I almost forgot about a moment in the episode that made me laugh and facepalm:

Towards the end of the episode when Kara's asking Winn and James if they could go back to being superfriends, and James tells her something like he "doesn't just want to be the guy at the office anymore". Winn's reasoning, though, of why he didn't want to go back to just being Superfriends was thus:

Winn: "Ya, I don't wanna just be stuck behind a computer."

Ummm....Winn, you do know that's literally what you do as part of Team Guardian, right? You sit. Behind. A computer! *facepalm*

I was particularly bummed he decided to side with James. I always mostly liked Winn.

I almost forgot about a moment in the episode that made me laugh and facepalm:

Towards the end of the episode when Kara's asking Winn and James if they could go back to being superfriends, and James tells her something like he "doesn't just want to be the guy at the office anymore". Winn's reasoning, though, of why he didn't want to go back to just being Superfriends was thus:

Winn: "Ya, I don't wanna just be stuck behind a computer."

Ummm....Winn, you do know that's literally what you do as part of Team Guardian, right? You sit. Behind. A computer! *facepalm*

I think people sometimes forget that Mon-El is an alien. And not just from another planet, but also from a planet that has vastly different values from the general population of Earth and, more importantly, vastly different from those values that were inculcated into Kara on Krypton.

I don’t think Mon-El is as bad a guy as as some want to make him out to be. He’s an alien that, if everything we’ve been told of Daxam is true, was raised from the get go to never care about anything else but his own self-interests and personal pleasure. So it’s not like he was raised with the story of The Good Samaritan on his bedside table.

Imagine, a planet full of hedonists, living only for their personal pleasure and that’s the society and cultural values Mon-El was raised with. That he struggles with running headlong into danger simply because others need his help is not surprising. Indeed, people raised with better values in real life are quick to walk by strangers in the streets who are in need (and actually, Mon-El was previously captured by Cadmus because he had stopped to do just that - try and help a total stranger that was huddled on the street corner - samaritan point awarded to Mon-El). So had the writers made Mon-El of planet Daxam, the biggest planet of hedonists ever, instantly a paragon of virtue I would’ve called bull-pucky. That wouldn’t have been believable by any stretch and not worth watching. So as it is, I think Mon-El's slow transformation thus far is believable and interesting, particularly the struggle between Kara and Mon-El to understand each other. And I, like Kara, can see the potential in him to do a lot of good and to live up to his comic book superhero counterpart.

If Mon-El were intrinsically bad he would’ve never bothered to show up to fight Parasite when Kara was out for the count. Yes, Alex had to verbally smack him upside the head to get him to understand - because again, Mon-El wasn’t raised with even remotely the same ethics - but he got the message and went and stood up to Parasite because others needed to be protected and not because he thought it would score him points with Kara. And when captured by Cadmus, the reason he stayed after escaping was because Lillian Luthor threatened to hurt faux-J’onn. If Mon-El was so darn selfish he would’ve kept right on running out of Cadmus’ compound and towards freedom, but he didn’t.

I’m not claiming Mon-El’s the picture of self-sacrifice, but I’m saying he’s learning that he can be more than he was raised to be. In essence, Mon-El is fighting the old battle of nurture versus nature and Mon-El’s potential transformation into a genuine hero on this series will depend on which side of that argument wins in the end. So, in my opinion, to say that Mon-El only wants to be a superhero to get into Kara’s pants is incredibly reductive and generally misses the point of his character arc. Clearly, he has feelings for Kara, but his actions also point to an inner struggle to be more than just another self-serving hedonist from planet Daxam.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think anyone deserves Kara because Kara’s not a door prize that someone wins at a fair. Kara gets to decide who her friends are and who to become romantically involved with (well, the writers will choose for her character, but you catch my drift). Whether she chooses to become involved with Mon-El or not is firmly her choice, particularly after this episode, that left that ball entirely in her court. But the writers have put this all on a slow burn partly because I think they recognize that until Mon-El can be considered Kara’s equal in terms of overall personal values and in the desire to work for the common good then it will never be a believable pairing. I’m not saying they will always agree on everything (and I hope they never do because their back and forth is highly entertaining) but they do need to be on the same page on the big issues for a romantic relationship between them (if that's where this ends up) to even be remotely believable.

Upon rumination, a couple of more things.

I found myself on James side of things when he and Kara talked. It reminded of me of when she so unexpectedly castigated Alex for going off on her own...a very Kara thing to do, btw. I also thought she was dismissive and condescending. But then James has been written in a less that favorable light lately too. Could it be this isn't poor writing but intentional to the story? We'll wait and see. Was Kara beginning to see that James had more to his "I wanna be a hero" desires than Mon El did? Again, we'll see. I find myself unconvinced that the romance between Kara and James is done. I dunno.

One more observation about Mon El...if you have to be trained to care about other people you don't deserve Kara Danvers, or so it seems to me.

Evrafter, hang in there... I think even the cast can have their ups and downs (everyone is human after all and could have their personal views), but am pretty sure they would bring their best/kindliest/friendliest selves to the show; they have been doing that so far.

The writers and show runners though... They do need to go and watch last season... and perhaps read a few forum posts.

*stands for applause*

Oh, and loved your review of the episode. Spot on.

Favorite line of the night goes to Kara: (and I'm paraphrasing) "For the record, you were heroes to me long before all of this."

Oh and Brierrose, I think Alex didn't tell Kara James' secret because it was not her secret to tell; I think that if she had revealed it herself, it would have created more bad blood between James, Winn and her. Or, Alex may have decided that it would. I don't think it was her being purposely deceitful.

It would have been nice for them to discuss that, but I don't think there will be one.

Also, just to add to what I mentioned earlier; I don't want Kara to be the one who is supposed to "grow" in the guardian storyline. I think where she was coming from was not narrowmindedness or prejudice and she shouldn't have to apologise for being afraid.

Evrafter, hang in there... I think even the cast can have their ups and downs (everyone is human after all and could have their personal views), but am pretty sure they would bring their best/kindliest/friendliest selves to the show; they have been doing that so far.

The writers and show runners though... They do need to go and watch last season... and perhaps read a few forum posts.

Coming late just to say a few things:
a. I wish Kara wasn't left alone at the end of the episode. I felt really sad for her.
b. I think when Kara told James that she cannot be a hero because he is human, she didn't mean in terms of the actual things that make a hero--kindness, compassion, and a willingness to put others before oneself. I think she meant that he is not invulnerable. And considering that she has lost her entire planet, I think it is a normal reaction for her to have.
I mean come on; she has lost so much; isn't it only natural that she would fear losing more when she hears her closest friends are putting themselves in danger? I know some people might think that it was Kara being condescending; but I think it was Kara being too fearful. And also, she does say it at the end: that for the record, Winn and James were heroes to her way before all this.
(By the way, I am always surprised that Kara doesn't bring that same logic of "humans can get hurt" to Alex though. I mean, she kind of takes it for granted that Alex can constantly put herself in danger.)
The weird thing is that Winn and James completely disregarded her; her feelings... They don't care about that any more. Alex did... (earlier when she asked them to reveal their secret) but well, we didn't have a scene on that. More than any episode this season, this one deserved an Alex-Kara interaction where Kara gets to rant and be emotional and have someone take care of her. I do hope in a couple of episodes, Alex also pays some consideration to Kara. I don't want her to drop Maggie or her dating life; I just want it to be balanced.
c. I agree with what Lindy said on the comments section of the episode that Mon El is egging James on. That comment about "Desk job" and being "handsome"... that definitely was a jab. Oh, I don't think he is bad or evil. I sort of like him when his only motivation is not getting Kara to fall for him. But, I don't think he is as great as a lot of people think he is. He is definitely no Kara or Clark (or Alex or J'onn).

However....
I really loved how Kara talked Livewire into fighting with her; that is one of the reasons why I love Kara. That owing to her idealism, she can talk people into doing great things.

And... I really loved the J'onn-Alex and J'onn-Alex-Kara scenes. They were wonderful. I liked the M'gann scenes too but would love some scenes between M'gann, Alex and Kara.

About the superhero thing:
What inkslinger said of course...
But, I'd also like to add that the show had potential to show that there can be many ways of being a hero: not everyone has to be a physically violent, crime-fighting person (someone said that on the main episode page; and I have seen this on tumblr too, I think).

Aren't reporters who bring truth to people while putting their lives on the line heroes? Aren't doctors who stay for hours in the operating room to save someone's life heroes?

However, they are veering away from that what with James deciding that heroism is defined by putting on a suit and knocking out people, Winn agreeing and Kara pushing Mon El to do that.
With Mon El, I'd have so loved a character who is just in it for himself but would risk a lot, including pain and death, for his friends rather than someone who is Kara-like. We need just one Kara (and one J'onn. And one Alex. A diversity of characters would be so much better than everyone being a superhero clone.)

Also, hated Winn keeping secrets from Kara. What is with that?

Yeah about saving Jeremiah......

After Barry learned Savitar is going to kill Iris, that's all that's on his mind right now. After they learned Jeremiah is in mortal danger.........Kara and Alex.....basically so far don't seem like they care

"Man! I miss the 'feeling' of last season!!" Remember in July/August when they kept getting asked, "How has the move to the CW changed the feeling of the show," they would all say not at all, it all still feels like it did before? Lies... Crack smoking... False. Lol

... But the special spark is dying. Last night, I was able to see some flickerings of season 1...and I had forgotten how good it felt to see it.

There is definitely a different feel to Season 2 and for me that's the strong sense of Family/Close friendship that helped make Season 1 so special which IMHO doesn't seem to be there as much so far in Season 2.

That strong family theme ran throughout Season 1 and essentially open and closed the season beginning with Kara saying goodbye to her Krypton family and then meeting her Earth family and finishing with that sweet scene in 'Better Angels' where Kara raised a toast to "Family, love bonds us all".

In Season 1 we had the Father/Daughter relationship of J'onn, Alex & Kara, the sister bond of Alex & Kara and the close friendship of Kara,James & Winn working together @ Catco. Most of that seems to have gone by the wayside in Season 2 as everyone has gone in their different directions which is probably good for character development but not at the expense of that enjoyable family closeness. Kara and Winn hardly talk to each other now and their friendship was one of the many enjoyable parts of Season 1.

I had similar feelings to you evrafter during this episode when watching David's and Chyler's scenes together which were fantastic and I thought to myself I've hardly seen this in Season 2. They had some awesome scenes in Season 1 like when MM revealed himself to Alex in 'Human for a Day' and when Alex was trying to comfort J'onn in 'Strange Visitor from Another Planet'.


evrafter "Oh... And for the love of all things holy... Alex... Please show concern for your father. And... Pretty sure Eliza would ACTUALLY be hounding the DEO, Alex, and Kara to be out there actively looking for Jeremiah and not showing more concern for her girls' love lives."

Unfortunately it doesn't appear Eliza knows that Kara has seen Jeremiah alive, a short scene in 'Medusa' of Kara and Alex telling her would've been nice. I just hope they haven't forgotten about that story-line and that it plays a major part at the end of the season (between Episodes 17 and 22), I still wish for a happy Danvers family reunion this season.

I mostly agree but I reckon Mon-El is genuine about wanting to be a hero. He fought Parasite long before he had any chance/friendship with Kara and he wanted to stay a hero after Kara seemingly rebuffed him. He's not a paragon but he's definitely a good guy.

after a re-watch I did a bit more thinking and wanted to add this, I know it seems like piling on.

during that first action sequence they showcased the power levels of all 3; Supergirl, Mon-el, and Guardian. Supergirl is getting hit over and over again with these electric bolts and is essentially fine. Mon-El is able to handle the bolts albeit with the use a make shift sheild (van door). Guardian even with his shield up is knocked down for the count from just 1 bolt.

as for Mon-El/James motives; Mon-El wants to get in Kara's pants, pure and simple. James feels left behind by all his superhero friends and wants to show especially to Kara that he is on the same level as her, but he never will be. The will to be a superhero is a nice start, but you need more. Winn's toys elevate James' reach but think how superheroic Iron Man is without his suit.

Batman or even Green Arrow for that matter wouldnt have allowed that cop to be hit by the bolt because both Batman and Green Arrow dedicate all of their time to be physically and mentally prepared for these situations. James treats it like a hobby he does at night.

and I am done crapping on James, I hope they fix him.

Fully agree, Argo. It's what I was trying to point out, too, in my review. It was one of my favs this season BECAUSE it's the one that felt closest to the spark of last year.

Another example of this... When kara partially stormed into Cat's Office last night, I literally said to myself, "Man! I miss the 'feeling' of last season!!" Remember in July/August when they kept getting asked, "How has the move to the CW changed the feeling of the show," they would all say not at all, it all still feels like it did before? Lies... Crack smoking... False. Lol

Argo, you were spot on! Go back to ANY of the episodes from last year... That special chemistry is almost gone now *enter sad face here* Yes.. There are some HUGE improvements now... But the special spark is dying. Last night, I was able to see some flickerings of season 1...and I had forgotten how good it felt to see it.

One thing I've REALLY struggled with as of late... All of the actors/actresses/staff EXCEPT Chyler have become QUITE vocal politically on their social media. Melissa even posted a pic holding a sign with a less than stellar message on it. Kiwi and I were talking about it, each of us posing the question "can you IMAGINE if she had held up that sign amongst that room of little girls and little girl scouts from last year?" Made me sad. And thinking about it, a huge part of last year's spark was the light heartedness of the cast... And the joy they seemed to be feeling of this little miracle of a show they had been given. And now...the cast just seems to be part of all the division in the world. They seem to have become emboldened in "preaching" their views. On election night Jeremy had even tweeted anger and belittled "small town America." I appreciated he tweeted an apology a few hours later... But man...saddened my little ticker.

I just keep reminding myself... People have opposing views. But...I truly believe... We are all inherently good inside...and I truly have to believe, we all just want a good life for ourselves and others... And that we need to just overlook one another's weaknesses and seek out the strength. Except terrorists and serial killers.... They all suck and are all dead inside.

So... Here's hoping they will be able to merge the great updates of the show with the spark of last season.

Oh... And for the love of all things holy... Alex... Please show concern for your father. And... Pretty sure Eliza would ACTUALLY be hounding the DEO, Alex, and Kara to be out there actively looking for Jeremiah and not showing more concern for her girls' love lives.

Vote 04/10
Worst episode I've watched of Supergirl

I enjoyed this episode though I wish there had been more Brit Morgan in it. Regardless of how it goes, I truly enjoy the banter between Mon-El and Kara. However, though I think in general, the show has improved in overall quality, it has been at the cost of its soul. It's missing last year's spark and that goes beyond "sisters night." Look at Falling again and the current episodes and you will note the difference.

What do they need to fix? I am not fully sure. A return of "sisters night" would be good. A stronger focus on Kara and spending more time with her would be great. A good arc to cover the season that is consistent throughout. I thought this year would focus on Cadmus and Kara's development as a reporter. Both have been spotty and I would think Cadmus and Jeremiah at least would be a focus for both Kara and Alex.

I think the of the two arcs were good ideas poorly executed. I want to see a greater consistency in the overall seasonal plot.

Then there's Guardian. Last night, I saw another example of "cape envy." Mehcad is an actor who deserves a better roles. They don't seem to offer one. He could be Kara's hard charging journalism mentor. If not, perhaps kill him off as the hero he wants to be: death as the guardian.

Overall in terms of spirit, we need to recapture that for Season 3. Season 2, again, is an improvement in some ways, but is missing the key ingredient of Season 1.

Argo

One of the best episodes of the the season for me due to the fact it felt more like Supergirl from last season--Scooby gang being all back together, Alex and Hank one-on-one interaction, James and Kara.

The writing was smooooth.

Mon-El just....fits. And, I'm still loving not totally knowing Kara's feelings. My bet, she has feelings, but feels inner conflict--thinking she can't have it all. Remember what she told Hank last season, "I wasn't sent here to fall in love (with a human), have children...."

I just LOVE how Alex KNOWS her sister so well. In fact, it even felt like Chyler knowing Melissa.

The visuals were spot on. The training session with Mon-El? Great with Kara's mid air spin and Mon-El's leap. Looked legit.

And, really liked the interplay between Kara and Livewire. Felt like good character/story development.

But other than all that, everything Fedguy wrote sums it up for me for the season, "Comparing Supergirl to the Flash raised an interesting point. Supergirl is my favourite show on TV right now for many good reasons, but if I was to be rational, The Flash is likely narratively structured better at least so far.

Supergirl has too many arcs for difference characters and devotes too much time to them compared to the other shows. Not necessarily a bad thing but when one of those arcs is as unenjoyable as Guardian it has an impact on the fun of each episode.

James feels like he has equal weight to Kara this Season, which shouldn't be right. The show isn't called Supergirl and Guardian. The Flash's support team understands enough that each should help to their capacity. Cisco and Caitlin are definitely heroes, but they don't suit up fighting crime in the streets. Before Wally got powers, he expressed his heroism in an appropriate capacity, driving his car to help Barry and others. Never once has he received the delusion to ask for a suit from Cisco and fight villains in secret.

Meanwhile, amidst Alex deciding to hang with Maggie, give up, hang with Maggie, give up (Sanvers has been pretty good so far but at times it's distracting), Jame's childish stunts and newer constantly generated social conflicts between the previously cohesive Team Supergirl, some of the most important aspects of the season, namely the fact that CADMUS has Jeremiah, has been sidelined. While The Flash is racing to stop Savitar from killing Iris, Arrow attempts to investigate Prometheus, the Legends defend time and find the Spear of Destiny, I can't find a way to finish this sentence with a description of what Supergirl is doing. It seems to be a constant stream of villains of the week."

Ok, under the weather a little today but here it goes....

Positives:
1. One of the best written episodes thus far for me, Parrish is one of my fav writers from last season, and she did not disappoint in this episode.
2. Kara and Mon-El scenes once again, top notch, the nuances between these two actors is spectacular and fireworks worthy.
3. I also loved the scene between Kara and James. Even though I am not a fan of Guardian, I "almost" understood James, and then he fell right back into being the jealous, I'm hero no matter what you say guy once again. I know some think that was out of character for Kara, but not one time did she say that he wasn't or couldn't be a hero...she simply stated fact, he isn't like her, or Clark or Mon-El....that is fact. Some have compared him to Oliver (NOT EVEN CLOSE) 5 years of intense, all areas of combat, total mindset of a soldier training does not equal a Black Belt. Also, we forget that Kara watched her 3 friends jump off a freaking building, and she was only able to save 2. She knows their weaknesses better than they know themselves, she has seen them. James can say all day long that Guardian is who he is, yet not once OUT OF THE GUARDIAN suit has he proven that. Kara has proven it time and time again out of the Supergirl suit.
4. Loved the little scenes with Maggie and Alex, very comfortable scenes, and I loved them.
5. Also, loved the scenes with Jonn and MGann....I'm going to really like that storyline I think.

Negatives:
1. The biggest one was not Guardian, I KNOW......A GASP COMES FROM THE CROWD....LOL It was actually questions not answered. Who the heck was this doctor, where did he come from, how did he know about Livewire, and how did he come into contact with the 2 he created? That was out of nowhere. It was a twist that I enjoyed, and certainly did not see coming.....but kinda random.

2. James is just unlikable at the moment. I'm just about to like him again, and then he goes into "jealous boy" once again and well, the likability flies out the window.

9/10 for me this go around.

Ok, under the weather a little today but here it goes....

Positives:
1. One of the best written episodes thus far for me, Parrish is one of my fav writers from last season, and she did not disappoint in this episode.
2. Kara and Mon-El scenes once again, top notch, the nuances between these two actors is spectacular and fireworks worthy.
3. I also loved the scene between Kara and James. Even though I am not a fan of Guardian, I "almost" understood James, and then he fell right back into being the jealous, I'm hero no matter what you say guy once again. I know some think that was out of character for Kara, but not one time did she say that he wasn't or couldn't be a hero...she simply stated fact, he isn't like her, or Clark or Mon-El....that is fact. Some have compared him to Oliver (NOT EVEN CLOSE) 5 years of intense, all areas of combat, total mindset of a soldier training does not equal a Black Belt. Also, we forget that Kara watched her 3 friends jump off a freaking building, and she was only able to save 2. She knows their weaknesses better than they know themselves, she has seen them. James can say all day long that Guardian is who he is, yet not once OUT OF THE GUARDIAN suit has he proven that. Kara has proven it time and time again out of the Supergirl suit.
4. Loved the little scenes with Maggie and Alex, very comfortable scenes, and I loved them.
5. Also, loved the scenes with Jonn and MGann....I'm going to really like that storyline I think.

Negatives:
1. The biggest one was not Guardian, I KNOW......A GASP COMES FROM THE CROWD....LOL It was actually questions not answered. Who the heck was this doctor, where did he come from, how did he know about Livewire, and how did he come into contact with the 2 he created? That was out of nowhere.

2. James is just unlikable at the moment. I'm just about to like him again, and then he goes into "jealous boy" once again and well, the likability flies out the window.

9/10 for me this go around.

2 out of 2 to start the 2nd part of the season for me, this episode was worth a second viewing almost immediately after the first, I got quite a lot out of it.

Highlights
- The acting pairs were quite excellent in this episode, thoroughly enjoyed the scenes between David and Chyler, David and Sharon, Melissa and Mehcad, Melissa and Brit, Melissa and Chris.
- Kudos to the Encore VFX team, some more awesome scenes on Mars and the Livewire electricity effects are totally stunning.
- Blake Neely's music was particularly good in this episode especially for the scenes in prison.
- Brit Morgan, she must love playing this role as she brings a top-notch performance each time, fantastic work Brit, happy that we will most likely see her again.

Bring on the Martians next week.

I miss the FAMILY dynamic of them working together, which has not been happening for a while.

Agree with you on that Ink Slinger, Kara,James and Winn working together at Catco was a special part of Season 1 for me and it wasn't too nice to see their fractured friendship at the end of this episode, hopefully they can be all close friends again.

J’onn should have put Winn on probation, people could have gotten hurt because Winn kept important information from the DEO. I find it interesting that J’onn didn’t try to make Winn stop helping James.
Kara is basically more alone than she ever has been since she became Supergirl.

Brierrose,

Good observation. That's exactly the feeling I came away with in the episode. All the more reason I really appreciated Mon el coming to her and coming clean with his feelings for her. And her eyes like 'Comets' and if it was the last thing he saw, he'd be okay with it. How can you not love that. I'll have to rewatch just that scene.

Agreed. That would have been a good move by the writers. Put Winn on Probation. Add some stakes to the game.

But yeah, I just came from this episode feeling a keen sense of isolation for Kara. I'm obviously too invested in this character.

I really need some J'onn, Kara and Alex time next week.