Might as well call the show "Girl"

Kdogg and Kelly, spot on conversation for me. I've had the same thoughts concerning Kara's defeat and lack of deep conversation about it. Pretty sure I gave my tv the stink eye when what I thought was Alex having an outward reaction to that defeat turned out to be a "Maggie." Good grief, show runners.

Pretty sure it would take more than a glass of wine to deal with the first REAL beat down of Kara.

Agreed I thought Alex saying her reaction to Purity was because of Maggie was weak and was used because there wasn't enough time left in the episode for a longer conversation. It would defiantly take more than a glass of wine for the sisters to talk about their feelings about the beat down Kara took. Also lets not forget Alex has already had a broken leg and bruised ribs curtesy of Reign and it looks like Pestilence gets to her too. I say straight scotch for Alex and aldebran (the drink that's deadly to humans from the alien bar in Changing) but with a mixer for Kara. I don't know if we'll get that conversation but we can hope, it would be awesome it was the last dialogue of the season like Kara and Cat last season.

Kdogg and Kelly, spot on conversation for me. I've had the same thoughts concerning Kara's defeat and lack of deep conversation about it. Pretty sure I gave my tv the stink eye when what I thought was Alex having an outward reaction to that defeat turned out to be a "Maggie." Good grief, show runners.

Pretty sure it would take more than a glass of wine to deal with the first REAL beat down of Kara.

I picked up on that fear in Melissa's eyes too Kelly, especially in Fort Rozz. She's doing a fantastic job of showing flickers of fear before Kara's innate drive to help people overcomes that fear. In Fort Rozz Kara was scared to be in a place with criminals her mother put away where didn't have her powers and that's totally understandable. I would love it if we get a sister talk about how both of them are scared after being seriously injured by the Worldkillers, it would be a nice follow-up to the talks in "Triggers". As B5 said fear is a natural response to the beating Kara took but as Alex said our fears don't define us.

I really wish that Alex's hostility, in "Both Sides Now", was driven by that fear, instead of pawning it off on her breakup with Maggie. In my opinion, it would have made more sense for Alex's hostility to come from a place of fear, driven by the fact that she saw what just one Worldkiller did to Kara, on Christmas Eve. The thought of there being more would be maddening.

I agree that there should be a conversation where Kara and Alex must acknowledge the lasting impact of what Reign did to Kara. It's the most comprehensive and complete defeat she's ever faced, and to not have it leave some scars would seem unrealistic, even for the Girl of Steel. Heck, ESPECIALLY for the Girl of Steel, who's used to being invulnerable.

Me too and I really thought they were going for that but no we got more emo relationship angst, that ticked me off.....and really screwed that eoisode up for me.

I picked up on that fear in Melissa's eyes too Kelly, especially in Fort Rozz. She's doing a fantastic job of showing flickers of fear before Kara's innate drive to help people overcomes that fear. In Fort Rozz Kara was scared to be in a place with criminals her mother put away where didn't have her powers and that's totally understandable. I would love it if we get a sister talk about how both of them are scared after being seriously injured by the Worldkillers, it would be a nice follow-up to the talks in "Triggers". As B5 said fear is a natural response to the beating Kara took but as Alex said our fears don't define us.

I really wish that Alex's hostility, in "Both Sides Now", was driven by that fear, instead of pawning it off on her breakup with Maggie. In my opinion, it would have made more sense for Alex's hostility to come from a place of fear, driven by the fact that she saw what just one Worldkiller did to Kara, on Christmas Eve. The thought of there being more would be maddening.

I agree that there should be a conversation where Kara and Alex must acknowledge the lasting impact of what Reign did to Kara. It's the most comprehensive and complete defeat she's ever faced, and to not have it leave some scars would seem unrealistic, even for the Girl of Steel. Heck, ESPECIALLY for the Girl of Steel, who's used to being invulnerable.

I picked up on that fear in Melissa's eyes too Kelly, especially in Fort Rozz. She's doing a fantastic job of showing flickers of fear before Kara's innate drive to help people overcomes that fear. In Fort Rozz Kara was scared to be in a place with criminals her mother put away where didn't have her powers and that's totally understandable. I would love it if we get a sister talk about how both of them are scared after being seriously injured by the Worldkillers, it would be a nice follow-up to the talks in "Triggers". As B5 said fear is a natural response to the beating Kara took but as Alex said our fears don't define us.

IMO, Kara's interaction with Reign has a "fear component" to it, Melissa has done an outstanding job of allowing us to see that in her eyes. BUT........Kara also has an internal desire to save people, and that overcomes that fear. So, I don't necessarily think that Kara "saying she isn't afraid" is her saying that for "us" and then proving it.....it is her saying it "to herself" and then proving it. There is also a big difference between "inaction because of fear" and "actions in spite of fear".

I think that a show in which Kara overpowers every villain would be very boring. I enjoy watching shows that have some type of conflict that the main character has to overcome. In Supergirl this year, we have seen Kara wrestling with two central conflicts: the internal conflict of her humanity and the major external conflict in her battle with the World Killers. She hasn't succeeded in overcoming either of those, which keeps me wanting to tune in each week.

We expect that her central conflicts will last throughout the season and will require assistance to overcome. But, I think that her struggles also have to be off-set with some success because otherwise the show would become dreary and monotonous. To me, that is where we should see her able to defeat the minor villain threat that shows up every so often. But, I think that in some ways, this is where the show has not done as well this season. The minor villain fights have been few and in some of those, Kara has deliberately been nurfed, requiring her to have help to defeat them. The lack of success in any of the conflicts that she has in her life makes it appear that she is weaker than usual.

Wouldn't that be because she was powerless and Reign wasn't. In Episode 10 Kara in her dreams said "I'm not afraid" and she showed that later on the episode when she went to fight Reign again and put the Kryptonite Needle into her, I don't think a scared Kara would've have gone anywhere near Reign again so soon.

I think that her being powerless was a major reason why she exhibited some fear in that situation. But, I also have to think that deep down, she has to have some self-doubt in her ability to defeat Reign. You can't take a beating like she did and not think that. Her saying that she was not afraid felt more like an assertion to gather courage rather than a statement of confidence.

kdogg87 "And the small possibility of Supergirl getting whatever affliction that caused Overgirl's explosion, and that being a season long issue, next year."

Can you clarify further, does this mean Supergirl wouldn't use her powers for an entire season so as to not risk overexposure?, we'd have Kara Danvers and no Supergirl, or am I just reading that wrong?

Well, the truth is that we don't know much about Overgirl's affliction, other than the solar energy was building up in her cells to a point that even a Kryptonian couldn't handle, and it caused her to explode.

Whatever caused it may be a misguided attempt by the Reichsman to power up Overgirl by saturating her cells with yellow solar radiation.

If Supergirl is outmatched by the 3 Worldkillers, I could see Kara risking doing something similar to give herself a power up.

If she indeed did oversaturate her cells, as Overgirl did, I would think it would cause uncontrollable increases in strength and power. And she may have to vent solar energy, on purpose, to keep herself from going critical like Overgirl did. This may mean purposely Solar Flaring in order to reduce the solar energy in her cells. But that may only be a temporary fix.

I got super off topic. But I like trying to predict how current story lines may lead into next year's plots.

I do agree that having Kara win less consistently, this year, and have her battles be tougher, has been a welcome change.

For me, I totally have to agree with this. Not only does it make for deeper acting opportunities for the cast to show their true acting chops, but it's really the only way, I think, for them to drive a deeper, season long story... Which is what I think most of us on here were hoping for half-way through season 1. Remember how we started moaning on here about how we wish we weren't stuck with watching a villain of the week kind of series in the beginning? Well, Supergirl's gonna have to have her alien arse handed to her from time-to-time for a developed story arc to have time enough to marinate. lol

Kara-too-powerful-nothing-can-stop-her will get very old too fast.

She apparently has PTSD after the Reign fight. Didn't anyone notice the look of fear on her face when Reign caught up with her at Fort Rozz? Also as for the second Word Killer, she seemed to have hesitated a lot right there. She might have lost her confidence to fight effectively against a World Killer that she doesn't even realize it.

Also another hint: the nightmares she's having about the World Killers. There's a third coming which will make it more worse for her.

I like it this way - makes her eventual victory near the end of the season feel much more sweeter.

True. But last year's victory came at a cost. I'm really curious what that cost will be, this year. Sam? Ruby? Her friendship with Lena? Her life?

It's a LONG shot, but I could see Kara making the self sacrifice to somehow save Sam (self sacrifice is kinda Kara's go-to move). It'd be interesting to end the season thinking Supergirl died. Maybe Sam is rid of the Reign personality, but keeps her powers...creates a new "Superwoman" alias until Kara's "startling" return, in the Fall. That's all an INSANELY long shot. It's just a thought I've been throwing around.

I'm still placing bets on Sam sacrificing herself to stop Reign and the other Worldkillers, Ruby stays with Alex. They set up Lena to learn Kara's secret, next year. And the small possibility of Supergirl getting whatever affliction that caused Overgirl's explosion, and that being a season long issue, next year.

I do agree that having Kara win less consistently, this year, and have her battles be tougher, has been a welcome change.

Kara-too-powerful-nothing-can-stop-her will get very old too fast.

She apparently has PTSD after the Reign fight. Didn't anyone notice the look of fear on her face when Reign caught up with her at Fort Rozz? Also as for the second Word Killer, she seemed to have hesitated a lot right there. She might have lost her confidence to fight effectively against a World Killer that she doesn't even realize it.

Also another hint: the nightmares she's having about the World Killers. There's a third coming which will make it more worse for her.

I like it this way - makes her eventual victory near the end of the season feel much more sweeter.

Powering Kara up by illuminating her with concentrated sunlight might let her overcome the World Killers. Putting Worldkiller 1 in the position where to get at Kara she must kill Ruby might also work, even if "Ruby" was an illusion. And for the bonus question, since no one claimed the two points: The "Solarmight" bomb was invented by the USA. Atom bombs destroy cities. Hydrogen bombs destroy countries. The Solarmight bomb destroys the universe. Source: Plan Nine from Outer Space. However, some scheme for powering Kara up might solve the problem.

I think it's a good plot device to have opponents that can overpower Supergirl physically without using kryptonite, red sunlight, or "magic". This way the show are avoiding the overuse of kryptonite, which really got kind of ridiculous in "Smallville".

Lena needs to invent a Solarmight*...errh, Ultrasolar ray..laser, and zap Kara with it to power her up, a lot. Kara could also use sparring against another Kryptonian, to emphasize things like superspeed to get many more punches in, heat vision while swinging, etc.

*2 points for identifying who invented the solarmight bomb.

It's funny you should mention Kara's journey, Fedguy, from the beginning of this season. I was just NOW hopping on the site to discuss this very topic. I just finished rewatching the first episode of this season, and literally had forgotten how DARK Kara was back in October. lol In fact, it was hard to believe it was even THIS season. Seems like a whole season ago that Kara was at odds with every one in her life. And it got me thinking, in my opinion... Kara battling to be Kara again has been the biggest battle she's had to overcome since Season 1. So, actually... even if we DID just call the show "Girl," I'd be alright with it. In a very real sense, THAT'S been the greatest win... Kara becoming "girl," again rather than a super girl.

Oh yeah... I just got SUPER deep there! boom

Kara was very detached from everyone in the beginning of the season and I’m liking how she’s truly figured out that she shouldn’t be that person. I think around E3 she was trying but sometimes knowing what’s best for yourself and doing it are two different things. It took several things, Alex needing her emotional support, facing Overgirl (who was Kara without a heart), losing a brawl to Reign, then being in a coma where the way out of her own head was to be Kara Danvers. She’s still figuring out her balance but the \S/ kept getting brighter every episode.

Speaking of Overgirl I’ll point out that Kara did beat her during the one on one fight in the church. No help or special devices just a brawl. It was close but that’s to be expected when your fighting yourself. That sonic-clap is a cool power I hope we see it again I think it could come in handy (pun intended) against the Worldkillers.

It's funny you should mention Kara's journey, Fedguy, from the beginning of this season. I was just NOW hopping on the site to discuss this very topic. I just finished rewatching the first episode of this season, and literally had forgotten how DARK Kara was back in October. lol In fact, it was hard to believe it was even THIS season. Seems like a whole season ago that Kara was at odds with every one in her life. And it got me thinking, in my opinion... Kara battling to be Kara again has been the biggest battle she's had to overcome since Season 1. So, actually... even if we DID just call the show "Girl," I'd be alright with it. In a very real sense, THAT'S been the greatest win... Kara becoming "girl," again rather than a super girl.

Oh yeah... I just got SUPER deep there! boom

Also I think not physically defeating the worldkillers works into the season’s theme of recovering humanity.

The show generalises a bit here which feels a bit racist towards aliens, but they’ve got it set out that the human side of Kara is represented by her emotions and compassion, her civilian aspects, and the alien side is her powers and strength, solving problems through force.

Early in the season we see Kara being quite aggressive. She quickly arrives at a scene, punches everything, leaves. But as the trap inside her own mind scene foreshadows and shows, solving problems through alien powers and force won’t always be a solution.

Kara and viewers are accustomed to Kryptonian powers being undefeatable and able to overcome anything. This seasons serves to show that there are issues Kara cannot overcome through physical strength and force, yet those are not the only things that make her Super, nor are they the only abilities in her arsenal. One of her greatest powers is humanity.

In the recent movie Justice League, as soon as Superman returned it was game over for the villain, rest of team can’t even begin to compare to him. I get that that might be the kind of Kryptonians people are used to and expect, but honestly if that’s the way then it makes Kryptonians bad entertainment for long running shows with a good narrative arc.

Admittedly the wins this season are fewer. I think it shows the stakes are high. Normally we get more moments of Kara easily taking out minor villains as a reminder of her abilities, but I think after two seasons we don’t need to be reminded. We know how powerful she is.

Plus it’s not like she hasn’t won. She won like every fight except against worldkillers.

I'm no troll. Just got annoyed enough to be motivated to post. Gee, a critical comment about "Girl" oh, I mean "'Super'girl" and suddenly people shout "TROLL!". I think the writers get lazy with Supergirl's shifting level of strength. The one comment of her being beaten by a baddie then DEO shoots them away is astute. Sorry, but that last scene of her being held around the neck and doing some fruitless struggling is embarrassing.

It wasn't my comment but, I don't think that you were labeled a troll because you made a critical comment. If you spend some time looking through the posts in this thread and others, you will find quite a few who have been critical of the writing for the show and they weren't labeled a troll. And the inconsistency of Supergirl's strength has been a topic that we have discussed before, too. Most people on this forum don't believe that the show is perfect and would like to see the writing improved to make it a more solid show.

Regarding that fight scene, I wasn't fond of it either. I thought that the entire fight scene was weak and could have been done much better.

My guess is that the troll comment is based on the fact that this is the only post that you have written, it's negative and it was written without much tact.

exactly. I disagree with many of the people here about many different things and get along with them just fine. but if your first presentation is soaking in misogynistic jargon, I am gonna call it out.

I'm no troll. Just got annoyed enough to be motivated to post. Gee, a critical comment about "Girl" oh, I mean "'Super'girl" and suddenly people shout "TROLL!". I think the writers get lazy with Supergirl's shifting level of strength. The one comment of her being beaten by a baddie then DEO shoots them away is astute. Sorry, but that last scene of her being held around the neck and doing some fruitless struggling is embarrassing.

It wasn't my comment but, I don't think that you were labeled a troll because you made a critical comment. If you spend some time looking through the posts in this thread and others, you will find quite a few who have been critical of the writing for the show and they weren't labeled a troll. And the inconsistency of Supergirl's strength has been a topic that we have discussed before, too. Most people on this forum don't believe that the show is perfect and would like to see the writing improved to make it a more solid show.

Regarding that fight scene, I wasn't fond of it either. I thought that the entire fight scene was weak and could have been done much better.

My guess is that the troll comment is based on the fact that this is the only post that you have written, it's negative and it was written without much tact.

" I think the writers get lazy with Supergirl's shifting level of strength. The one comment of her being beaten by a baddie then DEO shoots them away is astute."

Yes, I agree. In the "Childish Things" episode in Season 1, Kara couldn't even fly out of Toyman's vat of quicksand without freezing it first. Then in the season finale, she lifted Fort Rozz into space all by herself! Her level of vulnerability also seems to change all the time.
In some of the fight scenes with human opponents, Kara gets knocked to the ground by them. You would expect that it would be like punching a brick wall to them!
In my own fan fiction stories, I've tried to be as consistent as possible with Kara's power and vulnerability levels (while still keeping them somewhere below the extreme levels of the comic books and movies).

I'm no troll. Just got annoyed enough to be motivated to post. Gee, a critical comment about "Girl" oh, I mean "'Super'girl" and suddenly people shout "TROLL!". I think the writers get lazy with Supergirl's shifting level of strength. The one comment of her being beaten by a baddie then DEO shoots them away is astute. Sorry, but that last scene of her being held around the neck and doing some fruitless struggling is embarrassing.