Supergirl Season One: Livewire

Kara gets a surprise when she foster mother arrives in town for Thanksgiving meanwhile an accident transforms CatCo employee Leslie Willis (Brit Morgan) into the villain Livewire.

Supergirl has been a lot better with it's villains in the last episode and now this one because it shows us that it doesn't have to rely on the 300 escapees from the Phantom Zone but can create it's own villains. That is what we get with Livewire we see her origins, the beginning of this villain, as a radical radio host who got her powers by a lightning strike through Supergirl. I really liked Livewire herself because first off her powers are really cool; from her electrical attacks to her teleporting, the effects where pretty damn cool. Plus it was helped by Brit Morgan who was great in the role and brought a lot of enthusiasm, glad she didn't die at the end and I hope she appears again. However the best part that really helped the Livewire plot was the involvement of Cat and the fact that she is tied so closely to the villain. She herself played a part in creating Livewire because of how she treated Leslie who used to be her protégée of sorts and we also got to see a softer side of her with how she is opening up more with Kara and trusting Supergirl. Cat still steals a lot of the scenes she is in (she's like the best character after Kara) and I just laughed at some of her one liners, like her "YouTube commenter one" lol.

As for everything else the subplot with Kara and Alex's mother Dr Danvers (Helen Slater) wasn't nearly as good because the whole "disapproving mother" thing is nothing new. I honestly found her character to be annoying, her scenes boring and her ones with Alex (like at the Thanksgiving table) just plain awkward to watch. I've already said I don't like Alex (you got to admit she is the least interesting character on the show) but this whole subplot didn't help her because she just whined a lot throughout it and I couldn't stand her during that dinner where she just drank throughout it. The only interesting thing about this subplot was the Flashbacks and the reveal that their father (Dean Cain) worked and died under the DEO and Hank Henshaw. Wish their father was still alive because he seemed like a more interesting character with his work on Superman but this also makes me think that Henshaw and the DEO will be villains in a future season. Finally Winn is now getting to be a really good character because him caught in the middle of that awkward dinner was pretty humorous and I liked the mention of his criminal father. Now I knew he shared the name of DC villain Toyman but I didn't see his character becoming him but it is likely his father is Toyman so I can't wait to see how this plays out.

Overall a we got to see the origins of a great villain and I liked how heavily involved Cat was in this as well. It's too bad that not more screen time was devoted to this because half of it had to spend time with the disappointing subplot of Alex and her mother.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Livewire and how Cat tied with the character
                   Flashbacks
                   Winn and the reveal about his father

Let - Downs: Alex and her mother
                      More screen time should have been given to Livewire

The great screenshots of these episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;





http://screencapped.net/           

Supergirl Season One: Stronger Together

"Why our are heat vision both blue? I mean Superman's is red"

Kara must deal with the aftermath from National City and it's media now that her alter - ego Supergirl is getting more attention meanwhile the DEO discovers new Fort Rozz escapee Hellgrammite (Justice Leak), an insect - like alien who can take human form.

You know what is really good about Supergirl is just how fun it is to watch like The Flash, it has a similar feel and humour to it (Arrow is fun to watch but of course has a darker tone). Again I praise the casting of Benoist to the role because now I can't picture anyone else playing Supergirl, she brings a lot of life to the character for live action. This episode focused on how inexperienced Supergirl still is at being a hero which I liked because she shouldn't be an expert at her job straight away so we see her mess up a few times before realizing she needs to refine her skills. This came from a pep talk from Cat in a really great scene where she mentions her past and how you have to start at the bottom in any career. You know I really liking Cat as a character because when I say her in the trailers I thought she would be this really annoying boss but no I am really enjoying the scenes she is in and in her own way she is one of the most helpful to Supergirl. I also liked that she dropped a lot of Easter Eggs by mentioning the Daily Planet, Lois Lane and Clark Kent/Superman; we already know this show exists in the same universe as Superman but I like it when the characters remind each other. Speaking of Superman I like that he influenced Kara and Jimmy this episode because they both are dealing with the fact they are living in his shadow but they want to be their own person. Made for some great development of their characters especially for Jimmy because this does portray him as more of a serious character then what he usually is in the comics.

A great example of the effects used in this show

As for everything else I admit the villain of the week, Hellgrammite, was really underused and was really just their to introduce Astra. It is a shame because the effects used for him where really cool and he had that awesome scene where he attacked the DEO transports but all in all we barely knew anything about him and the way he was taken out by Alex was lacklustre. Speaking of Alex I really don't care much for her or the DEO (expect for Henshaw but get to him in a bit), I just don't find their scenes where they are investigating Hellgrammite that relevant or entertaining and Alex is now like the Caitlin Snow of Supergirl; always seem to be the one to hold the hero back. On to Astra her fight scene with Supergirl was so freaking awesome which I again praise the effects in the fight scenes, the way they punch each other through walls, fly and use heat vision is so great to watch. I want to know more about her past and plans though because right now she isn't much different than a typical villain but I hope they will change that soon. As for Henshaw he is the only good part of the DEO scenes so far because I like that he is the only one to speak his mind to Sueprgirl without it being awkward like Alex does and he is such a badass like when he took on Astra with a Kryptonite blade. However the most significant part is when his eyes glowed red and I really hope this means he really becomes Cyborg Superman and not just using the name because I am a massive fan of that villain! Finally I liked we got a small intro to Maxwell Lord (Peter Facinell) because he is one of my fav DC villains and I hope he has his powers eventually.

Please let him be Cyborg Superman!!!

Overall Supergirl defiantly proves it can stay stronger after the first episode (because more budget is put in them) and makes me really look forward to the next episode. Oh yeah and I thought I'd mention that I glad that Kara was old enough to remember Krypton because maybe we'll get some more Flashback scenes like we did in this episode.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Kara and Jimmy's character struggles
                   Cat continues to be one of the strongest characters
                   Great fight scene with Astra
                   Henshaw is the best thing about the DEO

Let - Downs: Hellgrammite was disappointing
                      Don't care much for Alex and the DEO


The great screenshots of these episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;





http://screencapped.net/                

Supergirl Season One: Pilot

 

Kara Zor - El (Melissa Benoist) has been living a normal life in Earth ever since her arrival as a young girl from Krypton however she decides to embrace her powers when alien convicts from the Phantom Zone decide to reveal themselves and cause havoc.

 

You know this pilot was a lot better than I thought because unlike the Arrow and Flash this show has to build on the existing mythos of another superhero; Superman. Well first off I shall tell you what I think of the cast starting with Melissa Benoist who really did nail it as Supergirl. It is entertaining seeing her juggle her two personalities of Kara and Supergirl; as Kara she is this likeable, funny, almost goofy newsroom assistant and then instantly become the powerful Supergirl with it feeling forced, she becomes more serious but still retains a light - hearted feel to the character by bringing humour even in a bad situation e.g. when she was lifting the plane. The rest of the cast did an awesome job as well like Mechad Brooks as James Olsen who has this interesting personnel connection with Superman that you want to know more of, her boss Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) who I actually found to be quite funny and I loved the newsroom scenes with her and her sister Alex (Chlyer Leigh) her sister who is her anchor to a normal life; they all did her job great. I know there are more but one I hope gets developed a lot is Hank Henshaw (David Harewood) because those who have read the comics knows he is Cyborg Superman and I am really interesting in knowing if that is who he becomes. The other standout besides the cast is the awesome action scenes that this show has and I was really impressed with how they where done. We has Supergirl flying all over the place, punching aliens and being punched through walls etc. the effects are really good! Her fights with Vartox (Owain Yeoman) where so cool to watch, they didn't feel at all one sided and it was good and believable how see defeating him in the end. 

 

This was an awesome moment!

As for everything else the whole story of the first episode was done really well (the opening with Kryton was really great) and I liked Kara's transition from normal girl to Supergirl. However I feel that already the show is following an already familiar formula that has already been established on Flash and Arrow. I mean only half way through and already she has this hacker friend, Winslow Schott (Jeremy Jordon), who finds the crimes for her on computer and has a crush on her. Already too many people know her identity like the secret military organization which her sister just happens to be apart of. Plus they have already established that this will mainly be a villain of the week structure and while there is nothing wrong with that they haven't exactly given us any big, overarching story yet. Finally you see I like strong female characters being the lead, which this show is giving the audience, however it is 2015 and it throws the whole feminist issue right in your face. It isn't subtle with it at all like some of the lines the characters say which I expect from a show like Star Trek Next Generation or Stargate SG1 which where both in the 1980s - 1990's. I personally believe men and women are both equal and have been for ages and ages now so it is annoying when a show tries to act like Marvel Agent Carter but that was set all way back in the 1940s so it had a proper reason to use the whole non - equal issue. You know I am not alone in mentioning the issue because I have read a lot of comments like this even when the trailers where just coming out and I really agreed with Cat's reasoning for using the name Supergirl.

 

"Good think I can fly because I don't know how to drive"

Overall a great start to the series which does a great job of establishing the world of Supergirl and the characters.

 

SCORE: 7/10

 

Highlights: The cast of characters especially Melissa Benoist

                   Awesome action scenes

                   The story from Kara at Krypton to who she is now was done very well

 

Let - Downs: Already following a very familiar formula found in Arrow and Flash

                      The feminist issue is not subtle at all