S05.E02: Stranger Beside Me

[Trini]

Quote

TECHNOLOGY BECOMES THE NEW THREAT- Supergirl, Alex, and Brainiac thwart an alien attack while William (Staz Nair) investigates Kara. J'onn J'onzz and Kelly use Obsidian tech to solve a problem.

David McWhirter directed the episode written by Dana Horgan & Katie Rose Rogers.

Airdate: 10/13/2019

[quarks]

1. You take your writer who just won a Pulitzer and ask her to do copyediting? Also, why is she using paper files for copyediting instead of editing the files directly on MS Word or whatever? You're supposed to be competent, not petty and still using old technology. Especially eyebrow raising since apparently the idea was to get these articles out quickly, so they should have been edited on the computer.

On a related note, if your Pulitzer-winning writing comes up to you with 11 pitches, the correct response is not, "We'll discuss this in the morning meeting," but "What are they and do any of them need to be cleared through legal?"

2. Grumble. I preferred Lena when she was mostly good, with a grey streak, not this Lena who reprograms people.

Still preferring Lena to New Evil Boss though.

3. Brainy and Nia are cute. That said, what is Brainy's salary? That much sushi is kinda expensive. 

[Lady Calypso]

Man, they're really determined to get Lena as close to the side of evil as possible, aren't they? Well, it's working because I am really not liking Lena.

Now, correct me if I misinterpreted this, but did Lena kill Eve in order to "implant" Hope in her mind? Because if Eve is in there, then Lena did something worse by trapping her in her mind so an AI could take over. And can Hope go in and out at will, or is Hope permanently in Eve until Lena deactivates her? 

Because I know Eve did a lot of bad last season, but Lena is not doing much good so far. I like shades of grey Lena, not straight up evil Lena. Because, yeah, I consider her a villain right now; she's not doing any good so, thus, she's evil. This is how your family became supervillains, Lena. 

Andrea is such a bad boss. Does she not realize that trying to change a company completely on a dime is only going to end in disaster? Does she not know how to run a company? Plus, she's on Supergirl; of course she'll lose by the end of the season.

William is not much better, but he's lucky that he can somewhat hide behind Andrea since she's the boss...although he's doing a bad job of it, anyway.

At least the J'onn storyline is working well so far. I just hope SOMETHING unique can be brought to it.

Alex and Kelly are going on me. Kelly is actually becoming a quite interesting character, though I have to laugh at her sudden expertise at the Obsidian tech. Didn't she JUST start at Andrea's company, like, a week ago?

Brainy/Nia are still super adorable.

[Oreo2234]

I was wrong. Kara is totally going to end up dating William. His wife will turn out to be dead, estranged etc. Not looking forward to it. The douchebag who turns out to be decent/redeemable trope wasn't at all polarizing the last time. 

Alex and Kelly are still super forced together. Brainy and Nia are cute though. 

Did they indicate Alex killed that alien? So much for the non-lethal weapon policy at the DEO. I hated that policy so I'm glad about it. I love how quickly Alex and Kara saw through J'onn's brothers disguises. They need to be written as smart like that more often. 

Edited October 14, 2019 by Oreo2234

[Jediknight]

Brainy and Nia are really wanting to take that most adorable couple in the Beeboverse title from Barry and Iris.

Of course they're putting Eve in baggy clothes, gotta hide Andrea Brooks's pregnancy.

Lena isn't Lena, no way.  They dropped enough hints in this episode that Hope/Obsidian is starting to control her.  She thinks she's in charge, but Hope is pulling all the strings.  We just saw Hope enter Eve, and all the talk about taking away emotions, Hope is controlling Lena.

And once again on the shallow end, it's impossible for Melissa Benoist to not be able to rock the hell out of a dress.

[statsgirl]

If Andrea wants to put her Pulitzer prize winning reporter writing fashion bits, I think Kara should go with it.  Do a mediocre job, get fired, and then the  no compete clause doesn't apply

Alex's behaviour with Kelly reminds me of the U-Haul joke. I know they're trying to do a parallel with Nia and Brainy but Alex and Kelly aren't winning that comparison, Brainy and Nia are so cute..

I like J'onn's storyline.  I'm surprised at how much Kelly has been made a part of three main storylines this season. That's more than James ever got.

[thuganomics85]

I'm guessing Kara really thinks she needs to remain at Catco for her cover?  Because I really don't understand why she isn't jumping ship considering how horrible Andrea is.  I guess it could because of the no competition clause and she just really doesn't want to lose her ability to be a journalist, but it is just annoying watching Kara once again have to let someone push her around.  Overall, I'm already over the whole "journalism under attack" story, and already tired of Andrea.  And William, who is a smug, sneaky bastard, but, of course, he apparently also works at soup kitchens, so he's not that bad, right?!  He's probably going to end up as a new love interest for Kara.  Eh, she would be better off taking up Mick Rory's offer from way back in the first crossover.

So, J'onn's brother was kind of traitor, who actually helped the White Martian win?  And now he's after J'onn and his friends for reasons I still can't quite figure out.  Either way, he might even be worse at the whole "pretending to be someone else" trick than J'onn is.  I'm at least glad the show didn't make Kara or Alex stupid, and both figured it out pretty quickly.  Although I'm sure Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh had fun getting to do a fight scene when it was against each other this time!

Nia/Brainy continue to be adorable, but I really worry that Brainy's... err, approach to things is going to eventually be too much.

Lena's grand plan is to rid the human race of the desire to want to harm each other, but it really looks like she's making them flat-out emotionless instead?  So, she's basically creating the Borg, right?  Sucks for Eve that she was the first victim, but considering everything she did to Lena last season, well, I guess there is some irony about watching the tables turn on her.

James is either a) going to be a Senator or b) work at a museum?

[Oreo2234]

Quote

I'm surprised at how much Kelly has been made part of three main storylines this season.

It is nice they are trying to give Alex's LI a purpose outside of her. Actually so far this season I think Alex has been more defined by their romance then Kelly has.

Quote

Hope is controlling Lena.

Yeah I think Hope is going to be a major villain this season. 

Edited October 14, 2019 by Oreo2234

[bettername2come]

James is now a frontrunner for the Senate? What? Why? This is like Martha Kent becoming a state senator and then a real Senator without ever getting elected over the course of a year and a half on Smallville. Get out Mehcad Brooks. Be in something better where you get something that makes sense. I will remember your Lex Luthor PTSD plot well. 

Don't care about Alex and Kelly, but did like the way she realized and tested. Seriously, J'onn's brother easily could have hurt Alex more than he did, and I don't see a solid reason why he didn't. 

Noticed they cut away the moment Kara started taking off the glasses. Guess they used up the SFX budget on throwing a truck. Which admittedly, is a better use of the budget. 

Rojas is not a good editor. Does The CW not know how to make a Luthor turn on their Kryptonian best friend organically instead of just being mad about secrets and going from from a relatively light shade of morally grey to full-on evil so quickly?

Happy to see Tessmacher back. Her plot is horrifying. I hope she is alive and can break free of this control sometime and become a better person legitimately. The actress is really great.

Please don't let Brainy screw up the relationship with Nia. They are currently the best couple on the show.

The slow version of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" probably wasn't supposed to make me think of this, but here we are:

[shantown]

I laughed out loud when they showed William suddenly decided to leave work to go serve food at a homeless shelter. Wasn’t it late at night? Did he forget he was supposed to go? Why did he just waltz right in and grab a serving spoon without checking in or apologizing for being late or anything? I’m all for making him a more rounded character but that was so poorly jarring that it was comical rather than redeeming. 

[UNOSEZ]

3 minutes ago, shantown said:

I laughed out loud when they showed William suddenly decided to leave work to go serve food at a homeless shelter. Wasn’t it late at night? Did he forget he was supposed to go? Why did he just waltz right in and grab a serving spoon without checking in or apologizing for being late or anything? I’m all for making him a more rounded character but that was so poorly jarring that it was comical rather than redeeming. 

This... Was sooooooo... Bad... I assume they were trying to tell us he's not a smarmy douche... But he is... He's a smarmy douche.. Who helps out at homeless shelters... I'll admit I wasn't the biggest Mon-el fan.. Tho it was more about his intro and the show throwing James in a ditch without a proper explanation.. Than  me not liking the character... But I really don't need another LI who's obnoxious at first but the power of a good woman fixes him... 

[Lantern7]

Good episode. I was hoping Lena was just hamming things up for the sake of her AI, and that she really wasn't going to stomp on Kara's heart. No such luck . . . and now Hope has possessed Eve. I'm sure that won't backfire horribly. I mean, she did try to kill Lena . . . but come on, who hasn't at one point or another?

Andrea continues to be a horrific stereotype of New Media. Shit, you could replace the character with a character that actually embodies New Media over in American Gods, and it would be an improvement. And, natch, she's shady. I'm guessing we want Cat Grant to drop by and just give her the business. I know that won't happen. We won't even get Snapper Carr stopping by the office, looking Andrea in the eyes, rolling his eyes and groaning, then walking back into the cornfield from which he has been relegated.

I guess I'm waiting on the overall plot to start solidifying. Yeah, it's frustrating, but it doesn't feel like last season, where I felt like the writers were slapping me in the face with a phone book. Really hoping Lord McDouchingberg isn't shoved in Kara's direction as a love interest. She doesn't really need a Mon a man like that. On the other hand, at least she doesn't have Brainiac continuing to schmuck things up as he shows affection.

[Tangent: I was okay with Mon-El as a love interest for Kara, in the sense they were both aliens that had to adapt to Earth culture, albeit at different points in their lives. The new guy is already trying to track Kara, which is shysty AF.]

In terms of costume transformation . . . why not have Kara go through a minute-long Sailor Moon-style transformation sequence? It would save a few bucks, right?

[AnimeMania]

Alex is an idiot, don't figure out someone is an imposter, call for help, then let the person know you are on to them before help arrives. Alex is lucky that all he did was "put her back into the closet".

Why would Brainy say he knows how to cure J'onn with Q-waves, then let Kelly take a shot at it first.

I wonder what William saw in that article that caused him to get so agitated, is that why he was trying to follow Kara? I may have to go back and read what the article was about.

Lena thought Eve was a great assistant. Now brainwashed Eve will be willing to work for Lena for free and be happy about it. Lena has won Capitalism!

What happened to Haley, did she leave the DEO, who is in charge now?

[Ubiquitous]

This show is getting even more stupid than before:

• This season is becoming a total ripoff of Superman 4: The Quest For Peace 
• Jimmy Olson told Kara that he's been offered positions as Senator and curator of the Smithsonian since he got fired from Catco. Seriously? How does that work?
• Brainiac is a moron. "Nia thought getting a breakfast burrito was the best thing that ever happened to her, so I'm going to give her an even BETTER lunch by giving her 42 boxes of her fav sushi!".
• On a related note, Alex almost killed her girlfriend because she gave her a blueberry muffin, not knowing she's allergic to them. Wait, whut?
• Burned by Kara's "betrayal", Leena Luther wants to do a "Jekyll and Hyde" to humans so they never lie to each other again. Yeah, that's not going to end well...
• Brainiac tells the gang he can cure J'onn with Q Waves, which won't be invented until after this current civilization collapses. Without missing a beat, they tell him this new social media thing uses them. Where do I even begin with that?
• Holy mixed metaphors! As part of J'onn's rehab, they created a mindscape of a library to represent his damaged/missing memories. He walks up to one coverless book on a shelf and tilts it, causing a secret door to open in one of the shelves... beyond it is a void.
• Kara just loudly announces within earshot of a male coworker she's going to sneak away for some super stupid shenanigans. Surprisingly, he actually heard what she said and got suspicious... didn't her reading stuff on her computer at super speed make him suspicious?

Edited October 14, 2019 by Ubiquitous

[mommalib]

3 hours ago, statsgirl said:

If Andrea wants to put her Pulitzer prize winning reporter writing fashion bits, I think Kara should go with it.  Do a mediocre job, get fired, and then the  no compete clause doesn't apply

Alex's behaviour with Kelly reminds me of the U-Haul joke. I know they're trying to do a parallel with Nia and Brainy but Alex and Kelly aren't winning that comparison, Brainy and Nia are so cute..

I like J'onn's storyline.  I'm surprised at how much Kelly has been made a part of three main storylines this season. That's more than James ever got.

I notice that Kelly is already getting treated better than James. I guess it's just black men the show runners have a problem with.

[mommalib]

3 hours ago, Oreo2234 said:

I was wrong. Kara is totally going to end up dating William. His wife will turn out to be dead, estranged etc. Not looking forward to it. The douchebag who turns out to be decent/redeemable trope wasn't at all polarizing the last time. 

Alex and Kelly are still super forced together. Brainy and Nia are cute though. 

Did they indicate Alex killed that alien? So much for the non-lethal weapon policy at the DEO. I hated that policy so I'm glad about it. I love how quickly Alex and Kara saw through J'onn's brothers disguises. They need to be written as smart like that more often. 

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Kara started dating William. Going the Jerk to hero route like with Mon-EL until the point where they start prioritizing him over Kara just like with Mon-EL

2 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

This... Was sooooooo... Bad... I assume they were trying to tell us he's not a smarmy douche... But he is... He's a smarmy douche.. Who helps out at homeless shelters... I'll admit I wasn't the biggest Mon-el fan.. Tho it was more about his intro and the show throwing James in a ditch without a proper explanation.. Than  me not liking the character... But I really don't need another LI who's obnoxious at first but the power of a good woman fixes him... 

It's that white guy magic, always redeemable but a black male well.....

[BaggythePanther]

Damn it Lena, I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you. I really hope she hasn't science murdered Eve, but trapping Eve inside her own mind while Hope takes over isn't a great outcome either. Lena is turning into the Thinker and it isn't a good look.

Also, if Leviathan has connections to Eve, and Hope is in Eve, how long until Leviathan has control of Hope?

I missed some of the dialogue during Lena's scene with Andrea. Did Andrea say Obsidian North had access to Lena's VR simulations on the contacts? Because that could potentially lead to someone finding out Kara's identity.

I thought it was crazy when James mentioned that he had been asked to run for Senate. Then I remembered that last season a man who was jailed for murdering aliens was appointed to a cabinet position and of course, Kara won a Pulitzer. I have no concept of what's a reasonable achievement.

3 hours ago, Oreo2234 said:

I was wrong. Kara is totally going to end up dating William. His wife will turn out to be dead, estranged etc. Not looking forward to it. The douchebag who turns out to be decent/redeemable trope wasn't at all polarizing the last time.

On the one hand, it seems like this is where they are going. On the other hand, I feel like the writers know they fucked up and should know better than to write the same haters to lovers storyline again. 

And correct me if I'm wrong, but did this episode take place over the course of one day? I kept waiting for them to change outfits, start a new day, but it never happened. It was really strange.

Edited October 14, 2019 by BaggythePanther
Added an additional thought

[sonyab]

Bria aka Braina:  On twitter they are being called Brania. I like it. GAH! Brainy is so adorable! Sure he goes overboard, but he is the sweetest!!!! He is doing everything he can to try to make her happy. Awwwww. 🙂

Kelly and Alex:  At first I thought Alex was bad, but nope it's just J'onn's brother the shape shifter!!

William and Kara:  Yeah I can ship them. 😉

Kelly, Alex, and fake Kelly:  That scene was a great scene!!! 🙂

J'onn and Kelly:  Another great scene!! He is getting his memory back!!

Lena and Miss. Tessmacher  What?!!?!! Mind mapping?!!?!? Are the writers fans of the soap opera General hospital?!!?!?! Cus they are doing mind mapping too!!!!

PANTS

12 hours ago, quarks said:

3. Brainy and Nia are cute. That said, what is Brainy's salary? That much sushi is kinda expensive. 

Now that is funny! ROFL! Made me laugh. Good one, and good question. 🙂

Edited October 14, 2019 by sonyab

[sonyab]

11 hours ago, Jediknight said:

Of course they're putting Eve in baggy clothes, gotta hide Andrea Brooks's pregnancy.

Oh! I didn't know the actress is pregnant!! 🙂 No wonder she was wearing baggy clothes.

[bmoore4026]

.....I know I'm going to sound like an incredible sexist by saying this but what the hell did they do to Supergirl's costume!?  What was wrong with the skirt!?  Were they trying to cash in on the Captain Marvel costume?  They couldn't have added some red around the waist area?  It's hideous.  I'm in the minority here, but I liked the iconic costume more.  Again, what was wrong with the skirt?

Lena seems to be embracing her campy persona quite nicely. 

And Brainy is delightful.

By the by, as I don't watch this show regularly, what became of Mon-El?

[Jediknight]

12 minutes ago, bmoore4026 said:

.....I know I'm going to sound like an incredible sexist by saying this but what the hell did they do to Supergirl's costume!?  What was wrong with the skirt!?

They film in Vancouver, so the skirt didn't really do much to keep Melissa Benoist's legs warm.  Pretty much all of her stuff as Supergirl is outside, so her legs were freezing.  The move to pants was so she could actually stay warm, and it was something she's been requesting since season 1.

[Chris24601]

12 minutes ago, bmoore4026 said:

.....I know I'm going to sound like an incredible sexist by saying this but what the hell did they do to Supergirl's costume!?  What was wrong with the skirt!?  Were they trying to cash in on the Captain Marvel costume?  They couldn't have added some red around the waist area?  It's hideous.  I'm in the minority here, but I liked the iconic costume more.  Again, what was wrong with the skirt?

The problem is it's damn cold filming outdoors in winter in Vancouver and the showrunners finally gave in to the practicality of letting their lead not freeze her butt off by making her wear a skirt for it.

I'm honestly amazed it took this long to make the swap. It's one thing to have the classic skirt when you're filming in LA. I would have expected to see it by season three after a season of filming up there in it.

[legaleagle53]

18 minutes ago, bmoore4026 said:

By the by, as I don't watch this show regularly, what became of Mon-El?

Mon-El returned to the 31st Century with Imra (Saturn Girl) at the end of Season 3, and they took Winn with them because he and Brainiac 5 had agreed to switch places and jobs in order to save Brainiac 5 from being killed by enemies who were targeting the inhabitants of Brainy's homeworld, Colu. That's why we see Brainy doing Winn's old job at the DEO and Winn has been MIA since the end of Season 3. Winn's been living large in 3019.

[bmoore4026]

37 minutes ago, Jediknight said:

They film in Vancouver, so the skirt didn't really do much to keep Melissa Benoist's legs warm.  Pretty much all of her stuff as Supergirl is outside, so her legs were freezing.  The move to pants was so she could actually stay warm, and it was something she's been requesting since season 1.

I did not know this.  Thank you for the explanation.  I am guessing the Captain Marvel movie was a factor in this, though.  I won't complain about it anymore, though, as I had now idea about Ms. Benoist's discomfort.  I always assumed they had her wear special thermal pantyhose, too.  So much I know.

[Writing Wrongs]

14 hours ago, Oreo2234 said:

Kara is totally going to end up dating William

14 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

He's probably going to end up as a new love interest for Kara. 

Let's hope this one doesn't spill into real life.

[sonyab]

4 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Mon-El returned to the 31st Century with Imra (Saturn Girl) at the end of Season 3, and they took Winn with them because he and Brainiac 5

Haha! I love that you use Brainy's full name!!! 🙂

[tennisgurl]

J'onns brother is kind of bad at pretending to be human, he cant keep it up for very long. "Oh yes, hello Alex, my dear human girlfriend, I sure do love being a human person and not a Martian!" 

So with Kara being assigned to write fluffy fashion articles, I feel like we are suddenly in a romantic comedy from the early 00s where the female lead wants to be a serious journalist but keeps getting stuck assigned fluff pieces. Andrea is a really crap boss, not just because she is clearly an awful person, but because she sucks at actually running a newspaper. I mean, if things change so much, people will get whiplash and stop reading anyway, and it will get an awful reputation within the industry and they wont have any real talent that will want to write for them. I mean, taking your recently Pulitzer prize winning and famous writer and not capitalizing on her, instead making her do copy editing just out of pettiness, isnt just dickish, its bad business. Is she trying to sink the paper, and thats her evil plan?

The beginning with the woman texting and not paying attention to traffic felt like a full on PSA. Like Kara was about to turn to the screen and say "And now you know, and knowing is half the battle!"

Kelly is actually getting a surprisingly lot to do, for a new character and love interest. I like her and she and Alex seem good together, but I still feel like I dont know enough about them to be that invested. I dont know if the writers meant it to mean this, but I took Alex's freak out about not knowing Kelly's allergies to be residual issues with her relationship with Maggie, and how it fell apart over Maggie not wanting kids. She was really caught off guard when she found out that Maggie didnt want kids, after she had already fallen for her, and when they broke up she was really hurt. Now she wants to know everything about Kelly before she gets too far in in case there is some kind of deal breaker. 

Brainy and Nia continue to be just freaking adorable, I hope things continue to go well for them and that Brainys trying to hard to please gestures dont mess them up. 

So now we get another random career for James! This year its politics! Maybe next season, he becomes a pastry chef? 

I hope that the AI is influencing Lena or something, because I dont like seeing Lena going full on supervillain. Especially after how much she has done to avoid her families legacy, I would hate it if a stupid secret was the thing that pushed her over the edge. I prefer Lena morally grey but leaning towards good, especially as a contrast to Kara being so goodie two shoes, her as evil, even evil with some weird kind of good intentions, is much less interesting. Eve did some awful things to her, but I do hope she can be freed from Hope and find some actual redemption. 

[shantown]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

I hope that the AI is influencing Lena or something, because I dont like seeing Lena going full on supervillain. 

They've shown that Hope can figure out the parts of the brain that control loyalty and honesty when it took over Eve. Would be a plausible explanation that Hope had already started taking over at least the loyalty part of Lena's mind and started influencing her decisions and thoughts.

[UNOSEZ]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Andrea is a really crap boss,

She is.. But also.. Unfortunately she may not be wrong.. I mean she called Kara winning a pulitzer and wanting to continue to do hard-hitting journalism.. "Elitist".. But I've heard the same thing from  so many other ppl ( who I disagree with about every single thing)  and they're the ones buying or not buying... Clicking or not clicking.. So they are sadly driving the business of journalism.. Of course my statement could be seen as just another "coastal millennial liberal elite" looking his nose down at the "common" man.... I've literally been called that and accused of it

[iMonrey]

Quote

Brainiac is a moron. "Nia thought getting a breakfast burrito was the best thing that ever happened to her, so I'm going to give her an even BETTER lunch by giving her 42 boxes of her fav sushi!".

I know this is supposed to be cute and it mostly is, except that Brainy is supposed to be really smart. He may not understand contemporary and/or human social interaction but surely he understands how the human body functions and what constitutes too much food. Did he think Nia could really eat all that? How out of touch is he supposed to be?

Quote

Andrea is a really crap boss, not just because she is clearly an awful person, but because she sucks at actually running a newspaper. 

Is Catco even a newspaper or have a newspaper? I know they're some sort of worldwide media conglomerate but what is their platform? Do they have their own TV channel? Website? Magazine? All of the above? 

Also, did I miss something? Do we know why J'onn's brother has been going around disguised as a little girl?

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

The beginning with the woman texting and not paying attention to traffic felt like a full on PSA. Like Kara was about to turn to the screen and say "And now you know, and knowing is half the battle!"

I think they were trying to point out that people wearing the Obsidian Contact Lenses are even worst than the people who walk and text/use their phone. The lady didn't even notice (hear/see) any of the chaos that she was causing. In her virtual realty world, she was probably riding a Unicorn over a Rainbow Bridge.

BraiNal's relationship is about to hit some rocks!

34 minutes ago, shantown said:

Would be a plausible explanation that Hope had already started taking over at least the loyalty part of Lena's mind and started influencing her decisions and thoughts.

Not sure, I think that device on the side of Eve's head was very important for Hope to enter Eve's brain. I think there is only one (copy?) of Hope so I don't think she is in more than one person. More likely the Obsidian VR devices are corrupting people, which is why Andrea was so mad that Lena was figuring out how they work. Prediction: Hope (Eve) is going to save Lena from being completely mind controlled by the Obsidian VR tech since they share some properties in common.  

[legaleagle53]

8 hours ago, Writing Wrongs said:

Let's hope this one doesn't spill into real life.

Seeing as how Melissa just got married, I don't think that's too likely to happen.

Edited October 15, 2019 by legaleagle53

[angora]

As others have said, I liked both Alex and Kara quickly clocking the Martian imposter, plus Alex recognizing which was the real Kelly on the rooftop. I'm still waiting to be convinced on Alex/Kelly, but I'm enjoying Kelly as a character and am glad to see her being properly integrated into the show beyond being Alex's girlfriend.

Lena - wow. I feel for how damaged and hurt she is, feeling like she needs a tech solution to "fix" people's loyalty and honesty, but she is on a DEEP dive into some colossally-bad ideas. C'mon, Lena, this arc is just getting started and you're already doing things you're gonna have a hard time coming back from! (Fingers crossed that she's being influenced at least in PART by Hope, 'cause my god.)

Brainy's antics veered into unconvincingly-dumb with the sheer impossible-to-consume quantities of food, although I liked a) how excited Kara was about the sushi and b) seeing in the picture Jesse Rath posted online that Brainy's book of poetry at the end was all written in binary code, ha! Hopefully this will be a bump for him and Nia and not the beginning of a more serious problem. I appreciate Nia's instinct to talk to Brainy about it - hopefully, sooner rather than later, she'll realize she needs to be more direct sometimes to get him to see what she really means.

ETA - I forgot to say, I can be slow on the uptake sometimes when it comes to setting up ships, but even I went, "Uh oh," when Kara was complaining about Michael and randomly brought up feeling sorry for his wife for being "stuck with him." That's not a good sign...

Edited October 15, 2019 by angora
Forgot to add something

[MarkHB]

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I know this is supposed to be cute and it mostly is, except that Brainy is supposed to be really smart. He may not understand contemporary and/or human social interaction but surely he understands how the human body functions and what constitutes too much food. Did he think Nia could really eat all that? How out of touch is he supposed to be?

Is Catco even a newspaper or have a newspaper? I know they're some sort of worldwide media conglomerate but what is their platform? Do they have their own TV channel? Website? Magazine? All of the above? 

Also, did I miss something? Do we know why J'onn's brother has been going around disguised as a little girl?

We know of two major Catco properties: the National City Tribune, a tabloid format newspaper (I can't speak about the content, just the form factor), and Catco Magazine, which appears to be a news magazine similar in size and production values to Vogue, and is also apparently published daily. Yes, I realize that the latter is is ludicrous, but I'm not sure the show does. They seem to have a CNN type TV network as well, but that's only mentioned if Kara needs to give a Very Hopeful Speech.

J'onn's brother won't have a consistent human form; he's making good opportunistic use of his shape shifting abilities 

[Trini]

Not much too add that hasn't already been said -

There is a lot going on! Some of it is interconnected, but it seems every character - in this already large cast - has his or her own story.

Planning to re-program humanity* and having an AI take over someone's mind/body? Yeah, I'm gonna have to put that in the EVIL category, Lena; and I hate it.

*(this was a Season 1 villain plan, wasn't it?)
 

15 hours ago, bmoore4026 said:

I did not know this.  Thank you for the explanation.  I am guessing the Captain Marvel movie was a factor in this, though.  I won't complain about it anymore, though, as I had now idea about Ms. Benoist's discomfort.  I always assumed they had her wear special thermal pantyhose, too.  So much I know.

I don't see a connection to Captain Marvel. This isn't even the third supersuit Kara/Benoist has been in that had pants.

Edited October 15, 2019 by Trini

[bros402]

I also agree the coloring on the new costume could've been a bit better. That is the thing that felt off.

I also like the Alex-Kelly and Brainy-Nia relationships

This means Kelly is gonna turn out to be evil, isn't it?

[CabotCove]

Better episode than the premiere. Katie Mcgrath is at her best as Lena when she is showing her dark side and doing morally questionable things. I'm glad the show is delivering more on that, no more straddling the line. I Laughed out loud when Eve realised she was going to be merged with Hope. Damn Lena. 

Whats that scene with Brainia at the end, Nia looked so fed up, trouble in paradise already?.

Kelly and Alex were alright I guess, they got to flesh out the relationship a bit. And the story with Mafelek was good, he is a menacing presence. 

Quote

William and Kara:  Yeah I can ship them. 😉

LOL😂, so fast huh. I havent seen much to root for between the two yet. And he is still married😉. Why does he have to have the same name as Oliver's son [Arrow]....lol

Edited October 15, 2019 by CabotCove

[Writing Wrongs]

11 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Seeing as how Melissa just got married, I don't think that's too likely to happen.

She was married before.

[bmoore4026]

9 hours ago, Trini said:

I don't see a connection to Captain Marvel. This isn't even the third supersuit Kara/Benoist has been in that had pants.

It's just that Captain Marvel had a full body suit, so I thought the showrunners decided to go with that angle.  Had no idea it was because of Melissa Benoist freezing in the classic Supergirl costume.

[iMonrey]

Quote

J'onn's brother won't have a consistent human form; he's making good opportunistic use of his shape shifting abilities 

Well up until this episode his default was "little girl." I'm not sure what exactly that says about him. Not trying to cast aspersions or anything. J'onn's human form is essentially what he'd look like if he were human, one assumes. Why is his brother's default human form a little girl? 

(That's basically rhetorical, unless I've missed something. I'm assuming it was initially done for shock value and effect. Little girl is really a monster! Egad!)

[Chicago Redshirt]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Well up until this episode his default was "little girl." I'm not sure what exactly that says about him. Not trying to cast aspersions or anything. J'onn's human form is essentially what he'd look like if he were human, one assumes. Why is his brother's default human form a little girl? 

(That's basically rhetorical, unless I've missed something. I'm assuming it was initially done for shock value and effect. Little girl is really a monster! Egad!)

J'onn's standard look is that of a particular human, Hank Henshaw. Hank was a member of the DEO and was tracking J'onn down along with Kara and Alex's dad. During that, it was thought that Hank died and Kara and Alex's dad was dying. K & A's dad made J'onn promise to look after K&A, and he did so by assuming Hank's identity. Since it's been known for at least two years that he's not Hank, there's no in-story reason why J'onn still chooses to look like Hank as his default.

[appositival]

On 10/13/2019 at 11:15 PM, Oreo2234 said:

Yeah I think Hope is going to be a major villain this season.

When I first saw Hope I thought, "Hourglass figure! That's CW's preference for female villains".

[UNOSEZ]

49 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

J'onn's standard look is that of a particular human, Hank Henshaw. Hank was a member of the DEO and was tracking J'onn down along with Kara and Alex's dad. During that, it was thought that Hank died and Kara and Alex's dad was dying. K & A's dad made J'onn promise to look after K&A, and he did so by assuming Hank's identity. Since it's been known for at least two years that he's not Hank, there's no in-story reason why J'onn still chooses to look like Hank as his default.

I thought on the show J'ONN was on earth longer than that and had chosen other black men before.. But settled on Hank when all the stuff with Alex and Kara's dad happened 

[Cthulhudrew]

Looks like William may be trying to dig up dirt on Andrea Rojas while pretending to be her lapdog. Very curious how this NSA contact of his managed to track Kara, though (we'll probably never see or hear of that person again).

[legaleagle53]

14 hours ago, Writing Wrongs said:

She was married before.

And already divorced by the time she started dating Chris. He had nothing to do with the breakup of her first marriage.

[CletusMusashi]

On 10/13/2019 at 11:14 PM, thuganomics85 said:

James is either a) going to be a Senator or b) work at a museum?

I vote museum. It was entertaining as hell when Ben Stiller did it!

Edited October 16, 2019 by CletusMusashi

[Ubiquitous]

14 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

Looks like William may be trying to dig up dirt on Andrea Rojas while pretending to be her lapdog. Very curious how this NSA contact of his managed to track Kara, though (we'll probably never see or hear of that person again).

I found it odd that a writer for a gossip rag had the authority to have them trace Kara, but not very surprising for this show.

[Rushmoras]

Well, lookey what we have here, the making of Ultron 1.1. Gee, I wonder how that will turn-out for Lena in the long run.

Also, James, a Senator? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAH

[Chicago Redshirt]

17 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

I thought on the show J'ONN was on earth longer than that and had chosen other black men before.. But settled on Hank when all the stuff with Alex and Kara's dad happened 

J'onn was definitely on Earth well before becoming "Hank Henshaw." I don't specifically remember it being established that he personally defaulted to black male forms previously, but I think it was established/implied that green Martians (or at least those we've seen) assumed the form of black people. I think there may even have been a reason articulated like sympathy to the plight of blacks.

[bros402]

13 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

I found it odd that a writer for a gossip rag had the authority to have them trace Kara, but not very surprising for this show.

I believe they said he used to work for The Times of London, which I am guessing is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times

So he probably has some contacts