Supergirl: Human for a Day
December 9, 2015 12:52 PM - Season 1, Episode 7 - Subscribe
After using the only recently documented Kryptonian "Super Flare" power at the end of the previous episode, Kara is temporarily left powerless while her cells need to recharge their solar energy. However! An earthquake hits National City at the worst possible moment. What rotten luck!
Meanwhile, another third-tier DC intellectual property escapes his cell at the DEO, and Alex must recapture him, while dealing with her trust issues with Hank, which leads to the BEST REVEAL EVER.
Meanwhile, another third-tier DC intellectual property escapes his cell at the DEO, and Alex must recapture him, while dealing with her trust issues with Hank, which leads to the BEST REVEAL EVER.
J'onn J'onzz was once played by notable caucasian David Ogden Stiers in a failed TV pilot.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 1:20 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 1:20 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was a little confused by the contrast between Cat and Maxwell. Other than Maxwell's disdain for Supergirl, weren't they basically saying the same thing?
posted by congen at 1:28 PM on December 9, 2015
posted by congen at 1:28 PM on December 9, 2015
I was expecting the reveal of J'onn, but I was pretty surprised they pulled Jemm out of the D.C. back catalogue.
posted by sardonyx at 3:43 PM on December 9, 2015
posted by sardonyx at 3:43 PM on December 9, 2015
THIS EPISODE WAS SO GOOOOOOOOOD
Yeah, that was my reaction too: this is what I want out of Supergirl, all around. Except the bit where Wynn was jealous - the unrequited love stuff isn't really working for me, here. But it's such a minor thing in such an overall great episode. I was surprised and impressed that she couldn't get her X-Ray vision working to save the guy in the car accident.
I was a little confused by the contrast between Cat and Maxwell. Other than Maxwell's disdain for Supergirl, weren't they basically saying the same thing?
Eh. Maxwell is making a pretty calculated PR attack on Supergirl: if she saves people, she's teaching them to be weak. If she *doesn't* save people, where the hell was she? Kind of a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't dilemma for her that sounds plausible via soundbite. (Also, this is more of them making him into Luthor-lite.)
Cat was trying to inspire people to go ahead and be heroes themselves. Like... Supergirl is a hero, but we can all find it in ourselves to be heroes too.
Both are telling people to fend for themselves, but the reasoning behind each separate approach strikes me as important and distinctive.
posted by mordax at 5:28 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeah, that was my reaction too: this is what I want out of Supergirl, all around. Except the bit where Wynn was jealous - the unrequited love stuff isn't really working for me, here. But it's such a minor thing in such an overall great episode. I was surprised and impressed that she couldn't get her X-Ray vision working to save the guy in the car accident.
I was a little confused by the contrast between Cat and Maxwell. Other than Maxwell's disdain for Supergirl, weren't they basically saying the same thing?
Eh. Maxwell is making a pretty calculated PR attack on Supergirl: if she saves people, she's teaching them to be weak. If she *doesn't* save people, where the hell was she? Kind of a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't dilemma for her that sounds plausible via soundbite. (Also, this is more of them making him into Luthor-lite.)
Cat was trying to inspire people to go ahead and be heroes themselves. Like... Supergirl is a hero, but we can all find it in ourselves to be heroes too.
Both are telling people to fend for themselves, but the reasoning behind each separate approach strikes me as important and distinctive.
posted by mordax at 5:28 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeah, Wynn is kind of being super manipulative and shitty, and it's not cool.
J'onn J'onzz, on the other hand- DAAAAAAAMMMNNNN.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:42 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
J'onn J'onzz, on the other hand- DAAAAAAAMMMNNNN.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:42 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, I'm pretty sure it's going to turn out to be Maxwell behind the earthquakes. That, or it will be the Bad Kryptonians. Either way, this was all a setup.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:44 PM on December 9, 2015
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:44 PM on December 9, 2015
I've been assuming 'bad Kryptonians.' It's totally their style.
posted by mordax at 6:46 PM on December 9, 2015
posted by mordax at 6:46 PM on December 9, 2015
Did he say he was the last survivor from the destroyed planet Mars? I don't follow at all.
(I'd have some other quibbles with this episode, but I try to mindlessly enjoy it and it works that way.)
posted by joeyh at 7:18 PM on December 9, 2015
(I'd have some other quibbles with this episode, but I try to mindlessly enjoy it and it works that way.)
posted by joeyh at 7:18 PM on December 9, 2015
Did he say he was the last survivor from the destroyed planet Mars?
He said he was the 'last son of Mars.' (Martian Manhunter is the last Martian. In the same way Superman is the last Kryptonian, anyway.)
posted by mordax at 7:25 PM on December 9, 2015
He said he was the 'last son of Mars.' (Martian Manhunter is the last Martian. In the same way Superman is the last Kryptonian, anyway.)
posted by mordax at 7:25 PM on December 9, 2015
J'onn's backstory is exactly that. He's the last living Martian. Oh, and it's not that the planet was destroyed in an interplanetary war (bad aliens attacked) but that the evidence of their civilization on Mars was wiped out, including cities, buildings, technology, etc. At least that's the comic history. Who knows how the show will alter it? From what little I can recall, Jemm was a good guy not a villain, so they're aren't wedded to the way things were at DC.
posted by sardonyx at 7:27 PM on December 9, 2015
posted by sardonyx at 7:27 PM on December 9, 2015
It was the earlier "sole survivor of a lost world" that made me think "destroyed", but ok..
posted by joeyh at 7:30 PM on December 9, 2015
posted by joeyh at 7:30 PM on December 9, 2015
I should say having the earthquake be anything other than a natural disaster didn't cross my mind. We've already had an earthquake machine on Arrow, and while the two shows aren't in the same universe due to differences in networks, I'd be a bit miffed if Berlanti et al resorted to a bad-guy engineered earthquake twice.
posted by sardonyx at 7:33 PM on December 9, 2015
posted by sardonyx at 7:33 PM on December 9, 2015
I'd be a bit miffed if Berlanti et al resorted to a bad-guy engineered earthquake twice.
I completely agree. Where's the sense of innovation? Where's the elan?
posted by Alexander J. Luthor at 8:14 PM on December 9, 2015 [10 favorites]
I completely agree. Where's the sense of innovation? Where's the elan?
posted by Alexander J. Luthor at 8:14 PM on December 9, 2015 [10 favorites]
I completely agree. Where's the sense of innovation? Where's the elan?
OK, you almost owed me a new keyboard, Mr. Luthor.
(I'm cool with Kryptonians causing an earthquake simply because they don't need mechanical assistance. It's up there with, 'If they want a forest fire or a tornado, well, guess it's good to be them.')
posted by mordax at 8:18 PM on December 9, 2015
OK, you almost owed me a new keyboard, Mr. Luthor.
(I'm cool with Kryptonians causing an earthquake simply because they don't need mechanical assistance. It's up there with, 'If they want a forest fire or a tornado, well, guess it's good to be them.')
posted by mordax at 8:18 PM on December 9, 2015
I guessed Henshaw's identity the first time we saw the flashing eyes, but I was totally blown away when the big reveal happened. I love J'onn J'onzz, and the way Henshaw's whole demeanor changed (even before the transformation)...man, that is the character. Of course, it remains to be seen how much of the comics version will make its way over -- J'onn should be at least as powerful as Kara, which makes some of what we've seen so far make a bit less sense. Would he really be so deep in hiding that he would never make full use of his abilities, even when doing so could save lives? If so, there would have to be a pretty good reason.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:40 PM on December 9, 2015
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:40 PM on December 9, 2015
Have to admit, they fooled me. I was thinking Cyborg every time we saw the eyes, and HOLY SHIT I literally could not speak or move for a few seconds there when he transformed.
Sadly, the spell was broken when he said his name. J'onn-J'onzz-sounds-exactly-like-John-Jones is perhaps the biggest naming mistake in comics history.
posted by Etrigan at 6:32 AM on December 10, 2015
Sadly, the spell was broken when he said his name. J'onn-J'onzz-sounds-exactly-like-John-Jones is perhaps the biggest naming mistake in comics history.
posted by Etrigan at 6:32 AM on December 10, 2015
Didn't really care for this episode much. Dragging out relationship drama is bleh.
I realize that, dramatically, having the Henshaw vs. Danvers thing come to a head when there's an incredibly dangerous alien on a rampage makes sense, but come on.
posted by ODiV at 10:06 AM on December 10, 2015
I realize that, dramatically, having the Henshaw vs. Danvers thing come to a head when there's an incredibly dangerous alien on a rampage makes sense, but come on.
posted by ODiV at 10:06 AM on December 10, 2015
Meanwhile, another third-tier DC intellectual property escapes his cell at the DEO
You are my favorite person for today
posted by phearlez at 11:08 AM on December 10, 2015
You are my favorite person for today
posted by phearlez at 11:08 AM on December 10, 2015
Seconding that Wynn's passive aggressive douchebro-ing is the lamest part of this episode. And yeah, Alex's timing was wrong, but I, too, was so busy squeeing about J'onn J'onnz that I can forgive.
posted by immlass at 8:04 PM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by immlass at 8:04 PM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
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I had Hank's reveal spoiled for me in .gif form and I'm not even mad because just that five-second soundless clip had my jaw on the floor. Knowing it was coming I still flipped out at the end of the episode, and am in fact continuing to flip out nine hours after watching it.
And the other 41 minutes were great! Setting aside the abject dumbness of building an underground super-prison in an area with any possibility of tectonic activity (I assume that even if the earthquake turns out to be a supervillain plot, somebody would have mentioned if National City is in a quake-free region of the continent) there were lots of great character moments. Just off the top of my head, you've got the whole scene with Kara and the gunman (and her slow burn to confronting him), Alex's totally badass coordinated attack on Jemm, Cat simultaneously preaching for Supergirl as an aspirational figure and being an example of how she's made people better...
Oh, and the bit where James angrily took his shirt off. DAMN.
(One less fanboy-tastic point; as far as I can find, in literally every on-screen appearance of the character, J'onn J'onzz has been played by a black man. I'm not sure what conclusion to draw from that.)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:07 PM on December 9, 2015 [2 favorites]