Supergirl: The House of L
March 28, 2019 9:18 PM - Season 4, Episode 16 - Subscribe
In the wake of Lex Luthor's return, the show flashes back to what he's been doing for the last two years and how his secret machinations and plans have affected Supergirl and Lena.
Yeah, this worked better than it probably should've, and for me, it hinged on three things:
- Jon Cryer is selling this version of Lex pretty well, being goofy one second and serious the next. Feels very old-timey?
- Snowbird really has a Red Son vibe. I like that she wants to do the right thing.
- I was relieved when Otis spared the kid, only to warn him to play dead if he ever, ever saw any bald man.
posted by mordax at 11:43 PM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
- Jon Cryer is selling this version of Lex pretty well, being goofy one second and serious the next. Feels very old-timey?
- Snowbird really has a Red Son vibe. I like that she wants to do the right thing.
- I was relieved when Otis spared the kid, only to warn him to play dead if he ever, ever saw any bald man.
posted by mordax at 11:43 PM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
I guess I'm in the minority because although I was really rooting for Jon Cryer to knock Lex out of the park an act his way into multiple awards, all I see is Alan Harper from Two-and-a-Half Men. I don't know if that's because Cryer wasn't doing all that much acting on that show and he let his natural mannerisms take over, or if it's because he was on the show and stuck in that character for so long that it has become ingrained in him and in his acting style.
That said, I'm greatly enjoying the story arc. It feels like there's actually something happening on the show now that has a bit of meat to the bone. While I don't like Miss Tesssmacher's evil reveal (especially as a Lex fan-girl), I think the team did a good job with the ret-conning. Things seem to make sense, and the pieces appear to fit in place. Ret-conning of this kind can be hard and the entire Supergirl team deserves credit for pulling it off.
The special effects team, however, should hang their heads in shame. That opening sequence on top of the Daily Planet was spectacularly bad. I realize a show like this doesn't have a huge special effects budget and is likely working under tough limitations, but man that looked so bad. I think it's the worst effect on the history of this show (and maybe the entire DCCW universe, although I'd had to think about that).
It is a bit of a shame that they've had to bring in the number one Superman villain to make this show interesting again, but it seems to be working for now. At least I'm not dreading watching it and letting it fall way down my to-be-watched queue anymore.
Echoing mordax, that was definitely a sweet move by Otis. Of course by now we should all realize this show will never kill a child, but it was lovely to see how they avoided it this time around.
posted by sardonyx at 7:56 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
That said, I'm greatly enjoying the story arc. It feels like there's actually something happening on the show now that has a bit of meat to the bone. While I don't like Miss Tesssmacher's evil reveal (especially as a Lex fan-girl), I think the team did a good job with the ret-conning. Things seem to make sense, and the pieces appear to fit in place. Ret-conning of this kind can be hard and the entire Supergirl team deserves credit for pulling it off.
The special effects team, however, should hang their heads in shame. That opening sequence on top of the Daily Planet was spectacularly bad. I realize a show like this doesn't have a huge special effects budget and is likely working under tough limitations, but man that looked so bad. I think it's the worst effect on the history of this show (and maybe the entire DCCW universe, although I'd had to think about that).
It is a bit of a shame that they've had to bring in the number one Superman villain to make this show interesting again, but it seems to be working for now. At least I'm not dreading watching it and letting it fall way down my to-be-watched queue anymore.
Echoing mordax, that was definitely a sweet move by Otis. Of course by now we should all realize this show will never kill a child, but it was lovely to see how they avoided it this time around.
posted by sardonyx at 7:56 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
I guess I'm in the minority, but I'm not liking this storyline or Cryer's performance, to the point where I've pretty much given up on the show, at least for now. Maybe I'll check it out again once they've moved on to something else, maybe not.
Looking forward to the return of "Legends of Tomorrow," though!
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 9:05 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Looking forward to the return of "Legends of Tomorrow," though!
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 9:05 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Looking forward to the return of "Legends of Tomorrow," though!
While I'm liking Supergirl more than you are, I agree that Legends is the real draw on the entire network. I recently got my SO into that, and can't wait for new episodes.
posted by mordax at 9:54 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
While I'm liking Supergirl more than you are, I agree that Legends is the real draw on the entire network. I recently got my SO into that, and can't wait for new episodes.
posted by mordax at 9:54 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
I normally don't like Jon Cryer as an actor at all (he comes off as a weasel in everything I ever saw before), but uh...he's not weaseling here. He's an asshole, mind you, but I feel like he's making it work. Go figure. Maybe it's all the scenery chewing, which he is totally doing, but ...I'm watching it. He actually made me interested in the Russian Supergirl plot, go figure.
Though I still am annoyed at the fact that they cast a guy who's old enough to be his sister's father and yet are pretending that they "grew up together" as buddies somehow. Come on.
I was also amused at Otis letting the kid go.
I don't care about that Eve girl. I always forgot about her and then if she was on screen, well, I'm not surprised that's what they did.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:12 AM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
Though I still am annoyed at the fact that they cast a guy who's old enough to be his sister's father and yet are pretending that they "grew up together" as buddies somehow. Come on.
I was also amused at Otis letting the kid go.
I don't care about that Eve girl. I always forgot about her and then if she was on screen, well, I'm not surprised that's what they did.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:12 AM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
I mean, if they were going for a character that we easily dismiss and turns out she was an important cog in an evil machinery, then they definitely succeeded. She started out in season 2 as a ditzy comic relief, and then Lena's cheerleader because Lena needed one, and now the full heel-turn was actually effective.
posted by numaner at 1:12 PM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by numaner at 1:12 PM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
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The season feels a little predictable at this point, but I'm still hoping for some surprises. I kinda like Snowbird though, she's got heart.
posted by numaner at 9:28 PM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]