Finally, the Supercorp breakup arc.
I admit, starting S4, the show started becoming a chore and instead of enthusiastically liveblogging some bullet points for me to expand later, I just wrote down some short blurbs on my phone to reference for later. Came for the Supercorp, stayed for the bile completionist fascination.
- Mind powers deus ex machina for Mrynn to find Malefic is real. Have contrived conflict that can't be conveniently solved? MIND POWERS. While I'm talking about Malefic, how did J'onn manage to phase through into the cell when it was specifically made to counter Martian phasing? This plot hole could be hand waved because Lena had Malefic under Non Nocere control and had no need to restrain him any longer, but really. MIND POWERS. ALSO DREAM POWERS.
- Kelly has nonexistent chemistry with Alex. Maggie and Alex had moments when they were total flow with each other and their body language showed they weren't just reading off lines. All Kelly and Alex do with each other is conflict resolution, talking slowly (which I know is supposed to come off as tender but it just doesn't work) and easing the other's worries. There's no fast-paced non-superheroing action where they're doing anything !!FUN!! and showing how well they get along outside of the engagement party in S6. This is the same problem I have with James and Lena. Can I just say how much I love the "Lames" portmanteau for that ship? Because it's exactly what that ship is. Maybe Maggie got written out because the actress wanted to peace out, but Kelly was just not it for me.
- Kara flying internationally to get Lena food is a moment I couldn't appreciate the significance of just from watching Supercorp compilation videos until I watched the episode before it. The previous episode has Brainy overloading Nia with food to show how much he loves her, and Kara says that food just might be Brainy's love language. The next episode, Kara flies to Paris, Milan, and Dublin to get Lena food now that Lena knows she's Supergirl and believes she's forgiven for the deceit. I died laughing when Kara sashayed out of the Paris cafe. If this doesn't show that Kara's love for Lena surpasses all the other pairings' in the show, I don't know what will.
- Eve getting overwritten by Hope is the worst and creepiest thing Lena's ever done. I'm not counting the Non Nocere because she obviously won't get away with global mind control, and the few people who were subjected to it it consented. I dislike the writers' decision to make Lena do this because 1. she is never held accountable for this because of the multiverse rewrite 2. this only served to double down on "Lena is evil" without properly making it fit with her greater scope hero's journey of breaking away from her Luthor name. The multiverse rewrite free pass comes off as incredibly lazy.
- Benoist's acting during the reveal to Lena at the Pulitzer party was fantastic. And wow, Benoist with the heaving and how much you could see her neck muscles move from trying not to break down... I really don't care much for Kara as a character, but that was such a phenomenal moment. The chemistry between Kara and Lena during that argument is the kind Lames and Dansen could only ever hope of achieving. Not to mention the breakup scene in the Fortress of Solitude. Benoist and McGrath knocked it out of the park.
- The Superfriends' abandonment of Lena after she ran off with Myriad is ridiculous. I was pleasantly surprised in S4 because Alex got a ton of screen time with Lena with the Harun-El work, and their relationship was very positive. The writing makes Alex's opinion on Lena swerve constantly on Lena to whatever the plot demands. If she turned on Lena without all their time together in S4 it would've been completely understandable, but in context of S4 interactions, she just looks inconsistent.
- A small tangent on Eve, this show really did her dirty. She's even more of a punching bag than Lena because she's the easiest Lex associate without the plot armor. She spends the entire show helpless, manipulated by Lex, Lena, or Leviathan. The only time she has the opportunity to do the right thing and testify against Lex, not only did the trial acquit Lex, but she was also completely humiliated and thrown to the wolves. Holding her mom hostage just adds to her sob story. Why set up a sympathetic angle with her if nothing is going to come out of it? We don't even know what happened to her at the end.
- I don't think the show ever addressed that Superfriends never learned the truth about Jeremiah's murder, even after Eve flipped. Very strange. Lex didn't out her with the murder video either. What was the point of Jeremiah's death? All it did was serve as a plot device for Alex to get stuck in VR. The show leaves plenty of characters' fates unknown. While Jeremiah was a huge influence on Kara and Alex, he is still at best a minor character. Killing him off lost so much potential to explore the impact of that, but nope, that requires writers to utilize their brain cells.
- Villain Lena has the greatest villain arc in the show, hands down. Not talking about Non Nocere itself which was awful writing, but the way she put her brain to use the way she said she could when saving Edge and stopping Lillian's murder plot. She effortlessly social engineered everyone into helping her without casting suspicion and it was glorious to watch. Hero Lena is just a neutered and boring stay-in-the-office tech support. When Villain Lena goes out, the spotlight is on her, not Supergirl. This is a problem I find in a lot of media. The ambiguous villains are much more interesting when they have the freedom to act on their own and showcase how guile they are. The moment they turn to the good side, they become ineffectual accessories to the main character. (赵敏 is my favorite example from wuxia.)
- The entire multiverse rewrite AND Lex resurrection is the single worst decision writers have made for the show. This shit reads like a AU wish fulfillment fanfiction. This is the kind of plot that should stay in fanfiction. There are so many obvious things wrong with it: everyone's formative experiences and loss from the original world are invalidated, Lena continues to be a punching bag, and everyone becomes angry or sad all the time. I didn't even realize how much I missed Superfriends being happy until S5 and beyond. I have no exposure to the superhero fandoms at all but I definitely had the impression Supergirl was meant to be her own hero, not female Superman. And instead, we get Lex as the villain for 3 seasons (technically 4 since he was pulling the strings in S3). What message is that supposed to send viewers?
- Clark, Lois, and Alura: "We need to warn Earth!" Sends the baby
- Going off my point that formative experiences are invalidated, I want to talk about the time travel arc with Nia and Brainy. It was the lighthearted and surprisingly well done miniseries I really enjoyed. I loved Kenny's role but also despise that he was rewritten to be alive. His coming back to life is a huge slap in the face to Kara's first experiences on Earth. Kara was meant to be a poorly adjusted and anxious loner who found someone who liked her for her, and she bonded with Alex over Kenny's death. An entire episode was dedicated to how much of an impact this had on Kara and her relationship with Alex, just for it to be thrown away. Dead Kenny was one of the best backstory expositions Kara had, why would you shoot yourselves in the foot and fuck up one of the few things you did right?
Why did you even do the rewrite in the first place???I honestly want to write a post-series story involving Kenny meeting Kara again because he really got done dirty by coming back to life. Justice for Kenny >:( - Alex had a serious relationship with Maggie, so how and why is she upset over the most basic couple conflicts with Kelly? It's as if relationship troubles are completely new to her. This is just bad writing, since relationship cluelessness serves as plot points for multiple episodes.
- Tramsmatter portals invented by Lex is so strange to me. Why did Lena need to reinvent portal technology with Rhea if some of the tech already existed? I am not saying that portals large enough to transport armies of flying warships is on the same as localized human-sized travel, but Lena sounded like she was starting from scratch. She couldn't even study Lex's notes on the portal watches? Not to mention, she was planning to revolutionize supply chain, logistics, and travel with her technology. That idea gets aborted, and the only usage of portals seen in the rest of the show is with Lex's portal watches in S5. What was the point of making the portal watches Lex's? Basing them as an extension of Lena's portal technology would be a better callback. I highly doubt portal watches only became a thing after the multiverse rewrite, so this is just lazy writing.
- Alex - "I miss kicking down doors." Add no knock to the pro-dystopian security nightmare this show romanticizes.
- S5 felt like it had so much filler. Some of the earlier seasons too, but S5 was not very fun to watch, despite Villain Lena's best efforts to carry the show. Self-contained episodes are fine, but writers clearly don't have plot high on the priority list.