Men comics, only not as cool.

[AnimeMania]

11 minutes ago, Winston Wolfe said:

This could be wrong, but I don't think Lena has powers anymore. Didn't all of that end with her experiments last season?

I figure she still has her powers since in the Obsidian VR simulation, she back hands Supergirl into a bus and the bus explodes. The simulation says something like this has a ninety-something percent probability of being accurate.

I predict that the Obsidian VR is going to mind control the people who are using it, especially Lena.

Edited October 7, 2019 by AnimeMania
added prediction

[mtlchick]

11 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

I think the bangs are cute on Melissa but I’m so disappointed that no one asked Kara how she got a haircut. Presumably with Kryptonite scissors but I still want to see that scene. Maybe it’s still to come. 

YES. It was driving me nuts Because it’s already been established in other DC media that even a strand of Superman’s hair can hold up something that weighs a ton.  Melissa can pull off bangs but all summer I was wondering how the hell can they explain this unless she got some shears from a Salon from Argo City. 

[sonyab]

Bria: I just love their scene! I love how Dreamer wasn't afraid to talk to him, and that Brainy told her what was wrong.  I love the kiss at the end!!! Yowza that kiss!!!!! 🙂

Kara and Lena:  Kara's new haircut, is adorable! I love the new suit!!! SHE HAS PANTS!!! 🙂  I love how Kara told Lena the truth. Great scene! Made me cry!!! Oh no! I thought Lena forgave her.. 😞  But Lena, Kara told you the truth on her own!!! 😞 Forgive her! She didn't mean to hurt you!!! 😞

Alex and James's sister: Meh. I like them better as friends.

Midnight:  HOLY COW!!! She has so much power!!! How are the team going to take her down?!!?!?!?!?

 J'onn and his brother: Oh crap!!!!! :0

[sonyab]

12 hours ago, mtlchick said:

"I'll be rolling my Rs like I'm playing Roll Up The Rim to Win at Tim Horton's"

ROFL! Everytime they show that commercial, I have to say it like them!!! 🙂  They haven't shown it in awhile. I'm glad!!! 🙂

[Ubiquitous]

2 hours ago, Winston Wolfe said:

The device that Nia uses was created by Brainy. It channels her "dream power" into some kind of concussive force blast. The concentric circle effect kind of reminds me of Havok in the old X-Men comics, only not as cool.

Didn't Brainiac last season say he couldn't help her or change (his) history?

[sonyab]

13 hours ago, mtlchick said:

Tonight can be summed up in one word.  "PANTS."  I can't wait until she get pockets! 

Hahahaha. I love the pants!!! 🙂 OH! Does she have pockets!!??! 🙂

[tennisgurl]

Welcome back Supergirl! Kara/Melissa looks great with her bangs and her new outfit, and Kara's excitement over her pants was really cute! They looks much better on screen then they did in pictures. Hopefully Brainy gave Kara some pockets, the true secret to independence! 

So after a season of anvils being dropped constantly about the evils of prejudice against immigrants as our big bad, this season we get the evils of social media and clickbait as the big bad and our anvil! I always end up feeling bad because I agree with this show on pretty much all of its political points, but its so over the top in its message, with everyone on the other side of the protagonists being so mustache twirling evil and everyone giving speeches to make sure we get the message, that it really just takes me out of the show and makes me feel awkward and pandered to. 

So where does James do next? To find himself a decent story line?! We can only hope!

I am so happy that Kara told Lena the truth at LAST and that it wasnt something that she had to be manipulated or forced into doing. Great acting from Melissa when she finally told Lena the truth, and the whole scene was really well done. I dont blame Lena for being pissed, as this is a huge secret that not only her best friend kept from her, but also their whole friend group, and I admit that I giggled at her ridiculous over the top passive aggressiveness with Kara when she was messing with her "Oh Kara I am so not as good and truthful as you!!" I really wanted Lena to really forgive Kara and not start to go dark. I dont want Lena to embrace her inner Luther and go dark side, its predictable and I much prefer Lena as being morally ambiguous but good and well meaning than evil. 

Brainy and Nia are still really cute, and I am really glad that they are going strong, and that they haven't ignored the Brainiac stuff from last season and how much that affected them. Poor Brainy is clearly struggling so hard with what happened, I am glad that Nia understands. 

So now J'onn has an evil long lost half brother! I wonder if he is actually from a different universe, and this all ties into Crisis somehow?

[iMonrey]

Both Kara and Supergirl get the exact same haircut at the exact same time and STILL nobody can figure out they're the same person. OK then.

How is this new suit supposed to work? Brainy said it would appear whenever she whipped off her glasses but she took them off when she told Lena who she really was and nothing happened. Does she have to whip them off in some special way? 

I was never sure where the old suit came from, for that matter. For the most part it seemed like she was always wearing it under her civilian clothes, but that seemed impossible half the time. She'd have all kinds of bulges and bumps and a lot of the time what she's wearing wouldn't even cover the suit. Never mind the boots. At least with the new suit there's a sort of pseudo-magic way of it appearing and disappearing. 

Now they just need to explain why nobody notices Kara and Supergirl are identical.

[sonyab]

3 hours ago, mtlchick said:

YES. It was driving me nuts Because it’s already been established in other DC media that even a strand of Superman’s hair can hold up something that weighs a ton.  Melissa can pull off bangs but all summer I was wondering how the hell can they explain this unless she got some shears from a Salon from Argo City. 

I'm confused. What do you mean how are they going to explain it? She can just walk into a salon and get a haircut. ROFL!

[marketdoctor]

Quote

Both Kara and Supergirl get the exact same haircut at the exact same time and STILL nobody can figure out they're the same person. OK then.

If for whatever reason, Lena wasn't sure before, this would have clinched it.  As noted below, it's a great look; she has similar bone structure to Taylor Swift, so similar hair styles work.

Quote

I think the bangs are cute on Melissa but I’m so disappointed that no one asked Kara how she got a haircut.

This was covered in the comics (and one of the Chrisopher Reeves movies--I want to say Superman II, but don't hold me to that:

Heat vision + a mirror.  It's how Superman/Clark Kent shaves every day. 

[Winston Wolfe]

5 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

Didn't Brainiac last season say he couldn't help her or change (his) history?

He's honoring that by not telling Nia about what her future holds (specifically) or that one of her descendants (Dream Girl) will be one of the Legion of Super Hero's founding members.

18 hours ago, bettername2come said:

Well, if they're not going to give James a storyline, Mehcad should walk.

Totally agree. Five years now, and we're back to freaking Guardian?  A concept that never worked in the first place. He needs a regular role on one of the Big Three networks.

14 hours ago, Jediknight said:

On the shallow side, Melissa and Candice Patton can give seminars on rocking a dress in the Beeboverse.  Just Melissa in that pink dress, dayum.

Shallow follow-up: Melissa is a true heart commander. Unique combination of adorable and super-hot sexy. She really was rocking that pink dress without really trying.

Disappointed that they're making Lena evil just for the sake of having another season-long "big bad" arc.  It's not like Lena hasn't kept secrets from Kara too.

Kinda meh on the pants thing, but it looks better than the cheerleader outfit.

[Lugal]

So Lena went with the "Scorpion's gotta Scorp" philosophy.  Once again Katie McGrath's character turn evil because no one told her the important part at the beginning.

And because no one else posted it:

PANTS!

Edited October 8, 2019 by Lugal

[BaggythePanther]

9 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I really wanted Lena to really forgive Kara and not start to go dark. I dont want Lena to embrace her inner Luther and go dark side, its predictable and I much prefer Lena as being morally ambiguous but good and well meaning than evil. 

Maybe I'm being naive, but I don't think Lena will go completely dark. I think she'll either come close to doing something really dark but get pulled back by Kara, or she'll lose control of her AI and "Hope" will do all the damage.

[sweetandsour]

Is Lena running and storing her VR simulations only on her own personal, secure servers?  Or are they running off of Obsidian North's / does ON have any access to her simulations?  If Lena runs simulations that identify Kara as Supergirl within them, she had better watch out - they might not be as private as she wants them to be.  I like to think Lena is smart enough to keep this stuff protected, but with the writing on the show, I don't know.  I can easily see ON mining user's simulations for their own gain, and if not mining users at large - Andrea would totally access Lena's data if she was angry with her or thought she could benefit from it.  And that would go with the season's apparent heavy-handed message about the perils of technology.  (As would Hope going all Skynet.)

lol about Andrea's touting the idea of doing half-hearted crunches in favor of paying attention to some VR visualization and Instagram.  What's the point in that?  We can all do half-baked crunches while watching a movie, but it achieves nothing.  Sure, climb on a spin bike and run a simulation that you're biking through some forest - way better than staring at the wall.  But at least you're still physically exercising and reaping the benefits.  VR doesn't create core strength and ab definition in the real world.

I think Andrea referred to the shitty contracts as "brand new, three-year contracts," which (a) seemed to be quite a shock to the employees that they even exist and (b) implied that they weren't pre-existing Catco contracts under Cat or Lena.  Andrea can't just buy a company and impose contracts that weren't signed by the employees.  And even if she tried to strong-arm them into signing or else they're fired, at least people could walk away on their own terms (or per the terms of their existing contracts).  I know these shows handwave the contrivances that are convenient for plot purposes but totally unrealistic, but the threat is just so whatever to me.

I hope Cat is offscreen somewhere, professionally fulfilled with whatever she's doing and being totally satisfied in every way by some man who adores her and closely resembles Clark Kent and his ass.  It's better for her to not care about what Andrea's going to turn her old company into.

[brgjoe]

Yeah, I am hoping Lena's anger towards Kara is essentially a swerve for us viewers.  That while she's still pizzed off at Kara, she won't go completely dark and EEEEEEEEEVILLLLLLL.  At least I hope that's not the case.

Speaking of Lena, (shallow comment) she looked mighty fine during this episode.  (end shallow comment).

I liked the suit better in this episode that I saw in the publicity still's.  But yeah, I think she needs it to transformer quicker into it.  Probably the scene was just done for us viewers and they'll forget about the slowness of the change in upcoming episodes.

J'onn has a brother?  You'd think his dad might have mentioned it a time or two before.  Though maybe he's from some alternate universe or something.  Strange.  At least it will give J'onn something to do I guess.

Speaking of something to do, poor James.  He and others signing THREE YEAR no compete clause contracts?  Wow.  Get better agents, peeps!   I could see *maybe* a 6 month-year no compete deals.  But for 3 years?  Seriously!?  Guess James will go the Guardian route for awhile.  Even though everybody knows he who he is now.  Wonder how that will affect his future employment opportunities.

Loved Nia/Brainy together.  And maybe it was just me, but Brainy's accent/delivery wasn't as forced as it was toward the end of last season.  Hope it stays that way.   Anyway, I thought it generally was a pretty good season opener.

[MadyGirl1987]

19 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

So after a season of anvils being dropped constantly about the evils of prejudice against immigrants as our big bad, this season we get the evils of social media and clickbait as the big bad and our anvil! I always end up feeling bad because I agree with this show on pretty much all of its political points, but its so over the top in its message, with everyone on the other side of the protagonists being so mustache twirling evil and everyone giving speeches to make sure we get the message, that it really just takes me out of the show and makes me feel awkward and pandered to. 

This, so much this! I hated last year's totally black and white stances. Rarely is an issue black and white, yet the show portrayed it as "alien immigrants good, anyone against bad." They could have gone interesting places with the impact of Earth and the US having alien migration. How do you fairly and equitably handle alien immigration when some aliens can be, and have been, dangerous in the past? How do you handle aliens who could destroy the world? What kind of justice system can handle aliens with super-abilities so they get a fair trial? Have alien cultures been assimilated into Earth's the way movies, music, art food, etc. has been shared across the cultures of different countries? Is there an alien somewhere who opened a restaurant featuring the cuisine of their home planet?

I digress. The point is the show is very heavy-handed with it's messages and leaves no room for the complexities of an issue. I would love to see a newsroom struggling to adapt to changing times and a changing media environment while still staying true to its mission and putting out quality journalism, but I highly doubt that's what we will get.

Also didn't like the whole Lena says she and Kara are cool while planning her attack. I've had more than enough of a Super-Luthor friendship turns sour with Smallville, thanks.

Otherwise, lest I give the wrong impression, I thought this was a pretty good episode and am glad to see the show back. Intrigued to see where John's storyline goes, especially.

Edited October 8, 2019 by MadyGirl1987

[Jediknight]

14 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Brainy and Nia are still really cute, and I am really glad that they are going strong, and that they haven't ignored the Brainiac stuff from last season and how much that affected them. Poor Brainy is clearly struggling so hard with what happened, I am glad that Nia understands.

Yeah, Brainy brought up ancestral memory, and that he remembers everything the previous Brainiacs did, so he's afraid of that becoming him.  He doesn't want to be Brainiac, he wants to be Brainy, he wants to stay on Earth, hang out with his Earth family (Kara, Alexa, J'onn, James, and Lena), and be with Nia.  So it's nice to see that's he's afraid of losing all that.  And of course Nia's understanding, and all of Brainy's Earth family would be understanding.  Poor Brainy just needs to hear the words "You're stronger than you think, trust me.  Those previous Brainiacs don't stand a chance against you."

[Trini]

So Lena has her own Gideon? Yeah, so how soon do we think it will go rogue? (Because it totally will.)

‘Superman’s pod is on display’
Me: “Well, that’s dumb.”
::pod immediately gets stolen::
Me: “Yep.”

Wow, I’m kind of surprised they are connecting Kelly directly to the threat/villain of the season. It makes perfect sense, however; they want her to be involved in the story as more than just a love interest.

I get that they needed a reason to keep our employees at Catco, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how contracts work…. But so far I like Rojas as an antagonist.

So with James quitting (*sigh*), will we see more of Guardian, or just less of James in general?

Hmm - maybe they're actually going somewhere with BraiNia this time.

Kara/Benoist really sold that confession scene, and McGrath was great also.

Disappointed that they are having Lena go to the Dark Side.

Fashion note: Yeah, there did seem to be a lot of bodycon dresses in this. Some not appropriate for an office, but I have no problem handwaving that!

[Trini]

Oh, and I forgot about J'onn: It wouldn't be a CW show, without a secret sibling!

[Perfect Xero]

Didn't Kara spend most of last season wanting Catco to only cover the pro-alien side on the issue, and writing puff pieces on good aliens to appeal to emotion and win people over?

Now she's presenting only comprehensive facts on both sides and taking emotion out of it?

[Rushmoras]

Yay! My guilty pleasure is back! 😀

OK, I was sceptical about the season revolving around IT stuff, cause in general I detest how they portray it in fiction (for the same reason I could not stand Die Hard 4), but so far I liked it. Sure, IMO, they pulled the people hooked on virtual reality (I think that in later episodes they will be shown as VR addicts even) from The Longest Journey franchise (if I have to be recent about it, try it, it's a cool video-game franchise), but I'll wait and see where the bomb drops.

Of course, Melissa's acting in drama scenes is compelling, however, I would still like to see some lone tear falling at least. But, whatever, tears are saved for sister moments in this show, apparently.

So, Kara finally mans'-up (woman's-up) and tells Lena the truth. And of course, Lena is going to be scheming behind her back. Well, at least she stated that she does not want to kill Kara. Well, that's something at least.

Also, the new Devil Wears Prada boss speech about doors being closed to journalism, if you walk out... um... yeah, that's not how Non-Competition Contracts work in reality. You see, boys and girls, if you are that good and your former employer does not want you to go to a competitor, you both sign the Non-Competition Contract, in which there is a quid pro quo - I will not compete with you for a certain amount of time, but because my job depends solely on this area of expertise, I will want you to reimburse me in monthly instalments, let's say 90 percent of my monthly pay-check until the Contract expires. You don't agree? Well, I guess that the courts and jury will see otherwise.

P.S. Batwoman's pilot for me was better than Supergirl's pilot episode some years back. Who could have thought.

P.P.S. Kara just takes off glasses. "I'm Supergirl, Lena". Yeah... I mean... Lena is mentally deficient in my book. 🤣

[MarkHB]

On 10/6/2019 at 10:43 PM, scarynikki12 said:

I think the bangs are cute on Melissa but I’m so disappointed that no one asked Kara how she got a haircut. Presumably with Kryptonite scissors but I still want to see that scene. Maybe it’s still to come. 

On 10/7/2019 at 4:20 PM, marketdoctor said:

This was covered in the comics (and one of the Chrisopher Reeves movies--I want to say Superman II, but don't hold me to that:

Heat vision + a mirror.  It's how Superman/Clark Kent shaves every day. 

Melissa said (I think in an interview around SDCC) that they aren't going to explain it on the show, but yes, she did it herself with heat vision.

[CletusMusashi]

I just assumed she used kryptonite or red sunlight when getting her hair cut.

Now for the bigger questions. Does that new costume just fuse together over her skin? Does she have to keep her glasses on in the shower? Does she have to sleep in her costume?  Can she... do Kryptonians even need to use a toilet? I like my pants the old fashioned way. They go on when I tell them to, not when something else triggers them.

[BaggythePanther]

On 10/9/2019 at 8:48 AM, CletusMusashi said:

Now for the bigger questions. Does that new costume just fuse together over her skin? Does she have to keep her glasses on in the shower? Does she have to sleep in her costume?  Can she... do Kryptonians even need to use a toilet? I like my pants the old fashioned way. They go on when I tell them to, not when something else triggers them.

Brainy said Kara had to be careful about how she takes off her glasses. Kara was able to take the glasses off without triggering the suit when she revealed herself to Lena. I think she has to whip them off quickly to trigger the suit. Taking the glasses off normally is fine.

ETA: I can be a little slow so I only recently realized that this means Kara won’t be ripping her shirt open to reveal the suit anymore. On the one hand, it’s such a classic move I’m kinda going to miss it. But it’s cool that Supergirl is getting her own thing.

Edited October 11, 2019 by BaggythePanther

[Quark]

Really enjoyable episode. Melissa Benoist did brilliantly in essentially her "coming out" scene to Lena.

David Harewood though was appalling, which is strange, as he is usually a good actor.

[Jacks-Son]

On 10/6/2019 at 7:43 PM, scarynikki12 said:

I think the bangs are cute on Melissa but I’m so disappointed that no one asked Kara how she got a haircut. Presumably with Kryptonite scissors but I still want to see that scene. Maybe it’s still to come. 

Kryptonite scissors? Nothing so elaborate; traditionally, all haircuts for Kryptonians on Earth are done with their own heat vision bounced off of a mirror to trim their hair. Although, bangs are tricky.

I hate the deception by Lena, as I think the whole drama is unnecessary BS. Kara opened her heart to Lena when she apologized and Lena appeared to understand. I thought she did understand when she declined to send the identity revelation to the new owner of Catco. For the writers to then have Lena betray her best friend is seriously F'ed up.

[legaleagle53]

On 10/7/2019 at 10:46 PM, brgjoe said:

Speaking of something to do, poor James.  He and others signing THREE YEAR no compete clause contracts?  Wow.  Get better agents, peeps!   I could see *maybe* a 6 month-year no compete deals.  But for 3 years?  Seriously!?  Guess James will go the Guardian route for awhile.  Even though everybody knows he who he is now.  Wonder how that will affect his future employment opportunities.

That would never hold up in court.  First of all, there can be no contract without a meeting of the minds. You simply can't enforce a contract that the other party didn't have a chance to read or understand, especially if the other party was unaware that the contract even existed in the first place. Second, courts have never favored non-compete clauses that are considered excessive or unreasonable in scope (either geographically or temporally). Andrea can try to enforce the clause all she wants, but it's highly unlikely that a court would do anything other than laugh in her face if she tried.

[amass]

On 10/6/2019 at 10:04 PM, mtlchick said:

 I can't wait until she get pockets! 

She must already have pockets - where else would she put her glasses?