TV Supergirl [Spoilers]

[Jim Kelly]

I don't know about anyone else's experience, but all of my bosses were rude. I can't say if that was accidental or intentional--it was the nature of the boss/employee relationship that I never knew if this was their clever management technique or just stupidity. But I can't think of any boss in any work situation who wasn't rude--sometimes to the point where I would have reported them if I thought it would be safe to do so.

Lena shadowing people at Catco makes sense to me. I'm sure not every business does thngs this way, but I have heard of corporate execs wanting to be hands on and see for themselves how the operation works rather than entrusting it to a lowly. It's the Charles Foster Kane technique.

[PyroTwilight]

I don't know about anyone else's experience, but all of my bosses were rude. I can't say if that was accidental or intentional--it was the nature of the boss/employee relationship that I never knew if this was their clever management technique or just stupidity. But I can't think of any boss in any work situation who wasn't rude--sometimes to the point where I would have reported them if I thought it would be safe to do so.

Lena shadowing people at Catco makes sense to me. I'm sure not every business does thngs this way, but I have heard of corporate execs wanting to be hands on and see for themselves how the operation works rather than entrusting it to a lowly. It's the Charles Foster Kane technique.

Oh definitely. The rub of course comes to when certain people are excluded from meetings. Like Lena did with James, even if she thought it was benath him or un-needed.

It can be a meangingless mistake but it's also very often a power move in big businesses. And while Lena didn't mean anything of it (from what we can see). It can easily come off as trying to get loyalty for her over James, especially since she's new.

All it takes is one or two important meetings being "missed" for a new worker or even in Lena's case a Boss, to make one leader seem inept and try to push them out or otherwise undermine them.

[Jackalope89]

Oh definitely. The rub of course comes to when certain people are excluded from meetings. Like Lena did with James, even if she thought it was benath him or un-needed.

It can be a meangingless mistake but it's also very often a power move in big businesses. And while Lena didn't mean anything of it (from what we can see). It can easily come off as trying to get loyalty for her over James, especially since she's new.

All it takes is one or two important meetings being "missed" for a new worker or even in Lena's case a Boss, to make one leader seem inept and try to push them out or otherwise undermine them.

Kind of the sense I was getting from her. Last season, we saw she was able to beat Lex in chess. I can't help but feel she's going for the long con on the series.

[Qwerty]

Carl Lumbly as J'onn Jones' father. I think that was the most we've seen J'onn as a martian. I really hope the Fiance's story doesn't end sadly.

[tabo61]

Martian Manhunter has the coolest spaceship

[PyroTwilight]

Phil Coulson would be so proud of that ship.

Wonder if we'll finally get to see J'Onn's home now with dad.

Now with cartoon John recruited I kinda hope they get Phil Morriss (J'Onn in Smallville) to play his brother Ma'alefa'ak down the line. Assuming they use him/the whole he burned or helped burn Mars plot down the line.

[Jim Kelly]

I thought that was one of the better episodes of SUPERGIRL.

I'm forever trying to figure out how they do J'Onn in his green Martian form. Is it 100% CGI, prosthetic make-up, a combination of both? Some stuff seems totally CGI, but then other stuff doesn't. In any case this episode had to cost a fair bob or two.

[PyroTwilight]

It's definitely a bit of both so as to avoid using CGI too often.

[Frontier]

Did anyone else get the sense that Kara felt a little more solemn in the new intro? At least at the beginning where she introduces herself as Kara Zor-El.

So J'onn used an actual spaceship to get to Earth? He wasn't teleported to Earth by Dr. Erdel like he was in the comics (although the people who know Martian Manhunters original origin can probably be counted on one hand)?

It was pretty cool that we had both the original Supergirl back as Kara's adoptive mom and the debut of the original Martian Manhunter (though I guess David Odgen Stiers predates Carl Lumbly in that failed JLA pilot) as J'onn's dad .

A part of me couldn't help but hope that J'onn's dad would rip off his cloak to reveal Carl Lumbly wearing the classic Martian Manhunter costume with the shorts .

So what exactly was Maggie's dad's excuse for not accepting her homosexuality? Beyond being a bigot, I mean? That he's angry that she's throwing away all the work he did to become accepted by becoming the "other," even though by that logic he should be more supportive of her?

It's weird to see them make references to the border wall and Trump's comments about Mexicans when we've seen the actual president of this Earth and she's Trump's polar opposite. Are we really supposed to assume President Marsdin is all "Build the Wall" ?

I can't say I'm surprised that Supergirl and the gang seemed to be doing better against a group of White Martians then they ever did against one or two of them, since that's usually how these thing work, though at least the White Martians still managed to overpower them in the end.

So I guess Supergirl's no-kill rule is officially dead now that we've seen her vaporize several White Martians with that staff. Or at least it will be until the writers want to bring up some conflict by having Kara be against killing again. I'm sure everybody's forgotten about Parasite at this point.

I'm surprised Alex is so focused on having kids. I never would've thought she'd want them so much, but I guess her experiences with Ruby in the last few episodes ignited a desire for children.

Now with cartoon John recruited I kinda hope they get Phil Morriss (J'Onn in Smallville) to play his brother Ma'alefa'ak down the line. Assuming they use him/the whole he burned or helped burn Mars plot down the line.

I was wondering if they were going to reference Ma'alefa'ak at all in this episode, or have J'onn's dad make vague references to J'onn's brother.

If they ever want to go back to the White Martian conflict and give J'onn a more personal enemy, they'll probably introduce him then.

I would also be totally down for Phil Morris playing him. Heck, just the idea of Phil Morris in the Arrowverse is pretty awesome.

I'm forever trying to figure out how they do J'Onn in his green Martian form. Is it 100% CGI, prosthetic make-up, a combination of both? Some stuff seems totally CGI, but then other stuff doesn't. In any case this episode had to cost a fair bob or two.

I think it's a physical suit but J'onn's martian face and cape are all CG (they also probably digitally increase his height to some degree).

I remember them showing a video of David Harewood doing the mo-cap work for Martian Manhunter and the base suit looks pretty much exactly the same as what's on-screen.

[Anarchist]

Was more fond of the Martian Plot than the Maggie plot tbh.

But they really ruined that emotional moment with that Bugs Bunny reference afterwards xD

[Agent Z]

So are we gonna talk about the fact that Kara straight up kills White Martians?

And really Alex, your response to hearing about how your fiancee's homophobic father horrifically traumatized her is to invite the bastard to the wedding shower?

[Jim Kelly]

I didn't realize until after the show was over that Poppy's reference to American prejudice against Mexicans would be incorrect in the world of SUPERGIRL on account of Lynda Carter being the president. But wasn't the Prez anti-alien when she first appeared? So I think it still fits with that world's continuity.

And it could always be a case where the previous POTUS instituted that initiative and the new president hasn't been able to kill it, because of opposition on the Hill. Hey, I'm not American--so you guys explain it. That's what you used to have to do in the lettercolumns when you spotted a seeming error. But I don't have any original art to send anyone who comes up with the best explanation.

In any event, the writers clearly were thinking about the real world politics and not the politics of the show. And it worked for me in the moment, as Maggie's father is trying to rationalize his own behaviour toward his daughter. And when we have cognitive dissonance like he was experiencing in that moment, we reach for any arguments that will help us feel okay in our own minds for doing things that feel wrong on a visceral level. He knew he was wrong and he was uncomfortable, so he came up with the best explanation he could that would help him get out of that situation.

It was a nice touch to have the Bare Naked Ladies playing at the bridal shower, given that's Alex's favourite band. I wonder if she ever got to see them again after she missed that concert last season. I don't understand the argument about having kids. People don't always make these decisions before they get married. First they jump the broom and then after, when they see how they're feeling they may think this is a good place to bring in a child. However, both being cops, maybe it's not the best idea, given all the dangers and the prospect that they'll get killed off. Certainly for Maggie this is likely since she's not a series regular.

It's possible that J'Onn came to Earth the old-fashioned way--teleported by Dr. Erdel--but when he got here, he tried to build a space-vehicle to take him home--and that's why he has an old 1950s style auto-flyer. Supergirl using it later in the episode was a sweet touch and it showed that Kara is still capable of humour. I was starting to wonder if we'd ever see that side of Melissa Benoist again.

I was curious about the CGI in particular with the expression in the faces of J'Onn and his father--in their green form--given the movement of their brows and cheeks. That seemed rather sophisticated work that would have taken a lot of time to render if it was all CG. And if it was mo-cap work, I would imagine the cost was pretty high for the budget of the show. It feels like all the CW shows--thusfar--have more effects money to play with this year, as they don't look cheap.

The explanation that Martians take the form of their guests was a nice save--that's a good enough reason for why the Martians (all except the really bad guys) chose to take humanoid form, for Kara's sake. But it doesn't explain their fashion choices--yech.

[Baseman]

I just going chalk it up to the writers wanting to have their cake and eat it too in regard to the political commentary.They want the feel of Supergirl's world the be progressive by having a female president but they still want to make fun of whatever stupid **** Trump said/did.

[PyroTwilight]

Yeah it's definitely hard to say how the whole "wall" works in regards to this universe. Neither of the main Arrowverse Earth's seem to swing conservative. Both even have women as Presidents. But yeah one could always argue their worlds simply had similar trumpets before them.

Yeah that no kill rule sure is being forgotten about pretty easily... But hey it's OK they're not human. Oh wait...

I thought the explanation for the human forms made enough sense overall. Plus M'Gann has been with them and it does seem to be the form she's happier to use much like in the comics. I figure the others agree on that too.

Drat that was a good point. Hadn't considered Dr. Erdel. Wonder if he'll fit in anywhere with this. I do think it'd make more sense if the ship was something J'Onn built later on as he didn't take on human forms initially from what the first season heavily implied with him being hunted down by the real Hank Henshaw.

And yeah Maggie's dad was definitely all too realistic. A very nice example of a boomerang bigot as the trope goes.

[Jim Kelly]

I didn't understand what others meant by the Bugs Bunny reference until it dawned on me that it's "left turn at Albuquerque"--but isn't this like Shakespeare by now? We make references to Shakespeare every day, without even knowing it. The Bard contributed greatly to modern English. I would imagine, we use references to Looney Tunes quite often without knowing we're doing it. In any event, it fit the scene, because it's clear Kara was having fun with the aliens--who wouldn't have understand anything she was talking about, it's a totally out of left field scene, a Hope and Crosby Road movie turn--for her own amusement and to take the bad guys off their game.