Supergirl S3 E6 "Midvale": Discussion and Review

Kara and Alex eating pizza

I re-watched the episode and can't believe I forgot to mention how much I also loved the interaction between Kara and Alex toward the end of the episode.

"It's the first time I really understood what I had in you; what it could mean to have a sister."...
"...but, I feel at home with you."
"Always."


This is the heart of the show to me and I'm so glad that the writers are going back to this relationship.

Kara and Alex eating pizza

Somehow I knew Olivia and Izabela would take after their older counterparts when it came to food

Just get them some donuts and they'll be fully vetted into the show

For all the ranting and raving that Sanvers shippers were quitting the show, and that people were boycotting Supergirl due to the Kreisberg fiasco, the ratings actually had a small uptick this week.

Makes me happy.

I truly enjoyed it and though we did not see much of Mel and Chyler, it was a good background story to their relationship. I thought the younger Alex really caught her mannerisms and style. It was Alex. The actress playing Kara was good, but I thought her performance was overshadowed by Alex. What amazed me as well, they even found a young actress with the same body type: hippy, curvaceous like Chyler. I am not trying to be a Harvey W. It was that I could be she was a younger version of Alex. Now for plot holes:

1. I thought based on Season 1 she didn’t use her powers anymore. Obviously, she continued to use them.
2.Jeremiah had made a deal with the devil to save her and yet, she still attracts some outside attention from the FBI.
3.their stay was supposed to be three days and instead it came across as one.

In summary, I thought this was an excellent episode and ties in well with some issues of this season and past ones. Kara’s struggle with who she is, Kryptonian or Human is a major theme this year. It gives a greater understanding of the special bond that Alex and Kara share as sisters. The end especially, at least to me, is an expression of the joy of sisterhood. The writing keeps on improving and my hope they will continue so. Already the writers exceeded last season. In my opinions it is one of the best episodes of the series. Top 10 or 20? Hard to apply a numerical quantity. It was just great.

Argo

I'm thinking that Alura's appearance is the DEO under the direction of Hank Henshaw trying to trick Kara into showing that she is indeed Kara Zor el.........and she in fact does just that.

Hank Henshaw already knew about Kara from the season one flashback where Jeremiah agrees to work for the DEO. Besides if Kara’s 16 in this episode it’s possible both Hank and Jeremiah are already with Cadmus and J’onn is running the DEO as Hank.

Agree, Brierrose. They were on the ocean in those initial flashback sequences in Midvale--the beach party and Daddy Danvers giving Kara her glasses. Put those with National City by the ocean, as seen when Kara diverted the missle. And then scenery of Vancouver, as seen in this week's trailers... fully fits the Northern California vibe.

I’m thinking Santa Cruz, Carmel, or Monterey. All towns right on the ocean, enabling the kids to walk to the beach after school. And all 300-350 miles from LA/National City a nice but not too long road trip. I can’t quite tell from the preview but some of the trees look like redwoods. Redwoods do grow in Vancouver but the climate doesn’t allow them to grow to the gigantic proportions they do in California. I know this because Northern California school children learn learn about our native giant redwoods so I had a couple of elementary school projects about them. Attached is an article about Beacan Hill Park in Vancouver where California redwoods were planted 100 years ago.

Kara and Alex are my Northern California people.

The past segments were very well done. Good job on the young actors.

My only critique was very little happened during present day to justify why Alex and Kara felt better in the end.

It seems that no one caught the easter egg name of the FBI agent that Erica Durance portrayed. She said her name was agent Noelle Neil. .... ring a bell .... Noelle Neil was the actress that played Lois Lane is the 1950's Superman TV show. Two former Lois Lane's with one scene. Kudos on that one.

Question for you all:

Why did the sheriff try to kill Alex and Kara with the car? Sure, they were investigating, but at that point in the story he didn't know about the laptop, and Alex and Kara thought it was the teacher, so what was his motive? Surely more kids showing turning up dead would bring a lot more heat.

Kara and Alex eating pizza

Somehow I knew Olivia and Izabela would take after their older counterparts when it came to food

According to the attached Wikipedia article there are 6 places called Midvale in the U.S.A. but none are in California. Located in Idaho, Montana, Ohio, Utah (which evrafter knows well), Washington and West Virginia.

Yep. Sure do, Kiwi. I pass through it weekly. It's more of a suburb. Here in the Salt Lake Valley, all the suburbs just blend into one mass. lol If it wasn't for a sign or two, you'd never know when you left one and entered another.

Natasha Blume's "Journey (Ready to Fly) has been playing over and over in my head since last Monday...

That was a nice vacation from the main arc. I really don’t need every episode to be all about taking down villains. It gives the series a chance to explore character dimensions, so I’m all for these side trips now and then. Especially when we get to see more Danvers family interaction.

I have 2 favorite things in this episode. I finally get a real interaction between Kara and Eliza. Something I’ve been craving for since day 1. It’s a start, but I need more. It seems every time we have an Eliza ep, she has been there to get Alex thru her difficulties, hence, I’ve always felt the Mother, daughter relationship for Alex and Eliza, but I’ve never seen or felt it for Kara and Eliza. Only been told it. So, I really hope they will give Melissa and Helen more scenes in the future. Melissa made me tear up in the porch scene. She‘s just so great at all those myriads of subtle expressions. And they’re so understated that I forget that this is an actor who is acting. She just ‘is’.

Okay enough of that. My no. 1 favorite thing. I am so HAPPY to see that we finally get a confirmation of Kara’s Mathematical and Science abilities. Something that has always made zero sense to me considering Kara grew up to 12 yrs old in a society light years ahead of Earth.

I my mind, I always thought that Kara was just pretending to be rubbish at maths and sciences. And I made up this head cannon that being she was sensitive to Alex’ resentment of her abilities, so knowing that Alex was attracted to science, Kara walked away from it, the way she walked away from her powers to protect them. So she would'nt be taking that away from Alex too. And I’m still sticking to that. It makes no sense that Kara would be bad at science with her Kryptonian background.

rip Kelly

I thought that this was a nice episode. The writing was pretty solid. There didn't seem to be any glaring inconsistencies, weak dialogue or rushed scenes that took away from the overall story. Instead, it was an episode in which the viewer could just sit back and enjoy.

It's a good problem to have but, it's really hard to pinpoint a favorite scene because there were lots of little touches that I enjoyed in the episode. I liked seeing normal sources of sister conflict happen between Kara and Alex. I loved the scene in which we first see Alex's resentment of Kara when she told her that gaining Kara as a sister was in no way an equal replacement for the loss of family that Alex felt by losing her dad.

I also really liked the conversation between Eliza and Kara regarding Kara locking up her emotions. I think it was a pivotal conversation that shows how Kara is torn between distancing herself from emotional pain by keeping people at an arm's length and allowing people in by showing her emotional vulnerability.

I think it was a nice introduction to the sister's past but, I also believe that the writers left the door open enough to show the continuing development of the sister relationship in future episodes.

The only thing that I would like to have seen in this first flashback of the season, was more of an interaction between the flashback and the current time period. But, as it was done, it didn't damper the experience.

A moment of silence for Kenny pls. The guy was legend

Hey, we didn't get a moment of silence for "Kelly" and she had far more screen time.

Ugh. Poor Kelly. I STILL haven't fully gotten over the sting.

I'm still in therapy.....

After "Midvale", watching the Pilot episode gives me a whole great new feeling. It's nice to imagine the events of "Midvale" when Alex knocks on Kara's door before her fateful flight to Switzerland.

Alex: Why do you do this to me?

Kara: Because I'm your sister and you love me...

Awww.

The episode really gave us a lot of knowledge about why the sisters are that close.

For all the ranting and raving that Sanvers shippers were quitting the show, and that people were boycotting Supergirl due to the Kreisberg fiasco, the ratings actually had a small uptick this week.

Makes me happy.

And if that makes you happy, it makes me happy. Case closed.

Brierrose, did you get the Northern California vibe from Midvale's location?. How similar are those Vancouver Coastal Roads to Northern California?.

The roads were very similar, we have many winding two lane roads with trees on one side and a view of the ocean on the other. The forest was similar too that didn’t surprise me, Vancouver is colder but the climates are still quite similar. Midvale looked like Santa Cruze more than the other towns mentioned and would have had a university for Eliza and Jeremiah to work at. I’ll admit the pot smoking quarterback wouldn’t have been a scandal, he might not have even been suspended from the team in California or British Columbia.

Brierrose, did you get the Northern California vibe from Midvale's location?. How similar are those Vancouver Coastal Roads to Northern California?.

The roads were very similar, we have many winding two lane roads with trees on one side and a view of the ocean on the other. The forest was similar too that didn’t surprise me, Vancouver is colder but the climates are still quite similar. Midvale looked like Santa Cruze more than the other towns mentioned and would have had a university for Eliza and Jeremiah to work at. I’ll admit the pot smoking quarterback wouldn’t have been a scandal, he might not have even been suspended from the team in California or British Columbia.

Something that I caught? When they were coming from National City, the ocean was on their right. When they were leaving Midvale, the ocean was on their left. Ummm...that means they were BELOW National City. Bah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha sorry. Art teacher's attention to detail.

When they were leaving Midvale, the ocean was on their left. That means they were driving south (been there, done that). Midvale is probably North of National City. Alternatively, they were driving south to reach a pass that gets them inland to a major interstate on which they drive North.

Doing well this morning, wasn't I. I meant right, not left.