Supergirl (the series)

[Jeivar]

I would really like to be able to get into superhero series that isn't quite as dark and miserable as Daredevil or Jessica Jones, so tonight I gave Supergirl a try. There are definitely elements to the first episode that I like, but I'm having to really squint and tilt my head to tolerate the writing.

Kara saves a plane with, what, 200 people on board, and basically everyone's reaction is to whine about property damage or go "I don't trust aliens!". That secret agent was on board, and shows his gratitude by having her shot, imprisoned, and spending the whole episode being a condescending whiny b!tch (to someone with Superman powers...). And Cat overdoes the Rich A-Hole thing to the degree that it really feels like she's trying to bring down workplace morale. I mean, there's a certain president with a similar attitude, and we're seeing how well it actually works.

I know some shows need time to come into their own. Should I continue watching?

[JadedDM]

The show improves after the first episode. And then there's a bit of a decline during the second season. It's still good, though.

Both Cat and Hank become more likable with time, too.

[Olinser]

I would really like to be able to get into superhero series that isn't quite as dark and miserable as Daredevil or Jessica Jones, so tonight I gave Supergirl a try. There are definitely elements to the first episode that I like, but I'm having to really squint and tilt my head to tolerate the writing.

Kara saves a plane with, what, 200 people on board, and basically everyone's reaction is to whine about property damage or go "I don't trust aliens!". That secret agent was on board, and shows his gratitude by having her shot, imprisoned, and spending the whole episode being a condescending whiny b!tch (to someone with Superman powers...). And Cat overdoes the Rich A-Hole thing to the degree that it really feels like she's trying to bring down workplace morale. I mean, there's a certain president with a similar attitude, and we're seeing how well it actually works.

I know some shows need time to come into their own. Should I continue watching?

If you don't want the thread locked I suggest you keep the political commentary out of it.

As far as the show goes... I lasted about half a season. The writing is REALLY bad with multiple ludicrous conflict situations that only exist because numerous people act in the stupidest and most anti-logical way possible, the acting is pretty mediocre, and most of the main cast isn't really particularly likeable or relatable.

It's kind of funny that you mention Cat - her comic counterpart was actually worse. She started a massive slander campaign against Supergirl because she broke her arm while saving her life.

[Darth Ultron]

It is pretty bad.

It is lots of WB style ''teen'' writing.

It is really bad that Kara is so obsessed with ''being normal'', and worse that she is obsessed with being ''dumb cute nerdy girl''.

And as a ''Super'' show, Supergirl, of course ''saves'' everyone in the ''City'' (sometimes ''world'') from everything all the time...er, except when she does not?

And you get the odd ''super problems'' of in show 5 a bullet just bounces off of her hair....but in show 8 a bullet sends her through a window?

Have you tried The Flash....it's a bit better.

[GrayDeath]

Being in the situation to watch it after shifts (ergo to fall asleep): its good for that.

The Actresses are attractive.

Just about every other Episode there is a good Joke.

Thats ... about all good stuff I can say about it.


The Writing varies between "Exactly the Clichee everyone would expect done with mediocre success" and "Bad Comic Book written by 4 15 year old girls while giggling about ... whatever". Its really that bad.

If youw ant more Superhero Stuff, go Flash, or if it does not have to be DC, try Agents of Shield (at least they actually amage characte rdepth and some humor).

Or do it like me, and watch it with a beer after a 10+hour work day to shut off your brain and watch pretty people. ^^

[Pronounceable]

Have you tried The Flash....

go Flash

Correct answer is Flash. But only the first season. They somehow manage to make it even stupider than Supergirl later on. Or stick with cartoons. Cartoons almost always do capes better.

[Olinser]

Correct answer is Flash. But only the first season. They somehow manage to make it even stupider than Supergirl later on. Or stick with cartoons. Cartoons almost always do capes better.

Yeah the last straw for me was the Flash and Supergirl crossover. That they turned into a 'musical'. Good lord my ears.

[BWR]

Yeah the last straw for me was the Flash and Supergirl crossover. That they turned into a 'musical'. Good lord my ears.

That episode is what did it for me too. Not because of the singing ( not great songs but some of those guys were pretty good) but because it got pretty much everything else wrong. It was supposed to be the Music Meister but they got pretty much everything wrong and showed precious little of the MM, and messed up the musical parts.

[Friv]

As some people have said: the pilot wasn't great, the second episode is uneven, the third episode is okay, and after that there's a solid upward progression throughout the first season. The second season starts strong, takes a serious quality dip in the middle (with the low point being a crossover with the Flash that should have been a high point), and then pulls together very well for the end.

[Chives]

That episode is what did it for me too. Not because of the singing ( not great songs but some of those guys were pretty good) but because it got pretty much everything else wrong. It was supposed to be the Music Meister but they got pretty much everything wrong and showed precious little of the MM, and messed up the musical parts.

This is what did it for me too. They were trying to copy over the Music Meister episode from Brave and the Bold and managed to make it drab. The original was all songs (except for the intro) and had romance, character development, a chase scene, giant satellites, a song about deathtraps and a big dance number at the end. The CW episode doesn't come close to that.

[BWR]

This is what did it for me too. They were trying to copy over the Music Meister episode from Brave and the Bold and managed to make it drab. The original was all songs (except for the intro) and had romance, character development, a chase scene, giant satellites, a song about deathtraps and a big dance number at the end. The CW episode doesn't come close to that.

It's not even that. I could easily live with a MM episode that wasn't as over the top. The problem was they changed the MM from a guy who used song to mind control people (and brought them into the musical numbers) to a Fifth Dimensional imp like Myxzptlk who forced people into a musical world, then buggered off and wasn't seen again until the end. To top it off, Barry realizes almost immediately that they have to sing in a musical, and then he and Kara proceed to avoid singing at every opportunity. The one song they have had no effect on the rest of the scenario.

[No brains]

The show can be some stupid fun, but the characters can seriously be the Harlem Globetrotters of the Idiot Ball. There are so many ham-handed contrivances and bad decisions on the characters' part that it can ruin the show... if you try to take it seriously. If you want to check your brain at the door and watch a silly yarn, it is pretty fun.

[BWR]

The show can be some stupid fun, but the characters can seriously be the Harlem Globetrotters of the Idiot Ball. There are so many ham-handed contrivances and bad decisions on the characters' part that it can ruin the show... if you try to take it seriously. If you want to check your brain at the door and watch a silly yarn, it is pretty fun.

That's another reason we dropped it.

[random11]

I would really like to be able to get into superhero series that isn't quite as dark and miserable as Daredevil or Jessica Jones, so tonight I gave Supergirl a try. There are definitely elements to the first episode that I like, but I'm having to really squint and tilt my head to tolerate the writing.

This applies to all the CW shows:
While in the Netflix Marvel universe the story might be depressing, it is usually caused by the situations the characters are in, and their nature.
In the CW shows, and that includes Super-girl, characters are depressed because the writers do not allow them to be happy.
Every time someone enters a relationship, finds something good or feels useful, you can be sure that by the end of the episode something will ruin it.
It can be a revealed secret, a new character that comes out of nowhere, or (something that happened many times in Super-girl) an end of episode cliffhanger that comes EXACTLY when things look good.

IMO, if you're looking for good writing, get away from CW.
However, for mindless fun it can be good, and I also consider it to be currently the best between the CW trio of Arrow, Flash and Super-girl.

What's good about it?
- Cat Grant is probably the best thing about the show.
While her abusive personality does not get better, it does get balanced by her being also something between a mother figure, a mentor and a role-model for Kara (while still being entertaining).
- The relationship between Alex and Kara are also good. There are ups and downs, but that's the closest thing to a sisterly relationship I have seen in shows like this for a long time.
- Despite what I wrote about never being happy, Super-girl is still the most optimistic of the CW world. But that might also be because she had less seasons.

So bottom line? Enjoy the mindless fun while it continues.

[BWR]

What's good about it?
- Cat Grant is probably the best thing about the show.
While her abusive personality does not get better, it does get balanced by her being also something between a mother figure, a mentor and a role-model for Kara (while still being entertaining).

She was the best, but she's gone in s2. Booo.

- The relationship between Alex and Kara are also good. There are ups and downs, but that's the closest thing to a sisterly relationship I have seen in shows like this for a long time.

While the relationship between the two is fine, Alex is a ****ing annoying character in all other respects. Every time she was on screen other than eating ice cream on the couch, we wanted to smack her in the face. Another reason we dropped the show.

[The New Bruceski]

The synopsis and poster for the Thanksgiving crossover has been revealed

Spoiler

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Earth X invades during Barry and Iris's wedding, then they punch Nazis for 4 hours

[Friv]

Spoiler

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Who the heck are Zari and the Ray?

[random11]

She was the best, but she's gone in s2. Booo.

As a trade-off, the show provided a Superman character that is much better than the one in the movies at the same time.
I didn't mention him mostly because in the first season he appeared as an annoying teaser: Always talked about, appears when you can see his blurry back and one hilarious episode when they say something like "Hey, Superman just came to save the day! ... ... ... Oh, he's stuck in mind control like all the humans around him, never mind"

While the relationship between the two is fine, Alex is a ****ing annoying character in all other respects. Every time she was on screen other than eating ice cream on the couch, we wanted to smack her in the face. Another reason we dropped the show.

Honestly? I just consider her to be a "meah" character, so a general positive influence as a support character because of the relationship, but not much positive or negative by herself.

The character that really bothered me? Everything that had to do with the Guardian in season 2.

Spoiler

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James wants to do more when it comes to crime, especially superpower/alien related stuff.
He knows an entire team of people that does exactly that, as well as other more mundane jobs.
Does he ask to join, training to become a worthy agent in an organization he generally has high opinion of? Nope, training is for suckers!
Instead, he conspires with another worker there to steal tech and company time to make him a super suit so he can become a vigilante without any supervision.

[Friv]

Spoiler: James

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I was really hoping that James would turn evil and become the new "Lex Luthor" figure for Supergirl when they lost Maxwell Lord - he's a bald guy with delusions of grandeur who gets all snippy about other people having cool powers - but it looks like that's not the route they're taking. (And, let's be honest, it was never even a reasonable possibility, it was just an artifact of the second-season slump.)

[rooster707]

My problem with Guardian:

Spoiler

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James has, IIRC, been put in charge of Cat's entire company. He wants to help people somehow. Does he use his new money and influence to actually make a difference and do something worthwhile? Nope, of course not. He whines for a while about his camera getting stepped on, then pust on a dumb suit and punches people in the face.

Wait, what?

[The New Bruceski]

Spoiler

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Who the heck are Zari and the Ray?

Zari is Isis, a new addition to the Legends team this season. Show's using her name rather than her superhero moniker for pretty obvious reasons.

The Ray is the star of the CW Seed cartoon, so technically this is a 5-way crossover.

[The Ari-tificer]

As far as the show goes... I lasted about half a season. The writing is REALLY bad with multiple ludicrous conflict situations that only exist because numerous people act in the stupidest and most anti-logical way possible, the acting is pretty mediocre, and most of the main cast isn't really particularly likeable or relatable.

Hey, at least it's better than the 3rd season of Flash with the cobbled-together "Savitar" plotline and Iris' supposed love towards Barry that just came out of the blue.

[GrayDeath]

No, it really isn´t.


Flash is at times really really dumb (or has disjointed plots, point above) but always has deeper characters, more substance and less Idiot Ball (outside above mayhap^^) than Supergirl.

While in Supergirl you have to actively look for episodes where less than 3 of the main cast are really really idiotic, while more have a hissy fit and Supergirl lectures on morals.


Still, pretty people and nice effects, good to watch to fall asleep, with a beer or 2. :P

[Kyberwulf]

I feel the opposite. Flash is pretty stupid now. I mean, they are taking the whole... superheroes can never be happy thing to the extreme with him. It's just annoying.

I like season 1 flash, for the same reason I like supergirl and wonder woman movie version. So far, I mean.. I am not done with season 2 of supergirl yet. So far I haven't seen anything to bad. But, I like them because they are optimistic, and revel in being superheroes.

That is one of the main drags of the Netflix shows.

[random11]

What do you know, an actual good episode.

Touching when needed, with a little bit of humor and action to support it.

I would appreciate using the use hammer with the letters "TRUMP" on it a little less, sometimes subtlety works much better to deliver the same message, but I can't say it was forced like in previous episodes it happened in.

[RossN]

I like the show, though a lot of that is being a pre-existing fan of both Supergirl and Katie McGrath and finding Mellisa Benoist adorkable

That said I think it has a lot of flaws.

While the relationship between the two is fine, Alex is a ****ing annoying character in all other respects. Every time she was on screen other than eating ice cream on the couch, we wanted to smack her in the face. Another reason we dropped the show.

My issue with Alex is that it seems like they've came up with a morally ambiguous character who does dubious things and are unwilling to touch the dramatic potential there. Alex has assaulted at least two helpless prisoners and this point, kidnapped and illegally detained someone, and been an enthusiastic part of two different coverups about the real identity of two different officials.

None of that is a problem... if the show was willing to recognise Alex is (at best) a flawed anti-hero. The show is either unaware or uninterested in treating her as anything other than heroic though.

[GrayDeath]

If you're looking for a way to connect with your little sister, and can stomach a lot of stupid, yes.
Pretty and at times fun, yet really silly and dumb most of the time.

[random11]

What do you know, two good episodes in a row.

I guess I can always find flaws if I try hard enough, but when an episode is decent it just feels like a waste of time.

I don't believe I'm saying this after so many seasons of disappointment in different shows, but good job there CW!

[random11]

Recent episode had two storylines:

Spoiler: Last man of Krypton my S...

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So, not only we have yet ANOTHER person from Krypton, we also have almost the exact copy of Superman's story.
I understand it's supposed to be a parallel-yet-opposite thing, but the similarities are so copy pasted, it looks more like laziness.

Also, was there anyone from Krypton that wasn't mind controlled in some way?

And are we heading to the same place as Grimm, where it seems like the humans are about 10% of the city's population?

Spoiler: Let's dig out some drama

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I don't mind if this is meant to act as a closure to their relationship, but please PLEASE P L E A S E, do NOT turn it into a love triangle!!!

You had such a promising streak of good (or at least decent) episodes, don't ruin it with pointless drama

There is also the more minor story of the father and son, I guess we'll just see where it's going.

[Piedmon_Sama]

I'm up to episode five now. I would say the first three episodes are pretty rough, especially the pilot which is like---up there with the 80's Supergirl movie for cheesiness--but it's taken a noticeable swing in improvement after the introduction of Max Lord and Lucy Lane.