S02.E05: Crossfire

[MarkHB]

Supergirl must beat a ruthless new gang who has been armed with dangerous new alien technology. When Cadmus sends a video to the DEO, the team realizes Cadmus is the one staffing the criminals for a secret mission. Meanwhile, Kara gets Mon-El a job as an intern at CatCo, James makes an important decision and Lena invites Kara to attend one her fundraisers.

[stealinghome]

Did Lena just ask Kara on a date? And then stalk her at home??? Goodness. Kara, marry the woman NOW and refuse a prenup and get rich! But they’re continuing the streak of having Lena be ambiguously shady; she so clearly wanted Kara at the party to make it a target, I called that from the moment she told Kara she wanted to see Supergirl, and you just knew it would play into Cadmus' aims. Though I didn’t see it coming that Cadmus lady is Lena’s mom until she interrupted Supergirl and Lena at the end.

Mon-El at Catco is so stupid I can’t even. He is such a waste of space. Baaaaaaaaarf. I’m supposed to be happy that this douchey fratboy is Kara’s love interest, and that her storyline this season is shepherding around this idiot? Really? The writers know I actually do like Kara, right? The sad thing is, Kara as a mentor actually could be an interesting storyline, but the writing is so sophomoric it’s just stupid right now.

Awwwwwww, Alex is falling HARD for Maggie. I wish they weren’t moving that storyline at the speed of light though, not least because it makes me feel like something awful is coming down the pike for Alex, ugh. Floriana Lima isn’t a great actress, but boy, when she looks at Alex with those hearteyes and lets Chyler Leigh do her thing, Alex/Maggie WORKS.

I actually am enjoying Winn and Alex as friends, much more so than Winn and Kara. They just naturally bounce off each other much better—Winn and Kara are too alike to kind of push and probe each other, but Alex and Winn have a more fun, interesting dynamic.

I still don’t get Cadmus’ plan. Do they really think some creepy talking V-for-Vendetta mask is going to make people TRUST and LIKE them? What the hell? Are the people of National City that dumb? What is going on in that storyline? I’m so incredibly disappointed in it so far; it had so much potential last season and it’s just become this big bag of half-baked WTF that relies on Brenda Strong being menacing in lieu of actual intelligence or plot development.

James’ about-face is just so sudden. They obviously don’t know what to do with the character, though Mehcad Brooks did pretty well delivering James’ monologue. Winn and James actually also work well as friends, oddly enough, though I didn’t really like James guilt tripping Winn. I also don’t see how that is going to stay a secret for more than 5 minutes.

Alex and Kara’s loft scene was lovely. I love those two! More Danvers sister quality time, please!!!!

Was J’onn on strike, hence they couldn’t have Supergirl and Kara at the party? Like, didn’t a whole episode last season hinge on that? And was the entire damn DEO/NCPD on strike, hence NO ONE from law enforcement being at the party that was such a great target for the bank robbers? That’s just sloppy as hell writing. (Also Lena has to know Kara=Supergirl, or she’s the dumbest dumb who ever dumbed.)

The party fight scene was some bad choreography. Also, is Kara getting her ass kicked on a more regular basis this season or is it just me?

Marginally better than last week but still meh.

[BooBear]

8 minutes ago, stealinghome said:

Mon-El at Catco is so stupid I can’t even. He is such a waste of space. Baaaaaaaaarf. I’m supposed to be happy that this douchey fratboy is Kara’s love interest, and that her storyline this season is shepherding around this idiot? Really? The writers know I actually do like Kara, right? The sad thing is, Kara as a mentor actually could be an interesting storyline, but the writing is so sophomoric it’s just stupid right now.

This.  They are really going to have to work on this to make me care one bit about Mon-El and or hope for Kara to be his love interest. I understand he might be different than her but the constant frat boy immaturity makes me think he needs a mother not a love interest. Tess tess... you can have him. 

Still feeling like Kara is drowning in her own show. 

Edited November 8, 2016 by BooBear

[statsgirl]

I liked this episode, more than the others this season.  Alex is conflicted, Lena is so grey (liked her with Winn and I could ship them as tech equals) and James actually got more than one scene.  The character may be useless but Mechad Brooks can act so I'm entertained by him.

The two bad things were Mike at CatCo (I've never found stupidity and ego-centricity attractive and I wish he would leave), and I guess "Mom" as soon as she turned up at Lena's.

[mtlchick]

"I saw this on this TV show about doctors and --" Chyler I think you know what happens on that.  

Speaking of her, I liked that she admitted to Maggie that she "may be right" about her feelings and left it at that for now.  I was expecting her to lean in and kiss Maggie so I was kind of relieved that she didn't...yet.  

Quote

Mon-El at Catco is so stupid I can’t even. 

I'm not sure why he's dressing like a cross between an old school Jimmy Olsen and her cousin.  But...yeesh.  Not liking it.  

They need to start ramping up on Cadmus asap.  Here's hoping that the head being Lena's mom starts that. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

UGH. Do Berlanti and Company not KNOW what CADMUS is? IT is not some V-Vendetta knock off! It's supposed to be a shadowy arm of the government, that is led by Amanda Waller, who is a fucking patriot. Someone needs to sit their asses down and make them watch season one of Justice League Unlimited for fuck's sake. The moronity (yes! That's a real word that I just created!) just fucking BURNS.

And could those early scenes with Alex and Maggie be more forced and awkward? I felt like the writers, through Maggie, were giving me a lesson as to why Alex may come out this season. Because she isn't aware that she's lesbian? I find that insulting. It's something I've seen on a lot of shows--that for men--they've always known that they're gay; it's not a choice; they're born that way, and I believe that. But the narrative for women? It's a choice they make. For whatever reason. And through Maggie, I got the feeling she was telling Alex-you may not know you're a lesbian--but you're giving me the "vibes" that you are. And Alex's "no I'm NOT!" Talk you later, and walks off with that whatever that look was on her face.

And There aren't enough curse words to describe my disgust and eye rolls at what @stealinghome  said so perfectly about Mon-EL: douchery FRAT BOY who seems to think he can act like the douche Prince he was on his own home planet.

What James Jimmy told whined to Winn about was another reason I had to just stop watching and take a break. waa, waa, I've been a side-kick all my life. Really? Before Supes came along, whose sidekick were you?

This season's Kara/Supergirl is getting JL season one's Supes treatment: that she's weak, and practically the only thing that doesn't hurt her are bullets. Why didn't she melt those ray guns with her heat vision? Or freeze them with her breath?

I need an Excedrin.

[BkWurm1]

53 minutes ago, BooBear said:

This.  They are really going to have to work on this to make me care one big about Mon-El and or hope for Kara to be his love interest. I understand he might be different than her but the constant frat boy immaturity makes me think he needs a mother not a love interest. Tess tess... you can have him. 

 

This episode made me seriously question if they actually intend for him to be a love interest because I was open to it before and now I just can't see it.  He was a joke and that's the one thing a love interest can't be.  Maybe they can walk back the useless frat boy thing but I'm not sure how.  

Quote

Did Lena just ask Kara on a date? And then stalk her at home??? Goodness. Kara, marry the woman NOW and refuse a prenup and get rich! But they’re continuing the streak of having Lena be ambiguously shady; she so clearly wanted Kara at the party to make it a target, I called that from the moment she told Kara she wanted to see Supergirl, and you just knew it would play into Cadmus' aims. Though I didn’t see it coming that Cadmus lady is Lena’s mom until she interrupted Supergirl and Lena at the end.

I want to believe that she was just looking to have a friend there.  I was getting just as many shippy vibes off of her and Winn under the tablecloth.  They were pretty adorable.  I could support that.  

I think it would be a lot more interesting if Lena doesn't know about Kara and Supergirl.  Either way, I don't think that she's in on what her mom is doing.  Or at least not fully.  And I don't think Lillian (I'm going to assume that's mom's name unless proven wrong) angled to get Supergirl there, she was too adamantly against the attack... though she did still let it happen and yet if felt to me more like she just had faith that Lena could take care of herself.  

I was getting Waller and Suicide Squad vibes there at the end with she scrambled their brains.  So the Lillian Luthor swerve surprised me. (Well until Kara left and Lena actually looked at her and then yeah, I knew it was mom, lol.  Well done Katie)

Edited November 8, 2016 by BkWurm1

[bmoore4026]

I don't care what anyone says.  I love Mon-El.  YOU LEAVE MON-EL ALONE!!! HE'S BEEN THROUGH A LOT!!!!

(Hugs Mon-El)

[benteen]

Not gonna lie.  Mon-El's "You mean like a sword" response to Teschmaker asking him if he has protection made me laugh.

I agree though him working at Catco is stupid.

Enjoyed the episode though.  Didn't see Lillian Luthor being the end of Cadmus.

I liked Jimmy's storyline.

Edited November 8, 2016 by benteen

[BkWurm1]

40 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

"I saw this on this TV show about doctors and --" Chyler I think you know what happens on that.  

Speaking of her, I liked that she admitted to Maggie that she "may be right" about her feelings and left it at that for now.  I was expecting her to lean in and kiss Maggie so I was kind of relieved that she didn't...yet.  

I'm not sure why he's dressing like a cross between an old school Jimmy Olsen and her cousin.  But...yeesh.  Not liking it.

 

I hated the bow tie on "Mike".  It was too blatant a reminder that he was brought in to replace Jimmy Olsen (Though now I'm not so sure of that)

I wish they'd handled his introduction to earth culture differently.  Why would anyone think it was a good idea to get him a job when he didn't even know what a telephone was?  I thought some of that stuff was fun and cute (pre Miss Tess Macher ick), but it made no sense that they'd be so dumb.  That KARA would be so dumb as to not think he needed some basic lessons on how life worked on the planet before leaving him on his own.  That was really hard to take. 

 

38 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

UGH. Do Berlanti and Company not KNOW what CADMUS is? IT is not some V-Vendetta knock off! It's supposed to be a shadowy arm of the government, that is led by Amanda Waller, who is a fucking patriot. Someone needs to sit their asses down and make them watch season one of Justice League Unlimited for fuck's sake. The moronity (yes! That's a real word that I just created!) just fucking BURNS.

And could those early scenes with Alex and Maggie be more forced and awkward? I felt like the writers, through Maggie, were giving me a lesson as to why Alex may come out this season. Because she isn't aware that she's lesbian? I find that insulting. It's something I've seen on a lot of shows--that for men--they've always known that they're gay; it's not a choice; they're born that way, and I believe that. But the narrative for women? It's a choice they make. For whatever reason. And through Maggie, I got the feeling she was telling Alex-you may not know you're a lesbian--but you're giving me the "vibes" that you are. And Alex's "no I'm NOT!" Talk you later, and walks off with that whatever that look was on her face.

And There aren't enough curse words to describe my disgust and eye rolls at what @stealinghome  said so perfectly about Mon-EL: douchery FRAT BOY who seems to think he can act like the douche Prince he was on his own home planet.

What James Jimmy told whined to Winn about was another reason I had to just stop watching and take a break. waa, waa, I've been a side-kick all my life. Really? Before Supes came along, whose sidekick were you?

This season's Kara/Supergirl is getting JL season one's Supes treatment: that she's weak, and practically the only thing that doesn't hurt her are bullets. Why didn't she melt those ray guns with her heat vision? Or freeze them with her breath?

I need an Excedrin.

I think Berlanti is implying that Cadamus is acting on the belief they are doing good, but it's really hard not to see it as just the big bad rather than the very grey Waller.  

As for Alex, the look she had on her face when Winn said his interest in Kara's personal life had been different because he was in to her told me that even though she later denied it, that earlier look told me she wasn't so unaware, just not certain she wanted to admit it yet.  Plus dating just wasn't a priority for Alex so I'm fine with her not bothering to have explored those feelings.  Not everybody is that caught up in dating.  

Then there is Jimmy.  I'm trying hard to be open minded.  I think Mechad pulls off the action hero stuff well and I do think he desire to do more after spending his adult life around capes reasonable but the moment the bat came out I cried out to my TV  "Oh Laurel!" and cringed and waited for him to get his butt kicked.  

I like Winn and I love Winn getting to do another suit but why would Winn be good at making a superpowered suit?  When did that fall in his wheel house?   Again, I'm trying to just go with it because his and Jimmy's scenes worked (if you ignored how self centered it comes off from Jimmy)

A pretty good episode even though once again Kara for some reason can't just blur in and take the weapons right out of the bad guy's hands before they even see her.  I'm ok with the weapons being super powerful but not that she can't get to the guys before they use them.  

Edited November 8, 2016 by BkWurm1

[Sakura12]

Am I supposed to feel sorry for James? I thought this show was called Supergirl. Why does a comic side kick suddenly get to become a Superhero just because he wants to fight. 

I like Maggie and Alex, but they are really rushing through the storyline. 

Mon-El is annoying. The frat boy shtick is tired. Which means he's probably Kara's love interest. 

So is Lillian Luthor the head of Cadmus? Isn't she usually dead? 

[BkWurm1]

3 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

So is Lillian Luthor the head of Cadmus? Isn't she usually dead? 

I'm really only familiar with Smalliville Lillian Luthor but this is why part of me is waiting for confirmation that she's Lena's adoptive mother rather than a birth mother.  

[Lantern7]

Mon is totally going to get into prostitution, isn't he?

James. Jimmy. You're in charge of CatCo, and you're way handsomer than any Jimmy Olsen has ever been. Why do you want to gear up? Be yourself, and occasionally emasculate Snapper in front of Kara.

Winn and Lena had a cute moment. I am questioning how Kara can change so quickly to keep up appearances. I'm guessing Hank had the week off.

I like Alex/Maggie slightly more than Oswald/Ed over on Gotham. Things seem to be progressing quickly, though. Would've been funny if Kara had more of an inkling that lex could bat from that side of the plate.

[johntfs]

So, let's get this straight.  Mon-el was a palace guard who protected the Crown Prince of Daxum.  He's now super-strong, super-tough and trained to do close-protection guarding among the wealthy elite.  So, yeah, make him an intern at Catco.  Gibbs from NCIS needs to cross networks and give Kara a smack to the back of the head.  I mean, Jesus, let Mon-el be Lena's muscle/bodyguard.  How hard of a leap is that to make?

[AD35]

Quote

I wish they'd handled his introduction to earth culture differently.  Why would anyone think it was a good idea to get him a job when he didn't even know what a telephone was?  I thought some of that stuff was fun and cute (pre Miss Tess Macher ick), but it made no sense that they'd be so dumb.  That KARA would be so dumb as to not think he needed some basic lessons on how life worked on the planet before leaving him on his own.  That was really hard to take. 

Was anyone reminded of the Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex essay with the scene with Mon-El and Miss Tessmacher in the closet? On a more serious, yes there definitely should have a better way of preparing Mon El for life outside living among ordinary people.

[kdm07]

Remind me again why I'm supposed to be rooting for Mon-El? Nothing so far has made me want to know more about him and I echo the sentiment about douchey frat boy behaviour. It's NOT a good look and I wish all the CW shows would stop pushing the angle that it is.

2 hours ago, stealinghome said:

Did Lena just ask Kara on a date? And then stalk her at home??? Goodness. Kara, marry the woman NOW and refuse a prenup and get rich! 

Lol, refuse a prenup! @stealinghome that's a brilliant idea for Kara. She wouldn't have to worry about her grocery bills ever again. Oh and Lena would also be able to fix any electrical appliances in the house too. (Her geeking out with Winn was a good little moment in the episode).

Season 2 James/Jimmy Olsen is what happens when you have an actor on board with a high billing but don't know what to do with them. See: Laurel Lance on Arrow for the first two seasons.

So Cadmus is Mama Luthor? Or run by Mama Luthor? Okay then.

And yes, they're speeding through this Alex/Maggie stuff. I'm hoping that they slow down a little but on this front because the rush is making it seem incredibly forced.

Edited November 8, 2016 by kdm07

[Primal Slayer]

They need to make Mon-El bi so he isnt just another straight fratbro. Spice him up a little.

Overall the episode wasn't to bad, Mon-El/Kara were funny together, James' whole Guardian arc seems a bit rushed (no surprised), and the big reveal at the end...meh. Cadmus being the big bad is just boring to me with the way they are conducting it. It could've been great but it is so terrible generic.

The fight scenes though....they were a bit painful, you could see that that they were stunts and not even anywhere near connecting with the actors faces/bodies.

[legaleagle53]

1 minute ago, Primal Slayer said:

They need to make Mon-El bi so he isnt just another straight fratbro. Spice him up a little..

A lesbian Alex isn't enough for you?

[Primal Slayer]

Just now, legaleagle53 said:

A lesbian Alex isn't enough for you?

no. I want as much gayness I can get when majority of the cast will still meet the straight quota.

[Trini]

I wasn't sold on the theory that Mon-El is the prince of Daxam, but now I see it.

I'm not really feeling this arc of James becoming a vigilante, but I guess they need something for him to do. (It's a shame his role is lessened, because I do think he's talented, but he's being wasted here.) And how is this ultimately going to end? It's not going to become the Supergirl + DEO +Vigilante show.

Kara has a stalker! Really? I needed more questions asked about how Lena just showed up at her apartment.

Wait, what? Lena called Cadmus Doc. "mom", is she her birth mother? Was she married to a Luthor? Is she a Luthor??

[mommalib]

I don't like Mon-EL and I still have an issue with Kara suddenly not being into Jimmy to fall for this guy. I like that Jimmy is getting to do more.  And could Winn possibly hook up with Lena in the future?

Edited November 8, 2016 by mommalib

[Humbugged]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

UGH. Do Berlanti and Company not KNOW what CADMUS is? IT is not some V-Vendetta knock off! It's supposed to be a shadowy arm of the government, that is led by Amanda Waller, who is a fucking patriot. Someone needs to sit their asses down and make them watch season one of Justice League Unlimited for fuck's sake. The moronity (yes! That's a real word that I just created!) just fucking BURNS.

@stealinghome

 

 

Waller is dead in the DCTVU .Killed off on the orders of TPTB and the actress got herself two other shows to be on

2 hours ago, mtlchick said:

"I saw this on this TV show about doctors and --" Chyler I think you know what happens on that.  

 

I'm not sure why he's dressing like a cross between an old school Jimmy Olsen and her cousin.  But...yeesh.  Not liking it.  

 

And we then got an 80's Show joke (and the shows twitter posted a pic of Chyler as the full June Tuesday

 

 

 

The only reason for Mon -El's get up was he let Kara dress him

[ottoDbusdriver]

1 hour ago, Sakura12 said:

Am I supposed to feel sorry for James? I thought this show was called Supergirl. Why does a comic side kick suddenly get to become a Superhero just because he wants to fight. 

So, James' motivation to become a superhero is all because some bad guys drove over his dad's camera.  That's it.  Had his dad's camera ever been mentioned before -- let alone that it was worth killing for ?

If it was so precious to James, why wasn't said camera at least in a protective camera bag or something ?  Or locked in a safe ?

Kara is just terrible at the whole secret identity thing with Mon-el/Mike.  Did she do no prep with him at all before strolling into Catco ?  Do they not have telephones at the DEO to demonstrate on ?  Is he so stupid not to say things aloud like "my fake ID" ?

[stealinghome]

Quote

So, James' motivation to become a superhero is all because some bad guys drove over his dad's camera.  That's it.  Had his dad's camera ever been mentioned before -- let alone that it was worth killing for ?

To be fair, his dad's camera WAS a big plot point in S1. It's kind of, in a roundabout way, what broke James and Lucy up, in fact, iirc.

Edited November 8, 2016 by stealinghome

[BkWurm1]

Quote

Waller is dead in the DCTVU .Killed off on the orders of TPTB and the actress got herself two other shows to be on

Technically Supergirl is in its own universe so there's no in show reason they couldn't have recast her but yeah I suspect the character wasn't available since Suicide Squad just came out this year.  (Despite the show runner's denial they were not forced to kill her off)

Edited November 8, 2016 by BkWurm1

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

Technically Supergirl is in its own universe so there's no in show reason they couldn't have recast her but yeah I suspect the character wasn't available since Suicide Squad just came out this year.  

This. It's a different universe and she can still exist. I really don't understand the if x character is out in the movie theatre, then same character can't exist on the same universe on teevee. What will they do when Flash the movie comes out? Cancel the CW Flash?

[JustaPerson]

I agree with the other posters, WTF were they thinking giving Mon-El a job when he barely understands how Earth works? The stupidity, it burns!

[VCRTracking]

Quote

UGH. Do Berlanti and Company not KNOW what CADMUS is? IT is not some V-Vendetta knock off! It's supposed to be a shadowy arm of the government, that is led by Amanda Waller, who is a fucking patriot. Someone needs to sit their asses down and make them watch season one of Justice League Unlimited for fuck's sake. The moronity (yes! That's a real word that I just created!) just fucking BURNS.

In the comics it was originally a priviate organization of scientists messing with genetic engineering and cloning. Not exactly malevolent as created by Jack Kirby in the early 70s.

"Operation: Doubtfire". Okay I got a chuckle out of that.

Honestly did not expect the head of Cadmus to be Lena's mom.

Alex' "coming out" was well done. Great job by Chyler Leigh.

Edited November 8, 2016 by VCRTracking

[BkWurm1]

33 minutes ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

So, James' motivation to become a superhero is all because some bad guys drove over his dad's camera.  That's it.  Had his dad's camera ever been mentioned before -- let alone that it was worth killing for ?

If it was so precious to James, why wasn't said camera at least in a protective camera bag or something ?  Or locked in a safe ?

Kara is just terrible at the whole secret identity thing with Mon-el/Mike.  Did she do no prep with him at all before strolling into Catco ?  Do they not have telephones at the DEO to demonstrate on ?  Is he so stupid not to say things aloud like "my fake ID" ?

It frustrates me because as a photo journalist in a city constantly targeted by other worldly issues, James Olsen had the potential to be a dynamic figure all on his own and that's when I enjoyed him most, when he was out there in the middle of the action, but not trying to save the day, but to do what he was supposed to have loved doing, getting the perfect shot, or helping some of the bystanders in the process.  

I hate that now it's like he was only a photographer by default rather than because he was passionate about it.  It's a let down for the character.  

[stealinghome]

22 minutes ago, JustaPerson said:

I agree with the other posters, WTF were they thinking giving Mon-El a job when he barely understands how Earth works? The stupidity, it burns!

You definitely know the show has moved to the CW whenever Mon-El is around, that's for sure.

Quote

It frustrates me because as a photo journalist in a city constantly targeted by other worldly issues, James Olsen had the potential to be a dynamic figure all on his own and that's when I enjoyed him most, when he was out there in the middle of the action, but not trying to save the day, but to do what he was supposed to have loved doing, getting the perfect shot, or helping some of the bystanders in the process.  

Also, pairing Kara and James up as a reporter/photojournalist team was like the easiest, most obvious way to get away from Catco yet keep James relevant to the story. I'm still in disbelief that they didn't do that. Although that would have required them to actually be interested in the journalist job for Kara, which they're so clearly and utterly NOT.

Edited November 8, 2016 by stealinghome

[twoods]

I'm totally on the Winn and Lena ship. They were cute together. I also liked Jimmy having his own storyline. 

Mon-El, not annoying me so much but not on board with him and Kara just yet.

Edited November 8, 2016 by twoods

[JustaPerson]

At the very least, Mon-El's reactions to various mundane Earth things was funny. Like his little "mine...!" when Kara took away his Red Vines (Twizzlers?) and him "answering" the phone. They're lucky Chris Woods is fairly likeable. 

[yellowfred]

So, as someone who legitimately likes James as a character, I have to agree that this plot looks terrible.  Admittedly, a part of my reaction has to do with having seen a (remarkably) similar plot on Arrow (though, at least the inciting incident here isn't as terrible a decision), but I still think it's a lazy choice.  I would love to see James more integrated into the main storylines, but I don't think the way to do that is by giving him a mask (or a suit) and having him fight.

I'm really enjoying the Maggie/Alex stuff.  I found it pretty realistic to have Alex just really wanting to spend time with her and not necessarily making that connection about why until Maggie directly brought it up.  It is definitely happening a lot faster than I thought it would, but I'm actually happy that they're not drawing out the part where Alex figures out she's attracted to Maggie.  Also, their first scene where Alex is trying to act appropriately sad about Maggie and her girlfriend breaking up was kind of adorable.  

I feel like other people have already covered a lot of the problems with Mon-El, so I'll just say that I'm starting to understand why Kryptonians hated Daxamites so much.

[Lady Calypso]

I, too, had issues with Mon-El getting an internship at CatCo, especially since it seemed like Kara did next to nothing in explaining how Earth worked beforehand. I get it was supposed to be funny and all, but the joke only worked for....maybe a minute of the entire episode. He clearly was not ready to be thrown into any work like that, and Kara should have known that. It's just as much on her as it is on Mon-El for doing the douchey things that he did, like shift his work onto poor Eve (I really like Eve for some reason, as a sidenote. I hope she doesn't die or turn evil). And of course, seeds already fully planted with Kara/Mon-El. Great. 

I'm so glad Winn's getting good scenes this season. I started off hating his character, but now I enjoy him, especially with Alex. Speaking of Alex, her coming out storyline is working so far. Her enthusiasm to be with Maggie is intoxicating. It helps that Chyler Leigh is a strong enough actress to make it work. 

So, Jimmy became a vigilante because....his dad's camera broke? And he lies and manipulates Winn into...what? Helping him fight crime on the side? So basically, since Jimmy doesn't want to be a sidekick anymore, he wants to be a superhero with Winn as....his sidekick. Because he knows he can only do so much with his limited skills, and Winn's probably the most manipulable. I don't know when I'll ever get over my issue of Jimmy being a vigilante on a show with aliens. I know the Flarrow universe has metas and vigilantes and all that, so it's not out of the realm of possibility, but I'm just not feeling it with Jimmy. Oh, so boohoo, you don't want to be a sidekick. You don't want to be just a photojournalist. You want to feel like you can do "this" and level the playing field. All I see is him getting in the way, getting injured and having Supergirl distracted during any fights that they team up. On a show like Arrow and even The Flash, the idea of a vigilante works, but on this show, even with a weapon that Winn builds, the idea of Jimmy being Guardian? I'm just not feeling it. 

But I get it; Jimmy needs to be useful somehow and this is apparently the only way to get him in on the action. It's just sad that they have no other ways of making him relevant, which is why they probably should let him go instead of wasting time on his origin story. 

Lena's truly great. I really enjoy all of her scenes. There were some moments where I thought that maybe Lena knew about Kara being Supergirl. I'd also totally get behind Winn/Lena, if Lena/Kara isn't a thing. 

[regularlyleaded]

Despite Mon-El's behavior in some moments, I still like him. For the most part, I thought his scenes were entertaining because everything is so genuinely alien to him it’s kinda amusing to me. Mon-El thinking the phones were alarms and him giving out his social security number I thought were funny. It’s stuff we take for granted, but he’s not from this world (Though, I think Kara should have probably explained some basics like: This is a phone. It’s used for communication. Here’s how you use it. I think the show writers purposefully kept information from Mon-El, information that you’d reasonably think Kara would explain to him before letting him out into the world, and it was kept from him purely for the sake of hilarity. Which is a touch lazy in term of writing, IMO.) 

I don’t personally like every aspect of Mon-El’s behavior, but I just can’t hate on him for his behavior right now because he’s from a planet of hedonists where his behavior is not only acceptable, it is the norm. On his planet and in his culture, his behavior isn’t wrong or frowned upon.  So I’m giving him a pass (for now) because as obnoxious and crass as it may be for some when judged through our lens it’s what he knows and thinks it’s okay. And Kara just dropped him into the middle of modern western culture without any sort of heads-up that, “hey, man, unruly, selfish, hedonistic behavior is rather frowned upon here in this corner of the world.” 

With all that said, I agree if the show doesn’t start maturing him at some point, the party boy persona will grow very tiresome. My hope is that part of Mon-El’s story of figuring out how to integrate into this world means that he starts to understand that he should adjust his thinking and behavior. Granted, we live in a culture where he can probably get away with never changing his behavior — like many frat boys that never grow-up. But I hope that the writers start introducing growth and development for the character wherein he realizes that there is value and arguably a more satisfying way of life in one that doesn’t involve merely living for your own personal pleasure.

And also, assuming Mon-El manages to gain some maturity, I can see myself being on board with a Kara/Mon-El pairing. I ship it. There! I said it! 

Other Notes:

Quote

I agree though him working at Catco is stupid.

Heh,I think Mon-El working at CatCo was intended to be ridiculous, hence they fired him. He was a terrible intern.  

I think while everyone else was annoyed with Mon-El’s behavior, I was busy blowing a gasket over Jimmy just walking into a secret government facility, asking for classified information, and Winn just handing it over to him like he’s sharing french fries with his girlfriend. What. In. Actual. EFF! Every DEO building deserves to be blown up by Cadmus because the DEO security is shit. And also, Winn should be fired for just blabbing information like that. UGH! I realize this is a silly little hill to choose to die on, but I have a thing about informational security and this kind of stuff just irks me. So. Much.

 

Oh, writers, no. No, no, no. Two episodes ago I was asking myself, “Why is Jimmy still around? How is this character relevant?” The answer, writers, wasn’t because he’s got a serious case of cape envy and to compensate for his feelings of inadequacy he’s going to become a vigilante. No. No, no, no. Honestly….Cape envy <hard eye roll>…. How incredibly feeble. 

I got as far as “My whole life I have been a sidekick…” in Jimmy’s cape envy monologue to Winn before I rolled my eyes so hard that it gave me a headache. That’s how much I can’t with Jimmy and this story line. When Winn told Jimmy, “you’re going to get yourself killed.” The only thing I was left thinking was: Oh, if only we could be so lucky.  Though perhaps it doesn’t have to come to that after all. It turns out Oliver over on Arrow has been recruiting new human punching bags baby vigilantes, perhaps they can shuffle Jimmy over there. 

 

So...Kara was in this episode. In several scenes. I like her scenes with Mon-El. Kara was so excited about him joining her at CatCo., which I found very amusing. But of course, that did not go as she hoped/planned, hence her lesson learned that mentoring is about helping people discover the best version of themselves not turning them into versions of you. And yet, how is this about Kara learning to be Kara? That is to say, I get that wanting to be a mentor to someone is an aspect of Kara, but....and? So? Therefore? I’m genuinely baffled by the writers handling of Kara’s story lines right now. I keep wanting and expecting more depth, and yet, I can’t seem to find it. I’m not irked by this right now, per se, but more genuinely confused. I get that Kara’s helping Mon-El. I get that Kara’s learning how to be a reporter. But I think I’m missing an overarching theme that has emotional resonance. I’m still giving the writers time to work this out (it’s still early in the season), but strangely, Kara’s story arc this season so far feels like, well, almost like an after thought. Which shouldn’t be. She’s the titular character. And as much as I love Alex and J’onn, Kara is why I watch the show, so I want more for her. I need for Kara’s story to be more than just a lesson of the day being checked off a list. 

Some Final Positive Thoughts:

• Kara stuffing her face with pot stickers at the gala. LOL! I don’t know why, but I laughed so hard at that. I mean it’s silly, and yet Melissa makes it work so well. That and Chris Wood’s “What’s wrong with your mouth?!” Heh.
• Also, while I shared in Kara’s “OMG! EWWWWW!” I still laughed so very hard at Kara’s reaction when she accidentally overheard with her superhearing Mon-El and Miss Tessmacher getting busy. I thought it was a funny callback to last season when Kara unwittingly used her x-ray vision on Winn and Siobhan getting it on in the supply room. 
• Yay! Finally, a sisters scene! Aww, I really do love these Danvers Sisters. (Melancholy note: I felt bad for Alex that she didn’t get a chance to talk to Kara about how she was feeling because Conversation Interruptus. But I suppose the show is saving that whole conversation for later. It’s not like I would ever say “no” to another Danvers Sisters scene. Heck, I would happily watch an entire episode of just them)
• Yep, any doubt has been washed away: I would ship Katie McGrath with anyone. After Winn and Lena’s huddle under the table trying to fix that device, I was starting to ship them, along with already shipping Lena with everyone else. Heh ;-)
• When The Doctor walked into Lena’s office I automatically started saying, “She’s her Mom, She’s her Mom, She’s her Mom.” And for once. I. was. Right. YAS!  Despite the revelation, I’m still holding on to hope that Lena isn’t Luthor Evil. That she’s truly the one good(ish) Luthor. 

Edited November 8, 2016 by regularlyleaded

[madhacker]

11 minutes ago, regularlyleaded said:

Also, while I shared in Kara’s “OMG! EWWWWW!” I still laughed so very hard at Kara’s reaction when she accidentally overheard with her superhearing Mon-El and Miss Tessmacher getting busy. I thought it was a funny callback to last season when Kara unwittingly used her x-ray vision on Winn and Siobhan getting it on in the supply room. 

It was funny but also annoyed me because "Mike" could've killed Eve since it's been well established he doesn't know his own strength, yet.

Mike Wood is doing a fine job but they should be slowly easing Mon-El into life on Earth. I'm just hoping he decides that his Superhero name should be Valor (Mon-El had a comic series that ran for a couple of years that had him go by that name) and they have him wear a variation of  the red costume with a blue cape just to set himself apart from the Super cousins.

I also found hard to believe that with Kara's speed that she couldn't get the drop on those idiots.  Barry would've had those guys for breakfast.

 

[thuganomics85]

Yeah, having Mon-El automatically start his human life as an intern at Catco, certainly wasn't Kara at her smartest.  You have to ease these aliens into human life, Kara!  I get the show wanted to have some "fish out of water" moments, but I would have liked for them to have found a way that didn't make their lead look kind of dumb.  Chris Wood is hilarious though.  So good to have escaped Containment in one piece!

On the other hand, you've got Jimmy basically deciding he wants to be a vigilante now, due to getting his ass handed to him and his camera getting broken.  Not exactly the most compelling origin story out there.  But, hey, he will apparently get a new suit, since he basically said he'll keep doing it even if Winn didn't help, so Winn is complying.  Can't say I'm excited about this particular plot development.

They seem to be going pretty fast with Maggie already getting dumped by her girlfriend, but I guess they're still holding off on anything with her and Alex, since Alex is slowly opening up to be a lesbian or bi, but still won't say it out loud.  I'm sure Maggie knows there is an attraction and might even like it, but she strikes me as someone who wouldn't want to date someone who is still unsure about herself as Alex is.  Chyler Leigh was pretty good in her kind of coming out scene.

Barely any Hank in this, and someone pointed out that he actually couldn't have been used at Lena' gala.  Instead of the whole "Miss Doubtfire" act, he could have just pretended to be Kara.  At least have a throwaway scene where they asked and he was like "I ain't got time for stupid parties!"

Always down for more Lena!  Her and Winn together was actually pretty entertaining.  But she really does seem to be all about that Kara, which I can't really blame her on.  Katie McGrath is owning it.  And now we meet her mother, who is..... Brenda Strong, the Cadmus lady!  Oh, that should be fun.

[Izeinwinter]

RE: the poster with the prenup. Kryptonians appear to not do divorce. It's unclear if that's a cultural thing or if their pair-bonding is just stronger,  either way, it likely applies to Kara.

Still, she should marry Lena anyways, because

a: Gosh, that's is some fire they've got going. Serious chemistry.

b: Bottomless plot-mine.

c: It'll make Kara's secret identity so much better! Noone is ever going to guess that Lena Luthor is married to supergirl. 

Edited November 8, 2016 by Izeinwinter

[bros402]

Was Hank even in the episode? Maybe couldn't afford to have him in the episode?

 

Also, they need to abandon whatever relationship plans they had for Kara and have her hook up with Lena. Make her bisexual - not a lot of bi characters on TV, but tonight, the sparks were flying between those two.

 

5 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And could those early scenes with Alex and Maggie be more forced and awkward? I felt like the writers, through Maggie, were giving me a lesson as to why Alex may come out this season. Because she isn't aware that she's lesbian? I find that insulting. It's something I've seen on a lot of shows--that for men--they've always known that they're gay; it's not a choice; they're born that way, and I believe that. But the narrative for women? It's a choice they make. For whatever reason. And through Maggie, I got the feeling she was telling Alex-you may not know you're a lesbian--but you're giving me the "vibes" that you are. And Alex's "no I'm NOT!" Talk you later, and walks off with that whatever that look was on her face.

I'd say it was accurate, since Alex was having a bit of an identity crisis.

[Xenith22]

So after 4 weeks of pretty decent episodes...we are right back to where we left off at the end of last season with horrendous amounts of forced plot stupidity which makes me feel dumber for having watched it...

How brain dead are Kara, James, and heck even Wynn, Jonn, and Alex since I am assuming they all had to know about the Mon-El getting a job at CatCo plan?  To take someone whose entire time on Earth has been spent in the equivalent of a bunker and a brief excursion to a bar and give them a job around normal people without explaining a single #$&#*& thing about that job, his new identity, about interacting with people, or hey even exhibiting basic human decency until apparently walking in the door of the ****** building...  JEEEEEBUS!  I mean these lunkheads should have spent at the very least several days prepping Mon-El for everything he might encounter, making sure he memorized his cover story, practicing common situations, etc...  How am I supposed to root for characters this stupid?

Speaking of James...watches as Supergirl gets beat down.  Gets himself beaten up by ONE guy.  Decides oh hey I should totally try to take out the whole gang of people with weapons that can smash buildings and alter gravity armed only with a baseball bat by myself without telling anyone.  I'm sorry...what?  For that matter can we talk about the plot stupidity which resulted in this confrontation.   The DEO receives an anonymous tip about the Federal Reserve, and just immediately ignore it for no logical reason whatsoever.  Probable vectors my butt...  These are men with alien guns that they know absolutely nothing about besides the fact that they robbed a bank. (Also they must be working with the Earth 2 version of Reverse Flash with how quickly they robbed that bank.  Unless the bank actually gets robbed so often that they just have a duffel bag of money already packed for the robbers so they can just run in and grab it then run out without having to waste time actually holding up any clerks or getting a manager to open any safes or pack a bag?  I mean how else can you explain Kara watching them get out of the van and in the time it take her to come back as Supergirl they are already on their way out.  Also worth mentioning why bother wearing ski masks when you are just going to take them off in public for no reason at all?  Ugh.)   Yeah no chance at all they would be interested in a massive score + making a statement in the form of robbing a major target like a federal reserve.  Seriously writers...

I was actually potentially okay with the Kara-MonEl ship before this episode...but now.  Eh....  I mean what he's doing with Eve.  Not just the fact that he was going to have sex with a co-worker the day he met her at their place of work on top of the dam copier in the middle of the work day.  Which that is just so so wrong and inconsiderate.  People should not have to worry about certain bodily fluids when using the copier...  But I mean he also has to realize he is emotionally manipulating her into thinking there is something there relationship wise with her doing all his work and buying things for him...and he is totally okay with that.  That is a douche that I do not want to see with Kara.  For that matter the mentor/student relationship, and creating a parallel between Alex/Kara and Kara/MonEl also not helpful to making me see them as a romance in the making.  So nope a little dancing was not enough to get me anywhere near on-board that ship now...

 

Other random acts/plots of stupid:

- The people of National City...a human gang gets a hold of absurdly powerful alien weapons and everyone now wants one to defend themselves.  It's the equivalent of everyone deciding they should carry around a fully loaded RPG.  It's so absurdly unnecessary.  Even if human bad guys have an alien gun you can just as easily shoot a bullet into their brain with a normal handgun and yet no one does...  Just saying.  

- Supergirl disarms the lead bad guy.  Has him in her grasp then leaves his alone to get away while she goes to catch the car (actually she apparently set him down even before the police car was launched).  How man milliseconds would it have taken her to knock him out with her pinky  before going to catch the car?

- Lena's plan.  I mean that she seriously had to be the one to sneak away to arm the field generator?  Could she not have paid someone to be at the ready to turn it on or heck had a dang remote in her purse?  For that matter what was with the thing being non-functional...wouldn't she want to I dunno maybe test it before her life is on the line?

- Kara's heat vision is overpowered by one weapon on multiple occasions, yet somehow at the climax she is able to hold off all three weapons at the same time with it without flaring... Sure.

- MonEl gets up with a massive hole blown in his shirt and not a scratch on him and no one at all notices.  It's not like people don't know about the existence of aliens anymore...

Edited November 8, 2016 by Xenith22

[The Crazed Spruce]

If Lena's not crushing on Kara, I'll eat my hat. And hats give me heartburn, so that should tell you something....

And if they're trying to hide that Mon-El is really Daxamite royalty, they're doing a piss-poor job of it. (Kara and the DEO should've taken more time to acclimate him to human society before throwing him headfirst into the workplace, though.)

[ottoDbusdriver]

So where is Mama Luthor and Cadmus getting all these alien weapons from ?

[Primal Slayer]

The funny thing about Kara getting Mon a job is that she barely lets him out of the DOA to actually get a sense of how Earth works but expects him automatically get a human job and pay bills

it makes more sense that the DOA or whatever use him to fight battles and put hik on the payroll 

[MarkHB]

I think they've said that Kara doesn't get paid by the DEO, and I doubt she can afford to pay for all the beer that guy drinks on her entry-level reporter's salary, so he's going to have to contribute somehow.  I note that he's still living in that cell; they don't have barracks space he could move into so he doesn't have bars on the door (even if it's open)?

I love that Miss Teschmacher's first name is Eve, just like the original; I don't think that was established in the premiere.  Great to see her still around, too; hopefully she doesn't get thrown in a pool.

Chyler Leigh killed it in that "uh... there may be some truth to what you said.... about me... " scene.

I am moderately surprised that Mon-El's secret identity name wasn't Bob Cobb, his name when he posed as Superboy/Clark's cousin in the original comics.

[cambridgeguy]

If James really wanted to help fight crime he'd use his power as acting head of Catco to organize fundraisers for the police, raise awareness of their needs, etc. Going out there in a costume and beating up criminals means he's an adrenaline junkie with delusions of grandeur.  Say what you will about Oliver but he had years of training that goes far beyond anything you'd pick up in a dojo.  Unless Winn is planning to design the Supergirl version of the Steel armor he should be spending some time in the hospital once he heads out there. 

So I guess the next episode will have Maggie and Alex making out and the episode after that will show them hopping into the sack.  Gotta love the CW.

[Artsda]

Jimmy gets beat up and thinks he'll be a superhero? So silly, I think Winn is foreshadowed his death. 

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, MarkHB said:

I think they've said that Kara doesn't get paid by the DEO, and I doubt she can afford to pay for all the beer that guy drinks on her entry-level reporter's salary, so he's going to have to contribute somehow.  I note that he's still living in that cell; they don't have barracks space he could move into so he doesn't have bars on the door (even if it's open)?

I think the issue is that last episode, Kara wouldn't even let Mon-El out of the DEO to go explore, and this episode has her throwing him into CatCo as an intern, as if she expects him to know how Earth works. If she has to be his mentor, she has to teach him about Earth before throwing him into a job. 

 

32 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

If James really wanted to help fight crime he'd use his power as acting head of Catco to organize fundraisers for the police, raise awareness of their needs, etc. Going out there in a costume and beating up criminals means he's an adrenaline junkie with delusions of grandeur.  Say what you will about Oliver but he had years of training that goes far beyond anything you'd pick up in a dojo.  Unless Winn is planning to design the Supergirl version of the Steel armor he should be spending some time in the hospital once he heads out there. 

Don't worry; James is a black belt. He can totally become a vigilante. 

This is what annoyed me with Laurel's quick arc to become the Black Canary. Granted she just took her dead sister's costume, half her name, and modified the Canary Cry that her sister used and she didn't do it to avenge her dad's camera or whatever, but it still never worked for me. She was extremely reckless too, jumping into the life of crime without getting much training. We saw her train in one episode, but she still actually hindered Team Arrow more than helping them in that third season. Oliver actually yelled at her and refused to let her join for a long time, but only accepted when she wouldn't stop and kept getting in the way. 

The fact that Winn is ONLY doing this because James told him that he won't stop and Winn doesn't want his friend to get killed says a lot about how this vigilante arc will go. Winn is really going to be the hero if he can create a suit for James that not only lessens his chance of being hurt, but also can create a cool weapon for James to use that will actually help when he inevitably fights along Alex, J'onn, and Supergirl. 

Man, the issue with Berlanti superhero shows is how characters are only important when they're fighting on the field. It's the issue with Arrow for me right now, it's starting to become a slight issue with The Flash, and now Supergirl has James only relevant if he's being an adrenaline junkie dumbass. Apparently, there's an issue with being a so-called sidekick and the need to become a superhero. There's nothing wrong with James finding a way to be helpful behind the scene. 

[Perfect Xero]

Winn & James:

"So ... uh, do you think this guy is Kara's new love interest?"

"Well, we both bombed, so maybe."

"Right, but isn't anyone going to comment on the fact that he's got the same last name as her? Also her aunt Astra had the same last name too, apparently. What's up with that?"

"It's probably best not to think about it, or the fact that she's trying to dress him up to look like Clark and sometimes calls him 'Mark' by mistake."

"We need something to distract us ..."

"Build me an Iron Man suit?"

"Sure, that's something which, as a former IT guy for a magazine, I can easily do."

[Sakura12]

7 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

They seem to be going pretty fast with Maggie already getting dumped by her girlfriend, but I guess they're still holding off on anything with her and Alex, since Alex is slowly opening up to be a lesbian or bi, but still won't say it out loud.  I'm sure Maggie knows there is an attraction and might even like it, but she strikes me as someone who wouldn't want to date someone who is still unsure about herself as Alex is.  Chyler Leigh was pretty good in her kind of coming out scene.

I think they are pretty much going with Alex being a lesbian with her saying she never really liked dating guys or felt like being intimate with guys. She just never thought she might be gay. While I do think they are rushing this storyline, Chyler Leigh is doing a great job with it. I loved seeing how giddy Alex is around Maggie or even just thinking about Maggie. The Maggie actress could be a little better. I ship it though. I did notice she couldn't quite say the words yet. She's coming to terms with who she is. I hope they don't hook up the next episode and just go on a real date or something first. But this is the CW so I shouldn't expect much. 

I was kind of digging Lena and Winn working together. She seems to be a science tech geek like him. I wouldn't mind seeing them in more scenes. 

I guess MG confirmed that it is Lillian Luthor. I do like that this show does bring focus to the female characters with Lena and Lillian Luthor instead of Lex and Lionel. 

[BooBear]

1 hour ago, Artsda said:

Jimmy gets beat up and thinks he'll be a superhero? So silly, I think Winn is foreshadowed his death. 

Agreed. The only way this plot line makes sense.  Not only that but that it is so rushed and lacking real motivation. Editor and Chief of Cat-co not enough for you?

Quote

I was actually potentially okay with the Kara-MonEl ship before this episode...but now.  Eh....  I mean what he's doing with Eve.  Not just the fact that he was going to have sex with a co-worker the day he met her at their place of work on top of the dam copier in the middle of the work day. 

Just technically on this assuming all works the same way what if humans like could hurt Daximites with STDs or something? I mean just jump on in there 3 weeks after landing on earth. Even fun loving people have some brains.  This whole plot was beyond stupid. I am pretty sure that I will never watch this episode again.

I am really liking Winn this year but maybe, for the moment, he can just be a friend and doesn't have to be "anything" to anyone. But I am irked that the stupidity of James' plot had seeped into Winn's plot.