S01.E08: Hostile Takeover

[legaleagle53]

The thing about Cat figuring out Kara's identity is that she's the first person to know Kara's true identify that she didn't necessarily want to know. She probably would think up to this point she's been doing an OK job of hiding it. I'm of the mind that Cat has known for quite some time, and the whole "overhearing" thing was pretty much confirmation. She's been mentally keeping track of every "coincidental" incident since Supergirl came along, and put two and two together.

 

Also, Cat's reaction wasn't "HA, I knew it!", but "thanks for all the things you've done for me.". Kara seemed to be rather unnerved by all this, although Cat has been a Supergirl backer since day one-I would think she'd be a valuable ally to have...

 

Oh, indeed she would be.  Cat commands wealth and resources that she would no doubt be more than happy to commit to helping Kara/Supergirl.  In fact, I think the next step should be for her to be introduced to the Fortress of Supergirlitude and be let in on the fact that James and Winn already know (especially since I believe the Fortress is located on an otherwise empty floor of Cat's own building).  She'd probably be thrilled to finance a technology upgrade -- or at least provide some decent office furnishings.

 

And while we're at it, it probably IS time for Lucy to have her own "Aha!" moment.  I mean, first Winn blabs to Kara about "your cousin" directly in front of Lucy, and then Kara herself lets slip that she overheard Male White Privilege plotting against Cat in front of Lucy.  If Cat was able to do the math, Lucy should be able to do likewise.  Lois Lane's kid sister is no dummy.

Edited December 15, 2015 by legaleagle53

[Chicago Redshirt]

Oh, indeed she would be.  Cat commands wealth and resources that she would no doubt be more than happy to commit to helping Kara/Supergirl.  In fact, I think the next step should be for her to be introduced to the Fortress of Supergirlitude and be let in on the fact that James and Winn already know (especially since I believe the Fortress is located on an otherwise empty floor of Cat's own building).  She'd probably be thrilled to finance a technology upgrade -- or at least provide some decent office furnishings.

 

And while we're at it, it probably IS time for Lucy to have her own "Aha!" moment.  I mean, first Winn blabs to Kara about "your cousin" directly in front of Lucy, and then Kara herself lets slip that she overheard Male White Privilege plotting against Cat in front of Lucy.  If Cat was able to do the math, Lucy should be able to do likewise.  Lois Lane's kid sister is no dummy.

I hope the theory is true that Lucy already knows and staged the "I'm quitting the military" to spy on Supergirl/Kara.

 

Kara overhearing WMP talking wouldn't mean as much to Lucy as it did to Cat, because Lucy wouldn't know that Kara wasn't in a position to be within human earshot of WMP when he was talking about setting Cat up.

 

Another thing that occurred to me: the computer itself was presumably not a Catco computer, because it was over at WMP Co. I suppose WMP Co. might be a subsidiary of Catco or something, but it would then be strange for it to be actually named after WMP.

 

But giving the benefit of the doubt, all the shenanigans Team Supergirl did would be unnecessary, because Winn could easily (and legally) search WMP's Catco accounts from the comfort of his own desk. And when we're talking about someone who has managed to hack into the DEO database several times and not get caught, busting into WMP Co.'s corporate accounts and WMP's personal accounts should pose no challenge whatsoever.

[Chris24601]

And while we're at it, it probably IS time for Lucy to have her own "Aha!" moment.  I mean, first Winn blabs to Kara about "your cousin" directly in front of Lucy, and then Kara herself lets slip that she overheard Male White Privilege plotting against Cat in front of Lucy.  If Cat was able to do the math, Lucy should be able to do likewise.  Lois Lane's kid sister is no dummy.

She's not, but she also has less context to draw from as well. Cat was there the entire time that Kara said she overheard WMP talking... Lucy wasn't so hearing Kara say she overheard it shouldn't be a glaring "only someone with superhearing could know that" moment for her. Her knowing might come eventually (particularly if she sticks around), but I don't think she needs to necessarily be there yet.

 

Cat by contrast, comes just early enough in the narrative to be a bit surprising, but not unexpected. Contrary to how obvious it is for us who know right off the bat who Kara is, presuming that someone you've been around for some period of time is secretly a super-powered extraterrestrial is far from the most intuitive leap to make. Yes, they look a lot a like, but my friends swear they saw a stage actor in Germany who is my dead ringer and their first reaction wasn't "Wow, how'd you get to Germany and become an actor (doubly funny because I flunked German)" it was "he looked uncannily like you."

 

So I don't think it unreasonable that Cat only figured it out for CERTAIN just now... and I think its the certainty part that explains why she hasn't blurted her suspicions before now. I think she's had ever-growing suspicions (that seem to have corresponded with increasingly unsupervised work duties) that she was putting together... but the final bit about overhearing WMP was what pushed her from "it COULD be her" to "its DEFINITELY her" and that, like a good investigative reporter, you never ask the "gotcha" question until you're CERTAIN of the answer.

[Notwisconsin]

We also don't know how long Kara's been working there. Did she just get the job when the show started, or had she been there for a number of years?

 

Jerry Siegel, who created the Superman universe, wanted, in the middle 1950s, to let Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson in on the secret, but the powers that be wouldn't let him. Which would beg the question why the people at the Daily Planet would immediately betray Clark/Supes the second they had the chance?

 

I like this version, which is based on Powergirl and the Smallville version, better than the original DC version (the 1981 movie, as I said before somewhere, is very close to the original comic book).

[Izeinwinter]

Astra's motivation is a thing of beauty - She tried to save Krypton, got locked up for it, and then Krypton blew up in exactly the way she was warning about. Then she lands on a new planet where she gets superpowers. That lady is not going to back down from doing what she thinks is right, ever. 

As for why she is going after that particular industrialist.. There are only two reasonable explanations; 1: He is working on the same power tap tech that killed krypton. Thus on Astra's shitlist. 

2: she's doing a double bluff - What she is actually after is to break out her minions from DEO custody, which is why she put herself in lockup and then drew their forces elsewhere. She swallowed one of those blue anti-kryptonite devices before getting herself caught, so that cell she is locked up in is completely worthless. 

3: Both of the above. 

[sjohnson]

TV routinely upholds authority figures filling and torturing, but it will not uphold revolutionary violence. (And no, it will defend the American Revolution as not really revolutionary, possibly even conservative...and it insists on remaining agnostic on the Civil War, which was indisputably revolutionary.) TV uniformly discovers the compelling moral strictures of pacifism. I cannot remember any exceptions at all. Thus, Astra is irredeemably evil and every suggestion to the contrary is fake drama. 

[Crim]

Except for the Cat/SG scene at the end, the writing was truly awful in this one, and so were the action scenes - but this is likely to be partly a budget issue, so it doesn't bother me much. But the script is becoming increasingly cringe-worthy for a show not aimed at children. Yes, there are some elements that could build up to a degree of moral complexity, but nothing on the show right now indicates that the show would go for that instead of the most basic platitudes trotted out in a didactic manner.

 

ETA: When Winn said to himself that he liked corporate espionage a bit too much, I wondered if that was foreshadowing his turn as a villain. That was the one bright spot in all the triangle stuff. The scene with Kara framed between the 2? The show runners just can't help hammering everything in, can they?

Edited December 15, 2015 by Crim

[ketose]

I'm hoping they don't do some sort of misting of Cat so as to make her forget what she knows.  That would annoy me greatly.

I was considering the possibility of Kara kissing Cat to make her forget, al la Superman 2 (and 4).

[Chicago Redshirt]

We also don't know how long Kara's been working there. Did she just get the job when the show started, or had she been there for a number of years?

 

A couple times now, Cat has commented on how Kara "never" gets sick. To me, that means that Kara must have worked for Cat for a couple of years minimum, because saying "you never get sick" is not a comment you would make about someone who has worked for you just for a few months.

 

Astra's motivation is a thing of beauty - She tried to save Krypton, got locked up for it, and then Krypton blew up in exactly the way she was warning about. Then she lands on a new planet where she gets superpowers. That lady is not going to back down from doing what she thinks is right, ever. 

As for why she is going after that particular industrialist.. There are only two reasonable explanations; 1: He is working on the same power tap tech that killed krypton. Thus on Astra's shitlist. 

2: she's doing a double bluff - What she is actually after is to break out her minions from DEO custody, which is why she put herself in lockup and then drew their forces elsewhere. She swallowed one of those blue anti-kryptonite devices before getting herself caught, so that cell she is locked up in is completely worthless. 

3: Both of the above. 

There are probably other explanations as well...

 

Lord's company (spacing on its actual name) is the nearest location with whatever form of unobtanium (or has the largest supply etc) that they need to carry out the next steps in their baroque plan...

 

They are pissed of not about Max developing some dangerous alt-energy but because of his anti-alien rants and want to use him as an example that they can't be stopped. Stomping on one of the most anti-alien people isn't a bad coming out party.

[legaleagle53]

I was considering the possibility of Kara kissing Cat to make her forget, al la Superman 2 (and 4).

 

Did you have to go there?

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Cat Among The Vultures
Kara helps Cat Grant keep a secret. Will her boss return the favor?

[lion10]

Did you have to go there?

Trust me, the fanfic writers already have. The two most popular ships are Kara/Alex and Kara/Cat.

[pete]

I still find the villains all boring.   I wish some writer would fine a great vehicle for Laura Benanti.

Edited December 15, 2015 by pete

[Crim]

Trust me, the fanfic writers already have. The two most popular ships are Kara/Alex and Kara/Cat.

Really? That's hilarious. The love triangle is too lame to even tempt fanfic writers?

 

I didn't even wonder why they attacked Lord's company because of course they did. It's not like the show needs multiple companies or named characters when it could use just one! Like only Max and Cat stepped forward last episode (does no one else have opinions, organizations?), Livewire was connected to Cat, Alex is the agent to (presumably) interact most with Max, and so on.

[KirkB]

In this case the love triangle IS that lame, but that's not how most fan fic writers roll. Having done a spot of it myself (actually, quite a lot back in the day) you don't generally go to your keyboard to extole the virtues of the established or expected pairing, but rather the one you most want to see. Kara/James is all but certain and Kara/Winn is a slim possibility so there's not much point in writing about them. Kara/Alex is not at all surprising and neither is Kara/Cat. Not to mention within a day or two of the pilot I can bet you there were at least half a dozen Kara/Kal stories floating around the ether.

 

But to circle back to the topic at hand, if Astra is playing a long con against the DEO and let herself get captured not just as a distraction (which didn't really work since they showed up at Lord's place pretty quickly anyway) but as a way of getting close to their other prisoners, she's going to first need to get out of her kryptonite cell. I didn't see the glowy blue thing but do you think they checked her for the tech Kara warned them about?

Edited December 15, 2015 by KirkB

[Kromm]

So I don't think it unreasonable that Cat only figured it out for CERTAIN just now... and I think its the certainty part that explains why she hasn't blurted her suspicions before now. I think she's had ever-growing suspicions (that seem to have corresponded with increasingly unsupervised work duties) that she was putting together... but the final bit about overhearing WMP was what pushed her from "it COULD be her" to "its DEFINITELY her" and that, like a good investigative reporter, you never ask the "gotcha" question until you're CERTAIN of the answer.

This is my hope for it too (that we learn this was the case). It goes along with the narrative we've gotten that Kara has seen that Cat isn't really the person she assumed she was back at the beginning of the series.  If Cat isn't really the arrogant sourpuss who dismisses/ignores everyone below her as "the little people" then her having known virtually from the start it was Kara makes sense. As you say... the "gotcha" doesn't mean she didn't already know/strongly suspect. Just that she had her weapon ready.

A couple times now, Cat has commented on how Kara "never" gets sick. To me, that means that Kara must have worked for Cat for a couple of years minimum, because saying "you never get sick" is not a comment you would make about someone who has worked for you just for a few months.

We know the cap reasonably has to be around 3 years max, given the supposed age of Kara's human alias and a pretty good assumption she went to college for the normal span of years.

[rtms77]

I'm at a lost as to why no one suspects Winn of hacking Catco? He's the perfect insider and could have done so easily. Not to mention he could cover his tracks by pretending to look for the hack himself and rat his guy out.They never did actually catch the hacker themselves.

[legaleagle53]

I'm at a lost as to why no one suspects Winn of hacking Catco? He's the perfect insider and could have done so easily. Not to mention he could cover his tracks by pretending to look for the hack himself and rat his guy out.They never did actually catch the hacker themselves.

 

Because what would be his motive for doing so?  If Cat goes down, Kara goes down with her, and while he's frustrated at Kara's seeming cluelessness and/or indifference where his feelings for her are concerned, I seriously doubt that he'd really want to hurt her by destroying Cat.

 

The truth is that I'm just not seeing this "villain" light that people are seeing him in.

Edited December 15, 2015 by legaleagle53

[Chicago Redshirt]

 

We know the cap reasonably has to be around 3 years max, given the supposed age of Kara's human alias and a pretty good assumption she went to college for the normal span of years.

To nitpick, there's the possibility that Kara worked as an intern or in some other capacity less than executive assistant to Cat Grant (or whatever Kara's actual title is) for some time prior to her current gig while she was in college or even high school.

 

In any case, I'm just saying it seems like one would have to know someone through a couple cold & flu seasons to say that they "never" get sick.

 

Because what would be his motive for doing so?  If Cat goes down, Kara goes down with her, and while he's frustrated at Kara's seeming cluelessness and/or indifference where his feelings for her are concerned, I seriously doubt that he'd really want to hurt her by destroying Cat.

 

The truth is that I'm just not seeing this "villain" light that people are seeing him in.

Winn's motive could be simply money. Or mischief. 

 

Hypothetically, Winn knows that Kara doesn't need Cat. She could earn a living umpteen ways in a civilian identity and certainly as Supergirl she could doesn't even really need to be a civilian.

 

Winn has shown himself to be to one degree or another entitled, petty, resentful, willing to break the law, insecure, passive-aggressive. Although a lot of this has to do with his feelings for Kara and the fact that Kara has feelings for Jimmy, it's not too much of a stretch to think that these things could fuel his descent into villainy. It's certainly not an uncommon trope that resentment about not being able to get the girl will turn someone into a villain/stalker type.

And then there's the matter of his dad.

His father, Winslow Schott Sr., is apparently Superman villain Toyman, so it could make sense that Winn would go into the "family business" so to speak and start to play a similar role with Supergirl.

[Izeinwinter]

Check her how, exactly? if she swallowed it, well, I dont even think an xray machine would even *work*. Not to mention that if this is all a long con rescue op, the blue lights might be.. just blue lights, there to be flashy and attention focusing, and her actual counter to kryptonite is a drug. Tough the manhunter did manage to shoot that guy, so.. 

 

I think a big part of why Cat confronted Kara at this point of time is that she just displayed major loyalty - It wasn't just that she was sure of her theory, Cat was also fairly confident that Kara would not react by, say, flying off and relocating to Paris or something. And it was probably becoming less amusing to troll her over her terribad secret identity keeping. "What planet are you from?" has to have been deliberate, and it was not the first time Cat was lampshading the heck out of Kara being Supergirl. 

Edited December 16, 2015 by Izeinwinter

[stealinghome]

In this case the love triangle IS that lame, but that's not how most fan fic writers roll. Having done a spot of it myself (actually, quite a lot back in the day) you don't generally go to your keyboard to extole the virtues of the established or expected pairing, but rather the one you most want to see. Kara/James is all but certain and Kara/Winn is a slim possibility so there's not much point in writing about them. Kara/Alex is not at all surprising and neither is Kara/Cat. Not to mention within a day or two of the pilot I can bet you there were at least half a dozen Kara/Kal stories floating around the ether.

It also helps that Kara has way more chemistry with Cat and Alex. She and Winn have a cute friendship but I see zero sparks there. She has better chemistry with James, but the love triangle's suckitude is draining it more and more with each episode. Ugh, the love triangle sucks so much. I really think the show would instantly improve 20% if they dropped it right now, never to be seen again.

[ACW]

So, how does this actually protect Cat's secret?  Are we supposed to assume that that particular email hasn't been leaked yet?  I assumed they *all* had been leaked, and it was just a matter of time before the Planet staff put it all together. 

 

 

C) Technically, we should be keeping our fingers crossed for Streaky the Super Cat and Comet the Super Horse...Krypto is Kal-El's pet.'

.

.

.

I got the impression Astra might be Kara's bio-mom too. But if Astra is Kara's bio-mom, then Kara and Kal-El are just cousins-in-law. Not that it matters too much, but I think it is not something DC would allow them to do.

 

 

Streaky would be awesome (#kitty4kara)... but if we do see a "supercat" some episode, I suspect it'll be Super-Cat.

 

Kara and Kal-El would still be cousins if Zor-El was still Kara's father.  Which would be another reason for Alura to hate Astra.  That being said, I didn't get an actual-mom vibe from Astra, though I won't be surprised if they go there.

 

Kara/James is all but certain and Kara/Winn is a slim possibility so there's not much point in writing about them. Kara/Alex is not at all surprising and neither is Kara/Cat. Not to mention within a day or two of the pilot I can bet you there were at least half a dozen Kara/Kal stories floating around the ether.

 

  You know, I was going to argue that adopted-sibling-incest (Kara/Alex) would be at least a *little* surprising.

  Then I remembered that Supergirl shares the same producer as The Flash.  Objection withdrawn. ;)

[Kromm]

Check her how, exactly? if she swallowed it, well, I dont even think an xray machine would even *work*. Not to mention that if this is all a long con rescue op, the blue lights might be.. just blue lights, there to be flashy and attention focusing, and her actual counter to kryptonite is a drug. Tough the manhunter did manage to shoot that guy, so.. 

 

I think a big part of why Cat confronted Kara at this point of time is that she just displayed major loyalty - It wasn't just that she was sure of her theory, Cat was also fairly confident that Kara would not react by, say, flying off and relocating to Paris or something. And it was probably becoming less amusing to troll her over her terribad secret identity keeping. "What planet are you from?" has to have been deliberate, and it was not the first time Cat was lampshading the heck out of Kara being Supergirl. 

I hadn't thought of it in those terms (lampshading... hee) but this has been in the back of my mind for a while.  It's easy to just write off all of those moments as the writers being cutesy and having Cat constantly driving the Irony Bus, but as I've said elsewhere I SO much more like the idea that Cat's even smarter than we've realized and has just been prodding all along. On some shows that might cause a problem with making the lead look dumb, but I think they've established Kara's extreme naivity in a consistent enough way that it if turns out her disguise IS being addressed as a total joke (at least from someone who sees her face to face everyday) then I think we can chalk it up to that aspect of her.

[jbrecken]

I liked that the same episode where we learn that Ms. Grant had a kid with a guy named Foster is the one where she has Kara remove her eyewear. I hope it was intentional.

[Kromm]

It also helps that Kara has way more chemistry with Cat and Alex. She and Winn have a cute friendship but I see zero sparks there. She has better chemistry with James, but the love triangle's suckitude is draining it more and more with each episode. Ugh, the love triangle sucks so much. I really think the show would instantly improve 20% if they dropped it right now, never to be seen again.

I think people are focusing on this far too much. The show has dodged a lot more of the predictable stuff. For example. Lucy, while we aren't getting enough to see her character in full, isn't just some predictable interloper. They've done a good job of actually making her nice. Of course that could be a smoke-screen if she's actually still working for her father in secret, but even there they're not hitting up the heavy angst notes, because while they had Kara depressed a bit for bits of one episode, it didn't last long. That's the key here. Kara is a sunny enough positive character that even when they hit the angst points (for both triangle stuff or super-failure of the week stuff) it doesn't grind the angst into the ground. Then they have James pitch Winn telling Kara how he feels. That's not a predictable triangle thing either. The only real triangle aspect is that Kara likes James and not Winn, while James doesn't like Kara enough to ditch Lucy. So really what people most fear seeing on the show is probably on the shelf till Lucy gets tossed over.  Then maybe it's open season for icky Triangleness.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Kromm

[BooBear]

I enjoyed this episode.  I really liked that Cat figured it out on her own relatively early. I hope to god they don't go the easy route on this and have Cat "forget" or somesuch. Cat should be part of Kara's team. I think it was the perfect timing so that Kira could be proven to Cat as a good employee but not so long it would make Cat look like a simpleton. I agree that people that don't have a close realationship with Kara would not notice but anyone, like Cat, who is with her 24/7 ish.. should know. I hope they make it a mentoring opportunity for both.

 

The rest of the episode... err not sure. I would like it if the bad guys were a little more nuanced but I don't know if I like the idea of Kara's mom being sort of a baddy and potentially not being her mom. Too much intrigue.  Also don't like enviornmental terrorist here on earth.. But non was an upgrade. Not sure where they are going with it but I would prefer them keep the kryptonians to a minimum.

 

Winn/ Jimmy. Typically I just turn the channel.

[Chicago Redshirt]

So as of this episode, Team Astra has her Lt/husband Non, and at least 4 other hench-Kryptonians, right? Plus at least some followers of different races (Duo Dude and Halitosis Lass).  And presumably more in reserve? And presumably, she will be able to break out some of the DEO prisoners?

 

No offense, but this looks like a job for way more than Supergirl.

[lion10]

I've been thinking that Kara either must have done really well in college or really impressed Cat during her internship for her to be the CEO's personal assistant at 24.

So as of this episode, Team Astra has her Lt/husband Non, and at least 4 other hench-Kryptonians, right? Plus at least some followers of different races (Duo Dude and Halitosis Lass). And presumably more in reserve? And presumably, she will be able to break out some of the DEO prisoners?

No offense, but this looks like a job for way more than Supergirl.

It's very awkward that CBS isn't allowed to portray Superman because an in-character Superman would definitely be helping Kara repel a Kryptonian invasion.

[ahpny]

But why does Cat insist on calling Kara Kira?

 

I think that seems to vary; there are moments where Cat pronounced it properly when she's having a moment and being nice to her (or when she's tipsy) and Ker-rah (per the closed captioning) when she's full on boss mode snapping at her subordinate.

 

My take it this is intentional on the part of the writers and supposed to signify Cat’s lack of concern for and/or distance from Kara. Cat is too far above Kara to bother to learn or pronounce her name correctly. Indeed, she can’t even recall anything about Wynn’s name (the “handsome hobbit”), though as Kara pointed out in a prior episode, Cat walks by his desk every day. This running gag reminds me – OK reaching back several decades – of Endora’s perennial mispronouncement of her son-in-law’s name (“Darren”) on Bewitched. Though in Bewitched, the name-mangling came more from derision than disinterest, it’s pretty close.

 

It's hard to see Cat continuing to "forget" the correct pronunciation after revealing her knowledge about Supergirl, but we'll see. Calista Flockart is doing a great job, she's a pleasure to watch.

[cambridgeguy]

 

It's very awkward that CBS isn't allowed to portray Superman because an in-character Superman would definitely be helping Kara repel a Kryptonian invasion.

What's more awkward is that at least some of this is now public (Astra throwing down with Kara in this episode) AND MM apparently knows Superman, promised to keep an eye on Alex and Kara, and unlike James is not the type to worry about Kara's desire to prove herself.  Throw in the fact that the one trump card he had (kryptonite) has been neutralized and it's insane for him to not call in the big guy. 

[Kromm]

My take it this is intentional on the part of the writers and supposed to signify Cat’s lack of concern for and/or distance from Kara. Cat is too far above Kara to bother to learn or pronounce her name correctly. Indeed, she can’t even recall anything about Wynn’s name (the “handsome hobbit”), though as Kara pointed out in a prior episode, Cat walks by his desk every day. This running gag reminds me – OK reaching back several decades – of Endora’s perennial mispronouncement of her son-in-law’s name (“Darren”) on Bewitched. Though in Bewitched, the name-mangling came more from derision than disinterest, it’s pretty close.

 

It's hard to see Cat continuing to "forget" the correct pronunciation after revealing her knowledge about Supergirl, but we'll see. Calista Flockart is doing a great job, she's a pleasure to watch.

That's the surface reasoning. But I think as with Bewitched (a strange comparison but I guess it works) I think there's a deeper reason Cat does it--an actual motive vs. her just not caring enough to learn about "the little people". I think at this point maybe we're supposed to infer that Cat does it consciously  She seems to have an actual philosophy on loyalty and what motivates people, so I see it as a test of sorts. Or perhaps rather than a unintentional dismissal of the little people it could be seen as keeping people at arm's length. She's probably had a lot of respect problems and arrived at the notion that people had to have a little fear of, and maybe even a little disdain for her to maintain her authority.

[lion10]

I think Cat's very purposeful with mispronouncing Kara's name.  She's astute to know that Kara likes James and is "throwing herself at him".  If she knows that, she knows how Kara's name is pronounced, especially since Kara's been working for her for at least a couple of years.  It's a way of putting Kara in her place, that her name's not even worth getting to know.  I agree with all the other posters that I think that'll change now that Cat knows that Kara's Supergirl.  Cat's definitely going to have an opinion about how Supergirl should behave.

[Helena Dax]

Those fights between Kara and her sister must stop now because  no way Alex could be  able to hit or kick her without  breaking her hand or her foot. That's not how it works. 

 

Other than that,  great episode! It's interesting that Astra is trying to save the Earth. I wonder if she's worried about the global warming and those RL things or she knows about a bigger, even more urgent threat. 

 

Loved that Cat realized that Kara is Supergirl. Frankly, as much as I think MB is  doing a great job,  she  can't make me believe people around her wouldn't notice she and Supergirl are  the same person.  Christopher Reeve was the best at that: Superman  and Clark really looked like  different people. Of course, his Clark wasn't supposed to be  attractive, which helped. MB's Kara, otoh, is dorky but cute. Dean Cain had the same problem too. 

 

Also, it'll be interesting to see that new relationship between them. 

[legaleagle53]

Those fights between Kara and her sister must stop now because  no way Alex could be  able to hit or kick her without  breaking her hand or her foot. That's not how it works. 

 

It is if Kara's powers have been weakened while under the influence of Green Kryptonite in the training room.  That's the whole point of that room -- to negate Kara's powers, including her invulnerability, to the point that Alex CAN hit her or kick her without seriously injuring herself.  It also prevents Kara from accidentally forgetting her own strength and killing Alex during a sparring match.  As long as those Kryptonite-powered lights are on, she's just a normal woman.

[Helena Dax]

It is if Kara's powers have been weakened while under the influence of Green Kryptonite in the training room.  That's the whole point of that room -- to negate Kara's powers, including her invulnerability, to the point that Alex CAN hit her or kick her without seriously injuring herself.  It also prevents Kara from accidentally forgetting her own strength and killing Alex during a sparring match.  As long as those Kryptonite-powered lights are on, she's just a normal woman.

 

Omg,  it's true! I had  totally forgotten that part!

[KirkB]

Though shouldn't that much kryptonite be hurting her? If she's constantly bathed in it she should be on the floor, writhing in pain. And if they have a way to generate a frequency of kryptonite that can bring them down to normal without actually hurting them why don't they have some pointing at Astra? 

[legaleagle53]

Though shouldn't that much kryptonite be hurting her? If she's constantly bathed in it she should be on the floor, writhing in pain. And if they have a way to generate a frequency of kryptonite that can bring them down to normal without actually hurting them why don't they have some pointing at Astra? 

 

Astra's not in any hurry to break out at the moment.  She deliberately let herself get arrested as a distraction so that her husband and his goons could do whatever it is they're trying to do at Maxwell Lord's company.

 

Besides, they could have something similar waiting for Astra if she gets out of line.  They could probably turn on the Kryptonite lights if she so much as looked cross-eyed at them.

Edited December 17, 2015 by legaleagle53

[Perfect Xero]

I don't think that Astra is Kara's mother, I think the relationship is what she said, she's an aunt who doesn't (can't) have children of her own and loved her niece as much as if she was her own child. Being reminded that she wasn't her mother was also just that, Allura reminding Astra of her place.
 

Though shouldn't that much kryptonite be hurting her? If she's constantly bathed in it she should be on the floor, writhing in pain. And if they have a way to generate a frequency of kryptonite that can bring them down to normal without actually hurting them why don't they have some pointing at Astra?

 
The first time they used the training room Alex said it was set at 30% (or something), which is apparently the level at which Kara isn't harmed but she's reduced to normal human strength/durability so she can train. Astra's containment cell thing does have the same green kryptonite lights all around the top and bottom shining on her.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Perfect Xero

[ACW]

Though shouldn't that much kryptonite be hurting her? If she's constantly bathed in it she should be on the floor, writhing in pain. And if they have a way to generate a frequency of kryptonite that can bring them down to normal without actually hurting them why don't they have some pointing at Astra?

They specifically do have a setting (18%?) to bring Kara down to normal without hurting her.

And it looked to me like Astra's cage WAS exposed to kryptonite radiation. Though I expect that the "spy beacon" they inexplicably let her keep will turn out to be another of those kryptonite-protection devices.

Oh, and since it's STILL stupifying me 2 days later:

PRINTOUTS?!? They PRINTED OUT the emails for review? Aside from being moronicly inefficient, and counterproductive security-wise, that's also missing out on perfectly good iPad (or other tablet) product placement.

[MarkHB]

Incidentally, they mentioned Opal City in this episode (I think that's where Adam lived); in the comics, that was the home of Starman.  I haven't heard any rumors of his introduction, but there was at least that shout-out.  (Apparently, nowadays it's also the home of Elongated Man.  Ralph Dibny was one of those killed in the Earth-1 accelerator explosion on The Flash, but that doesn't mean he isn't alive and stretchy on Kara's Earth.)

[sinkwriter]

 

I couldn't figure out why Kara couldn't zip through all the e-mails with her super speed but I guess they needed something for James to do so he could tell Winn to go get Kara.

 

I was wondering why she couldn't be the one to plant the bug on the corporate guy's computer. After all, she should be able to zip in like lightning and zip back out again, and people would probably think it's just a sudden breeze from someone opening or closing a window.

[AudienceofOne]

I was wondering why she couldn't be the one to plant the bug on the corporate guy's computer. After all, she should be able to zip in like lightning and zip back out again, and people would probably think it's just a sudden breeze from someone opening or closing a window.

 

I also wondered why every time we cut to Astra and minions we were suddenly in a Saturday morning cartoon. But compared to last week's, this was frigging Shakespeare

 

EDITED: Because nobody should misspell the Bard's name

Edited December 17, 2015 by AudienceofOne

[Chicago Redshirt]

I was wondering why she couldn't be the one to plant the bug on the corporate guy's computer. After all, she should be able to zip in like lightning and zip back out again, and people would probably think it's just a sudden breeze from someone opening or closing a window.

Physically hacking WMP's computer should not even been necessary for Winn, given that he is able to hack the super-secret computers at the super-secret DEO without implanting any device there.

 

The only in-universe conclusion I can come to is that Winn literally was passive-aggressively trying to get Jimmy caught, and that Jimmy and Kara are extremely gullible for not realizing that Winn could have hacked WMP in his sleep.

[LisaM]

Very pleased that Cat now knows that Kara is Supergirl. Looking forward to the new dynamic between them.

 

Really liked Cat taking the M&Ms from the jar.

 

The scene with Supergirl attacking her mother's image was very well done.

[Big Mother]

I expected Kara to ask Cat to keep her identity between the two of them. But she said nothing. Will Cat do that?

[legaleagle53]

I expected Kara to ask Cat to keep her identity between the two of them. But she said nothing. Will Cat do that?

 

It would be a little hypocritical of Kara to ask that of Cat when James and Wynn already know -- and it wouldn't take Cat long to figure out not only that they know, but also that they knew long before she did, either.

[MarkHB]

I don't believe it would be hypocritical at all; it's Kara's secret to share as she likes.  The least Cat could do - out of decency - is to agree to keep the secret off the record.

 

OTOH, I have a hunch that J'onn J'onzz may put in an appearance as Supergirl to help Kara deflect the idea.  I just hope that it doesn't lead to a bunch of silly "I'm so sure that you're Supergirl" stories.... Cat has proven herself to be worth more than that as a character.

[Jordan27]

Melissa had some really good scenes.  Supergirl is really growing as a character.   The fight scenes were good.

 

The rest, as usual, not that good.  

 

And I don't get Cat finding out she is Supergirl.  Is she going to order her around when she is Kara?  Could be a little uncomfortable.

[Big Mother]

James and Wynn are also keeping Kara's identity a secret, so Cat should do the same - but if Kara won't tell her to do it, her ego might get better of her. I can picture Cat insisting on leaking to the world that Supergirl is her humble assistant and that she has built her up into the confident woman she is, etc., just to stoke her ego.

[legaleagle53]

I don't believe it would be hypocritical at all; it's Kara's secret to share as she likes.  The least Cat could do - out of decency - is to agree to keep the secret off the record.

 

OTOH, I have a hunch that J'onn J'onzz may put in an appearance as Supergirl to help Kara deflect the idea.  I just hope that it doesn't lead to a bunch of silly "I'm so sure that you're Supergirl" stories.... Cat has proven herself to be worth more than that as a character.

 

But it would make no sense for Kara to "deflect" the idea when she's already admitted to Cat that she is Supergirl.  The far better course would be for Kara to tell her that James and Wynn also know and introduce her to the Fortress of Supergilitude that has been in existence under Cat's nose for some time now.  Cat's a sensible grown woman who understands the importance of discretion -- she was ready to give up Catco to protect her older son from the scandal she knew would have ensued if news of his existence had gotten out, after all.