S03.E03: Far From the Tree

[The Crazed Spruce]

Quote

Eliza throws Alex and Maggie a wedding shower; Maggie reaches out to her estranged father; Supergirl joins J'onn on a personal mission.

[secnarf]

I actually really enjoyed this episode, Britney Spears notwithstanding. That part of the scene felt very out of place.

[cambridgeguy]

In the Supergirl universe President Lynda Carter is supposed to be an awesome leader.  So who's talking about building a wall and referring to mexicans as rapists and thieves?  Will we be meeting Ronald Crump one day and watching Supergirl and friends rip him a new one?

[Primal Slayer]

This was really boring to me for the most part.

The entire episode revolved around daddy issues, J'onns ended happily while Maggies didnt. Majority of the cast was absent and Kara barely did anything besides stand around.

If you are going to go to Mars, you better go full in or not at all. The fact that the Martians were in human mode majority of the time was annoying as hell. And seeing M'Gann again just reminds me of how boring they made the character compared to her comic/animated counterparts.

[tennisgurl]

Wait a minute, show, hold the phone...I thought President Lynda Carter was the most awesome leader that ever awesomeed? Who is talking about building a wall? Is this just some weird personal project of a bunch of weirdos out in Texas in this universe? Who is calling Mexicans rapists and thieves? Some other politician we haven't seen yet? I know this show has never once been subtle about its political messages, but that anvil was dropped so hard it has almost damaged the foundation of this shows entire universe. It was silly enough last year when they were having characters quote political figures who dont even exist in their universe, but this was just baffling. We got the moral already show, we didn't need it spelled out!  

Anyway, this was a decent episode with some good acting and I liked all the stuff with J`onn and his dad and the White Martian resistance. J`onn is always great, and it was cool seeing Dixon from Alias again. Its too bad though that nobody really got to do much besides Maggie and J`onn. Kara and Alex were mainly emotional support, and everyone else just had cameos. I guess I get it, they had a lot of ground to cover with J`onn and his dad and the martians, but it still would have been nice to see a few more characters. 

[Cthulhudrew]

J'onn: "I have to go away for a few days... to Mars."

Me: "A few days?!?!?!?!?"

[quarks]

The political anvils notwithstanding, the main lesson I learned from this episode is that if you don't have the CGI budget to do a Martian episode, don't do a Martian episode. It's one thing for the Martians to look like humans on earth. On Mars, what's the point? To impress Supergirl - another alien? 

And count me as another person puzzled by the "THEY'RE BUILDING A WALL!" speech. Congress? Clearly not the president - just a couple of episodes ago we saw Cat Grant s the press secretary, and as unlikely as that was, it's even more unlikely that she'd be working for a president Ronald Crump. I thought the implication was that she was working for President Lynda Carter, who was a Democrat pushing to allow actual space aliens to live in the United States as recently as last season. 

1 minute ago, Cthulhudrew said:

J'onn: "I have to go away for a few days... to Mars."

Me: "A few days?!?!?!?!?"

Look, if you only get a few personal days from the DEO each year, you make your little space car go faster! No matter how little sense this makes!

[Oreo2234]

Quote

Wait a minute, show, hold the phone...I thought President Lynda Carter was the most awesome leader that ever awesomeed? Who is talking about building a wall? Is this just some weird personal project of a bunch of weirdos out in Texas in this universe? Who is calling Mexicans rapists and thieves? Some other politician we haven't seen yet? I know this show has never once been subtle about its political messages, but that anvil was dropped so hard it has almost damaged the foundation of this shows entire universe. It was silly enough last year when they were having characters quote political figures who dont even exist in their universe, but this was just baffling. We got the moral already show, we didn't need it spelled out!  

It takes me out of the show when they reference things that don't make much sense with what we know about this show's universe. A show this unsubtle should not make political commentary one of its defining characteristics. 

Edited October 24, 2017 by Oreo2234

[Katydid]

Personally, I watch enough news that I want to have an escape from the current sad state of political affairs when I watch a fictional show. 

I feel like the wedding shower was just off in so many ways. It wasn't the time to have Kara unavailable. Winn got 1 line the entire episode? And I don't even remember if James was there at all. 

[Cthulhudrew]

16 minutes ago, quarks said:

The political anvils notwithstanding, the main lesson I learned from this episode is that if you don't have the CGI budget to do a Martian episode, don't do a Martian episode. It's one thing for the Martians to look like humans on earth. On Mars, what's the point? To impress Supergirl - another alien? 

Agreed on all the above. For a second, it looked like they did the best job ever with J'onn's makeup, and then it quickly became apparent as he spoke that it was just more cgi. Couldn't they at least do just straight up practical makeup for the faces? Is it that hard? (Honestly- not a makeup artist, but it seems like it shouldn't be that tough based on some of the work I've seen in other shows and documentaries). Urgh.

ETA: Not to mention, why the heck do the White Martians shapeshift to wear clothing? They don't wear it in their natural forms, why would they suddenly gain a sense of shame/modesty when they change into "human" form?

And did I miss something or did they not explain how Kara is able to survive within Mars' atmosphere? Just two episodes ago they were worrying how she was going to survive underwater without oxygen.

Edited October 24, 2017 by Cthulhudrew

[Lady Calypso]

So...I wanted to like it more than I did. I thought that an episode centered around J'onn was good since he was so underutilized last season, for the most part. I liked learning about his past and his family. I think having a character driven episode is important once in a while, especially toward the original characters who might have been sidelined for newer characters. And seeing the old Kara come back to support her friends was really nice. She was basically distracted by Mon-El drama for about 90% of last season, so sometimes it is nice to see Kara take a small backseat when it means she's there to support her friends and family. I just don't want it to be all the time, and I did find myself wishing that she had more to do. 

That was certainly one of my gripes with the episode. It wasn't just about Kara taking a backseat, but it was that she wasn't in the episode enough. Same with Alex, who had less scenes than Maggie, a recurring character. I like Maggie enough, and I think she could have been used better last season, but she definitely overpowered the episode. I didn't hate her storyline, but her story meant that half the cast was missing, and they shouldn't have had half the cast not really there. I don't want people shoehorned in just because, but they could have been at the shower with more of a role.

I don't know; I don't mind the smaller cast for an episode, because it does allow for better, more coherent and tight stories to be told, but with so much of J'onn and Maggie and not much of anyone else, I found myself missing other characters. 

Not a bad episode, let me be clear. Excellent acting from Harewood and Lima, and there were plenty of good moments all around, but overall, I wish it was better. 

I did laugh at the Britney Spears moment, but it went on about 15 seconds too long. 

Edited October 24, 2017 by Lady Calypso
Because I realize I missed the part of the episode

[quarks]

1 minute ago, Cthulhudrew said:

Agreed on all the above. For a second, it looked like they did the best job ever with J'onn's makeup, and then it quickly became apparent as he spoke that it was just more cgi. Couldn't they at least do just straight up practical makeup for the faces? Is it that hard? (Honestly- not a makeup artist, but it seems like it shouldn't be that tough based on some of the work I've seen in other shows and documentaries). Urgh.

And did I miss something or did they not explain how Kara is able to survive within Mars' atmosphere? Just two episodes ago they were worrying how she was going to survive underwater without oxygen.

I think David Harewood said that he never wears anything beyond regular, human makeup - every Martian Manhunter bit is CGI.  I think the real issue may be a lack of overall filming time - they only have eight days to film each episode, which might not leave that much time for extensive makeup. 

[bmoore4026]

Wow, this episode hit me more in the feels than I expected.  J'onn and his father and the flashback.  Maggie and her father.  Maggie and Alex.  Whoever wrote this episode did a great job;  Kara showing up in the Corvette, blaring Britney Spears was hilarious.

[Cthulhudrew]

Why would Alex not introduce herself immediately when she opened the door for Maggie's dad? Is that not proper etiquette? I don't really get what function that misstep served in the narrative (is it just something that people don't do in this day and age, which is why the writers put that in there? wtf.)

[tennisgurl]

Really, its not even that I mind people using television to make political statements. Speculative fiction has been a way for story tellers to discuss social issues and impart morals since basically speculative fiction became a concept. And it wasn't always subtle either. Hell, The Twilight Zone, one of my favorite speculative fiction shows ever, had the shows creator literally show up at the end of each episode to explain the message to the audience. However, what makes it work is when the story fits the allegory. So you get the X-Men who stand in for every oppressed minority in American history, Star Trek episodes where aliens fight over their skin colors (even if their differences are totally minor), and Buffy's first few seasons, which took teen issues and added demons and monsters to them. Those work because they take these issues, and add a new spin on it which allows the audience to look at these issues from a new angle, and think about the implications in their own society. It makes for a compelling story. Even the whole "aliens as persecuted refugees" thing, as lacking in subtlety and nuance as it was, worked in that capacity. Just having your characters spout out political commentary, totally without context, to the point where it doesn't make sense within its own universe, isn't biting commentary, its just annoying. Instead of creating a better story, they bring the story to a grinding halt. 

Maggie probably should have just gone to dinner with her dad and Alex or something before inviting him to the party. Its a lot to take in for an estranged parent, and they hardly even had time to introduce Alex and him. Also, I kind of get what he was saying about how he wanted his family to blend into the mainstream because of the racism he faced, it seemed weird for him to be saying how Maggie would never be accepted as she was surrounded by a huge room of totally supportive friends. Of course, its likely the guy was just homophobic and stuck in his ways. 

[KirkB]

Overall I liked it, though I got the sense maybe this was kind of a rest episode for Benoist, Leigh, Brooks and Jordan. Good for Harewood and Lima.

The car scene with Kara and the white martians was funny, but I do agree it went on a bit too long.

One thing I don't quite get. Maggie's father was still an asshole. People like that don't usually change and credit to Supergirl for not having him redeemed by the power of love. But if he was that disgusted by his daughter, why did he even bother showing up?

[Miss Dee]

Honestly, this episode hit me in the feels and I really enjoyed it. Maggie's story about being left on the side of the road wrecked me, and J'onn's father was so compelling. I'm so glad he came back to Earth with J'onn!

Eh, the political stuff doesn't bother me. There's nothing about what that guy said that isn't true - people do hold those attitudes towards Mexicans, and they build up metaphorical walls if not physical ones.

[KirkB]

I forgot to mention how happy I was to see Carl Lumbly playing J'onn's father. The first Martian Manhunter alongside the current one.  :)

Edited October 24, 2017 by KirkB

[mtlchick]

Sidestepping the obvious of "why are they discussing a wall when it's happening on another UNIVERSE from the rest of the DCTV?"... my first thought was "no crisis at Catco for a change? Phew!"

I do think the episode will speak to those who are gay, who want to build a relationship with their parents and realize even though "the world has changed" some parents still stand by their values and won't accept them for who they are but so long they do have love from other places, they will still be ok. 

They picked the wrong Britney song though: "Oops I Did It Again" was set on MARS, show.  Come on!  Get with your 2000s music! 

 

Quote

 But if he was that disgusted by his daughter, why did he even bother showing up?

It's been so long, and I guess he was trying.  He didn't know Alex was the fiancee until they were introduced and even then he was willing to give it a shot.  It wasn't until they kissed that he felt he couldn't deal with it. 

[Lantern7]

Wow. This episode was as subtle as a wrecking ball to the head. Worse, it was Smallville subtle.

I'm guessing there was an election between the last finale and today in this continuity. Of course, had there been a change of leadership, we probably would've heard it by now, instead of from a few clunky lines. If President Lynda Carter was exposed as an alien maybe I'd understand.

Maggie's parents suuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Can't be said enough.

"Meh" on the Mars stuff in general. Too much CGI and suspension of disbelief for me to fully invest myself. Great that P'apa J'onzz will be around, but I know shit will go wrong with him. And then J'onn is going to explain Hank Henshaw to him. "'Cyborg Superman'?!? He hates aliens, and he's okay with that name? H'ronmeer friggin' gawd . . . "

[legaleagle53]

45 minutes ago, Cthulhudrew said:

And did I miss something or did they not explain how Kara is able to survive within Mars' atmosphere? Just two episodes ago they were worrying how she was going to survive underwater without oxygen.

Kara still has her powers under Earth's yellow sun regardless of where in our solar system she actually is, so she should be able to survive Mars' environment due to her invulnerability.  I don't think her ability to survive underwater has ever actually been tested, so it was pure speculation that she wouldn't be able to do so if she had to.

[ACW]

My wife and I were annoyed at how obvious the (evil) White Martians were in their masquerade and manipulation of J'onn to find the Staff; and then more annoyed when it turned out that the whole setup was legit after all, just poorly written.

Am I the only one distressed that Kara (or at least Supergirl) is now a remorseless killer?  I wish I could believe that this was a deliberate red flag from the writers; but I honestly think that over the past year, the Sanvers plotlines, while well-written, have sucked up all the good writing the show can produce.

[JoyGirl]

I really don't know what to say about this 'My Two Dads' episode.  But I'll try.  Boring...pointless...bland.  So the Dads came back and now what?  Was really looking forward to how they were going to show Mars, and....well...it seemed they spent all their budget renting the car and had nothing left.  That was one of the most unimaginative sets I've ever seen.  

Did anyone else hear The Flash background music playing during Maggie's big scene in the bedroom with Alex, talking about getting kicked out by her parents?  Talk about distracting.  So they don't have money for a decent set AND have to steal other show's music? 

[mxc90]

2 hours ago, Katydid said:

 And I don't even remember if James was there at all. 

James was there. He had to remind Alex: it was her turn for trivia (he looked bored delivering that line).

[JoyGirl]

1 minute ago, mxc90 said:

James was there. He had to remind Alex: it was her turn for trivia (he looked bored delivering that line).

Apparently so were the rest of the guests, LOL.  Eliza announces the game is about to begin and everyone flees to the four corners.

[mxc90]

9 minutes ago, JoyGirl said:

Apparently so were the rest of the guests, LOL.  Eliza announces the game is about to begin and everyone flees to the four corners.

I believe most of the guests were Kara's friends or party crashers  who decided it's much better to hide than embarrass themselves if called upon to answer Maggie/Alex trivia.

I wonder which person snooped in Kara's dresser to find her spare supergirl outfit.

[legaleagle53]

2 hours ago, ACW said:

Am I the only one distressed that Kara (or at least Supergirl) is now a remorseless killer?  I wish I could believe that this was a deliberate red flag from the writers; but I honestly think that over the past year, the Sanvers plotlines, while well-written, have sucked up all the good writing the show can produce.

Did you already forget that she killed Rhea last season without a bit of remorse?  And that was definitely a kill-or-be-killed situation. I wouldn't show any remorse either under those circumstances.  But that's only in those circumstances.  Her whole issue just last week was that she was convinced that she had also killed Mon-El -- and she hated herself for it.  So she's far from being a cold-blooded, remorseless killer.  She's simply learned that not everything can be resolved with just a hug and a cookie.

[sskrill]

I got a major case of the feels when Maggie's dad pulled out that picture to add to the board.  Sadly he ruined it rather quickly.  I'm ok with them not working things out but I wish they would have left it in a better place - where he at least wants to make an effort to have some sort of relationship even if it doesn't involve Alex.

That grin on Melissa's face at the beginning of the Britney scene cracked me up.

I'm glad we got to see a little more back story to J'onn but I agree the sets were lame

And the baby thing rears its head again.  I don't read the comics but didn't someone say that comic Maggie has a daugher?  Maybe that will surface and cause strife?

[Trini]

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

 

Anyway, this was a decent episode with some good acting and I liked all the stuff with J`onn and his dad and the White Martian resistance. J`onn is always great, and it was cool seeing Dixon from Alias again. Its too bad though that nobody really got to do much besides Maggie and J`onn. Kara and Alex were mainly emotional support, and everyone else just had cameos. I guess I get it, they had a lot of ground to cover with J`onn and his dad and the martians, but it still would have been nice to see a few more characters. 

I guess I'll be the contrarian and say that I liked that we had an episode focused on a couple of the side characters. I was more into the Mars plot, though. Still a CW budget, but I think that's the best CGI they've done so far on the show. So is J'onn's father really going to be an Earth resident now? I'm not sure what other stories they could do with him....

They are so NOT subtle with the foreshadowing of trouble for Alex/Maggie.

[thuganomics85]

I'm glad it wasn't just me that was totally flummoxed by the "wall" rant, because they're already established that Lynda Carter is an awesome, Hilary Clinton-ish president (only an actual alien in secret!), so she ain't building a damn wall, so who is?  Is it Congress?  Some rogue politician in Texas?  Because I don't see any wall getting build on her watch.  Oh, who am I kidding: the writers simply aren't thinking that hard about it and were just looking to find a way to make it political as always.  Which, fine, I'm not against it, but this show really is not subtle whenever they want to make a statement.

Anyway, this episode really should have been titled "Dads", since it was mainly about J'onn and Maggie reconnected with their fathers and ending with mixed results.  Enjoyed meeting J'onn's dad (Carl Lumbly!  OG Martian Manhunter!), seeing M'gann again, and I always enjoy Dewshane Williams (even though he always seems to play characters that are dicks, although at least this one came around at the end), but there were clearly some moments where they were struggling with the effects and CGI.  There is go going to be a bottle episode to make up for this in the future!  I do wonder how much more we will see of the dad.  I'm guessing they'll do a few easy "Alien gets confused by Earth!" gags at the very least.

Well, at least Maggie's dad doesn't top Ra's Al Ghul's "Forces his lesbian daughter to marry a man" in the  homophobic asshole department, but he's still a piece of work.  For a second, I worried Alex was actually going to be the one to call him which would have been wrong on so many levels, so I'm glad that didn't happen. Still, Maggie really should have not had him anywhere close to the bridal shower until she had better feeling over how he was going to act.  But, whatever, she now can stand up to him and is fine without him.  Of course, I still think they are doomed since Alex once again brings up kids.  Really should have had this talk a long time ago, guys!

Mehcad Brooks and Jeremy Jordan got easy paychecks this go around!

Yeah, the Britney Spears bit was funny at first, but overstayed its welcome.  Really, they strangely seemed to be struggling with inserting Kara into all of this, which was strange since she's the actual star on this show.

[DigitalCount]

I dunno, I didn't have a problem with racists coming out of the woodwork in what seems like a short time in the story. It happened here too. We went from Yes We Can to Build That Wall pretty quickly. Furthermore, it's kind of iffy to suggest that one intelligent and progressive leader means that the world is fantastic and Maggie's dad is completely off-base in his concerns. I don't want to veer too much here into real-world stuff, but I have no problem believing in a sizable contingent of people who hold onto their racism even when aliens are around. It's a bit self-congratulatory in an unearned manner to suggest anything less.

[ACW]

6 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Did you already forget that she killed Rhea last season without a bit of remorse?  And that was definitely a kill-or-be-killed situation. I wouldn't show any remorse either under those circumstances.  But that's only in those circumstances.  Her whole issue just last week was that she was convinced that she had also killed Mon-El -- and she hated herself for it.  So she's far from being a cold-blooded, remorseless killer.  She's simply learned that not everything can be resolved with just a hug and a cookie.

Honestly, yes, I forgot about Rhea.  But I don't think that that was remorseless.  It was treated as a big deal, even if it was overshadowed by other events. 

It's not that I'm against all killing in the show.  I think that the rebel martians are morons for giving up the staff.  But it's definitely not something that Kara should be casual about, so it concerns me that Supergirl is.

[tofutan]

Normally I like Maggie, but her plot this episode was pretty boring to me. 

The Martian plot was super exposition heavy and Kara didn't have enough to do, though the Britney bit was hilarious.

Kara has killed before, Parasite for example. And she lobotomized Non, right? When Superman did that in the comics it was treated as a huge deal, Supergirl just washed over it. 

I don't have a problem with Kara not having a no-kill rule the way Batman and Superman have in the comics. In my mind, Wonder Woman has also never had a no-kill rule and that never bothered me. 

David did some stellar acting in those scenes where he talks about his father being tortured for centuries. 

Turns out that Mon-El's presence is not actually required for James to be just a bit player in an episode. 

[Featherhat]

5 hours ago, DigitalCount said:

I dunno, I didn't have a problem with racists coming out of the woodwork in what seems like a short time in the story. It happened here too. We went from Yes We Can to Build That Wall pretty quickly. Furthermore, it's kind of iffy to suggest that one intelligent and progressive leader means that the world is fantastic and Maggie's dad is completely off-base in his concerns. I don't want to veer too much here into real-world stuff, but I have no problem believing in a sizable contingent of people who hold onto their racism even when aliens are around. It's a bit self-congratulatory in an unearned manner to suggest anything less.

All that is true and he's probably at least somewhat justified in his concerns but that doesn't in turn justify *his* awful homophobia, especially when Maggie clearly has a network of people who love her as she is. And yes I do want an explanation of why that's a thing! when Pres Lynda Carter is around even if it is Sen Ronald Crumb as her nemesis. Plus when an alien invasion from the sky has happened how does that change anything?

And it's not just this example it's all the political points they to make in the most ham handed way possible within quite a few episodes. I agree with the general point a lot of the time but as I've said before it's written with the nuance of someone who's just discovered Bad Things Happen in a social studies class and writing an angry essay about that. Nothing wrong with that per se but it can take you out of the episode and actually harm the message you want to send. Especially as in Ep 1 they apparently got CF to record "Obvious Cakes our President is Awesome and Not a MORON!" within a couple of days of that story breaking. At least join it up with what's actually going on in the show more fluidly. 

[MarkHB]

The real reason that Batman and Superman have a no-kill rule is that the boss at DC decided in 1940 that he didn't want his heroes killing; it was a bad example for the kids.  Superman's was officially revoked in the post-Crisis John Byrne era; ISTR Byrne and then-editor Mike Carlin talking about it specifically in an article, and there's a sample on General Zod's Wikipedia entry.

Did anyone else notice that they reshot the intro, with Erica Durance and the new Young Kara?  I can see changing Aluras for clarity, but the new young Kara is so much older than Malina was!  (From pics I've seen, I think Malina's legs are somewhere around 7 feet long now, so I can regretfully see not being able to reuse her.) 

[tofutan]

Yeah, I noticed that too. I think it's kinda cool that they bother. I liked having an opening monologue again.  The question is how long can they keep this up, will they just have a new Alura/young!Kara combo every season? 

I think what bugs me about the Maggie/Father story is that the father just seemed pretty wooden. I thought I read he was a "name" actor, so I had hoped that he would be good. While it wa interesting to get some background like this on Maggie and the dialogue made a lot of sense, there just wasn't much family chemistry (whether loving or antagonistic) between them, for me.  

[Chicago Redshirt]

Re: politicians calling Mexicans rapists and murderers: there was a bit where Cat was acting and press secretary this season and talking about how the Speaker of the House was crazy to think that the president had him bugged or something. So it seems that they are setting the Speaker to be a Donald Trump surrogate.

Re: Mars's atmosphere, I just took it on faith that it has a breathable atmosphere in the Supergirl verse. 

There's a trope that what makes Kara super isn't just her array of superpowers, but her heart and humanity. And I kind of like that.

Although it would be unnecessary if people were not dumbed down for the sake of plot. I wonder how one telepath can prove to another he really is who they said he was. Let's say J'onn left Mars when he was 200 years old. That's 200 years of memories that he could have used to convince Pa Martian that he was who he really said he was. 

I also kinda hate the daddy issues thing. Like why couldn't J'onn have been a next-door neighbor or a high acolyte in the Church of H'ronmeer or had no relationship at all other than being another green Martian.

As for Maggie and her dad, I didn't like that he was portrayed as though his homophobia was rooted in being discriminated against as a Mexican and supposedly not wanting to see his daughter discriminated against.

I know the practical reason for the Martians to go around as humans is to save on the CGI budget. I think it odd that they all took the form of African-Americans though. For J'onn it makes sense because there was a real person - Hank Henshaw - that he was copying, who happens to be black. And maybe because he empathized with a minority that was oppressed. For Ms. Martian, I guess it makes some sense as she was trying to establish a rapport with J'onn. But for the others? Not really sure what to make of it.

One difference about this situation from others in which Kara has killed: Kara did it in this episode intentionally where there were (probably) alternatives to killing.

At the time she had the staff, the government forces and the resistance were about evenly matched (not including the spaceship that Papa J'onn had. Or that Kara had heat vision and super-speed.). They could have continued fighting by fist. Or presumably she could have used the staff to not disintegrate people. Or she could have said, "Stand down or I'll have no choice but to use the staff." Or something.

But instead everyone got capped.

Edited October 24, 2017 by Chicago Redshirt

[Jediknight]

Kara riding in driving a car that's also a spaceship, while listening to Britney Spears and quoting Bugs Bunny, I can get behind that a lot more than depressed Kara.  Although, Kara should have chosen Queen, Rush, Boston, or Barry Manilow.

Loved seeing Dixon/voice of Martian Manhunter in Justice League as J'onn's father.  He's going to be in for a treat when he meets the rest of J'onn's Earth family.

[ACW]

14 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Re: politicians calling Mexicans rapists and murderers: there was a bit where Cat was acting and press secretary this season and talking about how the Speaker of the House was crazy to think that the president had him bugged or something. So it seems that they are setting the Speaker to be a Donald Trump surrogate.

Re: Mars's atmosphere, I just took it on faith that it has a breathable atmosphere in the Supergirl verse. 

 

Alex didn't seem to think she could survive on Mars.

The thing that bugs me about President Lynda Carter is that she *justifies* any crazy conspiracy theories.  She really is a secret alien, she really is an illegitimate President, and she really is conspiring to aid her kind.

I figured all the other Martians took the forms of black humans because they were following J'onn's (or M'gann's) example.

[GHScorpiosRule]

11 hours ago, KirkB said:

I forgot to mention how happy I was to see Carl Lumbly playing J'onn's father. The first Martian Manhunter alongside the current one.  :)

Haven't watched it, but did he use his Justice League/Justice League Unlimited J'onn voice????

So am I to assume, unlike previous toons, where J'onn was supposed to be the ONLY LIVING Martian left from Mars, because the White Martians annihilated his whole race, including his wife and children, that there are living martians on...Mars? Alrightythen.

10 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Wow. This episode was as subtle as a wrecking ball to the head. Worse, it was Smallville subtle.

 

I'm confused by this comparison?

1 hour ago, tofutan said:

I don't have a problem with Kara not having a no-kill rule the way Batman and Superman have in the comics. In my mind, Wonder Woman has also never had a no-kill rule and that never bothered me. 

 

Except I remember reading an excerpt of one comic (name is escaping me at the moment) where

she had to break that rule and kill Max Lord, because Supes couldn't, and she was kicked out of the League for a while because of it. Lord had Supes under some control, I think.

.

UGH. Durance, who is not even a cast member is now in the credits? Kill me now.

[KirkB]

4 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Haven't watched it, but did he use his Justice League/Justice League Unlimited J'onn voice????

Yes, he did. It is different, though not dramatically so, from how Lumbly normally speaks so it was definitely deliberate and recognizable.

 

8 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

UGH. Durance, who is not even a cast member is now in the credits? Kill me now.

She's not in the credits, just in one small part of the "I am Supergirl" opening narration.

[Humbugged]

12 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

In the Supergirl universe President Lynda Carter is supposed to be an awesome leader.  So who's talking about building a wall and referring to mexicans as rapists and thieves?  Will we be meeting Ronald Crump one day and watching Supergirl and friends rip him a new one?

It's the Speaker who wants the wall built as stated by Cat in 3.01

[Chicago Redshirt]

26 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Haven't watched it, but did he use his Justice League/Justice League Unlimited J'onn voice????

So am I to assume, unlike previous toons, where J'onn was supposed to be the ONLY LIVING Martian left from Mars, because the White Martians annihilated his whole race, including his wife and children, that there are living martians on...Mars? Alrightythen.

I'm confused by this comparison?

Except I remember reading an excerpt of one comic (name is escaping me at the moment) where

  Reveal hidden contents

she had to break that rule and kill Max Lord, because Supes couldn't, and she was kicked out of the League for a while because of it. Lord had Supes under some control, I think.

.

UGH. Durance, who is not even a cast member is now in the credits? Kill me now.

To me, Carl's voice was a little different than his MM Justice League voice. It seemed a little more accented. But that could just be me.

The show said that the White Martians kept J'onn's father alive because apparently a) he was apparently the Green Martian pope and b) he knew where the Martian Ark of the Covenant was.

Which reminds me, it is unclear how the White Martians found the Martian Ark of the Covenant since Papa J'onn didn't break or otherwise help them. It also is unclear why the White Martians need the Ark since the resistance seemed to number 15 people. Or why the resistance white martians couldn't have figured out where the Evil White Martians were looking, given their shapeshifting, mindreading, etc etc.

[Lantern7]

Dang, I got my voice actors mixed up. When will the J'onn from Smallville pop up? Maybe as an opportunistic lawyer . . .

@GHScorpiosRule: in my head, Smallville was not big on nuance, and the anvils fell frequently. I don't want this series to follow suit.

[GHScorpiosRule]

7 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

 

@GHScorpiosRule: in my head, Smallville was not big on nuance, and the anvils fell frequently. I don't want this series to follow suit.

Ah. Well, I think it's too late for that. And Smallville didn't go heavy with the anvils until much later. It did have nuance the first few years.  And this show? Only in its third season and has a habit of Anvil dropping.

[cambridgeguy]

One more thing - J'onn has a functional spaceship which can make the trip to Mars in a few days, is roomy enough to hold at least two people, and has weapons powerful enough to knock down a white martian.  That would have been handy at the end of season 1 when Alex had to rescue Kara from orbit.  Or perhaps in the season 2 finale when they were fighting the daxamites.  I hope J'onn remembers this in the future.

[tennisgurl]

I enjoyed the stuff with J’onns dad, but it’s a pretty big coincidence that the ONE Green still alive on Mars is his father. I would have loved it if he saw the guy and was like “Oh my God! This is my...dentist!!!”. 

Edited October 24, 2017 by tennisgurl

[tofutan]

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Although, Kara should have chosen Queen, Rush, Boston, or Barry Manilow.

Kara loves N'Sync and was a Justin/Britney shipper. So I would say it's pretty in character that she loves Britney Spears. 

I think the Martian atmosphere is supposed to be breathable only for the native Martians and Supergirl, which is why Alex didn't come along. 

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It also is unclear why the White Martians need the Ark since the resistance seemed to number 15 people.

I thought the "Ark" is also good for detecting people, not just blasting them? Apparently the problem of the Whites is that they can't find the resistance fighters, which apparently means they can hide from the telepathy at this point? 

Quote

Except I remember reading an excerpt of one comic (name is escaping me at the moment) where

Spoiler

Doesn't that show though that precisely: if you want somebody killed, it makes more sense for the writers, in their eyes, to pick Wonder Woman? Because unlike Batman and Superman, as far as they are concerned, doesn't have a hard no-kill rule? 

And there's a big difference between her getting kicked out of the Legion (external forces) or her going on let's say a year long depression fest. Wikipedia sums it up as: 

 In response, Brother Eye broadcasts the footage of Wonder Woman killing Lord all over the world, destroying her reputation and her friendship with Batman and Superman, who reject her despite the fact that she saved their lives.[8] As the crisis unfolds, the three eventually reconcile as Diana helps Superman talk down his other self and prevents Batman from shooting Alexander Luthor, Jr., accepting that Diana did what she had to do and acknowledging that, for all their differences, they all still want justice.

Sounds to me more like everybody else had more of a problem with her killing people rather than Diana herself having problems with it. 

Edited October 24, 2017 by tofutan

[Writing Wrongs]

For me, this was a waste of an episode. I wasn't interested in anything.

Why are the Martians all black? They are shapeshifters, right? 

[KirkB]

5 minutes ago, Writing Wrongs said:

Why are the Martians all black? They are shapeshifters, right? 

I think J'onn's dad basically explained this, though I may be off. He said something along the lines of "it's Martian tradition to take the form of the host." So when J'onn appeared to him as a human with dark skin he did the same thing. And while the white martians may not have the same traditions, when M'Gann came back and joined the resistance they probably just copied her human form.

Edited October 24, 2017 by KirkB