Supergirl Season Five Episode Discussion and Review Volume 1

As a minor aside: Suppose the villain is the Evil Stapler Lord, armed with a giant staple gun. The giant 6" staples are used to attack Kara to a wall,.namely they are large that they enter the wall on each side of her wrists, not breaking her skin, but nailing her in place.

Supergirl can perhaps lift a million tons. She can certainly pick up an automobile and toss it. The staples do not hold her in place. If she pulls even very gently, it is the wall sections where the staples went in that pull out of the wall If the wall section is battleship armor, it bends until it tears.

Your logic is sound. She would presumably pull chunks away from the wall, maybe still stuck to her hands. All the better to beat a supervilain with!

Another question I have is how is James putting on the Guardian suit and not getting arrested?

****

By the grace and guile of the writers' illogical and non-linear line of thinking (and lack of attention to detail, lore, plausibility, air-headedness and plain old tomfoolery). It's their secret super powers, don't you know!

@ Kiwi,

Welcome back.

Hi Kiwi!

Good to hear from you.

Kiwi:

Long time no see..or no chat in this case!

I'm seeing a lot of complaints about the animation quality on J'onn and his brother, whenever they are in Martian form. Not here, but online, in general. I hate to say it, but it's a reasonable complaint. 5 seasons in, I feel like it would be cheaper and less visually jarring to come up with some sort of prosthetic for the actors, or their stunt actors. I can't speak to the reasoning behind the decisions, but the animation quality does tend to pull me out of the moment. And a show like this should be able to pull off that type of prosthesis at a relatively minimum cost, I should think.

I'd think a modern show in 2019 should be able to pull off for one character what shows like Star Trek: TNG were able to do 30 years ago, at a reasonable cost that may be cheaper and higher quality than CGI.

I'm seeing a lot of complaints about the animation quality on J'onn and his brother, whenever they are in Martian form. Not here, but online, in general. I hate to say it, but it's a reasonable complaint. 5 seasons in, I feel like it would be cheaper and less visually jarring to come up with some sort of prosthetic for the actors, or their stunt actors. I can't speak to the reasoning behind the decisions, but the animation quality does tend to pull me out of the moment. And a show like this should be able to pull off that type of prosthesis at a relatively minimum cost, I should think.

I'd think a modern show in 2019 should be able to pull off for one character what shows like Star Trek: TNG were able to do 30 years ago, at a reasonable cost that may be cheaper and higher quality than CGI.

I notice it most when they are speaking.

It doesn't bother me a lot, though. I grew up with classic Doctor Who wobbly sets. The magic of low expectations!

Hi Kiwi, nice to see you.

Alrighty, figured I'd jump in since we are a few episodes in. Been steering clear to avoid spoilers (especially leading up to Crisis), as well as, being swayed in my opinions of the show . Enjoying not having any idea of what's coming, who's coming, or what to expect/predict. I have to say, I was completely surprised by this week's reveal at the end. SO refreshing to have that reaction, again, when it comes to a Supergirl episode.

Also, last episode I felt was tighter, better written. There were side stories, but they didn't take up a lot of time while still propelling their purpose forward.

Jesse was so good with his multiple personalities, AGAIN. That whole scene was terrifically acted by all involved.

Overall, REALLY liking this season!! Been so great to be away from heavy handed politics, as so many Supergirl fans have requested/argued for/left because of. As for American's watching, we are already overwhelmed by a heated political climate. Been so so so very refreshing to get an hour of my favorite show of just pure entertainment.

Other major pluses for me:

--Loved how Lena found out the secret. Brilliantly acted, and tragic.
--Intriguing, tighter story lines filled with some solid mystery
--Good new villains
--Focus seems to finally be back on Kara/Supergirl for the most part
--More and more focus on the heart of the show--THE DANVERS SISTERS!!
--I really like Kelly. The actress has grown on me, and I like the "calmness" about the character.
--AMAZING ACTING BY MELISSA!!!
--Jesse is KILLING it as Brainy.
--Loving more Brainy/Alex/Supergirl scenes. GOLDEN!
--Brainy/Lena scenes, terrific, and surprisingly funny

Somewhat minuses for me, but not severe ones:

--They made SUCH a big political statement deal in season 2 about J'onn choosing to live his life as a black man; but umm...his whole family is portrayed as black. ???? And how did Lena force his brother to turn into a human? So do Martians have some human default? Seems like loose writing.

--Liking Kelly. LOVING Alex. Not loving Kelly and Alex. While I appreciate that their relationship is being writing more maturely than Alex/Maggie, for ME it just feels like two straight women with no chemistry. But, again, that's me.

P.S....

Did anyone else feel like Jame's/Mehcad's exit was totally anticlimactic???? Winn/Jeremy got a huge emotional send-off. Seemed off to me.

I was on was on vacation and didn't get to watch Dangerous Liaisons until last night. I didn't look at the pictures either. I agree @evrafter it was nice to not know too much going into an episode. In my headcannon James didn't get as big a sendoff as Winn because he's just moving to a town driving distance away not 1000 years into the future. In show the characters can still call him anytime and see him without too much trouble, It's us as the audience that know that's not going to happen..

It was nice to have the Leviathan story move forward. I liked that Kara went into the first fight with Rip Roar alone. I did figure out from the time they said no body was found that William's friend is Rip Roar. I get why some don't like how that was telegraphed but this is the same universe that's trying to convince me that Barry Allan as played by Grant is going to die, sorry Flash is bugging the heck out me right now. Overall still enjoying this season but can't wait until CoIE is over and really don't want my shows blown up by it.

- Another fine performance from Jesse Rath as Brainy and kudos for a line from the movie Speed. "Pop Quiz Hot Shot" , although I thought that was a Dennis Hopper line rather than a Keanu Reeves one.

Well, I tried to search that quote up and who said it on Duck Duck Go, and lo and behold I turn up a rather obscure game show focusing on pop culture by that title.

Overall, I've really enjoyed this season, far more than I did the first 5 episodes of Season 4. By this point I was ticked off last season that I had almost stopped watching and was going to wait until the Summer and just binge it on Netflix.

But this season has really held my attention.

Loving....

• The fact that FINALLY we are getting solo battles for Supergirl.
  
The fact that Kara is going out on her own as a reporter in very dangerous situations.
The fact that Kara seems to be totally at ease as both a Superhero and Reporter this season. We saw a little of it last season, but she is full force forward this season.
The fact that Kara has been the saving hero in almost every situation....it seems like the Supergirl show, rather than the Alex Danvers Show that I felt we were getting the first half of last season.
The Lena part of the storyline is REALLY interesting. I can't wait to see what she has in store for Supergirl and if we are correct and Kara finds out in the next 2 episodes that Lena is plotting against her, I cannot wait for that dramatic meat for Melissa.

Things that I could do without...

Jonn's storyline of his history coming back to haunt him. I'm really tired of that storyline. Please move him on from that storyline.
Nia and Brainy, though it has cooled over the last two episodes so I'm happy about that.
I don't like that Kara is lying to Nia......has she not learned? Not cool...

So on average the episodes have been in the 6-9 range. I haven't seen one yet that deserves a 10....hopefully sill see that soon. I have to say once again better than this time last season. The episodes were averaging about a 3 - 5, "Ahimsa" being the 5, the rest were 3s by this time.

Confidence Woman was IMO necessary and not “filler”, we needed the backstory for Andrea/Acrata. I actually care about her now that there’s more to her than a horrible boss. Similarly, I thought “Man of Steel” made Ben Lockwood a more compelling character last season. It also provided some context for Lena’s reaction to finding out Kara’s secret. And now all the players know the name Leviathan. My prediction is Kara and Lena will realize they have to work together against Leviathan in the classic the enemy of my enemy is my friend situation. Working together will help them regain some of the trust that’s been lost on both sides. Looking back on last season almost everything was done for a reason even if we didn’t know the reason for several episodes, growing up my dad told me patience is a virtue so let’s show some.

Confidence Woman was IMO necessary and not “filler”, we needed the backstory for Andrea/Acrata. I actually care about her now that there’s more to her than a horrible boss. Similarly, I thought “Man of Steel” made Ben Lockwood a more compelling character last season. It also provided some context for Lena’s reaction to finding out Kara’s secret. And now all the players know the name Leviathan. My prediction is Kara and Lena will realize they have to work together against Leviathan in the classic the enemy of my enemy is my friend situation. Working together will help them regain some of the trust that’s been lost on both sides. Looking back on last season almost everything was done for a reason even if we didn’t know the reason for several episodes, growing up my dad told me patience is a virtue so let’s show some.

I agree with all of this. Once season 4 was complete, we could look back on earlier episodes and see why certain things were done. I still think The Elite were used poorly, though. But that's just my opinion.

I have the same feeling, this year. The things that are less-than-great on an episode-to-episode basis probably have a reason. That said, I do think they need to do better at making each episode stand out in it's own quality, while still allowing it to contribute to the ongoing narrative. And also, keeping Kara at the center.

Confidence Woman was IMO necessary and not “filler”, we needed the backstory for Andrea/Acrata. I actually care about her now that there’s more to her than a horrible boss. Similarly, I thought “Man of Steel” made Ben Lockwood a more compelling character last season. It also provided some context for Lena’s reaction to finding out Kara’s secret. And now all the players know the name Leviathan. My prediction is Kara and Lena will realize they have to work together against Leviathan in the classic the enemy of my enemy is my friend situation. Working together will help them regain some of the trust that’s been lost on both sides. Looking back on last season almost everything was done for a reason even if we didn’t know the reason for several episodes, growing up my dad told me patience is a virtue so let’s show some.

I agree with all of this. Once season 4 was complete, we could look back on earlier episodes and see why certain things were done. I still think The Elite were used poorly, though. But that's just my opinion.

I have the same feeling, this year. The things that are less-than-great on an episode-to-episode basis probably have a reason. That said, I do think they need to do better at making each episode stand out in it's own quality, while still allowing it to contribute to the ongoing narrative. And also, keeping Kara at the center.

I agree that there’s room for improvement in making individual episodes stand out more. I also think that we as an audience need to play the long game a bit more and trust the writers will bring things together like they did last season. For me a bit of the issue comes from where a show falls on the spectrum of being procedural versus serialized. Season one of this show leaned more towards procedural then with the network switch went more serialized to match the other Arrowverse shows. IMO it’s more challenging to make individual episodes stand out when a show is highly serialized. One show that I think had a great procedural/serialized balance was The X-Files. Each season and the show itself had an overall arc and many episodes served to move that along. But there were also some “monster of the week episodes” that had absolutely nothing to do with moving the story along. Those episodes were some of the most bonkers fun ones and often served as a chance for the audience to catch their breath from the heavy stuff. I’m not sure if 20 some years later audiences would tolerate that same balance. Should the show do some (say 3-4 per 22 episode season) bonkers fun, standout “villain of the week” episodes that have nothing to do with the main arc. If you think about it some fan favorite episodes of Arrowverse shows have been called “fun filler”. Would today’s audiences accept that if say the showrunners announced that intention at SDCC so we know it’s coming. I hope the 100th episode is a bonkers fun one-off that lets the cast have fun and celebrate their achievement with the fans.

Confidence Woman was IMO necessary and not “filler”, we needed the backstory for Andrea/Acrata. I actually care about her now that there’s more to her than a horrible boss. Similarly, I thought “Man of Steel” made Ben Lockwood a more compelling character last season. It also provided some context for Lena’s reaction to finding out Kara’s secret. And now all the players know the name Leviathan. My prediction is Kara and Lena will realize they have to work together against Leviathan in the classic the enemy of my enemy is my friend situation. Working together will help them regain some of the trust that’s been lost on both sides. Looking back on last season almost everything was done for a reason even if we didn’t know the reason for several episodes, growing up my dad told me patience is a virtue so let’s show some.

Confidence Women was certainly not filler. I also agree the characters need a backstory. I didn't care for the backstory as much as I expected to, but it did flesh Andrea out. I'm not anymore sympathetic, but hardly anyone is a villain in their own eyes.

Confidence Women was what I would call an "eat your vegetables" episode--something you have go through in order to get to the "good stuff."

Last season, for me, the good stuff was just barely worth it. This year seems much better so far.

I feel like I can trust the writers more this season than I have since they moved to Vancouver. My only problem is, we have not had a solid FULL SEASON of this series. We get a solid half a season.....so there is a part of me that wonders when the table turns and the writing goes off the path and over the cliff.

Rewatching last week's episode right now. I actually liked it. And, I found myself really liking Andrea after it. She now feels like a sadly tragic person to me--she could have been great, but chose wrong, very very wrong. lol

One thing I just realized is helping to make this season great for me since season 1--not so many random aliens running around everywhere AND we're back at Noonan's. Having aliens everywhere, for me, made Supergirl and Superman AND J'onn feel less special, unique. They were starting to make the entire Earth feel like the cantina back on Tatooine. If I could have ANY change come from Crisis it would be THAT--aliens just being from Fort Rozz. I miss the feeling of being afraid of the "things that go bump in the night"-- like the Jailer episode where the FBI was trying to keep the "strange things" a secret.

Someone in a FB group I belong to posted this and I thought it was too funny not to share.



Shoutouts to Katie’s first major role and the snickers ads that are running in comic books.

Pictures have revealed Lena to be working alongside Alex in the Supergirl episode of the Crisis crossover. This means 1 of 2 things. Either Lena comes to her senses and forgives Kara, at the end of this upcoming episode (Wrath of Rama Khan), or the Crisis begins, and Team Supergirl and Lena realize they need to work together, for the sake of survival.

Regardless, Kara knows about Lena's actions, now, and they aren't stretching that trope over the whole season, which is nice. As a result, the pacing, this year, has been so much better than last year. Not every episode is a winner, but things have been moving along nicely, these past few episodes.