Spoilers Supergirl - Season 3

[DigificWriter]

Ham handed writing. On a Very Special episode of Supergirl, we monologue about guns...

No subtlety or nuance, poor attempt.

I disagree.

Regardless of where you stand on this particular issue, Supergirl has always been about dealing with these kinds of sociopolitical subjects, and an episode like this is actually a far better fit here than it was on Arrow, where it felt like somebody within the production staff felt pressure to address the topic rather than it flowing organically out of the series' overall mission statement and narrative trajectory.

Sometimes subtlety or nuance isn't needed. Especially with regard to this issue.

I agree.

This episode didn't go in quite the direction I was expecting it to (since I thought it was going to turn out that getting rid of Reign hadn't actually worked), but I'm really intrigued to see what Selena's ultimate plan is and how it ties into the title of next week's episode, which is "Make It Reign". I'm also wondering how Kara, Mon-El, and

Spoiler

Alura

are going to get back to Earth.

Also, I love that the writers drew directly on the comics by bringing in Thara Ak-Var (although, technically, she should've taken on the 'family name' of her husband) and her friendship with Kara, and am hoping we'll get to see more of the character in the future.

 

[The Realist]

Sometimes subtlety or nuance isn't needed. Especially with regard to this issue.

Sort of agree from a political perspective (because there's not really anything subtle or nuanced about willfully enabling constant mass slaughter), but they do help separate creative storytelling from pamphleteering.

 

[Christopher]

If it weren't nuanced, it wouldn't have made Lena pro-gun or made James willing to listen to her side. And it would've portrayed the gun exec as a more clear-cut villain instead of a pragmatic businessman.

 

[The Realist]

If it weren't nuanced, it wouldn't have made Lena pro-gun or made James willing to listen to her side. And it would've portrayed the gun exec as a more clear-cut villain instead of a pragmatic businessman.

Token nods to "the other side," but it was crystal-clear where the writers' sympathies lay (and rightly so).

 

[DigificWriter]

Token nods to "the other side"

Nope.

 

[The Realist]

Nope.

Serveaux wants his posting style back.

 

[UssGlenn]

Oh, gee...Kara and Mon-El, dressed in flowing white, slow motion walking through the arboretum. Steps on the road to adultery-ville! Yay! Toss marriage and the wife's heart over the shoulder like so much trash! Great message.

Time travel introduces some interesting nuances to this situation. Mon-El's wife is back in the 31st century, which means she hasn't been born yet, thus she isn't alive, which means she's technically dead and Mon-El is a widower, and can date whoever he wants. Same thing applies to Imra in the future, her husband has been dead for centuries.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Oh, and it's actually been 39 years since Krypton blew up. Don't forget Kara's suspended-animation stint in the Phantom Zone. Although that means Alura is in her upper 70s and remarkably well-preserved. I thought it was only under a yellow sun that Kryptonians aged so slowly.


.

This is what puzzled me last week. How did Alura stay so young all this time? Kara at least didn't age while in the Phantom Zone; she grew up naturally to become Supergirl after years of living on Earth.

As for tonight's gun control allegory, I find it odd that J'Onn wants to prevent the use of lethal force because he believes the DEO to be "agents of peace." So are law enforcement, peacekeeping troops, Starfleet officers, and Jedi knights, but they all carry weapons that can kill if needed! It's an unwise decision on his part, which is merely an attempt to express a political statement.

 

[Christopher]

As for tonight's gun control allegory, I find it odd that J'Onn wants to prevent the use of lethal force because he believes the DEO to be "agents of peace." So are law enforcement, peacekeeping troops, Starfleet officers, and Jedi knights, but they all carry weapons that can kill if needed! It's an unwise decision on his part, which is merely an attempt to express a political statement.

On the other hand, they do have all sorts of alien super-technology to draw on that could let them develop nonlethal alternatives more effective than what Earth tech alone can currently provide. It's like Barry said in The Flash -- when you have enough superhuman advantages, you always have alternatives to killing.

That said, although I personally despise guns and violence, I did feel that J'onn's decision was a little extreme. It might've made more sense to keep some lethal potential on hand as a last resort, and just change the rules of engagement so that deadly weapons weren't the first response. I admire the decision to refuse to do business with any manufacturer that lets military-grade weapons get out to the marketplace; that's about protecting the safety of the public, which is the DEO's job. But keeping some exclusive, proprietary lethal weapons on hand for extreme necessities, exclusively for the use of trained professionals under strict rules of engagement, would be a more balanced response.

Still, given that a large part of this show's target demographic is in the age group that's grown up under the constant threat of school shootings, I can understand the producers recognizing that they may not want to see their fictional heroes carrying huge guns all the time. Maybe J'onn's decision is a bit less than totally realistic, but then, he is a shapeshifting, telepathic man from Mars who can fly and turn intangible at will.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Tessmacher is smart eh? Wouldn’t surprise me if she’s a plant for Lex.

Lex or anyone else. She should serve a bigger purpose other than being the office ditz who once had copy room sex with Mon-El.

Time travel introduces some interesting nuances to this situation. Mon-El's wife is back in the 31st century, which means she hasn't been born yet, thus she isn't alive, which means she's technically dead and Mon-El is a widower, and can date whoever he wants. Same thing applies to Imra in the future, her husband has been dead for centuries.

...but a time traveler--having the perspective and option not shared by anyone else who is "grounded" in time--knows Imra is as alive and accessible as anyone he currently sharing the same time with. For Mon-El, he cannot look at the future as some impossiblle "The Future!!!" realm since he's capable of existing in any period other than the one of his birth. For that reason, his wife still exists, so he's being a complete, adulterous sleaze by even agreeing to some "work things out / explore your feelings" crap offered by Imra (unrealistic shoehorning on her part by the showrunners). He's married, but it appears that does not matter.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Ham handed writing. On a Very Special episode of Supergirl, we monologue about guns...

No subtlety or nuance, poor attempt.

All so true.

 

[Spot261]

Primarily because some subjects are so clear cut and so badly served by giving false equivalence to ridiculous ad hominem, strawman and just outright disingenuously self serving arguments that the only real way forward is to be totally blunt.

Well done SG for taking so direct a stand.

 

[dahj]

The thing with Lena being pro-gun... she isn't exactly the everyman, in fact the first time we saw her on the show someone was trying to kill her, and she was a target several times after that. The threats against her are very much real, for the vast majority of gunowners that just isn't the case, so I don't think she's the best choice as a stand in for the pro-gun side of the argument.

I liked the intent behind J'onn's speech but in-universe it makes little sense. They're certainly setting a nice example for us watching the show, but not so much for the world they're in, because a secret agency nobody knows exist phasing out lethal force weapons will have exactly zero impact on that world since nobody will even know they're doing it.

Argo City stuff... they had Kara talk and spend more time with Mon-El then her mother. I get that that's the romance they've decided to go for, I can't say I'm exactly buying it as this great love they're trying to sell, but I don't mind it in general. Here however it really had no place, if anything Alex should have gone with her to Argo, and Kara didn't even ask her. Her return fell a bit flat, it felt more like she went to see some old mates in Midvale, rather than people she thought were all dead and a home she thought she'd lost.

The ending... eh, I liked the setup for Reign earlier in the season, her initial mission statement was to bring justice to Earth through force, so I hoped that the final confrontation will be a personal conflict between her and Supergirl, one on a more ideological level, and without the whole "oh no the whole world is in peril, again". But it looks like this will be going once more in a simple "we're baddies, and we're taking over" direction. Can't say I'm thrilled with that, but let's see what happens.

Also, it feels like Supergirl is repeating The Flash's Yet-Another-Speedster-Villain problem. I sincerely hope it isn't another round of Kryptonians/Daxamites/Other Kryptonians as the big baddies next season...

 

[Christopher]

I liked the intent behind J'onn's speech but in-universe it makes little sense. They're certainly setting a nice example for us watching the show, but not so much for the world they're in, because a secret agency nobody knows exist phasing out lethal force weapons will have exactly zero impact on that world since nobody will even know they're doing it.

Except the whole subplot was about showing that it did have an impact on the world, because the contractor the DEO used to build their custom-designed weapons then offered a slightly modified version for sale to the public. They may be secret, but they still have to interact with other entities in the course of doing their jobs, and those interactions can have an effect. J'onn isn't doing this for publicity, he's doing it to keep DEO-designed weapons from being marketed to the public again.

 

[The Realist]

Primarily because some subjects are so clear cut and so badly served by giving false equivalence to ridiculous ad hominem, strawman and just outright disingenuously self serving arguments that the only real way forward is to be totally blunt.

Well done SG for taking so direct a stand.

All true, and I certainly applaud the show for taking the stance it did. There are political issues where both sides have tenable positions, but guns aren't one of them. Hell, if I were writing the episode, it probably would have been even less "balanced" than it was. So the message is very welcome, it's just the execution that was lacking. Not because it was one-sided -- since, as you say, there's only one responsible/moral/sane side to this issue -- but because it was so artlessly delivered that I squirmed even as I agreed with every word.

 

[Finn]

I think there's something off about Argo, more than those...witches.

 

[Kirk Prime]

I really wish this show would just focus on a hero doing heroic things and stop trying to force politics on the audience, and giving lectures.

We get it--they hate that Trump won and they are liberal. But I watch the show to see Supergirl do super things and be a symbol of truth and justice--not be a champion of liberal causes.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I think there's something off about Argo, more than those...witches.

That's why I referred to Kara's line--

"It doesn't feel real."

--as telegraphing. It would not come as a shock if Selena created a false Argo--where Supergirl loses her powers--to trap SG there, while Selena's group feels free to terrorize earth. Of course, that kind of crisis would be the perfect time for Superman to show up, or Lena's "revolutionary" discovery about black Kryptonite not only holds the (obvious) key to defeating the antagonists...and has darker, backdoor applications setting up season four.

 

[dahj]

be a symbol of truth and justice--not be a champion of liberal causes.

Uhm... truth and justice are liberal causes...

 

[Finn]

That's why I referred to Kara's line--



--as telegraphing. It would not come as a shock if Selena created a false Argo--where Supergirl loses her powers--to trap SG there, while Selena's group feels free to terrorize earth. Of course, that kind of crisis would be the perfect time for Superman to show up, or Lena's "revolutionary" discovery about black Kryptonite not only holds the (obvious) key to defeating the antagonists...and has darker, backdoor applications setting up season four.

Yes. But what I find weird is that Argo seemed to have very different architecture style than Krypton we saw in the flashbacks especially the time Kara was in that coma where she found herself in a reality where she never left home, not to mention home decor and design. I found it too Earth-like, including Alura's house.

I'm wondering if she's under some kind of influence.