Every week, Fangirlish writers will be discussing new episodes of Supergirl and sharing their thoughts, feelings, and speculation about the hour’s hot topics in a little something we like to call Fangirlish Roundtables.
Today, we’re breaking down episode 15 of Supergirl, “Solitude” where we discuss our relief over Alex finally coming clean about Astra’s death, James and Lucy’s failed romance, and this week’s villain Indigo.
What were your overall thoughts on “Solitude?”
ALYSSA
Although it wasn’t necessarily my favorite episode it was good in regards to the theme in Kara’s hero’s journey. I feel like Kara being confronted with working alone versus working with the DEO because of her feelings towards Hank was something that she needed to do in order to experience firsthand that it is something she can’t do by herself. Even heroes need help. That is literally the premise in all of Greg Berlanti’s superhero shows. The titular hero is nothing without his/her team. I really enjoyed the resolution with the whole Alex going along with Hank’s lie about who killed Astra. The way it was being set up it appeared as if it would have a greater bearing on the two sisters’ relationship, but perhaps this was Berlanti throwing us a bone and showing what happens when someone actually tells the truth before that truth is exposed as a lie? Not to mention the Kara/Alex/Hank stuff continues to be the heart of the show.
LIZZIE
I thought it was a good episode, a strong episode, with a very, very good ending. That probably colors my idea of the hour, to be honest, because the Kara/Alex/Hank scene at the end was one of my favorite parts of this whole season, but Non in general, and James, and to an extent, Winn, in particular, are still meh in my book. So, good episode, but not perfect. That’s the veredict.
LYRA
Overall thoughts ranged from ‘FINALLY’ to ‘UGGGGHHHH, MAKE IT STOP’. Supergirl continues to take steps forward with the Kryptonian mythology and the world built by DC. It also strives to make family the focal point and strength of Supergirl. Those things I like. *insert heart eyes here* What I don’t like is the Kara/James romance that has no spark and was started off on the wrong foot almost immediately. I understand that romance is a thing that happens to every single person/alien out there. It’s nature. I get it and we can’t avoid it. What I don’t understand is how this is something we’re supposed to cheer for? Not buying it and want it to take a hike, asap!
We saw Alex finally come clean about her being the one who killed Astra. What did you think of Alex being the one to tell Kara and Kara’s reaction?
ALYSSA
Alex telling Kara truth on her own accord is the difference in what could’ve been a big rift between the two sisters. When it comes to lies, the truth always comes free. But most of the time people tend to hide behind the lie and pray that it just never comes to light, which makes it all the more heartbreaking when it does. For a minute there I thought that Alex would keep her mouth shut in fear of how Kara would react, but ulrimately she realized that there was more at stake when it came to getting Kara to work with the DEO to bring down Indigo. Regarding Kara’s reaction, you could see the anger and betrayal in her face for the slightest moment and it appeared as if she was going to walk out on a crying Alex. But Kara was able to find it within herself to comfort her sister. I don’t know if she entirely understands what Alex had to do, but the important thing here was that Kara reacted to this news like a mature woman who saw her big sister in pain. This situation could’ve been a lot worse had Alex not fessed up, and I think that’s why we got Kara embracing her sister rather than walking out on her. Hey, Oliver Queen and Barry Allen take note!
LIZZIE
Finally. FINALLY. It was eating her alive. You could see it. I like Alex, and the fact that she felt that she was forced to lie to Kara this way was hurting me too. I think she was right to confess, as she’s been wanting to do for a while, because, in the end, I think she’s right, I think Kara deserved to know, for better or for worse. I get where Hank is coming from, he wanted to protect them both, and what he did came from a good place, but Alex and Kara are not kids, they’re adults, who get to make their own choices, and who deserve the truth.
I loved Kara’s reaction. I know she was mad, and I think she probably wanted to walk away and leave Alex there, but she just couldn’t. Kara loves so much, too damn much, I think, at times, and she loved Astra, she did, but of the twenty million things that must have gone through her head in that instant, I think the one truth that Kara holds onto, that she can always hold onto, is the fact that Alex would never do anything to purposely hurt her. Her sister loves her, and she loves her sister, and though Kara could not forgive Hank for this, she can’t not forgive Alex.
LYRA
It was perfect. Alex laid out all the cards and put herself on the line. Before, I thought Alex should have told Kara as soon as it happened. I thought that she shouldn’t have hid it. I was wrong. Hiding it from Kara let a series of events play out that helped Alex in the long run. Kara understood where Alex was coming from and why she hid it because of her own actions towards Hank. Now I can’t see it playing out any other way. My hope is that this teaches Kara a lesson in not judging so swiftly and without looking at all the facts first. The people around her are allies that she needs to care for and not just push aside at the first sign of trouble. This will make them stronger.
This week’s villain was an alien who could literally transport herself through technology, which makes her one of the most dangerous criminals out there. What did you think of Indigo and her connection to Kara?
ALYSSA
First it was great to see a Smallville alum (and former Supergirl herself) make an appearance on this show. Laura Vandervoort was a great addition to this cast as Indigo, who actually proved to be an even bigger threat than I originally thought she would be. The fact that she could travel through electronic currents was something that really freaked me out – especially when her hand literally came through the computer screen and was strangling Winn. That was when I was like, Okay, hold up. This is just plain terrifying now! I found Indigo’s past connection to Kara to be something intriguing, unexpected, and something that makes sense considering it appears as if we might not have seen the last of this blue-skinned villain. I feel like from the pilot I had been wondering how Kara’s pod had been jiggled loose from the Phantom Zone and eventually landed on Earth. I felt like linking Indigo’s technological prowess to that event was an interesting way to go. Like I said, it kind of hints that while Indigo was destroyed that we haven’t seen the last of her – especially since Non looked to have had her body in his possession at episode’s end.
LIZZIE
Talk about scary. I mean, literally, I can’t think of anything scarier than Indigo. I think she could have done so much more damage, so much more. I really liked that we got an explanation for how/when Kara got to Earth too, because that had been bugging me. Now, it all makes sense, and it ties very nicely into the story of this villain, who we’ll surely see again.
LYRA
Indigo’s connection to Kara was one of those moments where you cover your mouth and try to stop your eyes from popping out of your head in shock. No matter what Kara does it will never erase the fact that she is connected to bringing all those aliens through the phantom zone and onto Earth. She’s the kind of girl who will come to blame every death and every person hurt on herself. It’s not the best way to spend her time but there’s no denying that she’ll feel that on her shoulders.
Now back to Indigo, I thought it was too easy to take her down. All of a sudden Winn comes up with a supervirus to take down a badass alien from an alien planet who specialized in cyber technology? Nope, not buying it all. It was a weak shot that led nowhere because she survived. Laura Vandervoort was a refreshing addition to this week’s Supergirl with a really odd, yet memorable, costume. Can’t wait to see her again! P.S. Is it just me or did she have a little Mystique vibe going on? Blue really does go with orange.
Well James and Lucy finally came to a crossroads in their relationship as she later broke up with him so as to let him go and be with Kara. What were your thoughts on that? Were you surprised that it took Lucy this long to realize James’ feelings?
ALYSSA
While this pairing has never been something that I’ve been rather intrigued by, I will admit that this episode was probably the most intrigued that I’ve been regarding the pair because of the history. James has a history of putting Lucy second, and this was supposed to be an opportunity for him to change his ways. Only he didn’t because instead of Superman it was now Supergirl. But the interesting thing that I think Lucy learned in this episode was that Supergirl wasn’t the problem here. It was Kara, although Kara and Supergirl are one in the same. I do admit that I’m surprised it took Lucy to catch on to the thing going on between James and Kara, but I feel like that realization was the final straw. Perhaps she can now be dealt her own storyline minus this romance and evolve as a character so that I might actually like her.
LIZZIE
I think James is an idiot, and a liar, and a cheat. Sure, he wasn’t really cheating on Lucy, but he’d emotionally checked out of that relationship a long time ago. Which, fine, you can fall for someone else, but you can’t do that WHILE stringing your current girlfriend along just because you’re too scared to do what you really want to do.
Good for Lucy, really. She saw it, and she looked back on her relationship, and she said, you know what? I don’t deserve this. I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t want to be with me. We should all be as strong as she was in that moment, because Lucy cares about James. She does. She just decided to put herself first. Maybe she should have seen it earlier, but when you’re as secure in your relationship as she was, you can miss things. She missed things for a long time – but when she finally saw them, that was it.
Now, please, don’t turn this into a James is single, he has to be with Kara ASAP thing, because if you do, I’ll be mad. James has been great to Kara, he has, but I can’t get over how he treated Lucy. And, that’s not the man I want with Kara. Not at all.
LYRA
I’m not surprised by how long it took. Lucy needed this natural progress to cement that her relationship with James was over. And thank god that it’s done! James did not deserve a strong and capable woman like Lucy. He is an emotional cheater that fell in love with someone else while claiming he still loved Lucy. I don’t even care for James ‘loving’ Kara. Move it out of my way and give Lucy a chance to be bigger and burn brighter than James ever even fathomed.
In this episode we began to see Siobhan crack under the pressures that come with being Cat Grant’s assistant. Have your thoughts on Siobhan changed? Also are you feeling Winn and Siobhan romantically?
ALYSSA
When Siobhan was first introduced I kind of had this feeling like, Oh, great. Another snotty character with no backstory. When we meet characters that are threats to our hero a lot of the time it feels like that substance is missing. But in this episode we actually learned a lot about Siobhan and the person that she is. While she might appear to keep it together – at least in last week’s episode – for the first time we saw the strain of being an assistant for Cat Grant has done to her. It’s hard to be perfect for that long and in this kind of media environment. So we saw Siobhan struggle a bit there, and obviously her emotions were through the roof because this is something that she has outright said that she wants. She wants to be the next Cat Grant. But something that I found interesting was that they used Winn as a means to disclose Siobhan’s backstory. Winn apparently has been the only one that has been nice to her, and he was there to listen as she bared her soul about her serial-cheater father who continuously broke her and her mother’s heart. This reveal ultimately led to Siobhan kissing Winn in an elevator because it was the heat of the moment perhaps coupled with the fact that Winn has been the only person that’s been nice to him. Regardless, this is a pairing that I think I can get behind, especially if perhaps this opens Kara’s eyes about Winn. *wink*
LIZZIE
I like that she went for it with Winn, I really do. I think it might distract Winn for his woe is me, Kara doesn’t love me attitude. And that’s nothing but a good thing. However, since we know Siohban is destined to become a villain, can you, like, make it so Winn doesn’t get attached? What am I talking about, of course he’s going to get attached. He’s Winn. Oh, well. I like Siobhan, even if she was a bit of a bitch to Kara. I hope she’s not an irredeemable villain.
LYRA
My thoughts on Siobhan have most certainly changed. She’s a girl putting on a large front so she can get ahead. From what we get of her past she’s been hurt before and doesn’t want it to occur again. So she’s toughened up, hardened her shell so no one would see a speck of weakness. With Winn she sees a weak willed man that she can open herself up to without fearing that he’d hurt her. Do I see it going anywhere? Not really. Will it help both of them grow and distract us from the train wreck that is Kara and James? Yes.
While Kara might’ve been able to defeat Indigo it seems as if Non plans on reviving her in some way for some reason. What do you think Non plans to do?
ALYSSA
Whatever Non is planning it’s obviously not good. With Astra gone, there’s even less uncertainty and a greater threat when it comes to the escaped Fort Rozz prisoners. Since Non and Indigo have a past, I feel as if that made this whole thing – collecting her remains and now what appears to be putting her back together – possible. In a weird way he cares about her. But at the same time I believe he sees the potential with her and how she can be key in defeating Supergirl and taking this world for themselves.
LIZZIE
I have NO idea. I don’t know if that is because I shut down every time he’s on screen. He’s just so bland and boring to me that I can’t seem to care, even though I know he has a plan, and I should care. I just don’t. At this point, I’m hoping he has a good plan and he’s going to wreak havoc. At least that way I’ll be forced to pay attention.
LYRA
It’s a tech world and she’s a tech girl. (Yes, I just went there.) Non will use her to gain access to the system and initiate his plans from the inside out. Before the world knows it he’ll have them on his knees. It’s as simple as that.
What are your thoughts on “Solitude?” Sound off in the comments to keep the discussion going!
Join us for another Supergirl roundtable next Sunday.
Supergirl airs Mondays at 8/7c on CBS.
