Season 2 / Episode 4 / The CW
And you say National City all over CW!
This week’s episode of Supergirl left the big-bad super-powered villains at home. In their place we get blessed with some good ol fashioned plot development, character exploration, and head-spinning cliffhangers.
DEO: We pop off with Hank, Supergirl, and Alex listening to Mon El break down the historic West Coast vs East Coast beef between Krypton and Daxum, and Mon El’s story of how he escaped his dying planet. Turns out he was a palace guard for the Great Royal Family of Daxum. It also turns out that interplanetary racism be running through the Galaxy with its woes! As soon as dude starts reminiscing about home and the royal bodyguard life, Kara starts going HAM about how douchy the royal family was. Well, all I gotta say is, if one of the sons happens to be the guy from Mon El’s escape then he’s got one giant set of brave brass grapefruit because his excellence forced Mon El to hop in the Kryptonian pod, sacrificing himself so he could share in his people’s pain. AKA homie rides for his and dies for his AKA the captain is goin down with this ship! Very noble. Yes, very Ned Stark of him, indeed.
Out in dem streets, an alien is found dead in the trunk of a car. Maggie, our dear gorgeous friend, the only woman person I’ve ever seen make Alex weak in the knees, figures out he must’ve had an affinity for fighting cuz she all up in that trunk performing mid-crime scene hood autopsies determining that homeboy wasn’t suffering from defensive injuries, and instead, his fists was doling out the fade sessions until he met the cat who lodged that horn-like weapon of some sort into his chest, killing him. Kara out here confused as hell. She look like a hood-ass brown boy who just got dropped off at sleepover camp, because these types of aliens are usually a peaceful, mild-mannered race who don’t fight and barely even argue.
Handle Yo Business
CatCo: Kara tries to use her knowledge of the alien-on-alien crime trunk murder to show off to Snapper that she’s got a juicy story. Snapper barely takes his eyes off the jelly doughnut on his desk (was it a doughnut? Probably not, but to me, Snapper reminds me so much of 80s and 90s police sergeants who sit in the station all day barking orders filling up on loaded pastries) but proceeds to eat her “story” alive by dissecting every aspect of the “story” that she doesn’t have. Like…I don’t know, maybe someone to quote, an eyewitness, confirmation from the police, all the while screaming misogynistic “bake bake bake” lines to symbolically encourage her to go out there and ‘get em tiger’. He’s the absolute worst.
Kara pitched the alien fight club story for Snapper, and threw it up on the board, but the first rule of Fight lub is…no one talks about Fight Club. And your story won’t run without sources. As much of an asshole as Snapper is (and it pains me to say this because he is such a dickwad) Kara still doesn’t know how to do her job.
Gurl, just google that shit.
Alien Stonewall Inn: Hank decided to go handle some “personal business” which entailed going to see his new Martian bae. He finds out her (somewhat fishy) backstory of how she escaped Mars and bolts as soon as he mentions bonding with her…the green Martian way. I mean, I can’t blame you J’onn J’onzz (he’s J’onn in these interactions with his own kind). You finally meet someone you can relate to, after centuries alone on this foreign planet, but get put on ice as soon as you bring up connecting on a new level. Homeboy was out here looking more somber than a kid decked out in a 12-piece Halloween costume who was just told he can’t go trick or treating.
Meanwhile, Mon El out here flexin in the Danger Room. Winn out here geekin over every cinder block crushed and test that gets run. Alex out here coverting…again…tag teamin with new bae…again…getting taken advantage of..AGAIN!! When is this child gonna learn! They help get an alien kidnapped and just stand there lookin stupid…cuz bae crush.
Hank is the only one still trying to be about his business, so he presses Alex about her highly suspect and outrageously low success rate of the Bonnie and Clyde Lara Croft show. But all of that gets brushed to the side when the girls ask why he’s been grumpy (cuz he’s not always peeved AF?) and threaten him with Kara’s super pouting skills. He immediately caves and reveals that he’s no longer the only survivor of Mars. He fills them in on his visit to Alien Stonewall and his failure to merge with M’gann so they cheer him up like the daughters he’s deserved for all these centuries.
Supergirl takes a break and is busy taking to her holo-mom when Mon El interrupts cuz Winn told him they could “chillax for 5”. She barks on dude, rightfully so, for a minute, then allows herself to be vulnerable when she let’s him in on a little of her life. He gives her the only Earth compliment he has learned and says that her mom is a babe…cuz Winn ain’t got no swag. He levels with her and suggests that maybe she could be the one to teach him a thing or two about adapting to life on a new planet. Aaaaannnnddddd the anchors have been raised and the ship is about to leave port.
Fight Club Round 1
Alex gets a call from Maggie and is told to dress nice and meet up for the secret insider alien party of beauty, wealth, and otherworldy violence. Sounds like a nice first date huh? I bet Alex thought so…
The girls look around at all the privileged National City attendees and soon realize that they have an underground alien Fight Club on their hands. It comes as little-to-no surprise that the alien homicide perp they tried to bag is thrown into the ring, but what they weren’t expecting was Ms. Green Martian herself to strut out into the pit ready to go toe-to-toe with this Baraka in the face ass dude. Miss Martian, as she is introduced, hops on the court and starts putting Sage Mode Naruto numbers on the board!! Shit starts to get spooky in this Halloween episode and the girls’ backup comes flying in to stop another alien killing and shut down this ring of alien Street Fighter. Before Supergirl knows it the Fight Club ringmaster unleashes Draaga, a 7-foot gladiator monster beast. He lays the Rock and Sock connection SMACK DOWN on Supergirl and leaves her there to writhe in pain. Can’t front, didn’t expect Supergirl to take that Roots-level ass whoopin the way she did, but boy did she take it like a big girl.
DEO: Hank is disgusted by the fight ring but he’s about to be a whole lot more disappointed in M’gann because the girls drop that bomb that his new crush is a Smash Bros button-mashing brawler. On the other side of the building, Winn continues testing Mon El’s limits. The newbie has some super strength and a little speed but doesn’t have anything else too spectacular (that he’s revealed yet). He is getting a little cabin fever and beings to woo Winn by getting him hyped about making his superhero costume and nicknaming him.
Brittany with Part 2
Winn gets got, so he and Mon El enjoy boy’s night out apparently at “Happy Halloween.” That CGI banner gives us the obligatory holiday tie-in actually and obscures the bar’s real name. They must’ve already killed the budget getting a non-warehouse location for once.
Mon El buys Winn a beer (how? With what money?) before they hit the bro mating dance of drinking, darts, and arm wrasslin’. Y’all steady mixing beer AND doing shots? Probably threw some dark liquor in there too cause y’all playing reckless.
Winn needs a guy friend so badly he forgets Mon El probably can’t get turnt off Earth liquor and throws drinks back like the weekend squad at Magic City. Yo Mon El gets Winn the lightweight OD hammered. They out here lining up the entire bar with shots, ringing bells, and shattering fists (by accident I’ll admit). Mon El’s arm wrasslin’ match ends with two broken dude bros before Winn solidifies his “best friend in the club” status and they roll the hell out.
Bout That Martian Life
Hank storms over to Momma Knows How to Throw Dem Hand’s crib to chastise her about her involvement with the Fight Club. Cut to M’gann passed out on her couch because that’s what you do after a long-ass bar shift, when J’onn just phases through her door like the mom who found a dime bag in her daughter’s jeans. J’onn forgets that 1) This ain’t Mars and we knock around here, 2) M’gann is a grown-ass Martian, and 3) Y’all JUST met. He gives a Disappointed Dad rant about M’gann’s Fight Club activity.
M’gann tells J’onn that she doesn’t want to remember life on Mars (neither does anyone else, that’s why it got cancelled after one season. Ha! I’ll show myself out). J’onn hits her with the line “nice guys” give to strippers after their shifts and that shit works. Gurl, you let him punk you AND you a snitch…we gonna talk later. (Damn, Brit. I felt homegirl owned her power to do what she pleases on her nights alone. But she did straight up snitch on ringmaster Veronica Sinclair aka Roulette.)
After obtaining this info, Supergirl catches up to Roulette to confront her about the Fight Club and they have a nice conversation involving threats, guarantees, cheesy jokes, and insults. Apparently, Roulette didn’t get the don’t be a bigot memo from last week because being rich makes you immune to empathy. And then, AND THEN, she drops the REALEST goddam bars yet. I’mma have to quote verbatim.
“See, Michael Vick made a big mistake. People don’t care about what happens to aliens, but they do care about dogs.”
Bruh. Fam. Bram. I gotta take a moment to shout-out Paula Yoo and Eric Carrasco. The writing on this episode is 3 real. Okay, carry on.
Na son, we can’t just move on from some shit like that. THAT MIKE VICK REFERENCE B?!? This one basically declaring that Vick fucked with the wrong species cuz everybody loves dogs and gives zero fucks about aliens. I don’t know who Paula Yoo or Eric Carrasco are, but y’all had every damn person in my living room on their feet like you just received the Emmy mid episode! Writing: The real MVP this ep.
In case you didn’t realize from the name, Roulette is team IDGAF. She lets Supergirl know she ain’t got shit on her and bounces, all without spilling her champagne. I bet it was still cold when she got back in the limo too.
Winn, all the way fucked up at work, tells on himself. J’onn is still (understandably) on his emotional rollercoaster since he found out about M’gann’s night job. I know it was jokes earlier, but this is feeling stripper parallel-y and I’m not for that.
Kara, still the last one to know but the first one to learn and do better, goes to chat with Mon El because everyone else is acting like finding out your whole planet and all life on it was decimated twelve years ago isn’t some serious psychological trauma.
You know who leaves somebody in a cell after they find out their planet was destroyed? Darth Vader. Darth Vader does that shit. You wanna be like Vader, DEO? DCU government organizations continue to be on that fuck shit.
Mon El tries to take the fall for Winn, sneaking him out and even gives Supergirl a tip on how to beat Draaga. He is nicest person in the place. WHY ARE Y’ALL SO MEAN TO THIS SWEET CINNAMON ROLL??
M’gann is just trying to do an honest day’s work when J’onn shows up to give her the “you’re better than this and I’m not giving up on you” speech. J’onn in the key of Drake makes me very uncomfortable, I want the old, salty J’onn back.
Turns out it’s a trap and Roulette (in that same damn dress. If you ballin’ so much, why can’t you afford another fit?) offers J’onn a complimentary club membership that he can’t refuse.
Supergirl hits the warehouse where the Fight Club used to meet like they’re actually going to be there after the police hit the place. Kara drops in on Lena to ask for a favor. I’m pretty sure Lena knows Kara is Supergirl because she rolls on the location info too quickly. Either that or she reeeeeaaaaally hates Roulette. Either way, Kara’s racking up her debt to a Luthor so we’ll see how this plays out when it’s time to pay up.
Fight Club Round 2
At the new location on the set of Bloodsport, it’s the Martian Manslaughter as M’gann literally beats the black off of J’onn. She’s ready with the killing blow when J’onn tells her she can let go of her survivor’s guilt. Stripper parallel’s gone, so I’m good now.
M’gann’s out the game, but Roulette ain’t getting caught slipping and brings in Draaga. Supergirl, the DEO, and NCPD show up just before the Martian extinction and Supergirl deads that shit with a boot to Draaga’s kneecap.
Roulette tries to escape when her alien fighters come to her defense. Supergirl hits ‘em with the “They want us to fight each other” speech. I continue to feel some kinda way hearing that said by someone with “I was told by AppleCare” tendencies so I don’t know.
As always, Kara’s sincerity wins everyone over and Maggie busts out the handcuffs. Double as always, C.R.E.A.M. so Maggie gets the orders from brass to let Roulette go. Money.
Alex shoots her shot, thinking it’s a dunk because she and Maggie been kickin’ it all episode AND they held hands. But Maggie’s on her Mutombo game. This curve’s harder because Maggie’s girlfriend shows up at the crime scene to pick her up. How savage is that?? Maggie, you cold-blooded. Don’t worry Brit, real bae ain’t got nothing on this flick tho.
Kara finally learns what she needs to include in a story to get it published. Happy to see you learning how to actually do your job, Kara. She heads back to DEO HQ to pick up Mon El because she’s kind of adopted him. That won’t be platonic for long which is fine because I SHIP IT SO HARD!
J’onn shows up at M’gann’s house and knocks this time like he has fucking home training. Apologies are made and J’onn lets her off the hook with all that bond talk just in time because the big reveal (that anyone who knows Miss Martian already knew) she isn’t a green Martian at all. M’gann is a white Martian. GASP.
Sidebar: White Martians be swole af.
So I’m sailing Kara/Mon El, J’onn/salt, M’gann/screen time, and Alex/getting curved by Maggie.
Catch y’all next week for “Crossfire”!
Super Sightings
Roulette got released with the white privilege quickness (yes, we know she’s not white, but that privilege is doe!)
Ayo, CW. I got the perfect new image representation for Season 2 of Supergirl.
So you just gonna chalk up that Kara and Lena Luther interaction to her maybe knowing that she’s Supergirl? You just gonna act like Lena don’t be looking at Kara like a tall glass of Moscato? Just remember I called it when she doesn’t turn out to be evil, but an ally instead.
Cover image: Supergirl — “Survivors” — Image SPG204b_0225 — Pictured: Melissa Benoist as Kara/Supergirl – Photo: Diyah Pera/The CW — é 2016 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved
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