Spoilers Supergirl - Season 2

[TREK_GOD_1]

"The Last Children of Krypton"--

By now, everyone on earth should know about the bullets not working thing.

Scene of the episode: SG pushing the car at the firing Metallo.

Line of the episode: "This isn't a Facebook status update"

Kara: Move to Metropolis? False "what ifs" the audience knows will go nowhere is a waste of time.

Hank: He's completely in the right about holding a supply of Kryptonite; he's taking the oft-used reasoning of various versions of Batman and other characters in print and film. With Kryptonian tyrants on the loose, it would have been unwise for any organization to simply destroy its one weapon.

Alex: A one person set up with someone you're trying to entrap--a person tied to a powerful organization is either the result of an inflated ego on the part of Alex, or bad writing for an easy set-up for conflict.

Clark: Hoechlin is so miscast as Clark/Superman.

Metallo: While Schmidt in the role is no Malcolm McDowell (he lacks the flat, insulting evil as delivered by McDowell) he's despicable enough. His implant was a good mix of the technical meeting a sort of spidery pattern to the bracing. Nice and eerie.

Carr: Not your parents' (or in some cases, grandparents') Snapper, to be sure. Carr was correct about Kara's sense of entitlement--Kara needs to prove she's a reporter, and not just waltz into a position due to Cat's recommendation.

Cat: "Own your power" Not so subtle. Her objectifying of Clark--if a male character did that to a woman, oh, would we never hear the end of it.

James: Conveniently (for the showrunners) too happy to be out of a relationship with Kara, and giving him Cat's job is a way of occupying his time.

One thing this series needs another fight choreographer; the two-part fight seems so clunky in execution.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

The fights were odd what with the Metallos only shooting the Supers in the chest and Alex's power suit allowing her to take one to the unprotected face. Seems to be comic book SOP these days.

 

[Christopher]

Alex reusing the strength-enhancing suit was odd -- last time, its kryptonite radiation weakened Supergirl, but here, it had the same K-green glow but Supergirl was fine standing right next to it. She also wasn't weakened by proximity to Metallo.

Anyway, I hope the DEO getting rid of its kryptonite means that we won't see the stuff used again for a while. Too many Superman series have overused kryptonite, and the first season of Supergirl did treat it rather casually. It's best used judiciously, I think.

I felt Kara came off a little clueless and entitled about her new job and accepting that she had to earn it. But I guess I can cut her some slack given all the changes in her life lately.

Two seasons in a row now, the second episode has featured Alex getting captured and confronted by the season's main female villain in a warehouse. And both big bads believed they were saving Earth.

So that's two weeks with no sign of Lucy or Max. I hope they haven't been dropped completely. It'd be too bad if that dangling thread with General Lane leaving the Omegahedron with Max went unresolved.

 

[JD]

Yeah, it is a little odd that we haven't at least got references to Lucy and Max somewhere.
While I do feel a little bad he was so nasty to Kara, he really did have a point. It was weird seeing Ian Gomez play such a serious jerk, after seeing him play goofy characters in Scrubs and Cougar Town.
I was really surprised to see Cadmus revealing themselves, and to see one of the heroes have a face to face with The Doctor so soon.
We actually got to see a tiny bit of Metropolis!
I thought the end Metallo/Supergirl/Alex/Superman/Martian Manhunter fight was pretty cool.

 

[tomalak301]

Great episode. When I read the synopsis about Kara being seriously injured, I was worried that this was going to be basically a Superman Show. I'm glad I was wrong because this episode did a lot for Supergirl and Kara and basically set up Season 2. Also, the Alex/Supergirl team up made me really happy because that's the major reason why I love this show. I do agree with the whole Kryptonite suit thing, mainly because I thought Kryptonite weakens her even being in proximity to it but they do seem to be breaking their own rule there. I did love the fight scenes though and we did get to see some more of Metropolis. Also really liked Supergirl's goodbye to Cat. Overall though, this was a very nice episode and right now I'm loving it more than Flash.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I hadn't seen Brenda Strong since the Dallas reboot. I liked her character/narrator Mary Alice on Desperate Housewives. (It's interesting to note Teri Hatcher was also on DH, and now Brenda gets to be on the same show as Dean Cain.)

As much as I liked Superman's guest appearances, he really had to go. This show is about Supergirl, and I felt Tyler Hoechlin's Man of Steel stole some of Kara's thunder. With Hank, Alex, and Winn helping her, she didn't really need Clark by her side, even with a formidable foe like Metallo. Supergirl has defeated countless metavillains before without her cousin's aid.

Snapper Carr as Kara's new boss reminds me of Grumpy on Once Upon a Time, except 10 times grumpier. I would much rather see Calista Flockhart stay on the show as a regular, but that doesn't seem likely.

 

[Noname Given]

Alex reusing the strength-enhancing suit was odd -- last time, its kryptonite radiation weakened Supergirl, but here, it had the same K-green glow but Supergirl was fine standing right next to it. She also wasn't weakened by proximity to Metallo.

Anyway, I hope the DEO getting rid of its kryptonite means that we won't see the stuff used again for a while. Too many Superman series have overused kryptonite, and the first season of Supergirl did treat it rather casually. It's best used judiciously, I think.

I felt Kara came off a little clueless and entitled about her new job and accepting that she had to earn it. But I guess I can cut her some slack given all the changes in her life lately.

Two seasons in a row now, the second episode has featured Alex getting captured and confronted by the season's main female villain in a warehouse. And both big bads believed they were saving Earth.

So that's two weeks with no sign of Lucy or Max. I hope they haven't been dropped completely. It'd be too bad if that dangling thread with General Lane leaving the Omegahedron with Max went unresolved.

Well, remember; the devices Supergirl and Superman were wearing were supposedly designed to make Kryptonite ineffective against them. I didn't take it that the Metallos were directly firing at the devices - the devices themselves were drawing the Kryptonite radiation in and nullifying it.

 

[Commander Richard]

Hoechlin is so miscast as Clark/Superman.

So far he doesn't have movie star presence and I hate to say that because I like him quite a bit and he continues to grow on me.

Not your parents' (or in some cases, grandparents') Snapper, to be sure. Carr was correct about Kara's sense of entitlement--Kara needs to prove she's a reporter, and not just waltz into a position due to Cat's recommendation.

She has her own Perry White/J. Jonah Jameson. This'll be good.

Alex reusing the strength-enhancing suit was odd -- last time, its kryptonite radiation weakened Supergirl, but here, it had the same K-green glow but Supergirl was fine standing right next to it.

I noticed that too. I also got to thinking that this show is doing like Arrow and making everyone into a superhero of some sort.

So that's two weeks with no sign of Lucy or Max. I hope they haven't been dropped completely.

I hope so too. I especially want to see Max because he was not only a fascinating Elon Musk-type character but Alex needs a date. They were developing something last season and I wanted to see it continue.

We actually got to see a tiny bit of Metropolis!

And there were no big skyscrapers. Maybe they were in the outskirts of town or something.

Also really liked Supergirl's goodbye to Cat.

I kind of wish that she knew Kara's secret. The fact that she doesn't is pushing it a bit.

They also didn't set any firm plans for her. It looked like she didn't have any but someone like her always has plans. Let's see if the politics thing pans out. Where else can she go?

I also noticed that Flockhart's face looked like it was airbrushed in post production.

 

[Aragorn]

I enjoy this show and I smile while watching it, but... honestly the writing and the plotting is severely lacking. It's a fun show but it's just not that great.

I also have to shake my head at the people who say this is how the movies should be.

"I'm John Corben!"
BANG! BANG!
"Now you're Metallo."
"Now I'm Metallo. Grrrrr!!!!!"

Who would pay $10 for that?

 

[Dick Whitman]

James Olsen's role on the show is hard to define now. Kara called him her Boss but is he really? Snapper Carr is her actual Boss. Is there really a need for her to ever go to that office now? Originally Jimmy was introduced as a representive of Clark/Superman. Someone to look out for his cousin. But now we have actually seen Clark and he will be back at some point. Plus Kara has shown she can handle herself. On top of having closer ties to stronger characters in J'onn and Alex. Jimmy is not even her love interest anymore.

I like the actor but making Jimmy the Guardian will make him even less identifiable as "Jimmy Olsen". This is not really the race issue, which I never had a problem with. But as been discussed this show is almost a spinoff to a Superman show that never was. It generally sticks with the basic mythology. Cat's past working at the Daily Planet, flirting with Clark, etc. Yet we got a muscular Jimmy who is taller than Clark. I previously thought they would address that by Clark commenting on how much Jimmy sprouted since he was the younger kid when they first meet. But Jimmy and Clark barely had any scenes together at all. Superman had more scenes with J'onn and Winn.

 

[Mudd]

Well, I'll sure miss Clark. The actor was very well cast, for television.

Guess I'll miss Cat more.

 

[Christopher]

Well, remember; the devices Supergirl and Superman were wearing were supposedly designed to make Kryptonite ineffective against them. I didn't take it that the Metallos were directly firing at the devices - the devices themselves were drawing the Kryptonite radiation in and nullifying it.

But Kara's device had already been damaged and removed before Alex showed up in the K-suit. That's the way the dual fight played out -- both Supers had their anti-K shields knocked out by both Metallos, both of them seemed to be on the ropes, and then both their backups (J'onn and Alex) came in and turned the tide. So we didn't see Alex next to Kara until after the shield was out of action. Also, the shield hadn't been made yet in the earlier Supergirl/Corben scene I was referring, where she said "I'll be back" and flew off to Metropolis while standing not five feet away from him with his kryptonite heart glowing. Normally, she wouldn't be able to fly if she were in such proximity to such a large mass of K.

She has her own Perry White/J. Jonah Jameson. This'll be good.

She already did, with Cat. The style was different, but the core idea of "tyrannical boss with a heart of gold" was the same.

I kind of wish that she knew Kara's secret. The fact that she doesn't is pushing it a bit.

I still believe that Cat does know, but chooses to respect Kara's privacy until she feels safe to come forward with it herself.

They also didn't set any firm plans for her. It looked like she didn't have any but someone like her always has plans. Let's see if the politics thing pans out. Where else can she go?

Well, I did see her listed in the guest cast for next week's episode with President Marsdin, so who knows? Although that listing could've been inaccurate.

James Olsen's role on the show is hard to define now. Kara called him her Boss but is he really? Snapper Carr is her actual Boss.

And Cat was Snapper's boss, so I guess James is too. He did suggest to Kara that he could speak to Snapper on her behalf, which seems to confirm that he has authority over Snapper.

Is there really a need for her to ever go to that office now? Originally Jimmy was introduced as a representive of Clark/Superman. Someone to look out for his cousin. But now we have actually seen Clark and he will be back at some point. Plus Kara has shown she can handle herself. On top of having closer ties to stronger characters in J'onn and Alex. Jimmy is not even her love interest anymore.

Exactly why they needed to find a new role for him. And I'm sure we will see the office set used regularly, since they went to all the trouble to rebuild it.

I like the actor but making Jimmy the Guardian will make him even less identifiable as "Jimmy Olsen". This is not really the race issue, which I never had a problem with. But as been discussed this show is almost a spinoff to a Superman show that never was. It generally sticks with the basic mythology. Cat's past working at the Daily Planet, flirting with Clark, etc. Yet we got a muscular Jimmy who is taller than Clark. I previously thought they would address that by Clark commenting on how much Jimmy sprouted since he was the younger kid when they first meet. But Jimmy and Clark barely had any scenes together at all. Superman had more scenes with J'onn and Winn.

As I've pointed out before, most people's perception of the "basic mythology" of Jimmy Olsen is erroneous, based on Jack Larson and Mark McClure rather than the actual source material. In his original radio incarnation, Jimmy was the cool kid that young listeners were supposed to identify with (although cool in that 1940s way where you could unironically say “Leapin’ lizards!” and “Jeepers!”). In the comics, he was the star of his own self-titled series for 20 years and had a string of amazing adventures in time and space and romances with various women including both Lucy Lane and Supergirl, and by the ‘70s in the comics he was an award-winning, intrepid TV reporter and global celebrity in his own right. (Don't forget that the entire Darkseid/New Gods/Intergang mythology, as well as Project Cadmus and all the stuff attached to it, was introduced in Jack Kirby's run on Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen starting in 1970. The Cadmus clone of Jim Harper/Guardian was also introduced in that book in '71, so there is a Guardian/Olsen connection.)

Also, Jimmy had two different recurring superhero identities in the Silver Age comics. He would sometimes take a formula that gave him stretching powers to become Elastic Lad, a hero who was an honorary member of the Legion of Super Heroes, and he would often accompany Superman inside the Bottle City of Kandor where they would team up as Nightwing and Flamebird, the Kryptonian equivalents of Batman and Robin. (That’s right, Superman, the most powerful man on Earth, liked to cosplay as Batman. Because Batman is just that cool.)

So this show’s version of Jimmy is actually more authentic to the comics character in some ways than most of his screen portrayals. It's just that the screen versions (and the post-'80s comics reboots) have tended to focus on his early years as an eager kid sidekick (with a heavy helping of Jack Larson's feckless, bumbling Jimmy), while this is drawing more on the seasoned veteran of the Bronze Age comics and the occasional superhero of the Silver Age.

Look at it this way: If Jack Larson was to Jimmy Olsen as Nigel Bruce was to Dr. Watson, then this show's Olsen is basically the Jude Law Watson.

 

[dahj]

At the end, when Superman hauled all the DEO krypronite away he didn't have it with him once he arrived back in Metropolis, so on the way he probably dropped it off to the one man he can trust... Batman. Right?

 

[Romulan_spy]

Fantastic episode. Loved that we got to see the Fortress of Solitude again. And we see Metropolis!! The scenes with SG and SM teaming up were super fun and the final fight scene was great. I also loved the themes of accepting change and the power of teamwork woven throughout the episode. I like that Hank got rid of all the kryptonite like Superman wanted.

Some questions/thoughts:
1) Why would Supergirl act sad at Superman leaving? She can get to Metropolis or the Fortress of Solitude in like an hour when she flies, right? If she can get there so quickly, she could easily meet with Superman whenever she wants. For example, she and Superman could easily meet up in the Fortress of Solitude on the weekends to talk about Krypton. Yet, she acts like he is leaving forever.
2) The theme of change seemed very meta. The episode was basically telling the viewers to take accept the changes in Supergirl, both the new network and the changes in the plot. Cat's line about just taking the plunge seemed to be pointed at the viewers as much as it was to Kara.
3) I wish there were a Superman show too. Loved seeing Supergirl and Superman together but I agree that it would not work for a Supergirl show.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I am very well informed on Jimmy Olsen's long history. My point is that this show has not done a very good job of defining their version of the character. So far he has been defined by his past with
Superman. Which we know very little about. How old was he when Superman first appeared? How long before he discovered Clark's secret? Was he told or he find out himself?

His character is the most famous of any of the supporting cast. The producers where certainly counting on that to build a connection to Superman. Like it or not, to the majority of the public that will be based on what they have have seen on tv and movies.

 

[Christopher]

1) Why would Supergirl act sad at Superman leaving? She can get to Metropolis or the Fortress of Solitude in like an hour when she flies, right? If she can get there so quickly, she could easily meet with Superman whenever she wants. For example, she and Superman could easily meet up in the Fortress of Solitude on the weekends to talk about Krypton. Yet, she acts like he is leaving forever.

It's not about travel time, it's about responsibilities. Clark has a life back in Metropolis -- a job, a girlfriend, presumably other friends, plus all the Superman stuff that keeps him busy. And Kara has the same in National City, except the girlfriend (though that would be cool). A lot of the time, what keeps people from spending time together is their responsibilities rather than their ability to travel. Like how I gradually lost touch with my best friend from college after she had a daughter and then started taking in foster kids.

After all, much of the time Kara and Clark spent together was spent superheroing, because that takes up a lot of their lives. If they're heroing in different cities, that leaves them less time to spend together.

His character is the most famous of any of the supporting cast. The producers where certainly counting on that to build a connection to Superman. Like it or not, to the majority of the public that will be based on what they have have seen on tv and movies.

Hence my analogy of Nigel Bruce's Watson. When we started to get more canon-accurate Watsons in later adaptations, like David Burke and Edward Hardwicke in the Granada series or Jude Law in the Guy Ritchie movies, a lot of people went, "Huh? Why is Dr. Watson this smart, capable man of action instead of a doddering old imbecile?" They only knew the popular caricature rather than the real version, but that doesn't mean that those later adaptations should've just gone on copying Nigel Bruce. They ignored the preconceptions and did their own, more authentic version that helped redefine the character in the public eye.

So what people expect based on past versions is beside the point. What matters is the show's ability to put its own stamp on the character, to create new expectations.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I am not sure Watson is a good analogy though. In all versions he is still working directly with Sherlock Holmes. It would be a completely different context if Watson was a supporting character in... I don't know a Mycroft Holmes series. Or if Mycroft had a daughter and Dr. Watson worked for her.

Bottom line, I think they missed a chance to have a good one on one scene between James and Clark. A lot of talk for a whole season of how close they are, finally Superman shows and it was barely shown at all.

 

[Mudd]

Obviously, they'll do whatever they think serves the show where James is concerned. Aside from being "Superman's Pal," there's nothing much that connects James Olsen with Jimmy Olsen.

Oh yeah, he owns a camera. That connects him as closely to the comic book character Peter Parker as to Jimmy Olsen.

Taking Cat out of the mix of daily interactions between the characters at the office means that if they want to develop her own mini-arc through the latter part of the season (say, running for public office, although that frankly has big downsides as a storyline) they can have Flockhart up for a week to shoot scenes that get dropped into four or five or six episodes.

Presumably she's paid her full fee either way.

 

[Christopher]

I am not sure Watson is a good analogy though. In all versions he is still working directly with Sherlock Holmes. It would be a completely different context if Watson was a supporting character in... I don't know a Mycroft Holmes series. Or if Mycroft had a daughter and Dr. Watson worked for her.

That's not relevant to my analogy. What's relevant is how public perceptions are shaped by a screen adaptation that diverges from canon. Most people's perception of Jimmy Olsen as a bumbling nerd are based on Jack Larson in the '50s TV show, or in later adaptations that have drawn on that in turn, like Mark McClure in the movies. The point is that the public's assumptions about the "right" way to portray the character are based on an adaptation that, in fact, diverges massively from the canonical version. So those expectations are ignorant and wrong, and if a new adaptation ignores them in favor of something that draws more authentically on the source, so much the better.

Besides, if you're saying that Jimmy not working directly with Superman is some kind of a novelty, I can't agree. Yes, in his original conception on radio, he was "Superman's Pal," and that was the title of his spinoff comic that was inspired by Larson's regular role on the '50s TV series. (Jimmy's comics appearances prior to the mid-'50s were extremely rare.) But in that show, he was teamed up with Lois far more often than with Clark or Superman; the usual schtick was that Lois and Jimmy would go after some story, get in trouble, and need Superman to show up and save them. So the Larson version was more "Lois's Sidekick Jimmy Olsen" than "Superman's Pal." The McClure version somewhat followed suit. The Lois & Clark version of Jimmy was more Clark's Pal than Superman's, and was largely cast in the role of Perry White's protege. The Smallville version was mainly Chloe's Boyfriend. And in the post-Crisis comics, Jimmy's historic friendship with Superman has been downplayed, because Lois has ended up in the role of Superman's best friend and confidante as gender roles have evolved. Even before then, in Jimmy's own self-titled book, he did tend to call in Superman when he needed rescue, but he generally waited until the end to do that, since it wouldn't have been much of a Jimmy Olsen book if Jimmy Olsen didn't do most of the stuff himself. So there have been a lot of different roles that Jimmy has played before, both in comics and onscreen.

Bottom line, I think they missed a chance to have a good one on one scene between James and Clark. A lot of talk for a whole season of how close they are, finally Superman shows and it was barely shown at all.

Yes, I agree with that. It did kind of get lost in the shuffle of all the other plotlines. But hopefully they'll find an opportunity to bring Superman back later in the season, and maybe then we can get a Superman-James story.

 

[DigificWriter]

Just finished the episode (a day late, I know), and the adage "the more things change, the more they stay the same" immediately came to mind, because The Last Children of Krypton was full of callbacks, both visually, thematically, and in dialogue, to a number of past episodes, most notably the Pilot, Stronger Together, and Better Angels.

The way they blocked out the scene between Alex and The Doctor was a direct callback to the first confrontation between Alex and Astra, and the same thing applies to the scene in Kara's apartment where she argues with Alex about Clark vis a vis the scene in the Pilot where they argue about Kara saving the plane, even though the characters are in different places in the former apartment scene than they are in the latter.

We also saw the return of Alex's Kryptonian/Indigo-built power armor and a callback to Stronger Together and her fight with the Helgrammite in her fight with Agent Macell and the rest of the Cadmus goon squad that had accompanied The Doctor.

I wish they hadn't decided to write Snapper Carr as such an a-hole, but we did get some humor out of Kara's awkward attempt at a snappy insulting retort, so I can live with the situation for now.

J'onn giving Superman the Kryptonite at the end of the episode is not something I was expecting, but it's a nice resolution to the tension between them and a good 'bridge' to future cooperative endeavors between the DEO and Clark, so I'm glad it happened.

Cat leaving is sad because I'm going to miss having Calista around every week, but I loved the au revoir scenes between her and Kara and her and Supergirl, and am eagerly anticipating what's going to happen the next time we see her on the show.

James taking Cat's job as CEO is going to be interesting to see because of the potential conflict that could arise in relation to the other 'job' we know he's going to be embarking on within the course of the next 8 episodes, and I'm also intrigued to see if it creates any conflicts between him and Snapper.

I saw some people complaining online about Clark's stay in National City ending after only two episodes, but my counter-argument is that I'm pretty sure we're operating "in real time" and it's been a week since the events of The Adventures of Supergirl, which extends the timeline of Clark's stay considerably.

I'm not really sure what the intent of the final scene with Mon-El waking up and attacking Kara was supposed to have been, but it seemed like a 'cheap' way to end the episode. We'll see how they resolve the situation, though.

When Alex mentioned the DEO's Nevada site, I immediately thought of the location we saw all last season, even though the logistics don't really seem to work out if you think about them too hard.

I really enjoyed the episode, and think it's the best one we've seen to date, which is a testament to the writers' ability to keep on "topping" themselves. I also can't wait for next week's episode and the arrival of President Marsdin.