#not andrea being a cryer ;-;

[smckehour]

putting up with monse's tangents and otherwise dwindling wormholes was nothing of a short feat, and andrea did so gracefully. even now as her beautiful eyes glisten with tearful joy, she's assured that their love could continue on for miles and miles. the smile monse now dons could fix to her face permanently. "i don't know about always... i mean, one was already a handful. two is gonna make me feel like we're in a sitcom." never doubt a moment where monse could slip in tease herself. the nerves were boiling, but there's comfort in their proximity. "aye, mi querida, just promise you're still gonna find me sexy when we're two months into this and i'm munching down on hot cheetos covered in grape jelly 'cause..." hands smooth down her spine, past her lowerback until she's low enough to cuff her ass in the palms of her hands. "i'm still gonna want to get to these yams." a gentle squeeze accompanies the blooming elation that has her lips searching for andrea's once more, pressing soft kisses past her jawline until they catch her lower lip.

𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬  it  was  easy  to  see  just  how  beautiful  monse  was  in  that  moment.  after  all  the  storms  they  had  weathered  ,  andrea  had  never  felt  more  connected  than  she  did  right  now.  the  life  growing  inside  of  her  was  now  theirs.  "  no  hostile  womb!  "  she  echoed,  her  laughter  mingling  with  her  tears  as  she  wrapped  her  arms  around  her  waist,  surrendering  to  the  pull  of  monse's  lips.  it  wasn't  until  the  other  pulled  away  ,  that  she  suddenly  misses  her  lips.  "  okay  ,  yeah  —  a  follow  up  appointment  is  a  good  idea.  "  but  as  the  words  left  her  lips,  familiar  tendrils  of  anxiety  began  to  slither  their  way  back  up  her  throat.  "  hell  yeah  we  are.  this  is  just  one  of  many  steps  to  building  the  life  we  always  wanted  right  ?  "  her  hands  remained  anchored  on  her  waist  ,  cocooning  them  in  their  own  bubble  they  had  built  for  the  moment.  "  and  marci  always  wanted  a  younger  sibling  so  we're  kind  of  knocking  out  two  birds  with  one  stone.  "  a  playful  twinkle  in  her  eyes,  determined  to  keep  the  spirit  of  anticipation  alive  ,  despite  the  fear  she  still  felt  wasn't  too  far  off .

[buddha-in-disguise]

From boom to bust.

What in the ever fucking hell was that Supergirl?

Okay, quickly. It wasn't as bad as some episodes. It had some great moments, but as is so often the problem since S5 on the show, they got completely overridden by the shit portions.

The biggest one? Well, everyone is rightly complaining about the lack of Alex telling Kelly that Kara is Supergirl.

I'm still reeling from this one. When it became apparent that Kelly knew - I will be honest, I was so stunned, I couldn't even appreciate the great acting by Chyler and Azie. It detracted that much from their scene. And it never should have, because once again, they showed why so many of us love seeing them work together.

So now the next one on my list.

Tough to chose, but I'm going with the time issue.

When was this episode supposed to be set, in relation to episode one?

Because we get the introduction of Silas, and while they don't give a timescale on how long Kara has been missing, the way Nia then mentions Kara still being with Cat Grant, and the initial CatCo scene, all suggests this is very quickly after 6.01 ended.

Plus, even in The Tower, the suggestion is it hasn't been long at all since Kara was lost to the PZ.

But then, William (more on him later) is standing in CatCo, no sling. No sign of having ever been shot. Now, don't get me wrong, I've never been shot, but I have a multitude of health issues, and even if he had great physio, there should be no way in hell his arm has that much movement without some kind of impingement.

But then we have the trial of Lex.

Now even in Supergirl's world, there is no way that a trial would be just a couple of days after Kara is sent to the PZ.

And CatCo has published their hit pieces on Lex. The pieces they were still only discussing in the opening portion of the episode.

Cue in Kelly and Alex - no mention is given on how long Kara has been missing.

So is it days, (highly unlikely) weeks, (possible) or months (who the fuck knows).

That scene with Kelly and Alex was sitting there, just ready to give us the clarification on how long they've been trying to rescue her. But as usual, we are having to make up our own minds and try to figure this shit out ourselves.

William. What is the point of him? No seriously. What does his character bring. Other than him sitting in front of a monitor (oh yeah, what happened about trying to get to the court 🙄) like some neanderthal, grunting at the screen, throwing a temper tantrum at the Lex trial.

We got those scenes by him edited in, but nothing from Kelly and Alex that would've been far more impactful and emotional for the main audience.

William is utterly pointless.

Lex - to sum it up, I love Jon Cryer. I love his version of Lex Luthor.

I am so done with his villainous monologues and looks. It is not the damn Lex Luthor show. How do they not know this, even now. Episode one, I thought it was okay, but this episode - enough already.

Which brings me to Andrea. Look, I love Julie, and I've no issue with Andrea as a character per se, but already I'm sensing that Andrea is drifting towards the same fate as William, of being surplus to requirements.

These are my immediate thoughts on the episode. I know many more will go through my mind as I think on it, but right now - thank fuck that wasn't the season opener as planned, because I would've easily turned off.

The only thing keeping me going so far, is knowing that we are getting more action as Superfriends in general, plus we know Jon didn't film for much longer. Even if we are supposed to be getting Lex back in 5b for an undetermined amount of time. God helps us all.

Oh I almost forgot - Kara delivering that speech knowing what it is like to lose everyone you love. I've got no clue what she was referencing there. Not. A. One. Nothing we know from previous seasons fits the actual dialogue she gave. So many choices could've been made, and yet we got more confusion over what she was referring to.

Last thought, since we know Nia is involved with Brainy in the upcoming Midvale episodes, I'm wondering if that scene at The Tower with Brainy, Dreamer had is a precursor to the Midvale episodes but she didn't realise it, because of the circumstances of why she saw it? I guess we wait and see.

Do better Supergirl. Jesus, the writing alone this episode. I see better consistency with fanfic writers. Netflix has SG if you need to check on things, and failing that, Google is only a few keystrokes away to the answer.

Let's hope this improves because if it carries on in this vein, watch viewing numbers plummet again.

Unedited by me before posting, so apologies for any errors.

Oh shit. I forgot to add. I'm also sick and tired of Kelly shouldering everyone else. Kara was her friend too. Moreso her girlfriends sister. Not only has she now been told who Kara is, the impact that has isn't just on Alex.

Is it this unconscious bias that Black women are strong and should carry every burden? Because that's how it comes across to me.

I want Nia or Lena even being there for Kelly FFS.

[handlewithkara]

Supergirl spoiler roundup

Lex/Nyxly

"Lex is not only returning, but he's finally going to fall in love with a character who is his equal, who might be named Nyxly [Peta Sergeant],  "They're just deliciously evil and powerful and surprising," says Queller of Cryer and Sergeant's on-screen dynamic. "It's just wonderful."  "[This] allows us to explore new ground for Lex this season, as well. It was fun to see Lex in a new light."

“One of the things we’re excited about is that Lex and Nyxly are gonna team up in a, not only a world domination way, but a love story,” Rovner revealed to TheWrap. “So we’re excited to see that.” “Lex is gonna finally fall in love with his equal,” Queller said.

I still strongly suspect that this is not going to be a genuine love story, but something done calculatingly to attain the token of love. The question is whether this is Lex poisoning Nyxly, Nyxly poisoning Lex or them doing it together, mutually. 

Okay, this is a big lean, but genuinely, I’ll eat a hat if that “love” happens without some sort of magic manipulation being involved on at least one side. Considering they speak of Lex falling in love I hope it’s Nyxly poisoning Lex. Because even though “Lex sees powerful creature, Lex magics Nyxly who hates what he stands for to love him so she will do what he says” seems completely in character for him, I really, really, really, really don’t want the last arc of the show being around Lex roofying/date raping Nyxly. 

But yes, even if the “love” between them is really of magical origin, their obsession with Lex and continued interest in exploring new sides of him (when they could be doing that with you know Kara? Alex? The leads of the show?) continued to be blegh. 

Lena

"We wanted to explore new territory for Lena, but also to show Lena's growth over the series, but also the season as she wrestles with balancing the scientific part of her with the magical part of her. How does she redefine herself on her own terms?" says Rovner. "As we were looking at the season and the villain that we were up against, who was of magic, it felt important that we have somebody on our team that could help with that."

"I think in the journey of Lena learning to trust herself and her intuition that it seemed like an apt metaphor," she says. "She's always over-compensated with her brilliant intellect, but the more that she is able to let go and trust her deep friendships and trust herself, there seemed like something very potent in giving her these magical, intuitive, innate powers in deepening her character."

@peggystormborn   I think the emphasis of innate powers is another strong indicator that Lena will keep her powers by the end, that it is about accepting her powers. It’s really interesting how in a way the show has basically removed all of Lena’s signature character signifyers. She apparently has lost the company and with the focus on magic maybe she no longer wants to return to it and instead focuses on something else, now the show moves her away from her science background towards magic and honestly in this interview borderline portrays science as a bad thing and that Lena’s journey is about rejecting science and embracing intuition, and we have Katie saying things like  'You know what? I'm Lena. I'm not Lena Luthor. I am my own person.' (which personally I kind of approve of, why bother redeem the Luthor name if the Luthors are assholes (same reason why I never saw a purpose in “redeeming” the monarchy of Daxam, fuck ‘em, let ‘em burn, nothing of value was lost) though I would laugh my ass off if the show ended with Lena going “you know what? I go by Lena Walsh now”. 

The other interesting part is the friendships in plural. I wonder if that will mean Nia, Alex, Brainy or Andrea (or even William?) other than presumably Kara. (in my mind Andrea is the only one that could maybe count as a deep friendship since to me the friendships with Nia or Alex still feel pretty new and shallow, but that’s just me)

Acrata

“What we can say about Acrata is that, in her quest for getting further embedded in the Super Friends, you know, she causes a bit of trouble,” Rovner said.

The word choice of embedded is very odd for what should be more like “finding out more information”. I guess she embedds William deeper into the Superfriends? Still, weird word choice. 

The totems

"Each gauntlet will make our characters face different things that are thematic to what the totem represents," says Rovner. "So, they really push our characters in very interesting ways — especially on top of that dealing with a magical character like Nyxly. [In the previous episode], Supergirl declares she would use whatever power she can to defeat her. [Kara] trying to find that power is something that she will be forced to reckon with as the season progresses."

"The courage totem is very complicated because what some characters might consider courage is not what the gauntlet is looking for," Queller teases. "Courage comes in many surprising forms, so I think we had a lot of fun defining what courage means for each character."

This strongly suggests that the tests won’t all be passed by Kara herself because of the wording of “our characters”.

I wonder if that stuff about power means that Kara will be given the chance to use some powerful magic stuff against Nyxly but has to reject it, or whether this is going to be typical “Kara realizes that friendship and bravery is a greater power than magic!”

https://www.thewrap.com/supergirl-showrunners-reveal-lex-luthor-nyxly-romance/

https://ew.com/tv/supergirl-season-6-lex-luthor-love-interest-nyxly/

(I focused on the sections that contain actual quotes from the writers and omitted the part that is just the publications recapping or summing up which I take to often be their take on things rather than necessarily what the writers have said) 

[dtowngurl4488]

SUPERGIRL 6x02 - WHAT THE ACTUAL F$@K?!

I am a Supergirl & Dansen fan and I am beyond PISSED off. So I'm going to rant and vent and whoever has an issue can suck it.

Season after season has gotten progressively worse and worse in the writing department on the show. When I say I absolutely love and adore Supergirl, I mean it and my unwaveringly favorite thing about it are Alex and Kara Danvers and the beautiful bond they have as sisters which for the longest time was the cornerstone and heart of the show. But for several seasons now that's hasn't been to the case at all.

I like many others became instantly enamored with Lena Luthor the moment she appeared on the screen so believe me I get it. What I realized in season 5 which was highlighted in tonight's episode, I have no more capacity for Luthor family problems. Their family drama sucks up so much space that it's overwhelming and drives me crazy. Lex has long since worn out his welcome no matter how well Jon Cryer plays him, Lillian though she serves pretty good one liners typically doesn't offer must to move the story along, and as beautiful and brilliant as Lena may be she's not the hero of the show nor the only smart person and it gets quite tiresome the way she's used as the ultimate problem solver. Ultimately, I just want Kara to be the focal point of her own show again, she's been feeling like a side character for a while now. But that's a rant for another day. Can we just be done with Lex already?!?

Tonight's episode had such great potential to allow the actors to really show off what they could do with angsty emotional content. We all know that Katie, Chyler, David and Azie are more than capable of delivering great performances. And the fact that Alex has seemingly told Kelly about Kara being Supergirl off-screen is beyond disappointing when so much of their relationship has already happened off screen. At this point it's more than clear to me that their relationship is simply for sure and serves no deeper purpose then to check off an item from the representation checklist. I shouldn't have been surprised but I was and it was like a slap in the face. I don't even believe it'll end up in the deleted scenes of the DVD, I genuinely feel like it just wasn't written and was never intended to be anything other than an idea. But only time will tell whether I'm wrong or not.

I definitely could have lived without the random William product placements. I don't even have an actual problem with the character in general, I'm pretty indifferent to him but there was absolutely no reason for him in this episode. I'll admit I do love Andrea and generally enjoy her anytime she's on the screen but once again in this episode there was really not much reason for any of the Catco scenes.

And I'm sure I may be one of a very few people who would even think of this but I can only imagine how long it's gonna take before there's a scene where someone preferably Alex realizes that Eliza needs to know that her child has been trapped in the phantom zone...again. And did anybody catch that they basically confirmed that Argo is still an existence?

I'm rambling and probably not making sense. I'm just angry...and tired. It's just so disappointing to be so attached to a show and it's characters that you watch it religiously all the while knowing that the writing is going to piss you off without fail on a weekly basis. But you watch it anyway because you love it and you want to support some of your favorite actors while they're still a small part of you that hope that somehow the writing will get better and things won't go even further off the rails.

[supergay-supergirl]

6x02 Recap: A Few Good Women

Setup

Kara is trapped in the Phantom Zone.

Lex is mortal and in jail. It's currently the day of his trial.

Alex tells Kelly offscreen that Kara is Supergirl.

Plot

There are pretty much three separate storylines in this episode, so I'll go through them one by one.

Jailbreak:

J'onn, M'gann, Alex, Brainy, and Nia find a vampiric alien from the planet Transilvane named Silas and ask for his help breaking into the Phantom Zone.

Silas succeeds in building a portal, but the Super Friends realize that because all the worlds combined in Crisis, the Phantom Zone is now made up of a range of vibrating frequencies that are impossible to search effectively.

Due to their hesitance, some Phantoms get out.

Dreamer, J'onn, and M'gann send the Phantoms back by combining their psychic forces.

At the end of the episode, Silas collapses and a Phantom comes out of his mouth. We realize the Super Friends didn't send all the Phantoms back.

The Phantom Zone:

In the Phantom Zone, Kara is attacked by Phantoms. She wakes up in a cave to find that her father, Zor-El, is alive and saved her.

Zor-El warns her that if she continues to resist the Phantoms, they will continue to torture her with her greatest fears and worst memories. Kara, being Kara, gives a badass hope speech and keeps trying anyway.

Kara and Zor-El realize that the Phantoms can create portals to get from place to place. They decide to capture a Phantom.

Lex's Trial:

Andrea asks Lena to speak on the record against Lex, but she refuses.

Eve Teschmacher testifies against Lex. It all seems to be going well. Unfortunately, Lex sucks.

Lex twists Eve's testimony against her by saying that as his spurned lover, she had the motive and means to commit these crimes and frame him. Her testimony is thrown out.

Lena makes a dramatic entrance into the courthouse and testifies against Lex. She provokes him into going off into a rage and essentially confessing to everything.

Unfortunately, the jury is exceedingly sexist and acquits Lex of all his crimes. Somehow.

Fallout

Lex is officially a free man.

However, Lillian sells Lena all her shares of Luthor Corp so that when Lex returns, Lena will retain control.

M'gann convinces J'onn to take things slow and steady, without letting his emotions get the best of him.

Alex, on the other hand, is not in a great place emotionally. She's desperate to get her sister back at all costs.

With Brainy's help, Nia is training to be able to divine Kara's location once they get to the Phantom Zone.

Nia seems to be moving up in CatCo too, as Andrea assigns her to cover Lex's trial alongside William.

Fun stuff, predictions and opinions under the cut.

Fun Stuff

Lex's cross-examination of Lena at the trial parallels the famous courtroom scene in A Few Good Men, the movie this episode's title is based on. In A Few Good Men, the scene culminates with Daniel Kaffee asking, "Did you order the code red?" and Col. Jessep responding, "You're goddamn right I did!" In A Few Good Women, Lena asks, "So you think you can just take credit for my work?" and Lex responds, "You're damn right I can!"

Silas canonically has a husband, leading to a lovely 100% gay scene between Alex, Kelly, and Silas. The gays are winning.

The captions and Netflix episode titles spell Eve's surname "Tessmacher," but it's usually spelled "Teschmacher," so... I don't know what's up there.

Predictions

I think next episode, Kara and the Super Friends are going to make contact and almost break Kara out, but fail.

Lillian has been on Lena's side all through episodes 1 and 2. I don't think Lillian will ever fully join the Super Friends, but I can see her helping them out sometimes and definitely continuing to support Lena.

Now that we know both of Kara's parents are alive, Kara and Zor-El might go to Argo City permanently at the end of the series.

Opinions

I was pleasantly surprised by this episode! It hit a lot of the right places emotionally, and it built on character development from season 5 in a surprisingly well-put-together way. I was specifically impressed with Lena's bold decision to put herself on the line—against Lex, may I add—for the greater good. Lena taking accountability for her actions and choosing to do the right thing has been building for a long time now, so it's nice to see that arc come to a head. Eve's testimony also felt like a culmination of her turmoil over the last two seasons, and it was powerfully delivered!

The one confusion I had was how Lex got cleared of all charges with so much evidence against him. I guess they wanted to keep him as the main villain, which... I'm torn on. On the one hand, he's a good villain and Jon Cryer absolutely brings it, but on the other hand, I'm kind of tired of him by now? Some new blood would be nice. Maybe some delegate villains like Lillian had in season 2.

I was also surprised that they didn't include Alex telling Kelly about Kara's secret identity, but I kind of get it. Kelly's 1) already working closely with the DEO / Supergirl and 2) super understanding, so the scene wouldn't showcase any sort of change or progress. Still, it's weird that they didn't even mention it.

I think Kara's character is going exactly where it's been leading: still a paragon of hope, still unwilling to back down, but far more grounded in herself and in reality. Supergirl, but adult Supergirl. I loved her (short) hope speech to Zor-El. I didn't think she was going to get a major storyline in the Phantom Zone, so that's exciting!

Also: *chanting* Rojascorp. Rojascorp. Rojascorp. They had vibes, y'all.

Rating: 8.5/10 Purple Line: "The House of El is meant for more than that." Final Word: They're doing it right!

You can find all my recaps here.

[wildestschemmentis]

things that wont happen in s6 because those showrunners are all tell and no show but were hinted in the finale (and probably there were more hints in 5x20 but now we only see it next year)

- kara not being nerfed anymore. 

- if they insist in the whole obsidian tech thing being shoved down our throats then get rid of catco and make kara act as a freelancer reporter.

- Lena FINALLY being on the team as the scientist and somehow the hacker (she found eve by hacking some shit) while brainy is lost somewhere and the team needs to find him

- lilian luthor actually becoming the red queen from the checkmate (that dc organization) and thats the reason they made lena say ‘’well, its not checkmate yet)

- the show ACTUALLY dropping andrea and william as characters because those actors deserve better.

- the tower and lena’s lab becoming the same thing (a more cool version of star labs if you ask me) and kara and lena really working together.

- alex having a cool character arc as a vigilante and kelly having a good storyline too. more of them as individuals and a couple.

- the show finally adressing the fact that kara and lena need therapy. this being mentioned. them going. alone. and together.

- supercorp being canon is not just a option for them anymore. its something that needs to happen to keep people interested. no one is here for kara and william or lena and a character who is in reality a retcon of her backstory. 

- nia actually being envolved in the history again like she was in s4 and not just showing up in random times. brainia being the strong straight couple the show needs. 

- if they somehow want to keep Jon Cryer around (over the fact that brenda would be a regular) i’m fine w/ it if they dose lex’s screentime.

- i would be cool with a regular villain. if we only have two more seasons left, let it be the checkmate thing. 

[scottishaccentsareawesome]

(This was originally gonna just be an Ask for my buddy @xdawnofthestarsx cuz I squeal with excitement and complain about everything Flarrowverse-related with her, but i realized it would be too long and I wouldn’t be able to fit it all in one Ask, so now it’s a post.)

So I finally got caught up on the last 3 eps of Supergirl today (which also means I am ALL CAUGHT UP on  Flarrowverse shows! YAY!) and BOY, do I have some thoughts....

- First of all, I cannot give enough props to Jon Cryer, because he is awesome as Lex Luthor. When i first heard he’d been cast as Lex last season, I was like “???? Alan from “Two and a Half Men? Ducky from “Pretty in Pink”? Nice Guy Jon Cryer, really????” But he’s SO GOOD at being Lex...!

- ...Case in point, my God, I hate Lex. But what I’m wondering about Lex is that, since he’s in Supergirl, is he going to leave to be on Superman and Lois? Because he is SUPERMAN’S archnemesis over anyone else, right? Just seems logical that he should make the move over to that show.

- I’m honestly not crazy about Alex turning into a formal superhero *ducks projectiles* HEAR ME OUT! It’s just that her everyday personnae was already so badass, it doesn’t seem like she NEEDS a superhero personnae...because she already pretty much IS one. (Although Kara’s excited scream when she saw the outfit was frickin’ adorable)

- I was SO PROUD and SO HAPPY when Kara finally tore into Lena for everything she put her through! She didn’t accept her apology right away and she is clearly still rebuilding her trust with her, and they are also clearly NOT automatically best friends again and I LOVE that because KARA DESERVES LENA TO FIGHT FOR HER FRIENDSHIP, DAMNIT!

- Although I did really like that moment when Lena was like “If you wanna get to Supergirl, you’ll have to go through me.”

- I honestly was kinda hoping William would get killed off. Sorry, he’s just kinda boring to me...

- ...That doesn’t mean I’m back on the Supercorp Train, though, cuz unfortunately I’m not. Honestly I got off that Train as soon as Kara met Kate Kane in “Elseworlds” <3 I hope Kara still flirts with the new Kate Kane but ahh, that chemistry Melissa and Ruby made was pure magic to me...

- The camera made a point to pan down to Lena holding the kryptonite she got from Andrea, and I DIDN’T SEE HER PUT IT DOWN....just sayin’. DOn’t you hurt my favourite Kryptonian again Lena!

[legends-of-shield]

This is going to be a long post about why I think this season of Supergirl has been less than satisfactory. And no, it has nothing to do with supercorp not being canon.

First of all, the writers totally retconned Lena as a character. While she has always shown sign of being morally grey, she also always wanted to be better than her family. She's also too smart to think that the stupid non nocere and taking away people's will would be the answer to make people stop hurting each other. I'm all about the conflict between Kara and Lena, I just think it has been poorly handled. Sure, we had some great scenes so far, including the reveal at the Pulitzer ceremony and the confrontation in the fortress, but again, they could have those, they could have Lena swaying to a world of hurt and anger and betrayal without making her have that stupid plan and completely assassinating her character.

Now forgetting this whole Lena and Kara conflict, we have Leviathan. A hero tv show is only as good as their villain and last season with Lex was proof of that. And this season, is honestly anyone interested in Leviathan? This plot is moving too slowly, no one cares about them and that doesn't make good television.

We have beloved characters being sidelined or, in Kelly's case, being demoted to only serve the purpose of being the love interest (which is what happened with Floriana, probably why she quit the show and the writers keep repeating the same mistakes). Nia is a very talented journalist and powerful hero and I feel as if we hardly seen her this season. Kelly probably had a total of 5 minutes screentime so far. And what happened to the heart of the show, Kara and Alex' relationship? I miss their sisterly camaraderie. I do gotta give props for the Brainy direction however, Jesse Rath is an amazing actor and his arc of joining Lex seems like the only interesting arc so far.

Another bad thing? Recycling storylines. Last season we had Lex pretending to be Earth's hero, people buying it and Kara doing whatever she can to expose him. This season we have, you guessed it, Lex pretending to be Earth's hero, people buying it and Kara wanting to expose him. Jon Cryer is amazing and he portrayed the best live version of Lex Luthor IMO, but this was not to best way to bring him back.

Then we have the whole William thing. Sure, it turns out he's not the bad guy we all thought he was and he was only a jerk so that he could get close to Andrea, but he still treated Kara like sh*t. And Kara told him that she would not forget his actions even if they were pretend. By trying to force them together, The CW is perpetuating the trope that women like and are attracted to guys that mistreat them and that is not a good example to set to their young audience. It's one thing to make Kara understand his reasoning and joining forces, it's another completely different story to make her forget everything William's put her through. Also their romance just feels forced, if the writers wanted so much to bring another LI couldn't they have at least developed their relationship first?

But what has bugged me about this season the most has been their treatment of Kara. She has lost so much, has been through hell more times than anyone could handle and the writers don't explore that. They hardly show that she has some deep issues. After watching Argo burn again the writers had the perfect opportunity to explore Kara's mental issues and anger but instead, it was treated like a mundane event. Sure, Argo was restored, the Earths were merged, but she still watched everything turn to dust, Kara remembers it, and as far as she knows, there is only one Earth left now, and just like that it's back to normal? You figured she'd need some therapy after everything that she has seen, Kara is an empathetic character and knowing how many lives are gone would take a huge toll on her. Legends of Tomorrow was the only show post crisis so far to have a character (Sara) show signs of PTSD, and yes, Legends - the show that is always making fun of itself was the one that handled the issue better.

Edit: I don't think #BoycottSupergirl is the answer, or acting entitled. We are fans and we need to respect the creative decisions of the writers, producers and show runners. If you're not enjoying the show, stop watching it or you can let them know, as long as you do it politely. Entitlement, bullying and hatred never got anyone far.

You know people with no power of the direction the show takes? Actors. I get that David Harewood has taken some things personally and is feeling attacked by the fandom, but that is only happening because of the vocal few that decided to blame him and as a consequence tarnished the entire fandom in his eyes. Is he also acting like a petty teenager? Yes, but because of that the fandom should be better. Another person not deserving of any hatred is Staz Nair, he has always been about female empowerment, was always sweet with the fans he engaged with. He is NOT to blame for the romance between Kara and William.

So please, if you want to have your voices heard, appeal to the producers and writers on Twitter, send letters to them. Just don't demand anything. When you make your case, be polite, tell them that the show is no longer about feminism. Tell them that they are encouraging a pattern of romanticizing toxic relationships, tell them anything really. Just don't be rude.

And remember, this whole boycott thing, if it works, could maybe get the show cancelled and there are a lot of young girls who still watch the show, some who have Supergirl as a way to escape the real world. We need to think of them and try to make the show better for them.

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

So 5x18...

...Well hot d*mn.

Man when Supergirl fires on all cylinders...HOO BOY.

Case in point: *gestures to all of 5x18*

To be clear: I liked this one.

A WHOLE LOT.

Not that I disliked 5x17, necessarily. It’s just that 5x18 was more... Entertaining? ...I dunno. I dunno how to explain it.

...Okay yes I do and that explanation is: Someone remarked on Kara’s use of language and Kara overcompensated on the ‘NOooOOooOO I’m totally 100% normal!’ AND there was a musical quote AND it was WHILE TEAMING UP WITH ALEX TO FOLLOW A LEAD.

But I’m getting ahead of myself let’s backtrack...

TO THE TOWER! WITH ALEX! NIA! KARA! AND M’GAAAAAANNNNN!!!!!!

June Foray voice: WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER?!?!?!

I know I’m not the first person to make that reference but it’s always fitting and, for real, recurring character status WHEN. (I mean. Obviously I would prefer series regular but that feels like a big ask considering that all future TV production is...uh. Ah. Erm....

...Up in the air. At the moment.)

And then we check in with the Luthors and Non Nocere isn’t working???

I am shocked! Shocked, I say!

And then we’ve got Obsidian doing something ill-advised which is basically the company’s MO at this point but KELLY AND WILLIAM ARE ON THE CASE REGARDLESS.

(So that’s kinda the one thing I’m sad about re: the Crisis reset; Andrea’s character development. But she’s sticking around for next season so I’m not too upset that she remains...kinda...one note for now.)

And THEN the library scene. 

It was so gooooood.

Then Leviathan and okay. Alright. Okay. Huge points in this episode’s favor: Rama Khan feels like a far more significant threat. And I feel like 80% of that is the fact that they just let him wear normal clothes. Thank you, show. Thank. You.

Also the rock effects were way better in this episode because they weren’t footing the bill for a giant crossover episode this time around

I am a little confused, though, by what has and has not happened with regards to Rama Khan on Earth Prime. Did the pre-Crisis stuff...happen? The dialogue...kinda made it hard to decide one way or the other. ‘He hasn’t been seen on this Earth for 100s of years’ but then also, ‘a chilly place you know quite well.’ So...he...did go to the Fortress. And fight Kara? But...all that stuff before Crisis...???

...Not gonna bother with that right now.

POINT IS...Leviathan is finally like...invested in killing Supergirl* and menacing in a very real way which both raises the stakes and makes it personal and that’s way more interesting than ‘nebulous evil organization that must be stopped.’

*I know they kinda sorta already did the whole, ‘let’s kill the Kryptonian!’ and invaded the Fortress but I don’t know what to tell ya, it was just lackluster.

J’ONN AND M’GAAAAAANNNNN

I am firmly in camp: I don’t care if they’re never green again I love seeing them in the super suits with their human faces IT’S GREAT.

Love that Nia’s snoring interrupts the moment.

Also love the deck of Rama Khan playing cards, that must’ve been a fun project for the graphic designers.

Then we’ve got William and Kara at CatCo and it’s baked goods! A hilarious line delivery by Staz! A ridiculous fabrication involving a shy, violent cat!

...Now I want Alex to actually own a shy, violent cat!

“Cats love me, for some reason.” “Of course they do.”

Side note: Love Kara’s blazer.

And then it’s ALIEEEEEENS TO THE RESCUE!

WHAT A TEAM UP, FOLKS.

We love to see it.

The interrogation scene is good n’ tense and ramps up to a very impressive showdown in the DEO (but BEFORE the sparks really start flying we get that rad shot of Kara leaping through the window and doing the superhero landing and it’s just

Perfection.)

Also perfect? Lex playing a game of transmatter pickle with the prisoners.

Then we jump back to the DEO where things are not going well!

Like, really really bad! 

But J’onn and M’gann save the day! If not the building!

RIP DEO. 2016-2020

Obituary: The DEO headquarters is survived by its elder sibling, the DEO desert base.

Look none of the favs work there anymore save for Kara and Brainy and they’re both gonna be better off working freelance for J’onn but I do expect Brainy to at least pick up some additional cash by working as a Lyft driver next season.

Me, watching the characters struggle to make it in the gig economy: I feel so seen.

The final portion of the episode is just ALL ACTING and I must say...good stuff.

Like. This cast, man. They take the plot points I’ve been ‘meh’ about all season and they turn in some stellar performances and suddenly I’m like STANDING OVATION, CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHERE THIS GOES.

Also, reason #342 I love Jon Cryer’s Lex: that scene with Lena.

Terrifying.

Full disclosure: I went in to this episode fully prepared to be really annoyed with whatever was going to happen with Lena and I still don’t...love the trajectory of this season, being so tied up in her personal drama but. 

But.

Katie McGrath’s performance...went an awful long way here. In making this...not as bad as it could have been.

Like tearfully admitting she was hurt? And that hurt was the basis of all the nonsense she pulled? Finally owning up to the fact that this was never truly about the greater good but that it was all rooted in some personal issues and OUTRIGHT STATING SHE WAS BEHAVING LIKE A VILLAIN????

I am. Extremely impressed.

EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE THOUGH: Kara remaining distant both physically and emotionally throughout that scene! Not in like, a cold uncaring way, but in a, ‘I have emotions and I have a right to feel them and set boundaries in regards to my trusting you right now given all that has transpired’ kind of way.

GOOD. YES. GOOD.

(Lex’s outburst has that kind of same Nice Guy undertone--albeit more pronounced and rage-y--as Lena’s in the Fortress. Like, ‘I supported you and you still rejected my plot to take over the world’ and ‘I was kind to you and you still messed up my mind control’ which...I dunno I might just be digging in too deep here in order to further justify the character turn but I think Cryer’s performance regardless is a really sobering wake up call for Lena, different than Lex stuff we’ve seen before. It’s close and intense and uncomfortable in a way that really sells the motivation.)

“You’re a monster...but that doesn’t mean I have to be one too.”

Wow. Might be...the first time I’ve liked Lena all season.

...whispers: might be the first time I’ve liked her ever at all

For real: credit where it’s due, that was an excellent line read.

*insert applause here*

CUT TO ADORABLE J’ONN AND M’GANN MOMENT 

D’aaaawwwwwwwwww

But, look, it’s a little undermined by the fact that they both gotta try and embrace in those bulky super suits, I’m sorry, it’s true

...Maybe it’s more endearing that way?

HEY remember how I foolishly assumed that the now-unemployed Alex would simply continue to work with J’onn in an investigative capacity and, ya know, NOT jump straight back into costumed badassery? 

HA. HAHA HAHAAAA.

Those leaked set photos make sense now.

OH NO, WILLIAM!

Real glad Staz confirmed he’s returning. Otherwise I would not be able to DEAL WITH THE STRESS.

I already talked a little bit about the loft scene but some additional points! Beautiful lighting. Wonderful score. Excellent performances all around.

A truly great end to a truly great episode.

Like, it makes me retroactively sad, that we’re only getting 5x19, as opposed to 5x19 and 5x20 because I wish that the crew/writers/actors had a little more space to let all of this good work they’ve done settle and breathe. 

(But also, it was good that they stopped production, from a safety standpoint, so. Can’t be too upset.)

And, regardless of how the next episode goes down (b/c I’m gonna be real, SG always does really great set-ups for their season finales and then kinda...rushes to the finish line and that can only be further exacerbated in this particular case) I’m just really impressed with this effort here.  

...but also LET’S TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SOME WILD GUESSES. Specifically, what is Alex’s vigilante name gonna be??? 

...

Alright I generally try to avoid addressing specific fandom complaints in these things b/c I generally try to avoid the fandom itself but of course some stuff has already leaked through all of my blocks/muting so:

‘Lena didn’t apologize!’ The words ‘I’m sorry’ were not said, sure, but 1.) season’s not over and 2.) for Lena, admitting she was wrong is huge. HUUUUUUUGE. It’s solid character growth and I really wish various subsets of fandom would recognize that it’s not fun, when fans hold on to negative stuff from characters’ past and refuse to acknowledge that the characters have changed.

‘Brainy should have seen this coming!’ This one is kind of more down to personal preference I guess but I feel like they’ve established that Brainy’s got a bit of a blindspot due to his feelings about his friends, so I don’t take this as a knock against his intelligence so much as him being stretched fairly thin because he’s playing all sides, and worried about the people he loves. YMMV, though. 

All the ‘fix-it’ stuff re: the last scene, by making Kara immediately forgive Lena. Lose me with that nonsense, bleh. 

[cyclone-rachel]

long post about tonight’s episode, in no particular order

I can’t believe the Kryptonian witches were part of this episode? that was very interesting. how was that pitched. who thought of that.

the alien bar finally has a name! or an official one, at least! and it looks different!

Brainiacs! Pirate Brainy! Punk Brainy! OG Legion Brainy! Meaghan Brainy! I love them!

the Brainy and Kara scene was more than I ever could have asked for and I am so grateful that it exists

I wonder if doppelganger Winn calls himself the Dollmaker? because I know it was used on Arrow, but Winn used it as a screenname in the Adventures of Supergirl comic and it’s canonically the alias of Toyman’s son (who actually appeared in a couple issues of one of the more recent Supergirl series, before the new 52 I believe)

speaking of, I cannot wait to see our Winn interact with new Brainy. or evil Winn, for that matter. I am ready for the Winndox, thank you very much.

what happened to Hope the AI? I feel like this was probably to accommodate Andrea Brooks, but we can still have the Kari Wahlgren-voiced tabletop robot, can’t we?

I know I didn’t want Lex/the Luthors to take over the show, but gosh dang it, Jon Cryer and Brenda Strong are such good actors and they really own their scenes, and so does Katie McGrath

poor Brainy hasn’t been allowed to be himself since he was 8? holy shit

I really hope he gets a chance to kind of take some time alone and explore what being himself means

also gosh I want to know everything about his parents aaaand I may incorporate this into my season 2 rewrite fanfic

I love that Meaghan Brainy was married to a woman! that was really cool. I know her wife was probably Coluan, but like. just gonna pretend it’s Kara, thanks. And she was very wise and gave some good advice.

also DIRECTOR OF THE DEO I’M SORRY THAT IS GREAT. I wasn’t expecting it at all but I love it so much

not going to pretend that all the roasting of prime!Brainy was completely unwarranted, it was probably exactly what he needed to hear, even if he wasn’t happy about it

eyebrows! blonde wig! green skin! new uniform! normal voice! Brainiac symbol on his uniform, as a tribute to his fallen alternate universe selves instead of his family members!

this is like. the broken inhibitor thing, but next level, my skin is clear my crops are flourishing, the sun is not shining because it’s night but I’m so happy

Nia was very good and I like that we got to see her as a superhero again! it’s been a while, I’m proud of her

we got like 2 seconds of Kelly but she looked very pretty, and I went back and checked, and Alex definitely mentioned her among the people who got their memories back

and right after Alex mentioned Kelly, Kara said “all the heroes who helped in Crisis” so I’m taking that as Kara considering Kelly a hero, which is incredibly sweet

also that Alex and J’onn conversation was short but I still enjoyed it, and I also liked J’onn pointedly using the word “honor”

this is kind of an interesting twist on the mind-wipe situation from last year, with J’onn keeping memories from people for their own safety, I dig it

Andrea and Gamemnae working together is interesting, looking forward to seeing where that goes

I didn’t recognize the lyrics of the song playing in the bar at first, because I only know that song from the Jon Cozart parody

world in a bottle! that was pretty rad, even if of course also it was Not Cool at the same time. But yeah maybe there’ll be a good solar system somewhere for it, like what happened to Kandor in the LOSH cartoon series

so, all the Brainys that we see in this episode, including Meaghan’s version, are named Querl?

that’s cool, although I really like @ithinkthingsaboutstuff​‘s idea that her name would be Trok’fde, which means “pulling loyalties”, which would’ve incorporated well with her thing of setting Brainy up to work with Lex because otherwise would be disastrous, even though the last thing Kara wants to do is work with Lex, and pulling him away from his friends and loved ones

I’VE BEEN SAYING FOR 2 YEARS THAT COLUANS HAVE SAN JUNIPERO-STYLE TECHNOLOGY AND NOW I KNOW I’M RIGHT, THANK YOU

was v. confused about the anti-life equation thing, unless it was co-opted by Brainiac in this universe because Darkseid is officially off limits until after the New Gods movie

“my/our Brainy” was very cute and I really enjoyed Kara and Alex’s reactions to the different Brainys

“insensitive” again, love it (especially because this episode was also co-written by one of the 3x10 writers)

I especially liked how flustered Kara was by the multiple Brainys, that was cute, as was how 60s Brainy (the one with the yellow boots and Legion belt) reacted to her

It was interesting how William’s backstory was changed, but some things about it (I.E. Russell’s death) still stayed the same, I’m looking forward to seeing him and Kara doing their own secret investigation

how is that truth seeker still around?

also obviously Jesse and Meaghan’s acting was so good and I can’t believe we got so much of it. This episode was so much. I’m so happy. the Rath siblings are so wonderful. thank you. goodnight.

summary:

[karazor--el]

Melissa Benoist explains why directing Supergirl's Lex-centric hour was 'daunting'

Melissa Benoist explains why directing Supergirl's Lex-centric hour was 'daunting'

Supergirl

Supergirl definitely isn't complaining about her latest team-up with Lex Luthor.

This Sunday, The CW's Supergirl returns for the final run of season 5 with a Lex-centric episode that marks Melissa Benoist's long-awaited directorial debut. Benoist has been dying to get behind the camera since season 3, but wasn't able to until now because of scheduling conflicts. Luckily, it seems like it was well-worth the wait because she got to helm an episode that diverges from the show's usual structure and perspective, which she admits was initially quite daunting.

Cleverly titled "Deus Lex Machina," the flashback-heavy hour essentially starts on day one of the post-"Crisis on Infinite Earths" world and sheds light on all of Lex's (Jon Cryer) behind-the-scenes machinations we haven't been aware of — from manipulating Eve Teschmacher (Andrea Brooks) and his sister Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath), to pitting Supergirl against Leviathan. In other words, it's very similar to season 4's "O Brother, Where Art Thou," except this time around the criminal mastermind is trying his hardest to keep his Kryptonian hatred in check so that he can focus on defeating Leviathan.

Below, Benoist walks EW through her experience in the director's chair, working with Cryer, and the challenges of handling such an exposition-heavy episode.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What jumped out at you from a directing perspective when you read the script for the first time?

MELISSA BENOIST: Considering it was the first time in the director's chair for me, I think I'd be remiss if I didn't say how terrified I was. That just went without saying, that I was scared, but reading it also had this thrilling aspect to it because I was going to get to be the one to visualize it and make sure the tone was coming across. I guess only since season 4, we've had these episodes that were a departure from the story and took a step back and gave us Lex Luthor's point of view, and this is one of those episodes. So, I couldn't believe how lucky I was that I got to be the teller of that particular story for our season, where we recap the entire season from Lex Luthor, Jon Cryer's eyes. And I was very excited to get to work with him closely in an actor-director relationship. Aside from the initial terror, and wondering whether or not I was capable of doing it, I was so excited and immediately just imagining what I wanted to do and thinking of shots.

How would you describe the tone of the episode?

Tonally, it's difficult on these kinds of shows when an episode is from the perspective of our, for lack of a better term, villain, and he is one of the ultimate villains in the DC Universe. So I wanted to keep the tone light enough while still having that dark, macabre Luthor feeling to it. I wanted it to still feel like an adventure, like an episode of Supergirl, and he was the hero for our episode, whether you hate him or not. But it's hard to hate Lex Luthor, he's so delicious.

By nature, this episode is very expository because it’s explaining the season from his perspective. What challenges came with that?

I'm glad you pointed that out because that exact point was the most challenging aspect and the most daunting one because there are a lot of time jumps that let the audience follow Lex as he [learns about Earth-Prime]. It starts the day after Crisis. So in the way that we had Kara Danvers wake up after Crisis in her loft and it was this new world, Earth-Prime, this is Lex's telling of that. So, we time jump a lot, there's a lot of exposition, exactly, a lot of themes that we had to catch people up on. So that was a little daunting to make sure that yes, it was expository and informing the audience what they needed to know to understand, but also keeping it moving and entertaining and not just feeling like an encyclopedia, if you will.

One thing that stood out to me when I watched it was that it’s mainly built around scenes in which Lex is having one-on-one conversations with someone like Eve and Lena, often manipulating them. What was it like to work with Jon on those scenes?

I mean, that was the dream. Working with Jon Cryer, I felt so spoiled rotten that he was the primary actor I was getting to work with, and the cast surrounding him too, because we get to see Eve Teschmacher and Lillian Luthor [Brenda Strong] make [their returns]. All these characters that kind of surround his orbit, they're all so deft when it comes to those kinds of scenes where it's really wordy and talkative. He's an evil genius and manipulative, so I had to really keep track of who he was manipulating when and for what reason [Laughs] to make sure that each scene was really clear where it fit into his master plans and where it was taking us, and how it affected the super friends. But working with him, he's just so smart and far more experienced than I as an actor. Honestly, I felt bad. I didn't feel like I really needed to give him that much direction. It was more just playing, which I loved, and that's part of the reason I love being an actor — when you get to really just bite into the words and what's on the page and really play, and there's no wrong answer within the arc you're telling.

The photos from the episode revealed that Kara and Lena finally share a scene together, which they haven’t done since the 100th episode. What can we expect from their interaction?

I don't know how much I can say about how Lena and Kara interact, but they do and it's the first time we've seen them interact in a while. I think people will be excited to see the scenes between Kara and Lena, and that Lena does play a big part, obviously, because this episode revolves around her brother. There's quite a bit of Lena Luthor in there.

A lot of Arrowverse stars have directed episodes: David Harewood, Katie Cassidy, and Caity Lotz. Did you get any advice from them?

Of course. David Ramsey, as well has been really helpful. These shows are so specifically involved as actors already, the schedules are grueling, we’re there so much and we all get to know these so well. we spent a lot of time with each other on a crossover, so I did get quite a bit of advice from David of course. He gave me book recommendations and just every day we would kind of talk, especially when he was directing. I got to watch him and he has such a great fun, positive directing vibe about him. I didn't get to talk to Katie Cassidy much about it, but everyone was very supportive and excited and everyone has great ideas.

How did you feel your experience as an actor influenced your directing approach?

Well, I think, just innately, we approach the script a certain way just without even thinking about it. Thinking about tonally what emotions are there or what is driving a character, our objectives and our goals. But more than that, just for this show specifically, I feel like it's become a second skin and I've spent so much time with the characters, not just the ones I play. So it’s almost a little unfair because since day one, I've just seen how each character's arc has progressed and changed, and grown. So that really informed my approach to it all. And really we all just want to tell good stories, and that was my main focus the whole time.

Supergirl airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on The CW.

EW.

[buddha-in-disguise]

I've been around fandoms for several decades now. Both before the internet, through the earliest days of internet fandom, to the present day.

I can genuinely say, the way Supergirl treats its fans, especially the LGBTQ or BIPOC fans as a whole, has been the worst by some margin. Particularly in regards Supercorp in terms of queerbaiting.

Whether those involved in the production of Supergirl want to admit it or not, Supergirl as it stands has been queerbaiting a large portion of the audience. Without a doubt, in terms of a ship, the largest core group of fans there is for Supercorp, and by some margin.

Have there been some fans who have taken things too far? Absolutely. And every good SC fan I know recognise and understand this, and constantly say this.

Yet somehow, an entire fandom gets tarred with the same brush continually.

But worse still, when anyone tries to address the queerbaiting that has gone on with someone who works on the show, other than the women in general, Jon Cryer (who could teach those BTS of SG a lot on how to engage with fans on SM, and not piss off swathes of fans), and Jesse, there are few instances I can think of where it then hasn't resulted in SC fans getting dumped on, or called delusional, or basically saying it isn't there.

Here's the thing.

As LGBTQ fans, the majority of us - especially the older ones like myself - know exactly what queerbaiting is. How do you think it even became recognised as a problem?

Because we called media out on it. The LGBTQ audiences defined it, via our experiences. So we know exactly what queerbaiting is thank you. We don't need to be told it isn't there or isn't something going on - because we are the ones who wrote up the damn definition!

In all my years of fandoms, never have I seen queerbaiting on the scale Supergirl use. Season 5 - especially 5a - brought the queerbaiting to a whole new level.

So many of us now dread S6, because S5 was so bad in a multitude of ways for the LGBTQ audience, including but not exclusively Supercorp queerbaiting.

And I don't speak for all SC fans, but I do see a lot like me are caught in a conundrum. We all love the majority of the cast. Particularly the women. Sure we all have favourites, but also as a whole, the female cast is loved and respected.

Here's my dilemma. I want to support the female cast. Hell I was a Chyler, Katie and Azie fan long before Supergirl, and have grown to love Melissa, Andrea and Nicole particularly. Nicole as a transgender women especially holds a place dear to us. I will support them all beyond Supergirl.

As S6 will begin filming, I want nothing more than to show them I love, support and care for them. But then I'm at the point where I want to just tell the show to go jump, because they've sucked all the enjoyment I had out of it for me. When you actually dread what the next week might bring, that is not what any show should be about. Yet here I find myself dreading what the show might bring.

I also am questioning do The CW even care about Supergirl any more, especially as they finally got Superman, which they've coveted for years, and made no secret of it.

They seem to forget that Supergirl and Superman have two pretty distinct fans. I like Superman, but I love Supergirl. I'm also just a little bit done with all the iterations of Superman we've had on screen.

Supergirl has always struggled on the social media side of fan engagement as well. Not once have I seen a showrunner actively engage with the audience. Or at least, if they have it was a long time ago. The current showrunners definitely haven't. Hell, one doesn't even have a SM account.

But even if a showrunner or others involved in the show don't engage, when others do, it becomes a nightmare. The last 6 or 7 hours are a case in point.

Again, yes some fans take it too far where Supercorp is involved. Yet, once again, rather than just stepping away, a writer got embroiled into something that didn't need to happen, because they gave out conflicting tweets on replies to fans over Supercorp, and then began blocking fans who were polite and respectful and did absolutely nothing to warrant a block.

Then they also liked a post that called SC fans dicks.

Yet somehow again, we are all the bad guys.

I've no doubt that they felt overwhelmed on how the reactions went. I truly do. But I really don't understand why anyone doesn't just step back. Put out a polite post saying it's all getting a bit too much, and they need to disengage. I think each and every decent fan would understand and respect that. I know I would.

But here's the thing.

Ultimately the writer shouldn't be in that position of trying to answer fans on it all. Nor should they dismiss fans who say it is queerbaiting, if they're not LGBTQ themselves.

The problem is Supergirl social media is so lacking, it places a higher burden on writers and others instead. That is on the show. Entirely.

I also have to question just how diverse is the writers room? Having a number of women, if they are White and cis, when you have a cast of characters who are LGBTQ and/or Black or POC, is not having a good diverse writers room. And it shows.

If you say there is no queerbaiting, but not LGBTQ, you need to stop trying to redefine what is accepted queerbaiting.

If someone says it is a gay agenda, you need to stop with that, because that is homophobic. End of. That's no different that being racist if you write it is a Black agenda.

Supergirl put themselves in this position.

I've had family watch Supergirl with no preconceptions on characters suddenly say: I see something between Kara and Lena. Are they together? And being astounded when not only do they realise they're not together, that they actually have 4 seasons of this and counting.

This has come from straight family. Or my very gay, very into men brother in law.

If others see it who aren't involved as Supercorp fans, who might even be straight - that is queerbaiting.

But here's the thing. It shouldn't need us to say others see it too. If a large segment of audience see it, say it is there, pull out receipts to show why they are saying that time and again, that should be enough.

Yet it isn't.

As much as it pains me - I sense now The CW has Superman, they're going to let Supergirl go by end of S6. I'd be more surprised if they announce a 7th season than not.

Whatever decisions on the shows future they might be making, one thing is clear.

If they don't allow Supercorp to develop, and don't get rid of whatever homophobic block is going on for the show, Supergirl will be left with a legacy of being probably the worst example on queerbaiting your audience ever.

The 100 are still panned to this day over Clexa by LGBTQ fans.

Supergirl still have a chance, a choice to pull it around.

Sadly I doubt that will happen.

In the meantime, I'm stuck on wanting to stop watching the show, but wanting desperately to support the cast. That's the conundrum many of us now face.

The legacy Supergirl will leave is not going to be about empowering women if they don't change significantly for S6.

It will be how they queerbaited, how they dismissed the only full cast Black woman, worse still, who played an LGBTQ role. How they dismissed the LGBTQ as a whole.

Those are legacies that will not die away for LGBTQ fans. The CW in general has tainted itself with the LGBTQ audience in more than one show.

What a mess.

And it really wouldn't take much to avoid all of this. That's what is so disappointing. It is an easy fix.

Apologies for any typos/mistakes as I'm posting unedited.

[captaintroi]

Supergirl…. superdiving in originality.

As a lover of fantasy and sci-fi, it’s frustrating to often see the loss of potential in storylines, when shows can have almost anything happen.....particularly because they are fantasy and sci-fi.  The rushed ending for Game of Thrones was one huge disappointment.....but I’ll leave that for another time.  

Supergirl I fear is heading down the same path as GOT....it stands to disappoint a large fan base not just because of their controversial treatment of the Lena/Kara relationship, but because they are starting to lose originality.  Two characters are making this latest season 5 appear disjointed, the storylines to accommodate are spinning in every direction with no hope of reaching a satisfactory conclusion simply because Lex and William are taking up valuable screentime.  Jon Cryer is excellent in the role but basically, he is a Superman villain so the obsession with him is starting to show lack of originality. To be frank, his entire inclusion in the Crisis was pointless as they could have found a way to bring him back for the Superman and Lois intro, then have them all migrate to that show.  Instead, we have this storyline with no continuation of the so-called “fight for Lena’s soul” Lex all over the place, and as head of DEO removing Alex from badass action,  sidelining Kelly, making Brainy some weird emotionless 007 (instead of cute dorky self) separating him from Nia and thereby making her disappear..... since William has also taken her role as Kara’s sidekick. 

Also, let’s not even mention Andrea who should have had the focus Lex is getting. Her whole Obsidian North plot is going nowhere and Leviathan is a joke!  Then just to add some insult to the obvious baiting of the Lena/Kara dynamics the show loves to dance around.....we have William, a boring character with no purpose except to be the random guy they throw at Kara.  By now it should be obvious William and Kara have no chemistry....in-fact it’s cringe-worthy!  At least there was some chemistry with James and the initial-friendship with Kara wanting what she saw he and Lucy had.  Then with Mon-El the comedic chemistry was fantastic it was impossible not to laugh at their funny alien scenes, (and he had a story!!!!). However, William is just bland and that is because he has no other storyline, not the actor’s fault. The logical thing at this point (since I don’t think they can salvage season 5), is to just adapt his story to somehow involve Andrea who should by Season 6 start to emerge as Acrata.  Ideally, if they can’t figure out what to do with him, they should write him out because he serves no purpose and is taking valuable screen-time. 

In addition, the forced relationship with Kara is beyond fake, and so obviously a tool to divert attention from the writers having to tackle what they have ‘baited’ with Lena.  Having said that, I understand they can’t just toss him, and it’s not his fault, but for heaven’s sake course correct this character and recognize he is not right for a romantic story with the lead.  Supergirl is a hero...she is better off single than paired up with a random dull character for the sake of having a guy.  If they are so concerned with her image, they should think about the terrible message they are sending young girls...saying she’s nothing without a boyfriend.....any boyfriend will do....how sad in 2020!!  The writers need to understand that creating something or being an artist means you have to accept criticism too, and if a large number of the fans that make your show a success are not happy with your direction....it would be wise to consider why and try to understand their reasoning, instead of dismissing them.  Taking the pulse so to speak of your fanbase, is a rather important consideration if your goal is to continue for a few more seasons. 

[aion-rsa]

Supergirl: Is Supercorp Endgame or Not?

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This SUPERGIRL article contains spoilers for Season 6, Episode 17, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.”

Supergirl Season 6 Episode 17

At this point, with the Love totem upon us, we have to address the ‘ship-shaped elephant in the room. Is Supergirl actually going to go full-Supercorp on us? And if not, why spend so much of this final season queerbaiting the audience? Surely a better PR strategy would have included simpler measures, like continuing the kind of promotion Supergirl enjoyed during previous seasons.

Several times an episode, Lena and Kara have the kind of meaningful moments usually reserved for love interests. They share knowing glances, shout the same answer simultaneously, grow visibly concerned for one another’s safety, show off for each other, and wrestle with the big important issues of the episode. In this episode, we get Lena being shocked that Kara left CatCo (“But being a journalist is part of who you are!”), Lena stepping up to thwart Nyxly, and Kara encouraging the witch-in-training in her attempt to use her magic in spite of the threat Lex poses to her emotional wellbeing. When Kara decides to use the totems as weapons, it’s Lena she turns to in order to make sure her humanity is safe. In the end, when Lena comes to the tower to celebrate their victory and Alex & Kelly’s engagement, the pair make it clear how the day was won: Lena protected Kara, and Kara protected everyone else. If that’s not a leading couple, what is?

Apparently, Lex and Nyxly. Maybe. Luckily it wasn’t Lex and Nyxly’s retroactive (preemptive?) rekindling of feelings that drew the love totem, but it is worth considering that Supergirl is going out of its way to give Lex a romance here, and a possible happy ending. Love interests can be a way to redeem a villain, especially one as beloved as Jon Cryer’s Lex Luthor (who is actually already beloved on this planet in this timeline/universe, even if not by Supergirl, William, and Andrea.) It’s fun to watch Lex pout and the sheer absurdity of him going gaga for matching tracking devices is entertaining, but the idea that literally any two straight people can be thrown together at any time, with little or no pretense, yet two people with so much love, loyalty, and chemistry can’t be together because they’re both women and we’re maxed out on gays would be a frustrating way to end the inclusive series.

Meta messaging aside, loving someone else is really the only reason Lex would ever change. After all, it was only his love for Lena that ever left him compromised, and now that he has apparently found his equal, he’s bragging that sending Supergirl to the Phantom Zone was some of his best work, getting worked up over being rejected, and fixing her crystal ball. The fact that Nyxly hates men in general, deceivers especially, and men who send women to the Phantom Zone in particular is perfect, and sets up act one of a strange little time-traveling, interdimensional romance. It’s easy to assume Lex is up to something here, and he does love toxic relationships, but he also made a real sacrifice for Nyxly by saving her life instead of protecting the totem. She begrudgingly agreed to be friends, but Lex back on his heels and doing things like feebly saying, “uh…I love you,” to an empty room is hilarious, so here’s hoping the imp keeps him guessing a little while longer.

Thankfully, the prime couple spot of the episode belongs to Alex and Kelly, who had their fair share of adorable moments, starting with Alex, Kara, and J’onn giggling about the engagement ring and Esme helping Alex plan her proposal. The fact that Kelly had the exact same plan is a sweet way to resolve the episode’s true nail-baiting mystery of who managed to book Al’s. And of course it’s always fun to see a reminder of the fact that the couple who heroes together, stays together.

Brainy and Nia were mostly in the background of this episode (yet another couple that makes a bit more sense than Lex and…anyone) but the writers set up some interesting directions here. Brainy had a visceral reaction to Lex’s arrival, the most drastic one other than Lena’s. Lex was hiding out in the future, but Brainy still spends the entire episode hesitating to call his Legion buddies for intel. Bringing back Brainy’s shaken trust in himself makes sense – his rigid adherence to logic and the future led him down a dark path the last time he mixed Lex Luthor and news about the fate of the world. But Nia is right: the best way out is trust. Keep everything above board and tell his teammates everything.

What’s more concerning is the direction Kara’s headed in. During the back half of the season she’s repeatedly come to crossroads and decided that the riskier, more violent, less hopeful road was the correct way, deviating from the values we know she holds dear. Time and again Kara stares into the abyss and decides to move toward it, and this time she wants to use all the totems, doubling down on violence and using a lot of rhetoric about “war” and “firepower” that sounds entirely unlike her. She’s clearly aware of this departure, since her phantom dream was about losing her humanity. However she apparently decided that using these implements of violence will be fine in her hands because she’s a good person and she has her family, including Lena, who will pull her back. It’s…a theory, but not one that sounds much like the Supergirl of the previous five seasons.

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In other news, overbearing boss Andrea is back in a catsuit and hopefully reading I Love Lexie’s diary as she looks for evidence to steal. Perennial gentleman-in-distress William has either flipped Lex’s longsuffering henchman-cum-board member into being a valuable source, or he’s going to need to be rescued yet again. Don’t forget that Kara still hasn’t passed the Courage gauntlet, and it turns out that the Hope gauntlet isn’t gone after all. Thanks to Lex we know you can destroy the shell, but the essence will flow into something new. And the new Love totem is, fittingly enough, Esme herself. Rut roh.

The post Supergirl: Is Supercorp Endgame or Not? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[supergay-supergirl]

why supergirl season 5 was actually good: sort of an essay

This has been sitting in my sticky notes for months and I figured now that I have a Supergirl blog, I can actually post it.

People love hating on Supergirl Season 5. And I get it. I admit that it had a lot of problems. But I did like the season overall, and there's enough out there about Season 5’s problems, so here is a post about some things that were great about Season 5!

1. Lena’s Arc

Apparently everyone hates how this was executed, but I really liked it. I like how 5A allows her to scheme and lie and altogether explore the darker (Luthor) side of herself, because only after experiencing what she’s been afraid of becoming can she fully come to know herself. I like how in 5x07, she gets to scream and cry, to express to Supergirl how much she’s hurting, and how betrayed she feels. I like how in 5x13, Kara finally accepts that Lena joining Lex was not her fault, and that she didn’t deserve to be manipulated (“From now on, you’re accountable for your own actions.”). I like Lena’s growing obsession with erasing human pain through 5B and the fact that we know exactly where her motivations come from, and we feel for her because we’ve seen how much pain she’s in herself -- but at the same time, we can still oppose her ultimately villainous actions, which leads us to hope for her redemption. (A lot of this is due to Katie McGrath’s stellar acting as well.)

I love how the season shows just how much Lex’s continual abuse and manipulation affects her, and shows her standing up to him at the end. I wish they had focused more on Lena instead of pushing her aside in favor of Lex in 5B, but overall I liked how they expanded on the Luthor sibling relationship from Season 4, even if it was missing some of the complexity of the previous season. And finally, I love the way Lena fights so hard to regain Kara’s trust in 5x19 (and succeeds!). It felt like there was more of a balance between the two starting from 5x13, where previously it had always been Kara apologizing and trying to gain Lena’s trust.

2. Supergirl’s New Look

PANTS. PANTS. PANTS. PANTS.

For Season 4, Kara the Reporter got a more professional wardrobe as she began to mentor Nia, and the switch to pants feels like the same thing for Supergirl. It completes the transition from “young adult” to just “adult.” It may have been reasonable to call Kara a “girl” in Season 1, but by now, she is an adult woman, and I’m glad that her wardrobe reflects that.

I was opposed to Kara’s bangs at the beginning of the season, but they have definitely grown on me. Like the pants, I think they mark an important change in Supergirl’s character, one that is better appreciated by the audience than the characters. Now, when I rewatch previous seasons, I think, “Wow, Kara looks so different now.” I didn’t think that when I rewatched episodes after Season 4. The bangs are a way to identify Adult Kara as having changed a lot from how she was at the beginning, and like the pants, I feel like they complete her transition into adulthood.

(But are the writers expecting us to believe that nobody who knows Kara would be suspicious that Kara and Supergirl got bangs on the exact same day? Seriously.)

3. Eve Teschmacher

In Season 4, Eve Teschmacher was a brilliant, eager-to-please young woman who (whoops) turned out to be evil. And she was great. But I was dissatisfied with her betrayal because it came so out of the blue, and it was a complete 180 without much buildup at all. Season 5 gave her the humanity that she was lacking, first with her mom, then with her desperation not to have to kill. Not to mention, some pretty badass fight scenes.

4. J’onn’s Swagger

J’onn’s storyline in Season 5 is not nearly as deep as in Season 4, and I see that as a good thing. Season 4 J’onn was wonderful and necessary, but in a season that has a lot of strong development for Kara and Lena, it was nice to have a relatively static character who’s at a good place in his life. Season 4 let J’onn discover the man he wanted to be, and David Harewood brings a new confidence to Season 5 as a result of that. It’s fun to watch him strut around in his supersuit and say normal things as if they’re great proclamations. It’s nice to see the happy, healthy adult relationship between him and M’gann. The easy trust they have with each other causes them to act more like they’re married than dating, as opposed to the younger characters who are often caught up in relationship drama.

5. Kelly Therapy Face

All the characters need a therapist, and they finally got one! Well, Kelly is technically a psychologist, which I believe means she could be a therapist but is not necessarily? I don’t know things. Anyway, it’s nice to have a calm, supportive presence in the group, and this effect is helped by Kelly Therapy Face. Kelly Therapy Face is the face Kelly makes when she’s listening to you talk about your problems. Kelly Therapy Face and her generally calm presence bring down the interpersonal drama of the group and solidify the idea that all these people are growing into full adults, with adult relationships and adult responses to issues. Their emotions are stabilizing, they’re building stronger support systems, and they’re gaining a better understanding of how the world works and their places in it.

This is more of a Season 4 thing -- this season really didn’t give Kelly the screentime she deserved -- but I also love how even though Kelly acts as a source of support for others, her own fear and trauma are rarely glossed over (see: the end of 5x05). This gives Kelly a humanity and realistic quality that many emotional-support characters don’t get. It also shows the key difference between Dansen and Sanvers: whenever Alex and Maggie had conflict, they swept it aside rather than working through it, leading to their eventual breakup, but when Alex and Kelly have conflict, they listen to each other and try to fix it. In accordance with their adult-ness, Alex and Kelly also seem to be in agreement that it’s okay to have conflict in their relationship (“And I might not know every little detail about you yet, but I know you,” 5x02).

6. Reality Bytes

Calling attention to violence against trans folk, exploring Dreamer’s dark side, and showing the strength of Kara and Nia’s mentor-student relationship in one episode? Just. Yes. Either Nicole Maines was projecting a lot or she’s a really good actor (probably both), but either way, as a trans person, I felt this episode on a personal level: the anger, fear, and frustration at knowing that your community is being targeted and the people you’re supposed to trust (i.e. the police) are probably not going to do anything about it. Additionally, Kara and Nia’s conflict in 5x15, and the fact that Kara compares Nia’s experience to her own, is a great marker of how far Kara has come. In Season 1, Supergirl felt a similar anger and hurt when villains sought her out, but by now, she’s more at peace and can offer Dreamer reassurance and comfort.

7. Brainy’s Plot

Brainy’s storyline in Season 5 is nice because it manages to remain stable as an important, but secondary, plot. It enhances the sense that there’s more going on than we realize and gives us a view into the scheming of the villains, while not taking over too much screentime or audience brainspace.

8. Jon Cryer

As annoying as it is that the writers gave up a lot of Lena’s screentime to Lex, Jon Cryer’s performance in Season 5 is just wonderful. He can go from acting totally in control to screaming in a matter of seconds. Lex Luthor is witty, assured, and charming in a weird way. On the other side of his personality, he is a madman who cares about no one’s interests but his own. Jon Cryer’s acting manages to package all this great but conflicting writing into a brilliant, awful, occasionally sympathetic villain who has more than his share of awesome (and terrifying) scenes.

9. Alex’s Grief

I like that Alex gets to let go of her emotions a little this season and express herself. Especially when Jeremiah dies before 5x16, Alex has a really tough time (and a mention of her possibly drinking problem! Expand, please!). She tries to escape from the pain of real life through virtual reality, but eventually realizes that she has to face her pain rather than avoid it, which is a major theme of the season. What’s great about 5x16 and the next couple episodes is that the other characters allow her to grieve. They could have told her to get over it and see all the happiness in the real world — it would have fit with the theme — but instead, they support Alex as she grieves. They listen without judgement when she expresses her anger that Jeremiah left and forced her to take care of Kara. Kara and Kelly are (mostly) understanding when Alex doesn’t want to go to Jeremiah’s funeral, and when Alex arrives late at the end of the episode, Kara lets her know how much she appreciates that Alex came at all. Throughout her life, Alex hasn’t had much opportunity to be herself and express her emotions, an idea that’s repeated over and over again starting from her coming-out arc in Season 2 or even earlier. Now that Kara can for the most part take care of herself and Alex has a good support system, she finally gets the opportunity to be vulnerable.

10. Andrea Rojas’s Moral Ambiguity

Is Andrea good or bad? Neither. She’s a person who wants love, success, and money, who does sketchy things to promote her company but also fights fiercely for her father and cares about the safety of her technology. Before Andrea, Lena was the main morally ambiguous character, and she could be categorized as “playing for her own team.” However, Andrea goes a step further, crossing into a territory I would call “not playing a game at all.” She’s just a human being trying to have a good life, and that causes her to do good things, bad things, and everything in between. In a show that often accentuates the difference between heroes and villains (“Don’t let them down by stooping to his level,” 5x15), Andrea is a reminder that most people aren’t good or bad -- they’re just living their lives.

TL;DR: They’re all adults now and Lena needs a hug.

[cwdcshows]

Supergirl - S5 E6 - Confidence Woman

So Horrible Boss is Shade? The Shadow?  Misty Swirls?  I'm going to go with Misty Swirls.  Sure, it sounds like a stripper name, but.....'  How Andrea (?) a member of this super duper secret organization, that she's the moment she's in a tight position she goes to blab to just any older insider?  How are the members recruited or vetted? "Ah, you found our decoder ring a box of Froot Loops, here's your gun and code name.  We're going to need you to covertly assassinate a duke, and oh, by the by, try not to tell anyone about us."

"I don't want to kill him, I want to save him."

'You've worked for her before'?  I mean, I know it's splitting hairs, but arguably Lena's worked with Supergirl, rather than for her; unless you're thinking of the summer that Lena lost her money and Kara decided to try her hand as a lawyer and decided to hire Lena to assist her in the office.  Kara, however, seems to be irritated by the slightest mistake Lena makes, until Lena eventually realizes that Kara is actually getting turned on by Lena's obedience; and over the next several weeks they explore a BDSM relationship, until one day Lena wins the lotto and buys back her company and Kara decides to return to CatCo.   And I know what you're thinking, did he just suggest that Lena and Kara enacted the plot of 50 Shade of Gray? And the answer, is no.  In fact, I was suggesting they were enacting the plot of the 2002 movie, Secretary, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal as the submissive, titular secretary; and James Spader as the dominant boss, who incidentally was named E. Edward Grey.  So, you know, completely different. Ah, a nostalgic flashback to a college encounter between two beautiful college girls; which was a memory apparently sparked by a bottle of booze.  I think I've seen this movie before; and that one also starred someone going by the name Misty Swirls.... Honestly, in a show where people can fly and shoot lasers our of their fucking eyes, I think perhaps the least believable thing this show is trying to present to us is the idea that Lena fucking Luther was a wallflower in college or really at any point in her life.  I mean, she may not have known she was a real Luther yet, and sure her mom treated her like shit; while Lex seemed to simultaneously be protective of her (I think) and belittle her (I think) - which is to say that seriously muddled whatever past  Lex and Lena had together before he was finally outed as a murderer and all the other stuff.  But what I'm getting at is, it seems unlikely that Lena wouldn't at least have friends in school or any of the other more outgoing traits we've seen her have in the present; and that somehow this random woman she's never mentioned before is ostensibly the person who made Lena the person she is today - but I guess that's where the booze comes in.... Oh, instead they're going to make this some sort of random fucking mystical quest; and this rich girl that's dropped out of the clear blue sky and known Lena for five minute is all in on finding this... whatever this is.  And based on their apparent obsession with Titanic, I assume one of them is going to die after they find this whatchamacallit; and the other will wait 70 years then drop it into the sea. Really, this is the episode they're going to use Jon Cryer in?  Don't get me wrong, I know he's not like, Calista Flockhart or something, that they would only put in certain episodes, but seeing how sporadic they used him last season; and the lengths they went to have Lex involved, but unseen, this either means this episode is going to be wildly more important or a tremendous waste of the use of Lex Luther that will probably result in him being conspicuously absent in a future episode he should definitely be physically present for. What could Andrea's father be "doing again" that involves his life insurance policy?  Surely she doesn't mean killing himself for the insurance money, because he couldn't have done before, presumably.   Wait, are they suggesting Kryptonite crashed to earth "millions of years ago"?  How would be fucking possible?  Kryptonite is supposed to be remnants from when Krypton exploded, which definitely didn't occur millions of years ago; the fact that Kara's mother is still alive is, presumably, at least one clear indication of this.  That or Allura looks really good for her age. "What would Rose Dawnson do?" Hog a floating door, leaving her the supposed love of her life to die of hypothermia in the Atlantic Ocean? #ThereWasRoom #NeverForget That's some impeccable timing, for Lena to read her book at just the right moment in the whole wide jungle, so that she follows the instructions to look down and find exactly what she needed to find to help them on their way.... Those were apparently load bearing flowers. "This is very real, I assure you." I mean, isn't that exactly what a psychedelic hallucination would tell you? Since Lena was looking for...whatever... to stop Lex from finding....whatever,  shouldn't Lena wonder if Lex had gotten there first? So Kord Industries of Earth 38 is our Samsung? Why would you overtly wear a medallion you don't want your friend to know you have; even if it's unlikely you'll run into her?  Not to mention the odds aren't terrible she'd be there, seeing as you run in the same circles.  Keep your mystical talismans in your handbag, like the rest of us. Is this the reason for Lena's beef with Kara not telling her the truth about who she is?  Because these seem like wildly different sorts of lies.  I get that Lex and their mother also lied to Lena, but I get the feeling this is going to be meant as the real motivation for her grudge. And boy, did Lena need that medallion; her life would have been so much better the last couple of years. Instead she's worked hard rehabilitating her family name and business, making more friends than she's apparently ever had before - if only she had a lucky charm.... Hey, it's Not-Ock before he became Not-Ock.  Why are you so nosy about whether this woman you don't is drinking her drink or not?  I know, I know, it's his way of hitting on her, but seriously, mind your own damn business.  For all you know she's a recovering alcoholic at a crossroads in her 10 year sobriety after her husband Jonathan left with their four kids, on account of the fact she's far too obsessed with Top Chef.  You don't know. Okay, I figured I'd wait a bit before comment on this; and now that I'm half way through the episode - didn't last week's preview suggest this was going to be an Alex episode?  They showed Alex at the DEO and everyone but her was inceptioned and she's freaking out trying to figure out to do.... This is the most boring and uneventful villain origin story since Grimace tried to kill a bunch of people....

Holly shit, apparently my Froot Loops recruitment scenario wasn't that far off.  Apparently I'm on the same wavelength as the writers and I'm not okay with that. "Take the medalion, tap it three times.  You'll know what to do." This sounds an awful lot like the message Scott Calvin found inside the Santa Suite in the Santa Clause.

Is Santa an assassin?  What exactly happens to the people on the naughty list?? Are they actually showing us an unseen backstory of Lena and Kara becoming friends?  Has it been some sort of mystery that viewers never quite understood this time; and now people at home are going, "Oh, that's how it happened! It all makes sense now..." Jesus Christ, all of this shit because of a fucking magical medallion, that for all Lena ever knew was just a myth?  Fuck you. The medallion was the only thing that could stop Lex?  What?  I mean, he was stopped without it just fine.  Sure, he probably killed a bunch more people that he may or may not have been able to if Lena had gotten the medallion and used it the way she wanted to.  But are they honestly suggesting that Lena's great plan for "stopping Lex" was fucking magic? (sigh)  They had the means of removing this guy's Borg implants this whole time and they're just fucking mentioning it now??? So what, Alex is in the one place in the entire DEO shielded from psychic attack? They really made it seem like the premise of the DEO being incepted to be the main story of this episode; and it's literally the last 10 minutes of the episode.  Which means that they knew how much of a turd this episode was and had to hunt down what could pass as the most interesting part of the episode; and it seems the preview encompasses the entirety of that footage. Man, I know Alex is supposed to be a bad ass, but damn, Brainiac 5 is a lightweight. So Lena's plan was foiled because she forgot Kara has super hearing? Jesus Christ, Lena has worse mommy issues than Bruce Wayne.