S01.E12: Bizarro

[Tara Ariano]

A twisted version of Supergirl, one who's the mirror image of the Kryptonian hero, sets out to destroy her National City counterpart. Meanwhile, Kara grows closer to Cat's son Adam.

[statsgirl]

Three sneak peeks:  Max Lord; Kara/Winn/James; Kara/Adam date.

[Lantern7]

Looks like Kara won't be having Adam in her life. Also, she has learned nothing about covering her tracks, the way she flew into Alex's pad as usual.

 

Something tells me Lord has a Plan B about getting out. I'm guessing he has a program that would spill the beans about Kara if he doesn't get to his computer.

 

I guess Superman doesn't have an imperfect double of his own. I would have gone with "Bizarra," but you gotta get the canon name somewhere . . . like when Mercy came up with the name in the Superman animated series.

 

Next week: Have Mercy . . .

 

ETA for Big Mother . . . here's the plot device that will be covered next week.

[Big Mother]

Too dark, with no comic relief all episode :(.

 

Who is Eliza Danvers? And what is that red tentacled thing we see in the preview? What is that green slimy thing in her living room?

 

Why didnt she tell Adam who she really was?

 

By the way, in today's day and age of instant technology, I find it hard to believe that Supergirl's real identity would be kept secret for too long. Just one little leak and the entire universe knows. 

[opus]

Good thing CBS had that Super Bowl minute at the start. Otherwise no one would watch Sunday.

As for SUPERGIRL, good episode.

[secnarf]

Too dark, with no comic relief all episode :(.

 

Who is Eliza Danvers? And what is that red tentacled thing we see in the preview? What is that green slimy thing in her living room?

 

Why didnt she tell Adam who she really was?

 

By the way, in today's day and age of instant technology, I find it hard to believe that Supergirl's real identity would be kept secret for too long. Just one little leak and the entire universe knows. 

Eliza Danvers is Alex's mom, Kara's foster mom.

 

Kara really doesn't know Adam all that well, probably doesn't trust him, and she definitely has good reason to not want Cat to know she is Supergirl.

 

As for the thing in her living room, we'll find out next week, but if you want more information on it from the comics and whatnot, Lantern7 posted a link with some info.

[xaxat]

I'm glad that the writers apparently recognized the folly of the love quadrangle.

 

I also thought it was kind of strange that they've already had two plots where they eventually walked back Kara and Cat's relationship.

[Trini]

Jimmy's been 'damselled' how many times now?

[ottoDbusdriver]

I thought that fight scene between Supergirl and Bizarro Supergirl was pretty bad -- crappy wire work and just badly choreographed fighting.

[thuganomics85]

Seriously, CBS?  I get updating the Iowa Caucus and whatnot, but did you really need to spend time on the Denver Broncos?  Yeah, I get it!  You are hosting the Superbowl this year!

 

Cool bringing in Bizarro Supergirl, but I noticed that I vastly preferred all the scenes of them just playing off each other, as opposed to the fight scenes.  Because those fight scenes were honestly pretty bad.  I know there are limits to what they can do, but it just felt really clunky and amateurish.  Thankfully, I thought Melissa Benoist pretty much shined in all the acting bits, and even made me care about Bizarro Supergirl on some levels.  Again, they really did a great job getting her as the lead, because she is making up for some of the weaker aspects of this show.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Maxwell somehow gets out of his jam soon, but I have to think any slight shot of a Maxwell/Alex hook-up is done for, unless Alex becomes evil.  There are no excuses: he not only tried to kill Kara, but was even gleeful about it.  It doesn't matter what the chemistry between the actors is: I just can ever buy Alex going there.

 

Kind of surprised Adam has already been shipped back to his home city.  And Cat is now back to being frosty to Kara.  And now Jimmy is suddenly starting realize he has feelings for Kara, and freaking Winn played a part in that of all things.  Whatever, I'm sure they'll find ways to drag this puppy out.

 

Episode ends with Kara getting attacked by some plant thing.  When I saw the tentacles, I was wondering for a second if the show was dipping into Batman's rogue gallery, and it was going to be Poison Ivy. 

[Lady Calypso]

I...I was actually getting into Kara/Adam before they ruined that. They had, what? Not even a full episode to be happy? It was legit a waste. 

 

You know, I assumed a female superhero show might defy classic tropes regarding females in superhero shows/films. And...nope, Kara's pretty much stuck in love triangles, love squares and thrown into these subplots just for the sake of it. It's why I find Kara/Cat and Kara/Alex scenes more interesting. Why can't Kara just spend the season figuring out her superhero stuff before being forced into multiple romances? Maybe have her central plot with the DEO. Just something that doesn't make me groan every time a scene becomes romantic, or romantically implied.

 

I don't know; I guess I'm starting to be bored of this show. I just keep remembering that SNL Black Widow skit, with Scarlett Johansson, and am sadly accepting that it's so true, and might be for years to come. 

 

Also, the fight scenes are sometimes good, but mostly really bad. They're too tame, and too heavily edited. Supergirl takes a couple of hits then the fighting stops for two seconds before the next wave of fighting starts again.

 

Maxwell Lord is certainly a fun villain, and I can see why they're keeping him around. I might actually be sad when they kill him off. 

 

Not great writing on this show. Oh look, Cat changes because Adam's staying! Oh, but look, she's back to her frosty self because he chooses to return back to his home town. Oh look! It's all because of Kara! Let's all blame Kara! 

 

Oh, look! Winn is a little angry at Kara still...oh wait, nope! Oh look, he's supportive of James getting Kara instead of him! Look, they're best buddies! Look, James is in love with Kara/Supergirl! 

 

I'm just...not enjoying this show anymore. Yet, I still hope it'll get better because we need more superheroines on television. But they just keep going down cliche routes of the female superhero having to be in romantic entanglements for 80% of the show. 

[statsgirl]

I think the fight scenes get silly when they go on too long or there are too many of them but I guess they put them in for the comic book crowd.

 

So that's it for Adam?  Relationships for the sake of stalling the end game are such a waste of time for me.

 

I'm surprised that Lord is in the DEO jail already (no bed, no toilet) but Greg Berlanti has a history of burning through plots.

[SimoneS]

And like that Adam is gone in the blink of the eye. WTF?! I don't get it. Why can't she have a normal sex life without all the emotional drama? She and Adam could have slept together and decided to keep it casual. 

 

All I saw was the Alien from the Sigourney Weaver movies heading Kara's way. A great cross-genre debate: Is the Alien strong enough bust through Supergirl or Superman's chest? Or would it suffocate and die?

 

Hank just needs to wipe Max Lord's memory and that threat is over. Guess that is too easy.

[Trini]

I...I was actually getting into Kara/Adam before they ruined that. They had, what? Not even a full episode to be happy? It was legit a waste. 

 

Well, he Cat's son, so he can come back at any time; but yeah, I was also surprised they torpedoed that relationship before it even really got started. Besides the whole dating-your-boss's-son-could-get-awkward thing, Adam was the first love interest I could root for.

 

 

So that's it for Adam?  Relationships for the sake of stalling the end game are such a waste of time for me.

I agree, except that I don't buy Jimmy or Winn as endgame for Kara. Nope.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I'm glad that the writers apparently recognized the folly of the love quadrangle.

 

I don't know if they've recognized the folly of the love quadrangle. I'm sure we're just going to see another angle, so to speak, of it.

 

Prior to this episode, Kara was interested in Jimmy, but Jimmy was not honest about his feelings for her. Winn was interested in Kara, but she didn't reciprocate those romantic feelings. And Lucy is apparently oblivious about anybody's feelings. 

 

Now the quadrangle ( I guess it was a pentagon with Adam, but now back to a quadrangle) will have Winn putting his hurt feelings aside to prop up Kimmy/Jara (is there an official shipper name?) and have Jimmy figure out a way to kick Lucy to the curb.

 

And like that Adam is gone in the blink of the eye. WTF?! I don't get it. Why can't she have a normal sex life without all the emotional drama? She and Adam could have slept together and decided to keep it casual. 

 

All I saw was the Alien from the Sigourney Weaver movies heading Kara's way. A great cross-genre debate: Is the Alien strong enough bust through Supergirl or Superman's chest? Or would it suffocate and die?

 

Hank just needs to wipe Max Lord's memory and that threat is over. Guess that is too easy.

 

I'm guessing there will be somewhat of a double-standard and Kara won't be doing any sleeping with anyone, casually or otherwise, for some time. A marked contrast/double standard to Oliver on Arrow, who basically has had sex with about a dozen women, and Barry, who has had sex with his most recent girlfriend.

 

No way would the Aliens be able to burst through a fully-powered Kryptonian's chest.

 

J'onn's last attempt to mindwipe someone didn't go so great. Not only did he apparently botch the mindwipe, but he also potentially attracted the attention of a White Martian who told him there were millions more out there who would potentially come for her. So I could see him being reluctant to go for a second go-around.

 

Jimmy's been 'damselled' how many times now?

 

Not many, if my memory serves.

 

He was dangling from the elevator in "Human for a Day" after helping rescue folks. I don't know if I would consider that "damseled," but I could see why someone would. He let himself be bait for Reactron, but I wouldn't consider that being a damseled. I would say that this is the first time that comes to mind.

 

Which is about par for the characters on this show.

 

Winn was kidnapped by his dad last episode.

Hank was kidnapped by the Kryptonians in "Blood Bonds"

 

Alex was kidnapped by the White Martian in "Strange Visitor."

 

Cat was threatened in "Live Wire."

[Artsda]

Adam's gone already? I enjoyed him and was the best love interest for Kara. They had great chemistry. I adore Winn as the sidekick BFF, but this Jimmy insta-love for Kara can go away. There's so much potential for Adam, keep him and lose Jimmy. 

 

I was thinking that if Kara's mirror Bizarro took Jimmy because of love for him, weren't they being opposites? So shouldn't that mean Kara doesn't love him?

 

Lord is so bad, but I really love the chem with him and Alex. They play so well off each other. These where she came in the office and arrested him was great.

[Gimmick Genius]

Why the HELL do they keep saying Bizarro is Supergirl's Mirror Image? Mirrors have nothing to do with it!!!

[Xenith22]

So it's in Kara's DNA to love Jimmy?  Really writers?  I mean Bizarra sees Kara with Adam...possibly even saw them kissing, also likely knows that Alex is her sister...and yet she targets Jimmy.  Riiiiight.  Something else that had me scratching my head...Max tries to program Bizarra to think Supergirl is bad....by having her watch news highlights that say in giant words "SUPERGIRL SAVES ___" over and over again?  He convinces her she is bad by having her see all the good she has done?  Had Bizarra been like the typical comic book Bizarro then yet that would have made perfect sense.  However we really didn't get any indication at all that Bizarra's thinking was remotely backwards.  Her idea of love and hate were the same as anyone else,  when she said KILL she did not try to just hug.   She called herself ugly after the K dart exposure not pretty.   When she saw Kara save the people from falling to her death she knew it was a good thing.  So nope...just seems dumb.

 

Did Cat really joke about putting out an Amber Alert?  I mean she knows Kara is 24 (we covered this in her quiz).  So either she is stupid or really tacky because Kara obviously does not qualify as a child.

 

Not great writing on this show. Oh look, Cat changes because Adam's staying! Oh, but look, she's back to her frosty self because he chooses to return back to his home town. Oh look! It's all because of Kara! Let's all blame Kara!

 

Oh, look! Winn is a little angry at Kara still...oh wait, nope! Oh look, he's supportive of James getting Kara instead of him! Look, they're best buddies! Look, James is in love with Kara/Supergirl!

So much this! It seems like pretty much every plot is wrapped in a neat bow by the end of the next episode.  Don't forget Cat knowing about Kara...and then not the next episode.  Which speaking of that....I would kill to see some small hint of Cat suspecting Kara again now that she has seen Supergirl with an identical doppelganger (no one outside of the DEO/Jimmy heard that Bizarra could not speak normally).   Yet I have zero faith in that actually being brought up by these writers...   Honestly at this point I would be shocked if Max is not free by the end of the next episode...

Edited February 2, 2016 by Xenith22

[Rina99]

I don't know; I guess I'm starting to be bored of this show. I just keep remembering that SNL Black Widow skit, with Scarlett Johansson, and am sadly accepting that it's so true, and might be for years to come.

 

 

This could have been a much more interesting show if they had simply allowed Kara, Jimmy, and Winn to bond without all the romance crap. 

[madhacker]

 

This could have been a much more interesting show if they had simply allowed Kara, Jimmy, and Winn to bond without all the romance crap.

So much truth. The reason why Team Flash and Team Arrow works so well is because they keep "professional" (well Arrow broke that rule bur Felicity and Oliver try very hard to keep the personal stuff to a minimum, especially when Arrow's out on a mission).

 

Speaking of the other shows, hey Kara maybe you should try dating somebody can definitely relate to your problems. I hear they're s a really cute superhero in Central City who just broke up with his kinda lame girlfriend (alright who isn't hoping they have the Flash/Supergirl crossover they've been hinting might happen. If for no other reason just to see Cisco's geekasm over meeting Superman's hot cousin)

 

Damn Adam is gone already and we didn't even get to see Blake Jenner show off his hot bod (like he did several times a season on Glee).

[arcadia63]

 

Damn Adam is gone already and we didn't even get to see Blake Jenner show off his hot bod (like he did several times a season on Glee).

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Not only that we missed the scene where they went to Karaoke night and sang a duet together :)  Hopefully he'll be back since viewers seem to like him.

[twoods]

Not only that we missed the scene where they went to Karaoke night and sang a duet together :) Hopefully he'll be back since viewers seem to like him.

Would love to see this. They had karaoke on the Flash so Grant can show off his singing skills, so wish they can do this with Melissa.

Damn, guess there goes my Max and Alex ship. He is crazy evil. What a waste of some awesome chemistry.

I liked the James and Winn bonding. At least Wnn is done sulking and realized he was always in the friend zone. He needs a dating life because he is too great of a guy (to me anyways) to just be a sounding board for the other characters.

It would have been nice to have Adam figure out the Supergirl secret, then see him struggle keeping it a secret from his mom. Maybe that will be a season 2 storyline.

[UncleChuck]

 

I'm surprised that Lord is in the DEO jail already (no bed, no toilet)

I wondered why it took them so long to do it.

The writers screwed the pooch with Lord, IMHO.  They made him too powerful, too smart, too smarmy TOO FAST.

I mean, what are they going to do with him now?  He has billions in resources, can apparently create life and build a superperson as powerful as Supergirl.  He knows that Kara is Supergirl and Alex is her sister, knows their mother and where she lives.  He has the knowledge and power and evil attitude to just ruin Supergirl.  TPTB made him too powerful.  As long as he was just an annoying asshole, Kara could deal with him.  As long as he just had "suspicions" about Supergirl's identity, she could deal with him.

One Lord press conference and it's all over for Kara.  So what do the writers do with him?  As long as he remains free and rich he can just do whatever he wants and there is no drama in that.

The writers did not just give Lord a good hand.  They gave him ALL THE CARDS.  He does what he damn well pleases, and Kara can only say "Please don't do that".

You cannot stop a villain that villainous by being "nice" and playing fair.  Just put him in a glass cage.

 

 

 

[VCRTracking]

Thinking about it I've decided I don't mind them using Superman canon villains and plots like Toyman, Bizarro or "The Man Who Has Everything" even though it means they never happened to Kal El in their universe because the current movie version of Superman was probably never going to deal with them. I was afraid it was just going to be a lot of enemies that fought her cousin but Reactron has been the only one.

Edited February 2, 2016 by VCRTracking

[ottoDbusdriver]

How did the DEO HumVees get to that fight location so quickly ?  Kara was kidnapped in National City and thrown down on that hill far outside the city, and after fighting for a couple of minutes the DEO shows up.  Do they have a tracker embedded in Kara somewhere ?  Accompanied by HumVees that can travel at light speed.

 

So, are Kara's street clothes also indestructible ?  Because Bizarro Supergirl throughs Kara down onto that hilltop and her clothes weren't ripped or even dirty.

 

So Maxwell Lord was kind of stealing comatose women 3 years ago -- well before he knew Supergirl ever existed -- so what was his initial plan for these women ?

 

And the words spoken by Bizarro were just terrible -- I think Muppets have a better vocabulary.  How did Bizarro Supergirl even know about James ?  Does she spend her spare moments in the chair in Maxwell Lord's lair reading Catco magazines ?

 

That one spinning move by Bizarro after Supergirl kicks her was so lame and overacted.

 

And whatever that pod was in Kara's apartment, how did it get there ?  Who else knows that Kara is Supergirl and decided take a big green dump on her coffee table ?

[Big Mother]

Remember what Chandler said in FRIENDS, about costars not having chemistry if they're dating in real life? I kept finding Adam/Kara's chemistry too saccharine/meta - when they kissed and they kind of giggled it felt more like the real-life couple having rubber-band grins. It didn't feel real to me.

 

As an aside, I didnt watch the seasons of Glee where Blake and melissa were on, but I did watch The Glee Project (both seasons) and only remembered Blake from there, so it was really cool to see how his acting has broadened. If I remember correctly, he was a recruit/ringer for The Glee Project and people were quite upset about it, because it was clear from the first minute that he would win, and he could have just auditioned for Glee without wasting everyone's summer....

[Chicago Redshirt]

Thinking about it I've decided I don't mind them using Superman canon villains and plots like Toyman, Bizarro or "The Man Who Has Everything" even though it means they never happened to Kal El in their universe because the current movie version of Superman was probably never going to deal with them. I was afraid it was just going to be a lot of enemies that fought her cousin but Reactron has been the only one.

Live Wire is also a Superman foe. Vartox was, if memory serves, a Superman sometimes friend, sometimes foe. And it is safe to say that there are more on deck.

 

So Maxwell Lord was kind of stealing comatose women 3 years ago -- well before he knew Supergirl ever existed -- so what was his initial plan for these women ?

 

And the words spoken by Bizarro were just terrible -- I think Muppets have a better vocabulary.  How did Bizarro Supergirl even know about James ?  Does she spend her spare moments in the chair in Maxwell Lord's lair reading Catco magazines ?

...

 

And whatever that pod was in Kara's apartment, how did it get there ?  Who else knows that Kara is Supergirl and decided take a big green dump on her coffee table ?

 

I don't think that the show said Max was taking custody of women from 3 years ago. The opening scene said "three months ago." Winn said that in the past six months, Max's shell company had gotten custody of six other women. 

 

Assuming for discussion's sake that at some point it was said that he's been gaining custody of women for three years, I think it fair to take Max at face value -- he was looking for ways to rescue people who were brain dead. It was only with access to Supergirl DNA within the past 3 months that he was able to perfect the process. 

 

Considering these women were brain-dead, having a Muppet level vocabulary still seems like a triumph.

 

I think it's a safe assumption that Bizarro spent some time stalking Supergirl and watching her from afar. Another possibility is that Max fed her information about Kara/Supergirl. He did prompt her to hurt someone Supergirl loves, so he could have told her who that was.

 

As to who left the pod, well, the previews have Astra in them. So the possibility is that Astra or one of her minions did, or someone known to Astra did. 

Edited February 2, 2016 by Chicago Redshirt

[Tarasme]

I wondered why it took them so long to do it.

The writers screwed the pooch with Lord, IMHO.  They made him too powerful, too smart, too smarmy TOO FAST.

I mean, what are they going to do with him now?  

ITA to your entire post.

 

And, to top it off, tPtB started on a great path with Lord. He challenged the status quo, asked serious questions about supes, could offer assistance when needed, etc. Somewhere in the midst of the Danvers' character growth, Lord was reduced to mustache twirling.

 

And... I have no idea why. Lord's power hungry? He's a hater? What possible motivation could a seemingly reasonable person have to go the direction in which they've shoved him? Because he could? God complex? What? I feel as though we've missed at least two episodes developing Maxwell Lord from mysterious but capable genius CEO to... poor man's Lex Luthor- but a no motivation Lex Luthor. Max has not been shown to compete with Kara, to want to be Kara, to want to have the accolades or adoration given to Kara.... So, production team, what's his deal?

 

And now, like UncleChuck so eloquently put it, Lord has all the cards. There's no way to put that genie back in the bottle. DEO has three options, 1. allow him to continue in custody, 2. kill or mind wipe him (and the mind wipe has a whole page of probable consequences that are all bad), 3. allow him to run a muck and out Kara.

[Primetimer]

Supergirl finds herself opposed to Maxwell Lord's latest creation.

Read the story

[Jediknight]

Really, nobody at the DEO sees it all as a Batman Gambit by Maxwell Lord?  Nobody thinks this is all going according to Lord's plan?

 

Had to laugh at the look on James' face when Winn revealed that he knew that stuff about Kara, Winn rightfully pointing out that he measured her for her suit, and Winn pointing out that James never met Adam.

[KirkB]

I'm starting to wonder what kind of super career Clark has really had if, apparently, none of this stuff has happened to him. So far it seems like the only thing we know for sure he has fought is Reactron and I still don't see how he never beat him.

 

Anyway, I agree about Lord. Too much too fast. They want Kara to have her own version of Lex Luthor, a brilliant amoral psychopath.

 

I know what the tentacle thing is and I know what story they're doing next, I imagine anyone whose read the comics or seen the Justice League animated series knows, but again that originally happened to Superman. They're taking a lot of Clark's stories and adapting them for Kara. I haven't read Supergirl in a while but doesn't she have plenty of her own adventures she could do doing?

[JapMo]

I like Winn and think maybe in the future he and Kara can hook up, but I'm totally done with Jimmy.  And I really liked him when the show first started.  He was one of my favorite characters.  But his wishy-washy attitude is annoying.  He's attracted to Kara, then he pulls back.  He's going to break up with Lucy, then he changes his mind.  He's lame now.  Supergirl producers....pick a guy for Kara and stay with them.  This triangle is too confusing!

[FineWashables]

 

You know, I assumed a female superhero show might defy classic tropes regarding females in superhero shows/films. And...nope, Kara's pretty much stuck in love triangles, love squares and thrown into these subplots just for the sake of it. It's why I find Kara/Cat and Kara/Alex scenes more interesting. Why can't Kara just spend the season figuring out her superhero stuff before being forced into multiple romances?

Lady Calypso, I couldn't agree more.  I thought this show would take on 2016 sensibilities and issues but no, it's just a tepid return to the 50's. Who will take me to the prom? 

 

Really, Bizarro?  We've got to stick to Superman retreads? Because I can tell you right now, the old evil twin schtick was dead and buried long before MiniMe. 

[jaytee1812]

I think they are done with the triangle. Winn now has his big boy pants on and has accepted that Kara doesn't want him.

I've always been on board with Kara/Jimmy and like that Jimmy has admitted his feelings. I don't see it as a triangle with Lucy because Kara isn't pursuing him, and there's no Lucy/Kara rivalry. My only problem is they haven't really shown why Jimmy is settling for Lucy and won't go after Kara. My head canon is he think Lucy is what he needs, nice, normal, and he does love her. Kara is definitely not normal, therefore scary, and he's not really sure why a superhero would love him.

I wish they had stretched the Kara/Adam thing out for a bit longer. Even if was just for Blake Jenner's charming face on my TV. Also it just felt too quick.

[legaleagle53]

I'm guessing there will be somewhat of a double-standard and Kara won't be doing any sleeping with anyone, casually or otherwise, for some time. A marked contrast/double standard to Oliver on Arrow, who basically has had sex with about a dozen women, and Barry, who has had sex with his most recent girlfriend.

 

Oliver and Barry can't accidentally kill their sex partners while in the throes of passion, nor can said sex partners permanently injure or accidentally kill themselves trying to copulate with an invulnerable body.  The only way for Kara to have sex with any human would be under conditions that nullified her powers, since she can't turn her invulnerability or super-strength on and off at will.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I would kill to see some small hint of Cat suspecting Kara again now that she has seen Supergirl with an identical doppelganger (no one outside of the DEO/Jimmy heard that Bizarra could not speak normally).   Yet I have zero faith in that actually being brought up by these writers...   Honestly at this point I would be shocked if Max is not free by the end of the next episode...

 

The tram full of people potentially heard Bizarra say "We kill Supergirl." It also seems fairly likely that she interacted with other members of the public that we didn't get to see.

 

The fact that Bizarra made a bee-line for Kara should get Cat's spidey-senses tingling again, though. Why would Bizarra, who has a focus on her hatred for Supergirl, scoop Kara up?

 

Speaking of the other shows, hey Kara maybe you should try dating somebody can definitely relate to your problems. I hear they're s a really cute superhero in Central City who just broke up with his kinda lame girlfriend

 

What exactly has Kara done that you would pair her off with the lying, hot mess that is Barry Allen?

 

I wondered why it took them so long to do it.

The writers screwed the pooch with Lord, IMHO.  They made him too powerful, too smart, too smarmy TOO FAST.

I mean, what are they going to do with him now?  He has billions in resources, can apparently create life and build a superperson as powerful as Supergirl.  He knows that Kara is Supergirl and Alex is her sister, knows their mother and where she lives.  He has the knowledge and power and evil attitude to just ruin Supergirl.  TPTB made him too powerful.  As long as he was just an annoying asshole, Kara could deal with him.  As long as he just had "suspicions" about Supergirl's identity, she could deal with him.

One Lord press conference and it's all over for Kara.  So what do the writers do with him?  As long as he remains free and rich he can just do whatever he wants and there is no drama in that.

The writers did not just give Lord a good hand.  They gave him ALL THE CARDS.  He does what he damn well pleases, and Kara can only say "Please don't do that".

You cannot stop a villain that villainous by being "nice" and playing fair.  Just put him in a glass cage.

 

We tend to overemphasize the importance of secret identities, I think. If Supergirl were outed, sure, she'd have to give up her life as Kara Danvers. But it's not as though she, Alex and Eliza would have trouble establishing new identities.

 

ITA to your entire post.

 

And, to top it off, tPtB started on a great path with Lord. He challenged the status quo, asked serious questions about supes, could offer assistance when needed, etc. Somewhere in the midst of the Danvers' character growth, Lord was reduced to mustache twirling.

 

And... I have no idea why. Lord's power hungry? He's a hater? What possible motivation could a seemingly reasonable person have to go the direction in which they've shoved him? Because he could? God complex? What? I feel as though we've missed at least two episodes developing Maxwell Lord from mysterious but capable genius CEO to... poor man's Lex Luthor- but a no motivation Lex Luthor. Max has not been shown to compete with Kara, to want to be Kara, to want to have the accolades or adoration given to Kara.... So, production team, what's his deal?

 

And now, like UncleChuck so eloquently put it, Lord has all the cards. There's no way to put that genie back in the bottle. DEO has three options, 1. allow him to continue in custody, 2. kill or mind wipe him (and the mind wipe has a whole page of probable consequences that are all bad), 3. allow him to run a muck and out Kara.

 

I'm not going to pretend I like the mwa-ha-ha direction in which Lord has been firmly placed. But his motivation has been fairly well established. He knows there's a huge alien threat out there. It's a case of survival of the fittest, and if no one does anything, the aliens are more fit and will wipe us out. It doesn't matter if they are telegenic ones like Superman and Supergirl, or more monstrous ones. In his mind, the government is unreliable at dealing with this alien threat. So he has to take protecting the planet in his own hands.

 

Speaking of the mwa-ha-ha direction, his whole replace-Supergirl plot seems pretty fundamentally flawed. 

 

In addition to the stuff mentioned before (brainwashing Bizarra by showing her actual news footage of Supergirl doing good deeds, rather than faked footage of Supergirl doing bad deeds), given that Bizarra always had Muppet-level vocabulary, how was he going to convince the public at large long-term that Bizarra was Supergirl? More importantly, how would he ever convince her cousin? 

 

Why is killing/replacing Supergirl necessary, when he can literally make dozens of super-powered humans by duplicating the same process, only with conscious volunteers?

 

Even assuming the kill and replace was a good plan, isn't it shot to hell when the public knows that there's at least one duplicate?

 

I like Winn and think maybe in the future he and Kara can hook up, but I'm totally done with Jimmy.  And I really liked him when the show first started.  He was one of my favorite characters.  But his wishy-washy attitude is annoying.  He's attracted to Kara, then he pulls back.  He's going to break up with Lucy, then he changes his mind.  He's lame now.  Supergirl producers....pick a guy for Kara and stay with them.  This triangle is too confusing!

 

In fairness to Jimmy, he never was going to break up with Lucy as far as we've seen to this point. When he started the series, he was broken up with Lucy and he hemmed and hawed about getting back together with her. Since he did get back together, he has not expressed any interest in breaking up with Lucy till now. My take -- and your mileage may vary -- is that Jimmy wasn't always aware of his feelings for Kara. 

 

Oliver and Barry can't accidentally kill their sex partners while in the throes of passion, nor can said sex partners permanently injure or accidentally kill themselves trying to copulate with an invulnerable body.  The only way for Kara to have sex with any human would be under conditions that nullified her powers, since she can't turn her invulnerability or super-strength on and off at will.

At the risk of being gross, inadvertent superspeed movements or bodily fluids totally could harm one of Barry's partners.

 

We don't know how Kryptonian sex would work in the Supergirlverse. Clearly, in the comics and in film/TV, a fully-powered Clark has had sex with various human women without killing or harming them. So there's no particular reason to think that Supergirl would harm her partners.

 

Even assuming for discussion's sake that is a concern, she could always go to the Kryptodojo and have sex there or come up with some other way for "safe sex," including non-intercourse sex. 

[Lady Calypso]

What exactly has Kara done that you would pair her off with the lying, hot mess that is Barry Allen?

 

I'll be honest, the first thought I had about that original post before you mention Barry Allen, was that they were talking about Cisco....but I guess him and Kendra broke up, like, a while ago. 

[Xenith22]

I know what the tentacle thing is and I know what story they're doing next, I imagine anyone whose read the comics or seen the Justice League animated series knows, but again that originally happened to Superman. They're taking a lot of Clark's stories and adapting them for Kara. I haven't read Supergirl in a while but doesn't she have plenty of her own adventures she could do doing?

Honestly...not really   For starter I can't think of even one Supergirl only/mainly villain that is usable. I mean none of her Silver Age stuff really stands out that it is all that great that it could be adapted.  Most of it was her facing common crooks, or really lame aliens.  I guess they could maybe do something with Psi for an one off?    Beside that Kara was in high school/college for most of the Silver Age and so most of her personal stories revolved around that and of course lots of subplots about boys especially her boyfriend Dick Malverne.   Her friendship was Barbara was fun, but of course is off the table.  I guess they could maybe introduce Bottle City of Kandor in the future and bring back Kara's mom?   I would be surprised to see them tackle Comet the Super Horse?  (Although I'm still expecting her to adopt Streaky at some point even if he does not have powers)

 

Obvious none of the Matrix stuff is usable. I mean Matrix was really just a side character in Superman stories anyways for the most part.

 

The Peter David Linda Danver's stuff is likely mostly off the table for now.  I mean there is no way they are going to touch that Earth Angel plot...and without that I dunno if they would devote a season to her fighting demons and the like.  (It's too bad because Buzz really is the only Supergirl original villain that was actually fairly interesting).  Comet in human form could maybe happen in a later season?

 

Legion of Super Heroes stuff obviously won't work without a major change in the shows direction, although maybe in a future season down the line they'll at least introduce a few of those characters for a one off episode or so.

 

Post Crisis reboot Kara again can't think of much to work with..for starters she barely had a secret identity spending almost all the time as Supergirl.  She battled a lot of villains from Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman's, etc rogue gallery.   Her most interesting story from this period was probably when Lex hit her various Kryptonites resulting in her splitting into two halves.  It lead to her really examining herself and her true nature.  Beyond that....the sun stones inside of her was just weird and barely went anywhere.  The idea that she was sent to kill Clark will not work without casting a Superman.   Cassandra Cain is highly unlikely.  No chance in heck of us getting her friendship with Stephanie Brown.  Kara's attempt to cure a little boys cancer was sorta interesting but again at best a plot for a later season?  I don't see them touching any of the New Kypton stuff for a long time if ever.  (Although Reactron became a very important Supergirl villain because of this plot)

 

The Nu52 version of Siobhan (Silver Banshee) as a friend turned frenenemy definitely seems adaptable that I think they probably will do eventually?  However I really hope they don't touch the stupid stuff with Kara's father as Cyborg Superman.  Red Lantern stuff seems unlikely.  The cosmic academy stuff is equally unlikely. 

 

 

 

I think it's a safe assumption that Bizarro spent some time stalking Supergirl and watching her from afar. Another possibility is that Max fed her information about Kara/Supergirl. He did prompt her to hurt someone Supergirl loves, so he could have told her who that was.

How would Max know she loves Jimmy?   She's not dating him, they never kissed.  What reason does he have to suspect that she loves him?   I mean at best he knows they are friends from when Jimmy was captured breaking into his facility?   Other than that the only public interaction between Jimmy and Supergirl was the Reactron incident?   From the time that Max learned about Kara's secret identity she actually has not really been shown to be obviously mooning over Jimmy as she was earlier since she had other things on her mind (and the Adam relationship)?  Again Bizarra also implied that the reason she went after Jimmy is because she is the same as Kara inside...which makes no sense as she does not have Kara's memories.   (So the same personality thing that Kara brought up also made no sense...this was a random Jane Doe who for all Kara knew was a drug dealer or murderer before her accident.  DNA does not define your personality to that degree?)

Edited February 2, 2016 by Xenith22

[Writing Wrongs]

It's like how they have taken Batman's villains and used them for Arrow. I don't mind it.

 

I laughed when Kara said Bizarro talked like the Cookie Monster.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Writing Wrongs

[lion10]

I'm starting to wonder what kind of super career Clark has really had if, apparently, none of this stuff has happened to him. So far it seems like the only thing we know for sure he has fought is Reactron and I still don't see how he never beat him.

Anyway, I agree about Lord. Too much too fast. They want Kara to have her own version of Lex Luthor, a brilliant amoral psychopath.

I know what the tentacle thing is and I know what story they're doing next, I imagine anyone whose read the comics or seen the Justice League animated series knows, but again that originally happened to Superman. They're taking a lot of Clark's stories and adapting them for Kara. I haven't read Supergirl in a while but doesn't she have plenty of her own adventures she could do doing?

My thoughts exactly. A lot of the villains Supergirl has faced have been from Clark's rogues gallery. And the writers aping the "For the man who has everything" storyline is too much. Where are the Supergirl exclusive villains?

[The Crazed Spruce]

I know what the tentacle thing is and I know what story they're doing next, I imagine anyone whose read the comics or seen the Justice League animated series knows, but again that originally happened to Superman. They're taking a lot of Clark's stories and adapting them for Kara. I haven't read Supergirl in a while but doesn't she have plenty of her own adventures she could do doing?

I read her series from the late 60's/early 70's not very long ago. Trust me, we're better off.

[SimoneS]

No way would the Aliens be able to burst through a fully-powered Kryptonian's chest.

 

I think the same. The Aliens would die. Of course, then the problem would be surgery to get it out of the Kryptonian chest. How could they do surgery? What can cut through the Kryptonian chest? Are there any instruments from Krypton on earth? I really think that an Aliens/Superman or Supergirl movie should be next. I know that I am thinking way too much about this, but I don't care. 

Edited February 2, 2016 by SimoneS

[iMonrey]

 

The fact that Bizarra made a bee-line for Kara should get Cat's spidey-senses tingling again, though. Why would Bizarra, who has a focus on her hatred for Supergirl, scoop Kara up?

 

I wondered the same thing; nobody seemed to bat an eye that Bizarra kidnapped Kara or seemed to wonder why she was even targeted or even ask how she got away!

 

Also, if this reverse-engineered version of Kryptonite weakened Bizarra, then by that logic shouldn't it have boosted Supergirl's powers and made her stronger? They could have just given her that and let her fight it out with Bizarra.

 

I did get a chuckle of of Kara saying Bizarra "talks like Cookie Monster."

[Chicago Redshirt]

How would Max know she loves Jimmy?   She's not dating him, they never kissed.  What reason does he have to suspect that she loves him?   I mean at best he knows they are friends from when Jimmy was captured breaking into his facility?   Other than that the only public interaction between Jimmy and Supergirl was the Reactron incident?   From the time that Max learned about Kara's secret identity she actually has not really been shown to be obviously mooning over Jimmy as she was earlier since she had other things on her mind (and the Adam relationship)?  Again Bizarra also implied that the reason she went after Jimmy is because she is the same as Kara inside...which makes no sense as she does not have Kara's memories.   (So the same personality thing that Kara brought up also made no sense...this was a random Jane Doe who for all Kara knew was a drug dealer or murderer before her accident.  DNA does not define your personality to that degree?)

 

Max has a bug on Alex's purse that apparently transmits both video and audio that, as far as we know, has not been discovered after at a minimum several days. It seems plausible (to me, at any rate) that at some point during that time, Kara and Alex have talked about Kara's dating life, and her feelings about Jimmy came up.

 

It also seems plausible to me that he would have done additional spying on Kara once he learned she was really Supergirl, and her feelings for Jimmy would be obvious. 

 

I do have to concede that Bizarra implied she just fundamentally knew that Supergirl loved Jimmy. I'll fanwank that as an exaggeration and that it had more to do with Max's Clockwork Oranging her.

 

I wondered the same thing; nobody seemed to bat an eye that Bizarra kidnapped Kara or seemed to wonder why she was even targeted or even ask how she got away!

 

Also, if this reverse-engineered version of Kryptonite weakened Bizarra, then by that logic shouldn't it have boosted Supergirl's powers and made her stronger? They could have just given her that and let her fight it out with Bizarra.

 

I did get a chuckle of of Kara saying Bizarra "talks like Cookie Monster."

 

If I were Kara, at some point I would be more like, "synthetic Kryptonite, the what now?" She seems awfully nonplussed that the DEO has an ample amount of stuff that can kill her and her cousin and now they are working on ways to increase that supply.

 

Also, one would think that the DEO has the Kryptonite shielding that Astra developed from when SG brought her in. If so, SG should probably ask for her own copy.

[Dobian]

I felt bad for Fake Supergirl, especially when Cat gave her such a stupid name.  What exactly made her bizarre?  I was thinking the same thing, that the reverse-engineered Kryptonite might improve Kara's powers.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Dobian

[Chicago Redshirt]

Before her skin turned chalky, Bizarra was strange in that she spoke English at a Cookie Monster level, and she was also strange in that rather than saving people in at least the one instance, she randomly threw the car (or bus or whatever) away.

 

(Which brings us back to the Max's master plot -- did he intend for Bizarra to do that? If so, why? It seems at odds with the "replace Supergirl" plan. If Bizarra on her own decided to randomly botch the rescue, it seems like that should be a clue to Max that he might want to rethink the "replace Supergirl" plan.)

[Dobian]

I thought Cat named her after just seeing her in the one video, did she hear her talk?  But yeah, Lord's plan made no sense.  If he was trying to replace Supergirl with a doppelganger, wouldn't he have the fake one imerpsonate Supergirl in every way until they secretly knocked Supergirl off?

[statsgirl]

Best line - Max Lord saying that he was was wrong that Supergirl had nothing in common with her cousin and his "truth, justice and the American way:  "Holding people indefinitely against their will?  Nothing more American than that."

 

At this point, I think the show is suffering from burning through the plots (Max Lord) and the emotional beats too fast.  It's time for a few random Villains of the Week to let the characters catch their breaths.  Adam left too fast (and had more romantic chemistry with Kara than Winn or James), Max Lord is now in his glass prison, and I got whiplash from Cat's "I love you now that you're dating my son and keeping him in the city"/ "I'm going to reject you now that you're no longer dating my son and he has no reason to stay with me".

 

I'm pretty sure Adam will show up again within the next seasons to stall whatever relationship Kara wants to have.

 

When Bizarro took "someone that Kara loves" to get revenge, I just thought that Jimmy was the only one out on a balcony and available.  Winn was either inside or at work, Adam had left and Alex with deep in the bowels of the DEO.  Maybe Max Lord had already taken Eliza.

 

What exactly has Kara done that you would pair her off with the lying, hot mess that is Barry Allen?

 

In fairness to Jimmy, he never was going to break up with Lucy as far as we've seen to this point. When he started the series, he was broken up with Lucy and he hemmed and hawed about getting back together with her. Since he did get back together, he has not expressed any interest in breaking up with Lucy till now. My take -- and your mileage may vary -- is that Jimmy wasn't always aware of his feelings for Kara.

LOL at the description of Barry Allen.  (A character I used to like but who the show has now ruined.)

 

I feel sorry for Mechad Brooks trying to play the mess they're writing for James.  James had broken up with Lucy when he started to get feelings for Supergirl but then Lucy wanted to try again, enough to quit her job and move to National City to be with him and there was unfinished business so he agreed to try again.  He likes Lucy and he wants to do right by their relationship but he has feelings for Kara now.

 

Basically the producers want him to be the guy in the wings but they also want to tie him up so he's not available right now and in a way that doesn't make him look bad.  Except it kind of does when they keep telling us that he has feelings for Kara while he's with Lucy.

 

The writing for the romantic relationships on this show is terrible.

[Dobian]

The writing for the romantic relationships on this show is terrible.

 

I wish they would stop trying to ship characters period, and just focus on Kara learning how to be Supergirl.  Writing in crappy romances is usually what shows do when ideas are running short and they need air time to fill.  It's season 1 for crying out loud.

[tennisgurl]

Of course Kara is a Pumpkin Spice girl. As an unapologetic Pumpkin Spice girl myself, I approve.