S01.E03: Fight Or Flight

[cambridgeguy]

 

I don't buy for a second that Cat doesn't see who Kara is, considering she looks exactly the same and wears the same colors at work. Animated Kara rocked a brown wig, at least. Cat is supposed to be a reporter, right?

Hey, if Lois Lane couldn't figure out Clark's secret identity then why should Cat be able to?  That being said, she'll probably figure it out and just keep her mouth shut until it's dramatically convenient to reveal her knowledge.

[Sakura12]

I think they are going with Cat doesn't see her assistant, just talks at her. So she would never think that bumbling, shy, socially awkward Kara is Supergirl. Just like no one recognizes Clark Kent as Superman. That's the one trope I'll give them a pass on since it's kind of been a thing for decades. 

[Delphi]

Wow Jimmy, it took you three weeks to announce Clark's identity. Poor form.

I also liked this one. I thought it was cute. The music can be a little too cheery, but beyond that I'm good.

I liked what little we saw of Clark and honestly wouldn't mind if we saw more of him. Honestly, they already have Brandon Routh on the payroll. I promise DC, I won't get confused.

I am surprised at how much in enjoying Winn. I think he's a hoot.

[sjohnson]

To me, since Kara's spent half her waking life on Krypton, feeling alien is natural. And feeling alien making you feel awkward seems very natural. Far more natural than Clark's (in those versions where he's been like that.)

 

Cat Grant and Callista Flockhart is a delight, but she's not very well integrated into the show. For one thing, Kara is too independent. I think Cat would have fired her already except for the script. 

 

Alex and Kara together, great. Alex the secret agent, and every scene set at DEO, still a turn-off for me. 

 

Winn genuinely likes Kara Danvers I think. But his attaching himself to Supergirl seems like vicarious glory hounding.

 

James is still the taller guy, and the one who looks more like a male model in a Vanity Fair ad. I'm still not getting much sense of him as a person. He seems to be very kind to Kara Danvers and very comfortable being an equal to Supergirl but that's about all I'm getting.

 

Upthread there was a reference to Winn as Toyman. Who? 

Edited November 10, 2015 by sjohnson

[Primetimer]

The world learns that Supergirl has a famous cousin, and apparently so does he.

Read the story

[Serena]

I liked this less than the Pilot and episode 2. I'm sad to say, the romance is the weak spot. Why can't they slow the eff down with it? Like with the Flash and Arrow season 1, they are doing too much tell and too little show and the romance is coming off as forced. Having a character say "No one has ever made you smile like him!" in episode 3 of a show has never worked in the history of television to get the audience to root for a couple! Why do they keep making the same mistake in all their shows?

On the other hand, the sisterly relationship between Kara and Alex is really working. More of that, please!

[Cekrypton1]

I look forward to the reveal that Cat knew Kara was Supergirl from day one, and that all of her attitude was Cat's way of helping Supergirl grow.

[pennben]

I don't know. I think this show is really cute and I'm enjoying it. I like all the little jokes and the references to things like Homeland. I guess I'm an easy audience........

 

Hmmm..maybe her "pierced" earrings are actually magnetic, and part of her disguise. Though I don't think magnetic earrings really work.

 

I think I'm part of the easy audience crowd as well.  It's fun to have a show with such optimism and a superhero with joy rather than perpetual angst.  And, since I'm not looking to this show for anything other than fun, I can roll with it. 

 

As to the earring "issue", one of the producer's confirmed (as far as fiction can be confirmed:)) that her ears were pierced while she was still on Krypton, hopefully this is now settled.  I think since I don't follow comics and am not immersed in discussions about the various iterations of Superman and worlds and whatnot, etc, it is much easier for me to just watch and enjoy.

Edited November 10, 2015 by pennben

[Kromm]

It's the same issue essentially as the "why does she have a small scar on her forehead" (I saw someone refer to it as a "chicken pox scar", but who knows? The answer is basically "she was 12 and not invulnerable until then, so let's just accept it!" (one would assume no chicken pox on Krypton, but their own equivalent). Which is fine. Although in a sense a clear excuse too since the same can't be said of Superman, and I'm sure every version of him have had small skin abrasions and the like people have overlooked. Perhaps this is a latent bit of societal sexism in action if people are noticing it more with a female character.

[Misanthrope]

Given Maxwell Lord's most famous appearance in DC Comics (google Maxwell Lord Wonder Woman if you're curious, I won't spoil it), I'm curious to see if they're going to do a similar thing with Supergirl instead of Diana.

 

If so, I'd be super impressed (pardon the pun).

[Kromm]

Given Maxwell Lord's most famous appearance in DC Comics (google Maxwell Lord Wonder Woman if you're curious, I won't spoil it), I'm curious to see if they're going to do a similar thing with Supergirl instead of Diana.

 

If so, I'd be super impressed (pardon the pun).

I doubt it. That was the most reviled Wonder Woman story in the character's history by the time they were done with it. People HATED the endgame of that (which I won't "spoil" since people CAN look it up).

[Jodithgrace]

I think it's more that we all have High Def TVs now.

 

Thinking about Supergirl having a team, I am reminded of early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, the show was named after her, but the Scooby gang played an important part in keeping her alive, even if the Watcher's council were all, "that's not the way we do things." I love that Supergirl is keeping that tradition alive. 

 

As to her having a lot of secret hideouts..her mini "fortress of solitude" is for her Kryptonian side, while her "command center" is for day to day operations. I don't see a problem.

[Whitley Trillbert]

I don't know. When is Wonder Woman coming on?

 

I was thinking Batgirl 

[shrewd.buddha]

I still think the show is cute and earnest and that I am not the target audience so I am probably more nit-picky (mostly about the show in general).
There seem to be a lot of mixed messages and the showrunners  appear to be trying to make Kara be everything :
1. Kara is a dorky, timid assistant but sexy and fun in a party dress
2. She talks a lot about independent can-do girl power, but her 'super' teammate helpers are both men and potential love interests (one she's into, one not)
3.She has one female supporter (mostly) - her sister and one female antagonist : her employer. .. Oh, and her evil super Aunt.
4. The new female character being introduced is a romantic rival (who will probably turn out to be a frenemy)

 

Kara should have a lot of other people in her life - female co-workers, neighbors, friends and probably a roommate (that's a nice apartment for single girl working as an assistant). And parents -- they would be checking in non-stop after they've seen that Kara is out there risking her life as Supergirl.
But with the way TV shows are built, there can only be seven or eight cast members and for the most part only they are going to be interacting with Kara on a regular basis.

 

And I would much rather Kara be a junior league reporter being given trivial stories to cover, giving her a more logical way of being able to do her Supergirl thing when needed. This Devil Wears Prada scenario just doesn't make sense, except to give the show a rom-com setting and making Kara down-trodden. 

 

Side note :   would anyone at that party not notice that Supergirl looked almost exactly like the other blonde girl who disappeared - and was also talking to James Olsen? No one taking phone pics of Supergirl in action? (Also that party looked very poorly attended.)

Edited November 10, 2015 by shrewd.buddha

[Kromm]

I was thinking Batgirl 

I've heard and read SO many fan wish lists about unrealistic things they want on the show. This is the first one I think is a GREAT idea and in a way terribly realistic too.

 

Why?

 

Because it doesn't trample too much on other current DC media projects (except possibly "Gotham"--more on that later). Batgirl is a bit of a "stay away" character for most of them, because she's hard to do without invoking Batman (of if it's in a Batman movie, without tons of distracting exposition), but she's perfect for a scenario where Supes is established as being in business for so long, and is deliberately off-screen.  Because then you can do the EXACT same thing for Batman (saying he exists, but is offscreen, and using Batgirl as his proxy). Using Batgirl is genius, because it allows them to parallel the Superman-Batman partnership, but again keeping both of those gentlemen off-screen. It plays into a mature DC Universe too, but without the distraction of integrating with Flash or Arrow. It allows us to clarify that this is indeed NOT the Arrowverse (not that we didn't already know that).  It's all upside and little downside as far as I can see. Wonder Woman is now reserved for the Movieverse, so she's off the table. So why NOT Batgirl?  Supergirl's equivalent in the other big "normally hands off" franchise? Do it, show. Get the rights straightened out with various people and do it.  The big issue would probably be that one assumes Barbara Gordon is the most iconic and palatable Batgirl to have show up (there are a few), but her name may be reserved as part of the agreements for the Gotham TV show (due to "Jim Gordon" and "Barbara Keane" both being there...). They COULD cheat however and make this a version where Barbara Gordon is off the scene already (assume she got crippled off-screen and is now the Oracle character she later became) and the Batgirl who shows up is Cassandra Cain. That works well because with Cassandra Cain, unlike Barbara Gordon, you can get into issues of er... methods. Cassandra Cain not being the "nice" Batgirl.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Kromm

[Delphi]

I love everything about that idea except I think I'd want the Batgirl to be Stephanie. I loved their dynamic pre52 and I think it would be really fun to see the friendship side of the superbat relationship rather than the paranoid of each others various methods.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Although I'd be tickled if they managed to get Tom Welling as Clark.

 

I would love this.  I think I also said I would love it if Tom showed up on Flash too. 

 

What? 

 

And I suppose it's a Berlanti thing that Jimmy, oh, Sorry, James knows that Clark is Supes?

 

I will say I am enjoying this show; I try not to think too hard about stuff; BUT, I will also say, Henshaw's attitude toward Kara and how he treats her is getting on my every last nerve.

[Kromm]

I love everything about that idea except I think I'd want the Batgirl to be Stephanie. I loved their dynamic pre52 and I think it would be really fun to see the friendship side of the superbat relationship rather than the paranoid of each others various methods.

You'd need some good writing to breezily explain Stephanie, but I think the best way would be something like having a sequence where Supergirl bemoans having the live up to the name inherited from Superman, and Batgirl basically comes back with an aside that she not only had to live up to Batman, but also the previous Batgirls. Just have her say it outright like that, and the viewers wouldn't need to be told any more.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Kromm

[GHScorpiosRule]

I'd love it if these show runners (who I have my own issues with regarding villains and heroes on their other shows) would take a page from Bruce Timm's DCAU and have it be Barbara's Batgirl, because in both Superman: The Animated Series, JL, JLU, Kara and Barbara were friends and worked together when Bats and Supes weren't around.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Upthread there was a reference to Winn as Toyman. Who? 

 

In the comics, Winslow Schott is Toyman, a Superman villain who dates back to the 50s or so. He would construct giant toys to fight Supes. In Supergirl, from what I understand, the Winn we are seeing is his son, Winslow Schott Jr.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Chicago Redshirt

[that one guy]

My question is how Winn knows Clark Kent.

Superman's been active for a while now, apparently, which means so has Clark Kent. I'm thinking he's a famous journalist in his own right by now, probably with some kind of Internet presence like Matt Yglesias or James Fallows or Ta-Nehisi Coates etc. Maybe not a big name to a random citizen, but these characters work for a big publishing company. They're gonna know who Clark Kent and Lois Lane are. Plus, while leaping tall buildings in a single bound is cool and all, super hearing and x-ray vision are far more useful for an investigative journalist, so I'll bet he's broken some pretty big stories over the past decade.

 

Kara looked great in the green dress.

 

I am thoroughly satisfied right now with Clark texting Kara if that's all we get right now.

Yes she did. And Catco better have some mad encryption! She'd do better to use her phone to message Clark. You think Hank doesn't have someone trying to hack her desktop? But the idea is good, and gets around having to cast Superman (yet). I rarely see my brother these days, but we are in touch online all the time. This is a way to have him realistically involved but not on the show.

 

I feel like the show missed an opportunity with Reactron though. Presumably Kara could relate to his pain because of that one time when everyone she had ever met died except for her crazy aunt who just tried to kill her. She might have led with, "I know what it's like to lose people. It sucks."

[Kromm]

I feel like the show missed an opportunity with Reactron though. Presumably Kara could relate to his pain because of that one time when everyone she had ever met died except for her crazy aunt who just tried to kill her. She might have led with, "I know what it's like to lose people. It sucks."

I've already erased my recording, but I could swear she actually said something along those lines.

[FurryFury]

Other than the way too early romantic angst, I liked the episode. Most of the emotional beats worked well for me.

 

- Kara's whole issue in the episode felt true to her character and I liked the parallel to Alex's fear that she couldn't stand up to her superpowered sister (expressed in the pilot). And now with Lucy Lane, we have yet another sibling character. It kinda seems to me that sibling relationships is one of the biggest foci of the show.

 

- Maxwell Lord is fun and is the hottest guy on the show so far (at least for me). Definitely want more of him, just not with Cat who still bugs me, mostly because I can't stand Callista Flockhart's delivery.

 

- Kara/Clark! So much potential for this relationship, but clearly hampered by the fact they can't cast an actor for Clark/Superman. This episode, they've managed to work around it, but if they want for him to be a person in her life, he needs an actor. 

 

- Kara/Alex were good, even if there wasn't enough of them. Still my favorite relationship on the show, even if it's not saying much.

 

- I don't really care about Kara/James. I do think they have chemistry, but they need to establish his character much better if they want me to care. And a big NO to a love triangle.

 

So, there is somebody still watching Homeland these days...?

 

I am. I feel like it's good enough compared to some of the overrated crap currently on.

Edited November 10, 2015 by FurryFury

[SimoneS]

My biggest issue with this show is Kara referring to Superman as "my cousin." Why on earth doesn't she just call him Kal-El? They were children together on Krypton so why this weird cousin thing. It bugs the hell out of me.

[statsgirl]

When Alex said the dress was bullet-proof, I wondered Is it going to do any good?  The dress is so minimal it doesn't cover much.

 

I can't believe that Cat knows that Kara is Supergirl.  Why would she hide it if she did?  Why wouldn't she start being nicer to Kara?  It would get her better access to Supergirl and more exclusives for her magazine.

 

Cat Grant is John Jonah Jameson, Jr crossed with Miranda Priestly except that Miranda was more nuanced. She attributes her writer's block to an imaginary electrical hum and I wouldn't be surprised if she got angry at maintenance for not fixing it.  I'm not suprised she didn't mention Kara to Lord, this way she would get all the praise for the party herself.

 

To me, since Kara's spent half her waking life on Krypton, feeling alien is natural. And feeling alien making you feel awkward seems very natural. Far more natural than Clark's (in those versions where he's been like that.)

Clark would feel less uncomfortable because 1. he's a white male and 2. he has been on Earth since he was a baby.  There is no cultural split for him.

 

I wonder if the show will ever go to a meta on being an immigrant/alien in America.

 

I thought Reactron was well done. Not a Superman A lister, but not a nobody either. A solid character that only hardcore comic fans would know, so not overexploited in Superman films and TV, but a solid credible threat too. And I liked the balance of Villain of the Week and Personal Life. I saw a few complaints upthread saying VotW needed more, but I know that if it got that we'd get complaints the other way instead. 
 

I thought the way they handled him was well done because I find villain backstories more interesting than villains who just turn up to beat up the hero like we got the first two episodes.

 

In terms of Personal Life, right now the only relationship I'm buying as realistic is Kara/Alex and it took until this episode to get there.  Kara/Winn is minimal so far (he's got a crush on her, she's friendzoning him).

 

Kara/James is going way too fast.  I'm fine with Kara having a crush on him but they're hinting that he's got feeling for her and no.  One of the things Arrow did right is that it took a whole season before Felicity's interest was reciprocated.

 

One thing I really didn't like was James' "It's not you, it's me" speech.  Kara already got her ass kicked by Reactron, he nearly killed Superman and Kara is a newbie fighter.  As Kara herself said last episode, the important thing is the team.   So it only makes logical sense for James to call Superman for back-up.  I didn't like that the right decision became about James' weakness.

 

It feels more to me like CBS is sending them notes basically telling them to be as generic as possible. "Fit in EVERY SINGLE SUPERHERO CLICHE you possibly can! Alongside a strong procedural element!" One or two shows excepted, CBS is the Land of Bland, and it feels like they're making this show, too, as bland as possible.

The shows are bland as long as you're middle class with right leaning values.  Step out of the box and a few of them are rage-worthy.

[random chance]

I'm sad to say, the romance is the weak spot. Why can't they slow the eff down with it? Like with the Flash and Arrow season 1, they are doing too much tell and too little show and the romance is coming off as forced. Having a character say "No one has ever made you smile like him!" in episode 3 of a show has never worked in the history of television to get the audience to root for a couple! Why do they keep making the same mistake in all their shows?

I was thinking the exact same thing, and I'm watching this specifically for the James/Kara relationship. Too much too soon kills the romance dead, why don't they know this? Don't they watch TV?  I don't need James and Kara to dance around each other for eight seasons (also a romance-killer) but drag it out a little.  Make me look for signs that they might like each other, don't hand them to me on a platter. 

 

Other than that though I'm enjoying this show, but I don't know much about comics so there are probably a lot of things that don't bother me for that reason.

[GHScorpiosRule]

My biggest issue with this show is Kara referring to Superman as "my cousin." Why on earth doesn't she just call him Kal-El? They were children together on Krypton so why this weird cousin thing. It bugs the hell out of me.

 

No, they weren't. Kara was 12 and Kal was just an infant when they were both shipped to Earth.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

There seem to be a lot of mixed messages...

The feminist dialogue is a bit at odds with seeing the lead character ripping open her blouse. Yeah, Clark does something similar,  but strippers aren't known for wearing business suits.

[Gregg247]

Last season, when Scarlett Johansson hosted SNL, they did a very funny parody of "Black Widow: The Movie", where Marvel screwed up royally and made BW a typical rom-com character with super powers thrown in.  She worked for a fashion magazine as an intern under an overbearing female boss.  She sat around her apartment with her wimpy male friends.  She couldn't balance her superhero work with her job and her romantic life.  Who knew CBS was watching that spoof and thinking, "Perfect!  let's do this with Supergirl!"  

 

No joke, this show is almost EXACTLY like that skit. 

[Kromm]

Last season, when Scarlett Johansson hosted SNL, they did a very funny parody of "Black Widow: The Movie", where Marvel screwed up royally and made BW a typical rom-com character with super powers thrown in.  She worked for a fashion magazine as an intern under an overbearing female boss.  She sat around her apartment with her wimpy male friends.  She couldn't balance her superhero work with her job and her romantic life.  Who knew CBS was watching that spoof and thinking, "Perfect!  let's do this with Supergirl!"  

 

No joke, this show is almost EXACTLY like that skit. 

Gregg, don't take this the wrong way, but people have been making that observation since last Spring. I didn't buy it then either, because it was used as a brickbat just to dismiss all the "female stuff" so that a lot of geek chest beating could go on about how much they hated the First Look (and the Fight Song music track). Like it was inherently impossible for that kind of stuff to EVER be done well, or with any sense of balance.

 

Really if that were true Alias never would have existed. Remember Alias?  Maybe there was no bitchy boss or fashion magazine, but the rest was right in this wheelhouse years before SNL could lay claim to any of this intellectual territory. And Alias arguably did it well (well.. for at least a few seasons--then the show fell apart for other reasons besides there being a female lead, with romantic problems around the framework of an action show).

[SimoneS]

As for Kara having a romance with Jimmy, I cannot imagine a leading character like Supergirl having a major romance with an African American man in the regular cast on CBS so I will take a wait and see attitude with that one.

 

No, they weren't. Kara was 12 and Kal was just an infant when they were both shipped to Earth.

 

I don't get what you are disagreeing about when your comment here merely rephrases what I said. They were children together on Krypon. Infants and 12 year olds are children albeit at different stages of childhood. Are we suppose to believe that Kara called baby Kal, "cousin" when they were living on Krypton? No, she called and referred to him as Kal-El so she should do so now. It feels like the writers think the audience dumber than a box of rocks and cannot remember their biological relationship.

Edited November 10, 2015 by SimoneS

[Actionmage]

-Three episodes in and they are already having Superman appear even though he cannot speak or be seen clearly because it would reveal him to not be Henry Cavill. Sigh.

 

DC has made it clear that their movies and TV aren't the same universe, so it wouldn't have to be any of the men who've played him previously in a movie. There is a movie version of The Flash which isn't going to start Grant Gustin, TV's Flash.  IA that someone could be tapped to be Clark/Kal for once or twice a season appearances, so he doesn't continue to seem like an ass for not speaking to his cousin face to face about stuff she'd need to know in particular, like fighting techniques that the DEO isn't/ can't teach her.  So the "we can't have Superman" seems dumb currently, but I understand why we shouldn't have him on tons and especially front-loaded. It is Kara's gig. 

-Maxwell Lord is now a developer of some kind? Could they make him more clearly a villain?

 

 

 

As a poster pointed out, Max was always a charming villain, but he didn't go hardcore moustache-twirling until relatively recently. His first appearance in the Justice League run mentioned upthread showed what a devious bastard he was going to be, which made him interesting. That Max dissed Kara as his rescuer and named Superman and Superman didn't push back? That's got me angry on Kara's behalf! Kal knows that it's got to be hard to start up this superhero thing, so not showing any support for what Kara actually did do, irks me and makes just really disappointed in Clark/Kal. He is usually shown as better than that.

 

Cat Grant and Callista Flockhart is a delight, but she's not very well integrated into the show. For one thing, Kara is too independent. I think Cat would have fired her already except for the script.

 

See, this ^ feeds into the spec that Cat knows. Which I sort of love, but due to how she treats Kara, I sort of don't.  When Cat was all, " ...and I have accomplished [ turns to Kara and holds arms out backed by her bank of TVs]", I was half-expecting Kara to guess "buying a lot of TVs?" due to how it looked on screen. Obviously it was supposed to be her Catco  empire, but I'm not convinced it really is an empire. It's one of all the media platforms- a magazine, a TV station, a website ( and/ or maybe a website each for the other platforms?).  That's a big company, yes, but I don't see citizens at the coffee shop with their Catco-published magazine or reading it on their tablets. I didn't see copies of that special edition for the party goers to take home, even unsigned copies.

 

My question about Winn and James: Why did neither of them get out of the way of the powered villain who already had fought Superman to a draw?  Concern for Kara is all well and good, but they weren't exactly helping her. James showed up outside after the depowering. Yeah, Reactron went outside to whatever Superman's Best Bud, but  the whole fight was over before James jogged up, and that's with the melting of the bust.

 

The way Lucy phrased her side of the trip- "I didn't like the way we left things"- didn't read to me like she wants to get back with James, just that maybe they weren't the most cordial when the broke up and she wants to not entirely lose his friendship, even a continent away. That would be the best way for the show to go, imo, so that we can get Lucy back as a Lois-ish, mischevious Lane woman helping or stirring up trouble- just not between Kara and James. 

 

I love the idea of Batgirl guesting here and there. If I lived in Gotham, I'd need a vacay too. A city where I'm not needed to stop crime? Number 1 vacation destination! As long as we get a well-written version of whichever Batgirl- Babs, Cassandra or Stephanie- I could get so excited for that. 

 

Maybe Cat feeling like ripping on the lack of female superheroes and trying to shame females into superhero-ing could result not only in the anti-J. Jonah Jameson feel to Cat, but when news of other female crimefighters start coming out, she'd feel a need to patent them or something outsized and doofy. "They are my intellectual property! I demanded they protect us! " 

 

I am still liking Alex and Henshaw, but we need to have him do more than be blowhard boss who grumpy cats eventually. I can handle that with Alex, but with both Danverses? Not just yet. Also, was Director Henshow actually heading for a door with a great big "X" on it,before Alex pinged his psy-powers?

 

I am still enjoying this show and it's nice to have this to start my week.

 

eta:

Are we suppose to believe that Kara called baby Kal, "cousin" when they were living on Krypton?

 

Yes. Maybe even Cousin Kal. The thing is they are cousins, due to their moms being sisters, so Kal is Kara's cousin. In this iteration, the show showed a very young infant. She would barely have had a chance to have any attachment to Kal, but know him mostly as Aunt Lara's son, her new cousin. My brother and sister-in-law, parents of three already, had a surprise baby a couple of years back. The oldest is college-age and the youngest is about Kara's age. They love their baby brother to bits, but they are off doing their own things.  I don't see Kara and Kal bonding before the destruction of Krypton is what I'm saying.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Actionmage

[Gregg247]

 

Gregg, don't take this the wrong way, but people have been making that observation since last Spring. I didn't buy it then either, because it was used as a brickbat just to dismiss all the "female stuff" so that a lot of geek chest beating could go on about how much they hated the First Look (and the Fight Song music track). Like it was inherently impossible for that kind of stuff to EVER be done well, or with any sense of balance.

 

That's all very fine and well, but LOOK at that skit on Hulu and then watch last night's episode and tell me they aren't exactly alike.  The plot, the look, the feel, everything!

 

I'm not sure how "Alias" enters into this, though.  That was a serious spy show, and as similar to Supergirl as Gilligans island was to Lost.  No real comparison at all.

[Chicago Redshirt]

My biggest issue with this show is Kara referring to Superman as "my cousin." Why on earth doesn't she just call him Kal-El? They were children together on Krypton so why this weird cousin thing. It bugs the hell out of me.

 

As for Kara having a romance with Jimmy, I cannot imagine a leading character like Supergirl having a major romance with an African American man in the regular cast on CBS so I will take a wait and see attitude with that one.

 

 

I don't get what you are disagreeing about when your comment here merely rephrases what I said. They were children together on Krypon. Infants and 12 year olds are children albeit at different stages of childhood. Are we suppose to believe that Kara called baby Kal, "cousin" when they were living on Krypton? No, she called and referred to him as Kal-El so she should do so now. It feels like the writers think the audience dumber than a box of rocks and cannot remember their biological relationship.

 

Why wouldn't she occasionally call him her cousin? That's what he is.

 

I'm sure she referred to him sometimes as Kal-El, and sometimes as cousin. 

 

As for the possibility of interracial romance, I don't see what would be so shocking about it. It's 2015. And one would think that the powers that be had to have signed off on a Jimmy-Kara-Winn love triangle (along with now apparently a Kara-Jimmy-Lucy love triangle, among future versions), knowing full well about the untraditional casting of an African-American male.

[SimoneS]

Why wouldn't she occasionally call him her cousin? That's what he is.

 

I'm sure she referred to him sometimes as Kal-El, and sometimes as cousin. 

 

I am sure she did, but she does so all the time which is downright weird. It is something I find annoying as hell, if other don't, different strokes and all that.

 

As for the the interracial romance, like I said, I have a wait and see attitude. After all this, I realize that I don't know how I got caught up in a discussion about a show that I don't care much about so I am out.

[HurricaneVal]

Since I'm not familiar with his comic background, Maxwell Lord comes off like one of those Tony Stark-type characters: rich, smart, but also arrogant and cocky.  Only I'm guessing he'll end up being more of a bad guy instead of Iron Man.

 

I'm also not really "up" on all the comic book canon backstory, but I have to tell you having this poor-man's Ironman character "Reactron" interact with the poor-man's Tony Stark character invites comparisons to, oh, say.... Ironman?  Is that supposed to be all tongue in cheek cheeky, or just completely tone deaf?

[lion10]

I liked that the show touched on Supergirl's lack of purpose on Earth.  As she said, it was her that was supposed to protect him, not the other way around and Melissa played that well.  I suppose this show is about Supergirl finding her life's purpose.

[william0102]

I'm still loving this show, it's just so much fun to watch. Melissa Benoist is too adorable. I enjoy her/Supergirl, and the interaction with Alex is great too. I like that the family side of Kara's life is settling some.

While I really want Kara and James to be together if there has to be a romance, I'm not really ready for it to be so deep on James' part. Especially since he tried to be so casual when he wanted Kara to leave at the end so he could talk to Lucy. That was strange for him to act like that to me. I could see him having a crush on her at this point, but what he said during the dance was too much. Of course next week it'll go back to him being smiley and not mentioning stuff, lol.

I don't get why some people were so upset that Kara was hurt by James calling Superman. She's been trying to prove herself since the pilot. She literally just had her boss (who she has to respect on some level to keep working for her) tell her that Supergirl would call on Superman. So I get why she was upset, it wasn't just James not believing her, it was failing to live up to expectations, it was getting her butt kicked again, and lastly it was Maxwell WhoevertheHell telling everyone that Superman saved him- that was a lot of people to feel like she let down. She also didn't have her sister helping her, so when half of her remaining team (James and Wynn) calls in someone else, yeah, I'd be a little upset too. I actually like that she got a little upset, she can't be perfect.

But it's whatever, I'm liking how light-hearted and awesome I find this show and most of the characters. I won't complain about anything too much since it doesn't detract from me enjoying the show, and I really do love what this show is trying to represent. For all the clunky, cliche, trope-happy stuff in this show, it has moments that remind me why this show is a good thing: We've got the potential for an interracial romance with the lead character, we've got feminism into a weekly conversation in some places (like the internet and the watercooler), and when you get lines about minority groups/people that are written in a respectful way while still being relevant (the Caitlyn Jenner line in last night's episode).

[Delphi]

So I get why Kara was upset about james calling in the big gun. But honestly Kara, you lost conciousness three seconds after Clark showed up. If he hadn't she'd probably have been killed. I get that she wants to be independent but she's actually very lucky that Supes is there for her.

[Winston Wolfe]

 

Henshaw's attitude toward Kara and how he treats her is getting on my every last nerve.

When he's revealed to be

The Martian Manhunter

as I'm sure he will be based on last night's anvil/teaser, I think you'll feel a lot better.  As for other Batgirl and other DC heroes showing up, I'll pass.  Having Aquaman, Kid Flash, Cyborg, et al, all show up during Smallville's final seasons was kinda like jumping the shark to me.  Although Wonder Woman showing up would be consistent with the "girl power" thing.  As a meta-human almost as powerful as Superman, Diana would be the perfect mentor for Kara.  I believe DC went in that direction during the Silver (?) Age comics.

 

ETA: Include me in the group that thinks Melissa is cute as a button.  That little head tilt she did when Alex was teasing her in the coffee shop was truly adorable.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Winston Wolfe

[BkWurm1]

Kara was annoying wiht her whining about Superman. I really hope this isn't going to be a theme of this show.

It had to be addressed; its already been questioned in the forums. Why wouldn't Kara just call Superman when the going gets tough? This episode lays that question to rest. We needed it, but I think in addressing it, they didn't put Kara in the best light which is a shame. Jimmy being the one to call in help does make sense and I even appreciated his explanation of using the signal watch had become a crutch for him and a habit he was trying to break.

I saw "Jimmy" Olsen fir the first time in this episode. Before as much as I liked James, there was a disconnect between him and the legacy character. Now I have a better picture of the two intragrated together. (Him dropping the Clark bomb -oops- also contributed to that)

What hurt the episode was mostly the timing of having Jimmy interfere. In the episode where she is most obviously crushing on him. I don't mind her knowing what she likes and going after it right away but having her be all googly and then saved by Jimmy in a way that made her feel disrespected but also made her seem ungrateful since they actually had her get knocked out and NEED saving, it left a bit of a sour taste.

We needed Superman to be called in either when she was down but NOT out or we needed her to be distracted by his arrival and thus needing saving. We really needed to be told why Supes was not going to be backup, but her reaction doesn't IN THIS case feel justified. The argument was she needed to be judged by her successes and her failure on her own but this failure was supposedly going to end in her death. I think maybe the intent was to imply she wouldn't have died but just have been badly beat up LIKE Superman had, but it was too vague.

That is where I think the writing failed the character and made Kara seem a bit unreasonable and in that moment it messed with dynamic between she and James in an uncomfortable way. James saved the dynamic by taking the blame but again, unless the writers meant for Kara not to be in actual mortal danger, then there is still that twinge of unfairness in her reaction.

I was able to explain away the problem to myself, but I worry others might not have been able or willing to do that. Hopefully since the Superman problem has been addressed we just won't ever have to deal with that kind of thing again.

Supergirl doesn't want Superman's help ... but she has assembled a whole team of helpers, has a secret command center at work (?), gets about four pep talks per episode, and even has another secret government team helping her.

At this point, it seems like the whole show is about everyone helping Supergirl and propping up her super low self-esteem. ...

And now a girl who can fly is intimidated by her boy crush's ex girlfriend. ... please. ..

I sort of get what they are going with the show, but there are a ton of other problems Kara could have instead of typical rom-com problems.

I don't see a conflict between being happy for her helpers help but not wanting to rely on Supes. She's fine with assistance on stuff she's not great at yet but what she is supposed to be bringing to the table is basically all the same powers as her cousin. And the only way she can get good at that part is to use them and use her brain to figure out the best way to use them. Calling in the cavalry means taking her chance to learn and prove herself.

And no matter who you are or how powerful or accomplished, the emotional stuff is always tricky.

All the Kara stuff for me worked well in episode. I am having some cringe moments during her daytime saves. The wire work in the bus, was a mess. Avoid flying as much as possible. The rest of it looked pretty good.

I was happy for the episode to pick up where it had let off. I also for a second was sure Cat recognized Kara so now I'm not sure what I think. I'd kind of love it if she did but was just egocentric enough not to be bothered that she was ordering Supergirl about during the day. Or maybe she is oblivious. Either way I'm good.

Count me as one of the few that is enjoying Cat. I don't think she comes off as mean or bitchy as some imply. Hey, never thrown a cell phone at an assistant, shows she's self aware and trying to treat her employee as human at least. Plus she freely talks to Kara and let's her give opinions. I think if she were a man people would find her no nonsense manner as strong and competent and her writing freak out as an endearing quirk.

I'm enjoying the show even as I see some of the clunkier bits, still all the clunky bits are there to set up the future. I feel like most of that early set up is finally complete so we can just get down to more normal of an episide without having to explain the players or how the teams work. I still have a lot of faith in what the regular product can be, I just think the show runners have been having a harder time than expected to get there.

Still, I really didn't warm up to Arrow at all until about the third episode and didn't love it until halfway through the first season. Supergirl needs a chance to find its legs cause when it finally does (and I have great hopes that we are pretty much there now) I think it will be wholly delightful.

Alex and Kara are now spot on together, already adorable and believable. I think the DEO stuff is working now. I'm enjoying Cat still and while still a work in progress, I'm enjoying Winn and James with Kara. Just not so sure about Winn and James together. Weird vibe there. I think they need to make them bros or full on enemies. Define their relationship with each other better.

Edited November 10, 2015 by BkWurm1

[Rai]

Oh yeah, knowing what Maxwell Lord became in the comics, I'm really happy he's here.  It keeps me wondering which way they'll take his character, which is nice.

[Kromm]

IAs for the the interracial romance, like I said, I have a wait and see attitude. After all this, I realize that I don't know how I got caught up in a discussion about a show that I don't care much about so I am out.

Do the pundits think perhaps that middle America tuned out this episode because they anticipated the big black guy putting the moves on the little (if super-strong and alien) white girl and didn't want to see "that"?

 

Ugh if true.

[nottopbravo]

I liked the moment when Supergirl ripped the car door off.

 

However- Shutting off the power line by kinking it like a garden hose?  Physics, anyone?

[random chance]

Do the pundits think perhaps that middle America tuned out this episode because they anticipated the big black guy putting the moves on the little (if super-strong and alien) white girl and didn't want to see "that"?

 

Ugh if true.

 

I wish people wouldn't always shove that sentiment off on middle America, like it's the only place on earth with racists.  And I doubt that they'd write her having a crush on him if they were all nervous about how people would react - they'd just cast someone white instead.

[sjohnson]

In the comics, Winslow Schott is Toyman, a Superman villain who dates back to the 50s or so. He would construct giant toys to fight Supes. In Supergirl, from what I understand, the Winn we are seeing is his son, Winslow Schott Jr.

Thanks.

[patchwork]

The episode was one that was bound to happen, Kara would inevitably attract one of Superman's villains and Jimmy would call the big man for help, so it's best to get it over with. I'm not sure about the romance though maybe they brought it in too early IDK. 

 

I don't know much about her outside the Young Justice cartoon but I think it would fit the show if instead of Martian Manhunter Henshaw turns out to be Miss Martian.

[Winston Wolfe]

Kromm, on 10 Nov 2015 - 4:31 PM, said:

    Do the pundits think perhaps that middle America tuned out this episode because they anticipated the big black guy putting the moves on the little (if super-strong and alien) white girl and didn't want to see "that"?

 

Ugh if true.

I wish people wouldn't always shove that sentiment off on middle America, like it's the only place on earth with racists.  And I doubt that they'd write her having a crush on him if they were all nervous about how people would react - they'd just cast someone white instead.

It's 2015 and there are so many inter-racial relationships on TV that you'd think this would no longer be an issue.  Although for some odd reason the second I heard Jimmy Olsen was going to be African American I thought it was for the sole purpose of him having an IR relationship with the title character.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Winston Wolfe

[Sakura12]

Yes. Maybe even Cousin Kal. The thing is they are cousins, due to their moms being sisters, so Kal is Kara's cousin.

 

They are cousins through their fathers, Jor El (Supes Dad) and Zor El (Kara's dad). 

[TV Anonymous]

My biggest issue with this show is Kara referring to Superman as "my cousin." Why on earth doesn't she just call him Kal-El? They were children together on Krypton so why this weird cousin thing. It bugs the hell out of me.

 

YMMV, I refer to "my wife", "my son", "my sister", "my father" all the time rather than call them by their names.