After a long winter hiatus and a shocking cliffhanger, Supergirl returned to our screens where we found Kara still in a coma and National City still under Reign's rule. From the introduction of Legionnaire Brainiac-5 to the DEO and the Legion teaming up and Kara finding her way back, we discuss the highs and lows of the episode.
We’re back! And Supergirl’s back with its midseason premiere with a new face, no less. What’s the verdict on Brainiac-5? How did you like the character?
Mia - Love him! I love his awkward behaviour, and his sarcastic humour as well. Jesse Rath really won me over fast with Brainy. He’s going to be a lot of fun to have around over the next few episodes (for as long as the Legion stays).
Opal - I was really scared for Brainiac-5, after what they did with Imra. I was praying, hoping, wishing on shooting stars that they didn’t mess this character up. And, guess what? It worked. Brainy was exactly the best version of himself from the comics. Smart, blunt, awkward, and his dynamic with both Mon-El and Kara and the rest of the team was fantastic. I give full credit to Jesse Rath on this one, he killed it with his performance. He brought life to the character.
Cristina - I really enjoyed the dynamic between Brainy and Kara and Jesse Rath did an amazing job bringing him to life this first episode. I am so, so, so very thankful that they didn’t make him an overly creepy fanboy and instead it came off as respectful admiration which is what I hope they stick with. I liked the mix of awkwardness and dry sarcasm that Brainy had and I really hope we get to see more of it especially with Mon-El and Winn. I need some quality scenes with Brainy and Winn!
Winnie - In an unexpected turn of events, I loved him! He was funny, witty and very sassy. I think his presence set a lighter tone for the episode which was a welcome change. And I agree with Opal, Jesse seems great and very excited to be playing the role and it shows!
Michelle - Jesse Rath definitely was not lying when he tweeted out that we should wait and see. Despite everyone’s aversion to his costume (the wig could definitely use some work), his personality as cute, awkward little Brainy shone through and you could see the easiness he had with the rest of the cast. His bits with Kara were great and I see a really good friendship forming, especially at the end when Kara sees him for the first time in the real world. I’m excited to see where his character goes on the show and more interactions with Kara and the rest of the regulars.
The CW.
We got some explanation on what the Legion’s mission is and what’s been going on in the future. What do you make of this Blight and do you think it has anything to do with Reign?
Mia - I mean, The Blight is a race of tech-zombies from the future, so it was probably a reference to them (like they said, the Blight were planet-destroying creatures). It’s an interesting storyline that they could bring in to the show in a flashback (flash...forward?) or something; definitely recommend googling and reading up. The coolest part is how they have information in their DNA. Even though they say it can’t be stolen there, which… I mean, someone’s DNA isn’t that impossible to acquire, so I don’t know about that, hahaha! But yeah, not sure how - or if - they’re gonna connect the Blight with Reign, but I’m interested to see where it goes.
Cristina - I will do my very best to not rant too much because honestly, almost everything about the Legion is annoying and frustrating me. I truly cannot tell anymore what is a strategic lie by the Legion to protect the timeline and what’s just a plot hole...since you know, the writers are so good at those. Unfortunately, if the Legion is telling the truth now, it means they were lying before about time traveling. And worse, it means that Mon-El DID actually have a way to come back to Kara, but chose not to for whatever reason. Also, if they’re telling the truth, then I don’t see how it could be connected to Reign considering this Blight happens like 400 years from the present time...which is frustrating because this season really does not need anymore new storylines and it truly makes the Legion useless to the current storyline. However, if they’re lying and just making this up, then I don’t know why they’d go through so much trouble to weave such a tangled web of lies that will no doubt, bite them in the rear end later. Nothing makes sense and instead of slowly getting answers, the questions keep piling up...or at least, MY questions do, since apparently everyone in the DEO has lost the capacity to use their brain to critically analyze the situation.
Opal - Honestly, I’m inclined to believe that the Blight doesn’t have anything to do with the Blight in the comics because that would imply that the Supergirl writing staff have cracked open a comic book which I don’t believe they have. This all ties into Reign somehow and I personally believe comic book Blight would be hard to do on the screen. I think they’re still lying, but unfortunately they’re really bad liars and no one is calling them out on it. As someone who was very excited about the Legion plot, I’m ready for it to be done. They’ve done this team such a gross injustice I don’t want them to introduce more Legion plot elements and ruin them.
Winnie - I’m not saying they are lying, but I was very confused by that side story and I don’t even know if that makes sense. This Blight happens in the future, on another planet and they have the cure in their DNA. Okay, then why did Imra tell Mon-El when they were alone "I know we are here on a mission"? Is the Blight coming here? I do not think there is a connection between the Blight and Reign (because I think the Blight is a diversion), but that all said, I am okay being wrong about this.
Michelle - Yeah, my mind is all over the place with this one, and I agree with bits and pieces of what everyone has said thus far. I’m really stuck between whether to believe the Legion and Mon-El, or to assume they’re lying, because I really have no clue as to which is more believable at the moment. Like Mia said, it would be cool and interesting if it were true because then it could tie back into Reign, which would bring it full circle. It would make the most sense that this is a diversion or lie, because why didn’t Mon-El just tell them the truth as to why they couldn’t help in the first place? I know that he was trying to keep it a secret, but for what purpose? Alex, J’onn and Winn certainly wouldn’t do anything to give their secret away to the Blight - IF we even ever see them. It just seems fishy, but that could just be because everything about the Legion seems fishy. So, only time will tell I suppose.
The CW.
Speaking of Reign, she was dealt a bit of a humility card with the Legion, J’onn, and Kara taking her down and finding out there’s others like her. Are you excited for the introduction of more Worldkillers?
Mia - With Kara gaining the advantage now, we were bound to see Reign get some help to even out the playing field. I think it has the potential to become truly epic with a huge showdown between Worldkillers and Supergirl + Legionnaires + other super-powered helpers.
Cristina - Yes and no. Yes, because obviously I knew that there would have to be some kind of development that would lead to an even more epic fight at the end (compared to what we’ve already seen) and more Worldkillers will definitely raise the bar. However, this show has a consistent problem with juggling multiple storylines and characters and this season has been especially bad about it. So while the introduction of more Worldkillers will lead to a more epic fight at the end, it will come with a price, aka other storylines and characters will be pushed to the background or even become nonexistent for a while.
Opal - Is anyone else fatigued by the amount of new characters season three has introduced and not used to their fullest potential? I’m with Cristina here, we don’t need more characters. We need them to start treating their main characters/existing characters with respect. Why introduce even more characters when Winn, Alex, and J’onn have been completely sidelined? The only way I’m okay with more Worldkillers is if they’re kind of like goons for Reign akin to the extra Kryptonians from season one that weren’t Non or Astra.
Winnie - When it was confirmed that there were more Worldkillers I straight up screamed. I think it will be interesting to see Reign’s approach to “recruiting” these new Worldkillers, cause if they followed Reign’s template then they probably don’t know about the full extent of their powers or their powers haven’t manifested. But I agree with Opal and Cristina, I am getting a bit fatigued with how many new characters I am expected to care about. I think one of the show’s strength has always been its stellar cast, so I would rather see them in play and not in the background.
Michelle - I’m with Winnie and Mia on this - I’m excited about new Worldkillers. It only makes sense and will deliver a fight scene to end all fight scenes we’ve seen on Supergirl. I wholeheartedly believe that “Julia” (Krys Marshall) is one of them, and we’ll see others (maybe that’s her right-hand?). Either way, Reign does need to even the playing field so it only makes sense. I’m down.
James, Winn, and J’onn had to make a lot of effort to cover for Kara in this episode with Lena. Do you think it’s believable that Lena’s still in the dark about Kara/Supergirl?
Mia - How, though? How, Lena? She’s super smart and analytical, but how has she still not found out? Honestly, I bet the writers are gonna throw in something about this soon, that she has been piling up evidence or something before confronting Kara about it. Or not even confronting, just meeting Supergirl and going “Hey, Kara, how’s that article coming along?”
Cristina - It’s absolutely NOT believable. I think J’onn/Kara sold that apartment scene well enough - it probably also helped that Lena seemed to have her mind too preoccupied with other things to notice Kara’s strange behavior - but speaking in general and with everything that’s happened since the beginning of their friendship, it makes no logical sense that Lena wouldn’t know. Especially since she’s supposed to be a genius. But of course, this show operates on a high degree of suspension of disbelief and eventually, a conflict between Kara and Lena will have to rise from something (even if it makes no sense). It’s sadly just another example of how this show suffers from a lack of creativity.
Opal - When Lena was first introduced, she was built up to be extremely intelligent and adept. They said she was smarter than Lex Luthor! He’s the smartest mortal man in the DC universe. And I know he’s been fooled by Clark/Superman, but let’s be honest here, Kara’s really obvious about it. What did Lena think happened to the CatCo roof? Or how about the fact that Supergirl and Kara are never in the same place at once? Moreover, if Lena is her “best friend” why keep her in the dark at all? So, no it’s absolutely not believable that she doesn’t know. I however, really did enjoy the J’onn/Kara and Lena scene; it was hilarious.
Winnie - No! I think they’ve insulted Lena’s intelligence long enough on this. I’m not even saying have her straight up find out or be told, but like maybe some suspicion? Some questioning looks? That said, watching, J’onn as Kara (and Melissa as J’onn as Kara) was nothing short of a delight. I genuinely enjoyed it.
Michelle - Yeah, as someone who really likes Lena and her character, I think it is insulting, as Winnie said. They’ve played it up that she really doesn’t know, though, so odds are they’re writing it as such. The reveal will probably play into her “turning evil” storyline (which I hope she fights and we see her resolve to be in the light), but that’s my guess. Is it believable? No. But we have seen that the writers will do a lot of things that advance their stories rather than stay in the realm of a character’s natural tendencies and abilities.
The CW.
How did you like the mind prison plot development with Kara? How did you feel about the conclusion of that plot thread?
Mia - It was a good little nod to the fact that Kara’s humanity is what gets her through her darkest times. It doesn’t matter if she uses every super power she has, it’s when she’s standing with her feet on the ground and glasses on that she’s the most super. Plus the inclusion of Streaky was heartwarming.
Cristina - Before the episode, I thought it was a really cool idea and I was interested to see how it would play out. In retrospect, it felt like a cop out so that Kara could be removed from the picture and the Legion would feel compelled to join the fight. As I mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed the dynamic between Kara and Brainy while she was stuck in her mind prison, but like most things in this episode, the resulting arc for Kara didn’t make sense. Even Brainy said he’d never seen anything like it, which ironically showed just how far the writers were reaching to try and make this work. If it had been an issue of subconscious fear like Brainy suggested, then I would’ve believed it. Kara was in a coma, a medical state of deep unconsciousness due to her injuries. She wasn’t under the influence of any drugs or alien creatures like the Black Mercy so it made no sense that the key to waking up was her “remembering who she was.” Which inevitably brings us to the terrifying fact that this season continues to imply that Kara Danvers is who Kara really is and that her human identity is the same thing as her humanity (hint: they’re NOT the same). It was all enough to make me want to stab my own eyeballs with a fork.
Winnie - I thought that was okay. The idea of being trapped in her loft and having to open the door created good tension and gave us that awesome scene with Kara’s heat vision. That said I think the humanity sequence was built up so much that if this is its conclusion for Kara I’ll be a bit disappointed because I felt it had a lot of potential. I found Kara exploring her identity as not only an alien, but an alien who grew into adulthood on Earth pretending to be a human and doing human things heartwarming. She is the girl who grew up on Krypton and she is the girl who grew up on Earth and I think it is totally okay for her to be both without those two aspects of her identity competing. She tried to fight Reign as an alien and lost, because at the end of the day Reign is a bio-engineered super weapon (who is immune to non-concentrated kryptonite). Kara will have to embrace what makes her different than Reign to take her, and her friends, on. I think the humanity theme will come into play more strongly for Sam in some episodes very soon and might serve as an interesting point for Kara when she finds out that Sam is Reign.
Opal - I was thoroughly disappointed with this plot thread. The writers fail to understand the entire concept of humanity. I think to them it is akin to being vulnerable, to having a conscience. But what’s confusing to me, is that Kara never lost her humanity. Even though she’s been focused on being Supergirl, it’s not like she’s walking around National City dispensing justice without a care much like Reign. She still cares, that’s why she got beaten by Reign because she cared so much about the civilians around her. They think “Kara Danvers” is so important to Kara, but really it’s a mask. Kara Zor-El is the person she is. This is the person that lost an entire planet and still remained hopeful. The Streaky story was the perfect way to illustrate that but the resolution that came from it, I’m not happy with it. Additionally, I felt some of the time in the coma was cut. I would have liked to spend more time with Kara in there instead of having to listen to the Legion’s web of lies.
Michelle - So, I don’t really like it if this is the end of that particular storyline, like Winnie said. I also agree with what she said about her two selves not competing with each other. One is not overpowering the other and being a “Danvers” is not excluding her “Zor-El” side at all. And in all honesty, at the end of the day, these are just names. They mark Before Earth and After Earth parts of Kara. Neither is mutually exclusive, and that’s what the writers are getting at, essentially. Just like each life event we go through marks us and unequivocally changes us, we are but a culmination of our lived experiences. Kara isn’t defined by a name because she has many, but they are all her. She is KARA, and all sides of her, all experiences she’s had, everything she’s known and lived through has made KARA who she is. To discredit that “mask” is to discredit who she is. There is no mask, it’s who she still is. Being a Danvers gave her Eliza and Alex, her Earth life, and it gives her the safe haven that is CatCo and her “human” life. It’s been said by Kara herself that that side of her is so important, and she treasures it dearly. On the flip side, “Zor-El” also gives her a great deal. It gave her her biological family, her DNA that includes many powers and it gave her Supergirl. It gave her shared experiences that she was able to share and bond over with Mon-El. Both cannot be without the other and they work together seamlessly to make the superb hero we know and love today. That’s why when she’s tries to stifle one or the other, she ends up the loser. Will the acceptance of both sides (human and alien) aid in her ultimate triumph over Reign? I definitely believe so.
Favorite Line
Mia - “I felt like an alien on Earth for so long, and he helped me feel like a human.” (Kara about Streaky)
Cristina - “I fail to see the relevance.” (J'onn; cause this is me at least 75% of the time this season)
Winnie - “Never underestimate Supergirl.” (Alex Danvers)
Opal - “I just had a conversation about James Olsen’s extraordinary kissing ability; this’ll be a Sunday picnic. “ (J’onn)
Michelle - “I felt like an alien on Earth for so long, and he helped me feel like a human.” (Kara about Streaky; I also really loved this line so much - and this whole scene with the cat)
So now that you've heard our take on "Legion of Superheroes" let us know what you thought about the episode! Next week, we head to Fort Rozz on an important mission!