S01.E04: Livewire

[MarkHB]

Kara’s Thanksgiving may be ruined when she suspects her foster mother, Dr. Danvers (Helen Slater), who is coming to town, disapproves of her new role as a superhero.  Also, when an accident transforms a volatile CatCo employee into the villainous Livewire, she targets Cat and Supergirl.

  (This episode was moved up due to the tragedy in Paris.)

[Kromm]

I'm actually going to appreciate a Thanksgiving episode ahead of the rest. It's fairly tiresome seeing all of the Turkey episodes all in a row that week.

 

I suppose it's also telling that they were done enough with effects that they were able to make this order switch.  The big thing is that I'm already assuming some of the serialized storytelling is going to be totally effed up by this order switch. 

 

The "Previously" segments (wow, I never really thought before about why this website was named that) could get really complicated if they attempt to use them to straighten this all out. Unless this scheduling change has been too quick for them to react, they'll have to have (over this weekend) taken the already produced "Previously" segment they EXPECTED to use for Episode 5 out, but they probably couldn't just drop in the one they expected to use for Episode 4 if something happens in Episode 4 that needs to be referred to in Episode 5. Then when they go back and eventually actually air Episode 4, another complicated Previously segment to explain things (although maybe by then they could have re-edited the entire episode to make it logically fit in that other sequence).

Edited November 15, 2015 by Kromm

[MarkHB]

Preview (also includes clips from the following episode):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT_eyoa36Qg

[legaleagle53]

It's going to be worth watching out of order just to see Kara grow a spine and finally tell Cat to shut the hell up!

[Kromm]

It's going to be worth watching out of order just to see Kara grow a spine and finally tell Cat to shut the hell up!

Probably the one acting choice of Benoist that I'd challenge is that she really sounds the same as both versions of herself. I wish she'd changed the voices up a bit more. That scene just emphasizes it, since Supergirl sounding more forceful is about as far as the difference goes.

[bettername2come]

Dean Cain better secretly be alive.

[mtlchick]

Dean Cain better secretly be alive.

 

WORD.  I'm going to be really bummed out if he isn't.  But I did chuckle at "I know everything there is about Superman."  

[stealinghome]

I missed the first half of the episode but found the second half very solid--miles better than whatever the hell last week's episode was. Lest anyone was in doubt, it proves pretty solidly that this show is much better when it's trying to be an adult show and drops the CW romance bullshit. Memo to the writers, Kara's love life is easily the least interesting thing about her, please adjust accordingly.

 

I appreciated them fleshing Cat out a bit. CF and MB play well off each other, and Cat has been in need of some depth. I have to admit I snickered at her "you have the all the wit of a youtube comment" one-liner. Heh. I appreciate her growing appreciation for Kara and Supergirl both. I'm calling now that the season finale is her finding out.

 

I'm actually REALLY intrigued by the father/DEO reveal this episode, which is the first thing on this show that I can say really piqued my interest. More of that, please!

 

Kara and Alex's mom (because I came in so late I missed her name) can come back anytime. She's a solid actress and had really nice chemistry with MB and CL, and their family issues are kind of compelling. Her scene with just Alex was really sweet but I was taken out of it by the music, which sounded way more appropriate for a date scene.D

 

Based on what I saw, definitely a vast improvement on last week, on par with the second episode. Hoping this means the show is finding its footing!

[AimingforYoko]

Henshaw: That's a female.

Kara: Really? Respect.

(What Henshaw's next line should have been)

Henshaw: You know you really can't pull that off, right?

[KoBnR]

I'm calling now that the season finale is her finding out.

I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't already know or will know before the reveal on the season finale. She is a journalist after-all...

[mtlchick]

 

I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't already know or will know before the reveal on the season finale. She is a journalist after-all...

 

Which leads me to bring up one of the greatest scenes ever from Lois and Clark.  Because sometimes great journalists needs things to be pointed out to them...

 

[Trini]

Sad that Dean Cain is dead in the present, but happily surprised that he has a bigger role than just a cameo.

 

Geez, I guess white wigs are really hard to make/ pull off.

 

Kreisberg, you know full well you suck at 'love' triangles, so STOP IT.

 

I glad for this series because there are lots of women talking to women scenes.  :)

Edited November 17, 2015 by Trini

[Sakura12]

Kara and Alex's mom (because I came in so late I missed her name) can come back anytime. She's a solid actress and had really nice chemistry with MB and CL, and their family issues are kind of compelling. Her scene with just Alex was really sweet but I was taken out of it by the music, which sounded way more appropriate for a date scene.D

 

Her name is Eliza Danvers. Of course she's great, she's the original Supergirl. Helen Slater played her in 1984.

 

I enjoyed this episode, probably the best one yet. I like seeing Kara's family issues and I really liked seeing the human side of Cat. She seemed genuinely sorry to hear about Kara losing her parents at a young age. 

 

I do hope they make her figure it out. I would love to see her just go "I know it's you, Kara"

 

The love triangle is still pointless because it's just kind of there. The Livewire story was interesting because of her connection to Cat, it was nice to see Cat and Supergirl work together. 

[TLoyd]

I thought Helen Slate was wooden.   The Ke$ha villain was boring but I guess since she didn't die she will be back. The end of the season will probably have all the big bads get out of prison.

 

Kara is kind of rude to Winn. 

 

The humor is so forced and then they know it is forces which is a little irksome.  Just embrace the corniness if you are going to  be corny.

[arcadia63]

The actress playing young Alex looks so much like Chyler I had to check to make sure it wasn't her real life daughter. 

[stealinghome]

Sad that Dean Cain is dead in the present, but happily surprised that he has a bigger role than just a cameo.

Oh, I feel like he's most certainly alive. It's the tropiest trope to ever trope!

[Kromm]

I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't already know or will know before the reveal on the season finale. She is a journalist after-all...

She 100% knows.

 

Okay. 99%.

Based on what I saw, definitely a vast improvement on last week, on par with the second episode. Hoping this means the show is finding its footing!

Well we have a missing episode in the middle we won't know about at least until next week, but I agree. This was on par with Episode 2.

Her name is Eliza Danvers. Of course she's great, she's the original Supergirl. Helen Slater played her in 1984.

Except that movie was terrible.

 

That said, I don't think she did a bad job here. Not stellar, but it was a functional performance.

It's going to be worth watching out of order just to see Kara grow a spine and finally tell Cat to shut the hell up!

Did I miss that scene? I kept waiting for it.

[Trini]

Oh, I feel like he's most certainly alive. It's the tropiest trope to ever trope!

Fingers crossed; I just don't want to get my hopes up.

[Kromm]

Okay, I got it. That preview also had Red Tornado. Clearly it wasn't an episode preview, but some kind of overall look forward thing. The Kara/Cat yelling match never WAS supposed to happen in this episode. It might be in the episode we didn't get to see. Or it might be in another upcoming one.

[miracole]

I loved seeing Dean Cain.

I wasn't really feeling the mom.

I agree that Kara was kinda rude to Winn.

I really like the actor who plays Hank Henshaw. He was hilarious on Selfie and on here his line deliveries just work for me even when he's saying eyeroll worthy stuff.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Henshaw: That's a female.

Kara: Really? Respect.

(What Henshaw's next line should have been)

Henshaw: You know you really can't pull that off, right?

 

Some of the wire work in the fight scene right before this conversation was pretty bad.

 

The Ke$ha villain was boring but I guess since she didn't die she will be back. The end of the season will probably have all the big bads get out of prison.

 

I thought the Ke$ha wannabe villain of the week wasn't very good at all.  And her hair was terrible.

[Senna]

I've been lukewarm so far on this show (and I missed more than half of last week's episode from other things going on), but I really enjoyed this episode.  Maybe because of all the great non-romantic relationships that got some development -- Cat and Kara, Alex and Kara, both girls and Eliza. 

 

I did wonder how, if Winn is Kara's "best friend" as her opening intro says, Kara didn't know his family situation/his dad being in jail.  Has it been established how long they've known each other?  I guess I can buy it if they've only been friends in their adult years (when it's more natural not to meet or mention parents), though how sad for Kara if Winn is her closest friend and she doesn't even know that much about him.

[Kromm]

BTW: are we supposed to be suspicious that Henshaw doesn't really look any older now than he did 11-12 years ago?  I know there's that old saw "black don't crack", but really I did wonder if this was intentional, or just them not caring enough to really go out of their way to make him look convincingly younger in the flashback.

[Racj82]

I glad for this series because there are lots of women talking to women scenes. :)

It would mean more to me to care about the scenes than what gender dominates the scene. Here, I don't really care.

I just wish this show made me care about what's going. It's a fine show. Nothing more personally.

What I wouldn't give for a show on Monday I was truly excited to watch. I feel like I haven't had that since the days of 24.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Racj82

[Artsda]

I really like Winn better in scenes with Kara than Jimmy.

 

How come the mother to Kara is "foster mom" or her first name, but Alex is just her sister. She's never referred to Alex as anything other than a real sister, but the mom was foster or step or calling her by her first name.  Seems not consistent there. 

 

Loved Cat this episode, they really humanized her. 

 

I guess next week, we get the episode that was supposed to air this week?

Edited November 17, 2015 by Artsda

[cynic]

I was so distracted by how much Helen Slater looked like Lindsay Wagner.

I hated this week's villain. I still not completely sold on the rest of the show either, but I do like that there are some good strong female characters.

Lastly, I liked Kara's phone call with Jimmy. It was sweet, but not too shippy. I like how their friendship is coming along.

Edited November 17, 2015 by cynic

[thuganomics85]

Ah, I see when it comes to Eliza Danvers, her parenting style is bit like old Joe West in the whole "Treats his adopted child better then his biological one" department. At least she already has been called out on it, while Joe still seems to show preferable treatment to Barry over Iris on The Flash.  Still, I felt bad for Alex.  Chyler Leigh was really great in all of those scenes.  Can't say the same for Helen Slater though.  I thought she was pretty stiff.  Melissa Benoist's reaction scenes alone were more compelling.

 

I know they skipped an episode, but I the flow wasn't too off.  Only big think was I'm going to assume the unaired episode ended with Jimmy and Lucy reconciling, because it seemed like they were still unsure last week.  Oh, well.  I still don't give a damn about that, or Winn's more and more obvious one-sided crush on Kara.  She is so not into him that way.

 

Cat is finally starting to thaw.  Said a whole bunch of shitty things, but showed signs that a lot of that was just for show.  To her credit, I do think she is sincere about wanting to get to know Kara more.  Mainly she'll get better now.

 

Livewire had the coolest powers so far, but that was about it.  Usually like Brit Morgan, but she was a bit one-note.

 

Dean Cain is so coming back and not dead.  If he isn't being kept prisoner, he somehow became evil.  I guess the question is just how much is Henshaw keeping hidden from Kara and Alex.  He clearly is not a trustworthy person, but I'm going to wait and see on calling him a flat-out bad guy. 

[statsgirl]

The sister vs foster mom struck me too and then I thought that it's because Kara didn't have a sister on Krypton but she did have a mother.

 

Winn is probably her best friend in National City, meeting at Catco.  Given that  his father is

a supervillain

, I can understand why Winn wouldn't talk about him.

 

And so the rehabilitation of Cat begins.  She's a character I love to hate, like Regina was on the first season of OUaT until she got rehabilitated, so I don't feel happy about this but I'll see how it goes.  I don't think she knows about Kara, there is none of the subtle indications that I would expect of someone of Calista Flockhart's stature and in the episode that was supposed to air today

she sets Kara to babysitting her son which she wouldn't do since there was a crisis going on.

 

The villain of the week was a fizzle but I wonder if that's because as a character, she was just so unlikable.  Seth Gable as Arrow's Count was also a villain but he was just so likable I wanted to root for him.

 

I"m glad Alex's father still has a role to play other than house husband.  The line about knowing everything about Superman was gold.

 

Why is Jimmy even with Lucy since while he's on a mini-vacation with her he's thinking about Kara and phoning?  That's not fair to Lucy.

 

The actress playing young Alex looks so much like Chyler I had to check to make sure it wasn't her real life daughter. 

I was just coming to check on that because wow she looked like her.  But CL's oldest child is a son and her daughter is just 9.

 

ETA:

 

Ah, I see when it comes to Eliza Danvers, her parenting style is bit like old Joe West in the whole "Treats his adopted child better then his biological one" department.

It struck me that so many of these superheros seem to have foster or adoptive parents -- Superman, the Flash, even Batman being raised by Alfred.  It's like these writes were kids who thought that their real parents were someone else and the sucky parents they had weren't the real thing.

Edited November 17, 2015 by statsgirl

[Kendra]

I definitely think Cat knows that Kara is Supergirl. I mean, come on! She has to! I think one of the "twists" later on in the season will be that she has actually known all along.

I liked this episode the best so far. I still am not at all interested in the love stuff with Kara and prefer her relationships with Alex and Cat much more.

 

I actually liked Livewire and thought she was the best villain the show has had thus far (which isn't saying much as I think the villains have been AWFUL)

 

I agree on the "Mr. Danvers is actually not dead" trope. We'll find out he is actually alive later on in the season.

[Kromm]

I was so distracted by how much Helen Slater looked like Lindsay Wagner.

She also looks like Melissa Benoist.  Which as an act of casting as a FOSTER mom is actually a bad thing, not a good one.

[stealinghome]

The sister vs foster mom struck me too and then I thought that it's because Kara didn't have a sister on Krypton but she did have a mother.

This. It sounds like Eliza was great to Kara, but Kara had a mom for 12 years and Eliza isn't her. Whereas as Kara seems not to have had a sibling, I can see where it would be easier to just slot Alex in mentally as "my sister." Also because sisters are more of a peer relationship. I don't think it's inconsistent; I just think it's revealing about how Kara thinks about Alex and Eliza.

 

I was so distracted by how much Helen Slater looked like Lindsay Wagner.

 

Oh man, THANK YOU for saying that! I spent the episode trying to figure out who their mom looked like. The resemblance is uncanny!

[Lantern7]

I know it's not fair to compare the show to Superman: The Animated Series, but I feel the original Livewire (voiced by Lori Petty) was better than the one we got. The live-action version makes the transition well enough, but she's not as much fun to watch.

 

Anybody else think that Winn and Felicity Smoak should start a support group for children of crappy fathers?

 

Nice that Cat got fleshed out. Now if only the producers knew how stupid "CatCo" comes across.

[Kromm]

Nice that Cat got fleshed out. Now if only the producers knew how stupid "CatCo" comes across.

"CatCopter" is even worse.

[Trini]

... Now if only the producers knew how stupid "CatCo" comes across.

 

And was a "Cat-o-copter" in this episode, too. [ETA: Jinx, Kromm!]

 

Also, so Mr. Danvers is (most likely) another one who knew about Kryptonite and didn't inform Kara.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Trini

[pennben]

I definitely think Cat knows that Kara is Supergirl. I mean, come on! She has to! I think one of the "twists" later on in the season will be that she has actually known all along.

 

There is part of me that completely agrees with you, and that Cat knows when she is giving hypothetical advice to Kara about Supergirl, she knows that she's actually talking to Supergirl. 

 

On the other hand, when Cat said to Kara 'I should get to know more about you' tonight, it harkened back to James's notion that Cat wouldn't recognize her as Supergirl because Cat doesn't even see her.  Over the course of the season, I could see her getting to know Kara better and then, one day, voila, she does see her and makes the connection. 

 

I'm not sure which scenario I would prefer.

Edited November 17, 2015 by pennben

[Kromm]

And was a "Cat-o-copter" in this episode, too. [ETA: Jinx, Kromm!]

{Tossing a Bat-a-rang at Trini}

[VCRTracking]

Livewire/Leslie was as big a jerk as she was in the Superman Animated show(when she was voiced by Lori Petty).

 

I hadn't seen Helen Slater what looked like now until she appeared in the Mad Men series finale(with Arrow's Caity Lotz) a few months ago. My last memory of her was from City Slickers.

 

So Winn is definitely Toyman's son. And he's in the friendzone.

[Trini]

Henshaw: That's a female.

Kara: Really? Respect.

 

Could that have been Granny Goodness?

[Kromm]

Could that have been Granny Goodness?

Granny Goodness would have lines.

[KirkB]

I don't think Cat knows Kara is Supergirl, because I don't think she has looked too closely at either of their faces so far. From her perspective Kara is just her assistant and Supergirl is just a marketing tool. But I have a feeling she will figure it out befor the season ends.

Edited November 17, 2015 by KirkB

[Kromm]

I don't think Cat knows Kara is Supergirl, because I don't think she has looked too closely at either of their faces so far. From her perspective Kara is just her assistant and Supergirl is just a marketing tool. But I have a feeling she will figure it out befor the season ends.

See I think if the writers are clever (rather than hacks) than Cat already knowing is the only way to go.  It's the least contrived solution.

 

In fact, if I were writing it, I'd go a step further.  When inevitably the scene comes when Kara and Cat have this conversation, the funniest (but in a way cleverest) way to do it would be something like this.

 

Cat: So... Supergirl... do something about it.

Kara: What do you mean Supergirl?

Cat: Do you think I'm an idiot? Then again to this day your cousin Clark seems to think I had the desk two down from him for years and never noticed he looks just like Superman.  I'd hoped for better from you.

 

That's how I'd do it. Lois Lane after all is not the only person who worked at the Daily Planet who should have noticed the resemblance. 

[biakbiak]

Its lucky I wasn't doing a shot every time they said foster mother.

[Trini]

I dunno, y'all; Kara and Clark not getting recognized as their hero alter-egos is just one of those things that is unbelievable, but I roll with it for the story to work. ::shrug::

[Winston Wolfe]

The villain of the week was a fizzle but I wonder if that's because as a character, she was just so unlikable.

The VOWs are getting lamer with each episode.  Livewire is basically the female version of Electro.  Yet the far less powerful Spider-Man takes out Electro with moderate effort and Livewire almost kills Kara.  Pretty certain now we can declare Supergirl isn't as powerful as her fabled Cousin.  The next interesting villain this show serves up will be the first.  Still sticking with SG based on its sheer potential.

"CatCopter" is even worse.

True dat.  A few pretty clever in-jokes get squeezed in here and there.  LW's "here kitty, kitty" was clearly a meta comment related to Kitty Walker McCallister, Calista's character from Berlanti's Brothers and Sisters (a show that should still be on the air IMO).

Edited November 17, 2015 by Winston Wolfe

[wayne67]

Livewire had the coolest powers so far, but that was about it.  Usually like Brit Morgan, but she was a bit one-note.

 

Totally agree on this point but her motivations were kind of lame. You caused me to get incredibly awesome super powers so I'm going to kill you or something... 

 

Doesn't really track. Also does the whole shorting out an energy being with water make any sense whatsoever ? Doesn't that only work with electrical appliances? 

 

Alex & her mom drama was really effective in the making me hate the mom for putting all that pressure of looking after Kara on a 14 year old. 

[Kromm]

The VOWs are getting lamer with each episode.  Livewire is basically the female version of Electro. 

Well Livewire is another actual real Supergirl villain, around since 1997. So the blame goes back years.

[Jordan27]

Love the franchise, but this show is starting to drift for me.  Way too much angst.  Kara and her boss, Kara and her gov't boss.  Kara and her mom.  Her mom and her sister.  Winn and her.  I'm exhausted from watching that episode.  It should be called Super Angst Girl. 

 

They focus way to much on the angst in her life and less that she is really a super hero.

 

And again, this week, she should have been able to dispose of the villain much quicker.  She has super speed which she did not use all the time.  Standing there and getting hit like a professional wrestler is silly. 

 

This show is really comic booky and cheesy and isn't close to Arrow or the Flash for compelling storylines.

 

But, I still love Melissa's portrayal of Kara and Supergirl.  For me, it's the only thing working. 

[stealinghome]

I dunno, y'all; Kara and Clark not getting recognized as their hero alter-egos is just one of those things that is unbelievable, but I roll with it for the story to work. ::shrug::

Agreed. It's just part of the premise I roll with. I kind of enjoy the subversion of the "love interest doesn't know" trope by making it the boss...unless they're secretly telling us Kara/Cat is endgame. ;)

[Kromm]

Love the franchise, but this show is starting to drift for me.  Way too much angst.  Kara and her boss, Kara and her gov't boss.  Kara and her mom.  Her mom and her sister.  Winn and her.  I'm exhausted from watching that episode.  It should be called Super Angst Girl. 

 

They focus way to much on the angst in her life and less that she is really a super hero.

Wow are we reading this differently.

 

I think this show has less angst than any Superhero show I've ever seen.  The conflicts they DO have never weigh that heavily on Kara, and rarely are dragged on between episodes.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Kromm

[Kromm]

I dunno, y'all; Kara and Clark not getting recognized as their hero alter-egos is just one of those things that is unbelievable, but I roll with it for the story to work. ::shrug::

I understand the convention. I'm just saying what we've SEEN really communicates that Cat knows (at least to me it seems to). It's not anything direct--the show hardly screams it--but the whole "I need to get to know you" thing with Kara whispers it. Also the whole telling Kara to tell "the FBI" to get Supergirl. It was kind of a ridiculous thing for Cat to assume, ergo to me it reads like she was just telling Kara directly to get herself in a backwards ass way. 

 

To me it feels like they want to play with the trope. They outright dismissed using it for the best friend and the love interest, so the boss seems to be the opportunity to do it. But the boss is the smartest person around. The whole "she doesn't notice you" thing from JimmyJames just comes off like wishful thinking--a kind of way for us to believe the boss doesn't know so the show can turn that around later on.