5 Thoughts About Supergirl: "City of Lost Children"

Ugh.  Two for two on frustrating DC shows. I desperately wish the writers for the CW-verse had the freedom of Marvel's Netflix series.


1.)  I'm not really sure I bought the very, very awkward allegory of this psychic race of aliens that just happened to be black, who just so happened to be constantly rejected from every planet they visited even though they were totally peaceful people.  They tried to connect it to James and his quest to be an inspirational figure, but it fell flat because James' blackness hasn't been an element of his character at any point during the season.  They just tossed that in, and it felt like the most sanitized form of veiled commentary the series could manage, especially in the face of something like Netflix's Luke Cage.   Black Lightning better not be anything like this.

2.) While we're at it, James' problem this week felt rather manufactured.  He's been Gladiator for weeks now, getting press for all his work and suddenly it's only now that he's bothered by people being terrified of him?   Even less logically, why would anyone be scared of him in the FIRST place?  He's a known superhero at this point, why is anyone terrified?   More importantly, when are they going to figure out what exactly to do with this character?  He went from being a love interest for Kara to being Guardian because Guardian's a low-level recognizable superhero that could flesh the show out, to now being a father-type character for some brat.  They should really pick a direction and stick with it.

3.) Rhea was absolutely venomous this episode, walking the line perfectly between being Lena's insidious mentor and the agent of Earth's destruction.  It's as if she actually wants to be a decent human being, but spending so long as the ruler of a corrupt empire has ruined her ability to simply let go of old grudges--she simply has to see everyone bend to her whims, and if they don't she'll coerce or kill them.   It's unfortunate, as Lena really deserves to have a mother figure that legitimately cares about her instead of just using her for their own personal gain.  Here's hoping this isn't the thing that finally pushes her over the edge.

4.) Speaking of Rhea, I would love to know where she learned not only how to speak English but also where she just ran into White Martians that would be willing to work with her so willingly?  Like, they're not from anywhere near your star system, so it's weird you've ever even heard of them.   She was able to conveniently incapacitate basically everyone accept Supergirl who had to rush off and deal with the incoming Daxamite "threat" and Mon-El who found himself unable to actually end his mother. 

5.) If they can end the next episode without a gigantic fight that wrecks National City, this version of Supergirl will be a better hero than the DCEU's Big Blue.   Similar circumstances, and since the DEO is made up of Winn, J'onn, Alex, and a bunch of idiots, I wouldn't say that gives her too much of a jump over what Clark had access to during his fight.