Supergirl: Supergirl Lives
January 24, 2017 5:00 AM - Season 2, Episode 9 - Subscribe
The story of a missing woman moves Kara to investigate...
...When Kara and Mon-El check out the last place Izzy was seen, they end up thrust through a portal to another planet, where humans are being sold as slaves as part of a trafficking ring run by Roulette. Meanwhile, Alex blames herself--and her new relationship with Maggie--for her sister's disappearance, and Winn has to come to grips with his fears after a near-death encounter while side-kicking for Guardian.
AV Club recap - Kevin Smith’s Supergirl episode has charm but doesn’t quite soar
CBR - Interview: Kevin Smith Geeks Out Over Directing Supergirl
...When Kara and Mon-El check out the last place Izzy was seen, they end up thrust through a portal to another planet, where humans are being sold as slaves as part of a trafficking ring run by Roulette. Meanwhile, Alex blames herself--and her new relationship with Maggie--for her sister's disappearance, and Winn has to come to grips with his fears after a near-death encounter while side-kicking for Guardian.
AV Club recap - Kevin Smith’s Supergirl episode has charm but doesn’t quite soar
CBR - Interview: Kevin Smith Geeks Out Over Directing Supergirl
I did like that Winn got to do some acting (though I don't think I'll ever be happy with this Guardian nonsense and the sidelining of James for Mon-El), and Alex/Maggie is still a joy to watch. But, yeah, not a great episode.
Was it a White Martian that Supergirl recognized as the bad-guy alien?
And so, I guess it's all but confirmed that Mon-El was Daxom royalty - really hope they don't draw that storyline out forever, not looking forward to the show having Kara get romantic with Mon-El before she finds out the truth, so they can be all angsty and betrayed when the truth comes out.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:11 AM on January 24, 2017
Was it a White Martian that Supergirl recognized as the bad-guy alien?
And so, I guess it's all but confirmed that Mon-El was Daxom royalty - really hope they don't draw that storyline out forever, not looking forward to the show having Kara get romantic with Mon-El before she finds out the truth, so they can be all angsty and betrayed when the truth comes out.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:11 AM on January 24, 2017
No, it was a Dominator that Kara recognized. They're the aliens she fought in the crossover episodes with The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.
I find it fascinating that the Dominators know and/or respect Mon-El of Daxam. If they're such bad guys, how bad were the Daxamites if the Dominators respect them? (And yes, I agree, I do think Mon-El is the prince of Daxam.)
posted by juliebug at 8:03 AM on January 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I find it fascinating that the Dominators know and/or respect Mon-El of Daxam. If they're such bad guys, how bad were the Daxamites if the Dominators respect them? (And yes, I agree, I do think Mon-El is the prince of Daxam.)
posted by juliebug at 8:03 AM on January 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
I liked the episode but I didn't LOVE it and I really adore this show. It doesn't take much to win me over. IDK, it wasn't awful it just felt like it was "off" somehow. A bit forced maybe? Roulette was WASTED! What a shame! I think it's pretty obvious that Mon-El is for sure the Daxam Prince and his and Kara's budding romance is going to be perfectly timed to coincide with his capture by the hooded-faceless alien bounty hunters (or whatever they are) in order to cause the maximum emotional pain for anybody fool enough to ship Karamel. (Which I do, so I should probably prepare myself.)
My favorite moments were when Alex poked Supergirl's "Crinkle" and when she used the alien gun then proclaimed "OH! I got dibs." I am so looking forward to the #Sanvers fanfic this episode inspires! Should be epic.
posted by pjsky at 11:45 AM on January 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
My favorite moments were when Alex poked Supergirl's "Crinkle" and when she used the alien gun then proclaimed "OH! I got dibs." I am so looking forward to the #Sanvers fanfic this episode inspires! Should be epic.
posted by pjsky at 11:45 AM on January 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
pjsky - The "crinkle" exchange was utter perfection. And I loved the "dibs" moment, too! Basically, Alex is amazing. As are the Danvers sisters. Love that this sister relationship is at the core of the show.
Agreed that Roulette was wasted, but it was a pretty jam-packed episode. I liked large chunks of it and I'm sure I think even better of it than I should because of the hiatus, because even terrible water is amazing after wandering a desert for weeks. ;) That said, I'm looking forward to seeing what else they have in store for us.
Still, I liked it enough. It was funny and touching and sad and I can't really complain too much. It wasn't as good as Medusa, IMHO, but there are more episodes coming. :)
posted by juliebug at 12:29 PM on January 24, 2017
Agreed that Roulette was wasted, but it was a pretty jam-packed episode. I liked large chunks of it and I'm sure I think even better of it than I should because of the hiatus, because even terrible water is amazing after wandering a desert for weeks. ;) That said, I'm looking forward to seeing what else they have in store for us.
Still, I liked it enough. It was funny and touching and sad and I can't really complain too much. It wasn't as good as Medusa, IMHO, but there are more episodes coming. :)
posted by juliebug at 12:29 PM on January 24, 2017
Hm. Yeah, this was weak but not terrible.
Stuff:
* James was engaging in some Superdickery level asshole behavior this episode.
Telling Winn to 'do something' in the cold open there was horrible. Supergirl was already at the scene. That guy was *not* getting away, and there was no pressing need to yank unarmored, untrained Winn into combat against an assailant who previously had a *rocket launcher*.
Then he acted all smug later, and downplayed the danger that he put Winn in. So... yeah, still really, really disliking the entire Guardian storyline. I wish they'd kept him as Kara's sidekick - her as the leader of a team worked a lot better than this 'we're keeping a secret' bullshit.
* Alex/Maggie stuff continues to work.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if they're only going to do one thing right on Supergirl, (and some weeks that's all they've got), it should be this relationship. So I'm glad those two worked it out here. Maggie working out who Kara was was also good, as she is awesome and should be in their little club.
* Mon-El is not a good replacement for the prior Scooby Gang dynamic.
Mon-El's all right, but the way they've sidelined James and Winn as Kara's support team in favor of him isn't working for me at all, particularly since it's obvious they're setting up the romance there. The coda at the end was annoying. Also, while I really hate the whole Guardian subplot, James has a point about one thing: powers don't make a hero, which is a theme that Supergirl repeatedly hits, (including her refusal to back down in the cell)... unless Mon-El is onscreen. Then, him having powers makes him hero material. It's... just irritating.
All that said, it's nice to have Melissa Benoist back, and I hope they have some more fun stuff coming up.
posted by mordax at 10:52 PM on January 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Stuff:
* James was engaging in some Superdickery level asshole behavior this episode.
Telling Winn to 'do something' in the cold open there was horrible. Supergirl was already at the scene. That guy was *not* getting away, and there was no pressing need to yank unarmored, untrained Winn into combat against an assailant who previously had a *rocket launcher*.
Then he acted all smug later, and downplayed the danger that he put Winn in. So... yeah, still really, really disliking the entire Guardian storyline. I wish they'd kept him as Kara's sidekick - her as the leader of a team worked a lot better than this 'we're keeping a secret' bullshit.
* Alex/Maggie stuff continues to work.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if they're only going to do one thing right on Supergirl, (and some weeks that's all they've got), it should be this relationship. So I'm glad those two worked it out here. Maggie working out who Kara was was also good, as she is awesome and should be in their little club.
* Mon-El is not a good replacement for the prior Scooby Gang dynamic.
Mon-El's all right, but the way they've sidelined James and Winn as Kara's support team in favor of him isn't working for me at all, particularly since it's obvious they're setting up the romance there. The coda at the end was annoying. Also, while I really hate the whole Guardian subplot, James has a point about one thing: powers don't make a hero, which is a theme that Supergirl repeatedly hits, (including her refusal to back down in the cell)... unless Mon-El is onscreen. Then, him having powers makes him hero material. It's... just irritating.
All that said, it's nice to have Melissa Benoist back, and I hope they have some more fun stuff coming up.
posted by mordax at 10:52 PM on January 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
I rewatched the show last night and realized what annoyed me the most.... That "fight" scene after Supergirl gets electrocuted is a sad, pathetic joke. It made no sense. The Doctor and Roulette JUST STOOD THERE and then willingly walked into the "prison cell" as if it was all no big deal. WTF? and the "get away" scenes were just as bad. The timing was ridiculous. Like the Dominator didn't have time to turn them all into scrambled eggs and use Supergirl as his toothpick? C'mon! That entire sequence was so lame.
posted by pjsky at 7:19 AM on January 25, 2017
posted by pjsky at 7:19 AM on January 25, 2017
The pacing of the escape was off, but it looked the Dominator only just caught up to them in that final hallway and then gave up because of the Prince of Daxam.
posted by numaner at 11:02 AM on January 25, 2017
posted by numaner at 11:02 AM on January 25, 2017
I thought it was better than the other episodes this season, but, you know. Pretty much agree with everyone.
The part I liked the most was that Kara realized she was sad because she was not being sufficiently heroic.
The Sanvers throughline surprised me! When Maggie said, last episode, "You're not gonna go crazy on me now, are you?" I figured that was problematizing their relationship for the ongoing plot - obviously Alex would "go crazy". And she did. But I was expecting she would go the Uhaul Lesbian kind of crazy, and Maggie would go ghost. And this was much better. Less stereotyped and more true to Alex.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 5:08 PM on January 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
The part I liked the most was that Kara realized she was sad because she was not being sufficiently heroic.
The Sanvers throughline surprised me! When Maggie said, last episode, "You're not gonna go crazy on me now, are you?" I figured that was problematizing their relationship for the ongoing plot - obviously Alex would "go crazy". And she did. But I was expecting she would go the Uhaul Lesbian kind of crazy, and Maggie would go ghost. And this was much better. Less stereotyped and more true to Alex.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 5:08 PM on January 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Mon-El's all right, but the way they've sidelined James and Winn as Kara's support team in favor of him isn't working for me at all, particularly since it's obvious they're setting up the romance there."
None of those dudes work all that well as a romance. Superheroes really need to date superheroes so that rules the first two out, and Mon-El has mostly been a cheerful frat boy. Now if he heroes up, maaaaybe. But really, she should be dating The Flash. Except for the universe/different shows issue.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:06 PM on January 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
None of those dudes work all that well as a romance. Superheroes really need to date superheroes so that rules the first two out, and Mon-El has mostly been a cheerful frat boy. Now if he heroes up, maaaaybe. But really, she should be dating The Flash. Except for the universe/different shows issue.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:06 PM on January 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Dude, The Flash has sooooo many issues. Not boyfriend material, no matter how cute he is.
posted by amtho at 7:48 AM on January 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by amtho at 7:48 AM on January 26, 2017 [4 favorites]
I actually don't think Supergirl should date. Like, at all.
The first reason for that is that Supergirl's main draw for me is Melissa Benoist being awesome. She's adorable, she's heroic and she's endlessly upbeat. Relationships in the CWDC universe tend to be angsty and drama-laden, per the network's teen drama roots. That really undercuts why I watch. (I loved The Flash before they leaned too heavily on Barry's *incredibly* problematic romantic endeavors. He's so not dating material for a million reasons.)
The second reason is that I hope she'll be too busy forming her own Justice League. I feel like Kara's full potential is to bring a bunch of superheroes together, per the whole 'stronger together' mission statement. I'd rather she were too busy leading and inspiring people, including other heroes, to date. At least on screen.
posted by mordax at 9:40 AM on January 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
The first reason for that is that Supergirl's main draw for me is Melissa Benoist being awesome. She's adorable, she's heroic and she's endlessly upbeat. Relationships in the CWDC universe tend to be angsty and drama-laden, per the network's teen drama roots. That really undercuts why I watch. (I loved The Flash before they leaned too heavily on Barry's *incredibly* problematic romantic endeavors. He's so not dating material for a million reasons.)
The second reason is that I hope she'll be too busy forming her own Justice League. I feel like Kara's full potential is to bring a bunch of superheroes together, per the whole 'stronger together' mission statement. I'd rather she were too busy leading and inspiring people, including other heroes, to date. At least on screen.
posted by mordax at 9:40 AM on January 26, 2017 [2 favorites]
I like that Justice League idea!!
The CW DC romances in particular tend to be the "contractually obligated" type with no regard for how the characters work together, or don't ...
My prediction: they're gonna fridge Mon-el for Kara's angst.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 1:33 PM on January 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
The CW DC romances in particular tend to be the "contractually obligated" type with no regard for how the characters work together, or don't ...
My prediction: they're gonna fridge Mon-el for Kara's angst.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 1:33 PM on January 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
In total agreement with mordax that Melissa Benoist is what makes Supergirl so awesome. I would love to see Supergirl become emotionally attached to a guy with zero connection to aliens, outer space, super powers or anything extraterrestrial. I'd love to see her fall for a guy who works for the ACLU or 350.org or Amnesty or any nonprofit that helps refugees. Human ones. Or works for environmental justice. A guy who is a bleeding heart liberal social justice warrior with zero muscles but a big brain and an even bigger heart. Who doesnt for a second see that Supergirl thinks he is adorable. (As a matter of fact, he should have a girlfriend equally adorable and amazing specifically to restrain Supergirl/Kara from pursueing him). I want to see her help everyday heroes fight the Koch Bros and the Jason Chavetzs and Kellyanne Conways of the world. I want to see her redirect oil spills into the compounds and McMansions of the board of directors of BP and Shell and Exxon. I want to see her fighting for "the little guy" just like the original Superman did in the comics. I am so much more afraid of the bad guys we know about than any space alien anyone could ever imagine.
posted by pjsky at 7:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by pjsky at 7:16 AM on January 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
And then Mon-El is the one yelling "Start the car!" as they ran back to the gate, when he is literally the only person in that entire party who would not get that reference.
I don't want to say this was the worst episode of the series, because that implies more bad-ness than I want to ascribe to it. It wasn't actively bad, but it was definitely the one that leaned the heaviest on how much we love Melissa Benoist and want her to be awesome.
posted by Etrigan at 6:08 AM on January 24, 2017 [1 favorite]