Spoilers Supergirl - Season 1

[Christopher]

I enjoyed that everyone had fun with all of the crossover shenanigans (and it was cool to learn that this Earth has its own Central City...how foreign would it seem to Barry without those familiar faces?), but it was frustratingly easy to tell there was once a scripted version of this episode without Barry in it.

I dunno about that, seeing as how the producers pretty clearly wanted this to happen from the start, and given how smoothly the arrival of another, supportive superhero and romantic rival for James fits into the developing arc. Not to mention the symmetry of having a supervillain team-up and a superhero team-up in the same episode. Not to mention how The Flash worked in a glimpse of Supergirl seven weeks ago, demonstrating that this was hardly a last-minute addition. But it's possible that they deliberately broke this story so that it could work with or without the Flash, just in case the negotiations and logistics of the crossover didn't work out. The Flash-less version would've been a Plan B in that case, rather than their original intention.

 

[DigificWriter]

Everybody was hoodwinked into thinking that Nina Tassler's comments about "keeping Supergirl to ourselves for a while" equaled her saying no to crossovers when, in fact, she was simply echoing comments that Greg Berlanti himself had made less than 24 hours before she made her own comments.

If you listen to everything that was ever said about the possibility of doing crossovers, the message that was meant to be sent was that "we want to do it, but that's not where our focus is right now", not "crossovers are never going to happen".

Yes, there were some logistical requirements that made doing a crossover more of a challenge than the crossovers between Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow, but us actually getting a crossover was never about "if", but always about "when".

 

[Christopher]

If you listen to everything that was ever said about the possibility of doing crossovers, the message that was meant to be sent was that "we want to do it, but that's not where our focus is right now", not "crossovers are never going to happen".

Indeed. But the press always needs to blow everything up into a melodramatic narrative. Which is why it's so important to read/watch the news defensively and recognize where the press's interpretations go beyond the actual information.

 

[JD]

I continue to find it odd that Marvel has gotten this reputation for being lighter than DC. Marvel was pioneering superhero angst and tragedy while DC was still mostly doing stuff about Superman playing mean pranks on Jimmy or dodging Lois's attempts to get him to marry her or contending with Mr. Mxyzptlk's latest mischief. Comics would never have become mature or serious without Marvel's example, although Marvel never lost its sense of humor in the process. DC only outgrew its goofiness when it started trying to copy Marvel's more mature approach. Both companies tended to get excessively dark and violent and self-important in the late '80s and '90s, but I suppose the difference is that Marvel has regained its balance of humor and seriousness while DC is still trapped in the ultra-serious mode that comes with having something to prove.

I meant that the Berlanti shows have have been closer in tone to the MCU than the DCEU (so far at least), but haven't felt like it was just trying to mimic Marvel. Sorry, I should have been more specific about referring to the movies and TV shows rather than the comics. I know the MCU hasn't been all light and jokey, but the overall tone is still closer to what the Arrowverse shows have been than the Man of Steel and BvS, although Suicide Squad looks to me like it could be a bit closer to this tone.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

So...I'm the only one who thought it was kind of douchy for Winn to feel icky about maybe frenching an alien for the past two weeks when he's been panting over someone he knows is an alien the whole season?

That would not be the first time the series has splashed in the ocean of inconsistency.

I hate shows where I want the bad guys to win, but of course they were stupid. They didn't need Cat alive to draw out Supergirl and Flash. Livewire could just have electrocuted her right then and there in the park and the breaking news story "Cat Grant Killed" would have done it. And Cat would be dead, and many would be happy.

But this series is not in the habit of moving in a natural direction.

Overall, yes it was better than BvS, but that doesn't take much.

BVS had a purpose in its team up. This episode was "Flash show up. Flash be funny (well, he tried). Flash leave" No substance with THE point of the episode.

For example, if another character with powers shows up out of nowhere, neither show automatically has the "gang" warm up to them immediately unless the audience already knows who they are and that they're the good guys. If this was an ordinary show, they'd be looking at Barry suspiciously, believing him to be a villain just waiting to happen with the story setting up a situation for him to do something that was either bad or misconstrued to be bad. Then conflict as the two battle it out.

What you just described was how a crossover was handled 49 years ago on a Batman 2-parter / Green Hornet crossover. The Green Hornet & Kato were considered criminals throughout the story, and the teams ultimately came to blows. The build up and payoff succeeded (even if the villain was a failure). No one was instantly acting like the denizens of Comic Con--giddy and fanboyish. Its not rocket science in comics adaptation screenwriting--so why did the Supergirl/Flash crossover fail by taking the fanboy route with the "gang's" reactions?

 

[The Old Mixer]

It would have been funny if Kara's kiss itself had accidentally erased Jimmy's memory....

 

[sojourner]

It would have been funny if Kara's kiss itself had accidentally erased Jimmy's memory....

That was my first take on what was happening. Pulling a "Superman 2".

 

[The Old Mixer]

Though it's starting to bug me that so many Superman characters and elements are showing up as original to Supergirl's world, like Bizarro and red kryptonite and Dr. Hamilton. It's starting to look as though Superman himself has had a pretty uneventful career.

This is the part where you write yourself a post pointing out that the Superman radio show had none of those things.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

That was my first take on what was happening. Pulling a "Superman 2".

Mine, too!

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

It would have been funny if Kara's kiss itself had accidentally erased Jimmy's memory....

No. Just no.

 

[Guy Gardener]

This is the part where you write yourself a post pointing out that the Superman radio show had none of those things.

I was thinking the opposite.

Most to all of that radio show is in the public domain. It wouldn't be difficult to arrange a discussion group similar to a book club for bored housewives, but without the alcohol.

 

[Mr Light]

The Flash crossover episode was absolutely delightful! Those two were adorkable together.
It was particularly fun to watch in the aftermath of the very dour Batman/Superman (which I did mostly like).

 

[Guy Gardener]

The JLA vs. Teen Titans animated movie that came out today looks really dour.

 

[The Old Mixer]

It wouldn't be difficult to arrange a discussion group similar to a book club for bored housewives, but without the alcohol.

So you're thinking Superman radio show and pot?

 

[Mr. Adventure]

The kiss--and the emotion leading up to it should not be altered or erased by Myriad, as it all happened before activation, unless someone knows other details about how it works. There should be no turning back on this major, running plot of the series.

I guess it depends how the device works but if it's like losing consciousness I think it's not uncommon to lose the moment of and some of the time leading up to it.

 

[Corran Horn]

The JLA vs. Teen Titans animated movie that came out today looks really dour.

I'd say a good 4 out of the last 5-6 of them have been.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I feel cheated that Kara didn't swear even a little while under the influence of Red K.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Regarding Kara's Infinite Earths pick-up speech, aside from being geeky and awkward, anyone think it could be foreshadowing on how to merge Supergirl into the Arrowverse if TPTB eventually decide to do that?

I was imagining that before they even mentioned it, but I highly doubt they'd ever actually do it. The two earths take up literally the same space. That means merging them would be an inherently destructive process which would probably kill millions of people and represent the largest failure of every hero in the universe. They could possibly use that as a threat at some point, have all the different heroes come together to stop it, but no way will the worlds actually merge in the end.

I smiled throughout it, but it really was incredibly corny and out of tune with the rest of the series.

For example, if another character with powers shows up out of nowhere, neither show automatically has the "gang" warm up to them immediately unless the audience already knows who they are and that they're the good guys. If this was an ordinary show, they'd be looking at Barry suspiciously, believing him to be a villain just waiting to happen with the story setting up a situation for him to do something that was either bad or misconstrued to be bad. Then conflict as the two battle it out.

But nope, lovely dovey friends a minute or so after meeting, with Barry's story being believed 100% right out of the gate. Kara even stripped and revealed her identity and powers to him even before he actually explained much of anything.

But, whatever. As I said, I had a smile on my face throughout and enjoyed the episode. Just drives me a little crazy when they do that sort of thing, especially since it emphasizes how ridiculous it is when they do the opposite, too.

Because that description isn't endlessly cliched itself? There's nothing wrong with having some situations that don't end in contrived hero fights. Not every crossover needs to follow the same formula. And I'm not even sure what times you're actually thinking of when you say that they do the 'opposite', because every situation I can think of where mysterious new metahumans appeared and were met with suspicion, there were actual reasons to be suspicious of them, as opposed to Barry who showed up and saved someone's life and gave no indication of meaning anyone harm.

 

[Yanks]

The Flash crossover episode was absolutely delightful! Those two were adorkable together.
It was particularly fun to watch in the aftermath of the very dour Batman/Superman (which I did mostly like).

I thought so too.

How did Flash get to Supergirl's Earth again? It seemed funny to me that he needed her to get back but didn't need her to get there.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I was imagining that before they even mentioned it, but I highly doubt they'd ever actually do it. The two earths take up literally the same space. That means merging them would be an inherently destructive process which would probably kill millions of people and represent the largest failure of every hero in the universe.

Warren Ellis deals with that horrific reality of Crisis in Batman/Planetary. Weirdly, even though Elijah Snow doesn't remember who he is at that point, he remembers Crisis and what it did.