S01.E04: Livewire

[stealinghome]

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.

Yeah, one of the things that I'm finding refreshing about Supergirl is that it's pretty angst-free as a show, and Kara is pretty angst-free as a central character. (Especially compared to heroes like Superman, Batman, or Arrow, who angst way more with way less cause.) I would say the characters all have their own insecurities, and there are interpersonal conflicts that weigh on them, but I don't find it angst-y. The show's actually kind of refreshingly adult in that way. People have their emotions, talk it out, and then get on with life while managing their emotions.

[Kromm]

Yeah, one of the things that I'm finding refreshing about Supergirl is that it's pretty angst-free as a show, and Kara is pretty angst-free as a central character. (Especially compared to heroes like Superman, Batman, or Arrow, who angst way more with way less cause.) I would say the characters all have their own insecurities, and there are interpersonal conflicts that weigh on them, but I don't find it angst-y. The show's actually kind of refreshingly adult in that way. People have their emotions, talk it out, and then get on with life while managing their emotions.

Yeah, for me it's like... if someone thinks this is angsty, they must be wanting a cartoon instead (and a really kiddie one too). 

[Writing Wrongs]

I enjoy Kara's delight in being a superhero. You don't get that too much these days.

[bettername2come]

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.

I think it's because Alex is the only sister she has, whereas Eliza has to compete with the memory of her real mother.

[ottoDbusdriver]

The Villain of the Week was really lame.  First, she gave herself her nickname.

 

How does electricity passing through Kara give someone else super powers.  If that was an actual thing, the DEO should be replicating that process. I also thought it ridiculous that Livewire immediately knew all of her electro-powers and was also a teleporter.  And that her clothes/jewelry also seem to have powers to transform and not melt/burn off (were her clothes also modified by Kara's DNA).  Add in the fact that she can be defeated by water, it makes her a particularly lame supervillain if she can't be evil in the rain -- plus when Kara turned the hose on her it looked so fake when she was flailing away (more bad wirework).  

 

Was that an Orphan Black name drop by Kara.

 

At the end of the episode, did Cat call Kara 'Kira' ?

 

By the way, does anyone else find it strange that Kara entered her apartment window in broad daylight -- for anyone nearby to see ?  That's as bad as talking about Supergirl in public all the time.

[Dilandau]

At the end of the episode, did Cat call Kara 'Kira' ?

 

 

Maybe she suspects that Kara has a Death Note.

[cambridgeguy]

I wonder why the Danvers never tried to pull the Superman card when Henshaw showed up.  I don't think he'd be OK with his cousin being turned into a lab rat.

 

It also seemed odd that Kara knew nothing about Winn's dad.  A simple google search would quickly reveal things.  At the very least James should know unless he inexplicably doesn't know Winn's last name.

[ae2]

The villain of the week getting super powers due to some crazy fluke that happened with a Kryptonian is pretty standard fare for this sort of show. 

 

... but, Henshaw telling her that she's done fighting humans and needs to go back to doing her job could be an indication that they wanted to get that plot element done and over with early on. We've seen plenty of that in these first few episodes, e.g. explaining why Superman doesn't swoop in every week to save the day.

[Chicago Redshirt]

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.

 

Previous to this, I got that they were friends because the show said so. But "best friends"? Not going to buy that for a second. There doesn't seem to be any indication that they were much more than co-workers before the reveal. But given how blatant Winn has been about his romantic intentions, I think it's particularly low for Kara to not be clear that she doesn't think of him that way and talk about it.

 

Plus

it's another Superman fail if he hasn't told Kara that her bestie is the son of one of his classic villains, Toyman. I really, really hope that Kara rejecting Win doesn't turn him into Toyman 2.0.

 

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.

 

Eliza didn't look significantly younger than he did 11-12 years ago either. And I'm assuming that Foster Dad when he inevitably reappears will look like he did in the flashback, since that is how Dean Cain apparently looks now. So I'll go with them not caring to go out of the way make any of the adults look younger.

 

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. 

Like others have said, Kara remembers her bio mom and probably feels the need to distinguish between Alura and Eliza that way.

 

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.

Classic Electro couldn't do many of the things that Live Wire does in this episode (teleport, move through computer systems), and it's possible that Live Wire is just that much more powerful.

 

I don't see how the fight with Live Wire establishes that Supergirl is weaker than Superman.

 

By that sort of logic, we know that Supergirl is stronger than Superman since she was able to defeat Reactron and Superman could only manage draws against him.

 

The Villain of the Week was really lame.  First, she gave herself her nickname.

 

How does electricity passing through Kara give someone else super powers.  If that was an actual thing, the DEO should be replicating that process. I also thought it ridiculous that Livewire immediately knew all of her electro-powers and was also a teleporter.  And that her clothes/jewelry also seem to have powers to transform and not melt/burn off (were her clothes also modified by Kara's DNA).  Add in the fact that she can be defeated by water, it makes her a particularly lame supervillain if she can't be evil in the rain -- plus when Kara turned the hose on her it looked so fake when she was flailing away (more bad wirework).  

 

Was that an Orphan Black name drop by Kara.

 

At the end of the episode, did Cat call Kara 'Kira' ?

 

By the way, does anyone else find it strange that Kara entered her apartment window in broad daylight -- for anyone nearby to see ?  That's as bad as talking about Supergirl in public all the time.

Some of this is just standard superhero suspension of disbelief. In this day and age, satellites would be able to track Supergirl/Superman's flights, for instance.

 

Winn said he was going to have an Orphan Thanksgiving and then watch Orphan Black. To which Kara invited him over and said they could watch Orphan Black after.

 

Cat has been calling Kara "Care-A" even though her name is pronounced "Car-A." I think that continued through this episode.

[Primetimer]

It's Supergirl versus an evil ex-radio host with a new take on current events.

Read the story

[marketdoctor]

 

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.  :)

 

I'm 1000% behind both of these ideas (I'm a guy, but I know that in real life WOMEN TALK TO EACH OTHER (sorry for shouting) even about things other than men.)

 

Also I hate the love triange/Lucy Lane makes it more so issue with Winn as Milhouse.

 

I wondered where I'd seen the actress who plays Live Wire before--she was Lacey Thornfield on The Middleman.  That has some interesting crossover potential.

 

There was also a Brothers and Sisters reference to going to Ojai.  Being a few hours away means National City could be West Covina or Palmdale, if they want to do My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend or Terminator crossovers.  Or maybe, since it's the DC universe, it could be in Utah (because the geography is different, or they refer to flying there, or there are bullet trains, or James was underestimating distance, or they have Glee geography.)

[Writing Wrongs]

 

How does electricity passing through Kara give someone else super powers.

They did this on Smallville as well, in the episode "Leech". Although that guy got Clark's powers while Clark lost his due to the lightening passing through Kryptonite.

[StarBrand]

 

 

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 probably wouldn't be far off. I'm one who believes Cat totally knows that her assistant is Supergirl. I got that feeling from the episode where they had their "interview"-the way she looked at Kara and said "you!"-as in "my useless assistant is actually YOU? HAHA". I would have totally bought it if Cat had said "so, you really thought that if you tied your hair up and wore classes, that it would fool me?"

[random chance]

I think she knows too, because that option is far more interesting. I bet they'll play out the does she/doesn't she for quite some time though. (I would!)

[Winston Wolfe]

There was also a Brothers and Sisters reference to going to Ojai.

Caught that one too.  Berlanti is certainly having fun with the callbacks, isn't he?

I don't see how the fight with Live Wire establishes that Supergirl is weaker than Superman.

My point - and I didn't make it was well as I should have - was that in every single episode thus far we've seen Kara brought to the brink of death by "B" list opponents.  We ain't talking Darkskeid or Doomsday here folks.   If the writers keep this trope up, SG will quickly lose all credibility, IMO.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Winston Wolfe

[Chicago Redshirt]

True, Kara has had a tougher-than-she-should time with B-listers.

 

But we don't know if Superman in the Supergirlverse is handling Darkseid or Doomsday level opponents either. One of the aforementioned B-listers has apparently been fighting Superman to a draw for years.

 

I see her gradually getting more confident and competent in the fighting department over these few episodes thus far. 

 

But it is part of the nature of the beast that SG will never be able to dispatch opponents as quickly as she should, given her array of powers.

[Writing Wrongs]

When I hear Ojai, I think of Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers hometown.

[mtlchick]

 

Cat has been calling Kara "Care-A" even though her name is pronounced "Car-A." I think that continued through this episode.

 

For reference, the closed captioning reads as "Kerah" though she has pronounced Kara's name correctly when she's in the mood for it.

[statsgirl]

 

Was that an Orphan Black name drop by Kara.

My daughter, a big Orphan Black fan, squeed at that and said now Orphan Black is in the same geekdom as Game of Thrones, which is the usual go-to for binge viewing.

 

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.

I think it's much more limiting in terms of story potential though.  It's the 5 second reveal (which Alfred Hitchcock argued against) rather than the multi-episode slow discovery and rehabilitation of Cat.  It would also make Cat smarter than everyone else on the show, from Kara to Alex to Jimmy and Winn.

 

I'm not that up on comic book fandom but has there ever been a boss who knows the superhero's identity?  Not Perry White or J.Jonah Jameson or even Singh over on The Flash.   For me it's more fun to have the alternate identity try to juggle saving things and a clueless boss than it would be for example for Cat to say to Kara "There's a potential earthquake in the south west. Go and deal with it, and bring me a Bulletproof coffee on your way back."

 

A question for those who think Cat already knows -- Do you think she does because you see it as a better story?  Or because you're rooting for Calista Flockhart (like Lana Parilla in Once Upon a Time)?

Edited November 17, 2015 by statsgirl

[Tarasme]

 

A question for those who think Cat already knows -- Do you think she does because you see it as a better story?  Or because you're rooting for Calista Flockhart (like Lana Parilla in Once Upon a Time)?

 

I thought this episode went a long way to developing Cat Grant- including a level of self-awareness that is rarely seen in action/adventure supporting television characters. Particularly this early in the run.

 

Cat understood that she was the one that put Leslie in a position to become LiveWire. Maybe Cat was thinking too much of herself- which is apropos and by no means OOC- but she realized that her conditioning of her subordinates has consequences.

 

It would be awesome if they could give Cat Grant an understanding and a measure of catharsis by being able to intentfully shape Supergirl by shaping her assistant Kara. How would Cat Grant use such influence? Such power? *Would* Cat be powerful in that instance or would her influence be pushed aside for that of more moral, selfless characters? Can they show a struggle for Kara between influences without dropping constant anvils on us?

 

It's an interesting line of thought. :) I like CF and all (extreme soft filtering aside) but I'm more interested in the characterization than the actors.

[Delphi]

My daughter, a big Orphan Black fan, squeed at that and said now Orphan Black is in the same geekdom as Game of Thrones, which is the usual go-to for binge viewing.

I think it's much more limiting in terms of story potential though. It's the 5 second reveal (which Alfred Hitchcock argued against) rather than the multi-episode slow discovery and rehabilitation of Cat. It would also make Cat smarter than everyone else on the show, from Kara to Alex to Jimmy and Winn.

I'm not that up on comic book fandom but has there ever been a boss who knows the superhero's identity? Not Perry White or J.Jonah Jameson or even Singh over on The Flash. For me it's more fun to have the alternate identity try to juggle saving things and a clueless boss than it would be for example for Cat to say to Kara "There's a potential earthquake in the south west. Go and deal with it, and bring me a Bulletproof coffee on your way back."

A question for those who think Cat already knows -- Do you think she does because you see it as a better story? Or because you're rooting for Calista Flockhart (like Lana Parilla in Once Upon a Time)?

They never say it specifically but it's pretty well established that Jim Gordon and Perry White know exactly who Batman and Superman are. Along the lines of Jim is a fantastic detective while White is a great investigative reporter. They aren't stupid.

[wayne67]

I think it's much more limiting in terms of story potential though.  It's the 5 second reveal (which Alfred Hitchcock argued against) rather than the multi-episode slow discovery and rehabilitation of Cat.  It would also make Cat smarter than everyone else on the show, from Kara to Alex to Jimmy and Winn.

 

I'm not that up on comic book fandom but has there ever been a boss who knows the superhero's identity?  Not Perry White or J.Jonah Jameson or even Singh over on The Flash.   For me it's more fun to have the alternate identity try to juggle saving things and a clueless boss than it would be for example for Cat to say to Kara "There's a potential earthquake in the south west. Go and deal with it, and bring me a Bulletproof coffee on your way back."

 

A question for those who think Cat already knows -- Do you think she does because you see it as a better story?  Or because you're rooting for Calista Flockhart (like Lana Parilla in Once Upon a Time)?

 

I don't see how it would make Cat smarter than everyone else. James already knew as did Alex and Winn found out 5 minutes after her coming up. It's one thing to ignore that your coworker look 95% like the guy on the newspaper because you can think it's only surface deep but it's another thing entirely to suspend disbelief when the person you hear every day giving you their thoughts about your articles shows up in costume in front of you with the exact same voice. 

 

I don't really see how Cat not knowing improves anything. It's not like it ramps up story stakes as it's doubtful she'd reveal Super Girl's identity to the public for a quick buck because it'd probably mean she'd lose her in. If it is revealed that Cat knew from the start or figured it after the 4th conversation they had about SuperGirl then it actually opens up a whole new line of access for the both of them. Cat can feed Super Girl all sorts of info and provide extra resources and Super Girl can provide her exclusive details about her fights. Win Win as far as I'm concerned. They don't have to have all these stupid beating around the bush advice sessions. Cat can just tell SuperGirl how to boost her PR image directly. 

[Chris24601]

They never say it specifically but it's pretty well established that Jim Gordon and Perry White know exactly who Batman and Superman are. Along the lines of Jim is a fantastic detective while White is a great investigative reporter. They aren't stupid.

With Commissioner Gordon I believe there was a comic where Batman wanted to tell him and even took off his cowl, but Gordon turned around before he could and refused to look. Gordon said he could have figured out who Batman was if he had wanted to, but if he doesn't know beyond the shadow of a doubt, he'd never have to lie about it either (and as one of the few good cops in Gotham, that was important to him). He appreciated the gesture though.

 

As to Perry White, he could probably deduce it in any universe where Superman is basically the only hero around, but Clark has made use of various shapeshifters (often the Martian Manhunter) and doubles to appear in public as both Clark and Superman in the same place with media present that its not quite the logical leap you'd think it would be.

 

I mean, if you see Superman and Clark Kent shake hands not ten feet from you are you going to think he's fooling everyone with a double or are you going to believe your own eyes and conclude that Clark Kent just bears a striking resemblance to Superman but is clearly a different person?

 

But even if Perry could deduce it, he's generally been portrayed as pretty principled and so he's probably like Gordon in not looking too hard because Superman is a really good man who puts his life on the line to help and if he wants to be a damned good reporter on the side, who is he to upset the apple cart? Plus again, his business is publishing the truth and not knowing for sure again means not having to lie.

 

Personally, I favor the gradual reveal for Cat that maybe caps off with a story like "The Zeppo" where Cat figures it out and then decides to not say anything about it because she values the relationship she's built with Kara as her mentor and revealing that she knows could change the dynamic in a way that ruins that.

[kirkola]

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. 

 

This quote from 1.3 is a bit ambiguous:

Cat Grant: It's you. Oh, no. I'm sorry. I meant to say who are you?

Supergirl: According to you, I'm Supergirl.

Cat Grant: Trademark pending.

 

But the face Cat made just before the line made it seem like she did know.  So I think the writers are leaving themselves room to go either way. 

 

As for the episode, Winn's "crushed" face when Kara is oblivious reminds me of the "crushed" face that Fitz (Agents of SHIELD) uses on Jemma.  I was excited to see Helen Slater, then bummed out that Mama Danvers couldn't be more supportive.  Even her "support" of Kara felt off-puting to me.  The DEO reveal seemed obvious (but I think I watch too many detective shows--I thought the reveal would be Mama Danvers).  Clearly they wanted to get that "I know everything" dig in by Dean Cain (love!).  And that's when I told myself that clearly Mama Danvers resented Kara for taking Papa Danvers away. 

 

The problem, I think for me, is that foster parents (especially of superheros) should be a bit more caring of their charges.  This "she's a special and delicate snowflake" that the biological child must I must force my biological child to watch over, was just crap from the beginning. 

[Delphi]

That was in No Man's Land, Bruce comments on it again in Hush:

http://theshaunapiranha.tumblr.com/post/61281527064/one-of-my-favorite-clois-stories-doesnt-even-take

[Kromm]

Less than 2 pages of comments on the episode is disheartening a bit. Especially in light of it actually being a good episode.

 

Theoretically the ratings went up however (7.87 million total viewers and a 1.80 18-49 rating--up in the demo from 1.71 last week but down in total viewers from 8.06 million).

[Sakura12]

Supergirl can never tell anyone her real name. Unlike her cousin she's already using her real name. Saying she's Kara Zor-El would give her away. 

 

I don't think Cat knows because Cat is never subtle, she would've said something by now. The fact that she's purposely mispronouncing Kara shows me she doesn't pay attention to her enough to realize she's Supergirl.  I think she will figure it out soon because she's starting to get to know her.

 

I would love for something to be happening like it was this episode where it's just the two of them and Cat goes "Why are you still here? Go save the day, Supergirl." 

Edited November 17, 2015 by Sakura12

[Kromm]

Caught that one too.  Berlanti is certainly having fun with the callbacks, isn't he?

My point - and I didn't make it was well as I should have - was that in every single episode thus far we've seen Kara brought to the brink of death by "B" list opponents.  We ain't talking Darkskeid or Doomsday here folks.   If the writers keep this trope up, SG will quickly lose all credibility, IMO.

They're only B list because they're not Lex Luthor or Darkseid or Brainiac. I mean you just can't pull out those kinds of villains constantly, especially when they don't want to borrow from Superman too completely. 

 

Besides, if she DIDN'T have some trouble defeating these early opponents, wouldn't you likely be typing a different objection that she was instantly too good at this? If not you, then countless others would, I'm sure.

[Kromm]

Seems to me for some reason Supergirl the Show (and the character) has been subject to a real "can't win" thing from fan analysis. If she has trouble she's "got no credibility".  If she DOESN'T have any trouble, the script has no credibility (and likely is boring, to boot). Similarly, if she's got any interpersonal conflict, she's suddenly Super-Angst Girl, if she doesn't have any conflict, she's Super Boring Girl.  If Superman isn't mentioned, the show is "dodging it". If he IS mentioned the show is "relying on him too much". If the baddies were Superman A-listers, I'm sure that last charge would be extended even more, but since they aren't they're all "B list" and thus unworthy of the show (I know that's not literally what was said by the last poster... I'm just taking the argument to an extreme equal to some of these others). If the Superhero tropes are too fully bought into, many seem to not be able to look past them, but if they're challenged by the show, some others seem to think that's too gimmicky.

 

Honestly it's a wonder anyone is watching at all if it's all "can't wins" like these.

[wayne67]

Seems to me for some reason Supergirl the Show (and the character) has been subject to a real "can't win" thing from fan analysis. If she has trouble she's "got no credibility".  If she DOESN'T have any trouble, the script has no credibility (and likely is boring, to boot). Similarly, if she's got any interpersonal conflict, she's suddenly Super-Angst Girl, if she doesn't have any conflict, she's Super Boring Girl.  If Superman isn't mentioned, the show is "dodging it". If he IS mentioned the show is "relying on him too much". If the baddies were Superman A-listers, I'm sure that last charge would be extended even more, but since they aren't they're all "B list" and thus unworthy of the show (I know that's not literally what was said by the last poster... I'm just taking the argument to an extreme equal to some of these others). If the Superhero tropes are too fully bought into, many seem to not be able to look past them, but if they're challenged by the show, some others seem to think that's too gimmicky.

 

Honestly it's a wonder anyone is watching at all if it's all "can't wins" like these.

 

To be fair lots of shows have to balance between two extremes in order to prevent backlash from fans. There are some legit criticisms of the way Kara fights, even from the characters themselves, like how Alex said she has no fighting experience... because she has no fighting experience. Also the fact that the writers seem to forget that Kara has super speed is frustrating in fights especially when they could have tried for a super speed battle between LiveWire and SuperGirl this episode.

 

I like the show and the main character for the most part but her fighting is kind of by the numbers plot contrivance victories.

[Kromm]

My daughter, a big Orphan Black fan, squeed at that and said now Orphan Black is in the same geekdom as Game of Thrones, which is the usual go-to for binge viewing.

 

I think it's much more limiting in terms of story potential though.  It's the 5 second reveal (which Alfred Hitchcock argued against) rather than the multi-episode slow discovery and rehabilitation of Cat.  It would also make Cat smarter than everyone else on the show, from Kara to Alex to Jimmy and Winn.

 

I'm not that up on comic book fandom but has there ever been a boss who knows the superhero's identity?  Not Perry White or J.Jonah Jameson or even Singh over on The Flash.   For me it's more fun to have the alternate identity try to juggle saving things and a clueless boss than it would be for example for Cat to say to Kara "There's a potential earthquake in the south west. Go and deal with it, and bring me a Bulletproof coffee on your way back."

 

A question for those who think Cat already knows -- Do you think she does because you see it as a better story?  Or because you're rooting for Calista Flockhart (like Lana Parilla in Once Upon a Time)?

I don't give a crap about Calista Flockhart. I think it's a better (more original) story. And the writers on this show clearly are going out of their way to either avoid the more obvious tropes, or exploit them in new ways. Aside from things Cat has actually said, that's the other reason it seems logical.

 

It's only a five second redemption/reveal of Cat if it's the only thing DONE to boost the character until that point. And clearly that's already not the case since we're given information about her son (in the episode that didn't air) which from the perspective of this episode seems to have already humanized her, and then in this episode proper we see Cat not only be heroic, but also smart and in her own way pretty considerate.   One assumes the writers aren't going to go overboard on niceing up Cat, or there's no bite left to her, but they're unlikely also to stand still on the character waiting for some late in season (or even next season) reveal that she's figured this all out long past and has just been playing along.  By the time we learn that (assuming we do) Cat will have had plenty of other plots/subplots, if what we've already seen is any indication.

[random chance]

Less than 2 pages of comments on the episode is disheartening a bit. Especially in light of it actually being a good episode.

 

Theoretically the ratings went up however (7.87 million total viewers and a 1.80 18-49 rating--up in the demo from 1.71 last week but down in total viewers from 8.06 million).

Most of the shows I love are lucky to get five posts.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

I mean, if you see Superman and Clark Kent shake hands not ten feet from you are you going to think he's fooling everyone with a double or are you going to believe your own eyes and conclude that Clark Kent just bears a striking resemblance to Superman but is clearly a different person?

Kal is also supposed to be super-good at slumping when he's being Clark, as opposed to standing up straight as Superman, so there's a height difference of a few inches that helps throw people off.

[Gizmo321]

Nitpick of the week: If you're at home enjoying dinner with your mom, your sister, and your best friend ...all of whom know your secret WHY would you sit there wearing glasses you don't need?????????

 

Other note: I truly dislike James/Kara together I really don't see the chemistry. They need to put the romance angle of this show on the backburner for awhile......I'd rather see her with her best friend at this point if they feel the need to have a romance angle right now....

[Kromm]

Nitpick of the week: If you're at home enjoying dinner with your mom, your sister, and your best friend ...all of whom know your secret WHY would you sit there wearing glasses you don't need?????????.

Although it's a BS explanation, this is not a new nitpick, it's exactly the same one as the "why did she wear glasses before she needed a secret identity" one. And Andrew Kreisberg has answered that already.

[morakot]

I don't know if I'd want to be in a relationship with a man who calls me in the middle of a romantic getaway with the ex with whom he just reconciled.  It does not bode well for a serious Kara-James romance -- if he'll do that to Lara, he'll do that to Kara.

[dippydee]

I'm starting to enjoy this show. There are still issues but it's fun and relatively angst free which balances out Arrow for me.

I could really really do without the impending love triangle though. I like Jimmy (and boy is he pretty) but the romance angle is the weakest part of this show. That said, if they treat it like they did this week I can deal with it. A couple of limited scenes here and there while the Danvers family dynamic gets more screen time is the way I like it.

ETA: I'm really hoping Papa Danvers isn't dead because I'd love to see Dean Cain turn up again(and often) Since I have a soft spot for him from his days as Supes :)

Edited November 18, 2015 by dippydee

[Winston Wolfe]

 

I could really really do without the impending love triangle though. I like Jimmy (and boy is he pretty) but the romance angle is the weakest part of this show.

Not even five episodes in and I'm already weary of it.  The whole romance thing just seems so forced.  And locking Winn firmly in the friend zone so quickly removes any possibility of a true romantic triangle.  Although it would be nice if the writers fake us out and give us a romantic endgame other than Kara/James.

[Trini]

Granny Goodness would have lines.

 

Hey, remember these are the Flash producers; they could be teasing now until they figure out how to do a proper arc later. (I'm thinking of the Grodd teases in early Season 1 of Flash.)

 

I like the show and the main character for the most part but her fighting is kind of by the numbers plot contrivance victories.

 

Speaking of the Flash, unfortunately, it seems they've copied this formula from that show.

Step 1: Fight #1: hero defeated

Step 2: Pep talk, assistance from Team,

Step 3: Fight #2: hero wins.

It's annoying to me, because now I have to watch this play out twice a week.

 

---

So Alex is only a year older than Kara?? I could could have sworn they were going for a slightly bigger age difference. At least from the pilot.

[wayne67]

Speaking of the Flash, unfortunately, it seems they've copied this formula from that show.

Step 1: Fight #1: hero defeated

Step 2: Pep talk, assistance from Team,

Step 3: Fight #2: hero wins.

It's annoying to me, because now I have to watch this play out twice a week.

 

IMHO The Flash Victories are even worse because the second fight with the VOW is usually his team of super smart people reminding the other supposedly intelligent character to run faster... which is his only ability. Running fast. Which is one of the many reasons I stopped watching that show.

As for this episode/ rematch fight. Kara's plan hinged on the fact the VOW wouldn't notice the weird black object in the middle of the street and getting "lucky" with a convenient water gushing instrument around... Even though she would have no idea that would work... because that's not really how water and electricity/energy even works. It also bugs me that Kara apparently has a super secret government section supposedly to help back her up and none of them seem to be around during any of these battles. Yes I know they shouldn't detract focus but couldn't there be some random Agents around to monitor the situation.

 

For a Hero with the family phrase Stronger together, she does seem to not rely on her team much. Where was Winn during her ambush of LiveWire ? 

Edited November 18, 2015 by wayne67

[statsgirl]

I don't see how it would make Cat smarter than everyone else. James already knew as did Alex and Winn found out 5 minutes after her coming up.

James came to town already knowing, Alex knew as soon as Kara arrived at her house, and Winn was told as soon as Kara decided to become Super.  If Cat knew from the first episode or two, she would be the only one to figure it out on her own.  Hopefully there is a clue in the unaired episode when

she's assigning Kara to babysit her kid while there's an emergency going on.

 

For me, Regina on OUaT was ruined when the writers decided they liked her so much they wanted to make her nice so I hope they don't do that with Cat here.

 

I don't know if I'd want to be in a relationship with a man who calls me in the middle of a romantic getaway with the ex with whom he just reconciled.  It does not bode well for a serious Kara-James romance -- if he'll do that to Lara, he'll do that to Kara.

What I got from it is that he'd rather be with Kara than Lucy, which then leads to the question of why did he even agree to start up with Lucy again since he's so into Kara?

 

That missing episode left a number of questions unanswered that mess things up here.

[Actionmage]

I believe that Cat may know because she has decided to throw herself into the Supergirl branding/phenomenon, that with all the time poring over the photos and interview and whatever else Cat has compiled on Supergirl, that she knows. Or has a pretty educated hunch that just needs to be confirmed.  She seems flighty, is "catty",  but also pretty canny as well. She is a media mogul and has managed to stay relevant.

 

I sort of whish Alex had been allowed more of an angry reaction to Eliza lying to her for much longer than Alex has lied to Eliza. Especially since Eliza seems to have demanded more transparency from Alex and more everything else from Alex in regards to Kara.  I hope we find that Alex was close to Jeremiah, so that she had someone to vent to during her teens and hopefully college. 

 

I wonder if there is more to Jeremiah's joining the DEO than what Eliza is saying. She has lied to "protect" the girls and apparently never thought it possible that the DEO would recruit Alex? I can kind of see how Eliza might want to think that Alex was "safe", but with the DEO taking my husband instead of that poor orphaned child, I would think I'd be paranoid that those shady bastards would be gunning for my other child too. Or maybe that's me.

 

I do hope that Kara sets things straight with Winn. I like Winn as a friend for Kara, but the unrequited crush/love thing is slowly making me wonder about Kara. I would hope this stuff with Lucy and James would bring the Winn situation in sharper focus for her, but not yet. The writers aren't doing their hero any good by dragging this part of her story out. I also join with those who hope that Winn isn't spurred into supervillainy due to being romantically rejected. Besides, if that happened we couldn't have delightful awkwardness when Winn's dad escapes prison and comes to see his son for his birthday or some holiday!

 

If we have Jenna Dewan-Tatum as Lucy Lane, surely we can see her and James dance, right?

[Xenith22]

I could really really do without the impending love triangle though.

Triangle?  I suspect it's more like an impending pentagon....Kara, Winn, Jimmy, Lucy...and then probably throw in Max for good measure.

 

It also bugs me that Kara apparently has a super secret government section supposedly to help back her up and none of them seem to be around during any of these battles. Yes I know they shouldn't detract focus but couldn't there be some random Agents around to monitor the situation.

Well assuming that the DEO is a legit government organization, the purpose of it is still strictly to deal with extraterrestrials.  So at this point I am choosing to believe that Henshaw actually could not assign an team to actually assist in dealing with Livewire?   Because the decision to help Kara/Alex deal with non-alien threats was simply one that he personally made but does not have the legal authority to have his team take part in combating them without risking it getting back to his superiors resulting in his termination.  (although he can still secretly provide support with tech or even have tech customized by his guy by just not explaining the actual purpose...letting them assume it is alien related?)

 

 

 

As for this episode/ rematch fight. Kara's plan hinged on the fact the VOW wouldn't notice the weird black object in the middle of the street and getting "lucky" with a convenient water gushing instrument around... Even though she would have no idea that would work... because that's not really how water and electricity/energy even works.

Yeah I found that ridiculous that the device was sitting out in the open completely obvious....could they have not tried to at least hide it under a car or something?   The water thing I had less of a problem with.   It's common knowledge that water and electricity do not mix.   And while it's true it's not for the reason of short-circuiting as many people mistakenly believe thanks to comics....but your average unfiltered tap water has so many other impurities in it that it would actually serves as a conductor to rapidly ground her given the high potential difference of your standard electrical super-villain.

 

 

 

I do hope that Kara sets things straight with Winn. I like Winn as a friend for Kara, but the unrequited crush/love thing is slowly making me wonder about Kara.

What is there for her to set straight?   She knows his feelings towards her but is not into him like that.  She's made that clear to him and he knows it.   At least that's what I got from the pilot episode when they are on the roof and he thinks she is coming out of the closet.   "Oh my god you're a lesbian.  Oh Kara that's why you're not into me.  This is great news"   The way she reacts to that made it seem like their feelings towards each other is definitely a conversation that they have had before.

With that said...it really is a tough situation for her.   I get the feeling that because of her secret she has lived a pretty sheltered life and thus has not made a lot of friends.  (Hence why she calls him her best friend despite not knowing that much about his personal life). So she really values what she has with Winn, but at the same time his feelings towards her have not just gone away...and he holds out the hope that someday she will see him as more than a friend.  Which results in an extra layer to many of their interactions where he can feel hurt, and she basically has to just try to ignore it or else cut ties with him and lose one of her only friends.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Xenith22

[wayne67]

Yeah I found that ridiculous that the device was sitting out in the open completely obvious....could they have not tried to at least hide it under a car or something?   The water thing I had less of a problem with.   It's common knowledge that water and electricity do not mix.   And while it's true it's not for the reason of short-circuiting as many people mistakenly believe thanks to comics....but your average unfiltered tap water has so many other impurities in it that it would actually serves as a conductor to rapidly ground her given the high potential difference of your standard electrical super-villain.

 

Actually my issue was more that if the water ended up serving as a conductor LiveWire may have spread out until she dispersed entirely through the ambient water. Her just shorting out and lying on the ground dazed makes no sense. At first I thought Kara was actually trying to kill Livewire since water on living lightning has no known effect since that usually isn't covered in Earth science classes. It just confuses me as to what is Kara's stance on violence as she didn't really have a plan past trapping her. 

 

Oh well hopefully next episode they'll have her dealing with something alien and I won't have to think about it. 

 

That said where is her aunt ? Also how did the non Earth Sun powered Kryptonians capture all these alien threats... Also what happened to those other 10 planets Kara visited ?

Edited November 18, 2015 by wayne67

[ottoDbusdriver]

That said where is her aunt ? Also how did the non Earth Sun powered Kryptonians capture all these alien threats... Also what happened to those other 10 planets Kara visited ?

 

That is a good question -- how did they ever capture all these aliens in the first place ? Kryptonians didn't have super powers so did the aliens also have no super powers as well -- because all the aliens they have encountered also seem to all be super strong.

 

And what are the desserts like on those other 10 planets ?

[Chicago Redshirt]

That said where is her aunt ? Also how did the non Earth Sun powered Kryptonians capture all these alien threats... Also what happened to those other 10 planets Kara visited ?

 

Aunt in her last appearance said she wanted to throttle back her plans because she didn't know about Kryptonite or what other defenses the humans might have.

 

The alien threats may have been similarly depowered under Krypton's red sun. Also, Kryptonians presumably had super-scientific gizmos that made the DEO's stuff look like tinkertoys.

[Sakura12]

The fact that Kara's been to 10 other planets is interesting. I hope they explore more of that side since she was old enough to remember while Superman was not. I wish someone would ask her about them or they could even show a flashback of Alex and Kara talking about other planets as kids. You'd think Winn would be asking those questions, I'm sure he'd love to know if she's been to Mars or learn about what other planets look like. 

Edited November 18, 2015 by Sakura12

[mtlchick]

Two random thoughts:

 

1) you know you're watching a DCTV show when the prologue episode is a short summary of who they are before they go through the scenes from the last episode ("I am The Flash/The Green Arrow/Supergirl!") and now you wonder "how do they plan on doing that for Legends of Tomorrow? 'We are the following people!' "?

 

2) Kara and Alex were under the impression that Jeremiah died in a plane crash.  Considering Kara was taught to hide her powers but only them out to save Alex from a crash, I wonder if she harbors 'guilt' in not being able to save her dad at the time? 

[Chicago Redshirt]

What is there for her to set straight?   She knows his feelings towards her but is not into him like that.  She's made that clear to him and he knows it.   At least that's what I got from the pilot episode when they are on the roof and he thinks she is coming out of the closet.   "Oh my god you're a lesbian.  Oh Kara that's why you're not into me.  This is great news"   The way she reacts to that made it seem like their feelings towards each other is definitely a conversation that they have had before.

 

 

The sense I get is despite that statement from Winn and despite super-abilities that should be able to detect physical manifestations that he's crushing on her, Kara has no clue that he's into him. 

 

That said, if she knew, I would say it's still on her to repeat that it's not OK for him to keep mentioning his crush. 

 

The fact that Kara's been to 10 other planets is interesting. I hope they explore more of that side since she was old enough to remember while Superman was not. I wish someone would ask her about them or they could even show a flashback of Alex and Kara talking about other planets as kids. You'd think Winn would be asking those questions, I'm sure he'd love to know if she's been to Mars or learn about what other planets look like. 

 

I'm under the impression that the other planets were places that she visited while 12 and under before Krypton exploded. I'd doubt that she'd go anyplace in this solar system after she got chastised for just flying across the country.

 

Two random thoughts:

 

1) you know you're watching a DCTV show when the prologue episode is a short summary of who they are before they go through the scenes from the last episode ("I am The Flash/The Green Arrow/Supergirl!") and now you wonder "how do they plan on doing that for Legends of Tomorrow? 'We are the following people!' "?

 

2) Kara and Alex were under the impression that Jeremiah died in a plane crash.  Considering Kara was taught to hide her powers but only them out to save Alex from a crash, I wonder if she harbors 'guilt' in not being able to save her dad at the time? 

 

"My name is Rip Hunter. I'm a time traveler from the year blah-blah-blah. I have devoted my life to stopping threats to the time stream. To help me, I have gathered a set of heroes and villains from my past. (montage of the members)They don't know it yet, but they will become...The Legends of Tomorrow."

 

I hope that she doesn't harbor guilt for long, because a) Papa Danvers is almost certainly alive in the present and b) there's enough angst in the other superhero shows to go around.

 

Besides, she doesn't have any apparent angst for not taking action to save what literally has to be thousands of people in the 12 years she's been on earth between her arrival and her coming out in the pilot. 

[kirkola]

The sense I get is despite that statement from Winn and despite super-abilities that should be able to detect physical manifestations that he's crushing on her, Kara has no clue that he's into him. 

 

That said, if she knew, I would say it's still on her to repeat that it's not OK for him to keep mentioning his crush. 

 

 

I'm under the impression that the other planets were places that she visited while 12 and under before Krypton exploded. I'd doubt that she'd go anyplace in this solar system after she got chastised for just flying across the country.

 

 

"My name is Rip Hunter. I'm a time traveler from the year blah-blah-blah. I have devoted my life to stopping threats to the time stream. To help me, I have gathered a set of heroes and villains from my past. (montage of the members)They don't know it yet, but they will become...The Legends of Tomorrow."

 

I hope that she doesn't harbor guilt for long, because a) Papa Danvers is almost certainly alive in the present and b) there's enough angst in the other superhero shows to go around.

 

Besides, she doesn't have any apparent angst for not taking action to save what literally has to be thousands of people in the 12 years she's been on earth between her arrival and her coming out in the pilot. 

 

Actually, I'm not sure it would bother me to have Arthur Darvill doing VO in front of each episode.  The fact that It will probably be Victor Garber doesn't excite me that much.  Though to be fair to Garber, I love him and usually get excited when I see his name in the credits.