S06.E18: Truth Or Consequences

[scarynikki12]

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Supergirl is determined to keep everyone safe from Lex and Nyxly so she doubles down on patrol, especially as Alex and Kelly's bachelorette party is coming up.

 

 

[Pepper the Cat]

Dammit! I loved William!!😿

[Jediknight]

So, none of the Superfriends has an alert system set up to notify them that the Tower's security system is disable?  Nobody gives William a watch that will immediately call the Superfirends?  J'onn's ability to monitor things psychically, doesn't work?  Wow, that was just a comedy of errors there.  Lex and Nyxly prevail in that because the heroes are morons.

[bettername2come]

I should've known they were only finally making me like William because they wanted me to care when he dies. Well, they succeeded. Lex Luthor just shooting someone in cold blood is a great reminder of how scary Lex Luthor can be and how well John Cryer is playing the role.

I can't pretend I think Esme is truly in danger.

[DanaK]

Really good episode and I wasn’t expecting that ending.

Next week is the 2 part series finale and I’m a little sad to see the show end but it’s certainly had a pretty good run

[cambridgeguy]

Say, in retrospect maybe the bachlorette party and wedding planning could have waited until after the dangerous supervillains had been caught.

[Lantern7]

"Ah, yes. You lot go on. I'll look after dear Esme. Yes, Lex Luthor and Nyxly are still out there, but I believe we'll both be safe here. Us. The one human male on the show and the precocious alien. Really, go ahead and 'shake your groove things'. We'll be safe. After all, it's not as if another English actor will be embedded in our little corner of network television, thus replacing me as the token Brit. Oh, right, I also forgot that Andrea released Lex's diaries using my byline. Surely no harm will come to me. I tell you what . . . if I am murdered by him, I shall endeavor to record my death and send it with the subject line 'THIS IS YOUR REAL STORY.' After all, "YOU GOT ME KILLED YOU STUPID BI-' would be most tacky. Pip Pip, Hail Britannia, God Save the Queen, other English stereotypes!"

On the other hand, Lex didn't see the phone at all. Lex. From the future. If the writers throw in a pic from the finale where Lex is posing near William's body like Grant Gustin on Oliver Queen's grave, I wouldn't be surprised. Lex is that big of a dick. And because he's that big of a dick, I can see him somehow lying to Nyxly all this time, using all sorts of methods to avoid detection.

I'm also surprised my teeth don't fall out anytime Esme opens her mouth. Dear Lord, she's laying it on thick. You think the girl playing her is related to Creepy Boy Eclipso over on Stargirl?

I'm sad the series is wrapping up, but it's probably for the best at this point.

[Primal Slayer]

Alex has been a parent for all of 5mins and acts like she's been doing it for a decade. 

One thing this show has always succeeded at over the other Arrowverse shows is showing the gang living their lives and hanging out off the clock so the party was fun.

Lex waiving around guns and killing people seems weird but go figure the show ups the ante right before the finale. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

One week until the sweet taste of freedom!

In a lot of ways, this wasn't so bad of a penultimate episode. 

If you had told me a season or so ago -- heck, even a few episodes ago -- that I would be genuinely moved at the death of William, I would never have believed you. Too bad his death was so pointless on so many levels. William should have ratted Andrea out as the one who really got the diaries, or at least been like, "Look, genius, it should be obvious to you that there was no way for me to obtain your diaries. I've been embedded with the Super Friends this whole time. And you think that if I somehow managed to figure out where you had kept your diaries, and somehow managed to retrieve them, I wouldn't have just told the Super Friends about where you were?" Anyway, Lex should be happy that the diaries got revealed. Because that was in part of Nyxly came to fall for him. Sure, having the newscasters mock him probably stings but what does he care?

Remember when Supergirl and her relationships with the other characters was the center of the show? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Instead, we have this artificial conflict of Kara trying to tell Alex how to raise Esme, Kara pretending that Alex and Kelly are the best moms ever when they've probably been at it for all of a couple weeks at the outside. I kind of wish that there was more time and space for the show to let things breathe rather than speed through them. The potential conflict between Kara and Alex about raising a kid with superpowers could have been a really interesting discussion and had some meaty acting. And there's a lot of philosophy that could be discussed too. Despite wanting to use the metaphor of hiding superpowers and being in the closet, it doesn't work in this instance. Esme is seemingly the emotional equivalent of six to eight, and at any given second she could go from having no powers to duplicating Supergirl or J'onn or even multiple very powerful aliens. There is a very real risk that she will hurt herself or others if she gets overwhelmed. And given the massive alien population that's in National City, there's a good chance that she will experience aliens that are unfamiliar to her or powers that she can't handle. 

But it basically was sped through in the service of plot. Some soul-searching on the part of Kelly and Alex about putting themselves in harm's when fighting aliens and monsters with nothing more than a clever gimmick, and whether it's doing right by Esme to put both her moms at risk. 

It's funny how quickly the show switches messsages. A few episodes ago, the Super Friends were talking about how aliens are getting the short end of the stick in so many ways. And now Alex is acting like Earth is an extremely welcoming place for aliens. I wanted Kara to be like, "Hey dummy, I had to hide my powers all the way to the present not just because of the possibility I might hurt someone else, but also because I didn't want you to be hurt. Did you ever think about what is going to happen if people find out that Esme can mimic every alien power there is? She'll be at risk and you'll be at risks. Maybe if the power dampener doesn't actually hurt her it's not such a bad idea."

Nia and Brainy: I can't believe that Nia literally stomped her foot. Esme is more mature and intelligent than she is. Also, I really hate the notion of "You can't come to the future because you've got a part to play here." Given that Winn went to the future, there isn't a reason why Nia couldn't either. I wonder if the Brainy actor and the Nia actor don't actually kiss romantically. Is it because the two actors refuse, or the writers are not wanting to show a transgender woman kiss a cis-man or what?

[Oreo2234]

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I wonder if the Brainy actor and the Nia actor don't actually kiss romantically. Is it because the two actors refuse, or the writers are not wanting to show a transgender woman kiss a cis-man or what?

I think they had a kiss earlier in the season. They did have a moment  this episode where it felt like they should have kissed. They've been underwritten this season. It wasn't even clear they were officially back together for a while. 

Edited November 3, 2021 by Oreo2234

[BaggythePanther]

Damn it show, I wanted more Danvers sisters scenes, but not like this. What was the point of that fight? Alex has been a mom for a week it couldn’t hurt to take some advice. 
 

Lex in love has been amusing and weird, but I think it maybe going somewhere. Nxly had to fall in love with him in order for them to access the love totem. Let’s see if Lex still feels the same way next week now that they have the totem. Also, didn’t Esme see Nxly during the show down at Al’s Bar last week? She should know Nxly is bad news.

 

2 hours ago, Jediknight said:

Nobody gives William a watch that will immediately call the Superfirends? 

Lena didn’t get a watch until she found out Kara’s identity. So it seems you’re on your own if you’re not in the inner circle.
 

For a split second I thought the title of William’s email to Andrea was going to be “Fuck You” but then I remembered this isn’t that kind of show. This is the first time a main character has been killed off and it happened in the penultimate episode so there won’t be time to really address how this affects Kara and the Superfriends long term.

 

14 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Also, I really hate the notion of "You can't come to the future because you've got a part to play here." Given that Winn went to the future, there isn't a reason why Nia couldn't either.

One of Nia’s descendants is in the Legion. So at some point she has to have kids so the LoS won’t get messed up in the future.

[Chicago Redshirt]

^True, but all that means is that at some point, Nia has got to return to the present and have kids. Hell, Nia herself doesn't need to return. Just her biological material so that her kids can exist. 

Since they have functioning time ships with no apparent restrictions, she could go to the future with Brainy long enough to let him say his goodbyes, get absorbed into the Coluan Big Brain, and then return to the present for any superheroing and mom duties. Similarly, Brainy can spend the next 30 years in our present and then go forward in time to be absorbed in the Big Brain. 

Or Brainy can start working on a solution to the problem now and use his 12th level intellect and pass along the work to other Coluans for 10 centuries until a solution is reached. 

The fact of no-effective-cost precision time travel just makes every problem eminently fixable. 

[angora]

Okay, so it was clearly a bad idea to go full steam ahead with the bachelorette party/wedding planning while every literal dimension is under threat, but goddammit if watching the Super Friends' dorky dancing isn't good for my soul. I've always loved seeing these characters have fun together off the clock, and this was another fine addition to the collection of game nights, karaoke, and family dinners.

I feel like if the Esme adoption storyline hadn't started so close to end and if Esme wasn't depicted SO preciously, we could've had something here. I liked the idea of the conflict between Kara and Alex, but it wasn't well thought-out. Kara's absolutely right that, no matter how much Alex loves Esme, she can never fully understand what it's like to be an alien growing up on Earth. Given that Alex and Kelly are two of the very few humans in their friend group, I would've hoped Alex would be more open to accepting Kara's perspective on that, especially since Kara is also an alien who was adopted by humans. And everyone's totally cool with aliens on Earth now, Alex? Did you forget the anti-alien extremist group that was terrorizing National City two years ago (whose leader briefly secured a federal cabinet position,) or did all that get wiped out in Crisis?

I always appreciate seeing Ponytail Brainy (this time in green!), and it was nice that our Brainy could confide in him after learning he had to leave the 21st century. Although, @Chicago Redshirt, I agree that all the angst seems unnecessary, given the time-travel capabilities.

Even though we had a little manufactured drama when Nia dreamed the news before Brainy could tell her, I believed him when he said he'd been planning to. He was still processing it himself and probably trying to figure out how to tell her. Their scene at the bar together was lovely - poor Brainy wishing for his emotional inhibitors again, and Nia helping to ground him in the present and enjoy whatever time they have. But yeah, these two have definitely gotten the queer couple treatment of hugging in moments where it would make more sense for them to kiss. IIRC, the only time they've ever kissed was at the end of the time travel two-parter earlier in the season.

I was still a little salty about William's abundance of screentime in this episode, but at least it was GOOD screentime. Good on him for insisting that it made way more sense for him to skip the party rather than one of the BRIDES, and I'm glad we got an onscreen acknowledgement that he was a person of color. He kept his head while captured by Lex and Nyxly and went out swinging, journalistically speaking.

[Oreo2234]

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But yeah, these two have definitely gotten the queer couple treatment of hugging in moments where it would make more sense for them to kiss. IIRC, the only time they've ever kissed was at the end of the time travel two-parter earlier in the season.

For a show that is supposedly progressive it can be fairly conservative in its treatment of LGBT couples, especially Brainy and Nia. 

Edited November 3, 2021 by Oreo2234

[tennisgurl]

Well damn, they finally got me to like William, gave him something to do, and then they go and kill him off. I should have known they were giving him so much attention to make his death hurt, but yeah that was brutal, especially as its been awhile since the show killed off a sympathetic character. Its almost like planning a wedding and dancing around at a bachelorette party while two supervillains are gunning for you and are about three seconds from taking over the world while also not adding any form of security to your home base is a bad idea or something. Its nice to be reminded of how cold blooded Lex can be when he isn't being an over the top ham, and certainly does raise the stakes. 

I do love their goofy fun dancing though, I always enjoy watching the gang hanging out and having fun.

I hope that they can come up with some reason for Brainy to stay in the present, he and Nia are two of my favorite characters on the show and I would like to see them have a happy ending. Correct me if I'm not understanding, but this also means that, when Brainy joins the big brain hive mind he will essentially not be the person he is anymore? Basically meaning he's going to die as the person he is now to join the hivemind, which I think is actually an even bigger deal then him "just" going back to his life in the future. 

Alex should have been the one to reach out and apologize to Kara, she majorly overreacted to Kara's well meant and thoughtful advice. Kara was totally right that Esme could hurt someone or herself by accident because she cant control her powers, it seems like it would make sense to give her the power dampeners at school, teach her to use her powers, and then she can take the power dampeners off full time when she knows she can control herself. As an alien raised by humans on Earth, you would think that Alex would want Kara's thoughts on Alex being a human raising an alien kid on Earth, but instead she about bit poor Kara's head off for daring to give some practical advice on being an alien on Earth. Plus, "don't tell me how to parent my kid" Alex? Really? You've been a parent for about two days, take all of the advice you can get. raising a kid is hard enough, let alone one that has super powers. Its too bad this plot was established so late in the season, Alex and Kelly raising a superhumanly adorable alien girl is a decent idea for a subplot and debating over whether or not to block Esme's powers is an interesting debate that is ripe for the allegory that the show loves so much, maybe about whether minorities should assimilate or if they should hold onto their own culture, or make it about being LGBTQ and being "in the closet" about being an alien or living proudly, mixed with the more practical questions about whether or not Esme having her powers could hurt herself or others, that sounds like it could be a whole episode or subplot where everyone weighs in and we really get into being an alien on earth, but sadly this was all introduced at the last minute so all we get is one fight between Kara and Alex where Alex gets snippy out of nowhere.  

I got a kick out of the morning show hosts roasting Lex's cheesy love letters, that was hilarious. 

Edited November 5, 2021 by tennisgurl

[Quark]

So one of the most pointless characters to ever exist on the Arrowverse finally got to do something slightly worthwhile.

He taught Esme how to bake a cake.

[Trini]

Y'all have no idea how annoyed I am that even Lex is getting a better love story than Kara. Moving on...

Crap! I always liked William, and they actually gave him stuff to do this season, and then they kill him off.   :(   To teach Andrea a lesson and raise the stakes, it seems. I also appreciated the acknowledgement that he was Indian.

When was the last time they killed off a 'good guy'? I'm kinda hoping they find a way to undo William's death.

Brainy/Rath is always great; but way to bring up him returning to the future (and essentially dying?) at the last minute.

So I assume Andrea/Acrata will be joining the fight next week? At least against Lex?

Despite everything, I did like seeing the SuperFriends dressed up and partying for a bit. And it was nice to see Ponytail Brainy again.

Didn't like the Danvers sisters fighting. It's fine if Alex didn't want to use dampeners on Esme*, but Kara was just giving advice from her own experience.

*Although, it'd probably be a good idea for school, especially if there are other alien kids.

[cambridgeguy]

14 hours ago, Trini said:

Didn't like the Danvers sisters fighting. It's fine if Alex didn't want to use dampeners on Esme*, but Kara was just giving advice from her own experience.

*Although, it'd probably be a good idea for school, especially if there are other alien kids.

This is where the whole hiding superpowers = being in the closet (or other persecuted group) analogy always falls apart.  A child who isn't in control of her powers could unintentionally harm herself or others, so you're damned right they should have some countermeasure in place until she proves she can control them. 

And I think the last good guy permanently killed off was J'onn's father?  Although if I'm remembering correctly he had a terminal disease and a heroic sacrifice was pretty much the best way for him to go out.

[Zaffy]

Oh dear, and the crappy writing continues.

So they keep telling us they are facing the biggest threat ever, but during this crisis, Alex and Kelly adopt a child,  they set up a wedding and  even after Lex Luthor re-appears, they decided to have a Superfriends bachelorette party, leaving their control center unprotected. Cause life goes on (well not for William it does not).

Too bad the show ends,  I was looking forward for more "Hey, they called me from Esme's school and I have to go now" moments, especially during some fight against villains. "Can you please go on without me? Nanny got sick". Etc etc etc.

The Danvers fighting was stupid, Alex is been reduced to stupid and I miss so much the whole amazing connection between Kara, Alex and J'ohn  we were offered during the first seasons. I simply do not care anymore because everyone acts, well... stupid.

Expendable William is dead. What a shock. Not.
Although I have to admit his death scene was the best thing they have done during this season. It made me feel sad and it was the most villainesque thing we have seen from Lex. 

Who is next to be sacrificed for the finale? Andrea? who's been a idiotic caricature the whole damn season? (really? you leak Lex's diary, then you blame it on someone and you do not expect Lex to go after him? accessory to murder I call this)
I wonder if Kelly bites the dust also..

I also didn't care much about Brainy story.
I used to care about these characters and I simply don't anymore.
Even the party and them dancing did nothing to me. 
The only one I ended up caring about this season was William and that only when he got shot to death. 
It is like if everyone participating just expected for this show to end and finally get done with it.

[secnarf]

I think if I wasn't spoiled that someone would be kidnapped - and had assumed it would be Esme - I would have expected her to fight back by mirroring Nyxly's powers.

I'm still thinking Esme might eventually do this. Even though I totally agree with Kara in that argument with Alex, it would also be a way for the show to prove "mother knows best" and make their point about not "hiding your truth"...but mostly I just think it'll be the easiest way to defeat Nyxly in the limited time we have left.

[thuganomics85]

Me:  "Well, this is the episode before the big two hour finale, so I'm sure they won't have time to... and.... they just did an entire plot with how being an alien is actually like being a LGBTQ."  Even at the end, the show just can't quit being an allegory to all social issues in the world.  It just can't help itself.

Relieved that I'm not the only that actually felt like Alex came off way worse than Kara here.  Even if Kara was being a bit too pushy (although I thought she was more just over-exited about using her experience to help and wasn't trying to push her viewpoint), Alex not only snapping at her but being frosty enough after that it would make Snart shiver just was so much.  She's only been a parent for, what, ten minutes and suddenly anyone who tries to offer advice deserves scorn?  Frankly, she is not going to handle this well at all if a light disagreement like this with her sister is going to make her go off like this.  Wait till the actual assholes try and give parental advice.  Is Alex just going to beat the shit out of all of them?

Fare thee well, William.  Wasn't a huge fan of his, but he did improve leaps and bounds compared to when he started out.  I think it helped when he started interacting with other characters and had some fun moments (remember actually liking the William/Kelly duo a bit) with them: plus Staz Nair seem to get more comfortable the longer the show went.  Sucks that he not only dies by Lex's hands, but the target was painted on him thanks to freaking Andrea.  But at least he went out on a high note.

But, seriously: while Lex is 100% responsible for his death, I really hope Andrea truly feels the guilt for the rest of her life over the part she played.  What an unlikable moron.  I feel bad for Julie Gonzalo who I think is really good, but they truly did the character dirty this season.

It was nice seeing the Superfriends dance and have fun for a little bit, even if throwing a party when your in the middle of a war with a megalomaniac psycho and a violent, vengeful, fifth dimensional being is questionable at best...

For now, I might possibly be in denial and just choose to believe that they only are doing this "Brainy has to go back and join the collective or whatever" now; with two episodes left; is so that a twist will happen and it will be avoided.  Just give Brainy and Nia a happy ending, show!  This is the least you can do at this point.

Well, lets just hope they stick the landing next week. 

[Rushmoras]

Well, one good thing came out of it. William died as he lived - being useless. Hope he stays dead. Hell, at this point, I hope that Lex kills everyone off.

[StaceyNotStacie]

I’m  just wondering what Andrea will do with the video footage. Will she give it to the police to catch Lex, will she release it online to gain viewership to her news network or will she keep it to herself out of guilt. 
 

Also, will the SuperFriends know to check his phone for evidence?

[TV Anonymous]

I admit my ignorance in gay weddings. But do the bride and bride attend the bachelorette party together? What is the purpose of the party? In the heterosexual world bachelor / bachelorette party is meant for the groom / bride to have one last party with their friends freely as a bachelor before entering marital tie. What is the point of having the party with the person one soon get married with?

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 11/10/2021 at 4:39 PM, TV Anonymous said:

I admit my ignorance in gay weddings. But do the bride and bride attend the bachelorette party together? What is the purpose of the party? In the heterosexual world bachelor / bachelorette party is meant for the groom / bride to have one last party with their friends freely as a bachelor before entering marital tie. What is the point of having the party with the person one soon get married with?

I assume that there is no one approach in the LGBTQ community than there is among the hetero community. Some people don't have bachelor/bachelorette parties at all, some people go for as much debauchery as one can fit in to a night, some people have ordinary quiet get-togethers, some people have destination trips.

It looks like it is a common enough phenomenon that there are joint bachelor/bachelorette parties.

https://www.brides.com/joint-bachelor-bachelorette-party-ideas-4780349

https://www.theknot.com/content/how-to-have-coed-bachelor-bachelorette-party

To quote the last link (emphasis added):

Whether you opt for an over-the-top destination celebration (think: Vegas, Austin or NYC) or a low-key, at-home event, the key to any bachelor or bachelorette party is personalization. If you're considering a nontraditional soirée or can't stand to exclude anyone, why not throw a joint bachelor/bachelorette party? That way, you and your soon-to-be-betrothed can maximize time spent with your friends without worrying about subscribing to any traditions that don't feel totally you.

And if you and your partner share close friends, it makes perfect sense to bring everyone together. Plus, your event will feel less like a farewell to freedom and more like a joyful welcome to your upcoming union.

And to quote another link:

https://www.insideweddings.com/news/planning-design/would-you-throw-a-joint-bachelor-bachelorette-party/42363/

When it comes to parties, the more the merrier, right? Many couples will find that celebrating together is actually more fun than dividing the party on gender lines. There are tons of fun activities that your guy and girl friends will love – how about a day at the beach, a scavenger hunt, a house party, a trip to a nightclub, or an outing to a football or basketball game?

To decide if a joint bachelor/bachelorette party is right for you, consider:

You might enjoy a co-ed party if...

- You and your fiancé are equally close with each others' friends or have many friends of the opposite gender.

- You've been together for many years, or are on the older side, and feel silly celebrating the end of singlehood with a raucous party. You haven't been single for a while, after all!

- You're not a fan of traditional, over-sexed bachelor/bachelorette parties. With both men and women at your party, you have a great excuse for not hiring a stripper or using risqué décor.

- You want to invite family members. Since co-ed parties tend to be tamer, you can safely ask your siblings and cousins to attend without worrying about what they might see!

You might not enjoy a co-ed party if...

- You have a close group of girlfriends you want to let loose with. If you and your girls have been looking forward to your bachelorette party for years, there's no need to change your vision (especially if that vision includes a trip to a spa, shopping, or other "girly" activities!).

- You want a small, intimate party or getaway weekend. With a smaller group, you can plan a long weekend, for example, or visit that expensive restaurant you've been dying to try. More guests = more work and more personalities to satisfy.

- You want to have one last wild night as a single lady. It's the end of an era! Talking about cute boys (including your fiancé!) with your girlfriends is a fun way to celebrate this milestone in your life – and it's harder to do that with guy friends around!

That said, it is kind of sad on reflection that neither Alex nor Kelly had anyone available to join beyond their regular friends that they see pretty much every day. No old friends from the DEO for Alex, from the Army or Obsidian for Kelly, or high school or college for either. I know Covid, but I suspect that if Covid had not existed, they would have still kept the combined party to the regulars.