S02.E17: Distant Sun

[The Crazed Spruce]

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A large bounty on Supergirl draws aliens from all over to National City; Alex and Maggie run into Maggie's ex-girlfriend; Hank receives an interesting order from the president.

[shantown]

I will just say it's quite rude to tease us with Mon-El leaving every episode just to end up keeping him around.

[bettername2come]

I knew Teri Hatcher was going to stab you, Kevin Sorbo! I knew it! You should've listened to me!

I am here for more Winn/Mon-El bromance. And I like that Martian Manhunter had things to do two episodes in a row (counting Flash). And I had other things to say, but I forgot them because holy crap was that Ravi from iZombie in the promo?!

[tennisgurl]

Just now, bettername2come said:

holy crap was that Ravi from iZombie in the promo?!

OMG IT WAS HIM!!!! I wasn't sure, but now I know! Damn it April, hurry your ass up and get here!

So, I actually liked that episode? I actually liked Mon-El, and I buy that he's a better guy now? Still not totally on board Kara/Mon-El, but I thought they had some nice moments. And I love his bromance with Winn. Its cute as hell.

Holy shit, Terri Hatcher is cray! Oh Kevin Sorbo, I knew you were gonna get stabbed! If its considered normal parenting to blackmail your kid into going home with you by threatening to kill his girlfriend, then smacking him in the face and sending him to a prison cell for not being thrilled about it, no wonder that whole planet was messed up.

I also agree with Mon-El about being a bartender (or mixologist!). Being a good bartender is a highly honored prestigious artisan position in most Earth based societies.

Holy shit, Winn hacked an alien warship in about five minutes! How was he working as a low level tech guy until he joined the DEO? How did the NSA or someone not recruit him as soon as he left college?

[stealinghome]

So this episode was a tale of two halves. The first half I actually thought was REALLY good—the pacing was excellent, the ensemble was being utilized better than it had been in a loooong time, the narrative strands were interesting, it was humming along. And then the second half descended into ridiculous, melodramatic, overwrought tripe. I found myself wishing that the Daxamites (who are clearly in league with President Secret Alien Wonder Woman) WOULD declare war on Earth, it was so bad and Our Heroes were so incredibly stupid and reckless. It was like two different episodes starting in the scene in the Fortress of Solitude.

The show has rushed Kara/Mon-El so much that I just can’t help but laugh at this point. And it frustrates me, because after the silly first scene, I was actually liking Mon-El--I dug the scene with his parents in the bar and the mind control fight. BUT then it was a huge step back when his response to everything was “run away!” It just shows how poorly he and Kara are suited for each other. And then it was kind of okay until he had to Sacrifice Himself To Save Her in the most cliche, eyeroll-worthy scene ever and Kara descended in thirteen-year-old girl hysterics over a guy she’s been dating for a hot five seconds and the DEO almost started an INTERGALACTIC incident over Mon-El. I just can’t even. Throughout the whole second half of the episode I was like “BUT REALLY, is he worth an intergalactic incident?????? REALLY?” The writers are projecting their love for Mon-El onto the characters when it makes no sense. And if he was as heroic as the show wants us to believe, I still think he would choose to go to Daxam and actively work toward creating a better world. I wonder if that’s coming in the season finale, because you KNOW Rhea must die in or by 2x22.

Really glad that J’onn got to actually do something this episode though, and that we got a brief return of the Power Trio! Oh, and Kara's "That's me!" cracked me UP, as did Kara/Winn/James playing games in her apartment. I love the little glimpses we get of S1 Kara when Mon-El's not around.

I normally love Sanvers and I thought tonight’s storyline was good in theory, but it soooo didn’t work tonally with the rest of the episode. Though it was a lovely scene when Alex told Maggie that she can trust her with the nasty parts of herself—but then, they also missed a real and huge opportunity to flesh out Maggie as a character by stopping the exploration there. Did love seeing Maggie get a dose of Agent Danvers, though.

I totally knew Rhea was going to off Lar Gand by the end of the episode. I saw it coming from, well, the distance between Earth and Daxam/Krypton away. *rimshot* They also missed an opportunity to have Rhea be subtly, creepily evil for another few episodes before descending into total Batshit Crazy Evil, though. I was SO digging Rhea in the first few scenes, but then she became exponentially less interesting when batshit. RIP Lar Gand—I actually kind of loved the contrast of your reasonableness and Rhea’s crazy!

All in all, not the episode I would’ve chosen to go into the hiatus on. It was meh overall, with a good first half and a second half that is a big bucket of WTF. This season is back to being aimless and feels like they're throwing stuff at the wall and waiting to see what sticks. It also feels like the writers are just going through the motions instead of really truly developing anything. Still waiting for Kara to have a storyline.

ETA: Oh, and I have to say the writing for the relationship between Mon-El and his parents seems off to me. The actors are all trying to salvage it but sometimes it's as if they had a really good relationship when he was growing up, and other times it's like they've basically hated each other for years.

Why were Rhea and Lar Gand searching for Mon-El for years, btw? Last episode they acted surprised, like they thought he died when Daxam exploded, right?

Edited March 28, 2017 by stealinghome

[AD35]

3 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

I knew Teri Hatcher was going to stab you, Kevin Sorbo! I knew it! You should've listened to me!

I'll admit I didn't think she'd actually go that far.  I was thinking she'd keep him around a bit longer but it's pretty clear to see that she was the one wearing the pants in that relationship.  I'm glad to see Winn and Mon El had their little moment together during the rescue (Star Wars reference and all).

[Lantern7]

Mon's trying to be a better person. That has to count for something, right? I mean, he's basically a Big Dumb Alien who should get behind James, Winn and Barry to court Kara, but he's willing to change. And he's watching Star Wars! The original trilogy!!

Looks like Ma-El will be the Big Bad for the foreseeable future. Last time I saw Teri Hatcher on a regular basis, she was a harried and klutzy housewife. Should be interesting to see her as sinister. Having her cut Kara and kill her husband is a good start. Sucks that Daxamites can be harmed with lead. Yeah, Kryptonite was readily available on Daxam, but that's probably still a bitch to find.

Hi, James. Nice for you to find time to get in the Guardian armor and get one-shotted by Mon. Really hoping the writers have plans for him, aside from him reminding us that he's got the reins at CatCo.

How many more episodes are left? Really want to see what the deal with President Impostor is all about.

[Artsda]

I really liked this episode.

All the bounty hunters and the big fight on the ship. 

Loved Mon-EL sacrificing himself for Kara and his Romeo&Juliet/Star Wars references. 

Poor Kevin Sorbo. I figured when he started taking Mon-El's side that it wouldn't be good for him. 

The whole Maggie's ex plot didn't really fit in the episode though. Could have done without that.

[cambridgeguy]

Alex responds to her sister having a bounty on her head by.... tracking down her girlfriend's ex? 

Also, James' brilliant plan was to let Winn, armed with only a stapler, go confront alien Prof. X all by himself, while he went to help Kara even though Kryptonians are a lot stronger than Daxamites?  Some friend.

[statsgirl]

Just when I thought I was finally rid of Mon El and it's back to the show I want to watch again, they save him.

Between the Kara/Mon El teenage schmultz and Maggie's love life (which is okay but doesn't interest me), I spent most of the episode fast forwarding. Rhea has a long, long way to go before she reaches Moira Queen levels of awesome.

[tennisgurl]

Really, I've decided that I officially like Mon-El as a character, and he and Kara could have worked as a couple, if they had moved a little slower. Like, they were reluctant allies, then friends, then maybe moving on from there, I could have gotten behind that. Right now, its just too much, too fast. I think it would have worked better if he had gotten less screen time, and they spent more of his screen time on his relationships with characters other than Kara, and his development outside of Kara, THEN getting them together. But now, they're basically OTP True Love after just a few weeks, and the whole show is about them. And the rest of the cast has kind of gotten left in the cold.

[thuganomics85]

Totally knew Teri Hatcher was going to kill Kevin Sorbo, as soon as it became more and more obvious that Dad wasn't as fully down with what Mom was doing (not knowing about the bounty), and as soon as he allowed Mon El to leave, I knew he was a goner.  It was either that or he was going to have an even eviler plan in store, but I figured the former was way more likely.  I can understand why they are making Mom the big baddie, since Teri Hatcher is easily stronger then Kevin Sorbo in the acting department, but the nostalgic person in me is sad that old Hercules will no longer be around. 

Kara/Mon El being back to lovey-dovey was dum as expected, but whatever.  At least Mon El was back to being likable by actually being supportive for once, plus some amusing moments with the pop culture references like reading Romeo & Juliet and finally seeing Star Wars (much to the delight of Winn!)  Now, this is the Mon El I can actually enjoy, instead of the toolbag, who keeps regressing every other episode. While Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood still are great together, I still think at times that the usually perfect Benoist goes a bit too broad at times, during some of their moments (the bacon line/scream.)

The stuff with Alex and Maggie was well-acted by Chyler Leigh and Floriana Lima, but it felt out of place in this episode.  Especially since I would think Alex would be spending every waking moment trying to get the bounty off of Kara's head; not investigating Maggie's ex.  Still, hopefully this will solidify their relationship moving forward, and Maggie will quit hiding things like she admittedly does.  

Winn has now hacked and snuck aboard an alien spaceship!  He's like a cooler version of Jeff Goldblum's character in Independence Day!

A good use of J'onn and David Harewood for once!  On the other hand, poor James was like, in what, one scene?  Seriously, I hope Mehcad Brooks has a back-up plan, if/when they drop him for good.

Certainly an improvement from last week.

[Oreo2234]

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Really, I've decided that I officially like Mon-El as a character, and he and Kara could have worked as a couple, if they had moved a little slower. Like, they were reluctant allies, then friends, then maybe moving on from there, I could have gotten behind that. Right now, its just too much, too fast.  I think it would have worked better if he had gotten less screen time, and they spent more of his screen time on his relationships with characters other than Kara, and his development outside of Kara, THEN getting them together. But now, they're basically OTP True Love after just a few weeks, and the whole show is about them. And the rest of the cast has kind of gotten left in the cold.

I agree. That's a big part of my problem with their story. It's taken up too much screentime and I can't quite buy that they are at a place yet where they can do this plot. But I actually thought they came across as cute and respectful this episode. I think they can work the writers just need slow it down, to write them more consistently and know when to reign it in. 

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The whole Maggie's ex plot didn't really fit in the episode though. Could have done without that.

I think they probably did that plot because Melissa Benoist was still filming the Flash crossover. 

Edited March 28, 2017 by Oreo2234

[RacerHo7]

30 minutes ago, stealinghome said:

So this episode was a tale of two halves. The first half I actually thought was REALLY good—the pacing was excellent, the ensemble was being utilized better than it had been in a loooong time, the narrative strands were interesting, it was humming along. And then the second half descended into ridiculous, melodramatic, overwrought tripe. I found myself wishing that the Daxamites (who are clearly in league with President Secret Alien Wonder Woman) WOULD declare war on Earth, it was so bad and Our Heroes were so incredibly stupid and reckless. It was like two different episodes starting in the scene in the Fortress of Solitude.

The show has rushed Kara/Mon-El so much that I just can’t help but laugh at this point. And it frustrates me, because after the silly first scene, I was actually liking Mon-El--I dug the scene with his parents in the bar and the mind control fight. BUT then it was a huge step back when his response to everything was “run away!” It just shows how poorly he and Kara are suited for each other. And then it was kind of okay until he had to Sacrifice Himself To Save Her in the most cliche, eyeroll-worthy scene ever and Kara descended in thirteen-year-old girl hysterics over a guy she’s been dating for a hot five seconds and the DEO almost started an INTERGALACTIC incident over Mon-El. I just can’t even. Throughout the whole second half of the episode I was like “BUT REALLY, is he worth an intergalactic incident?????? REALLY?” The writers are projecting their love for Mon-El onto the characters when it makes no sense. And if he was as heroic as the show wants us to believe, I still think he would choose to go to Daxam and actively work toward creating a better world. I wonder if that’s coming in the season finale, because you KNOW Rhea must die in or by 2x22.

Really glad that J’onn got to actually do something this episode though, and that we got a brief return of the Power Trio! Oh, and Kara's "That's me!" cracked me UP, as did Kara/Winn/James playing games in her apartment. I love the little glimpses we get of S1 Kara when Mon-El's not around.

I normally love Sanvers and I thought tonight’s storyline was good in theory, but it soooo didn’t work tonally with the rest of the episode. Though it was a lovely scene when Alex told Maggie that she can trust her with the nasty parts of herself—but then, they also missed a real and huge opportunity to flesh out Maggie as a character by stopping the exploration there. Did love seeing Maggie get a dose of Agent Danvers, though.

I totally knew Rhea was going to off Lar Gand by the end of the episode. I saw it coming from, well, the distance between Earth and Daxam/Krypton away. *rimshot* They also missed an opportunity to have Rhea be subtly, creepily evil for another few episodes before descending into total Batshit Crazy Evil, though. I was SO digging Rhea in the first few scenes, but then she became exponentially less interesting when batshit. RIP Lar Gand—I actually kind of loved the contrast of your reasonableness and Rhea’s crazy!

All in all, not the episode I would’ve chosen to go into the hiatus on. It was meh overall, with a good first half and a second half that is a big bucket of WTF. This season is back to being aimless and feels like they're throwing stuff at the wall and waiting to see what sticks. It also feels like the writers are just going through the motions instead of really truly developing anything. Still waiting for Kara to have a storyline.

ETA: Oh, and I have to say the writing for the relationship between Mon-El and his parents seems off to me. The actors are all trying to salvage it but sometimes it's as if they had a really good relationship when he was growing up, and other times it's like they've basically hated each other for years.

Why were Rhea and Lar Gand searching for Mon-El for years, btw? Last episode they acted surprised, like they thought he died when Daxam exploded, right?

Excellent breakdown, and totally on point, especially your second paragraph. Hoorah for J'onn because he's been missed in the action this season.  Yes, about Sanvers and Maggie.  They need to flesh her out (aka read the comics, because they don't know who she is). Also, like you, I'm still waiting for the protagonist, the character that the show is named for, to actually have a real storyline this season.  Turning an 'arrogant frat boy' into a 'good enough person' to be your boyfriend isn't a story line, and that's pretty much what they've given the hero this season.  It would never happen to a male superhero, so it shouldn't be happening to Supergirl.

[Oreo2234]

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Turning an 'arrogant frat boy' into a 'good enough person' to be your boyfriend isn't a story line, and that's pretty much what they've given the hero this season.  It would never happen to a male superhero, so it shouldn't be happening to Supergirl.

Yeah that's another thing that bothers me. I don't think this story would have played out the same if it were starring a male hero. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

First, word to your entire post @stealinghome! You said what I was feeling so much better!

I did a lot of ??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️??‍♀️ when Maggie invited her EX to dinner with her and Alex, her current partner?! When by all explanations, it was a bitter and hurtful breakup?! What was the show trying to prove there? Oh, wait, I forgot: PLOT. Just to have her not show up...have Alex confront her, then have the ex throw out the cheating bomb, and THEN, have Alex confront Maggie about it? Yeesh, I just gave myself a headache there.

Why didn't Kara pack some lead with her when fighting Rhea again? I did a whole lotta ????over Rhea's talk of love when everything that came out of her mouth sounded that if possession, and anger at having her toy taken away from her.

Or why didn't Mon-El tell her in the bar that he wasn't a baby anymore that needed to cling to Mama's legs/virtual apron strings?

And why didn't he come back with a stronger argument to his dad about how wrong it was to keep the people drugged in order to have their obedience and fealty/loyalty? Nope. None of that, of course.  And OF COURSE Hercules La Gand was going to die when he ended up being the parent that actually loved his child.

If Show is so hell bent on selling Kara and Mon-El as this Perfect Twu Wuv, then why bother with having him condone and benefit from the atrocities his parents let happen? Why not just have him have lied about being a partying frat boy spoiled Prince? It's like that's the only thing that was an issue and now that it's out in the open, no more problems!!??? And having Kara regress to that of a tween, with her don't go!!!!! Staaaaay!!!! Better that she would have said, go, do what you need to do, then come back to me, because your mom is BATSHIT CRAZY.

And for an episode that had intergalactic bounty hunters, I fully expected to see Lobo! Why not? This show has already stolen so many of Supes's history/plots. Icing would have been if they could have gotten Brad Garret to reprise his role in live action.

And Rhea, spouting off about how Kryptonians take what they want, however and whenever they wanted, just screamed unselfawareness, because that's what SHE was doing.

So James Jimmy shows up to "save" Kara-did he even know that Mon was being Mind and body controlled? It didn't sound like it to me, and again, he got his ass handed to him.

Why? Why did Lynda Carter have to be EVUHL ALIEN WONDER WOMAN, instead of the real President Diana Prince? Or maybe Hyppolyta if she's too "old" to be Wonder Woman? Such a waste.???

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I don't care if I only have a table for one, where I gagged over the tweeny lovey dovey breakfast scene. It's like the "Star-Crossed" never happened and it was just one big misunderstanding.???

[stealinghome]

22 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Really, I've decided that I officially like Mon-El as a character, and he and Kara could have worked as a couple, if they had moved a little slower. Like, they were reluctant allies, then friends, then maybe moving on from there, I could have gotten behind that. Right now, its just too much, too fast. I think it would have worked better if he had gotten less screen time, and they spent more of his screen time on his relationships with characters other than Kara, and his development outside of Kara, THEN getting them together. But now, they're basically OTP True Love after just a few weeks, and the whole show is about them. And the rest of the cast has kind of gotten left in the cold.

Agreed, and I also think they would have worked much better if Mon-El had fully gone through his "redemption"/growth arc before getting together with Kara. If I was writing the show and HAD to get Kara and Mon-El together, I would have had them have virtually no romantic interest in each other until this episode, actually. DON'T reward Mon-El being a tool who doesn't listen to Kara by having him get the girl; don't mistake them saying really nasty things to each other with "cute" banter. Don't give them the wash/rinse/repeat plot of "Mon-El sucks, Kara proves he's an idiot, he swears to be better and then starts off the next episode sucking" again. And ffs, don't have Kara blow off Mon-El lying about a) who he is and b) being complicit in a kidnapping and slave-holding society with NBD, and don't let Mon-El's manpain hijack the episode about Jeremiah's return!

Instead, what I would have done is have them have to genuinely work hard to develop mutual respect, trust, and friendship in 2A, and showing more of Mon-El coming to realize that Daxam sucked (if efficiently written, this could've been done with minimal screentime). This would have culminated in a dying Mon-El telling Kara his real identity in 2x08 because he doesn't want to go to his grave lying to the person who's been so good to him. He lives, but that sets their relationship back some, and he has to spend a few episodes making it up to Kara. The early stages of 2B is when I would have them first show romantic interest in each other--maybe as part of Mon-El making it up to Kara, they accidentally get flirty or go on something accidentally date-like or something. Something that just starts the spark. But I wouldn't have had Mon-El full-on fall for her until this episode, where she goes balls to the wall out to save him, and he realizes no one has done that before for him. Not coincidentally, it's the episode where he MAYBE finally becomes worthy of her by 'sacrificing' himself and arguing that they should build a better world on Daxam. (Kara could also have had a realization that she really doesn't want to lose him, but please, no thirteen-year-old girl crying hysterics.) Right NOW is the point where they should really, seriously be falling for each other. And the message isn't "you should change to get the girl," but rather "your life goes better when you stop being a schmuck!"

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Yeah that's another thing that bothers me. I don't think this story would have played out the same if it were starring a male hero. 

I don't think a male hero would be given ONLY the "turn your arrogant jerk love interest into a better person and worthy mate!" storyline as the totality of their character arc for an entire season. It seems unlikely that a guy superhero would have his storyline be solely dependent on his leading lady's character arc.

Edited March 28, 2017 by stealinghome

[Cthulhudrew]

That first alien in this ep... are they raiding Power Rangers sets for costumes now?

[Artsda]

41 minutes ago, Oreo2234 said:

Really, I've decided that I officially like Mon-El as a character, and he and Kara could have worked as a couple, if they had moved a little slower.

They moved pretty slow, it's been building from day one in October. Mon-El has been in every episode this season. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

1 hour ago, bettername2come said:

I knew Teri Hatcher was going to stab you, Kevin Sorbo! I knew it! You should've listened to me!

There really is a Simpsons clip appropriate for everything.

I thought Kara's cold breath during the fight on the ship was really, really lame.

And the whole Sanvers sub-plot was just painfully dull.
 

[Lady Calypso]

37 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Really, I've decided that I officially like Mon-El as a character, and he and Kara could have worked as a couple, if they had moved a little slower. Like, they were reluctant allies, then friends, then maybe moving on from there, I could have gotten behind that. Right now, its just too much, too fast. I think it would have worked better if he had gotten less screen time, and they spent more of his screen time on his relationships with characters other than Kara, and his development outside of Kara, THEN getting them together. But now, they're basically OTP True Love after just a few weeks, and the whole show is about them. And the rest of the cast has kind of gotten left in the cold.

I've been feeling like this for a few episodes now. I've never had that much of an issue with Mon-El as a character. I get what they're doing with him and that he's on his own arc to become an actual hero. I mean, not like we're doing it with James or anything, but whatever. The point is that Mon-El is not necessarily the problem in this case. Chris Wood is selling the role and Mon-El could really be an asset for the show. I do think they're moving way too quickly, but also Mon-El is taking away from other characters. Sure, we see Alex having her subplot with Maggie, and we see Winn with his girlfriend. But the trouble is that the show has lost the ensemble feel. This episode did a lot to try to correct that, and it actually proved that Mon-El can still be part of the show and not take away from Kara's relationships with others. He can have his own development outside of Kara and not take away from her independence as a character. He doesn't have to take her away from other characters and they can still be a happy, functioning and fun couple. 

But then the second half of the episode happened, where Kara was happily willing to start an intergalactic war, and all was lost. 

28 minutes ago, RacerHo7 said:

Excellent breakdown, and totally on point, especially your second paragraph. Hoorah for J'onn because he's been missed in the action this season.  Yes, about Sanvers and Maggie.  They need to flesh her out (aka read the comics, because they don't know who she is). Also, like you, I'm still waiting for the protagonist, the character that the show is named for, to actually have a real storyline this season.  Turning an 'arrogant frat boy' into a 'good enough person' to be your boyfriend isn't a story line, and that's pretty much what they've given the hero this season.  It would never happen to a male superhero, so it shouldn't be happening to Supergirl.

What really pissed me off is that they gave Kara the line about being happy that she's not working at Catco so she can spend more time with her new boyfriend. Realistic of new relationships, sure. But it really bothered me that she's willing to say that. We already spent far too little time with Kara working this season. Now they're not even trying AND they're acknowledging that her new romance is way more important right now than anything else. Apparently she can't have it all. 

As for the episode, I know I just complained a little bit about it, but I actually thought it's one of their better episodes this season. The last fifteen minutes aside, they really did a lot to bring it back to show that they still have it. Kara got to have fun with James and Winn! J'onn and Alex got to interact with Kara and express their love for her! Mon-El was perfectly fine as a supportive boyfriend! I actually loved the opening scene of Mon-El being a housewife while his girlfriend went out to work and he got to stay home and learn how to cook. Kara's excitement over bacon (and other foods) is pretty much me when I get it. 

I actually liked the Alex and Maggie plot, mostly because it got to end on a mature note of Alex actually not getting jealous or angry and being able to talk to Maggie like an adult. I get that they needed a subplot, like all other episodes, so I was fine with this being it. It gave a couple of layers to Maggie and I do think Alex helped her out. 

I'm also pleased that J'onn is getting his own arc set up with his tensions with the President. Of course they needed to remind the audience that she's an alien so that whatever happens at the end of the season, we will have that knowledge when Lynda shows up next. I also love that J'onn actually got to use his powers. It's been so rare this season besides when he turns into his physical form. Last season, he used to mind read a lot, so I'm so glad they brought it back. 

They keep messing up with James. So, he went to go stop Mon-El, a more powerful alien, from killing Kara, a powerful alien capable of taking care of herself, instead of stopping the bounty hunter that had Mon-El mind controlled. So, he sends Winn out with a stapler in hopes that the alien won't just turn and snap Winn's neck, or get him to kill himself. Great going there, James. Great hero work you got there. Even if I got a little smile out of Winn saving the day there, it just wasn't necessary. Also, James getting to that parking garage was ridiculous since he can't fly. 

I knew that Kevin Sorbo was toast about the time that Mon-El appeared on the ship, but I did get my suspicions about Rhea calling the bounty and him not knowing about it when they met at the bar. It's too bad that he's dead; I like the actor enough to want to see more of him. Well, I guess maybe in hallucinations and flashbacks. 

I do think they need to tone it down on the True Love thing with Mon-El/Kara, mostly because I don't buy it. It seems more like a romance that's filled with heat and passion but will burn out just as quickly, especially with them burning through every romance cliche known to person. Next thing you know, Mon-El will sacrifice his life for Kara's, only to have him not actually die and him being resurrected or it being a fakeout or something. Which...nah, I'm good with not seeing that. 

Let Mon-El share more scenes with Winn and James. Allow him to become a character outside of Kara. That will also allow Kara to become her own person again outside of Mon-El. 

[Noneofyourbusiness]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Holy shit, Winn hacked an alien warship in about five minutes! How was he working as a low level tech guy until he joined the DEO? How did the NSA or someone not recruit him as soon as he left college?

Yeah, or the "one of the world's leading software concerns"-type people who scouted Willow and Oz on Career Day in Buffy.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Noneofyourbusiness

[stealinghome]

Other thoughts from tonight: the show really needs to give Floriana Lima more to do. The two times the writers have given her something meaty to sink her teeth into--2x13 and this episode--she's really delivered imo.

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I'm also pleased that J'onn is getting his own arc set up with his tensions with the President. Of course they needed to remind the audience that she's an alien so that whatever happens at the end of the season, we will have that knowledge when Lynda shows up next.

This episode kind of threw a wrench into my theories about the end of the season, can't lie. Initially I thought that the Daxamites were going to ally with Cadmus to help rid the world of aliens in exchange for being able to take an unharmed Mon-El with them. An "enemy of my enemy is my friend" kind of thing. BUT, tonight implied that Secret Alien President Wonder Woman is in league with the Daxamites (though it's possible that she was just trying to use the situation to her advantage somehow), and it seems likely that she and the rest of the White Martians are plotting to take over the Earth. It also seems likely that Cadmus is going to be firmly against that plan, and the Daxamites can't be allied with both the invading White Martians and defending Cadmus factions. Not that they can't be turncoats, of course, but I mean initially. So the wild card for me now is the Daxamites. Whose side do they end up on? AND, how does the DEO fit in here? Are they going to be forced to ally with Cadmus at the end of the season to repel an invading Daxamite/White Martian force? That seems like something the writers would want to do (and lets Jeremiah die heroically). Or will they try to keep everything in equilibrium and everyone else in check? If the season had been written better I feel like it would be really exciting that all these plot strands are coming together....

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They moved pretty slow, it's been building from day one in October. Mon-El has been in every episode this season. 

To be fair, he wasn't conscious for the first two. He only woke up in 2x03.

I have to agree that the relationship has been really rushed, though. Kara/Mon-El only really got together at the end of 2x13 and now we're supposed to buy them as Epic True Love. Just compare them with Sanvers (Maggie was also introduced in 2x03 with a Love Interest sign flashing over her head in neon lights, lol). They have been dating since 2x08 and have been paced much more reasonably than Kara/Mon-El; no one has said the l-word yet, they aren't brushing over big life-altering secrets with a NBD, and Alex certainly hasn't descended into "I can't live without her!" hysterics after dating Maggie for like ten minutes. They're dating at the pace you'd expect normal adults to be at, more or less, with no Epic True Love signals. Just normal relationship stuff. And Maggie and Alex didn't even skip the phase between "here are all the things that suck about you!" litanies and getting together the way Kara/Mon-El did.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

Looks like Ma-El will be the Big Bad for the foreseeable future. Last time I saw Teri Hatcher on a regular basis, she was a harried and klutzy housewife. Should be interesting to see her as sinister.

She voiced the Other Mother in the movie adaptation of Coraline.

[arcadia63]

Awww they're just ramping up the lovey dovey stuff with Mon-el/Kara so when his (speculation only) Mom dies and goes back to Daxon to rule we can feel her pain.   Oh, and PLEASE for the sake of all pay Calista anything she wants to come back and get Kara to Catco

[KirkB]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Holy shit, Winn hacked an alien warship in about five minutes! How was he working as a low level tech guy until he joined the DEO? How did the NSA or someone not recruit him as soon as he left college?

Because of his Dad, probably.

1 hour ago, shantown said:

I will just say it's quite rude to tease us with Mon-El leaving every episode just to end up keeping him around.

For one brief moment I actually allowed myself to believe he might actually be leaving. I mean, I knew it wasn't true really, but it did feel good.

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

Hi, James. Nice for you to find time to get in the Guardian armor and get one-shotted by Mon. Really hoping the writers have plans for him, aside from him reminding us that he's got the reins at CatCo.

I'm pretty sure the show is really trying to recoup the expense of that suit. I mean, what was that, thirty seconds? I agree with everyone who says it was rather stupid of him to go after the super strong alien being mind controlled into fighting the other super strong alien who was in no real danger (and what did he think he was going to accomplish by grabbing his arm anyway?) instead of the alien controlling him.

25 minutes ago, Cthulhudrew said:

That first alien in this ep... are they raiding Power Rangers sets for costumes now?

Heh. No, I remember at least some Power Rangers episodes having better suits than that.

24 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I actually liked the Alex and Maggie plot, mostly because it got to end on a mature note of Alex actually not getting jealous or angry and being able to talk to Maggie like an adult. I get that they needed a subplot, like all other episodes, so I was fine with this being it. It gave a couple of layers to Maggie and I do think Alex helped her out. 

I was a bit surprised it went the way it went. I was half expecting Alex to sit on the info about Maggie cheating with her ex and they were going to use it down the line for her to have doubts or stress. I mean, they may still do that....

[Cthulhudrew]

Yay! J'onn finally gets to do him some telepathin'!!!

Hopefully, if they ever let him do it again, they'll give it some kind of cool visual effects, or maybe even some kind of mindscape fight scene or something. I was actually kind of hoping they'd use the opportunity to explain why he never seems to use his telepathy on any of the other villains they capture, like having him mention something like having a moral code against using it against non-telepaths because it is invasive. I'll take what I can get, though.

[tennisgurl]

22 minutes ago, KirkB said:

Because of his Dad, probably.

Huh, I didn't think of that, but that would make sense. Guess having a well known super villain as a dad probably hasn't been great for his career prospects.

[stealinghome]

Oh snap, AVClub savaged this episode. I don't love Chris Wood as much as the author does, but basically everything else was on point. (Though I thought 2x13-14 were much worse offenders.)

I forgot that Kevin Smith directed this episode. That makes it a solid two for two of his episodes that have not impressed me. And come to think of it, I think my reaction to 2x09 was the same as my reaction to this episode--the first half was solid, the second half a rushed mess, the subplots didn't entirely mesh, and the fight scenes were bad. Can we NOT invite him back next season, plzkthx?

[Oreo2234]

Quote

She voiced the Other Mother in the movie adaptation of Coraline.

She was great in that. 

[VCRTracking]

Looks like somebody should update the "My Beloved Smother" page on TVTropes.

[Dobian]

Okay so Teri Hatcher is the queen bee-itch in this one.  Kara's argument to J'onn to go "save" Mon-El was ludicrous.  She knew his parents were just taking him home to be the damn prince, so she basically emo-nipulated J'onn to defy the (admittedly lizardly but still cool Linda Carter!) POTUS and put the planet at risk to get her boyfriend back.  Good Grief.

[Cranberry]

They should not have revealed J'onn as Supergirl to Rhea. They should have let her go on believing that Supergirl had somehow become immune to Kryptonite.

This one was just okay for me. I like all the Alex/Maggie I can get, but the subplot didn't really fit in this one; I don't buy Alex running off to confront Maggie's ex while an intergalactic bounty is out on her sister. I liked a lot of Mon-El's lines, and I do actually enjoy the character most of the time, but the romance with Kara still doesn't ring true to me, partly because it's rushed, partly because I don't like how Kara is suddenly all, "Who needs a career when I have yoooouuuu," and partly because they just barely stopped fighting all the time.

That promo for next episode, though... I'm looking forward to that one! More Lena Luthor, and the excellent Rahul Kohli (iZombie is great fun, for anyone who hasn't seen it). Too bad it's a month away.

[Trini]

3 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Hi, James. Nice for you to find time to get in the Guardian armor and get one-shotted by Mon. Really hoping the writers have plans for him, aside from him reminding us that he's got the reins at CatCo.

I admire your optimism, Lantern.

[arcadia63]

I just can't get over the fact that Lynda Carter looks almost exactly the same as she did in Wonder Woman and it's been over FORTY years people

[VCRTracking]

I saw her talking heads in the recent PBS documentary about superheroes and thought "Damn, maybe she IS an Amazon!"

[Bats27]

-Teri Hatcher being evil was really predictable.  But she DOES play evil so very well.  She's fun to watch.

-Kara's ongoing love of food continues to be adorable.  As is Mon-el being proud of learning how to cook.

-The Alex and Maggie "drama" was silly and pretty contrived.  But admittedly that last scene between them was quite sweet.

-Mon-el was actually pretty fun and charming here.  Also quoting SW and being proud of his "mixology" skills was pretty amusing.

-If you haven't seen The Flash crossover, you might be confused as to why Kara and Mon-el are suddenly back together/chummy again.

-Kevin Sorbo being the laid back dad that has lost all energy to fight his feisty demanding wife's wishes also felt very credible.

All in all, I liked it.  Also, I'm curious to see what President Wonder Woman is up to now.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Bats27

[Cthulhudrew]

1 hour ago, Cranberry said:

They should not have revealed J'onn as Supergirl to Rhea. They should have let her go on believing that Supergirl had somehow become immune to Kryptonite.

I had the same thought. It felt like they just did it in order to have a dramatic reveal/dumb it down for the audience. Which is too bad, because it was very clear from Supergirl's "I've got an idea" alone that was what they were going to do. And they could have saved a dramatic reveal for later.

[sskrill]

What Alex calls "hiding the truth" I call lying.  I like Sanvers, and I like Maggie/Floriana .. but I hate liars.  

Alex is way more understanding than I would ever be.

That said Alex had no business stalking the ex no matter what she thinks she did to Maggie.  

[BkWurm1]

3 hours ago, Bats27 said:

-Teri Hatcher being evil was really predictable.  But she DOES play evil so very well.  She's fun to watch.

-Kara's ongoing love of food continues to be adorable.  As is Mon-el being proud of learning how to cook.

-The Alex and Maggie "drama" was silly and pretty contrived.  But admittedly that last scene between them was quite sweet.

-Mon-el was actually pretty fun and charming here.  Also quoting SW and being proud of his "mixology" skills was pretty amusing.

-If you haven't seen The Flash crossover, you might be confused as to why Kara and Mon-el are suddenly back together/chummy again.

-Kevin Sorbo being the laid back dad that has lost all energy to fight his feisty demanding wife's wishes also felt very credible.

All in all, I liked it.  Also, I'm curious to see what President Wonder Woman is up to now.

I surprisingly liked the whole episode. Even liked Mon-El with Kara.  TH was a great evil Queen.  
 

I didn't mind Kara's reaction to Mon-El leaving.  Not trying to save him would be too much like abandoning him.  Even if he'd ōnly been a friend, Kara would have gone after him.  And mom and dad did plan on leaving him in the brig for the next four years.  

I was also pleased with the non melodramatic way Alex handled what she found out.  It was really lovely and mature in the best way.

Loved even the little we got of Linda Carter.

After a meh musical and meh reg episode, I was really pleased with what we got. I finally found Mon-El charming.  "I cook now." Hee!

[brgjoe]

C'mon, Hercules.  I wasn't even married to the woman, but I knew Mommy Dearest was going to do you in.  You should have seen it coming yourself.  Oh well.  Too late now.  Tsk tsk.  ;)

I liked this episode better than last.  Though I am still a bit annoyed that Mon-el (and now his family) are taking too much episode time.  I still like him more as a supporting character who is there for mostly comic relief.  And for palling around with Winn.  I just think Supergirl takes too much of a back seat in her own show at times.  Wish there were more Kara/Alex sister moments once again as well.

Speaking of Alex, that whole sequence of scenes with Maggie and her ex seemed a bit off.  Like it was lifted from another episode and edited together to this episode or something.  Nothing about Cadmus or finding her dad or you know, trying to locate Kara's bounty hunter.  She decided to track down Maggie's ex lover instead.  And in the beginning to tell her off.  Just seemed a bit out of character for her to do.  But in the end, I do like her mature reaction to what Maggie said about it.   So, I can't really hate that plotline too terribly much I guess.

Did like seeing Lynda Carter return as President once again.  Will be interesting to see what her true intentions are. 

And agreed, Teri Hatcher looked good.  She was great in this role -- she truly embraced her evilness in this episode.  And I guess she will be back (she will NOT be ignored!)   :)   One question though.  When they all were in the Fortress of Solitude, and evil mommy started to attack, where as the security?  Has Supe's not repaired/replaced the other security bot that was blow'ed up earlier?  Maybe not.  And yeah, if I were Supergirl, I'd pack some lead just in case she shows up once again.

I really thought too that Mon-el would be leaving.  At least for a short while.  And maybe have an episode where Supergirl and company go looking for him.  But 'twas not too be.

All in all, not a bad episode.  At least better than the last couple or so I have seen recently.

[JapMo]

Oh Teri Hatcher....you know they are going to find a way for her and Jeremiah to meet.  And hey...Queen Rhea did some fancy moves on Kara.  She's a kick-ass b*tch.

Finally!!!  Mon-El is in some scenes without Kara.  How refreshing.  The writing did not reflect why Mon-El would think badly of his parents.  Even though his mommy was a bad-ass, you could see how much they loved him.  Mon-El has made comments that they weren't great parents, but then you see how much they want him to come back with them...mostly because they love him and want him to take his rightful place as ruler (and stay away from any Kryptonians).  Can't blame them for that.  The heartbreak on Queen Rhea's face when Mon-El says they'll never see him again was palpable. 

I never watched Hercules, but I keep reading that Kevin Sorbo is a lightweight in the acting department, but I didn't see anything wrong with him. 

I can't quite define what accent J'ohnn had when he told Kara..."He's WID his family".  New Jersey by way of Mars???

[Jediknight]

That was really enjoyable.

This was probably Mon-El's best episode.  Even his romantic stuff with Kara was really good, because they actually took advantage of the fact he's good with comedy (Reading being better than YouTube, and Ro-May-o).  The bromance with Winn mentions are always welcome, although I find it hard to believe that Winn wouldn't have made Mon-El watch Star Wars yet.

Loved the scene of Kara, James, and Winn playing a game.  I also liked J'onn saying that they were also trying to keep the family together.  That means a crapload from him, he's lost one family, he ain't about ready to lose even one member of his new family.

The promo for the next episode, boy they are really playing Lena and Kara with one particular spot.

[Dobian]

2 hours ago, brgjoe said:

C'mon, Hercules.  I wasn't even married to the woman, but I knew Mommy Dearest was going to do you in.  You should have seen it coming yourself.  Oh well.  Too late now.  Tsk tsk.  ;)

He obviously lost his edge without Iolaus at his side.  Iolaus would have set him straight on the queen bitch's plans (and probably would have stopped Herc from marrying her in the first place), like a good bro.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Dobian

[Chicago Redshirt]

Miscellaneous thoughts:

Didn't really care for the Sanvers plot taking up as much of the episode as it did, nor the implications it has for the relationship. Like others have said, Alex acted like no reasonable human in inviting Ex to dinner and then stalking Ex when she failed to show. Maggie is now both a liar by omission and a cheat. No amount of cute yoga moments or vegan ice cream can make up for that. Alex, you in danger, girl!

Mind control alien: Probably he should have just straight-up controlled Kara and made her kill herself. First thing I thought was "literally, Supergirl could just fly away and not be at risk from Mon-El. Why doesn't she?" I liked that J'onn finally is good at telepathing (or MCA is either a braggart or his part of space doesn't have great telepaths), but it's kind of lame that Mind Control Alien actually spoke aloud that it was Rhea.

Superman: It kind of looks like a job for him when his cousin is under threat from intergalactic bounty hunters. Maybe someone should call him.

President: I know that they showed her to be alien previously, but don't think it was clear that she was a White Martian. It makes me wonder (not originally intended) what her long game is, and why she doesn't just take J'onn out now.

Game night: It's back again! I like it as a small bit of continuity and characterization from S1 that Kara likes to play games. It would have been interesting if the show acknowledged that the game night crew consisted of Kara, current boyfriend, ex-boyfriend and former would-be boyfriend. Settlers of Catan is only meh as a game, I'm afraid. I would have gladly had some more time spent on the characters playing it. I wonder if the actors really play at all.

Intro: The outside world doesn't know you as a reporter for Catco media anymore because you done got fired. It would have been nice to change it. It would have been nice to acknowledge that she's been fired or for that to have any more impact on her than her favorite takeout place forgetting soy sauce to go with her potstickers. Honestly, I hope she stays fired. But I suspect before too long they will have her rehired.

Rhea: I know I'm not rich or anything, but it seems like a waste of 300 crowns (or whatever) to offer that to kill Supergirl when you apparently have a pocket full of Kryptonite. 

Lars: Given that he's a beneficiary from the yellow sun too, shouldn't it take more than a dagger to kill him? 

Edited March 28, 2017 by Chicago Redshirt

[Bats27]

I thought that it was interesting that Mama-el wore an all-black outfit, whereas papa-el wore a more grey one.  I wonder if that was a visual way of hinting at their true natures (her being more extreme than he was)?

[Chicago Redshirt]

4 hours ago, JapMo said:

The writing did not reflect why Mon-El would think badly of his parents.  Even though his mommy was a bad-ass, you could see how much they loved him.  Mon-El has made comments that they weren't great parents, but then you see how much they want him to come back with them...mostly because they love him and want him to take his rightful place as ruler (and stay away from any Kryptonians).  Can't blame them for that. 

I will actually give the writers credit where credit is due. They explicitly had Mon-El talk about why he didn't want to go back (aside from enjoying Super-nookie). Daxam was based on slavery, disparities in rights, income, wealth, etc. Through his time on Earth and lectures by Supergirl, Mon-El saw that was wrong. His parents want to restore old Daxam. Heck, his parents are the leading advocates, beneficiaries and embodiments of a slave system and the resulting hierarchy. Mon-El doesn't believe in that any more.

And now that he's "woke," as the kids might say, Mon-El doesn't want to participate in perpetuating such a system. He told his dad that essentially in this episode, and Mom-El was going to lock him up for up to the four years that the trip back to Daxam in an attempt to disabuse them of these crazy notions like egalitarianism and democracy.

As an aside, I sense that Mon-El's parents want him back for reasons other than "Gee it's great to have my son around." Are they past childbearing age or something? With there being gate technology in Supergirlverse, and clearly the royal family had access to it and could afford it, they could presumably set up a gate between Earth and Daxam that would allow Mon-El or them to go back and forth as they wished.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Chicago Redshirt

[stealinghome]

15 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

." Are they past childbearing age or something? With there being gate technology in Supergirlverse, and clearly the royal family had access to it and could afford it, they could presumably set up a gate between Earth and Daxam that would allow Mon-El or them to go back and forth as they wished.

Given that Mama and Papa-El really should be in their 70s, I'm assuming they're past childbearing age, yes.

The gate thing, on the other hand, is yet another plot hole. BUT with that said, I don't see Mon-El being able to effectively balance being prince and Kara's Twu Wuv, so I don't think the portal would really solve the core problem there.

My issue with Mon-El and his parents is more that I am not really getting a good sense for what their relationship was like pre-Daxam exploding. As one review that I read said, they act like polite acquaintances instead of family, yet there are also lines that indicate they used to be close. So which is it? And if they weren't close, why not? How woke was Mon-El really on Daxam? I don't think the writers have really thought the tone of the relationship through, nor Mon-El's awareness on Daxam that it/he sucked; it's all whatever they need it to be at any given time. (Speaking of, Mon-El's "if my father popped up I would run away because he was a bad man!" from 2x14 is now lolarious. Honey, it's your mother you gotta watch out for, not your dad, who looks like a kitten in comparison!)

[Chicago Redshirt]

I mean, we don't know if Daxamite physiology is comparable to humans, or if technology would enable Mama and Papa-El to have children. In at least one take on the Superman-verse, Kryptonians had stopped having biological children through sex and instead used some sort of artificial birthing chambers that mixed DNA from the parents. 

Along similar lines, the notion of "close" for Daxamites may be very different from what humans consider close. 

I don't think Mon-El was the least bit woke on Daxam. It was only a combination of Supergirl's love, her lectures, his experiences on Earth and copious amounts of Netflixing and/or chilling that woke him up. 

[JapMo]

42 minutes ago, stealinghome said:

Honey, it's your mother you gotta watch out for, not your dad, who looks like a kitten in comparison!)

Oh LOL, since I'm pretty sure Teri is coming back at least one more time, I just had a mental image of Queen Rhea trying to (pretend) "fit in" on earth so she can stay with her son.  Hot housewife...err Lois...I mean the Black Widow Queen of Daxam gets a job serving drinks at Mon-el's bar, having no problem with slits, cleavage, or trampy outfits, all the while insulting the clientele and roughing up anyone who dares give her a crappy tip.  In her free time, she turns all stalker on Kara, messing with her tires and steering wheel and prank calling her all night.