S05.E08: The Wrath of Rama Khan

[MarkHB]

Quote

Supergirl’s struggle against Leviathan reaches a boiling point as she faces off against Rama Khan. Meanwhile, as Lena and Hope work to launch Project Non Nocere, Hope proves to be an invaluable asset to Lena.

I looked it up, "Non nocere" is Latin for "Do no harm."

[bettername2come]

Loved that ending with The Monitor and J'Onn. And then they took it up a notch with Lex Luthor and the Book of Destiny. "You could be the hero you've always wanted to be." "I've always been the hero." And The Monitor stares blankly at him saying nothing. Best Monitor moment since he watched the Legends while eating popcorn.

[UNOSEZ]

Kara has always been on the bad side of naive and privileged.. But tonight I wanted to throw my tv at my tv... I stopped halfway through the episode to take a breather... She actually pouted on the balcony talking to Alex... Who at least for part of this episode remembered who she was.. When pointing out all the shady stuff Lena did.. Before she knew about Kara... Maybe for Kara it's some sort of narcissicism that had her feeling like it was all her fault and not that the woman who grew up with Lex and Lillian Luthor isn't a super great person... And even with Alex rattling off the things she's done.. I feel we never actually processed that Lena planned to brainwash the world.. I am happy we didn't have Malefic die a "noble negro sacrifice" or I might just lost all hope... On a happier note.. We got to see the Monitor explain his test to someone... I know it's been inferred and told by other parties that all this stuff was a test.. But its nice to heat him spell it out in his super droll voice... I wonder if Rama Khan knows the monitor or knows of him... Or any of these leviathan aliens... Space God to Space God and all that

[UNOSEZ]

Just now, bettername2come said:

Best Monitor moment since he watched the Legends while eating popcorn.

Aside from just seeing ppl interact with new characters... I think he'll be the best part of the crossover 

[quarks]

1. Yay, Lex Luthor is back! And at least asking about his sister.

2. Nay, the special effects for this episode. Were they trying to save money for next week?

3. The blocking to try to conceal Andrea Brooks' pregnancy, with "No, really, Katie McGrath, we know it's an awkward position and not usually the way we would block this, but TRY to bend your spine in that direction" was especially hilarious this week. I kinda wish they'd just give up and have the A.I. admit that she got pregnant while trying to figure out the human experience.  Or have the A.I. realize that something is happening and then have Lena realize that Eve is pregnant and possibly carrying Lex's kid. 

4. It's probably partly the fallout from following a particularly emotional Batwoman, but once again I couldn't help thinking that virtually everyone in Supergirl is just going through the motions. They're professionals, so it's not terrible, exactly, but just flat.

5. It also doesn't help that this episode - as Alex pointed out in the script - had plots pulling in all directions, often focused on the ethics/trustworthiness/motives of people we barely know - Mitch Pileggi's character, for instance - while spending no time with people we do know, and dropping earlier plot/character points.

For instance: it's hard to believe that Nia/Dreamer wouldn't have been trying to help with the volcano stuff. Kelly's not an action character/superhero, but, she has spent actual time with both Malefic and Andrea - and she's used those contact lenses, which I see are still around and presumably will become a major plot point in season 5B. And, er, aren't at least three of these characters at least technically still involved with/working for a media outlet that - as of the start of this season - was desperate for page hits? I know this was action/end of the world sort of stuff and they were distracted, but a line or two indicating that hey, yes, they still do that, too, might have helped this season and this episode feel less disjointed.

Edited December 2, 2019 by quarks

[Lantern7]

Hey, Monitor shows up and actually comes off looking good! You know what would have been perfect? If he explained why we needed Rama Khan in the first place. Is it a Leviathan thing? Also, I totally forgot about Andrea and her ersatz Shadow Thief powers.

As much as the Dark Lena story is compelling, it seems to depend on a lot of errors. "Of course I'm being hacked! Supergirl would send a virus with the hologram!" Basically, we have her with the permanent mad-on for Kara, and Kara feeling more sorry for what's been happening than anyone could be in that situation. Oh, and Lena's brother isn't dead . . . he's chilling out with Monitor, getting ready to help out in the oncoming Crisis. Uh huh. I'm sure that will go well.

Malefic: "I have saved the day! And now I must go. My planet needs me!!" Come on, I couldn't be the only one to think that.

[angora]

Man, Lena’s the real woman of steel. If Kara was crying in front of me, I couldn’t just stand there unmoved.

I liked the play at the end, with Hope taking credit for the whole thing as Eve. Our heroes weren’t fooled, of course, but it was still a neat move and an effective way to keep Lena in play.

Cool that Malefic got to play a part in saving the day, and that J’onn back to redeem himself in part too by hooking Malefic up with M’gann and the resistance fighters.

So did Brainy’s damaged inhibitor from last time fix itself on the way to the Fortress of Solitude? There was no mention of it and he wasn’t acting at all erratic. So what was all that for in the last episode?

Wow, another episode with no Nia or Kelly. At least Kelly got a mention, but they do remember that Nia is a superhero, right? Just MIGHT come in handy when there are multiple imminent threats happening at the same time (don’t tell me her powers couldn’t have helped amplify Malefic’s Q waves in some way.)

[tennisgurl]

I literally said "ahh fuck" when The Monitor showed up, as I was prepared for him to be all vague and dickish and tell J’onn that he is going to die in seven days but first he has to go to the bottom of the ocean to get him a magic spoon and use it to make a bisque or something, but he was actually alright here. I would have maybe told him to say that maybe Malefic should stick around for a minute to help with Crisis, but big magic space men work in mysterious ways I guess. That ending with Lex sitting in the Monitors chair with the book of destiny was awesome though. Especially the Monitor responding to Lex claiming to be the hero with a "...sure buddy whatever keeps you happy" look. 

Lena sure does always have a plan, followed by a backup plan or two. I really do hope that she and Kara can make up and she can come back from the brink and realize that she has been doing some very Lex style things lately. I mean, Lex thinks that he is the hero of the story too after all. 

Its nice to see Malefic getting to save the day, and is apparently going to help with everything going down on Mars, while giving J’onn some closure. I can get Alex being nervous about letting him out and being pissed at Lena and wanting to bring her in, but its a rough situation when emotions get involved, and J’onn and Kara both clearly feel guilty in their parts in driving their friend/brother to villainy, even if it was unintentional or with the best of intentions. 

So is Dreamer just on vacation or something?

Edited December 2, 2019 by tennisgurl

[thuganomics85]

I hope the lack of Nia/Dreamer means she's going to be used quite a bit in the crossovers.  If not, then I am not pleased with this development.

Damn, Alex sure poked a whole lot of holes in Lena's motives, by pointing out every damn time she kept things from Kara and the rest of them.  Sure did make Lena's current motives over her "quest" seem less and less noble by the minute.  Never the less, I can see why Lena has still deluded herself into thinking she's the hero of her own story, and I wonder if there is any way Kara will be able to make her snap out of it.

Glad that Malefic got to have a heroic moment and not be sacrificed for it.  But he's now going to be shuttled off screen by joining M'gann on Mars.  At least he got to take the sweet, flying car with him!

Andrea continues to actually be somewhat more fun to watch now, and not just because Julie Gonzalo can work the catsuit as Acrata!

The Rama Khan stuff basically went the way I figured with him failing again, and now losing leadership to this character played by Cara Buono.  At least he ain't dead!  Can't keep Mitch Pileggi down forever!

Hey, The Monitor respects J'onn enough to not actually be a dick to him!

Lex Luthor!  So glad to see him and vain, arrogant, delusional ass again.  Jon Cryer continues to be one of the best casting choices out of the entire Arrowverse!

Crisis is coming, y'all!

[Lady Calypso]

Man, Kara was REALLY feeling guilty about lying to Lena all these years, if she can easily handwave all of Lena's actions with "I can talk to her! She's hurting because of me!" 

When now, we see how Lena really IS a Luthor. Having Lena and then Lex declare themselves as the good people was not lost on me. 

I felt bad for Kara, but was also getting annoyed with her claims that she just needed more time to talk to Lena. Kara, you'd need MONTHS to talk to her before she gives in. Alex was absolutely right to have a contigency plan, and Alex was reasonable in allowing Malefic to be the first plan of attack before resorting to drastic measures (with the help of Brainy giving Alex the statistical odds, of course).

I can't say I care about Leviathan. They've kind of just been shown in the last two episodes and I assume they'll become a bigger part in the second half of the season, but they've given me no reason to care right now. They did feel like they were taking away from the main characters, though. 

I'm annoyed that this Lena stuff is going to continue, probably well into the second half of the season. I was hoping they'd find a way out of it, but they seem to be doubling down. 

The Monitor shows up! Hello! I saw the actor's name in the main cast credits, so I knew he'd be showing up by the end of the episode. What surprised me is that he went to recruit J'onn, and he wasn't a total dick. That was nice of him. 

Andrea is working well for me as a character, now that she has powers and is kind of trying to help the heroes out while maintaining her secret identity. Again, better than their other new main character William. 

I didn't miss William AT ALL, which goes to show how little he means to the show. I did miss Nia, though. Come back, girl! And I kind of missed Kelly a little bit. 

[UNOSEZ]

51 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Man, Kara was REALLY feeling guilty about lying to Lena all these years, if she can easily handwave all of Lena's actions with "I can talk to her! She's hurting because of me!" 

When now, we see how Lena really IS a Luthor. Having Lena and then Lex declare themselves as the good people was not lost on me. 

I felt bad for Kara, but was also getting annoyed with her claims that she just needed more time to talk to Lena. Kara, you'd need MONTHS to talk to her before she gives in. Alex was absolutely right to have a contigency plan, and Alex was reasonable in allowing Malefic to be the first plan of attack before resorting to drastic measures (with the help of Brainy giving Alex the statistical odds, of course).

I can't say I care about Leviathan. They've kind of just been shown in the last two episodes and I assume they'll become a bigger part in the second half of the season, but they've given me no reason to care right now. They did feel like they were taking away from the main characters, though. 

I'm annoyed that this Lena stuff is going to continue, probably well into the second half of the season. I was hoping they'd find a way out of it, but they seem to be doubling down. 

The Monitor shows up! Hello! I saw the actor's name in the main cast credits, so I knew he'd be showing up by the end of the episode. What surprised me is that he went to recruit J'onn, and he wasn't a total dick. That was nice of him. 

Andrea is working well for me as a character, now that she has powers and is kind of trying to help the heroes out while maintaining her secret identity. Again, better than their other new main character William. 

I didn't miss William AT ALL, which goes to show how little he means to the show. I did miss Nia, though. Come back, girl! And I kind of missed Kelly a little bit. 

Kara was killing me... Her Pollyanna attitude would at least be feasible if the show had somebody on the other side of her telling  her how naive stupid and selfish she's being... So be it Alex.. Kelly.. Nia or Jonn... Somebody get it thru to her that Lena was always who she was.. So stand up for yourself... 

I like this version of Andrea... Didn't and won't ever miss William... Wouldn't mind if they magically brought rip roar back... Well the non cyber assassin version.. He had a spark... 

I miss Nia as well

[Msample]

Is it just me, or has this season given up on telling non super hero stuff? When was the last time Kara showed up at CatCo? Who is running CatCo these days seeing as how the new owner spent this ep with a spear stuck in her? 
 

BTW Andrea Brooks gave birth yesterday according to IMDB.

Edited December 2, 2019 by Msample

[BaggythePanther]

I’m such a flip flopper because I was agreeing with both Alex and Kara during their argument. I’m glad the show had Alex acknowledge that Lena has always been shady as fuck. It’s kind of funny that Kara was suspicious and cautious with Lena when she was making Kryptonite, but now that she’s trying to mind control the world Kara is all about giving her chances. But Lena usually does shady things in purpose of making things better. It’s just that this time she was so isolated and single-minded she went off the deep end.

 I wish the DEO would have just arrested Lena at the end. It’s not like they care about due process and they know Hope is lying about being the mastermind. Having Lena in custody would be a way to keep an eye on her and give Kara a chance to speak with her. But then I guess we wouldn’t have gotten that scene of Lena and Kara staring longingly at each other’s pictures.

The Leviathan storyline just feels like a way to cram in a couple of fight scenes and pad out the hour. I couldn’t really tell what was going on and I didn’t care. Though I can’t wait for Kara to find out her annoying boss is literally a villain.

Must have been Opposite Day, because the Monitor wasn’t a dick to J’onn. Maybe he’s only nice to other powerful beings. I’m think Lex will come back and tell Lena he’s proud of her. If that doesn’t straighten her out, nothing will.

[ruby24]

Was there a promo for the next episode? I can't find it.

[BaggythePanther]

2 hours ago, ruby24 said:

Was there a promo for the next episode? I can't find it.

Don't think so, because next episode is the crossover and they've been dropping promos for that for two weeks. 

[legaleagle53]

7 hours ago, BaggythePanther said:

The Leviathan storyline just feels like a way to cram in a couple of fight scenes and pad out the hour. I couldn’t really tell what was going on and I didn’t care. Though I can’t wait for Kara to find out her annoying boss is literally a villain.

I'm not so sure that Andrea/Acrata really fits squarely in the "villain" category anymore. As I've watched her over the past few weeks, it's becoming very clear to me that she's not really the unfeeling, self-absorbed bitch we met in the season opener. She really only ever wanted to save her father from himself, and she did everything she could to stand up to Rama Khan before he overpowered her. I saw a lot of regret in her during the final scenes in these episodes, and I think we could well see a solid redemption arc for her after the crossover.

[TV Anonymous]

On 12/1/2019 at 10:58 PM, quarks said:

3. The blocking to try to conceal Andrea Brooks' pregnancy, with "No, really, Katie McGrath, we know it's an awkward position and not usually the way we would block this, but TRY to bend your spine in that direction" was especially hilarious this week. I kinda wish they'd just give up and have the A.I. admit that she got pregnant while trying to figure out the human experience.  Or have the A.I. realize that something is happening and then have Lena realize that Eve is pregnant and possibly carrying Lex's kid. 

This would open a can of worms that TPTB may not want to venture. A new baby, particularly Lex's would be a major plot point. If TPTB ignored it, viewers may accuse them for dropping a major story line.

[quarks]

22 hours ago, Msample said:

Is it just me, or has this season given up on telling non super hero stuff? When was the last time Kara showed up at CatCo? Who is running CatCo these days seeing as how the new owner spent this ep with a spear stuck in her? 
 

BTW Andrea Brooks gave birth yesterday according to IMDB.

It's not just you. To be fair, though, Supergirl has stopped telling non superhero stuff for several episodes only to return to it later, so the show might do that again. Maybe.

12 hours ago, ruby24 said:

Was there a promo for the next episode? I can't find it.

I think the promo for the next episode is the Crisis on Infinite Earths trailer that Marc Guggenheim just posted on his Twitter account? Plus all of the other promos we've been seeing for it.

47 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

This would open a can of worms that TPTB may not want to venture. A new baby, particularly Lex's would be a major plot point. If TPTB ignored it, viewers may accuse them for dropping a major story line.

Lex's kid, sure.

Any other kid, maybe not - Arrow and Flash have both had babies (baby Diggle and baby West) and then mostly kept them off screen. And they could avoid the ickiness of having the AI have a baby in Eve's body by saying that Eve had some one night stand prior to this season - and whip up some drama by having Eve wonder if the AI was taking prenatal vitamins or whatever, and then send the baby to daycare. It's doable.

But since I don't think that Eve is appearing in the next episode, we should only have a couple more episodes of Fail To Conceal The Pregnancy hilarity to go, so not a big deal. And we can just say that the AI discovered chocolate, thus the weight gain. Which she lost after she was taken to prison and - gasp - denied chocolate!

(Fanwanking. It works for everything! Well, almost everything.)

[iMonrey]

I can't be the only one who thought "Rama Khan" sounds like some kind of fan convention. "Are you going to RamaCon this year? I hear the panels are going to be really good!"

[Rushmoras]

Personally, I find it kinda funny that the first reaction that Alex has when finding out about Lena is to destroy her with rockets, while Kara being no no no, let's save her, she does not know what she's doing. IMO, two point of view extremes.

Also, Jonn', so, you said that the only reason why you and your homicidal brother came to reason is because he read your mind? Hmmm... so... I don't know, maybe arrange for Lena to read Kara's mind? I know, shocking idea, right? 

Edited December 4, 2019 by Rushmoras

[AnimeMania]

Rama Khan more like DRama Khan.

[Rushmoras]

But, seriously, I starting to get the feeling that the writers have creatively extinguished themselves for the last couple of seasons. I mean, yeah, sure, something is happening in the series, but... overall... nothing of substantial importance. I can't explain it, but it's like the last season of Fear the Walking Dead (it had a premise to build itself upon, but instead chose to show the viewers documentaries). Something is happening, but I have no general idea why is it this way...

[MarkHB]

1 hour ago, Rushmoras said:

But, seriously, I starting to get the feeling that the writers have creatively extinguished themselves for the last couple of seasons.

Following up in the Production thread....

[Chas411]

I’m glad we’ve finished this section of Lena’s Pity Party - The Revenge. What makes it worse is Kara whimpering how sorry she is etc etc. None of this was malicious and I wish someone would give Lena some home truths. 

Really liking Andrea. Although that could be my Julie Gonzalo love seeping in.

Love some Lex, Cryer rocks it.