Let's re-watch Supergirl Season 1 together!

Episodes 119 & 120

I decided to review "Myriad" and "Better Angels" in one posting, since they are two parts of the same story.

The battle inside the DEO at the outset of "Myriad" was action-packed. I loved Supergirl's ingenuity in using her pod to defeat Lucy and Vasquez. And her apologizing to an unconscious Lucy was perfectly in character.

Supergirl's desperation to find someone to help her was heart-breaking; but then who should come to her aid but Cat Grant and Max Lord. We could always count on Cat and Max to bring some insight and humor: "Tell Harrison Ford that I don't date older men, especially if they are married." LOL!

Indigo's easy manipulation of Non was something I didn't recall from the original viewing. She was really evil and really creepy. Nice job by Laura.

Eliza's reaction to J'onn was awesome, and later peppering him with questions was hilarious.

Supergirl's expression as she warily circled Non during the scene at Catco was so well done by Melissa. She reminded me of a coiled spring.

The scene between Cat and Supergirl on the balcony at Catco is a favorite of mine. Supergirl's monologue about having lost her world was so moving, and Cat's response about how much Supergirl had changed her view of life was equally great.

"Hope is stronger than fear." That is the catalyst which sets up "Better Angels," and what better way to demonstrate that than having Supergirl in a fight with Alex. The agony on Supergirl's face said it all. This was as bad as it could get for her; she can't reach her sister, but Eliza can. Hope wins out, and the key to defeating Myriad becomes clear.

This is followed by Supergirl's "Hope" speech to the people of National City, and Melissa knocked it out of the park. Big surprise that, am I right? It never gets old; frankly it is needed more now than it was back then.

But Indigo is not giving up, and she persuades Non to use Myriad not to control humanity but to wipe it out. Max discovers her plot and warns the DEO. Supergirl resolves to defeat Non and Indigo by herself, and, realizing it may be a suicide mission, she sets off to say her goodbyes to her friends at Catco in a series of beautiful, moving scenes. The sequence concludes with a conversation with J'onn, who is still in custody at the DEO. He realizes that he must join her in the battle, and the ease with which he "escapes" from Gen. Lane's custody is comical.

Supergirl and J'onn fly to Ft. Rozz and and engage Non and Indigo in an epic battle, which they win. But Myriad still cannot be stopped. Supergirl contacts Alex at the DEO and tells her that the only option is for her to fly Ft. Rozz into space herself. Alex argues the point, but the conversation becomes Kara's goodbye to her sister in one of the most emotion-packed scenes of the series. Melissa and Chyler were SO GOOD in this scene!

Supergirl tells Alex that she loves her and breaks off the talk to go fly Ft. Rozz off Earth. In the climactic scene, Supergirl lifts Ft. Rozz into the air, flies it out of the atmosphere, and propels it into space, with some fantastic background music. Now that scene was SUPER!

The remaining scenes of the episode were mostly a setup for season 2. That's to be expected, and there is nothing wrong with it. The best part was Cat correctly calling her KARA. But that Ft. Rozz scene was a pretty tough one to follow.

Sorry, I got rather wordy because there was a lot to unpack. It was simply great TV.

World's Finest was one of my least favorite episodes of Season 1. To me it began the downfall of James and really set him on the terrible writing road of being a petty, jealous jerk.

World's Finest

I think in later seasons we rarely got anything like the level of fun we do in this episode combined with the great action sequences.

The people of National city standing up for Supergirl was a great scene, and it was touching to see Kara gaining their trust and respect again where they were prepared to put their own lives on the line to save her.

So retrospectively watching this episode after Crisis on infinite Earths it now appears that to most of the inhabitants that the Flash and Supergirl have always been on the same Earth.

Also I think Cat knows not that just Barry Allen saved her but Kara Danvers too

I quite liked the track playing where James and Kara kiss (Bloodstream by Transvilot) so much so that I Shazamed it when I first saw this episode and bought it.

World's Finest

Kiwi described "World's Finest" in one word: Joy. That is so true. What a fun, delightful episode! If anyone didn't like this I think they are watching the wrong show.

So many fun scenes: Cat tempting Kara with the cupcakes, Flash "saving" Kara and the two of them trying to figure out each other's identity, Winn's nerdfest when he meets Flash, Kara's "YES!!!" when Flash brings her an ice cream cone, Barry meeting Cat Grant, and Supergirl and Flash arguing about which of them got to the warehouse first, are just a few. The whole episode is a smorgasbord of fun, and the cast, top to bottom, really delivered the goods.

I loved the balcony scene between Kara and Barry. He does some mentoring, lending his voice of experience when she needed it.

Supergirl saving the helicopter and protecting the people is another favorite. She is redeemed in the eyes of the people, and they rally to protect her.

Then there is the final race, where Supergirl and Flash cement their bond and she propels him back to his Earth. Melissa and Grant have a great chemistry, and a guest appearance in the future by Melissa on "The Flash" would be a must see event for me.

Although this was a mini-crossover which in some ways was a standalone event, it also advanced the season arc. It was a wonderful blend of achieving that and also highlighting the two principal characters and establishing their relationship. Excellent all around!

Sorry for posting this ahead of others but I watched Better Angels tonight and wanted to talk about it while fresh in my mind.

Near the very end of the episode Kara said she was happy (as you would be after saving the world) so I hope the showrunners (JQ and RR) who I'm going to assume will write the series finale take note of that and end the series with Kara being happy.

Better Angels was a very satisfactory ending to Kara's journey in Season 1 and there are 5 things that I want to make special mention of:

1) Helen Slater (Eliza Danvers) getting what I like to call 'a Supergirl moment' by getting Alex out of mind control, this was so nice to watch and was beautifully acted by Helen.

Before this series started I wondered if any homages would be paid to the 1984 Supergirl Movie (which holds a special place in my heart being my first anything Supergirl and Helen totally sold me on the character with her endearing performance) and I was delighted with what Season 1 gave me in that regards. Firstly and most importantly having Helen be part of the series has been most enjoyable (especially scenes with Melissa). Secondly Melissa's Supergirl costume being the same style as Helen's was such a delight. Thirdly the pronunciation of Kara was the same as the movie (differed from Smallville) which I thought was a nice touch. And lastly the one that surprised me the most but gave me the biggest smile was the Omegahedron, so cool to see it in Better Angels, I was even happy just to hear Supergirl say the name Omegahedron .

2) The Hope Speech. More than the speech itself I really liked Melissa's delivery of it with the accompanying wonderful Blake Neely music.

3) Kara's goodbye speech to Winn. Their friendship was one of my most enjoyable pleasures of Season 1 and to hear Kara confirm that as being such an important part of her life was genuinely heart-warming.

4) Lifting Fort Rozz into Space. This still remains for me the most jaw-dropping Wow!!!!!!! moment of the entire series. Just amazing to watch as Supergirl slowly lifts the spaceship into orbit and then picks up speed as she gives everything she's got to save the world followed by silence as Supergirl floats unconscious in Space. Special mention to Blake's music again which added so much to that scene especially with the choir.

5) The toast to Family with Kara, Alex, Eliza, J'onn, Winn and James. Such a lovely way to end the episode, something to make you smile and feel good.

So that concludes a wonderful journey with Kara Zor-El, the season of the show that will always be tops for me.

Au Revoir.

I liked the scene when Kara meets Winn and interviews with Cat Grant.

I wish they had left in the deleted scene which shows Kara and Alex talking in the loft and Alex receiving a notice of academic probation.

I liked, as was Alex and Kara going their separate ways on the freeway after Kara and Lucy rescued J'onn and Alex.

Cat needs to hire a new director of security at Catco! It seems anyone can walk into the place, access computers, etc. Maybe start by requiring passwords? Just sayin'....

Kara bumps into Winn without hurting him, really hurting him I mean. He's a little bit mad but then briefly pursues the woman who will become an important part of his life, he exudes a sense of happiness in his expression when meeting her I thought.

That scene did give us more background info. Also it showed that Kara's apartment originally belonged to Alex. (I attached a screenshot)

Kara being incognito as a biker and quickly putting down those guys using her super speed made me smile.

I think Siobhan guessing Kara's password was Supergirl (probably) was lucky chance. She could have got into the 'Queen of all media''s (or whatever the title is) account while she was at it. Password being Cat (Very likely)

Something else I must mention, I have been watching the series with artificial HDR highlights using Powerdvd. It does make it really quite colorful. Everything from the computers at Cat co to Supergirl's costume. Also scenes can have part of the image which are made darker but another part lighter. I've attached a screenshot which doesn't show in HDR but gives you an idea. The shot shows Jeremiah Danvers where the trees in the foreground are quite a bit darker than normal but still show detail and the background where he is, is quite a bit brighter still showing detail.
I wouldn't necessarily encourage watching it this way as the colors are probably being over saturated, but it is an interesting experience. This series does seem to utilise a wide color palette so its a shame it isn't in HDR natively.

When it comes to Worlds Finest the word I use to describe it is Joy (which I normally reserve for when Supergirl saves a life/lives). There were many moments between Kara/Supergirl and Barry/The Flash that made me laugh, gave me the warm fuzzies and just put a big ole smile on my face at the enjoyment of watching them become really good friends and have such a fun dynamic. Special moments like not knowing what to make of each other at the start through to The Flash calling Supergirl "Girl of Steel" and Supergirl calling The Flash "The Scarlet Speedster" .

Whomever wrote the episode put in a line for Kara that totally got what the character of Supergirl means to me. Kara and Barry were talking on the Catco balcony and Kara says (not an exact quote I'm sorry) "When I'm helping people as Supergirl it makes me so happy". You speak the truth Kara as it what makes me happy as well.

Just a note about Grant Gustin (Barry Allen/The Flash) who I've enjoyed watching for 6 years play The Flash, not only does he play the character well but he's a Superhero fan like the rest of us. Check out the first 90 seconds or so of this Video where you'll see amongst other things the poster used to promote Worlds Finest on the wall of one of the rooms at his home.

Manhunter (Episode 117)

Manhunter is one of my least favorite episodes of season 1, mostly because it was very light on Supergirl action and heavy on "talky" scenes. That's my overall judgment. That being said, it did have some moments which provided back story, furthered character development, and offered a preview of coming storylines. So as a vehicle to set up the remainder of season 1, and even some of season 2, it was successful.

Important back stories were revealed for Kara, Alex, Jeremiah, and J'onn. I liked the scene when Kara meets Winn and interviews with Cat Grant. Alex getting drunk and subsequently being recruited by the DEO was also well played, as was the encounter between Jeremiah and J'onn in the Peruvian jungle. I wish they had left in the deleted scene which shows Kara and Alex talking in the loft and Alex receiving a notice of academic probation.

Calista was fabulous (as usual) as Cat, and she delivered a few scenes which were real gems.

Kara's reveal to Lucy and her description of what it is like to be an alien was a scene I liked, as was Alex and Kara going their separate ways on the freeway after Kara and Lucy rescued J'onn and Alex. It wasn't a couch scene, but the love of the sisters was displayed regardless.

Cat needs to hire a new director of security at Catco! It seems anyone can walk into the place, access computers, etc. Maybe start by requiring passwords? Just sayin'....

the scene where Supergirl tosses Cat off the balcony is excellent. It's actually hilarious. I re-watched it numerous times during Season 1 and laughed out loud each time.
I have to admit the news of Season 6 being the last season of Supergirl has damped my enthusiasm for our little project here, but I'm going to keep going.

Ha! Got to say that scene shocked me when I first saw it. Its one of the few times we see Kara catch Cat while falling in mid air. Have to wonder whether this episode's title refers to Supergirl's fall from grace or Cat falling
In my view the series has not fared so well in later seasons but it is sad nonetheless. I'm glad and even thankful you set up this thread Meadows, been great discussing what I think is the best season of this show.

As for my own thoughts on this episode I thought seeing not only a corrupted Supergirl but also a corrupted Kara Danvers was something that boarded on spooky. Cat's usually adorkable assistant turning assertive and snarky. Lusting after James. A complete personality transplant.

It would seem this was the episode where Cat finally worked out how she was able to see Supergirl and Kara Danvers together according to many on the thread talking about when Cat knew for sure about Kara's secret. Cat would have noticed both Kara D and Supergirl acting bizarrely among other things.

the scene where Supergirl tosses Cat off the balcony is excellent. It's actually hilarious. I re-watched it numerous times during Season 1 and laughed out loud each time.

The funniest thing for me related to that scene happened a little afterwards when Winn while @ the DEO upon hearing what occurred says "she killed Miss Grant?", just something about the way Jeremy delivered that line always makes me laugh.

I have to admit the news of Season 6 being the last season of Supergirl has damped my enthusiasm for our little project here, but I'm going to keep going.

Definitely hang in there Meadows, only 4 episodes to go. For me I'll skip Manhunter (as that was my least favourite episode of the season) and go onto the joy of Worlds Finest and then combine Myriad and Better Angels into one.


One last thing from me about Falling relates to Kara's work clothes (which I've mentioned before how much I like) but what's interesting here is the contrast between our normal Kara and Red K infected Kara. Normal Kara wore a nice skirt/cardigan combo which I really liked a lot but compare that with Red K infected Kara who exuded some serious confidence and power with her skirt/black sleeveless top/hairstyle. See photos attached.

I do not believe the series ever captured the emotion of Supergirl/Kara or her true strength as they did in "Falling". The showrunners and writers, in my opinion never rose to the occasion again, I thought they were headed that way at the beginning of Season 3, but just never hit that quality again for me.

****

That's because the two co-creators of the series were given the heave-ho (Ali Adler at the end of S2) and Andrew Kreisberg (halfway through S3). They've been doing damage control ever since.

The reasons the departures are already know, but in this process they lost the lead head-writer/producer (Adler), who, btw, wrote "Falling" and the DC comics lore guru-person (Kreisberg). With these two losses, the show was effectively torpedoed and it showed as S3 fell flat, S4 was a politically polarising mess and S5 was all over the map.

I do not believe the series ever captured the emotion of Supergirl/Kara or her true strength as they did in "Falling". The showrunners and writers, in my opinion never rose to the occasion again, I thought they were headed that way at the beginning of Season 3, but just never hit that quality again for me.

Quoting Meadows: "I have to agree with superbill that the scene where Supergirl tosses Cat off the balcony is excellent. It's actually hilarious. I re-watched it numerous times during Season 1 and laughed out loud each time."

Actually the scene I was referring to was the ending scene on the balcony, where Supergirl expresses regret for her actions. But I agree, the scene when she throws Cat off the balcony was also well played by Melissa and Calista. It's another example of Melissa's remarkable use of expression to convey feelings; I loved the casual posture she took leaning on the railing as Cat fell toward the ground.

Falling is definitely one of the best episodes of Season 1. Melissa does a fantastic job of portraying her evil self.
Has anyone seen the Star Trek episode where Capt. Kirk gets split into two personalities, one all good and one all bad? It's a fascinating episode. Falling reminded me of that.
My favorite scene is when Supergirl is flicking the peanuts at the bar. It's hilarious, and it is a fantastic way to show her super strength and just how dangerous she really could be. It's also a tribute to a scene from the Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve.
Also, the scene where Kara beats Alex with words in Kara's apartment is just gut-wrenching. Poor Alex! On the other hand, though, the scene where Supergirl comes to herself and apologizes to Alex is just as gut-wrenching. Excellent acting!
I have to agree with superbill that the scene where Supergirl tosses Cat off the balcony is excellent. It's actually hilarious. I re-watched it numerous times during Season 1 and laughed out loud each time.
I have to admit the news of Season 6 being the last season of Supergirl has damped my enthusiasm for our little project here, but I'm going to keep going.

"Falling" is one of the best episodes of the entire series and, if memory serves me, I think it was ranked #1 in a poll on this site a couple of years ago. It was a real showcase for Melissa's range as an actor.

Kiwi's review mentions most of the highlights, so here are a few additional thoughts:

In the fight with the K'hund, Melissa's mocking expression as she says "Is that it?"

Her expression of remorse as she sees Siobhan's desk being carried out of Catco. As much as she and Siobhan were at odds, she still felt bad about her role in getting her fired.

The two epic scenes with Alex: First when confronting her in Kara's apartment and later when Kara awakens at the DEO. Gut-wrenching. Kudos to Melissa and Chyler for laying bare all their emotions in those scenes.

The balcony scene with Cat is one of my favorites. Supergirl's slumped posture as she delivers her heart-felt confession, followed by Cat's realistic but inspiring pep-talk was great TV. Cat's line "I don't believe in failure, not if you get up and face the music" is great advice for everyone.

I've said this before, but Melissa's face is truly a canvas. I don't believe there is any emotion she cannot capture through expression and also body language. There are times (for example the confrontation with Alex in the apartment) when she looks like an entirely different person. I really have not seen any other actor who, without the benefit of makeup, can achieve that effect. It's remarkable.

Episode 16 'Falling' was an exceptional episode driven by what IMHO is still Melissa's best performance of the entire series. Watching the episode again tonight I was struck by how fast it went which is a sign of an excellent episode even after multiple viewings.

What impressed me most about Melissa's performance was the many emotional states of Kara she had to act through the episode:

- There was heroic Kara (Supergirl), I liked the way she put the bullies in their place not by being mean to them but by saying how awesome Laura (the girl that was being bullied) was. Of course I loved Supergirl saving the fireman.

- There was innocent Kara who didn't like what she saw with her x-ray vision through the door. Melissa and Jeremy were so good in that little scene. Kara to Winn "You missed a button", funny.

- There was super-confident Kara walking out of the elevator to Paloma Faith's Ready for the Good Life. The following quote is from Admin on the music page of this website and describes that scene pretty well "Kara enters Catco dressed to the nines and ready to crush Siobhan".

- There was couldn't care less Kara (Supergirl) putting her feet up at the DEO with J'onn saying "Am I boring you Supergirl?" and easily taking down the K'und and treating him with disdain, "get out of my sight"

- There was mean girl Kara who seriously dissed Lucy to James while they were dancing.

- There was brutal Kara with her savage verbal take-down of Alex.

- Then there was heartbroken Kara with the first thing she asked "Did I kill any-one?", what followed as Kara cried her way through the person she had become was one of the most tug at your heart strings moments of the entire series and superbly acted by Melissa.

I also liked the homage to Superman 3 when Kara was flicking peanuts at the bottles.

So thanks Mel for one heck of a performance and letting us enjoy your hard work and acting talents.

Writers during Season 1 did a wonderful job of slamming viewers with the true value of Indigo. We wouldn't have had Kara/Supergirl without her. It might have been nice to see Kara/Supergirl reflect a little upon how Indigo actually saved her. Melissa does an excellent job of reacting to this news from Indigo, and note the complete anger and disdain in Indigo's voice and expression as she explains how she used Kara's pod to bring Fort Rozz to earth. I remember this really slammed me the first time I saw this episode, and I thought then what a fantastic plot twist this was.

I enjoyed the Fortress of Solitude scenes and Kara's excitement at being there. It was funny when James was telling Kara about her sharp turns while flying and she replied "Hey, nobody likes a back seat flier" .

Nice to see Laura Vandervoort (Smallville Supergirl) in the episode. I appreciated them having both previous Supergirls (Helen and Laura) on the show in Season 1.

Yes, I think they have managed to make the Fortress look quite beautiful in this series.

I think James said things in the wrong order. He should have first said about her sharp turns. She would have got mad, but then he would have said "but you are faster than your cousin". That would have gone down better.

It was great to see Laura play a role in the series for her former character. She played Indigo quite well and the included humor with dialogue like "and now I wonder the same realm as Candy crush"
Also the revelation that Kara has Indigo to thank for not staying 13 years old indefinitely.

A good episode for Winn now getting some recognition being drafted into the DEO and that women can in fact find him attractive, especially because of what happened with him and Kara.
Him mentioning the sci-fi time travelling tv series Doctor Who was interesting as David Harewood played a villain in there one time.

I've attached pics of a deleted scene I liked where Siobhan says to Kara "I can't decide which I hate more, your face or your skirt ... its a tie" Kara doesn't have to say a word and Winn says "Yes, yes, you want to throw her into space. I got it, I got it"

That would be great Kiwi and superbill Although I don't want anyone to feel they are being held back at the same time.

I have watched episode 13 and 14.

For the Girl Who Has Everything. Straight up, this episode reminded me of people who put on silly contact lenses and become immersed in their perfect fantasy world. In this episode though its Supergirl that has been provided with her perfect fantasy world via a freaky alien parasite (yuck) which covers her like a perverse breastplate.

I had a chuckle when Winn is covering for Kara saying how she was attacked by a 'tick' to Cat who does not seem the slightest bit amused. She hardly ever is though.
I think Winn does come out with funny stuff although the other characters not just Cat typically don't find him funny.

Truth, Justice & The American Way. I liked that at least one of the Fort Rozz escapees (Professor) just wanted to live a normal life, they could have all been out for Supergirl's blood or causing general chaos.

Siobhan pushing Kara's buttons was really good because we get to see once again how Kara Danvers is such a great character in herself. I've got to say personality wise she's more enjoyable to watch than the girl of steel.

James asking Kara her permission to tell Lucy that she is Supergirl because he doesn't want to lie to her was interesting. In season 3 he didn't want keep any secrets from Lena but there was nothing about revealing who Kara Danvers really is from what I remember..

Boy, am I way behind! I will do my best to catch up ASAP.

Same here Meadows. Look forward to reading your next posts.

If superbill is then I'm prepared to wait to post about Falling until the both (Meadows and Ja50n1c) of you have caught up.

I'm good with that, Kiwi. I have no problem waiting for the others to catch up, plus I recently got the Season 5 DVD so I can get my "fix" viewing that for awhile.