9 Comments

1. 

   Aaron on May 21, 2020 at 7:30 pm

   Some blog post comments…

   Yep, the picture doesn’t make it better; I still hate suited Alex!

   “Agent Dox is determined to finish this mission even  if it is the last thing that he ever does.” – this would have had more weight to me if they had actually bothered to show Brainy in this plot more; as is it was very undramatic to me and the scene felt unearned. I know they were working on a time crunch but still they had plenty of time in other episodes to built this up and they never did. Failure to build on plot ideas is just one of the many issues with this season!

   “Kelly and Alex break into Obsidian’s server room.” – and do a grand total of nothing productive when they get there. 🙁

   Lena and Andrea saying “You jump, I jump” was probably the best thing about this episode; again Daryl go give your girl a massage because she had to be so tired from carrying this season so it just wasn’t total garbage! To be fair all the actors did what they could the problem is they were given crap and unfinished material, even before Corona, and you can only do so much with that. *sigh* This season is just such a let down. 🙁

   Brainy will definitely survive because if they even put a small amount of effort into next season and continue themes then the Goddess Of Technology will be part of the Brainiac system and they’ll do something with that. I don’t hold my breath for that though or for the plot to be handled well right now because the writing quality of this season just hurt me so bad.

   ““Supergirl: The Complete Fifth Season” available September 8, 2020.” – IF I get it this will be on a hardcore sale because again – not a good outing for the series.

   On to the podcast…

   I’m going to declare myself as an anti hero or anti villain after this confinement because I’m pretty sure we’re playing losing our minds.

   “Stargirl” was an ok premiere; I really loved how they did the Courtney-Pat dynamic, as it’s the lead aspect of the character’s hero journey in part this was important to capture and they aced it I felt. I’m certainly up for more from this series and not just because it’s one of the only new thing that will be on this year it seems!

   I fear mentioning this because I don’t want us to lose Odie, but what about Odette Annabel as Kate Kane? She would definitely give Rachel someone to play off in the twins scenes and we know she can rock black. We could have Julie Gonzales back as Sam so she actually gets something to do in a season; we’ll act like the fact Sam now looks like Andrea is no big deal, pull a Catherine Bell it’s ok. Ideally we’d have Odie with us as soon as possible but it would be cool to see her back on screen even if it means she’d be in a different city as a different person.

   I agree Ruby was doing amazing! I think she also just didn’t like the TV filming schedule, she’s more into movie filming schedules of quick and move to the next thing. For me, “Batwoman” was the best CW superhero show of the seasons!

   Unsurprisingly, I won’t be joining you odds are for the Superman reports. That is not “Walker: Texas Ranger”, I don’t know what they think it is but no so while hyped by just the news at first this will also be a pass for me. The last two crossovers have been kind of crap so I don’t think we’re really missing much on that front.

   I feel like they really missed an opportunity to get Melissa back in the OG suit again with this opening scene featuring J’onn, he totally could have been skirt Kara while M’gann was pants Kara. 🙂

   “or she’s working on her journalistic side.” – lol, you’re so funny John! 🙂

   “Hypocrisy” is the word I think you’re looking for John.

   No the season did not deliver on “the battle for Lena’s soul” because there never was a battle; it was just Lex and Kara going ‘Pick me!’ essentially but Lena always being who she was to her core which is good. Not once did she falter as if she would end up like her family and she never became clone Kara so there was no battle. Even if there had been one due to Lex being a focus in the second half of the season it wouldn’t have gotten as much screen time to feel earned and it’s just another fail point for the season.

   I agree with John, Lillian can stay but Lex needs to go!

   Are you saying we might get more Meghan Rath John? I’m in for that!

   “and the new superhero we got in essentially Alex.” – ?don’t, don’t be like the writers John you’re better than that; Alex is not a new superhero, just because she wears cotton polos instead of spandex doesn’t make her any less heroic. She has always been Supergirl/Kara’s personal hero and she’s a hero to J’onn for saving his life in season one and depending on who you talk to civilian level she a hero for taking on other aliens each week. Alex needed none of this garbage they gave her! It’s the writers’ fault for taking her off the Lex-Brainy storyline which they did a grand total of jack with really, it’s the writers’ fault for blowing up the whole DEO for no reason – DON’T PUNISH Alex FOR YOUR MISTAKES; Alex has always been a hero, she doesn’t need your Arrow knock off suit and again I say if you think Alex does need a suit to suddenly play on this team stop writing for this show because you are missing a HUGE aspect of the series and a part that fans really love. “Not all heroes wear capes” is the motto for Alex Danvers and a suit is just a cape for the intent of this discussion, Alex does not need a suit and she will never need a suit to be a hero, this crap didn’t work with James and it’s not going to work with her. DO BETTER show writers or stop writing for this show please because you’re in danger of assassinating one of if not arguably your best character!

   There will be NO suit on the spin off Justina unless it’s a pants suit, it will just be various shades of black t-hurts! Maybe season one is a t-shirt with a organization emblem, season two is a polo, season 3 is a lovely Lena-esque pant suit but no “superhero” suits!!! The Kryptonite exoskeleton suit can come back…that can be a suit but nothing like this horrible thing she wore here.

   “Dangers of technology” also a plot fail because all they show especially after Crisis is the negative side because it’s a tool of Leviathan where as at the start we got some counterpoints for it helping people. To me if you’re going to do plots like this you must have counterpoints to the points you want to make and the side you want to come down on, if the writers think technology is evil fine pick that at the end but it’s not ALL evil so there needs to be points like Kelly made about how there’s good also because it makes your plot more interesting to watch. It’s another all hype no pay off plot and another reason this is the worst season of the series to me. 🙁

   I agree with John, no way everyone logged out of the system!

   Honestly, sadly, at this point I’m all for a long break and I have never said that about the series before and that even included seasons two and three aka the Mon years; maybe the writers will use this long hiatus to think about what they’ve done and actually listen to fans about what didn’t work and what very little did because if they make mistakes like this again I don’t know if we’ll get to 8 seasons much less 10. This is especially when you consider how much over the last 3 years they’ve wrote Kara like Clark instead of Kara and how he has his own show coming so if they do even a little better than “Supergirl” we might get bumped which is SUCH a shame because there’s thousands of Superman products but only like 3 Supergirl ones (the movie, the show, and the comics) and also Kara allows you to explore Krytonians in ways you can’t with Clark. Writing Kara like Clark is another issue with the season and series. I hope the writers won’t just dismiss fans concerns, I know we can say negative things and with passion but Justina said it’s only because we know the show can be better than this and we want that series back! I want 10 years of “Supergirl” and then the Alex spin off (which the CW should do – lock Chyler Leigh down!) not the series basically being written off and then the Alex spin off. Please take this hiatus time to rewatch season one and listen to fan complaints writers and just do better because the show, fandom and your reputation as a professional writer with skills deserve better.

   Not showing their work is definitely a theme of this season Daryl.

   I know some people will say “it’s just a TV show” but we all have something we’re passionate about and when that passion hurts you it hurts; you said it well Justina when you invest in something like this the pain you feel is real. I hope season six will be better but I’m not going to hold my breath and I sadly feel that’s the smart play. When you start with zero care the only place to go is up right?

   Another well done reading of the feedback Justina! 🙂

   #SamStillHasPowers!

   NO to more William, like season five just let it go writers!!!

   I have to disagree Monty, J’onn as Kara will always be funny. 🙂

   “when Derek Simon’s name is on it you knew no good was going to come from it” ha John!

   “so James could drop roll out” lol Leslie. The episode may have been crap but the podcast as always is killing it with good times. 🙂

   I agree with everyone who said Eve should have told Kara this episode that she killed Jeremiah since she could write everything off as being played by Lex, by waiting she makes it look like she knew what she was doing and is just lying to escape punishment. They had enough time to have her say sorry about William so they could have worked in her saying she’s sorry about her dad too and maybe you have something interrupt Kara learning it is indeed Jeremiah but you still get it out because having the reveal in another season just feels like tying up loose ends instead of an earned drama moment. That’s if the writers even remember later on they had Eve do it and she didn’t know who Jeremiah was because they love rewriting moments so it’s very possible in season six they say someone else killed Jeremiah. I know I’m being hard on the writers but they brought it on themselves; addressing William but not Jeremiah simply to push a ship no one likes is just another reason to dislike that ship more…again character handling and the ability to see the plots fans really care about was just a miss this season and again I’m left wondering why.

   “I know some fans think season five is the worst season…” *hand shoots up quickly*.

   I feel 1, 2, 3, 4, and then 5 is a fair ranking for best seasons Leslie because while season one gets a lot of flack for its poor CGI at times and slow start on the whole it is “Supergirl” at its most best because everyone felt organic to the paths they went on, you had drama without it being manufactured feeling, you had comedy and romance but also action and drama and the characters weren’t naive (I’m mainly looking at Kara on this one), you had consequences to things such as J’onn being found out by Harper, you had amazing sister moments…it’s just an amazing series and deserves so much love! Season two edges out season three for me because while I love the Sam storyline and the potential it still has the handling of Alex coming out was just so well done I give the second place to it; Lena is good in both seasons. The reason I put them second and third respectively is because Mon was really bad so I end up with only half a season to enjoy viewing with them. Red Daughter did help season four along with her Lena again being a highlight so it is fourth and season five will most likely be my worst forever because there’s just nothing to like in the season really. Logically yes there’s some moments you can look at and enjoy such as the 100th episode and Andrea and Lena but it’s not enough especially with post Crisis handling to say it’s a good season; again I feel like this is my season six of “Charmed” all over again – I’m going to most likely get the DVD to complete the series set but it’s going to be on discount because there’s just nothing to be excited by in the season with exception of one or two moments.

   “#3yearslate” lol, I love it Ken!

   I look forward to the hiatus episodes!

   Reply
2. 

   Aaron on May 21, 2020 at 7:32 pm

   Why I feel season 5 is the worst season of the series…

   To be fair there was one plus this season and that plus is named Lena Luthor. Her stuff was good but just under focused on, which is one of the season issues, so I have no real complaints there. To also be fair Nia is in the same boat as Lena overall so that’s two things that are pluses for the season, but that’s sadly it.

   Now on to the negatives, spoiler alert there’s a lot so pull up a chair!

   •I will start with the most obvious and easily to spot fail of this season – William.

   Seriously can anyone tell me what purpose he had in this season? Ok fine we all know it was to be a love interest for Kara, but I ask – did Kara really need a love interest this season? There’s also the fact that the character is just SO one note feeling; no matter what the writers tried to add to him to make him seem interesting he just wasn’t in my opinion. I couldn’t even get swept up in his accent and I am a sucker for accents usually. I don’t know if this was an acting fail, a writing fail, a casting fail or a combination of things but at the end of the day it was a fail and that’s the main thing.

   •Another pretty obvious fail was the character of Kelly Olsen.

   Poor Azie did her best with what she had but the problem is what she had was random character shifts and a stagnate storyline. Kelly sadly could have been replaced with any guest or extra of the week and nothing in the season would have changed honestly; at most we learned her allergy list which is a fun character point but does not a watchable character for the season make. Kelly was billed as this shrink character and yet what did she do all season? Crunch computer code – how do those equal up? Can Kelly code also? If she can please explain that on the show as the shift felt very unrealistic! If the writers want me to care about Kelly and Alex and Kelly as a couple by extension I’m going to need them to write to them as individuals as much as a couple and show how individual aspects can sometimes effect couplehood; also don’t be afraid to have them disagree at times because even the happiest couple in the world are sure to disagree at times even if the disagreement ends up with them just saying “You’re right.” “No you’re right.” *kissy face*.

   •Perhaps a slightly less noticeable problem with this season for some viewers was in my opinion the handling of Alex.

   Alex felt pushed aside to a repeat plot, working for J’onn, in order to give Brainy more time with Lex at the DEO to make that plot work but yet we rarely see Brainy at the DEO working with or against Lex so it’s like what was the point of Alex not being there? Would it have not been more interesting instead to see Brainy have to work around Alex to help Lex or for them to bump heads over topics because of Brainy’s mission? It just felt so unnecessary to strip Alex of her position and out of character for Alex to walk away; this is what I mean by the season having manufactured plots, when you can see behind the curtain as it were it can make the plot a lot less enjoyable. Also there’s the fact they put her in a suit which was completely unnecessary for the character, problematic in that it can lead some to think wearing a suit is the only way to be a hero, and a lazy solution to a problem they created by pulling her from the season action to begin with; to say this move was rage inducing would an understatement.

   •Another less noticeable perhaps but again still important shift was the disappearance of the “pros and cons of technology” theme established at the start of the season.

   We spent a good part of the early half of the season discussing Andrea’s lenses and if the program was really helpful or not but then post Crisis it was like “Ugh, yeah sure it’s bad because Leviathan is bad and they’re over it” instead of giving actual time, even if it was just a line of dialogue, to a debate on the topic. Yes it’s true season four failed also to do a good take on point-counterpoint for their Agent Liberty plot but still all the more reason to do better the second time! If you are going to set up these big debatable plot concepts writers don’t be scared to actually discuss them!

   •In that same vein you have the basic non existent of “the battle for Lena’s soul”.

   Not once did it ever feel like there was a battle for Lena because Lena is not like her family; this is something the fandom discussed at length again during season four and thus it’s really hard to make a plot believable when the character doesn’t fit it. Lena is not even kind of evil thus you can not have a battle for her soul. This plot I feel comes from a series issue in which the writers seem to want to make Lena and Kara stand ins for their brother and cousin and they are not their brother or cousin…”Supergirl” is NOT “Superman” and if they continue to treat it as such plots related to that concept will continue to fail. “The battle for Lena’s soul” felt more like Lex and Kara bucking about each other to Lena and Lena just deciding she had enough of both of them but did apologize to Kara because…Kara’s the hero I guess? That’s another issue itself which stems back to season three and the lazy fight they set up between the women and since this is a season five discussion we’ll just move on.

   •Unnecessary Crisis resets are another season issue.

   Someone please explain to me why post Crisis William had to be mad at Lex instead of staying mad about Russell with Andrea. Given Andrea is tied to Leviathan could the two plots not merged somewhere with William also looking into Lex because he’s getting close to them by looking at people like Andrea? It just felt unnecessary. Also the fact that people had different memories because in the grand scheme it doesn’t appear to have mattered as all the important characters have their memories come back so what was the point of the wipe tease? I think this was done a lot better on “Arrow” with the back door Canary pilot in which we see main characters expressing different feelings on topics or acting visually different until their memories are reset; on “Supergirl” it was like “You know fans hated the last memory wipe we did on a character, lets revert them all back quick!” which is arguably smart but still left that aspect feeling like filler and thus pretty pointless. There’s probably others as Crisis is one big plot hole when you really start looking at it, but these are just some quickly off the top of my head which influenced the season for me personally.

   •Leviathan was a dud.

   As Monty says, your mileage may vary on this one but I personally found them to be too big of a concept for the show to do. It’s one thing to attempt this in comics where you have multiple franchises which can take a piece of the plot and build on it and enhance the story instead of putting all the weight onto one book but trying to pull this off on a show, even if they had gotten the full season (which they’re close enough I feel to say this is always how it was going to be), especially when you have a major event in the season and show universe it’s arguably asking for too much. Also there’s the fact that Leviathan feels very ancient so it left me asking where have they been before now? Why weren’t they in season two? If they’re that old shouldn’t they be able to beat Kara pretty easily? Why didn’t Brainy know about them as he’s from the future? You could ask “why didn’t Brainy say something before now” about a lot of plots though and that is a current series problem also, if you’re going to have someone from the future on you need to explain why they’re letting events happen more than just “to preserve time” because that’s an old excuse and seriously no character tries to get information from them, that feels unrealistic, but again we’re talking about season five strictly so back to the list.

   •Brainy’s not so great debate.

   How are we suppose to feel for him when we only see the highlights version of his storyline this season? Most of the Leviathan hunt has been from Lex’s POV so I’m left at times asking why is Brainy even involved in this?

   •This brings us to a controversial addition to the list: there was way too much Lex in the season.

   Certainly the second half of the season post Crisis felt like the Lex Luther show as every plot seemed to run throw him all the way to the death of Jeremiah Danvers. In a show where we have Lillian Luther and Maxwell Lord I ask – does “Supergirl” even need Lex Luther on the show? I enjoy Jon Cryer’s acting as much as the next person and he may be the best Lex ever on TV, big words I know Michael Rosenbaum fans but it’s possible, but “Supergirl” doesn’t need Lex Luthor and his addition into the series again feels like a series issue with wanting to make this a Superman show and “Supergirl” should not be treated like a Superman. “Supergirl” is a chance to do things with fresh eyes such as showing a El and Luthor can be friends by having Lena and Kara be buddies or addressing Kryptonian aspects that only Kara can provide you with because while he’s biologically Kryptonian Clark is very much an Earthling in every way that matters. It’s one thing to have Lex maybe guest star as he can manipulate Lena in ways Lillian can’t but way too much time was dedicated to him this season I feel and because of that several characters felt pushed to the side if they even made it with that much attention.

   •The death of Jeremiah Danvers.

   One, why kill him? Could he have not been on the lamb still as a way to explain not having Dean back. There is an option called recasting show teams, you do not have to kill off a character or never mention them again simply because you can’t get an actor back; true you may not get as luck as you did casting the first time but still it’s worth a try before you write off the character forever. The biggest issue though with this plot point is the fact of what was the point given the sisters never learned who really killed him? Yes it may have been addressed in the episodes that got cut and thus we’ll see it in the sixth season but if we don’t what was the point? Even if it is addressed later there is a fair question of does it pack the same emotional punch it would have being paid off in season five?

   •The “Kara is right because…” factor.

   Was Lena harsh on Kara when she found out she was Supergirl? Arguably sure. Was Kara innocent in the fallout? No. It’s fair to argue Kara kept her secret to protect Lena and her family, but as we saw on the series not knowing Kara is Supergirl also put her in harms way – most notably when she worked hard to save Kara from people invading L Corp. There was also her trying to save them in the plane when she could have just sat back and let Kara level it out. Kara having a reason to lie is still a lie and to not have her apologize for her part in things makes her seem arrogant which would be fine if the writers played on that theme but they don’t so she just comes off as “right because she’s the hero” and that’s not someone worth cheering for. Kara also called Lena a villain just because she disagreed with choices she was making and claimed she was working with the season bad guys without any proof so again I ask why should fans cheer for Kara? It’s very problematic when start writing the characters to fit your plot instead writing the plot to fit the characters! Kara having flaws is ok, the writers refusing to admit those flaws and instead putting any faults onto other characters simply because Kara is the title “hero” character is not.

   •The disappearance of Andrea’s powers for half a season.

   To be fair they didn’t really use Andrea’s powers much in the first half of the season but you can give them a pass as they were building the character to her reveal even though fans could guess it was her because they knew the actress, but post Crisis it was very much “what powers” with her. I’m all for writing characters as more than one thing so Andrea at Obsidian for some episodes I didn’t mind, but at a point you do wonder why they’re not using this shadow assassin to take out players. Was Andrea meant to be a stand in Enchantress with that backstory? A Reign 2.0 because they heard how much fans loved Reign and Sam Arias? We’ll never know because like many characters in season five Andrea only really got to come out to play when they wanted her to regardless of how she would have worked in plots so she was just there. Julie Gonzales was a fun performer to watch as the character but like Azie she just wasn’t given anything to really do after a point.

   •The use of Q waves.

   Q waves was the magic fix it all for plots it felt this season. Need a cool tech term? Q waves! Need an explanation fast to move the plot along? Q waves! They literally did everything it seemed from mind control to blowing up rats in a lab. This term was used so much without any solid explanation that it just became a joke to hear and a drinking game bullet point for the season.

   And these are just points off the top of my head and with very little thinking on all the problems of the season!

   Reply
3. 

   Montefescu on May 22, 2020 at 12:00 am

   https://arrow.fandom.com/wiki/Leviathan_(Earth-Prime)

   The Fourth Leviathan Loser is SELA.

   https://arrow.fandom.com/wiki/Sela

   You will find her mentioned as a Jaharpurian wind elemental in DC comics.

   As far as I can tell the no-name actress we get in “Immortal Kombat” is the wind elemental.

   Tezumak is the fire elemental.

   Rhama Khan’t shamalangadingdong is the earth elemental.

   Gemnma is a robot or the tech elemental.

   =============================================

   So who is the water elemental?

   One comment about the Cougar’s Corner selection this week.

   The primary reason I came to HATE the entire New 52 Superman series and was glad he was comic-book killed off when Geoff Johns rewrote the New 52 into a long overdue DC mythic death, was the way Supergirl was treated as part of that disgusting perverted H’el, story arc.

   Let me just say, that Scott Lobdell was clearly not in a good place; (He is much better and happier, now and it shows in his current writing.) and that some of the stories he wrote as part of that H’el series, under a certain DC editor’s direction and mandate, were awful, atypical, and asinine for him; not only from the mechanics of writing and good story-telling, but also in the way the female characters in those stories were … how can I put it? Bluntly; sexualized and stupidized and objectified in the way he wrote them.

   Kara zor-El especially was “Pretty Babied” in that arc.

   I cannot emphasize how AWFUL that result was and is right down to when in ART Kara is offered on a plate to H’el in a direct reference to that movie “Pretty Baby”.

   Not since the Rape of Ms. Marvel or the shenanigans of Arthur Light, the Doctor Light who raped Sue Dibney in the comics, have I been so outraged, horrified and mortified.

   There are some comics that should be suppressed and or rejected as part of canon. The H’el series is one of them.

   Not fit for human consumption, or if read, it should be an object lesson of the result of a very dark period of editorship that needed to be urgently fixed to restore the Supers at DC to some semblance of truth, justice and the American way.

   =================================================

   AARON, I want to digest what you wrote, and give it the praise and justice it deserves.

   Monty

   Reply
4. 

   Geoff Gentry on May 22, 2020 at 7:42 am

   My thoughts:  
   I never liked the Brainy story this season because it was not well developed and the strife between he and Dreamer seemed like plot device. Meaghan Rath is a great actress and I really wish we could keep her on the series. I liked the progress of Kara & Lena, but it was cut short. Please for the love of Krypton, writers do not have Lena be swayed by her brother/mother next season. I want a united Kara Lena front next season. Alex doesn’t need a suit, but if you are going to give her one, give her a mask! I agree with John & Justina ship Lex over to Superman & Lois and keep Lillian.

   Non-Supergirl thoughts:  
   I slugged my way through “The Boys” on Amazon (a tale of what a JL that was made by corporate America). What is meant to be satire and an attack on corporate America, is an attack on religion, family, and much more. I cannot recommend it and will not watch S2. Marvel Netflix shows. I need to watch the last seasons of Daredevil & JJ, but enjoyed them. I honestly enjoyed Cloak & Dagger over on Freeform, to me it looked at social issues and heroes on the Marvel side like Black Lightning does on DC. Hate it got cancelled due to the Marvel TV shake up. 

   I have been reading the X-Men titles this year and enjoying most (not Fallen Angels). While New Mutants/OG X-Force is what I grew up on, I’ve been disappointed b/c they have made the New Mutants title about 2 groups alternating stories and have regressed the OG New Mutants from adults back to collage early post-college. My fav. titles are Mauraders and Excalibur. 
   I enjoyed ep 1 of Stargirl. It is a golden age tale. That means that the tone and bearing are lighter than our CW Earth Prime and much more so than the darker Swampthing, Doom Patrol, and Titans. But that is good. I like the fact that the DC universe can have characters like Stargirl, Elongated Man, and Legends right along side Constantine and Swampthing. I’ll be watching Stargirl and we will have a thread up each week in the Central City Underground FB group. It will be up so those who watch on Monday on DCU can discuss and those who watch on Tuesday on the CW can discuss. Come join us.

   Reply
5. 

   Aaron on May 22, 2020 at 2:09 pm

   Here’s my request to the “Supergirl” writing team and Greg Berlanti because as I’ve said I don’t want a repeat of season five…

   1. Greg please mandate that every writer and showrunner on the “Supergirl” team rewatches season one at least twice!

   This is the best season of the series and thus should be refereed back to for inspiration; if a writer can prove to you that they watched the season more than 2 times (make them take a test don’t just go by numbers which can be manipulated) please consider them for promotion to showrunner or a senior writer on the series if they’re not one yet.

   2. Everyone has to write a bare minimum 5 page essay (college rule paper; single spaced) on why Kara Danvers is not Clark Kent!

   Y’all are slowly but surely killing your lead character by making her into a shadow of herself. Kara is not Clark just because they share DNA and have similar powers so please stop treating her as if she’s a stand in him! Kara is not naive about Kryptonite as much as him, does she like it being used no but she also knows sometimes it has to be because she couldn’t stop Reign by herself and she can’t be in two places at once as much as she wishes to be at times; Kara is not a reporter just because she sees him use it as his cover, she can still work at CatCo as a promoter for the magazine and thus be “out at meeting” when Supergirl needs to be at a scene. She did not have the same relationship with a Luthor as him and it made your show interesting, turning Lena and Kara into female versions of their family members has seriously hurt your quality and that’s not a good thing. You can still do nods to Superman on the show but remember Kara isn’t him and you should love that because it means you can do amazing takes on concepts out there – see how “For The Girl Who Has Everything” (season one) was much better a watch because Kara unlike Clark is effected by memories of the planet which he can never have because he doesn’t remember any of it honestly. If someone writes more on this subject or just does an amazing piece consider them for promotion.

   3. Everyone has to write a 3 page essay (college rule; single space) on why being human in a group of people with powers is not a bad thing.

   Whoever the wrote the “I’ve never felt so human” line for Alex specifically and whoever okayed it to be on TV has to write a bare minimum 5 page essay on the topic. Again let me remind you of the motto for Alex which fans love – “Not all heroes wear capes”; a suit is a cape for all intent and purposes and so you need to get her out of that FAST. Alex has never needed a suit in the five years of the series and you shouldn’t try putting her in one now; that did not work with James in case you don’t remember so unless you want to destroy the second lead character and the favorite character of a lot of fans you’ll put her back in the polo!

   4. Start early with showing your work; if you’re a writer making a pitch for a season plot write a scene out for that plot and give as much detail as you have at the moment.

   If you’re going to hype you’re whole season around something such as “the battle for Lena’s soul” or “is technology good or bad” like you had this season then show those moments; when you forget to play to them it makes fans wonder why they should invest in the plot and the season and that’s not a good thing. Show your work! This should go without saying, but I’ve seen it happen on other series before so don’t off screen moments either when showing your work – have characters discuss things on screen even if you feel like it’s filler and pointless because you know fans guessed the outcome early in the season because I assure you that scene still matters to people! Action is fun and all but what sells your series and keeps fans coming back is the interactions so if you need time ditch a few moments of a fight scene.

   5. Everyone has to write a two page paper (college rule; single space) on the why it’s important to do point-counter point when discussing major topics.

   It is ok to have a side you come down on in the end and showcase that side at the end of the season, but until that point you should always be doing point-counter point because it gives you organic drama and organic drama is the best kind of drama!

   6. One of the most important things that needs to happen next to the Kara paper, human paper, and season one rewatch – everyone must spend one whole month reading fan feedback about this season and at least two weeks out of that month MUST be spent reading just negative points feedback!

   I know it sucks to work hard in your mind only to find out people don’t like what you put out but in turn it sucks as a viewer to see characters assassinated essentially and to see things that were hyped up which you were excited for never pay off. The good news is this is all fixable writing so don’t let ego blind you to advice on how to keep this series going; more years of “Supergirl” is what we all want so let’s work together to get that! Check various sites too don’t just look at Twitter or Facebook, read comments on YouTube clips or comments left on reviews for the episodes of the seasons. If writers chose to engage with fans to learn more on why they feel the way they do consider them for a promotion or give them more episodes to write at least; just remember writers don’t be jerks because you don’t want the show to look any worse this season. It’s okay to be passionate in turn just don’t be a jerk!

   7. Engage with fans about why super couples work!

   If you ask people what made Olicity so popular they’re not going to start by saying how great it was that Oliver rescued Felicity in a scene, they’re going to tell you how great it is that they listen to each other and want to protect each other and that when they fight they do so with passion but always make up. People are going to tell you it’s the fact that you still have Oliver and Felicity as individuals on top of Olicity so when introducing new possible ships show us the individuals doing their own things and then coming together and do individual plots effect the couple. Revisit season two to see how well Maggie/Alex evolved because we saw Maggie as Maggie an as part of Sanvers; you’re already mandated to rewatch season one so look at how well James and Kara developed, true not everyone liked the paring but no one complains about it feeling rushed!

   I know I’m just a lowly fan who’s never worked in television writing before so who am I to say “Do better”, but if you have enough people who feel like the show is slipping then that can add up to no show and we don’t want that! Again these are all pretty easy, fixable points so there’s a lot of good news there the thing is you have to take this hiatus and work on them not just write more of the same because this season got cut short; if you have to act like season five didn’t happen then I think sadly most will be okay with the lost season if it means we get better and get back to the quality of the early years. You can work in some things because of continuity but if you have to let it go and never speak of it on series again in the name of a better season let season five go; we all make mistakes and have rough points the important thing is to try again. 🙂

   Bonus request: Don’t have Lex Luthor back on this show until like season eight MAYBE where he’s only allowed to be in like 3 episodes max.

   5B of this season was the Lex Luthor show and as many have said he did nothing new; there’s also the fact we don’t need him as we have Lillian Luthor who’s pretty evil in her own right and we have Maxwell Lord still in universe, he’s got that whole Omegahedron plot just ready to go (see the end of season one)! Jon is a great Lex so you can keep him in universe we just have never needed Lex on “Supergirl” and certainly never for this long a period of time. So yeah that’s my peace!

   Reply
6. 

   Montefescu on May 22, 2020 at 2:28 pm

   Geoff Gentry on May 22, 2020 at 7:42 am

   “My thoughts:”

   Counterpoints coming up.

   “I never liked the Brainy story this season because it was not well developed and the strife between he and Dreamer seemed like plot device. Meaghan Rath is a great actress and I really wish we could keep her on the series. I liked the progress of Kara & Lena, but it was cut short. Please for the love of Krypton, writers do not have Lena be swayed by her brother/mother next season. I want a united Kara Lena front next season. Alex doesn’t need a suit, but if you are going to give her one, give her a mask! I agree with John & Justina ship Lex over to Superman & Lois and keep Lillian.”

   1. Jesse Rath is a lousy actor. He cannot sell material he is given to pass through the camera. That is a professional opinion. If you cannot rely on the actor to sell it (such as Chyler Leigh who can sell almost anything and she has until she was Blue Smurfed.), then why expect the writers to craft well something they know he cannot sell? Plus Derek Simon is incompetent.
   2. Meaghan Rhath is clearly a story and budget buster. Too much firepower for this cast and show. The only ones who could compete at her level would be Chyler, Dave, Katie and maybe if she is on game, Melissa. I think she would have the same effect as Jon Cryer as she throws too much Q through the camera.
   3. Make Chyler a Green Lantern, a FUNNY Green Lantern. Boy could this show use some broad COMEDY. Chyler could sell that one. She does not even need a weird hairdo or a mask.
   4. Lena needs to sit out there without a Supercorps connection for a while. Prices must be paid to progress story and arc. If we are going to be stuck with this rotten Leviathan Story and other Derek Simon trash that fell from it, then there has to be consequences for auteur and drama reasons and to give Katie McGrath her trademark guilt neuroses to justify.
   5. Ship Jon Cryer off to a doomed at launch series? Why? Tyler Hoechlin is the kiss of ratings death. All that happens is that Jon comes back to Supergoyl after SuperStiff and Lois TUGATS one season in.

   “Non-Supergirl thoughts:”

   Okay.

   “I slugged my way through “The Boys” on Amazon (a tale of what a JL that was made by corporate America). What is meant to be satire and an attack on corporate America, is an attack on religion, family, and much more. I cannot recommend it and will not watch S2. Marvel Netflix shows. I need to watch the last seasons of Daredevil & JJ, but enjoyed them. I honestly enjoyed Cloak & Dagger over on Freeform, to me it looked at social issues and heroes on the Marvel side like Black Lightning does on DC. Hate it got cancelled due to the Marvel TV shake up.”

   a. Garth Ennis is a MARXIST. (And so apparently is Mark Waid, since his “Irredeemable” is quite similar.); so social satire of corporate America is what you are going to get in their comics, with an especial satire on the Krypton Over Man hero myth, which even I find to be FASCISTIC when analyzed in Campbellian terms. That satire comes with a razor blade throat cutting price for the reader or viewer with a plainly perceived lack of writer-intended subtleness and nuance since they are messaging through the word processor and not trying to entertain as first priority. Comic books can be subtle, but not with such Marxist writers. As fallout, much that is offensive to common decency (and common sense) will germinate through and offend the readers and viewers. As long as you understand the propaganda, you can get at the comedy that is Butcher and Homelander. They deserve each other; much as A-Train and Hughie are going to kill each other and for the same Clint Eastwood “Unforgiven” reasons. They have it coming. Ennis is a RELIGIOUS Marxist.
   b. I do not know if you can GET Jessica Jones or Daredevil under the current Netflix arrangements with Disney ®. If you can, Daredevil (My opinion only.), sucks beyond season one; and Jessica Jones is “Horrific”, as it goes down the rabbit hole with Hellcat. Jessica Jones is definitely for the strong-minded viewer as you tackle that story. It will make you weep. Fair warning.
   c. Cloak and Dagger was showcased on Free Form since that was where MARVEL ™ thought it could attract a young religious audience. Network and message did not fit each other. I find it interesting that you made the comparison with “Black Lightning”. You understand the marketing side of shows very well.

   Comic Books

   “I have been reading the X-Men titles this year and enjoying most (not Fallen Angels). While New Mutants/OG X-Force is what I grew up on, I’ve been disappointed b/c they have made the New Mutants title about 2 groups alternating stories and have regressed the OG New Mutants from adults back to collage early post-college. My fav. titles are Mauraders and Excalibur.”
   d. I LIKE “Fallen Angels”. I can stand “Marauders”. I dislike “Excalibur” intensely, because I am not a fan of Captain Britain, British Arthuiian legend Harry Potterized, or that particular writer.

   Stargirl:

   “I enjoyed ep 1 of Stargirl. It is a golden age tale. That means that the tone and bearing are lighter than our CW Earth Prime and much more so than the darker Swampthing, Doom Patrol, and Titans. But that is good. I like the fact that the DC universe can have characters like Stargirl, Elongated Man, and Legends right along side Constantine and Swampthing. I’ll be watching Stargirl and we will have a thread up each week in the Central City Underground FB group. It will be up so those who watch on Monday on DCU can discuss and those who watch on Tuesday on the CW can discuss. Come join us.”

   e. I cannot use Facebook because of work ralated limitations. Ditto; Twitter.
   f. Geoff Johns, I find to be more Silver Age as a writer, with a fixation on re-imagining Golden Age heroes or updating them to his Silver Age template and writing style.
   g. “Swampy Thingy” can comic book and TV series die and I will not miss it at all. Doom Patrol depends. Gerard Way has invigorated it and it has germed some recent decent comic books. But as a general rule, I find Doom Patrol, both TV and Comic Book, too close-framed and isolated to be of much interest to me.
   h. I DETEST “Constantine” for much the same reason I dislike Captain Britain. Grates on my last nerve with “magick malarkey”. Just because he is “British” does not mean the character in his comic published or TV history is any good, either. There was a reason NBC cancelled the series off the network.
   i. I call them the “Teen Turds” for a reason. If it is not Perez or Wolfman in concept and format, and they are not at present; they are pure manure.
   j. I plan a Stargirl blurb each week in this feedback and this might be that blurb for this week.

   Signed:

   Monty

   Reply
7. 

   Aaron on May 22, 2020 at 2:39 pm

   I fully agree Geoff, the Brainy/Nia dram felt manufactured; sadly you see this a lot on series – you get the one happy season as a couple and then the next the writers want to split you up because “happy couples are boring”. Personally I’ve always hated that logic because it feels cheap, some couples are just always happy one and two you can have drama without it being directly from the pairing such as assume Brainy did decide to work with Lex because he told Nia what happened with the bottle episode – you get conflict between them over that but not conflict because of drama because we want drama essentially. As you said the other big issue was the plot for Brainy period wasn’t developed, everything ran through Lex and Brainy just showed up every now and again to show he was still involved but really nothing was earned with his plot so him dying at the end left me personally feeling more meh than anything; also we know he’s not going to die so it was just hard to feel drama about it. The only way he dies is if Jesse leaves suddenly. It’s like Kara’s speech at the end – she’s been so hypocritical to Lena all season and done really nothing why should I believe her hope speech?

   This season has just failed so hard I don’t get it.

   Lena is good – that’s all there is to that; any suggestions to say otherwise are invalid. Lena is not Lex or Lillian! You can have characters disagree with the “hero” without them being evil.

   Alexandra Danvers needs no suit, only polos! 🙂

   Reply
8. 

   Montefescu on June 3, 2020 at 11:10 pm

   Stargirl (TV Series) “Icicle” (2020) Episode 103

   Episode 103 is an episode that concentrates on developing the plot grenades laid and to fill in some of the blanks in our story so far. Some of the things to be noticed are that the Magician is Iced and his son is killed, so we see that the Injustice Society of America is eating itself at the parents level. Icicle Jr. turns out to be a kind of weird new tie-in for Courtney as a potential high school bad-boy crush. Yolanda, “the Slut”, as Shiv defines her, is indiced as Wildcat’s kid.

   And somehow Geoff Johns managed to work Icicle into being a Trump Expy… oddly enough a “sympathetic villain” Trump expy. I find that character development downright hilarious as one of Geoff John’s usual villain inversion tropes. Even villains love their kids, as the Magician proves when he is Joe Bidened out of existence trying to avenge his son. Goes to the heart of the Geoff Johns morality edict. Pick a side of belief and fight.

   Meanwhile Barbara Whitmore sidles up unaware to career villain-ville by standing up for Blue Valley’s Community Theater. As people may know by now, the only thing worse than Community Theater on the CW (Supergirl episodes penned by Derek Simon) is hiring actors who give that level of incompetent performance. Fortunatelyu, as Archer,the comedy animated spy spoof, another low budget comedy TV show made in Georgia, USA; proves, Made in America still means quality acting in the Clueless Mom Villain department (Amy Smart) which is a Favorite Johns Gag. (There are so many of them, the CMVs on this show!)

   If one wants a clue as to how this show advance the Blue Valley as the epicenter of the Neo-Nazi America Movement, it is necessary to follow Icicle Sr’s parents. They may be fake Swedes, but the goose step is in plain evidence. Even grandparent villains love their kids. I got a distinct impression of “View To A Kill” and a whiff of James Bond in the story development. Courtney Whitmore as James Bond, and Pat Dugan as Q, while Barbara Whitmore is the clueless M and Blue Valley is the test case for a faultline test. Yeah, James Bond analogy actually holds up!

   Monty

   Reply
9. 

   Montefescu on June 10, 2020 at 5:30 am

   Stargirl (TV Series) “Wildcat” (2020) (104)

   Sure wish I could say this was a well directed episode or a well crafted story. I(t must be noted that the screenwriter for this episode is James Robinson, who wrote Starman for DC Comics back in the day. (October 1994 – August 2001, March 2011 in a rather long convoluted and classic run.)

   Robinson has a tin ear for modern teenager-speak, but his eye for character patterns and motivations remains strong and clear. The story he lays about is how Yolanda Montez is recruited into Courtney Whitmore’s JSA. As the title “Wildcat” suggests, the story is about Yolanda Montez and how she becomes Wildcat. I take it that the catsuit, Montez dons, combined with her training as a female boxer justifies her inheritance of the Mantle. If that is the way this series is headed, then the problem of how ordinary teenagers become superheroes, solves itself. Each hero gets an artifact that grants wish fulfillment powers. Courtney’s gymnastics + cosmic staff allows her to levitate and blast things. Yolanda’s boxing skills + the magic catsuit allows her to become a cat-boxer. I assume Beth Chapel + that damned owl equals Midnight and what that means down the road I have not a clue since this series plays very fast and loose with the classic golden age characters or even the Geoff Johns versions.

   BTW, since the pink Bic Clic is the genie bottle on the desk and we have a lantern battery in that gym bag Courtney stuffs in her bedroom closet, can a Lantern and Jakeem Thunder be predicted?

   If you missed it, this episode, the cosmic staff and the catsuit TALKED to each other.

   Anyway, after a training mission that involves a breaking and entering of the hospital where Braindead (coma guy) is warehoused, we find out a few things.

   – The Fiddler ist kaput. His place has been taken over by Anaya Bowin (Virtuoso) who shows up in Braindead’s, Henry King Sr’s room to fiddle at him for no apparent reason, though I think it was supposed to be resurrection music.
   – In a side bar plot, we meet the Dragon King, Doctor Ito, and our friend, Icicle, who wants William Zarick’s body for unknown reasons.
   -In another sidebar plot, the Ford Bronco truck driving Mrs. Zarick has Found on Road Dead trouble and runs into Pat Dugan. She drops hints to him about Blue Valley and disappears from plot view. When the truck, all dented up, winds up in a junkyard, and Pat finds it, we are led to presume that Mrs. Zarick has been iced.

   incidentals…

   -Yolanda Montez is naïve in the beginning; makes a bad mistake with Braindead Jr. , is permanently grounded and has a fear of heights.
   -Courtney Whitmore continues to be 1 part revenge, 1 part bossy exuberance, and 8 parts of overeager puppy.
   -The staff and the catsuit are both sentient and they talk to each other and boss around their respective human symbiotes.
   -The Dragon King is building a doomsday machine.
   -Icicle is Max Zorin and a lot of “James Bond” meets “Man from Uncle” is involved in the New American Dream folderoy.

   Next up? Hourman and Doctor Midnight. Drugs and owls? Whoopee!

   Monty

   Reply