S02.E01: The Adventures of Supergirl

[Mrs. DuRona]

On 10/11/2016 at 7:18 AM, Writing Wrongs said:

I kept waiting for it to be revealed that Lena set the whole thing up to make herself more sympathetic.

THIS.  She shot the assassin so he wouldn't spill the beans on her!

Overall, I was happy with the tone of the show, but having Superman and other new characters made it feel a bit crowded.  I didn't know Callista Flockhart will only be guest appearing this season.  That makes me sad. :(

I'm ok with the Superman/Clark casting, enjoyed the Donner film nods.  Mr. DuRona and I lost it at "MISS. TESMACHER!" (sp?)  My hope is that with the romance out of the way, maybe they can do something a little more interesting with James.   Kinda make him the Xander of the group - surrounded by super people, but not having super powers himself.  

Here's hoping for a good second season!  So far, quite promising!

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 10/11/2016 at 7:18 AM, Writing Wrongs said:

I kept waiting for it to be revealed that Lena set the whole thing up to make herself more sympathetic.

 

18 minutes ago, Mrs. DuRona said:

THIS.  She shot the assassin so he wouldn't spill the beans on her!

Forgot about this! That scene totally reminded me of the second season opener in Smallville when Lex shot and killed the tabloid reporter when Bo Kent* was asking him how he knew about Clark, after they were saved from where they'd been buried alive after a tornado.

*Actually Jonathan Kent, but he was played by yummilicious John Schneider, who played Bo Duke on Dukes of Hazzard. *snerk*

[BkWurm1]

19 hours ago, secnarf said:

Wow. This is so far down on the list of things I want to see or could possibly believe. I think it would do a huge disservice to Alex's character to see her getting "all girly and nervous" around anybody, especially Winn.

Besides, I'm still really holding out hope for

  Reveal hidden contents

an Alex/Maggie Sawyer pairing.

Failing that, I could buy Alex with J'onn much more easily than her with Winn, though it's not something I'd be thrilled with either.

Perhaps some of this is clouded by my general dislike for the Winn character - I still don't see what his purpose is, and this episode did nothing to change that, even with his new role with the DEO.

I'm hugely anti Alex/Winn but also hugely anti Alex/J'onn.  He's a father figure.  He literally stepped in to look after her and Kara after Danver's "died".  He's her boss and he's said stuff about them reminding him of his daughters in a way.  I just can't go there in a romantic sense at all.  It's a fantastic father/daughter/mentor vibe and I love how close they are but I don't see anything romantic about it.  I mean at one point she was playing HIS mommy.  Just no, no.  I would be seriously squicked out if they went there.   

15 hours ago, Trini said:

Loved getting confirmation that Lois and Clark are a couple in this universe, and she probably knows Clark is Superman! I hope we get to see Lois on the show some time.

No, I don't think she knows Clark is Superman.  Between her giddiness over Clark and being genuinely surprised that Kara knew him (when Cat knows Superman is Supergirl's cousin) and Cat Grant never showing that much excitement over Superman, I'd say she's in the dark about that connection. 

I wouldn't mind if Lois showed up as long as we got a scene with her and Cat, lol and I think we could get something fun between Alex and Lois (people who love superpowered people) and also Kara and Lois since she could offer some interesting insights on stuff like relationships and well, now journalism, but I also don't think there is an overpowering need for her to show up like there was with Clark. 

15 hours ago, catrice2 said:

. I can see James/Jimmy being killed at the end of the season, or taken off by an enemy and held prisoner or something.

Hmm, you may be on to something there.  These guys do like to go for shock and love to say they are telling their own story (and they usually kill off a regular cast member in the first season so they are behind schedule).  But they REALLY need him otherwise it's a pretty white bread crowd.  (J'onn doesn't count, he's an alien shapeshifter, lol.) Plus I liked the casting of Jimmy growing up into the buff James.  It's just so far he hasn't done a lot to live up to expectations.  Or done a lot at all. 

I think they needed to break he and Kara up so he could stop being stuck as the love interest and damsel but maybe if they just do something right with his character again then I'd want him back as a love interest.    

13 hours ago, KirkB said:

Oh, I wouldn't be surprised by that at all. You're absolutely right that everything seems to point in this direction. It's the most obvious thing to do. Which makes me hope they are trying something different, though I doubt it.

Yeah, I hope that Lena actually isn't evil.  Grey is fine but I don't want a repeat of the Smallville storyline where they start off as friends only for the darkness to take over.  But they probably are since that aspect originally earned Smallville a lot of praise. 

12 hours ago, CooperTV said:

The actually could do his arc  from the past ten years. Hoechlin is fairly young, he could do younger Clark who fights his usual enemies, etc. The poor guy would have to shave twice a day or more, and that's very stressful for him, though...

Problem with that is we already know everything always turns out mostly fine.  No one important is dead and they are all friends.  No real tension in any episode if we know there's no real risk. 

12 hours ago, Jediknight said:

Yeah, if J'onn, Alex, James, or even Winn (Kara, Alex, James, and J'onn trusting him would be enough) had it, he'd have no problem.  He doesn't trust the DEO, before J'onn took power they were ordered to hunt him down, despite Superman vouching for him.

And maybe he can get a storyline besides being Kara's potential love interest.  They did it for Winn last season, after the episode about his father, they allowed the character to grow and response to it has been positive.  Let that same thing happen for James.

Last year J'onn said Project Cadamus was why Superman refused to work with the government.  Knowing what the government could give it's blessing to would make him very wary.  Not sure why J'onn got the animosity personally. Maybe Supes just took it more personal that another alien would put him at risk?

10 hours ago, brgjoe said:

Loved it.  Like others have said, it was better than most (if not all) the episodes on CBS last season.  It had the right amount of cheese, humor, and clever writing.  It just seemed more mature all the way around than it ever did on CBS.  Did they hire new writers on the way over to the CW?  Whatever the case, it was fun watching this show again.

--

Did I miss something?  Did they say why the DEO left the Batcave and went corporate?  Is it just a branch of theirs in the city, or is it now their permanent main headquarter dig's now?

 

Berlanti did mention that halfway through last season they got some new writers added.  It doesn't seem to be a coincidence that he writing also seemed to improve toward the end of the season. 

As for the DEO headquarters, I could have understood if they said that the desert site was mostly where they had their prisoners so another site makes sense but I think they are going to have to address this change further in the future.  At some point the plot is going to call on them needing a place safe to hole up in and in the middle of downtown half way up a office building won't make sense. 

I wonder if that site will get destroyed or something. 

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

 

I did love them both together, though it seemed odd, for me to have Kara call Kal, "cuz." I see that term for people who are close, and from what I've seen, they've only texted each other. And maybe called? Or did they hang out and get to know each other off screen? I just found it odd; it didn't bother me; just thought she'd call him Kal. Speaking of which, THAT is what Alex should have said when she hugged him when he was Superman. But did she? Nope, she says "CLARK."

--

And Brenda Strong (who I like) better NOT be Amanda Waller! 

A big hell no to Waller being Brenda Strong.  They wouldn't be so dumb, would they??  They are frequently clueless but that would take it to several whole new levels so I feel like the answer is no, she's not Waller.  Probably just some doctor.

About Kara calling Kal "cuz".  My first thought was that she called him cuz since it was hard maybe at first for her to call him Clark. In reality it was probably to remind the audience how they were related, lol. 

I got the impression from the episode that Clark must have visited Kara a few times a year at least.  Like a relative that you see only on the holidays.  And really, Alex might have known Superman before she knew Kara since apparently Supes was close with Jerimiah.

One thing I hate is how freely characters on Tv talk about top secret stuff within ear shot of others.  Shows always pretend they are walking in a cone of silence even when the extras are only a couple feet away.  At this point I think the whole staff at the DEO is just playing dumb about what they know. 

[Kromm]

19 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

About Kara calling Kal "cuz".  My first thought was that she called him cuz since it was hard maybe at first for her to call him Clark. In reality it was probably to remind the audience how they were related, lol. 

I got the impression from the episode that Clark must have visited Kara a few times a year at least.  Like a relative that you see only on the holidays.  And really, Alex might have known Superman before she knew Kara since apparently Supes was close with Jerimiah.

One thing I hate is how freely characters on Tv talk about top secret stuff within ear shot of others.  Shows always pretend they are walking in a cone of silence even when the extras are only a couple feet away.  At this point I think the whole staff at the DEO is just playing dumb about what they know. 

It's doubly stupid to have this behavior here, because Superman actually has three names ("Clark", "Superman" and "Kal-El"--likely just "Kal" if they're being informal). It's usually been the case that his Kal-El name is no secret from the public, ergo people referring to him on a personal level while he's in costume should have a method to do so. 

Kreisberg and company made one huge mistake setting the show up--making Kara Danvers' human name the same as her Kryptonian one. It means she doesn't have the same options as Kal-El and always has to be referred to as "Supergirl" while in that outfit. I suppose they were thinking it might be awkward from a dialogue standpoint (and fairly nerdy sounding) to have "Linda" (her classic comic book human name) tossed around half the time and "Kara" the other half. But it means they set up a problem later on.

But Superman doesn't have that problem.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Kromm

[CooperTV]

51 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

Problem with that is we already know everything always turns out mostly fine.  No one important is dead and they are all friends.  No real tension in any episode if we know there's no real risk. 

I don't think that ever stopped filmmakers from doing any kind of prequels before. It's certainly didn't stop George Lucas from trying! I don't necessarily think Superman show is going to be made, but there's absolutely no reason for it to not exist just because Superman is settled in his role.

Edited October 12, 2016 by CooperTV

[Kromm]

5 minutes ago, CooperTV said:

I don't think that ever stopped filmmakers from doing any kind of prequels before. It's certainly didn't stop George Lucas from trying! I don't necessarily think Superman show is going to be made, but there's absolutely no reason for it to not exist just because Superman is settled in his role.

They've already made the point that Clark is going to look the same twelve years earlier as he does in the current timeline.

That said, I don't think they'll go there. They already have to explain multiple universes, and having shows in different timeperiods as well might push their show model a bit too far. And do you fudge the cultural differences between the two time periods? I know the cultures of 2005-ish and 2017-ish (when another show could earliest appear) aren't as different as between SOME 12 year time periods, but it would be enough that people would notice if they just acted like everything was the same.

[CooperTV]

8 minutes ago, Kromm said:

And do you fudge the cultural differences between the two time periods? I know the cultures of 2005-ish and 2017-ish (when another show could earliest appear) aren't as different as between SOME 12 year time periods, but it would be enough that people would notice if they just acted like everything was the same.

I don't think the time periods are this big of an issue. It's fun to imagine the tv show centered around Superman, that's it. I'm sure that if TPTBs wanted to make this show happen, they would handwave pretty much all our concerns because comics, and comics are notoriously weird about their timelines and storylines. Could be Barry Allen, the selfish screw-up that he is, changed the multiverse once again or whatever. Or maybe they just will kill Superman off in the next episode.

[KirkB]

It's a minor thing, not terribly important, but on re watch part of the dialogue sparked a question for me. Winn asks Superman if he's twelve years older than Kara why he doesn't look it and Superman says it's because Kryptonians age more slowly on Earth. Fair enough. Except it's been twelve or thirteen years since Kara landed, and while she was thirteen or so at the time now she looks twenty five or twenty six. In other words, she looks like she has aged the twelve years that have passed. That's not slower. That's just, you know, aging. So does the "slow aging" thing kick in at some later date?

[CooperTV]

6 minutes ago, KirkB said:

It's a minor thing, not terribly important, but on re watch part of the dialogue sparked a question for me. Winn asks Superman if he's twelve years older than Kara why he doesn't look it and Superman says it's because Kryptonians age more slowly on Earth. Fair enough. Except it's been twelve or thirteen years since Kara landed, and while she was thirteen or so at the time now she looks twenty five or twenty six. In other words, she looks like she has aged the twelve years that have passed. That's not slower. That's just, you know, aging. So does the "slow aging" thing kick in at some later date?

I'm thinking it started slowing down after puberty, if any human biology or science is even applicable to those aliens. So Kara is 24, but she looks like she's 18-19, for example?

[Kromm]

8 minutes ago, KirkB said:

It's a minor thing, not terribly important, but on re watch part of the dialogue sparked a question for me. Winn asks Superman if he's twelve years older than Kara why he doesn't look it and Superman says it's because Kryptonians age more slowly on Earth. Fair enough. Except it's been twelve or thirteen years since Kara landed, and while she was thirteen or so at the time now she looks twenty five or twenty six. In other words, she looks like she has aged the twelve years that have passed. That's not slower. That's just, you know, aging. So does the "slow aging" thing kick in at some later date?

It does. It's part of that same comic book canon. The slowed down aging magically pops up in their 20s.

Of course this now places a burden on poor Melissa to never look her age, if the show actually stays on for a long time!

Edited October 12, 2016 by Kromm

[Notwisconsin]

On 10/10/2016 at 9:34 PM, quarks said:

3. I guess the mention of Corto Maltese - a fictional location Arrow has used - is another sign that the shows are merging?

Corto Maltese was the hero of a gourmet French comic book, a sailor who was based in Venice.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Notwisconsin

[DigitalCount]

I think it's also a Superman thing, since it was a place in Smallville. 

[stealinghome]

2 hours ago, Kromm said:

It does. It's part of that same comic book canon. The slowed down aging magically pops up in their 20s.

Of course this now places a burden on poor Melissa to never look her age, if the show actually stays on for a long time!

Also, don't Clark's friends notice that he, you know, literally hasn't aged in 12 years? And won't it be pretty obvious in another 12 or so years?

[vertiegogh]

I agree with those who said this episode was better than just about anything we saw last season.  Of course, that may be because I was so excited to see Tyler Hoechlin playing Clark/Superman. When I first heard his name being floated as a possible Man of Steel I refused to get my hopes up because I didn't want to be disappointed. He was even better than I expected!  I could just gush about him all day, but you Teen Wolf watchers already know what I'm talking about. And yeah, I think he's got the physicality to play Superman. He's very athletic and he can bulk up in a matter of weeks if necessary. I've seen a video of him doing a back flip on a basketball court. Maybe they can give him higher heeled boots if people think he's too short, heh.

I'm a huge fan of Clark Kent but I'm an even bigger fan of Lois and Clark (the couple and the show). I was happy to hear that it seems like Lois and Clark are going strong, and I loved Clark's conversation with Cat where Clark said Lois had room for both him and Superman in her life, and Cat was all, "How very modern of you." The look on poor Clark's face when he realized what she meant had me LOL.

And to whoever said they think Nina Dobrev would be perfect for Lois, I agree. The first time I saw her on the Vampire Diaries I thought she looked like a young Teri Hatcher. Nina is so talented I'm sure she'd do a great job. My only worry is that I haven't seen Tyler have much romantic chemistry with any actresses...he had chemistry with Melissa but more of a friendly chemistry. Speaking of chemistry, I agree with everyone who's fine with Kara and James as a couple being over. It was rather abrupt, especially after wasting so much time on it last season, but I hope they don't revisit that, because yeah, they really did not have chemistry.

Apparently people in real life say Tyler smells really nice so I wonder if that's why Alex had that line...

Edited October 12, 2016 by vertiegogh
clarity

[Trini]

4 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

 

21 hours ago, Trini said:

Loved getting confirmation that Lois and Clark are a couple in this universe, and she probably knows Clark is Superman! I hope we get to see Lois on the show some time.

No, I don't think she knows Clark is Superman.  Between her giddiness over Clark and being genuinely surprised that Kara knew him (when Cat knows Superman is Supergirl's cousin) and Cat Grant never showing that much excitement over Superman, I'd say she's in the dark about that connection. 

 Are you talking about Cat knowing? Because I was talking about Lois knowing.

[GHScorpiosRule]

11 minutes ago, stealinghome said:

Also, don't Clark's friends notice that he, you know, literally hasn't aged in 12 years? And won't it be pretty obvious in another 12 or so years?

Ralph Macchio effect?

[Perfect Xero]

3 hours ago, KirkB said:

It's a minor thing, not terribly important, but on re watch part of the dialogue sparked a question for me. Winn asks Superman if he's twelve years older than Kara why he doesn't look it and Superman says it's because Kryptonians age more slowly on Earth. Fair enough. Except it's been twelve or thirteen years since Kara landed, and while she was thirteen or so at the time now she looks twenty five or twenty six. In other words, she looks like she has aged the twelve years that have passed. That's not slower. That's just, you know, aging. So does the "slow aging" thing kick in at some later date?

Probably when they reach physical maturity, so around their mid-20s.

[Canada]

Add me to the list of people who really enjoyed that.  I was hesitant about watching this season, because I really lost interest towards the end of last season.  I'm glad I watched it, as the move to a new network has made it much better!  I'm a little worried about whatever Cat is planning and hope it doesn't mean less of her on our screens.  I like the character!

[arc]

On 10/10/2016 at 6:03 PM, mtlchick said:

Finally...no matter what the show can do, the scenery just screams "VANCOUVER!" 

But there were a few shots - not just aerial views - that sure looked shot in LA, like the one just outside the Chinatown Gold Line station.

[Dobian]

They should have titled this episode Super Friend Zone.  Poor James.  I wonder if the new Superman's caterpillar eyebrows have their own superpowers.  I like the actor's personality though, fits with the tone of the show.  Wow Cat, why didn't you just do Clark on a desk right there in the office?  I like Lena, will be interesting how that goes.  The show hasn't lost its upbeat vibe and still has its sense of humor from the first season, which is good.  And it's on CW which is where it belongs.

As an aside...sponsored content below(which I rarely look at because I hate those slideshows), What Bewitched Stars Look Like Now is Jaw-Dropping.  Uh, don't almost all of them look like skeletons?  I guess that's pretty jaw-dropping!

[JustaPerson]

Loved Winn fawning over Superman. "You look fantastic."

[Potanical Pardon]

I've only seen the pilot and the Flash crossover episodes from season 1. Neither made me want to watch more last year. Tried this out guessing that there would be some kind of soft reboot/reset and it did feel like a different show than what I remember watching before.

The episode was okay and it succeeded in bringing me back for more. The CG of Martian Manhunter and anyone flying looks bad, but I'll just have to get over it. 

I DO NOT like the actor playing Clark/Superman. I've never seen him in anything before and have nothing against him. But that is neither Clark nor Superman. The shallow part is the teeth, but it's really mannerisms. All the past live-action Superman (and Superboy) actors have something even if they're different takes on the character that makes me see Superman. This guy, though, feels like he's a different character acting how he thinks Superman would act. And Clark Kent too. There's bits and pieces taken from previous Superman portrayals in this depiction and I don't feel like he's adding anything of his own. I can get over the weird super-suspenders, he and Cavill's receding hairlines and most other physical attributes except the teeth. I just keep staring at them. I dunno, he just feels more like a Betaman...like a bro who doesn't want anyone to think he's a bro and compensates with showing being chill about as much as possible.

Reading the above comments about Supergirl/Kara not knowing who she is or what she wants to be isn't just unique to this show. The character's publishing history is pretty void of anything uniquely her own. Kara Zor-El literally is just a derivative Superman. The Helen Slater whackadoo movie is the closest thing to Kara having anything her own in the mythos. Silver Banshee comes close but not exactly. She was created and written mostly to be cutesadorbs 24/7. Her strongest portrayal occurred when she had to die. I appreciate the difficulty the writers must have in essentially fleshing out the character. Past attempts have been okay at best. Smallville's was good for those small doses. The comics have so-far tried angtsy and rage to give her personality but those are just *shakes head*.

My main fear for this season feels like it's not only borrowing Superman, but it feels like it's borrowing Superman stories because there really isn't much in the source material to pull from. Lots of things published, but really nothing...unless they pull from Power Girl or Linda Danvers-Supergirl (Best. Supergirl. Ever.) The threat to Lena Luthor's life on a plane where she comes out smelling like roses - straight out of Superman's debut and Lex in the 80s. Metallo being an early villain to grow along with Superman's learning on the job. Project Cadmus...zip to do with Supergirl; everything to do with Superboy/Superman. I swear, J'onn J'onzz feels more like a different green non-human, Dubilex. Someone's going to have to explain to me why he's going by "Hank Henshaw." Being an investigative reporter...but I have a feeling they're going to borrow from recent Superman comics and have her eager at the whole reporter thing and then discover the current state of publishing, the bureaucracy and politics and go start a blog that blows up into a weird Drudge-Wikileaks-Politico hybrid.

Edited October 15, 2016 by Potanical Pardon

[MarkHB]

7 hours ago, Potanical Pardon said:

Someone's going to have to explain to me why he's going by "Hank Henshaw."

In this version, Hank Henshaw was the alien-hating head of the DEO we saw Harewood playing in the pilot.  He headed a mission to a Central/South American jungle to capture an alien that turned out to be J'onn J'onzz.  Jeremiah Danvers (Dean Cain, Alex's father) was on that mission, bonded with the supposedly "dangerous" alien who was nothing of the sort, and wound up saving him when Henshaw wanted to just kill him.  In the struggle, Henshaw went over a cliff (no body, so I won't be surprised if the real Henshaw eventually shows up as his comics character), and J'onn took his place to attempt to reform the DEO from the inside.  That was probably one of the best episodes from Season 1 and I'd recommend you watch it.

But I do agree with you that the comics, particularly in the Silver/Bronze Age, never really did establish a firm grounding for Kara as an independent character.

[KirkB]

9 hours ago, Potanical Pardon said:

My main fear for this season feels like it's not only borrowing Superman, but it feels like it's borrowing Superman stories because there really isn't much in the source material to pull from. Lots of things published, but really nothing...unless they pull from Power Girl or Linda Danvers-Supergirl (Best. Supergirl. Ever.) The threat to Lena Luthor's life on a plane where she comes out smelling like roses - straight out of Superman's debut and Lex in the 80s. Metallo being an early villain to grow along with Superman's learning on the job. Project Cadmus...zip to do with Supergirl; everything to do with Superboy/Superman. I swear, J'onn J'onzz feels more like a different green non-human, Dubilex. Someone's going to have to explain to me why he's going by "Hank Henshaw." Being an investigative reporter...but I have a feeling they're going to borrow from recent Superman comics and have her eager at the whole reporter thing and then discover the current state of publishing, the bureaucracy and politics and go start a blog that blows up into a weird Drudge-Wikileaks-Politico hybrid.

That's exactly what they did in the first season. The red kryptonite, Bizarro, even For the Girl Who Has Everything. They took stories which originally happened to Superman and did them with Kara instead. Now they're making her a reporter. They're basically just remaking Superman, while having Superman around, which is weird. Kara may not have the extensive background of adventures and enemies that he has, but that doesn't mean they can't do their own, unique stories instead of feeling restricted to comics lore.

Edited October 15, 2016 by KirkB

[stealinghome]

2 minutes ago, KirkB said:

That's exactly what they did in the first season. The red kryptonite, Bizarro, even For the Girl Who Has Everything. They took stories which originally happened to Superman and did them with Kara instead. Now they're making her a reporter. They're basically just remaking Superman, while having Superman around, which is weird. Kara may not have the extensive background of adventures and enemies that he has, but that doesn't mean they can't do their own, unique stories instead of feeling restricted to comics lore.

Agreed, and I find this infuriating for two reasons. First, if I was the writers, I would look at the lack of comics backstory/history as a STRENGTH, not a weakness. It means they get to do whatever they want! They have a real opportunity here to make Supergirl/Kara distinctively their own character--and maybe even set the standard characterization for the character for the next 50 years--BECAUSE she is something of a blank slate. They should seize the opportunity to be different and be defining, and they're just too scared to do so, or aren't interested in it because they'd rather be writing Superman and this is the next best thing.

Second, it irks me because there is so much room for Kara to be such a different character from Clark. Lean into the fact that she is an immigrant. Lean into the fact that she will always, fundamentally, have an outsider's perspective on American culture/Earth in general. Lean into the fact that we could see so much of Krypton through her backstory. Lean into her pathos and her anger issues and her grief and all the emotions she keeps locked away. Lean into her desire to help people--not to see justice done, necessarily, but just to help people. Lean into her galactic knowledge. Lean into the fact that she has a very different approach to superheroing than does Clark. With the reporter job, it's  beginning to feel to me like they're shoving Kara into boxes that don't fit because they want her to be Superman-lite, and it doesn't feel like it fits the character well at all. They're going against the character's own grain. Stop! Be different! Be distinctive!

[BooBear]

5 hours ago, stealinghome said:

Stop! Be different! Be distinctive!

Agreed. But after listening to the show runners plan for this show I fear it may be going the way of all superhero shows... hack stale writing that just gets the job done.  Also for some strange reason people get really excited about parroting the comics in some way.  I was impressed by the first season's attempts at addressing Kara's immigrant status, her memories of krypton and differentiating her. But I do think that is probably what lost CBS ratings. 

[benteen]

This was the first episode I watched since the team-up with The Flash last season and I have to say I loved it.  Tyler Hoechlin was great as Clark/Superman and had legit chemistry with Kara/Supergirl.  The episode was so much damn fun, which is pretty much missing from The Flash now.  Flockhart was great as well.

[AudienceofOne]

Now that is how you do a reboot without it looking like a reboot. It seems like the writers really took on board the first season criticism and acted on it.

Jimmy and Kara not working? Break them up in a way that actually felt realistic. After all, 'I thought I wanted this but turns out I don't really' actually resonates with me.

No longer weighed down with the ridiculous absent Superman thing? Bring him in and bring him in big. Cast Tyler Hoechlin who, while not the best actor in the world, is one of the more enjoyable to watch (I realise that sounded like I was talking about his looks, when I did mean his charisma. His looks probably help though ;-). )

Can't afford Calista Flockhart anymore? Get her to do an episode or two to ease her out.

Tired of Schott being nothing more than a brooding possessive third wheel? Bring him into the DEO and get rid of the triangle altogether.

I wasn't going to watch this season after the trainwreck of the first one but I was curious as to what a new network could do. And so far it's pretty good.

The writing still has the subtlety of a sledgehammer but then all the shows have that so it's no big deal. I'll stick around for this while Legends has lost me for good.

[John Potts]

For a show that had really problems "believably" keeping Superman in Metropolis when Supergirl was dealing with (at times) multiple Kryptonian adversaries, his introduction was well handled here. Loved the fact that, even as a baby, little Kal already had his iconic kiss curl. But while I have no fashion sense, I thought his leather straps just looked wrong (at least have them link up across his neck - given his imperviousness, the leather would give way long before it presented a choking hazard).

I'm not a fan of Kara becoming a reporter. Yes, it gives her an excuse to out & about that allows her to be wherever trouble occurs, but it makes her far more like "Superman in a skirt". I suppose there are only limited possibilities for a job that enables you to be anywhere (Delivery Driver would be logistically easy - she could do the deliveries in seconds but take minutes out to save the world - but it's scarcely a high pay job: I can't think of many others). Nor do I think she's much suited to the job, as she's not half assertive enough - and she can't think of any reason why a billionaires CEO might be targeted? I can think of a billion, even aside from who her brother is!

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stealinghome  Does all of the DEO know Superman’s identity? They were pretty freely throwing “Clark” around there, which I wouldn’t expect if his ID was supposed to be super on the down-low.

Given how widely SM & SG were walking around openly discussing their secret identities, I'm surprised the world doesn't know!

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vertiegogh  I loved Clark's conversation with Cat where Clark said Lois had room for both him and Superman in her life, and Cat was all, "How very modern of you."

I took that to mean that Lois KNOWS Clark is Superman (but hadn't thought how that would sound without knowing that). And Clark (and Supes, for that matter) is far too "White Bread" to consider a "menage a trois".
 

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mtlchick Finally...no matter what the show can do, the scenery just screams "VANCOUVER!"

 

That's because EVERYWHERE in the USA looks like Vancouver. TV has taught me so!

[MarkHB]

16 minutes ago, John Potts said:

That's because EVERYWHERE in the USA looks like Vancouver. TV has taught me so!

When I was growing up, the entire country looked like Los Angeles.  This Vancouver inversion makes me sad (and missing Supergirl S1).

[BkWurm1]

On 10/12/2016 at 4:59 PM, Trini said:

 Are you talking about Cat knowing? Because I was talking about Lois knowing.

Oops, yeah, I was talking Cat.  As for Lois, they had Kara comment on how cute it was that Lois worried about Clark implying that yeah, Lois knows he's the man of Steel and still worries.

Quote

 Kreisberg and company made one huge mistake setting the show up--making Kara Danvers' human name the same as her Kryptonian one. It means she doesn't have the same options as Kal-El and always has to be referred to as "Supergirl" while in that outfit. I suppose they were thinking it might be awkward from a dialogue standpoint (and fairly nerdy sounding) to have "Linda" (her classic comic book human name) tossed around half the time and "Kara" the other half. But it means they set up a problem later on.

As long as they don't revert to making Kara wear a wig, they can call her anything they want, lol.  

[AudienceofOne]

1 hour ago, BkWurm1 said:

 Kreisberg and company made one huge mistake setting the show up--making Kara Danvers' human name the same as her Kryptonian one. It means she doesn't have the same options as Kal-El and always has to be referred to as "Supergirl" while in that outfit.

That's always annoyed me too. I think they did it in Smallville as well? Also I'm not a huge comic geek but shouldn't her name be Kara-El not Kara Zor-El? Since the family name is El and Zor was her father but Kal-El isn't called Kal Jor-El?

One thing I didn't like - she's still wearing that stupid skirt.

[legaleagle53]

40 minutes ago, AudienceofOne said:

That's always annoyed me too. I think they did it in Smallville as well? Also I'm not a huge comic geek but shouldn't her name be Kara-El not Kara Zor-El? Since the family name is El and Zor was her father but Kal-El isn't called Kal Jor-El?

Nope.  Even in the comics, the tradition on Krypton was that Kryptonian males only went by the house name, whereas females went by either their father's or their husband's full name.  Hence, Superman's full Kryptonian name is and always has been Kal-El, but Supergirl's full Kryptonian name is and always has been Kara Zor-El.  Krypton, as you may have surmised, was very much a patriarchal society despite the fact that women such as Alura held positions of power there.

I do agree, however, that her secret identity should have been Linda Danvers (or, more accurately, Linda Lee Danvers, since she came up with the name "Linda Lee" by herself long before she was adopted), just as it was in the comics.  Why the show chose not to do that is beyond me.

[Trini]

6 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

I do agree, however, that her secret identity should have been Linda Danvers (or, more accurately, Linda Lee Danvers, since she came up with the name "Linda Lee" by herself long before she was adopted), just as it was in the comics.  Why the show chose not to do that is beyond me.

Maybe they thought it'd be too confusing for her to be called by three different names? Kara Zor-El, Linda Danvers, or Supergirl.

[BkWurm1]

Shows sometimes make big choices for really weird reasons.  Like over on Arrow, we got Laurel using her middle name rather than her legal first name (Dinah) because someone decided that Dinah didn't sound modern enough.  Maybe it's the same thing with Linda (let alone Linda Lee).   

[secnarf]

6 hours ago, Trini said:

Maybe they thought it'd be too confusing for her to be called by three different names? Kara Zor-El, Linda Danvers, or Supergirl.

And yet nobody bats an eye at Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman. 

[stealinghome]

I think we have to remember that the show started on CBS, though, the land of bland mindless procedurals. I'm sure CBS discouraged them from using too many names because CBS is not known for pushing shows that require one to think.

I will say that I don't think Clark is a great comparison though, insofar as everyone in his life knows him as Clark because that's the name he grew up with and identifies with. In most mythologies, even HE grew up only thinking of himself as Clark for quite a long time. So in a very real way, Clark is his name, not Kal. Kara's different; she's grown up thinking of herself as Kara, and the people in her life know her as Kara because that's her name. It would be unwieldy to have her have a cover identity that requires most of the people she interacts with to go with her cover name, especially since for her first 12 years here, there was no identity they needed to obfuscate. Obviously ymmv, but it doesn't bother me and I think it totally makes sense in-universe.

[BkWurm1]

8 hours ago, secnarf said:

And yet nobody bats an eye at Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman. 

And really, it's not the same thing since Superman and so many of the details about the character are just standard pop culture knowledge whereas the general public are just learning about her.  And really, Kal-El isn't used all that often, only with dead dad or Zod and friends.  And Kara of course.  

Still of course it wouldn't take that long for viewers to figure out.  

Now of course there is still the logic fail of why Kara as a little girl would want to use a fake first name or why her adoptive family would make her.  Usually Supergirl is old enough when she first arrives/wakes up so that she pretty much is discovering earth and is Supergirl at the same time, so having  the secret identity makes sense but in this case, I don't think it does.   

[legaleagle53]

2 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

And really, it's not the same thing since Superman and so many of the details about the character are just standard pop culture knowledge whereas the general public are just learning about her.  And really, Kal-El isn't used all that often, only with dead dad or Zod and friends.  And Kara of course.  

Still of course it wouldn't take that long for viewers to figure out.  

Now of course there is still the logic fail of why Kara as a little girl would want to use a fake first name or why her adoptive family would make her.  Usually Supergirl is old enough when she first arrives/wakes up so that she pretty much is discovering earth and is Supergirl at the same time, so having  the secret identity makes sense but in this case, I don't think it does.   

Kara was 13 when she arrived on Earth.  That's hardly what I would call a "little girl."  And the reason for the secret identity is to protect her and her privacy, for one thing, and to protect her adopted family, for another.  Remember, her existence on Earth as a super-powered being from another planet was supposed to be a closely-guarded secret, known only to Kara, Superman, and the Danverses.   You saw what happened when an unprepared Kara was accidentally exposed to the world for who and what she really was -- it was overwhelming for both her and her adopted family. That's why even in the comics, when Kara arrived on Earth at the age of 15, the first thing Superman insisted on was that Kara adopt a fake name and identity to conceal her true origin until she could adjust to terran culture and be thoroughly trained in the use of her powers.  In fact, for the first two years of her life on Earth, he wouldn't even let her be adopted, because he didn't feel she could successfully maintain her secret identity until HE felt she was ready to go public.

Edited October 29, 2016 by legaleagle53

[Perfect Xero]

Kara is already a fairly common name on Earth though, so what does her "secret ID" gain by using Linda or something instead?

[legaleagle53]

14 minutes ago, Perfect Xero said:

Kara is already a fairly common name on Earth though, so what does her "secret ID" gain by using Linda or something instead?

It prevents people from tumbling to the fact that Kara Danvers and Kara Zor-El are the same person.  I mean, would people REALLY just consider it a cosmic coincidence that both women just happen to have the same first name?

[Perfect Xero]

But, as far as they know, everyone who knows the name Kara Zor-El died with Krypton.

[BkWurm1]

2 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Kara was 13 when she arrived on Earth.  That's hardly what I would call a "little girl."  And the reason for the secret identity is to protect her and her privacy, for one thing, and to protect her adopted family, for another.  Remember, her existence on Earth as a super-powered being from another planet was supposed to be a closely-guarded secret, known only to Kara, Superman, and the Danverses.   You saw what happened when an unprepared Kara was accidentally exposed to the world for who and what she really was -- it was overwhelming for both her and her adopted family. That's why even in the comics, when Kara arrived on Earth at the age of 15, the first thing Superman insisted on was that Kara adopt a fake name and identity to conceal her true origin until she could adjust to terran culture and be thoroughly trained in the use of her powers.  In fact, for the first two years of her life on Earth, he wouldn't even let her be adopted, because he didn't feel she could successfully maintain her secret identity until HE felt she was ready to go public.

13 absolutely is a little girl, don't let them fool you.  And the Kara we saw even more so not only because of her culture but because she was completely cut off from everything she knew and understood.  She was the picture of lost little girl.  

Also, I would say 15 and 13 are pretty far apart in the maturity scale.  (Though I imagine that Kara was a young 15 just as she's still a pretty young 24)  

I guess I don't understand why in the comics Superman both had her immediately adopt a disguise and a fake name if she wasn't even getting adopted for another 2 years.  If she was in danger of exposing her secret, then why let her KEEP the fake name?  That identity would have been compromised far more than Kara's one incident.  

Maybe in the comics she was outed as a superpowered flying blond girl to the public right away as opposed to Clark finding her completely in secret and placing her with a family (and LEAVING her there alone)?  She wasn't supposed to have to do anything but be a little girl, that was the point of being placed with the Danvers.  To let her have as normal a childhood as she could and there really is nothing less normal than having to change your first name and wear a disguise when nobody knows your name or what you look like anyway.  

I accept that three names aren't that hard to juggle for the audience but this Kara had no reason to change her name or look and even once she was grown, why should she have to do more than what Clark had done?  Clark kept his real name (because Clark is what he thinks of as who he is) and depending on what version, kept his regular look as well.  The more I think of it, forcing her to pretend to be Linda Lee is some weird double standard that makes no sense.    

 

Plus Kara had no intention of using her powers so there was no reason to worry about the public knowing her first name and as Supergirl, they still don't.  Even Superman doesn't go around calling himself anything but Superman.  

26 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

It prevents people from tumbling to the fact that Kara Danvers and Kara Zor-El are the same person.  I mean, would people REALLY just consider it a cosmic coincidence that both women just happen to have the same first name?

It's no bigger a cosmic coincidence than that both women just happen to look alike, lol.  Really, Kara's not that unusual of a name.  Maybe if her name was Astra, we'd be having a different conversation.  And of course, Kara Danvers is supposed to be soooo unlikely a suspect to be Supergirl that anyone would dismiss the similarities as absurd.  Plus, it's not like Kara introduces herself to the general public as Kara Zor-El.  

She does tell those she thinks she can trust sure and yeah, a lot of her alien enemies know too but it's not like they are taking an ad out and to take it a level further, would anyone who already found the idea of Kara Danvers being Supergirl absurd change their mind just because she had the same first name as a flying alien?  Me and Melissa McCarthy share the same first name but no one thinks I'm a moviestar.  ;)  

Edited October 29, 2016 by BkWurm1

[legaleagle53]

2 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

Maybe in the comics she was outed as a superpowered flying blond girl to the public right away as opposed to Clark finding her completely in secret and placing her with a family (and LEAVING her there alone)?

Nope.  In the comics, the first thing Superman did when he met Supergirl and learned her origin and that she was his cousin was tell her that she'd need to create a secret identity for herself just as he did.  He was even the one who suggested the wig to make her look like a completely different girl (granted, the pigtails were a little ridiculous for a 15-year-old, but what did HE know about what looks good on a teenage girl?).  And he didn't place her with a family -- he placed her with an orphanage where she spent the first two years of her existence on Earth.

But I fear that we are digressing from the topic of this episode, so before we draw the Wrath of Mod down upon us, I suggest that we take any further discussion of this point to the "Supergirl in the Comics" thread.

[BkWurm1]

Meet you over there!  Oh and I goofed and posted before I finished so there's now a second half to my comments above.  

Edited October 29, 2016 by BkWurm1
spelling!

[MarkHB]

9 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

But I fear that we are digressing from the topic of this episode, so before we draw the Wrath of Mod down upon us, I suggest that we take any further discussion of this point to the "Supergirl in the Comics" thread.

 

9 hours ago, BkWurm1 said:

Met you over there!  Oh and I goofed and posted before I finished so there's now a second half to my comments above.  

You guys warm my heart! ? Thanks for being considerate.

[stealinghome]

Rewatching 2x01 reminds me of how disappointed I've been in Mon-El. We could have had literally anyone in the universe in the pod, and we had to end up with the universe's fuckboy? Really?

Oh, how I miss Cat. They need to back the Brinks truck up to Calista Flockhart to get her to come back. Kara kinds needs a cuff upside the head these days and another "keep diving" speech. And while she's back, maybe Cat can give that speech to the WRITERS and remind them that they're supposed to be writing Kara's journey, making Kara dive and stretch.

J'onn and Alex totally work as the Mom and Dad of the DEO. More of them, show! The show rediscovered Kara/Alex and Kara/J'onn recently...now let's get to Alex/J'onn.

Watching it now, this episode makes me a little nostalgic. It represented a huge quality step-up from last season, but still had a lot of the stuff/vibe I enjoyed last season that has fallen by the wayside a bit as S2 has unfolded.

Alex vs the assassin was some excellent fight choreography and some good physical work from all involved. Has to be one of the top hand-to-hand fights the show has done so far. Just saying, show, if you ever wanted to do an Alex/Lena flirtation, "we saved each other from being shot!" is a pretty great bonding mechanism!

Kara as a reporter still doesn't work and I'm a little annoyed they made Cat prop that up. "It'll push me out of my comfort zone"--DO YOU REMEMBER WRITING THAT, WRITERS?