S03,E20: Dark Side of the Moon 2018.05.28

[Cthulhudrew]

1 hour ago, immortalfrieza said:

I'm pretty sure that the DEO hasn't been a secret agency for a good while now. I think they've been operating openly ever since whenever it was that aliens being on Earth became common knowledge, sometime early in season 2 I think.

Alex is still flashing FBI credentials rather than DEO credentials, though. I think the writers really haven't settled on its status one way or the other. Some clarification would be nice.

[Chyromaniac]

Did they really have a 12 year-old talk about an active shooter incident like it was fun and exciting???

 

Otherwise, it’s always nice to see Tuvok.

[KirkB]

14 hours ago, Trini said:

I think Reign was fine as a season-long villain/arc; my problem with it was that they went from Sam to Reign too fast. I think they could have waited a couple episodes before introducing (fully formed) Reign - because once that happened I knew it was just going to be mainly waiting or losses until the final defeat and/or resolution in the finale.

This is probably my biggest problem with the season. The pacing is WAY off. Putting aside the massive break they were forced to take in the middle of the season which would have screwed up any narrative no matter how well done, they wanted to end on Kara getting the crap beaten out of her so they hurried up and turned Sam into Reign. Instead, what I think they should have done is spent the first half of the season introducing Sam and (ugh) Ruby and letting us see how Sam became such good friends with Lena and Kara (instead of just telling us she already was) with an occasional WTF moment of Sam sticking her hand in boiling water. Near the big break she starts having weird dreams and then the mid-season finale is Reign finally manifesting, leaving the audience with a "holy crap!" moment rather than a "oh the star of the show, will she be okay?" moment. Then the World Killer plot can actually kick in when the show comes back, rather than getting started and then having to take a long nap.

[Lady Calypso]

11 minutes ago, KirkB said:

This is probably my biggest problem with the season. The pacing is WAY off. Putting aside the massive break they were forced to take in the middle of the season which would have screwed up any narrative no matter how well done, they wanted to end on Kara getting the crap beaten out of her so they hurried up and turned Sam into Reign. Instead, what I think they should have done is spent the first half of the season introducing Sam and (ugh) Ruby and letting us see how Sam became such good friends with Lena and Kara (instead of just telling us she already was) with an occasional WTF moment of Sam sticking her hand in boiling water. Near the big break she starts having weird dreams and then the mid-season finale is Reign finally manifesting, leaving the audience with a "holy crap!" moment rather than a "oh the star of the show, will she be okay?" moment. Then the World Killer plot can actually kick in when the show comes back, rather than getting started and then having to take a long nap.

True. I think, overall, they had a perfect three-arc story with Sam as Reign. Unfortunately, the unexpected two month hiatus made things jilted and things had to obviously be changed. They had the first seven episodes with just Sam, then they introduced Reign during the midseason finale. But then they only came back for four episodes, which meant that their plan to have Reign wreck havoc and prove herself as a true Worldkiller didn't work nearly as well as it could. Maybe they even had different plans for the other two Worldkillers, because what they had with them was pretty bad, as they only appeared for a couple of episodes at most before both were killed. Maybe they should have just stuck with one Worldkiller, as they never had the budget for all three. 

I don't think they went from Sam to Reign too quickly; they developed Sam in six episodes before Reign started to truly emerge, but I do think they needed to spend a little more time establishing Sam in terms of her sudden best friend status with Lena AND Kara. That part seemed to come out of nowhere because we went from the women hanging out from time to time and Kara really just starting to know Sam to "we're best friends", and it doesn't work when Sam and Kara don't spend any separate screentime together without Lena present. 

I liked the potential in Sam as Reign, and they certainly had the right idea. I just think their execution hasn't been doing very well. Capturing Reign doesn't quite work when she's supposed to be this villain (though, I guess, having the heroes lose every episode while Reign is out there is more stupid and typical of the Arrowverse in general, so at least they tried something different). 

[Quark]

This whole episode felt off. From the underwhelming meeting between Kara and her Mum to Alex's storyline, I was not impressed.

Hope the final few episodes deliver.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I was waiting for someone to tell Tuvok and the rest of the council that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and letting Earth (and possibly other worlds) get killed is no bueno.

Especially when there's a fairly easy solution -- travel to any place where there's a yellow sun and become like unto gods.

[innocuouspuff]

We'd be side-eying anyone who proposed that as a General Zod type, wouldn't we? I was okay with the Argo residents not jumping to leave - people make less than logical decisions about not abandoning their homes all the time. Once they give up on Argo, Krypton and its culture, artifacts, etc are officially extinct.

But yes, the ep was in general epically boring. My interest in whether they cure Sam or just murder Reign dead is zero.

[Chicago Redshirt]

There's definitely a Zod/Astra/Non way of "Let's conquer this planet" of doing things. There's also, though, huge number of places they could go where they could remain isolated and yet super-powered. 

[legaleagle53]

On 5/29/2018 at 8:48 PM, immortalfrieza said:

And don't forget that it's a planet that will give everybody on that space rock superpowers. I was thinking the whole time about this so called dilemma over giving some of their oh so precious fuel over to Kara why they couldn't just move to Earth. Sure it might take a while but sooner or later they'd have to move to some actual planet to live on anyway and I'm thinking their fuel source will last longer than the few months it would take just with J'onn's ship alone. In fact, I was wonder why this advanced space faring racing would still even be on that rock rather than having built a spaceship and left a long time ago. I'm actually hoping that Argos actually is a trick or illusion of some kind or whatever because that's the only way anything that happened during this episode makes any sense.

Nope.  Argo City is a real thing, just as it always was in the comics right from the time Supergirl was first introduced in 1959.  What this show has done differently is that instead of having Kara grow up in Argo City and leave at 15 -- she was actually born long after Argo City had survived Krypton's explosion -- the show had her leave it BEFORE Krypton exploded.  And only Zor-El and Alura actually survived Argo's eventual death from Kryptonite poisoning.  They had managed to escape into the Survival Zone, which is a dimension similar to the Phantom Zone but on a different wavelength.  Kara didn't find out they were alive until after she'd been living on Earth for a few years and had been adopted by the Danverses, who actually helped Kara free her biological parents from the Survival Zone, after which Zor-El and Alura decided to live in Kandor where they could live as normal Kryptonians.

[Snorfbat]

I'm calling it now: Mon-El will regret giving that medical device to the child. Brainiac 5's seemingly-benign gadgets tend to grow into real trouble, to wit:

[immortalfrieza]

12 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Nope.  Argo City is a real thing, just as it always was in the comics right from the time Supergirl was first introduced in 1959.  What this show has done differently is that instead of having Kara grow up in Argo City and leave at 15 -- she was actually born long after Argo City had survived Krypton's explosion -- the show had her leave it BEFORE Krypton exploded.  And only Zor-El and Alura actually survived Argo's eventual death from Kryptonite poisoning.  They had managed to escape into the Survival Zone, which is a dimension similar to the Phantom Zone but on a different wavelength.  Kara didn't find out they were alive until after she'd been living on Earth for a few years and had been adopted by the Danverses, who actually helped Kara free her biological parents from the Survival Zone, after which Zor-El and Alura decided to live in Kandor where they could live as normal Kryptonians.

No, I meant I'm aware that Argos City is an actual thing in the comics, just that in THIS continuity this Argos City better be a fake or something otherwise nothing that happens with it in this episode makes any sense at all.

Edited May 31, 2018 by immortalfrieza

[innocuouspuff]

It did come off much like a dream sequence, with the lack of emotional weight to what should have been a huge moment, the lack of urgency, and Alura looking the exact same as she does in Kara's dreams/memories. I suspect that was just sketchy directing though. I wonder if Kara will have to entirely sacrifice the place in the end? Thus bringing Krypton learning from its mistakes full circle? They can't just be setting up regular visits to chat with mom. Can they?

[Lugal]

I want to see the deleted scene where J'Onn tells Alex to wait for backup and after she keeps going, he says "She expects me to show up and save her ass, well I'll teach her a lesson!"

Argo City survived, and Kara's mom is still alive and she's there with the villain lady and Tuvok. And the villain lady can communicate with Reign, or control her, it's kind of nebulous, like who all knows about Kara's secret identity and the DEO.  And Alex has superpowers now.  I can practically hear the shrugs in the writer's room.

Argo City looks kinda Vancouvery. I'm pretty sure I saw Barry run into Snart just outside the city a few seasons ago.  Did they blow the location budget on Reign's Fortress of solitude in the desert?

[Mellowyellow]

On 5/30/2018 at 4:51 AM, iMonrey said:

I could have sworn there was another Alura in between - maybe just in a flashback or in a hologram? 

Nah I think the second lady who played Alura changed her face that's why you think there are 3 actresses! 

[Rushmoras]

On 2018-05-30 at 8:33 AM, Cthulhudrew said:

Alex is still flashing FBI credentials rather than DEO credentials, though. I think the writers really haven't settled on its status one way or the other. Some clarification would be nice.

Officially, DEO does not exist. I mean, every second episode where DEO is mentioned, Jonn says that it's top secret/military/whatnot Disney Inc. Although, every Dick, Joe and Harry can waltz right in there for a tour...

[kitmerlot1213]

Alex is just too weirdly desperate in her dealings with Ruby--she just keeps feeding Ruby junk food, ice cream and soda, in one afternoon, no mom would approve :):) And then she acts as if Ruby is the center of the universe and everyone needs to act like it and apparently Alex is the only one who can take care of Ruby, when there's Lena and Kara and what about the foster care system in National City?  Whatever happens to Sam, Ruby will be taken care of.

 Melissa Benoist was doing an excellent job of showing Kara's happiness at seeing her mom again but her desperation to save Earth meant they had to be separated again.  I looked at Durance and just watched a person trying but failing to emote.  Sad.

Edited June 2, 2018 by kitmerlot1213

[LisaM]

Perhaps Ruby can live with Cat Grant? 

[Rushmoras]

Quote

I looked at Durance and just watched a person trying but failing to emote.  Sad.

That's because she had too much botox injected in her face to clear all of the wrinkles from her forehead lol. Can't show emotions. Side effect xD

[legaleagle53]

On 6/2/2018 at 9:36 AM, kitmerlot1213 said:

Alex is just too weirdly desperate in her dealings with Ruby--she just keeps feeding Ruby junk food, ice cream and soda, in one afternoon, no mom would approve :):) And then she acts as if Ruby is the center of the universe and everyone needs to act like it and apparently Alex is the only one who can take care of Ruby, when there's Lena and Kara and what about the foster care system in National City?  Whatever happens to Sam, Ruby will be taken care of.

Foster care, really?  From what I've always heard about the flaws in the foster care system (especially as they're shown on TV), that's the LAST thing I'd wish on Ruby!

[Kimmel77]

2 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Foster care, really?  From what I've always heard about the flaws in the foster care system (especially as they're shown on TV), that's the LAST thing I'd wish on Ruby!

I think it could be the making of her. Especially with her alien dna.

[AudienceofOne]

On 29/05/2018 at 11:28 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Good God, but Durance could barely move her face and she had the same expression for what I suppose was supposed to be a varying of emotions? 

But then, that's Durance. It's not as though she could act anyway.

On 03/06/2018 at 2:36 AM, kitmerlot1213 said:

Alex is just too weirdly desperate in her dealings with Ruby--she just keeps feeding Ruby junk food, ice cream and soda, in one afternoon, no mom would approve :):) And then she acts as if Ruby is the center of the universe and everyone needs to act like it and apparently Alex is the only one who can take care of Ruby, when there's Lena and Kara and what about the foster care system in National City?  Whatever happens to Sam, Ruby will be taken care of.

I mean, how long has Alex known Sam? Is Sam really going to leave Ruby to her to raise? That seems extreme. I would have thought Lena would be the first choice if there's really no other person in the entire universe - at least she's known Lena for more than 10 seconds.