Let's compare the first half dozen episodes of season one of Supergirl to this season. In season one we see Kara coming to grips with her powers as she battles fearsome adversaries in consequential struggles. The series is focused on the main character as it develops supporting roles to fill out her world. There is action, growth, heartache. Engaging fight sequences. You can't help but pull for Kara as she navigates emotional minefields and faces powerful, challenging foes.

Contrast that with season four. Supergirl is at best a supporting character. There hasn't been a single consequential conflict for Supergirl yet this season. She has either been stuffed into a protective suit, a passive bystander or depowered for the entire season so far. Professionally, her mentoring of a young reporter has quickly devolved into switched roles. The entire season has been focused on the issue of refugees in a manner so obvious and ham-fisted that one cannot help but cringe many times per episode.

This week's episode was probably the best of this season, but it would have rated the worst were it compared with the first half of season one.

Again, this time with thunder, can we please return to a Supergirl television series centered on #@%&ing Supergirl? This ain't rocket science, people. The audience wants to see a woman with super powers fighting evil.

Quoting Supergirl_peril:

...I get that in order to get to his end game with Agent of Liberty, he would sacrifice anyone. I just don't see him turning on his relationship with Supergirl and the DEO, and Jean in order to help these guys take out Supergirl. That is what they are doing, their end game is to kill her, which we all know they will not. I just don't see him helping them. I also don't see how it helps them to help Manchester get Agent of Liberty, he is their leader, why would they want to help Manchester, even if it helped them capture Supergirl?

I think that it's too early in our introduction to Manchester to really know him as a person and what he would or wouldn't do. We do know though, that his fiance was murdered by Agent of Liberty and that Manchester knows AoL did it and is out for revenge. People who are driven into this mode are capable of doing whatever they believe is necessary to achieve their goal. In this case, his goal is to get to AoL. So, it's hard to tell whether or not he would sacrifice Kara to get that.

I don't think that the CoL would willingly give up AoL rather, Manchester would try to get on their good side, make them think that he is with them by giving up Kara so that they would take him to AoL. But, it might not be that at all. It's hard to tell from a few photos. It's possible that he may be trying to talk them out of hurting her and something ends up happening to him when he intervenes.

Quoting Sully:

Quoting sfwriter:

That's the thing I'm wondering about, though. My money is on Manchester helping the bad guys. (Isn't he supposed to possess some telekinetic powers?) because, on "Reddit" the behind-the-scenes pics have Manchester standing in FRONT of Kara while she struggles. Manchester betrays, or uses, Kara somehow and then helps then keep her restrained.

I'm also wondering about what role Manchester is playing in this whole scene. I can remember during the fight scene at the police station in Ahimsa, there was an instance when he was shown fighting the double dude. One of them wacked him upside the head with a police baton and he barely flinched. In fact, it almost sounded like the baton hit metal. At the time, I thought maybe he exhibited some powers. I also recall the photo that you mention and it does make him seem a little suspicious. He's either trying to talk the CoL out of doing something to Kara or he's using them/her to get to the bigger fish, Agent of Liberty.

Yep ... I think you nailed it. Manchester isn't, exactly, against Kara .... But he aligned himself with her only long enough to get a lead on Agent of Liberty. He's a bit of a mercenary and as long as he gets his revenge and a shot at AoL he probably would be willing to sacrifice Kara to satisfy his own revenge.

Quoting Supergirl_peril:

It does not matter about the chains. Lets just say she cannot break them. They are being held by one guy holding the other end of the chain. She could just fly straight up and get away from them, but she obviously does not. They must have done something to her to that has incapacitated her somewhat. If you look at picture number 9, it looks like Manchester Black might be assisting her, like she is hurt. I wonder if they have kyrptonite, or something else that maybe Lockwook gained access to from the Graves siblings. Maybe they had some weapons from Lex Luthor that can hurt her. That is my guess. Either way, I don't wonder about the chains as much as why she just doesn't grab Manchester and fly them both to safety. Just bring the chain with you. There must be a reason.

That's the thing I'm wondering about, though. My money is on Manchester helping the bad guys. (Isn't he supposed to possess some telekinetic powers?) because, on "Reddit" the behind-the-scenes pics have Manchester standing in FRONT of Kara while she struggles. Manchester betrays, or uses, Kara somehow and then helps then keep her restrained. On the flip side, in that scene (which I guess is inside that monument) Kara seems totally weakened ... whomever mentioned the marketing department is correct ... SUPER job ... they have people guessing

Quoting KaraD:

It was also my theory that she might be weakened and I too pointed out picture #9. (See post #6). These are very good promo pictures; there's a lot of discussion going on, fans are talking about the show and that means the marketing department is doing a SUPER job.

I see what you did there. ;)