Season 3 x 01 Girl of Steel - Discussion / Thoughts (Spoilers)

I have a lot of plates spinning right now, but Supergirl is still appointment TV for me.

First off, I should probably explain that I'm an older fan, who went thru puberty with Lynda Carter, Diedre Hall and Helen Slater as major fantasy fodder. I consider the mere existence of a Supergirl TV show a minor miracle. Three seasons? Holy cow! So I'm willing to give the writers a lot of leeway because in the end, I get some new footage of Supergirl kicking some ass and looking great while doing so.

So, let's see...

1. Emo Supergirl. I get it. She's upset about losing Mon-El (correction, she SENT him away, which is even worse). So she dives deep into being the person who saves the day/world/innocent person, Supergirl. Not for the adulation. But because it's something that she's able to totally focus on, to help her temporarily forget him. As long as it's not a season long thing like the later Smallville seasons, I can wait for her to turn the corner.

2. Gay wedding. I have spent a LOT of time on stage in my local theatre, and a I know a LOT of very cool people who happen to be gay. When I was younger, and a guy hit on me, I struggled with the embarrassment of trying to explain I was straight without offending or upsetting them. So I have zero issues with Alex being gay or wanting to marry Maggie. I loved it that she asked J'Onn to give her away since daddy's a bad guy. (Something I could have lived without, but that's water under the bridge.). I assume we'll have a few more "wedding jitters/passive aggressive over reaction" story points, culminating with a lovely mid-season wedding that gets interrupted by The Underminer or Bomb Voyage. Oh wait, sorry. Wrong universe.

3. Lena buys Cat Co. Saw it coming a mile away, but it's cool we have another millionaire corporate baddie who will be funding all sorts of young bad boys like Blood Sport. I still miss Maxwell Lord. Especially since I have this fan theory.... but that's for a future story. Kinda wondering if Kara will go back to Cat Co now and take Jimmy's position. That could create some interesting conflicts.

4. Dream sequences with new mom. I suppose the original mom is now doing Broadway or something. Erica Durance is sure an interesting choice. She definitely looks more like a mom these days. No more string bikini scenes for her. Loved the super scary monster face at the end, which of course brings us to...

5. Super mom?? Pretty brunette mom who raised a daughter who is excited about Supergirl and is very polite? NOT what I expected, and I couldn't be happier. She is clearly the Kryptonian girl from the end of Season 2, but has somehow grown up with super powers that for some reason lay dormant until now. Hard to believe it was triggered by stress. Girls have stress their whole lives. Very interested to learn this backstory as well as the testing-her-new powers and deciding what to do with them, and how she relates to Supergirl.

Very excited to see what happens next, particularly Kevn Smith's episode in a month or so.

Doctor9

Had a good time watching this episode!

Get the bad stuff out of the way first:
Can we do away with the political B.S.?
And the Capitalism is Evil trope is so old.

I liked Snapper as a foil for Cara.
I see they are going in another direction but I will miss him.

GOOD STUFF!
Supergirl is in CHARGE!
The show is called Supergirl and boy oh boy this episode is about Supergirl!

The super strength scenes were awesome.
I loved her dream state/ floating scene in the beginning and her encounter with the submarine.
A slightly depowered Supergirl where things are tough is just what we need.

One more thing, Jimmy using the signal watch the way he did is almost inexcusable.
He of all people should know better
The divide between Cara and Jimmy is growing bigger everyday.

OK by me.

I have avoided all spoilers as best as possible.
It has been a long summer.
I am happy I can talk Supergirl again now.

The quick cut scene where Mon El shouts "WAKE UP" reminded me of The Matrix. I thought it was a great touch.

I liked this episode a lot more than anything that came out of Season 2, and better than most of Season 1. Hopefully they can maintain this kind of vibe and not fall back into the syrupy mixed-up mess of Season 2.

Color me Encouraged. Interestingly, this show now has enough of an audience (and gets surprisingly positive energy from the blogosphere) that it could really become an influential show if the writing remains this good.

Hopefully we are seeing the first effects of having a new showrunner. We'll have to wait a couple more episodes to say that with confidence, but we're off to a good start.

Shadar

Yay Supergirl and the gang are back!

Have to say, I avoided as much as I could over the summer (regarding all the Berlanti-verse shows) so came into this reletively fresh.

And like others, I have to agree, this was a pretty strong episode.

The first episode of any new season is always a little rough, as they have to establish new characters, settings, dynamics and what not. But I felt this was handled pretty well.

Emo-Supergirl was understandable (and tbh, I'm glad that it seems to have only been one episode of her moping, judging by the bar scene near the end). The Sanvers wedding seems like it will feature, and whatever, I'm fine with that. I found the scene with Alex asking Jonn to walk her down the aisle pretty touching to be fair (I've always liked the dynamic between those two). And we got a brief introduction to our main bad Reign, which was really well done. Looking forward to seeing more of her

The Lena buying Cat Co. as pointed out, was easy to see coming, but fun to see. I'm guessing by the "See you tomorrow, boss" text that Kara is back as a reporter (although, ye, it could be interesting to see her usurping James but I don't see it coming. Gotta give Jimmy some reason to be on the show). I also liked the counterpart to Lena, Morgan Edge. Nice power dynamic there.

Sure, the "capitalism is bad" (as someone noted) trope is worn out, and also the whole political left-wing commentary I could do without, but it is what it is. As part of the media, it will always be there. I just zone out for those moments and think of Melissa lol

So overall, a good start to the season imo. Look forward to seeing Reign playing a bigger part

Now off to catch up to Barry Allen and co. as well as the Legends

Peace.

/K

kikass2014 wrote: Yay Supergirl and the gang are back!

Sure, the "capitalism is bad" (as someone noted) trope is worn out, and also the whole political left-wing commentary I could do without, but it is what it is. As part of the media, it will always be there. I just zone out for those moments and think of Melissa lol



/K

Zone out and think of Melissa

That's a good mantra.

Markiehoe wrote:

kikass2014 wrote: Yay Supergirl and the gang are back!

Sure, the "capitalism is bad" (as someone noted) trope is worn out, and also the whole political left-wing commentary I could do without, but it is what it is. As part of the media, it will always be there. I just zone out for those moments and think of Melissa lol



/K

Zone out and think of Melissa

That's a good mantra.

The politics appears to be aimed directly into the center of the Millenial Generation. Given that's the main demographic for the show, they are doing it right.

Those of us who are differently opined (which mostly just means older and more experienced), are going to have to increasingly live in an entertainment world that focuses on what is now the biggest generation.

What's fun is judging the audience for the commercials. (You won't see any of Cadillac's "You've Earned It" ads on Supergirl.)

When I was a long-haired freak in the 60's, it was the opposite. Most serial TV was pitched at middle-aged folks. Gunsmoke, Bonanza, etc. One of the few exceptions was Star Wars, which was delightfully leftist except for that throwback named Kirk..

Today that exception is the norm in Hollywood. Unfortunately, I've moved right with the years. So the TV that fits my politics is once again rarer. Such is life.

As Markiehoe first said, "think of Melissa." A most excellent solution.


Shadar

Great episode,better than most season EPs. Filled with stuff that hasn' t been seen or done since season 1.

Just caught the first episode (we're a little slower here in the UK) and gotta say I love the stronger, bolder Kara. No more messing about (and straight to the action without the title sequence /back history) which had become old hat in Season 2. It looked more polished (shot at a higher grade?) Melissa looked absolutely stunning when the camera panned around her when she was floating, focusing on finding the sub. Was that meant to be Trump at the statue unveiling? Demoted to city mayor as President Carter steps up! Wouldn't put it past the production team! Kara is way more dominant without Cat as shown in the confrontation with the guy in Lena's office, and think it's good for Kara's character that Cat is getting cut out. Best episode yet! Now where's the rewind button?

Best episode yet!

Episode 2 is better (imo) Enjoy

Good point about Kara getting better with Cat being left out. Though I did like Cat as a character and performance, I think you may be right about this.

Peace.

/K

Fun Bloodsport intro. Just the intro heroics from some of the episodes is enough to make me smile. It felt short but hopefully he’ll back for round two. Great gatling gun scene and truck stop.

Emo Supergirl – I get it like everyone else. I don’t mind it. I like the focused SG – however when she gets over it I hope she goes back to at least giving the kid who says “you’re the best” a wink before she flies off even if no autographs. I even enjoyed the Kara/Alex “are you all right” dialogue. More of that for the non Supergirl vs villain times please.

Maxwell Lord was a much better written capitalist villain than Morgan Edge – but I suppose characterizing an E. Musk as not 100% altruistic doesn’t help the brand. I do like Adrian Pasdar so we’ll see.

Jimmy – just Catgo Boss Jimmy no Guardain. Thank-you! I even liked him for using the beeper and setting up the “you beaped me for a deadline” line – I laughed out loud.

I liked the scene where she took care of the soldier after being blasted in the warehouse. Will we see more of that space ship? The running to slide to use head vision a bit closer was a little strange to me but I’m nit picking.

As much as I’d like to see more Winn Schott – his character just doesn’t fit into the show as more than a sidekick. I like the balance of him in this episode where he was a factor but not there a lot.

I think that is one beef I have with this show so far is the musical chairs of support characters and big distractions from Supergirl like Guardian and Mon’el. It also means better characters like Alex, Lena, J’onn, and some great villains even don’t get as much focus in the times Melissa does need a filming tempo break.

Keep Cat doing her quips – but don’t having SG/Kara/others agree please. The super characters should always be political party less – just doing what’s right for life/liberty/justice. I miss snapper too for some reason.

I like the Lena character – I hope they don’t blow it.

Hovering supergirl using super hearing? I hope you enjoyed that Sarge.

J’onn and Alax give me away ask – loved it.

Submarine scene – does Supergirl need to breath? Alex’s commend of “she can’t breathe under there” kind of raised an eyebrow for me. Loved the floating. Loved the out of the water over head lift.

The pushing of the torpedo back into the sub I’ll forgive.

Samantha saving Ruby from the rigging was great stuff.

Is it just me or is the flying *much* improved this season?

I went back and watched S3, episode 1 again, and I have to say, the first ten minutes or so of this episode is absolutely the best superhero/superheroine scene I've ever seen.

Starting with the dream sequence (with that perfect song from Rosa Pullman called Daydream) and then waking up while floating high over the city, hearing the sounds and then the fight down on the streets. Stopping a minigun blast with her chest and then stopping the semi with her body. Then the overly serious "I'm Supergirl and nothing else" theme, which is such a classic comicbook theme, which reintroduces the idea why Kryptonians need normal lives as well as super ones or else they lose touch with ordinary people and become gods (or whatever).

This is pretty much as good as Kryptonian storytelling gets. A great restart for the season, and now that we know the two episodes following are also very good (in a classic comicbooky sense), this show is truly living up to its promise. Finally.

Shadar

shadar wrote: The politics appears to be aimed directly into the center of the Millenial Generation. Given that's the main demographic for the show, they are doing it right.

Those of us who are differently opined (which mostly just means older and more experienced), are going to have to increasingly live in an entertainment world that focuses on what is now the biggest generation.

What's fun is judging the audience for the commercials. (You won't see any of Cadillac's "You've Earned It" ads on Supergirl.)

When I was a long-haired freak in the 60's, it was the opposite. Most serial TV was pitched at middle-aged folks. Gunsmoke, Bonanza, etc. One of the few exceptions was Star Wars, which was delightfully leftist except for that throwback named Kirk..

Today that exception is the norm in Hollywood. Unfortunately, I've moved right with the years. So the TV that fits my politics is once again rarer. Such is life.

As Markiehoe first said, "think of Melissa." A most excellent solution.


Shadar

This old fart (I'm only slightly younger than you it seems) is tired of the one-sided left wing politics and stop watching shows that pander to it. The argument is that it's targeted at millenials and yet after the beginning of season 2 and their hard left turn, they lost half of their 18-49 demo. That's right - half. They can blame it on the move to the CW but the first episode held those viewers (myself among them though I'm outside the demo.) The slide started by episode 2 and 4 or 5 episodes later it hit the low water mark and stayed there save the crossover episodes.

The Flash, by contrast, has nearly twice the viewers and while it has some relationship drama it mostly skips the heavy politics.

Sadly, my guess is that rather than see the numbers in front of their face, the execs will blame this difference on people not wanting to see a female superhero.

Much as I like Melissa in the part, can deal with campy, relationship drama, and young adult material, the constant one sided politics gets entirely tiresome. The ratings would support that I'm not alone in this thinking.

So, do these TV execs just not like money or do they feel they have a higher calling? Plenty of TV worth watching, no need to watch a program clearly not aimed at me and I can always go to youtube or the equv for the highlights that might interest me.

Glad to hear that some of you think that season 3 has gotten better. Unfortunately I would rather have a root canal than wade through the remainder of season 2 to catch up.

Anyone here in the know that can explain the thinking here regarding marketing a product designed to run off a significant portion of potential viewers? No matter how anti-capitalist they message, all the players here expect to get paid and no money means no show. That's called reality.