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“Menagerie” brings us the origin of one of Manchester Black’s Elite, Menagerie. We also get a mid-life crisis for Alex, the son of Ben Lockwood coming into his own generation of stupid, and the first appearance of the hero Dreamer. Oh, and Lena gets into bed with the government, kicking James out of the bed simultaneously. On their way to the airport. To go to France. For the Valentine’s Day weekend. Oof.
We’re going after a James Bond theme this week – stick with me…
Diamonds Are Forever
Pamela Ferrer and her doofus have just robbed a very wealthy couple and are hearing about their escapades on the radio when a meteor comes over their car. Doofus crashes the car and it turns out the meteor is a crashed ship and it seems the snake-like alien feels compelled to symbiosis itself to Pamela. Menagerie is born! When the DEO shows up to investigate the scene they notice that Doofus’ heart has been removed from him. Upon examination at the DEO HQ Alex sees that the heart extraction is very precise. Brainy deduces that the alien is snake-like, which he doesn’t like because, just like Indiana Jones, he is not fond of snakes. A search is started and the DEO is sent to the home of a mistress of the man whose wife has come to J’onn to find him since she thinks he is “missing.” Upon arriving at the home, Alex finds the man and mistress without the hearts and the mistress without her jewels. They find residue that is left behind for them to track down Pamela and the snake. Upon coming to Pamela’s home, the big reveal that Menagerie is the two beings put together and the snake comes after Kara but finds she isn’t tasty at all. Alex freaks out that Kara could have been hurt as Pamela escapes. They take all of the jewels that Pamela has collected so she has to start over. She is aware of a charity Valentine’s Day ball so she’s going there to relieve the guests of their bling. She’s doing well when the Children of Liberty show up and start ruining her fun, then the DEO, then Supergirl takes her and drops her on a limo. She lets loose a bunch of snakes which start to overpower Supergirl (uhhhh, what?) and Dreamer shows up kicking snake butt and saving her friend. Supergirl returns the favor and Dreamer realizes that she sees enough to be dangerous but not yet fully prepared. George Lockwood shows up and cuts the head off of the snake and Pamela is taken to prison. There she gets a mysterious letter from Manchester Black. Hmmmmmmmmm.
Never Say Never Again
Alex is having a little bit of a mid-life crisis. She looks at all that J’onn has accomplished since he left the DEO and she also sees how little she’s accomplished at the same time. She was dating and putting her adoption portfolio together and then let everything drop. She doesn’t really give a specific reason why but Kara and J’onn discuss later in the episode that the reason is protecting Kara (again, uhhhhhh, what?). When they are out in the field and the Menagerie snake attacks Kara, Alex does immediately panics to make sure Kara is OK. Later in the episode during Nia and her roommate’s party Alex meets back up with Becca whom Alex apparently sat down for drinks with twice. They catch up and it’s clear that Becca really heard what Alex was about and wanted to support her. Methinks we’ll be seeing Becca again soon, especially since Kara picked up her number again for Alex to have.
Skyfall
The wife and son of Ben Lockwood are visiting him in jail and he believes that the movement that created him will be the one that sets him free. As they are leaving Ben asks George something that we don’t hear. George goes back to the steel factory and finds the Agent Liberty mask and puts out a message to the digital faithful to be on the hunt for the latest alien killer among the population. George reports his success back to his Dad who tells him to seize the public relations opportunity that will present itself. George does just that at the Valentine’s Day ball where George, flanked by the Children of Liberty, chops the head off of the snake attached to Pamela. She is beaten and he takes advantage of the cameras present and tells the world how the Children of Liberty took action to save the City. President Baker is watching all of this along with the daily protests to free Ben Lockwood and gets his Attorney General (?) to come up with a solution to get him released. She does, stating that Ben cannot be prosecuted by the Patriot Act because that only applies to human terrorism. Alien terrorists are open season apparently. Sigh….. Ben is released and vows to keep up the good fight.
The World Is Not Enough
Lena is at her LCorp desk clearly disturbed by something on her phone as James comes in the office carrying a huge present. He has taken a lovely picture of Lena sleeping, reminiscent of another beautiful picture that James took of Kara and presented to her at the end of Season 1 that was so much better of a moment than this one. But I’m not bitter. No, really. Anywho, Lena suggests that they jet to Paris this weekend and celebrate Valentine’s Day. Before they can get out o town Lena meets with Col. Haley who explains that they need Lena’s research to make the armed forces the best they can be against these alien attacks. On their way to the airport Lena tells James that the government has reached out to use her research. James is immediately against it and Lena counters back that he is not to judge how she uses her science. He steps back but is firm that if she cooperates with the government that he will never be on board and that it will probably destroy them. She agrees, “Wasn’t it inevitable?” and boots his butt from the car. My head is still spinning from the 180 degree turn that just happened here.
Casino Royale
Brainy comes to Nia’s apartment to declare his intentions – to train Nia to use her powers better. She thanks him but gently refuses because the death of her Mother is still very tender. She does invite him to their party later that night and he accepts. She very clearly declares “It’s a date.” A bewildered Brainy asks Alex for help in what to do since he still can’t believe that someone like Nia might be interested in him. At the party he is held hostage by Yvette and her jams and can’t get to Nia but Kara does get to her and assures Nia that when she’s ready she’s going to be an amazing Superfriend. Nia does dream about the confrontation between Supergirl and Menagerie and suits up to join the fight. After realizing that she didn’t see enough and could have gotten seriously hurt that she does want Brainy’s training to become a better hero.
Closing Thoughts
Lex. Lex, Lex, Lex, Lex, Lex, Lex, Lex. There are just too many things going on which make no sense and have to be tied together by someone or something behind the scenes. We know there are only two more episodes before we meet our Supergirl Lex so I can only anticipate that the confusing puzzle pieces will start gaining shape and context. Lawd, I hope so.
Cougar’s Comic Corner
“Justice League Elite, Volume 1”
WRITTEN BY JOE KELLY; ART AND COVER BY DOUG MAHNKE AND TOM NGUYEN An explosive 12-issue miniseries by writer Joe Kelly and artists Doug Mahnke & Tom Nguyen tackles a team dealing out a new kind of Justice! The new Elite team of the JLA sets out on their first mission, deep under cover! Its mission: to infiltrate a small brotherhood of assassins gathering to hit a major political target. Sounds like a piece of cake? If they don’t lose their heads!
Next time on Supergirl!
Season 4, Episode 13, “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and The American Way”
Manchester Black breaks out of prison with the help of his new team, The Elite, who are set on punishing the anti-alien forces. Supergirl pulls double duty as she tries to apprehend Manchester Black and his team as well as deal with a shocking new development with Ben Lockwood.
See you on March 3!
Feedback
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Some blog post comments…
“the son of Ben Lockwood coming into his own generation of stupid” – lol; accurate!!!
I love how Den Of Geek phrased it in their review regarding Manchester and that he was being “extra British” with that wax seal on the envelope to Pamela. 🙂
“She looks at all that J’onn has accomplished since he left the DEO and she also sees how little she’s accomplished at the same time.” – which is unfair because she’s not really the director yet; yes she has the title but not really the job given she still reports to Haley where as J’onn wasn’t shown reporting to anyone each week – certainly not a Haley. Again I look forward to Alex as the actual director dealing with the consequences of her choices for the unit instead of being second in command each time she’s promoted for a hot second.
The thing with aliens not being protected doesn’t make sense because of the act Marsden signed in S2 or did that get tossed out when she was outed? Also supposedly people have known about aliens for decades at least on the Earth so how is there nothing yet to protect them even if it’s a small thing compared to other protections? Also why are there not more alien ambassadors to help fight for rights as you’d think the world would want to make friends for some for the resources alone!
I don’t care about Lex as this is Kara’s show not Clark’s so I’ll just say NO MAKING LENA EVIL! If they go the villain route with her simply because of her family I’m automatically taking at least 1 if not 2 points off of every future review because that’s just bulls**t and lazy writing! Winn had an evil dad but he’s not evil; Mon’s parents were slavers/dictators essentially and he was debatably in on some actions as well yet he’s not presented as evil so why should Lena go bad just because of her family? Just because Kara and Clark share DNA doesn’t make them the same person with the same interactions with those of same names (Luthor), Lena and Kara are not Lex and Clark so DO NOT DO “Superman” ON “Supergirl” WRITERS!!! By all means have Lena and Kara disagree on topics because that’s realistic but it doesn’t mean Lena has to turn into her brother because of it.
I don’t like “shocking turn featuring Ben Lockwood”; they better not use Lena’s formula on him and if they do it better be without Lena’s permission because again just no to anything that suggest Lena is evil!
On to the podcast comments…
John: “This was a slog!” Justina: “There’s a lot to go through yes.” – lol loved this opening! 🙂
Thanks for the shout out John; it the least I can do I feel for the hard work you hosts put in!
I will fully admit S1 Alex could be seen as anti alien if you just looked at her on the surface but if you actually looked beyond that to what was shown in the episodes it’s as every fan knows – Alex is not anti alien; is she extreme in handling oh yeah but it doesn’t make her anti alien. She knows there are good aliens out there also because even if you take away Kara she still knows who J’onn really is and she should know who Clark is still as that was more Jeremiah connected than Kara (although that could be muddied now because of Kara) so she knows not every alien is bad and reacts to such – she’s more arrest first and question later in attitude because that’s how J’onn taught her for safety, take down those you see as dangers and question them later but again that doesn’t make Alex anti alien it just makes her forceful in how she handles situations. Yes Alex will shoot people but she’s never done it to kill unless pushed to that point; yes ok she totally killed Astra out of fear for her swaying Kara and there’s a lot of emotions in that fight so that is her bad but still she’s not Haley. I don’t mind S1 Alex being back myself but I don’t ever want the writers to she’s Haley because Alex is not. Again yes on a surface level if you just read her actions on paper I can get how you’d say they’re close enough to be similar but again as we fans know Alex is not Haley because of her attitude at large towards aliens which is yes some are bad but not all however if you’re involved in an altercation everyone is getting arrested until she can sort out the truth later, the only person she shadily arrests is Maxwell Lord for reasons stated in S1. Even if you take her knowing Kara away it doesn’t change the fact she doesn’t know good aliens such as J’onn and Brainy; so far for me the writers have crossed any lines with her but if they have a character who knows her say she’s like Haley then that’s going to be an issue for me because while Alex is an anti hero I will agree again she’s not anti alien like they have Haley leaning more than not.
Team dogs! 🙂
I’m glad you enjoy the posts Justina; I know they can be long so thank you all who take the time to read them! 🙂 It’s nothing compared to the work you hosts do making the podcast available each week so again thank you for that because without it I couldn’t post. “Supergirl” is my favorite DCTV show so any chance I get to discuss it is a plus. 🙂
Congratulations to Chris and Melissa! Don’t feel you have to bring Mon back though show! Chris is welcome to come play some totally new character who’s not Mon but no Mon, I need at least 2.5 seasons away from him before I can deal with him again. Ha.
Yes John yes, where is flirty Alex?! I have so many questions about her! Does she have a go to move that she uses which exs will compare and judge her on later or is she flexible? Is she good at flirting, bad at it or bad but thinks she’s good? What would wingwoman Kara look like for her and would Alex rather she not because her sister would tell embarrassing things possibly? Does she walk dates to the door as it were or do they part at the restaurant/theater…does it depend on the date? If a date isn’t going well how does she get out of it – straight up says this isn’t going to work or fake a work emergency? I need more on screen looks at Alex dating!
“as Lena lost her ever loving mind” – LOL, just the calm and punctuated way you relieved this John was perfection and I totally agree; I am for Lena helping the government or others because she thinks it’s the right thing but you NEVER give away full control of a product to someone who you know will use it in a bad way and let’s be honest the military doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to no exploiting things so if Lena wants to test on troops ok but she should decide who it is that gets the drug and how much and have part say in how they’re used if it’s a success. If she just gives Haley the formula I am going to be SO disappointed in her because she should know better for sure! There’s wanting to help people and then there’s just being stupid with your invention and just handing it over to Haley is being stupid; if this was Layla Diggle I might consider it more but Haley no – you might as well give it to Lillian if you’re going to do that because it’s going to end bad. I will also agree that if this is the end of Lames it was my favorite moment in the episode too but this is Lames and they don’t know what to do with James (JUST LET HIM BE THE NEWSMAN HE IS WRITERS – he can question Haley and Lena via the papers and even Alex because she’s linked to Haley currently and does have a history again of extreme force when securing a situation and you can debate the merits of that) so I won’t hold my breath.
I agree, George is so cliche; again I don’t mind one of the people being on Ben’s side but both just feels cliche and boring because there’s no conflict to pull from so it feels like a waste of time seeing the family now. Hopefully no one is supporting their racist views so it’s not like fans are cheering for them and they’re not even the most intriguing villains this season (come back Mercy) so is anyone cheering against them when they’re on screen because they’re engaging at least? I’m not; give me more Manchester Black if you want me exited to see a bad guy to the characters on screen. I knew we weren’t done with them John but I would like to be done with the Children Of Liberty or at least jump to Ben learning he was wrong and starting to change because we see enough racism in the news as it is so this plot feels more exhausting than anything. We know racism is bad so show Ben that or at least make one of his family oppose him because then the plot would at least be interesting versus just cliche. Again they’re so stereotyped currently I personally also can’t get excited seeing them on; they’re like this season’s Diaz for the show and that’s not a good thing.
“pardon me while I throw up.” – same John.
I’m so glad you’re explaining these title choices John as I haven’t seen the Bond series.
I agree Justina, I’m enjoying Brainy/Nia. 🙂
If I remember correctly in the comics it’s Brainy/Kara together; I know in some cartoons they’ve been together.
Brainy trying to hide in the closet was hilarious! I loved him pulling the door close after J’onn and Kara found him. 🙂
Agreed Justina regarding Menagerie, she was good. I won’t lie I was hoping she’d eat George because then at least Ben would have a real reason to do what he does beyond ignorance. The bad part then would be you’re giving credit to Ben and that’s bad so it’s a good thing long term she didn’t do that.
Agreed John, Kara saying it was because of her Alex hadn’t moved on was weird.
If you haven’t seen it yet I HIGHLY recommend Bruce Timms’s “Justice League” and “Justice League: Unlimited” series!
Oh my gosh yes Darryl, we get it Alex wants kids; “adopt” is her new “baby”. I didn’t even notice the absent opening monologue so nice catch; they do love to update their intros so it doesn’t surprise me if that’s the case.
I like the use of cooking analogies this week Monty mainly because I get those references. 🙂 Negatives Monty? Yeah he really didn’t like it!
Fair Blackhawkfan regarding the DEO. I wouldn’t put it past James to bring the budget story back; he might not do it right away but I could see him using it to stop Lena in his mind if she goes too far. I do wonder what impact if any that would have on the paper though because on the one hand it shows they aren’t bias but on the other are some board members going to tell Lena to shut them down because it makes stocks drop? I don’t think they’ll get rid of the set yet but it would be an interesting topic for an episode if they do report on Lena’s misuse of the formula if she hands it over which hopefully she won’t – certainly not without a clause that let’s her stay hands on!
Agreed Leslie, the week doesn’t feel complete without the GSM recaps for the shows! I will full agree, you can’t replace one relationship with another when it comes to the sisters, the sisters are the heart of the show and nothing is better than their relationship. That said it is nice to see them have friends outside of their dynamic so I like Kara-Nia but yeah it’s not the sisters. I agree in regards to Alex and the adoption also, there’s no need to rush!
Another hiatus? Ugh!
Get well Karen!
Hello Green Butterfly, Monty here.
Hope you are on the other side of your hard freeze.
You asked a couple of questions, and you deserve an answer to them.
First; I have had the joy of breaking ice this past week, so the weather has been of some effect, but not on my ability to appreciate the “The Good, Bad, and the Ugly.”
It is not all negative, at least if you remember “Rather the Fallen Angel”, you will see that if they are good this show gets the praise it earns.
But that has been a rarity, I admit.
The other question, you have, is have I ever gone minus numbers before for this show?
Has this been the first time when I went into negative territory?
The episode GSM review for “Call to Action” might be one that you might listen again. Dragon Ball Zero really is what I remember from that one. I was frankly drunk through most of it, but I do remember a rather long rambling harsh review as I sobered up in stages. Then I came cold sober and remembered something that really upset me about this show.
Listen to it and for it. That one thing, that happened, has probably done more to tear the guts out of my attempts to really love this show. It will still take a lot for these show runners to redeem themselves, I mean a LOT to redeem themselves.
Monty