S3E9 "Reign" Discussion and Review

I'm probably in the minority but, I don't think that Lena should find out. I really don't see a necessity for it. Everything that has happened can either be excused or covered by J'onn. And with Lillian as her mother and Lex as her brother, Lena knowing would do more harm than good to Kara. It would just be another door opened to the Luthors and the rest of the world finding out and getting to Kara. Not to mention the fact that we still don't know how Lena is going to be down the road, if she will stay on the right side of morality or not.

***Editing this so I don't double post because I forgot to ask about Supergirl's suit. From the comics, is it supposed to have some type of special powers or is it reinforced in some way? The aftereffects of Reign's laser to her chest with the cloth ripped open but, the emblem still showing through underneath gave that impression.

For the question regarding why Kara's suit doesn't shred...

There were numerous reasons for this in the comics, for Superman, over the years. The first was that it was Kryptonian fabric that came in his pod. This obviously doesn't work for Kara, as Winn made her suit.

Another is that it was treated with certain chemicals. Again, out of the realm of possibility for Winn at the beginning of season one.

A more modern reason was that Kryptonians, under a yellow sun, emit a very thin aura over their bodies. This aura is at least part of their invulnerability. And it can protect any clothing close enough to their skin, but not loose fitting clothing.

This is likely the reason one would use for Supergirl. It explains why her original cape shredded in the pilot, as it's loose fitting. It explains why her clothes went up in flames in "Ace Reporter, but her suit was fine. And like any Kryptonian ability, this aura would depend on the solar radiation within the subjects cells. So if that radiation ran low or were exhausted, the subject's invulnerability would be compromised.

Also, invulnerability, in the context of Kryptonians, is a relative term. They aren't really invulnerable. It's just enhanced durability. If someone considerably stronger attacked, they would still be able to take damage, just as any human would in a fight.

This explains why Reign was able to make Supergirl bleed and bruise, as well as burn the emblem off her suit. She either exhausted the solar radiation in Supergirl's body, or was just strong enough damage Supergirl, despite her enhanced durability.

My theory is that the fight with Reign was a combination of those 2 factors. With every hit, bits of the solar radiation in her cells were depleted by the Supergirl's enhanced durability taking the overwhelming damage of Reign's blows. By the end, most of solar radiation was depleted, but not all of it. This is why Reign's heat vision damaged her suit, but did not completely penetrate it. It's also why Kara was still alive after her fall. If she were completely depleted of Solar radiation, she would have never survived the fall. She would have been just as vulnerable as any human. But enough of it was depleted to where she was either incapable of flying, or she was just on the verge of passing out before the fall even started.

She looked like she passed out on the way down, if you ask me.

1) IMO if anyone, with the possible exception of J'onn, had tried to step into the fight it would’ve just been an additional distraction for Kara. She was already distracted with the civilians at the Christmas party and on the street at the end. The one thing the DEO, James and even Lena could have done is get the civilians the heck away from the fight and then stay a safe distance away themselves.
2) I've decided here's how I want the timing to go in the next episode. Kara is awake by the end of the first scene but not at full strength physically or mentally until the very end of the second to last scene. The last scene is an action scene and her first public appearance to let Reign and the city know she's back. In between her friends and family could help her recover mentally while time heals her physically. If done correctly that should provide an acceptable amount of Melissa time. It would be great if Cat could be one of those people but realistically I know that's probably not happening. How awesome would it be to have Cat come waltzing into the DEO demanding to see Kara(pronouncing the name correctly). I also think it might provide an opportune time to clue Lena in. After seeing that fight Lena would naturally ask James if he knew how Supergirl was doing. She would also ask him if he knew where Kara is. James could tell Kara that he's covering for her at work but Lena’s worried about Supergirl. Kara could to give him the OK to bring Lena to the DEO to see her and during the visit tells Lena the truth. Lena might be frightened enough for her friend that it tempers her anger at Kara not telling her earlier. I can picture Lena saying something like "Kara Danvers we will talk about why you didn't trust me but right now it's more important that we figure out how to beat this thing".

It's a bit hard to focus on the rest of the episode when they ended with that fight that was so well done. The fight, SG being a hero and a smaller portion of relationship exploration, should be the template that they utilize from this point on. It puts SG on a different level.

I liked the setup to Reign. Thought they did a pretty good job showing some of her power early and throughout the episode. The way she took down that gang without even being seen gave the appearance of her having a high level of powers. It will be interesting to see where they go with the whole mythology of being a god, the devil and Kryptonian history. Obviously, Coville believes and Hank seems to think there is something to the story but, neither Kara nor Reign believe that they are deities.

I liked the Christmas party, loved the interaction between Winn, Hank and Hank's dad. The only part that I didn't enjoy was Kara's comment about her good buddies, Lena and Sam. Kara's comment about never having best friends like Lena and Sam degrades her relationship with Winn and James, who were considered close enough to be called family in season 1. I'm a firm supporter of girl power but, not to the extent of tossing out history or forcing female relationships that haven't had time to develop yet. as in the case of Sam, who Kara has known for about 3 months.

Mon-el and Irma are okay. Glad to see that Mon-el has moved on, as he should have after 7 years, and that he is happy. Yes, Kara has to have time to adjust to the fact that he is alive, he's back and he's married. Won't happen over night and if Mon-el wasn't in her face, it would be much easier for her to do. I really do hope that the writers don't keep pushing this issue. Don't continue to create love conflict just to have conflict and allow Kara the space to adjust.

I'm not a fan of romantic relationships on the show, and honestly, for awhile I thought this was going to be the Lena and James mid-season finale. That said, the two have just as much chemistry as every other character that they've shoved together and in about the same amount of time. I like that James now seems to have a purpose beyond trying to be a hero, however feeble it is. Question - does he have some kind of power to just call that shield into existence?

Overall- best episode of the season for me thus far. Probably one of my top 10 of all at the moment.

I gotta get through the crossover first......

They are on the verge of destroying Supergirl's character from likable to unlikable. Good point that any romance drama has come from Kara and I hope the writers realize this. With Kreisberg gone, they should be able to break away from this formula. She is becoming like Barry from season 3.

Draftingafter is right. It is time for Kara’s Mon-El phase to fade. Kara’s current S3-Barry-mode must end soon, for she is a lot less compelling a character while it lasts. The distant and superior “not human” attitude and her lack of affection and warmth for anyone except Alex, Sam and Lena right now makes it extremely hard to root for her.

For its many flaws, S1 of the show drew me in mainly as Kara was a paragon of friendliness and understanding. She couldn’t be further from that at the moment.

I don't see that at all, I see that as real...apparently you haven't had to work beside someone that you are in love with, that once loved you, and now.....they don't. It has been literally less than 3 weeks since she found Mon-el and found out he was married. I'm ALL FOR, moving on....but I don't see the big problem here.

The only reason I don't want the whole Imra/Mon-el thing continuing too long has nothing to do with any kind of love triangle....I just don't want the Legion around that long. It is very much like Superman for me......come for a couple of episodes and then go back to your home and do your job there....this is Supergirl's show.

2) I really would be glad to see Cat Grant coming back for Kara right now.

Definitely, Jondix. With Kara's possible "demise" being broadcast, I could see Cat actually revealing to Alex that she's knows, and calls her so she can see Kara. And, I could see Alex agreeing to take Cat to Kara.

A couple of things that I thought that they did well on another watch were:

I liked how they had a great number of the DEO personnel standing around the outside of the emergency room that Supergirl was in when they brought her in after her fight. I thought that it showed how much of an impact that she has on them, after all, in addition to being their hero, she is also a co-worker.

I also thought it was interesting and very good added detail of Supergirl having sweat on her face during and after the fight. I'm pretty sure that that is not something she ever has to worry about, 99.9% of the time, even during a fight. So, to show it now leaves the impression of just how difficult the fight was and how hard her body was fighting to not shut-down afterwards because of her injuries.

One thing that I didn't like was to have James, the Guardian, just stand around watching and monitoring traffic. Obviously, he would never have beaten Reign, but I feel a true hero would have sacrificed himself in order to try to help Supergirl. And if it was a question of him not wanting to reveal himself, well, that's an even bigger issue.

Adding on to what Brierrose said...

The DEO wouldn't have been able to keep up. They were all over the city.

As for J'onn, it's entirely within the realm of possibility that he didn't realize how in trouble Kara was until the damage was done. She wasn't communicating with the DEO, and he can't read Kryptonian minds.

By the time the fight settled down to one area, Kara's downfall was pretty swift.

All this being said, I don't want Kara's next fight with Reign to be a 180. They should remain evenly matched. The fights need to be this quality with all their encounters. That doesn't mean Kara needs to be beaten within an inch of her life, every time. But the fights need to be the quality of the portion at the Christmas party. The back and forth between Supergirl and Reign was fantastic and incredibly well done.

Finally, a fight that didn't come down to heat vision between Kryptonians.

My favorite part is the guy throwing his Christmas package about 100 ft in the air.....LMAO.

So, I have no way to prove this. It's just a theory about that last scene, where Ruby comes down for Christmas and we see Sam at the window, possibly as Reign.

I think it's too early and too convenient for Ruby to find out about her mother this way. I think that ending was a red herring.

In that scene, we see Sam at the window, her hands kinda shaking or twitching, and then she turns to see Ruby.

I think it's possible that she's standing there, her hands shaking, because she's seen the news, and doesn't know how to tell Ruby what happened to Supergirl. We've seen multiple times that Supergirl is absolutely Ruby's hero. So to wake up on Christmas day and see the news about what happened to her...I think that would be really hard for Sam. And that's where episode 10 would pick up, with her trying to break the news to Ruby.

Just a theory. But I think it makes sense.

We often talk about the music that is added to the episodes and how great a job they did first season. I think they're doing a good job this season also and, after repeated viewings of this episode, I really noticed its impact - specifically during the fight scene. The Christmas music at the beginning of the scene was, at first, almost a distraction but, now I see how it actually helped build the intensity of the fight.

The part that I really noticed was during the fight on the street. I'm not sure what the music was, or who the composer is, but the score was timed very well with what was going on in the fight. Specifically, how the instruments changed from a lighter (maybe clarinets, violins??) to deeper instruments (maybe tuba's and trombones?) when Reign headbutted Kara and she dropped to the ground and then crawled up the street. That change really emphasized to the viewer that, it was at that moment that the momentum of the fight had changed and that things were not going to go well for Kara. Great job!

--Sorry for the lack of musical technical terms or knowledge, my musical background consists entirely of listening pleasure only.

So, I have no way to prove this. It's just a theory about that last scene, where Ruby comes down for Christmas and we see Sam at the window, possibly as Reign.

I think it's too early and too convenient for Ruby to find out about her mother this way. I think that ending was a red herring.

In that scene, we see Sam at the window, her hands kinda shaking or twitching, and then she turns to see Ruby.

I think it's possible that she's standing there, her hands shaking, because she's seen the news, and doesn't know how to tell Ruby what happened to Supergirl. We've seen multiple times that Supergirl is absolutely Ruby's hero. So to wake up on Christmas day and see the news about what happened to her...I think that would be really hard for Sam. And that's where episode 10 would pick up, with her trying to break the news to Ruby.

Just a theory. But I think it makes sense.

I don't think it is Reign either; and I like your theory; and I think it is plausible.

In time Kiwi or evrafter would have. I'd say the excitement for the crossover eclipses anything at the moment and normally discussions are not posted one week early.

Thanks for making this though

I wonder what the big cliff hanger for the mid season finale is going to be. I initially thought it was going to be Kara finding out Sam is Reign, but that seems to early to make that reveal given what we've seen of the other arrow verse shows with a 'hidden identity' big bad. (Reign wears a mask)

Yeah, I don't think she finds out that Same is Reign in ep. 9......she fights her in ep. 9 however, and from the pics out there is slammed pretty hard....to the point of bleeding.

Bless her heart, she goes from Overgirl to Reign.....

Is anyone else getting a Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets vibe from Sam/Reign?
We have a girl (well in Sam's case woman) who is being possessed/controlled by someone. This person forces her to attack people, and leave mysterious messages behind afterward. The women has no recollection of her activities while she was possessed.
That sounds a almost exactly like Ginny from Chamber of Secrets. (Except Ginny was 11 at the time, and she didn't actually kill anybody because they were all cured, but still)

all to have it resolved Alex telling her otherwise :/ hmm lol

That was just Alex being scared for her. Also, I don't think that affects anything in the long run.

I liked the episode. The Christmas party (even if not the forced friendship and romance), Imra (I kind of like her), and especially Kara and Kara's fight with Reign.

Draftingafter is right. It is time for Kara’s Mon-El phase to fade. Kara’s current S3-Barry-mode must end soon, for she is a lot less compelling a character while it lasts. The distant and superior “not human” attitude and her lack of affection and warmth for anyone except Alex, Sam and Lena right now makes it extremely hard to root for her.

I think she also shows affection for J'onn and Winn. (not entirely sure why she didn't mention him being her best friend, but may be she thought girl friends? or may be she considers Winn as family just like Alex?)...

And compassion for random people on the street who might get hurt... That is ultimately who Supergirl is and I don't think she has lost that. Or will ever lose that. She had it even in the first episode when she was going with the most non-human thing, when she went to that hurt soldier.

Also, I don't think they are going to end the Mon El-Imra-Kara drama any time soon. It'd be great if they do... but, I think it is going to be a season long arc for her.

The unfortunate part of this (if true) is that the angst is solely coming from Kara. We've seen more than once that mon-el is happy with his wife and vice versa. So the drama of this triangle is purely kara agonizing over mon-el & Imra's marriage, and I am definitely not here for that.

Draftingafter is right. It is time for Kara’s Mon-El phase to fade. Kara’s current S3-Barry-mode must end soon, for she is a lot less compelling a character while it lasts. The distant and superior “not human” attitude and her lack of affection and warmth for anyone except Alex, Sam and Lena right now makes it extremely hard to root for her.

I think she also shows affection for J'onn and Winn. (not entirely sure why she didn't mention him being her best friend, but may be she thought girl friends? or may be she considers Winn as family just like Alex?)...

And compassion for random people on the street who might get hurt... That is ultimately who Supergirl is and I don't think she has lost that. Or will ever lose that. She had it even in the first episode when she was going with the most non-human thing, when she went to that hurt soldier.

Also, I don't think they are going to end the Mon El-Imra-Kara drama any time soon. It'd be great if they do... but, I think it is going to be a season long arc for her.

The unfortunate part of this (if true) is that the angst is solely coming from Kara. We've seen more than once that mon-el is happy with his wife and vice versa. So the drama of this triangle is purely kara agonizing over mon-el & Imra's marriage, and I am definitely not here for that.

I agree. I just don't see it ending any time soon.

And realistically speaking, I don't think Kara should be blamed so much for it either--I think she has been getting the short end of the stick pretty much this whole season for something that is pretty normal for any person in her situation.

I just hope they don't hammer at it too much when the season starts up again. If they do it'll become tiring very very fast.

What I am hoping for is they get over the Mon El part quick and focus on her entire legacy of losses like they have done so far this season--well, on the most part. It is something worth exploring in her character and something that Superman does not allow.

May be, by end of next episode, Kara will have come to terms with Imra and Mon El. However, the theme of loss and her dealing with it can still continue; especially with Reign being a kryptonian.

Does anyone here think that the final scene with Ruby is a hint that Reign will gradually look different down the line (i.e. comic book Reign)?