Supergirl: The Last Children of Krypton
October 17, 2016 9:17 PM - Season 2, Episode 2 - Subscribe

Supergirl and Superman must fight Cadmus' kryptonite-powered cyborg Metallo; meanwhile Kara has a rocky first day as a reporter for new boss Snapper Carr.
posted by oh yeah! (20 comments total)
 
First, that's a different Snapper Carr than the one I knew as a young comics reader, but I guess along with the rest of us, he's gotten older and crankier and lost his fashion sense. I'll gladly take the change of character, however, if he's actually going to demand that Kara learns how to be a reporter. It has always bugged me that it's one of those professions on TV that just everybody can do and do brilliantly without having any sort of clue what the job actually entails (see Iris West in the first season of the Flash, for example).

Second, it's about time somebody criticized Clark for dumping Kara on the Danvers and not caring for her himself. In the DC universe, Supes is always the shining star good guy, but it's grumpy old, emotionally damaged Bats that takes in orphans. (Yes, I'm well aware of all of the reasons behind those editorial choices, but it was still nice to see.)

I think Kal was completely unreasonable with J'onn about the Kryptonite. Of course it can't be destroyed and it should be accessible should there be a need for it (Kal or Kara getting mind controlled or more unexpected Kryptonians popping up) but I guess they needed to generate a bit of conflict and not have all of the main cast be best of friends.

I'm not sure about CADMUS jumping into the spotlight. It always was a shadowy organization, but I'm willing to see where the writers go with that storyline.

The thing that disappointed me was that I really wanted Cat to call Supergirl Kara when they were chatting on the balcony. I know that's not going to happen for a long, long time (assuming it ever does), but it really felt like the time was right for it to happen.
posted by sardonyx at 9:40 PM on October 17, 2016 [4 favorites]


I thought this episode worked when it was putting realistic stresses on the character's relationships: Martian Manhunter's distrust of Superman* and Alex's jealousy about how quickly Kara took to him.** The Metallo bits didn't work as well, and the final fight with the the protective chest guards, which happened to be clear to show the logos and conveniently fell off were a silly plot device (aim for the legs or heads or stomachs guys, literally the only place that seemed to be protected was the dead center of the chest). The actual fight at the end worked in some ways (I liked the little girl being Martian Manhunter), but I'd like to see less of Alex in the power armor (which looks super awkward to me) and more of Kara doing something other than punching and power squinting. It was a decent episode overall, though, because the surrogate family dynamics is a lot of why I'm here.

Going forward: I like the Cadmus lady as a villain, and I feel like the "these gods think they can rule us? They're not even from here!" is a classic Superman villain motivation for good reason. I don't like Snapper Carr yet, and I really dislike exchanging a tough, but supportive, female mentor for another angry newsman character who slings gendered insults (especially when she was only sort of wearing a ponytail the second time). He could improve though. Jimmy as interim CEO is kind of laughable, but hey, characters in the credits always get the best gigs.

*Come for J'onn J'onzz gruff protective father figure of Kara, stay for J'onn J'onzz gruff protective father figure of the Earth.
**Though seriously the immediate "I miss you" text is straight out of my playbook with my wife and we're INSUFFERABLE. It's weird to see that with cousins.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:54 AM on October 18, 2016 [2 favorites]


The language with Clark and Kara was weird that way at several points. Go to Metropolos to "be with Clark," ferchristsake? While it would have thrown off the scene I thought Alex should have said "eww!" right there.
posted by phearlez at 8:16 AM on October 18, 2016


Ian Gomez was such a wonderful goofball on Cougar Town, I really hope his talents don't get wasted here as Snapper.
posted by oh yeah! at 8:20 AM on October 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oh, in case you aren't a 40+y/o nerd and didn't catch the reference when they did it - side by side.

I don't have a screen grab but I believe the 'disguise' J'onn was wearing near the end was meant to look like this iteration of supergirl. Or at least that's what the costuming made me think of.
posted by phearlez at 9:02 AM on October 18, 2016 [5 favorites]


Mostly liked it, and sardonyx and I appear to be mostly in agreement about how this went. Specifics:

* Superman was indeed very unreasonable, and I wish the discussion there had been more nuanced. Like... keeping the Kryptonite with the DEO was clearly a bad plan - this episode demonstrated that. However, getting rid of it is a worse plan - J'onn's point about Astra was well taken. I wish they'd compromised, something like "J'onn keeps the Kryptonite someplace hidden." Presently, I'm hoping it's hidden at the Fortress of Solitude, or they're going to be in a lot of trouble later.

* I've been thinking about this:

Second, it's about time somebody criticized Clark for dumping Kara on the Danvers and not caring for her himself.

I hate this convention in the comics, because he comes across as a horrible family member because he basically just dumps her with a foster family and zooms off to have his own adventures. Supergirl recasts the decision as a more reasonable one: it's clear they're in close correspondence at all times. (It makes sense for Superman to keep a child away from his work when she's too young to defend herself, and it makes sense for him to lack the time to raise anybody while he's busy saving Earth, but the bit where they don't talk much always felt out of character for him to me. Constant Skype/SMS contact is bad from a security perspective, but a reasonable convention for a show like this, and it makes him come across as more involved.)

* I'm going to miss Cat, but that was a pretty good sendoff. I'm in the 'I wish she'd just called Supergirl Kara' camp in the balcony scene.

* I like the new Snapper Carr. While it would be better to have a female figure in that role, Kara does need a grumpy mentor archetype. Everyone else loves her too much to always be honest with her. I appreciated Cat's perspective, and am hoping Carr is half as good on that score, including ending up with a working relationship with Supergirl of some sort.

* Winn's Superman-hero-worship was perfect, as was Superman's non-reaction to it. That has got to happen all the time. (The bit about "Are you... crying?" "No!" cracked me up.)

* Apart from the Kryptonite disagreement, Superman continued to work for me here. He and Kara really come across as well adjusted family, which was nice. (The thing I like most about Supergirl is how generally upbeat it is, and he contributed to that pretty well. Grimndark comics stuff can be fine, but there's such a glut of it lately.)

* Alex in power armor really didn't look good/logical visually - they should have it project a force field or something to cover why Metallo didn't crush her skull.

* It's always nice to see Brenda Strong. She's a good nemesis for now, and I'm also hoping she's working for Amanda Waller.
posted by mordax at 9:14 AM on October 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oh, in case you aren't a 40+y/o nerd and didn't catch the reference when they did it - side by side.

I thought it was weird to waste imitating one of the (only?) really iconic images of Supergirl on this episode and that moment. I had seen it teased in the trailer for the season, but was surprised for it to pop up right then.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 9:25 AM on October 18, 2016


Yeah, I thought that the shot looked really cool but there was no question that Kara was actually hurt. They kinda wasted that homage on a scene without any gravitas. Unlike the Flash of Two Worlds homage, which they teased just as much and I felt worked in the episode.

The language with Clark and Kara was weird that way at several points.

Seriously. Fanfic writers are going t lose their jobs!
posted by kittensofthenight at 10:53 AM on October 18, 2016


Superman: "If you're going to keep kryptonite I can't be a part of this"
Proceeds to adventure alongside Kara for several days as they take direction from the DEO.

I hate this convention in the comics, because he comes across as a horrible family member because he basically just dumps her with a foster family and zooms off to have his own adventures. Supergirl recasts the decision as a more reasonable one: it's clear they're in close correspondence at all times.

I always just thought it made perfect sense for Superman to have the attitude of I LOVED growing up as a human among humans and my family was great and Kara should have the same thing! Portrayed that way it also would have good potential for conflict with Supes and Kara for her to be bothered by it and point out to him that she had actually known a life on Krypton and it was very different for her to go through the second half of her childhood in a human family.

I don't imagine this show doing that since it would require a lot more time with the big blue boy scout, but as a well-intentioned but flawed choice - though perhaps the best possible choice out of the ones that are actually practical - I think that would be a nice angle to develop.

Mind, I would like this show to actually make up its mind a little better about how out of place Kara really feels. It seems like they can't make up their mind how much a part of the human world she really feels herself to be. I don't want a tortured Supergirl, but having her drop lines like the one in this one about having never felt a part of things doesn't feel true. So then she's either being mercurial - and a little crappy to her sister - or her personality the rest of the time is suddenly being indicated as a facade.
posted by phearlez at 10:55 AM on October 18, 2016


"I'll gladly take the change of character, however, if he's actually going to demand that Kara learns how to be a reporter. It has always bugged me that it's one of those professions on TV that just everybody can do and do brilliantly without having any sort of clue what the job actually entails "

I dunno, I picked it up really fast at age 21. But then again, television is the place where a photographer can become CEO. I kinda wish Kara was doing another job, actually, because she is such a female twinclone of Clark in almost every way already without also doing his job too.

"Second, it's about time somebody criticized Clark for dumping Kara on the Danvers and not caring for her himself."

Good point. This Clark doesn't even look that different in age from her anyway--how old is he supposed to be?

"The thing that disappointed me was that I really wanted Cat to call Supergirl Kara when they were chatting on the balcony. I know that's not going to happen for a long, long time (assuming it ever does), but it really felt like the time was right for it to happen."

I root for that in every scene they have.

"protective chest guards, which happened to be clear to show the logos and conveniently fell off were a silly plot device (aim for the legs or heads or stomachs guys, literally the only place that seemed to be protected was the dead center of the chest)."

HEAR, HEAR. Those were ridiculously terrible.

"I don't like Snapper Carr yet, and I really dislike exchanging a tough, but supportive, female mentor for another angry newsman character who slings gendered insults"

HEAR, HEAR. Oh, goody, another asshole mentor type except without a soul. You can be grumpy without being rude, mean, and insulting on top of it. I'm going to miss Cat.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:33 PM on October 18, 2016 [3 favorites]


I actually would have been really happy to have Kara find some other occupation, but it seems the writers wanted to keep CatCo. in play, so it was obvious she was going to have to be some kind of reporter/photographer/journalist/etc. Sure they could have stuck her in accounting or marketing, but then she'd be stuck in an office with no excuse to fly off and save people.
posted by sardonyx at 4:00 PM on October 18, 2016


Mind, I would like this show to actually make up its mind a little better about how out of place Kara really feels. It seems like they can't make up their mind how much a part of the human world she really feels herself to be. I don't want a tortured Supergirl, but having her drop lines like the one in this one about having never felt a part of things doesn't feel true. So then she's either being mercurial - and a little crappy to her sister - or her personality the rest of the time is suddenly being indicated as a facade.

I'm pretty sure it is actually a facade, although that's not how I think of it. They've covered how she represses her feelings before, even last episode; and if she does feel lonely and out of place, there's nothing she can do about that except make connections with people and try to find things that mean something; being sad does not help anything. It feels like a normal thing, to me, to be kind of fake in that sense.


So like how does Clark know Kryptonian tho?
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 8:53 PM on October 18, 2016


Presumably there's a copy of Rosetta Stone in the Fortress of Solitude.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 4:32 AM on October 19, 2016 [2 favorites]


And the robot tutor/answer-giver.
posted by phearlez at 10:54 AM on October 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


what was odd was that they needed Winn to translate the Kryptonian from that new ship when Supes was right there.
posted by numaner at 1:34 PM on October 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


Like a lot of child immigrants, Kal speaks his ancestral language but doesn't read and write it well.
posted by phearlez at 8:02 AM on October 20, 2016 [3 favorites]


But how does he speak it? What other Kryptonians has he been hanging out with?
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:52 PM on October 20, 2016


I feel petty for being annoyed at this, but why have Clark in town hanging out with Kara while Superman is also there teaming up with Supergirl? It makes 0 sense while also giving everyone, including a Luthor, a pretty big tip as to their secret identities. They're both really fast! Kara offered to pick up Italian from Italy for a date. You could even have Clark duck out of a meeting in Metropolis for a few minutes, help Supergirl fight some bad guys in National City, and rush back in to the meeting with like rubble in his hair or something (I'm not a TV writer, obviously).

And then when he's leaving town they have what feels like a meaningful goodbye. You're less than ten minutes away, probably!

I know the answer to all this is that it's a TV show and they only had the actor for two episodes, but it just felt really forced.
posted by ODiV at 8:11 AM on October 21, 2016 [3 favorites]


And then when he's leaving town they have what feels like a meaningful goodbye. You're less than ten minutes away, probably!

So confusing, especially in an episode where he jets off to the Fortress of Solitude with no meaningful loss of time. Dude could move to the moon and make it back for board game night.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:08 PM on October 21, 2016


I'm catching up on these kinda late, but I would've sworn that in the first season they said that CADMUS was a secret government lab where they experiment on aliens/metahumans, and even its rumored existence was horrific enough that Superman refused to work directly for or with the DEO and the US government.

So the appearance of CADMUS as some kind of non-government villain lair and J'onn and Supes having a falling out over the DEO Kryptonite stash kinda came out of nowhere.

OTOH, I like the little touches they added supporting the idea that the Clark Kent seekrit identity works because Kal-El is a for-real nerdy goody-two-shoes goof in or out of uniform. (Last episode where he sheepishly admits that he genuinely knocked the woman's papers all over the elevator, and this episode where he won't drink wine even though it has no effect on him.)
posted by soundguy99 at 9:06 PM on January 4, 2017 [1 favorite]


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