Supergirl Season 2: Divisive Fan Groups

I actually just mentioned something along these same lines in last night's episode thread our Kiwi always sets up for us. Personally, I think you did a terrific job addressing the issue.

I actually appreciate the fans who populate this forum. On the news page, comments seem to stray towards being a bit "harsh" from time to time. But the same harshness doesn't seem to spill over into the forum as much.

As for me, I'm not a huge "Sanvers" fan, for my own personal reasons. But, I certainly wouldn't attack or put down a Team Sanvers member. And, I've actually appreciated the incredible acting from both ladies. But my goodnes...you are absolutely right... I have seen some rather venomous battles out there from all kinds of Supergirl fanbases... Team Karmel going after Sanvers while Supercorp (Lena-Kara shippers) go after Karmel.... guardian... And all other things you've mentioned, above. I once made the mistake (before Sanvers was even a thing or that Alex was even gay), of tweeting the writers during an episode about Winn and Alex being awesome together in scenes and... MAN!!...it was like the deep dark web awakened and attacked me like a pack of ravenous wolves..."She's GAY, you blankety blank blank!!!!" Foul language, calling me foul slangs, trying to go through my whole twitter. So I quickly retreated back to our forum family. We disagree, from time to time... Like you mentioned. We break scenes down and discuss weaknesses. But do so, generally, fairly, respectfully, and meet each other in "the middle" when we don't end up on the same "side" of issues.

I think perhaps...the show has picked up some younger fans this season??...which has its pros and cons. The only real con being, PERHAPS... SOME of the newer fans don't always choose the best path for discussing differences? But, I guess you could say not all of the older fanbase choose their words wisely, either. lol

But of all the sites I feel most comfortable participating in...the site I feel contains more of the O.G. Supergirl fans... (fans from the first days of it airing)...seem to have found their way here. And then I've enjoyed seeing THOSE peeps welcoming new forum members.

Not sure much can be done off site. I like what Kelly suggested to me in the other thread, when I mentioned what I had witnessed last night.. the venom being spewed in the Supergirl "thread" as it was trending.. She suggested mute and block. Saddly it wasnt in my newsfeed that I COULD block. I'll just have to learn not to get hyped to see what comments were flooding the trend.

Keep up the terrific job you're doing here admin. Really...all we as Team Supergirl can do here is not jump into the venom, welcome new commentors, and gently steer them to keep comments positive.

I wish I could be of some help here. was the Valentine's day episode, after all. One might have proposed that therefore each of these events we saw peaked for this episode and we will be seeing something else at least more in the future. To satisfy all the readers, the shows would need to be three hours long. Daily. It seems to me that the threads here have mostly been reasonable, even on a topic as delicate as the one noted by the administrator. However, please be nice, everyone. It matters.I write as someone who made a few suggestions last year about the rules as written, and occasionally has suggested things this year.

Having said that, let me urge you all to punch up the "support" button if you enjoy being here.

I would think the largest fandom civil war is either between Mon-El shippers and Lena shippers or Guardian haters and Mon-El haters. About Sanvers I think we recall I got involved in a "fight" earlier, but that was because I felt there was too much drama involving Sanvers, not because of LGBT. Either way I think that was resolved too and I'm actually pretty fine about their relationship.

Also this site is awesome. Thanks admin very much for providing such a service.

Unfortunately we can't do anything but stay focus on the positive. Like Supergirl keep the faith and spread your enjoyment to the show. The rest follows or not, but the people looking for it will come (i so like "Field of Dreams" movie sorry).
But everything is a projection of personal feeling about how people think thing should be for there own approval. We are talking about fictional characters, they don't even exist. So hating is really about themself. But it work both ways, love as well. We can relate for the feeling of love that procure and we enjoy that.
So the first thing i remember is that actors are humans with feelings. No need to put them under any circumstances in harms way. I don't like all characters doesn't mean i'm going to hate the actor incarnate him or her, it serve nothing.
Two, when producers talk about "centric" episode, it can not be the main story, we still on the Supergirl show. That means second principal arc and i'm not shocked about it. Anyway, i'm glad i found that site and forum and i stick with it (also glad i'm not elsewhere for my good health)
Admin, internet is a living thing, so don't worry, you're doing a good job.

Hmm... I think it is time for my essay because brevity is something I don't know the meaning of.
Okay.

I don't follow Supergirl stuff on twitter (except for taking an occasional look at Chyler's twitter page.) So, I am not sure what's going on there. And, on tumblr, I only follow a select community; so I have not seen much hatred there either. I have heard of it a lot, some of it genuine criticism, and a lot of twitter stuff.

Note before I start: This is not an excuse for any venomous comment anywhere from anyone. There is no excuse for not being decent to other people no matter what their values while talking about a show (if it's a life/death situation or a matter of civic rights or you are being attacked, you may get a little emotional. but this is not about that.)

Disclaimer: The POVs expressed are mine own, but I have noticed a lot of criticism on tumblr, and some of it is derived from empathy. It may be just one POV among many.

If you're a Lena supporter, why do you hate Guardian's screen-time?

I think the comparison is between apples and beef here. Just like James in the Lena episode. All the ire directed at the Guardian arc is not about the increased screen time. It was not there much in the previous season, and James was the love interest!

It's about how sloppily the character has been written. And especially, the entitlement with which he treats the other characters. James thinks that he is owed support from Winn and Kara. He does not appreciate that Winn is risking his job and his life, and stealing from the government to ensure that he stays alive. He doesn't appreciate that Kara is only looking out for his safety.

And worse, in a show watched by a lot of people who are not superheroes but who contribute to society in a lot of different ways such as health workers, teachers, reporters and whatever, he considers the job he does as not being equal to the Supers. And since the writers seem to be on his side, it is all the more like, the show is telling people subtly that violently going at drug dealers and criminals is the only valuable and decent way you could contribute to society.

I mean, it defies logic. If I wanted to compete, I'd compete with someone from a position of my strength. Not of theirs. How can you compete with these folks in superheroics? Your strength is journalism, employ that.

And if it is not about competition as James says, but about making a difference. Again, I'd use my strength. And leave law enforcement to the law enforcement.

How's James with all his tech and Winn's support a hero and not Maggie who does whatever she does without any of that? Or Alex who only, as far as I have seen, has weapon, no additional armour or shield?

By the way, many James supporters do not see some of these aspects, or chose to ignore it because he was a rather decent character in Season 1, and because like any member of a discriminated against community, you tend to overlook deficiencies and look at strengths of a person of your own; and from where they are standing, he is willing to risk his life for others, he is loyal, and he tries to clean up crime. The entitlement issues they probably ignore as poor writing. Basically, they are looking at him with the season-1 lense, with the added good qualities of heroism.

Others may not be part of a minority community, as in a POC, but may empathise for the same reasons.

Lena's story on the other hand is written so as to appeal to anyone with any empathy. She is introduced as someone who wants to step away from the evil shadow of her step brother. Anyone who knows anything about Superman knows how tough a struggle that is with a name like Luthor.

Then, you get to know more about her, and you realise that her mother has been ill treating her since she was a baby. That possibly she lost her mother who had lover her at that same young age. How can anyone not feel for her at that?

And then, she shows a penchant for defying her mother who has been so emotionally abusive to her.

She has shown herself to be generous, at least to Kara (we don't see her anywhere else; but see Kara is a mere reporter, and she is a rich lady with a lot of assets; she is honest, but she is welcoming despite that.). And brave (she has risked her life for things that she believed in) and resourceful and intelligent (as when she took on those villains her mother sent using some device that I don't remember the name of; as well, as during the Medusa episode).

To top it all, her mother is emotionally manipulating her. Or, has been.

And then, there is the mystery about her motives. Because she is such a complex character, you want her to win this fight and emerge on the side of good.

It'd be very difficult for any viewer to not like this combo.

(All in all, I think Lena is the best character they have added to the show this season.)

Essentially I think the conflict in James' life and the arc looks very made-up and tacked on. While Lena's looks like something that can happen to anyone; natural and rich in life.

kiwi wrote something, but someone cut it (^_^)

evrafter, must be time for a group hug.

Jondix squeeze kiwi ... and gets an orange juice ... kidding, my hug was too hard :-*
evrafter where are you ?

Well, everybody is the result of their life experiences and values, so comparaison is always going to be part of the exchanges betwin people. But as an individual i'm aware that what i think today maybe not be the same tomorrow because of the masses of experiences i keep having. That's why even if its relevant to give an opinion about something i like or not, i don't find useful to compare situations and characters.

I read a lot of comments about the writing, but i'm one who think that there are a lot of layers between what is in the mind of the writer and what's delivered.
The actors have a part to do with it (and that is probably why i like Melissa Benoist interpretation of Kara so much and maybe someone else could have a total different effect on ma vision of the show).
You can say one ligne of dialog in many differents ways an it's not going to say the same thing. You can said it the same way everytime and not hear the same thing either. Everything is subjectif and very personal in that departement for me.
At that you can add the directors have also a big part to play etc...

Anyway the advice for getting back to a comunity is to enjoy what you like and not focus your energy towards what you don't like. (i hope i speak english by the way!)

I had to split my comment; it was turning out to be too long.

Put simply, if you like Maggie Sawyer and Alex Danver's relationship, why don't you like Mon-El?

Well, I am not the person to whom this question is directed at here because I don't ship either of them. (I have noticed over the years that I have a preference for the familial and platonic relationships over romance. Unlike many who think that having a romance is necessary for a fulfilling life, I think I am just fine with friends and family. I am basically asexual and most-of-the-time, though not always, aromantic.)

But, I have been hanging around in tumblr a lot, and other review sites, so I can offer some insights, I believe. Besides, thoughts from some of us folks who are here for the Danvers and folks from Season 1 might also help, right?

Okay.

Alex-Maggie vs. Mon El

Alex's relationship with Maggie has been almost wholly from the point of view of Alex; the character we have been invested in since season 1.

Besides, that you can kind of understand why Alex falls for Maggie. Someone who fights against crime; is open-minded; likes aliens (which is very important to Alex for obvious reasons); is brave and mostly generous.

Alex's coming out arc has been very well handled by the show. A lot of gay people saw themselves and their own experience in that. I saw myself in that.

And because we cannot ignore representation and the message the show is sending.

There has been a lot of happiness that it gave gay folks including teens. It gave validation to a lot of adults who barely see themselves in TV shows especially when it comes to cop shows, procedural and superhero shows.

All of these make them very invested in Alex-Maggie.

Compare that to Mon El.

Ignore the actor and the chemistry between Melissa and Chris for a moment.

His story line is basically this. Told, not from Kara's, our hero's, point of view, but from the point of view of Mon El.

Rich privileged guy (we don't know he is a prince, but we are pretty sure), who has grown up with not a care in the world. Shows the same attitude in the outside world when he comes across our lead character, the woman. He thinks she is selfish and attention-seeking. He doesn't see the point of all this caring for other people.

After a lot of harping from other people, including Alex, he decides that he could do something. (There was this one happening during that cage episode, Changing? when he offers help to someone; that was cool, but it was also fleeting and not touched up on.)

And then, he falls for our lead-character. Because she is pretty decent during the time when the two of them spend time in a cage. Very brave.

And in the next couple of episodes he is back not being all that caring about other people but Kara; he comes to Cat Co and accompanies Kara not because it is the right thing to do but because he wants to spend time with her. And then, he is back to being rather a jerk. Or, at least, telling Kara not to go looking for abducted strangers. Not listening when he is asked to go for backup and instead endangering her. Telling her, that she was looking for trouble when she tries to save them.

But, his crush for her continues, and he falls for her. Because she is very brave this time around too.

And, this is in canon, he says it that he likes her that is why he was with her.

And then, he pines for her by drinking club soda (that by the way is not changing for your love; or being inspired; that is wallowing. and telling his date about his crush).

And Kara is told that.

And the next episode, Kara suddenly decides that she is falling for him too. For what reason? We are not shown that at all. For what reason other than the fact that her friends with their new toys, and her sister with her new love, are ignoring her?

She make an odd speech about him keeping on proving her wrong, which is not quite the truth. He doesn't prove her wrong. She had too low an expectation from him owing to the prejudices, and with that in mind, anything half-way decent he does is considered great in her eyes. (It'd be an interesting story arc if that is what is happening here. That her eyes are blind the other way because she is compensating for her prejudices too much.)

And then, in the previous episode, he tells her that "she is full of herself" and then at the end that she is his kryptonite, and that is why he kept doing all those bad things in this episode. And then, he apologises, and she kisses him.

He keeps hurting her by saying bad things to her. And then apologising. He keeps disappointing her. He keeps saying he is trying, although, we are not shown where he is trying (except when he tries to backup Kara, and even there, he doesn't listen to her; it could be more of a cultural, I need to protect my mate who belongs to me thing and that is how he acts).

And then he ends it by saying all those bad things he did this episode was owing to his love for her. She was the reason for his weakness and his bad choices.

Have you ever heard that anywhere else before? Any of this story?

At best, it is a story that we have seen a lot before. So many times that it is basically a cliche. Rich entitled guy, meets a girl, is touched because she is so unlike what he has encountered until now, and falls for her. She reciprocates because what else could she do? He likes her, so she should reciprocate. They end up married and live happily ever after. They make a great team and fight crime together. The end.

At worst. It is a (not may be "the" picture of an abusive relationship where one of the people involved is not all that great, keeps failing, keeps promising to do better, and then gets forgiven just because he apologises. And oh, and blames at least some, if not all, of his bad choices on the women he "allegedly" crushes on.

And think, that all of this is played unfortunately by an actor who is white, straight and male. With his richness, he is the epitome of privilege in US.

What kind of an idea does this reinforce? What kind of message does that send to any young person watching that. Or a person of any age.

Boys, as long as you promise to do better, even if you don't do well, you will get your dream girl. Boys, that girl saying no to you, doesn't really mean it. She really loves you and is just not aware of it yet. Boys, people will and should always make allowances for your background and your poor upbringing, just like the viewers of the show has been making allowances for Mon El being a Daxamite. I mean the poor guy grew up in that culture. Cut him slack.

Boys, if you are a white guy, you just have to promise to be better. Especially, if instead of being a nerd, geek, insecure kind of person (like Winn), you are the football jock.

While if you are black, like James, you will be dropped for no reason. Even if you are heroic, kind, generous and all that. (The reason that she wants to find herself would have made sense if they had stuck with it; instead, she falls for the next guy who confesses his feelings to her.). And that goes for the nerd too, may be.

Girls: A. If a guy like Mon El confesses his feelings to you, you should totally return that feeling. It'd be weird if you don't. That is what happens in every story. B. See he apologises after being a jerk, so that is all right. C. as of this episode. all the bad choices that your partner makes, that is your fault. And D. no matter how bad, you always give the guy a chance.

Oh and boys and girls, Kara was lonely because she said no to Mon El. And she deserves that fate because she rejected the guy. After he risked his heart for her. (I have seen screenshot of YouTube comments to that effect.) And she dumped James too.

People who do ship Mon El and Kara do say that he is from a different culture and so he cannot be blamed for his attitude and also that he is trying. Although, we have barely seen anything at all where he tries (except for that one second thing at the end of Changing). He does not interact at all with others. All his time is spent with Kara, so we don't even know what he is like in her absence.

So, basically, the show, and everyone who loves the ship seems to want Kara and everyone who opposes the ship to give him credit for what he hasn't done based on what he vows he would do. In show, he might end up fighting for the good. In real-life, how good a message that is I am not too sure. Most of the time, it looks like a recipe for disaster.

Not to mention, how cliched.

And did I say, all the falling for her is shown from his point of view, not hers? In her show, it is his feelings that is the POV. That matters and are given centre stage. She reacts to his. It is not her initiative.

So, Sanvers ship and Mon-El-Kara ships are very different.

(Cont'd) in the next comment.

Jondix squeeze kiwi ... and gets an orange juice ... kidding, my hug was too hard :-*
evrafter where are you ?

Over here *waves and jumps up and down*

I have seen a great many comments here and elsewhere saying Mon El-Kara ship is great because Mon-El's and Kara's (or Chris' and Melissa's) chemistry is great.

That is a pretty good reason for falling for someone. a. the on-screen chemistry is great. b. he is funny.

Think of it from the POV of a Kara-James shipper.

She dropped a perfectly great guy for someone who is a jerk and who is also in this culture, the epitome of white privilege. (As I said before, she didn't stay firm on that whole focusing on her career bit for long.)

If you don't see yourself represented in a leading way all that much, and if you see yourself being powerless in a lot of situations and being discriminated against just because of your colour, and you see the same thing enacted on screen. (or even a nerd, in the case, of Winn).

It's a story and story has effects on people. In real-life, you could say you fall for whom you will, but in stories, what you show is a choice from the show-runners. In real-life, you could say that Kara could not hold to her promise to explore her career and being single further, that you could have both at the same time, but in the story, the message you are saying is that Kara cannot be happy being single.

See how lonely she was before she confessed her liking for Mon El. It is not because her friends were abandoning for their own things (which would have been a great reason that they could have explored), it was because she had no romance in her life. Even her missing Alex is because, Alex says, she is trying not to focus on Mon El. Owing to her abandonment issues. Not because she misses her sister who has been with her from the day she landed on earth and was now spending all her free time with her new love, but because she has feelings for Mon El, which she is trying to ignore. Not because her sister missed her earth birthday, the day which would have officially marked that she has spent more time with Danvers and on Earth than with her own parents and her planet, (13 as opposed to 12).

Besides, you can't have it both ways. When people point out the abusive and rather harmful messages embedded in the show, you can't say "Oh! This is just a TV show and fictional characters; people, should not bother so much" (to put it gently) and then, when you point out how the story doesn't work because messaging is weird that "But, this is how it happens in real life. People may make resolutions but fail them all the time."

I am not attacking Kara-Mon El ships here. I am just listing out the POVs. Though, as far as Mon El is concerned most of it match (except, I used to like him and I like Chris Wood).

Besides, there is chemistry.

Speaking of that.

Kara-Lena shippers and how they hate Mon El so much.

Think of it from their perspective:

If Lena was a guy, and he had the same chemistry with Kara--basically, what is going on with Mon El (the actors, I mean)--the show would have gone for that relationship. Like Monica and Chandler.

Instead, just because Lena is a woman the show-runners wouldn't. And a lot of folks' attitude to Kara-Lena shippers is at best "Oh, those poor delusional folks..." and at worst "Why do they want more? Don't they have a gay character already? This is a straight show." May be said a bit more politely.

The above appears very condescending to gay folks. It is like they are being told: "Hey! We gave you one character! Be happy with it. Just how demanding are you?". The message is: This is a world of straight people, made for straight folks, and any scraps they get, the gay people should be grateful for it."

Or... "Why don't they just make shows for themselves, then?"

If, the show-runners could make a gay Supergirl and have the show survive then that would be a miracle. More so than POC although, I think it works quite to a great extent there too. We would have seen a proliferation of minority-based shows if those were really a lucrative option.

[Basically, this is the story of every minority people who want to see themselves in the stories they consume. It's their powerlessness. Any right they have, any happiness they could get, can be taken away at the whim of the majority. And the powerful, some of them, think that the little bit of representation they get is just enough or some times too much. An implied, "Take it where we can't see it." Basically, they (we, really, I am gay, POC, woman, and yeah most of the time aromantic ) have to fight for stuff which a lot of people get without asking. And even after the fighting, what they have is fragile and can be taken away so very easily.]

When you get comments like that directed at you, the dislike you feel for a Kara-Mon El ship is quite understandable. Even if you know, quite positively, that Kara-Lena ship is never going to happen in Canon. Even if you know that Alex is a secondary character and Maggie a tertiary character, so Alex-Maggie is never going to get much screen time when compared to the cis-het ship. Even if you know that, may be, just may be, Mehcad Brooks had more chemistry with Kara as a friend than as a romantic interest. Although, in James' case, it may be possible that folks are still hopeful of a potential romance there. I don't know.

As for the people who employ bullying in twitter and elsewhere, well, they are, as Everafr said possibly kids. Hopefully. If not. Well, hope they get better, but, I won't get into a relationship with them, if they promise to do better based just on that promise. ;-)

And none of this is a whole lot of how the group in which I fall feel. Not to mention I myself feel.

Great comments from our members. Good reading. Keep it up.

As for people who miss Cat Grant and M'gann (you didn't add her, I did):

The show has four regular male characters, and two female characters and people still think it is female skewing. Some of the comments suggest "That we men need something too." Even though, we barely have any woman other than Alex sharing screen time with Kara (unless, it is the Lena beat that happens at times). We have no Kara supporting M'gann. Instead, it is just J'onn supporting M'gann. (We didn't even get an Alex supporting M'gann directly. or much of an interaction therein. Her support was for J'onn.).

Oh... and we even have M'gann in that support telling to J'onn "You showed me how to be brave." M'gann, the person, who stood up to an entire powerful race and refused to do their bidding, M'gann, who went up against her own culture alone because she was standing up for what she believed, in telling J'onn that he showed her how to be brave. Because he stood up to a couple of White Martians with the help of powerful friends.

The dialogue would have made sense if M'gann had said "You showed me how to forgive myself." But not, the inspiration was bravery.

So,.. That feminist theme. Seems pretty lacking what with all the story of Guardian, Kara spending most of her time with Mon El and all the focus, since the first episode on Kara-Mon El, and whatever time allotted to M'gann being devoted to J'onn-M'gann.

Along with some of the criticism above and in my previous comments, what I have an issue with is the lack of Danvers sisters time, lack of friend time and the lack of a coherent story. And how out of character some from S1 appears to be.

Alex seems to no longer care to spend time with Kara. She keeps letting Kara go on missions alone with no support or strategic input. And when Kara, just once, says she would like to spend time with her, Alex says that "Kara is trying to make her guilt" (that was the White Martian, but he/she/it was channeling Alex) and then, later, says that Kara is not really missing Alex, but Mon El.

In the previous episode, when her city's safety and her sister's life's happiness was at stake, Alex was away in her valentines' day angst. We don't get to see her giving Kara any support at all (except for the Mon-El is jealous comment; it was not typical S1 support.)

Oh... and Mon El has taken over as Kara's side-kick. Rather than Alex. It is no longer the sister duo crime-fighting team; it is the Alien couple crime-fighting team. That is what they said in this last episode anyways.

Oh and neither Alex, nor Kara, nor J'onn seems to care what happened to Jeremiah. There is no indication at all that they are searching for him.

And Kara has been spending most of her time getting Mon El to be a hero. (The few minutes that are not part of the Cadmus story where she spends time with Lena, or the other few minutes, when she spends with Guardian).

She professes to want to be a journalist at the start of the season, but we barely see any of that. Except when it is expedient for the show to have the Cadmus and Lena storyline.

And in my opinion, they could have made the Mon El story a lot more compelling. They didn't do that. They could have shown his struggle instead of showing some funny lines and then, basically making him a brat (fratboy) who "supposedly" learns to care for other people (though, so far, we have seen him care only for his romantic interest). We barely see any of that. So, basically, the only reason for a viewer to invest on him is that a. he is funny. b. he has chemistry with Melissa. c.He was a rather ordinary selfish guy who is now trying to be good.

They could have shown it from her POV, why she liked him. (I saw suggestions in another site where they said the show could have at least suggested that, she is going with Mon El, because she can have intimacy with him without fear of crushing him; which is a very valid point; and that she is probably overlooking a great many things just for some form of that; Or, may be, she wants to discuss Krypton with him.. and she has some feeling of unwarranted closeness with him because of Rao (their shared religion or affinity to star or something). But, she says none of that; the show doesn't show that. The show only shows his POV with her succumbing to it.)

And... Aside from Cadmus storyline (which I don't know how they will treat), the rest of the season is about Mon El and the folks who come searching for him. So, basically, 60-70% of the season is Kara-Mon El romance and the fall out. With most of it from his POV (that is the third or fourth time I am saying it; I am getting repetitive and I am bored with myself.).

How does the line "this season and this show is at its core about relationships between women and how they support each other" gel with that?

I think if the Mon El story was compelling enough and not a repeat of such a tired cliche, most people would have supported the eventual romance (at least, that is the inkling I get). Especially, if it didn't take so much time away from the women and Alex-Kara, Alex-Kara-J'onn and Kara and her friends. It's not as if gay people don't support or ship straight ships. They wouldn't have survived otherwise. Ditto for POC. It's not as if they don't see or enjoy a white cast.

Me? I am missing the Season 1 dynamic and Alex who cared about her sis and family and who always put them first sorely. And James who cared about Kara's feelings and Winn who would have never went behind her back for some vigilante hijinks.

Note: I like Chris Wood (what I have seen of him) and most of the time I like Mon El, though not so much these past couple of episodes. This definitely is not a criticism of Chris' acting.

Good Day!

Jondix squeeze kiwi ... and gets an orange juice ... kidding, my hug was too hard :-*
evrafter where are you ?

Over here *waves and jumps up and down*

I for one am surprised at the vitriol I have seen on other sites or in other media. Maybe this is a personal thing for me, but I cannot understand a person disliking one aspect or a few aspects of a show, and then berating others who like those aspects. And it always seems to be about the romantic pairings that people spar the most. It is probably due to the fact that I dont care for romantic relationships in any kind of media, that I dont understand disliking or liking a romantic couple so much that people would put down another person for liking the opposite. I am not fond of Kara and Mon El, mostly bc as I said before, romantic relationships dont interest me. I found their mentor-mentee dynamic much more interesting. But if someone likes it, that is fine! I want people to like the show. And if you tune in every week because you want to see more of Mon El and Kara, or you want to see Alex and Maggie be all cute, or you want to see Kara and Lena's chemistry, or you want to see Supergirl defeat the bad guys, that is great!

Anyway, this site is great. Everyone is so thoughtful and polite, even when people disagree. I always tend to take the mental stance when it comes to television that as long as I am having fun watching, I will continue. It comes from Tegan from Doctor Who says "...if you stop enjoying it, give it up...It's stopped being fun." Supergirl is still a lot of fun for me, and I can only hope it continues to be fun for other fans, old and new.

As most around here know, I am very straight forward with my opinions....lol

With that said, I will always be loyal to the fans here, and to the fans on the site that I moderate as well. That is a given with me, and that loyalty extends to the owners of those sites as well. So, anytime that I see or feel that those people are being treated unfairly, I will strongly speak out against that, I think people that know me here, on SHH and follow me on Twitter would agree that I am not blowing hot air with the above statement.

Eric is correct there are groups out there that hold an agenda when watching this show and feeding into the fan base. This particular series is not the only one that has gone through this....Arrow has had a terrible "shipping" war for years, Flash has gone through it as well, LoT to a certain degree, and of course the first of this group Agents Of Shield. It is one of the reasons why most of the actors stay away from ALL SITES, it's a shame that they cannot frequent these sites, but I for one am very glad that they do not.

As far as my site (SHH) and this site, we have not really had the problem of certain groups coming in whether they "ship" one couple or another. There was a time that we had a few come in and hijack the news comments on the front page, but not often. SHH is lucky that our Front Page News comments are separate and far away from the forum. TWITTER and Tmblr however are not as pleasant as this site. I have used my block and mute option on TWITTER moreso recently than ever before....lol, THAT is how I would encourage those of you that frequent those areas and do not like what you are reading, to do.....rather than partake in the divisiveness...I got pulled in Monday night and a little Tuesday, and that was when I decided that the Mute/Block was the best option, that is what I would suggest.

As for me, I HIGHLY respect those fans that have been a fan of Supergirl for decades from the early years of the comics to now. I learned that respect from being a non-comic book reader, joining a large comic book/ movie site having absolutely no knowledge of these superheros except that i had watched a movie or two about them. They taught me, and because of that I respect them. That is something that I believe the "new" fans to Supergirl need to do far more as well. LEARN from them....

This is not a show about homogeneous vs. heterogeneous relationships it is not a show about Feminism vs. Male Empowerment, it is not a show about Conservative vs. Liberal, it is not a show about Black vs. White......it is about ALL OF THOSE THINGS living, learning, coping, crying, laughing, fighting TOGETHER, not FIGHTING AGAINST each other. IMO, this show would not be what it is, or as enjoyable as it is IF ANY OF THOSE THINGS were lost. Therefore, I don't see one above the other, I don't see one more important than the other. I feel, however, that it is KARA/SUPERGIRL that is the central point that all of those things revolve around, so...............IT IS LOGICAL, that those that are closest to her will have screen time above the others. The only time I'm going to gripe about screen time is when KARA/SUPERGIRL does not have the lion share of it. THAT IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE. I will also gripe when KARA/SUPERGIRL is not the lead in vanquishing the foe, THAT IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE. I will also gripe when other heroes take her time on screen, THAT IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE. hahahahahahahahaha....because it is Kara/Supergirl that should be the nodal point of this series. SO, it is this point that I try and find clarity and agreement on with all of the fans above....IF THEY DO NOT agree on that point, then they go on mute/block AND that problem is taken care of. That is how I navigate all of these sites, and thus far it has worked beautifully.

And know this for sure, this site and its regulars, SHH and its regulars will have my backing, always.........just a warning, I can get testy when those people are disrespected.

Just my two cents...... or maybe 5 cents...

Part 1

Eric, you have raised a very interesting topic. A lot of what I have seen written thus far, I agree with. I am going to try to address it from several POVs.
General Storyline – Season 2 thus far is not as good as Season 1. There are several reasons for this IMO. The departure of Cat Grant was a significant loss and there has not been actor of her caliber to replace her. It is not the EP’s fault she did not follow, but I believe they need to find a comparable character and plot. The overall stories have not been as good, though I think Season 2.2 is showing vast improvements. Sterling Gates and his co-writer put together a fantastic story. We do need humor and cultural references. M/MM achieved that and I will admit I am looking forward to the musical. We do need some fun.
There are too many storylines going on and that dilutes the power of the show and the actors. If they stayed with the Cadmus Arc and Kara’s Journalism as promised, then they would be more concentrated. This would not leave out Lena, Mon-El, and Alex.
Now let’s look at our actors: James is a problem. He reminds me of Pirandello’s “Six Actors in search of a Play”. He has no proper role in the show and I believe that is a large part responsible for the negativity. They need to establish a sound role or get rid of the character. This is not a comment on Mehcad’s acting skills.
Lena is an excellent addition. The grayness of her character coupled with Cadmus and the fantastic villainy of Brenda strong is an asset. It fits with the Arc.
Mon-El is a great addition. The on-screen chemistry with Kara is fantastic. I enjoy it very much. They remind me of Tracey and Hepburn; Bruce Willis and Sybil Shephard. There is a lot of fun in their give and take. As for the romance, come on! Let’s give the girl a break! She deserves happiness and love beyond family.
I miss Sisters Night and the writers and EPs have committed a mortal sin in discarding it. Regardless of relationships, they can spend time together. This is a big failure and they need to return to it.
Maggie is controversial. Not because she is a Lesbian, but because whose she’s hooked up with. I take that back. A lot of people just freak out at the thought or representation of a gay relationship. I think the Eps have handled it very respectfully, but I for one was very much against Alex being the chosen one. I believe it sent the wrong message that you can be a tough woman who prefers jeans and pants, loves her weapons and not be heterosexual. I am afraid it establishes a stereotype. I noted that he Valentines’ scene with Maggi in a type of Tux and Alex in a dress sent a subliminal and perhaps unintended message: Maggie is the dominant partner in this ship. Personally, I was offended. Again, Alex has been made all wishy this year in this regard and I think it contrary to her character.

Argo

Part 2

Ships – I plainly find it offensive what I see on Tumbler, Twitter, and other sites. I am not a prude, but I find that there is an extremist Lesbian community that can be awfully gross. My sister (who has 2 Mothers-in-Law) and I have discussed this. I remember very clearly that on one site they fotoshopped an implied sex act between Cat and Kara. They have also had ones of the two kissing. I find that as gross as if you had Hugh Heffner kissing her. Age inappropriate. In addition, there is that constant drive to have Lena and Kara engage in a sexual relationship. There is a ton of this stuff on-line and I think it disparages the gay community, as wall as offends.
The M’Gann relationship I found odd. Did it add to this years’ story arc? While well done, I thought it distracting.
Lena and Lillian – I love Lillian’s villainy. She is the perfect foil for Supergirl this year. She is human, smart, and dangerous. She is a worthy mother to Lex Luthor and I am excited to see what happens to her. Lena, in turn, is tough as nails. She can take on her mother and I believe she truly loves Kara in the friendship way. But, like Cat, she is a high-powered executive and you don’t get there without dirtying your hands. There is a gray aspect to her and we will see how that plays out.
Mon-El – The on-screen banter is wonderful to see. Now that they have finally taken the plunge, I hope the Eps don’t take us down a dark road Kara deserves happiness. I do not se this as distracting her from her primary mission.
Jeremiah – What about him?? Everyone is focused elsewhere and not on him. This was the second part of the Cadmus Arc and they have been too slow to deliver. Fans expected better and we shall see what happens next week and perhaps beyond…?

Kara Zor-El – All the facets of Kara are expressions of her true self, whether she is Kara Danvers or Supergirl. I enjoy getting to know the Kara Danvers side. She is different from her Supergirl persona. But she is one in the same and I think we all need to remember that. She is one, and to know all gives a wonderful view of her as an individual.

Season 3 – I hope that the EPs build on the strengths of the actors and character to create a cohesive and flowing Arc. I think this year, they have failed in that regard and they need to focus their attention on a manageable storyline without going all over the place. In terms of cast, their biggest problem is James. He does not seem to have a place in the show. The EPs need to resolve that and again focus on what Supergirl is about.

My 2 cents.

Argo

Thank you to you all! This has been a very therapeutic thread for Kelsey and I. I don't know that we intended it to be that but all of your comments, grace, care, and thoughtful replies has reminded us why this site has the best Supergirl community on the web!

If we were to sum up an outcome of this thread in a simple statement, it would have to be; "Continue to love the parts of the show you love, love them passionately and get lost in the majesty of it all. But know that what makes this show great for some isn't true for all. Be kind, be thoughtful and allow all to enjoy every aspect not by tearing down what you don't like, but by raising up the parts you do."

You guys are an incredible group of fans, thank you again!

Argo...this! "..but I find that there is an extremist Lesbian community that can be awfully gross. My sister (who has 2 Mothers-in-Law) and I have discussed this."

You have completely summed up my concerns on this. Though I disagree with homosexuality, I'm one that doesn't judge, nor condemn. People CAN disagree with choices while still adoring people making said choices.

With THAT said, what's made me most disgusted is simply the part of the Lesbian community that have taken a SECTION of the Sanvers fanbase (and Supercorp) to a whole new level of gross, from what I've experienced online...which, IMHO takes away from the "innocence" and unity the show once exhibited. ..and hinders their "cause." So, I've learned just to hang here in our lovely Supergirl community. It USE to be fun "out there," though...watching Supergirl trend and get more recognition in social media. But Eric and Kelsey are correct...the whole feel of a chunk of the fanbase has gone awry--either being gross or just simply fighting online. Boooo.