Well, hello there! And welcome to this brand new column! Column? Is it still called a column if it’s not a newspaper and not particularly columnular? Doesn’t matter. Hi, I’m Valerie Anne. I’m a former writer for AfterEllen, and I’m so happy to be joining the Autostraddle team to write about teevee! How much do I love teevee? Well, I need a spreadsheet to keep track of the shows I watch and recap. (It’s color coded…I swear I’m a Hufflepuff.) How much do I love Autostraddle? I’ve been to back-to-back A-Camps (miss you, Charlotte Jo), and was an A+ member long before the straight white dudes who run Evolve Media torpedoed AfterEllen and made it unrecognizable. I love you and I love teevee and I’m excited we’re sharing this space and our abundance of feelings with each other.
This is a Superqueero Roundup Recap. What’s going to happen is: Every week, a post just like this will go up on Tuesday, and it will start with a recap of the goings-on over in National City on Supergirl, where we’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of Maggie Sawyer and the promised coming out of one established character (please be bisexual Alex Danvers, please be bisexual Alex Danvers). Then, as the week goes on, I’ll update that VERY SAME POST with recaps (or wee-caps, depending on the queerness of each show each week) of The Flash and Arrow, as is relevant (mostly probably these will be like “Iris is still the smartest most beautiful human in Central City,” “Nyssa is still nowhere to be found in Star City,” etc), and of course I’ll be recapping Sara Lance’s adventures as she zips her beautiful blonde bisexual self through time and space. Maybe she’s going to romance the Queen of France this year? That footage exists; I have laid eyes upon it.
These recaps are in reverse chronlogical order. Thursday’s Legends of Tomorrow up top, Monday’s Supergirl at the bottom!
Legends of Tomorrow 201: Seductress of Time
So, okay, let’s start at the beginning: this show has it’s issues, this we know. There are too many main characters, most of them men, and they spent most of last season wasting the potential of one of their badass women by forcing her into a love triangle. But now Hawkgirl is gone (sob), along with one of her triangle points, and we’re left with just Sara and the Guys. But it has its merits; every episode is a new period piece, and Sara doesn’t put up with anyone’s shit, and it’s really fun to watch. Plus, the costumes!! And even though they easily could have buried the lead with Sara’s bisexuality, or even ignored it entirely, they have made it clear that she was bi from the very beginning, and hit the ground running with it in this season two premiere. So let’s get into it.
We open with none of our Legends at all, but instead with someone named Nate Heywood going to see Oliver Queen. One thing they seem to be doing this season (which is great for me and this megamix of a recap) is starting to do crossovers and intertwine stories right off the bat. Nate tells Oliver he’s a time detective and that Oliver’s friends Sara Lance and Ray Palmer are in trouble. They say that an atomic bomb went off in New York before the atomic bomb was invented, which doesn’t really make sense to me, timeline wise? Unless the time ripple just never caught up to present day? I don’t know, timey wimey stuff makes my head hurt.
Oliver and Nate go to the bottom of the ocean to find the Waverider there, sunk and abandoned. Except for Mick Rory, who was in statis. They wake him up and he begins to tell the story of how things went so very wrong.
It all started in France in 1637, where Rip Hunter, Jax and the Professor are dressed as the Three Musketeers, Ray is keeping an eye on the King, and Sara is playing handmaiden to the Queen. The Queen sees that Sara is sad about the loss of her sister, and decides to…cheer her up.
Long may she reign.
Rip keeps trying to get in contact her to see if the Queen is safe, but he doesn’t have to worry about it, because Sara has her eyes…and hands and lips on her. Men with laser guns show up and the boys are all fighting inside while Sara is doing some tumbling of her own.
When she finally emerges, Jax teases her about what she could possibly have been doing with the queen, and she casually threatens to feed his own eyeballs to him, and the team heads back to the ship. Rip gives her a hard time for “seducing the Queen of France” but Sara lets him know that the Queen started it.
Sorry, not sorry.
So Sara slept with the queen, Ray used future tech and Firestorm fused in front of the locals, Mick stole royal jewels. Basically they’re all still really bad at being a team of time traveling heroes.
But before Rip can finish his lecture, they feel a timequake and know something is wrong; a nuke hit in 1942 and they have to find Einstein and keep him from the bad guys to stop it before it ripples and catches up with them and ruins everything.
Sara zips off to the library, asking Gideon (the ship’s AI computer system) where Damien Darhk, sister killer extraordinaire, will be in 1942. When they land and split up, Sara says she’s going to visit a grandfather for help, and definitely not anything even remotely nefarious.
What? I’m the picture of innocence.
Ray doesn’t believe her so he decides to follow her. Sara is off to kill Damien Darhk but Ray stops her because they overhear something about uranium, blah blah, plot stuff, what’s important to note here is that Sara Lance had a thigh holster under her dress from which she pulls her gun.
Anyway, they save Einstein but when they have him in custody he confesses his ex-wife, Mileva Marić, is the smart one.
Ray rats Sara out to Rip, who says it’s impossible to do anything wrong when they’re rogue time travelers with no rules to follow.
The size of the fuck I give about you is approximately that of an atom.
She sasses Ray and tells him to get off his high horse and leave her alone with his rich white boy holier-than-thou attitude.
So the team stalks off, not in the best place, dynamic-wise, but ready to rumble. Especially Sara, who makes a beeline for Darhk again. Damien doesn’t know why she’s so dead-set against him (because he hasn’t murdered Laurel yet) but recognizes her as League of Assassin-trained and is highly amused by her determination.
And probably her general aesthetic.
Rip eventually calls her off and the Legends go back to the ship with a new plan to stop the bomb. Fly straight into it. But Rip doesn’t want to risk his team’s life, so he hits the “eject” button and sends everyone but Mick Rory to a different point in time.
That’s the end of present-day Mick Rory’s story, so Oliver goes back to brood in Star City and Nate Heyworth goes time traveling with Mick to save the team. Ray is frolicking with dinosaurs, Firestorm is a court jester duo for a petulant medieval child monarch, and Sara Lance is — wait for it — IN THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS.
When they find her, Sara is about to be hanged, but she’s highly unconcerned about this. A terrible man shouts at her and accuses her of corrupting the women of their town, but Sara insists it was all very consensual corruption.
After making a local lady swoon one last time, she knocks down her captors, and takes down Nate when he shows up, too. Ray steps forward and says Nate’s on their side, and Sara looks ready to get back to business.
Perfect timing, my queer coven is up and running; time to go liberate another decade of women!
And I have mixed feelings about this. Most of me is very excited: I’m obsessed with Salem and witches and the fact that probably all those accused of being witches were just badass feminists and/or queer af, and I do love that when people continue to accuse Sara of being predatory (but only when she hooks up with women) and she continues to let them know exactly what’s what. I also love that she’s like a one-woman bisexual revolution. She’s always been very confident in her sexuality, and the fact that she’s bringing that confidence to places and times where just about every queer woman is closeted is kind of amazing. Of course the women of the time would be drawn to her. (Also, look at her. C’mon.) On the other hand, this trend could quickly and easily veer over into stereotype territory if they’re not careful. Based on the very beautiful and lovely and AHHH ALI LIEBERT COME BACK TO ME storyline between Sara and Nurse Betty McRae, plus the heartwrenching and tragically beautiful and AHHH KATRINA LAW COME BACK TO ME final scene between Sara and Nyssa, I’m more apt to trust that the show will continue to handle Sara’s sexuality with a respectful playfulness. It’s never been A Thing and it doesn’t seem like it will ever be A Thing and I think that’s a Beautiful Thing.
Anyway, Rip is gone, saving the timeline is up to them alone now, but probably also this Nate dude, and they start by going back in time and having Einstein publicly declare Mileva Marić his partner.
Meanwhile, Darhk is on to a new shifty plan, and it is revealed that he’s in cahoots with Eobard Thawne aka The Reverse Flash aka The Same Dude Wreaking Havoc on The Flash.
On their way back to the ship, Ray tells Sara he’s ready to help her get #JusticeforLaurel, and as if invoked by the word, the Justice Society of America shows up, looking ready for a fight.
They didn’t introduce themselves so I helped.
And Sara feels some kinda way about it.
Are we going to have a dance battle?
What did you think of this week’s CW DC superpalooza?? What are you looking forward to most from these shows?
Arrow 502: There’s no B(e an asshole) in Team
Not much to report on Arrow this week, BUT there have been some interesting developments re: Team Arrow. Once upon a time, the team consisted of the Green Arrow, Black Canary (x2), Speedy, Overwatch, and Spartan. But Sara Lance became the White Canary and switched shows, Laurel Lance took her sister’s place in the refrigerator, Thea couldn’t control her bloodlust so she quit to wear power suits, and John Diggle hung up his goofy helmet. All that was left was Oliver and Felicity. So Felicity suggests they make a new team. The people she suggests are Evelyn Sharp, Rene Ramirez, and our very own Curtis Holt. (Curtis, you remember, being happily married to a man. And adorable af.)
And what happens is essentially this:
Felicity: Oliver, you can’t do this alone, you need a team.
Oliver: No I don’t.
F: Yes you do.
O: Fine I’ll try.
O: *assembles team*
O: *yells at them and hits them a lot*
O: See this isn’t working.
F: You’re really bad at this. Maybe try leading them and teaching them instead of torturing them?
O: But one time this is how someone trained me and it was horrible and it traumatized me and look at me now…is that not a solid lesson plan?
F: Oh, honey.
O: *growls for 45 minutes straight*
F: *waits patiently*
O: *does what Felicity originally told him to do*
O: I’m so smart, look at this team I assembled all on my own.
At least Felicity seems relatively happy while she’s quietly being the most right and saving Oliver from himself over and over again.
I bet Alex Danvers never has to deal with this shit.
(Side note: she’s dating someone named Billy Malone which is seems like the PERFECT supervillain alias if you ask me.)
Meanwhile, Thea quit to basically be Overwatch but for Oliver’s mayorship. I’m hoping she either puts her speedy suit back on soon or decides to take over as literal mayor, but until then, business casual suits her just fine.
One thing I will call out about what Felicity said to Oliver was that she called him abusive. Said the word, “abusive”. And so did Curtis later. It wasn’t just, “hey, be nicer,” it was telling him in no uncertain terms that his behavior was unacceptable. He wasn’t knocking them down to build them up, he wasn’t forging them in fire to make them stronger; he was trying to scare them out of this life. He was just being cruel. He was afraid that if he went too easy on them, they’d die like Laurel did, even though that logic makes no sense because even Sara Lance got murdered and she also spent time on Lian Yu, plus trained with the League of Assassins. But Felicity and Curtis wouldn’t give him a pass on it and it was amazing.
I can’t wait to tell Iris about this. I wonder if Barry’s been giving her this much grief lately.
So eventually, thanks to these pep talks from Felicity, Thea and Curtis, plus a run-in with a radioactive mummy, the Green Arrow takes off his mask and lets down his guard and tells his new recruits that he’s Oliver Queen. Which…I don’t feel like was necessary just yet? I feel like probably there was some middle ground between “don’t be a monster” and “reveal all your secrets”? But whatever, after a moment of shock from Evelyn and Rene (now called Wild Dog because no one consulted Cisco on this one), the team is officially assembled.
Look at the little baby bird!! I bet she’d get along really well with Sin. (Remember Sin?? I miss Sin.)
That’s all she wrote, until tomorrow. Because toniiiight, toniiiight, Sara is baaack toniiiight!
Look, even Felicity is excited about it.
The Flash 302: Felicity Felicis
Okay so The Flash hasn’t had any queer women on it (yet?) but it’s part of this CW DC Universe and will eventually be involved in the Legends of Superflarrow crossovers so I thought it was worth it to check in on the badass ladies of the show briefly. Also that way if any of them come out we’re ready for them.
This week’s episode was the second of the season, and basically what’s happening is that Barry keeps mucking up the timeline because he tried to save his mother from being murdered when he was a child and was then SUPER SURPRISED when things didn’t go smoothly. He keeps trying to fix it but he keeps making it worse. So he does what every smart person in a pickle would do if they were able: He goes to Felicity Smoak for help.
Overwatch’s catchphrase: “Please run all of your plans by me first, you idiots.”
Felicity eats her food and listens patiently to his problems before telling him to smarten up and go fix the mess he made.
Barry’s friends are all slightly different than the ones he once knew, and he tries to fix their relationships without telling them what happened, but eventually Iris tells him to smarten up and tell the truth to fix the mess he made.
I need a Felicity-and-Iris-team-up-to-talk-about-how-their-respective-protagonists-would-be-literally-dead-without-them scene.
Heck even Caitlin tries to help him, though she’s slightly gentler about it, smiling sadly at him, knowing he’s doomed.
Just kidding she’s sad because they don’t know what to do with her character if she doesn’t have a boyfriend/husband.
Because let’s face it, Barry would have ripped apart the fabric of reality by now if it wasn’t for these ladies.
Oh also on top of all his friends being different and slightly more angsty than his original timeline, he has also managed to make an enemy of Draco Malfoy, who is now a crime scene investigator of paranormal goings-on.
After some advice from another speedster, Barry realizes he can’t keep messing with time, so he accepts this new reality as his own. Luckily, by treating his friends the way he remembers them, they’re all starting to become their old selves again, slowly but surely.
Well, except Caitlin. But Barry doesn’t know that yet.
I’m 100% here for the return of Killer Frost. Or even Gentle Frost!
That’s really all you need to know for now. Who knows what this will mean for Barry’s future, or how it will affect the timelines of the other shows in the universe, or how this will get him to National City again, or if Sara Lance and her crew of time travelers can fix what he broke, but I guess we’ll find out before too long.
I’ll leave you with one last screenshot of Iris because LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL.
See you tomorrow for a wee Arrow update, then Friday for THE RETURN OF SARA ACTUALLY-I-WAS-LIBERATING-HER LANCE.
Supergirl Episode 201: “The Adventures of Supergirl”
Here are the things I was afraid of going into this season: That the network switch would also cause a tone shift, that Kara’s storyline would suddenly be all about Romance, and that too much focus would be put on the recurring role of Superman. Instead, we had the same borderline cheesy, optimistic, goofy, funny show with so much heart! Plus, with Kara deciding not to date James and Superman seeming content playing the role of super sidekick and staying out of the spotlight (despite all the promos), my relief is almost too much to handle.
I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s get into the episode, which isn’t explicitly queer, but promises have been made and I intend to hold The CW to them.
We pick up where we left off, with Kara and her crew toasting to the love that makes them family, even though they’re from at least three different planets between them. It was a nice way to be like, “In case you forgot, or are new here, this is what our show is about” right off the bat.
And, in true fashion, almost as soon as they clink glasses, something precarious streaks across the sky. Which looks like a job for Supergirl. Her and J’onn follow the streak and find a pod that looks like hers, and inside, they see a stranger.
Great, just what we needed, more men in comics.
J’onn takes Supergirl to the new DEO office, since CW let them out of the cave. She’s pretty when she finds out that they could have been in here the whole time, but is soon distracted by the news that the man in the pod is indeed not human. Kara recommends Winn for the job and heads off to get ready for her date with James, a real human boy. She tells Alex all about it and Alex can tell that she’s not particularly excited.
WHAT I’M SUPER STRAIGHT JUST LIKE YOU
Who said I was straight?
Cat Grant texts Kara, of course, and Kara rushes to her side, even though she’s not her assistant anymore. There were rumors that Cat was getting sidecarred this season, but here she is with a highball glass in her hand, telling Kara to woman-up and find her calling.
Later that night, after using her powers to speed up the getting-ready montage, James arrives at Kara’s door with pizza and potstickers.
Sugar and spice and everything nice, plus also lots of cheese.
But before they can even sit down to eat, they see the news that the Venture, a space shuttle launch scheduled for that night, has caught on fire and is plummeting to Earth. So it’s Supergirl to the rescue! But, since this is A Very Big Deal, a little ways away in Metropolis, a bumbling reporter named Clark Kent sees the news and rips off his clothes to join his cousin in the sky.
I think the moment I let out the breath I’d been holding ever since the Superman casting announcement was when The Man of Steel flew up and hovered near Supergirl until she gave him permission to help. She could have said, “I got this,” (because she single-handedly maneuvered a plane around a bridge to safety before she’d ever even tested her powers), but it was her decision to accept his help and work as a team. And I can so be down for some cousinly teamwork.
Plus, after they save the shuttle, they’re talking to some excited kids, and the first thing Kara does is tell them that she used to change his diapers.
Because it’s her show and she’ll do what she wants to.
Kara brings Clark to the DEO to try to help ID the stranger, but Clark doesn’t recognize him. Winn comes in and tells them that the pod passed through the Well of Stars, which surely will be important later. Winn also found out that the Venture didn’t just randomly start burning up in the sky, but was tampered with. So Clark and Kara go off to investigate, starting with the passenger who mysteriously didn’t show up for the launch: Lena Luthor.
And y’all.
Lena Luthor.
Is.
Katie McGrath.
Lena Luthor >>>>>> Max Lord
(For those of you who aren’t familiar, Katie played Lucy Westenra on the short-lived show Dracula, where she pined for Mina Murray and made out with Lady Jayne. She also played the fiendishly sexy Morgana on BBC’s Merlin, where she had, um, real chemistry with the actress who played her sister. She’s got on-screen queer experience, is what I am saying, both purposefully and accidentally.) Anyway, Lena was adopted by the Luthors when she was four, which I feel like is probably only relevant if she’s not human? Lex was very welcoming to her, so she is sad that he’s now a supervillain behind bars. She wants to make a name for herself that has nothing to do with her family, which Kara can relate to. Lena is very cooperative and gives the Kent/Danvers Duo the information they came for.
Not too long after they leave, Winn realizes that the explosion happened suspiciously close to Lena Luthor’s empty seat, so not only was she not behind the explosion, but she was the target of it. The Kryptonian Cousins fly off to save the day, Superman killing drones left and right while Supergirl saves the damsel in distress.
Back at CatCo, Kara tries to reschedule her date with James, but he can tell something’s not right. Taking the advice Cat and Clark gave her to follow her heart, she confesses that even though she thought this was what she wanted, she looked into the grey-green eyes of Lena Luthor and just isn’t sure about anything anymore. Right?
Knowing she’s distressed, Cat offers Kara more advice. She says she knows it can be scary, taking a road that will lead you so far from where you’ve been, but that even though change is scary, it’s important.
“If I say it, out loud…the whole world is gonna change.” “Yeah, it will.”
Kara goes with Lena to the renaming ceremony, where Lena is planning on changing her company from Luthor Corp to L Corp, so that it’s not associated with violence and evil, but living loving laughing dreaming, etc.
An explosion hits and chaos ensues, Supergirl flying around and saving James and others, Superman eventually joining her to tag-team RESTRUCTURING AN ENTIRE BUILDING to save the day.
Meanwhile, Alex Danvers saves Lena Luthor and then Lena saves Alex back.
Good thing probably-bisexual Alex Danvers is almost always wearing a bulletproof vest.
Back at L Corp, Lena thanks Clark for writing an article that portrays her as the badass she is, and then asks why Kara isn’t on the byline. Kara insists she’s not a reporter, but Lena says “You could have fooled me,” with a smirk that makes Kara practically gulp.
I mean, you’re a lesbian not a unicorn, right?
What?!
Oh and also she hopes to see Kara again.
And I hope to see more of you too, Lena Luthor.
Kara zips back to CatCo to tell Cat that her eyes are open now and she’s ready to take the next step. Kara wants to be a reporter. She wants to seek the truth, she wants to tell people’s stories. Cat isn’t surprised at all, and is almost relieved she came to the conclusion on her own.
Then Cat feeds the SuperCat fan fiction by saying things like, “I can see me in you,” and “You inspire me,” and using her real name instead of calling her Kira. She says, “I can see the hero in you,” and I’m still pretty sure she’s known about Kara’s secret(s) all this time.
And just to further ease any worries, back at the DEO, Kara asks Clark if it bothers him that the National City news is giving Supergirl most of the credit for the recent saves, but Clark doesn’t mind in the slightest. He’s just happy to be hanging out with his little big cousin, and looks forward to learning about Krypton from her.
The tag scene shows the bad guy Lex sent to kill his sister getting injected with some superstuff and an elegantly creepy woman welcoming him to Cadmus and calling him Metello, so I think we’ve officially met this season’s Big Bad.
What did you think of the first episode of the new season of Supergirl? Who do you think they’ll pair Maggie Sawyer up with, if anyone?
See you back here tomorrow for a quick update on… The Flash! (See what I did there?)
UPDATE: Looks like Maggie Sawyer will arrive in episode 203, “Welcome to Earth.” Looks like (please be bisexual) Alex Danvers will have a feeling about it.
UPDATE #2:
And finally, in the 4-show crossover, #Arrow's Diggle will be astounded by Kara (of course), and Sara Lance may have a little crush on Kara.
— KryptonSite (@KryptonSite) October 11, 2016
I want Alex Danvers to be bisexual so badly I could chew off my own arm.
We’ve been through so much this year, we DESERVE bisexual Alex Danvers. IT’S THE LEAST THE UNIVERSE CAN DO.
If it’s what the universe wants, I’ll help you chew your own arm off—as I too, want a bisexual Alex Danvers that badly. :D
Welcome to AS, Valerie. Since I love television as much as you, we’re going to get on famously. :D
Thank you! It’s a pleasure to be here!!
I’d like to let you know, we don’t normally partake in cannibalism in someone’s first article. ;)
Lol, Joanna! I love that you stopped short of chewing off your OWN arm, but happily volunteered to help me in my quest!
Heather, if the universe demands an arm be sacrificed and you’ve volunteered, who am I to rob you of your noble act? Honor demands I assist you on your quest! ;)
Do I need to bring ketchup?
Yup. Both my arms, actually.
HE-YO! I have plans to watch Supergirl this very evening!! I’m so excited to read your words, Valerie!! (Do you go by Valerie? Or Valerie Anne? Or some other knickname? I want to learn about all our new writers!! Especially the new recappers from AE )
Anyway, I love the idea of this format! I’ll be back later after I watch the episode :)
Valerie is just fine! Valerie Anne is my ~full~ name but most people call me Valerie. Some even call me Punky (my handle on all social media platforms is PunkyStarshine and some people latch on to that, which is also fine by me). Thanks for asking!! Hope you enjoy the ep and the recap! :)
Yay! Welcome!
Thank you!!!
Yes! The first Supergirl recap!
I loved the premier episode and am so glad that Superman isn’t going to take anything away from Supergirl. I think they work well together, I like that Superman asked if he could help, I like that Supergirl got the headline even though Superman was there, I just liked the whole thing. And, if things go south, I really will try to get my cousin to bring it up to EP Andrew Kriesberg (they’re friends; I met him once! Long before all the DC stuff.)
Cat Grant is still amazing. Can we talk about the way she described her salad? I think I laughed about it for five minutes. I’m glad that Calista Flockhart will pop up from time to time, despite the show’s move to Vancouver.
Lena Luther is to die for. I was hoping for a Maggie/Alex romance, but now I wouldn’t mind a Lena/Alex thing.
Also, my hearing is terrible. I could have sworn the bad guy was referred to as Nutella. Metello makes much more sense.
I THOUGHT SHE SAID NUTELLO. I was like, “Surely that can’t be right.” I had to Google it. That would have been an embarrassing error in my first recap…
Nutello still makes slightly more sense than Nutella! Maybe I was just hungry when I heard that…
Welcome! Always happy to get more TV coverage around here.
Love the color coded spreadsheet, yeah, that’s not Ravenclaw at allll. For the less ambitious person who nonetheless still has a lot of shows they keep up on (and who don’t have a TV/DVR and get their shows online), I really like trakt.tv for their calendar feature.
I’m also very happy with Clark’s (not overbearing) role in Supergirl so far. Also, I keep mentally adding an “e” to the end of his name…
Oh, same! I had actually written Clarke in all my notes and didn’t realize it until I went to start writing. Sorry Kent, there’s a more important Clark(e) in my life!
I used to do the whole tv spreadsheet thing, but it literally got so big that I couldn’t keep up with all the changes I needed to make and it just stopped being reliable enough to be useful. So I switched to using sidereel.com to keep track of tv stuff. I’ve never heard of trakt.tv before, I’ll have to check it out!
And re: mentally adding e’s to “Clark”, my poor brain keeps getting very confused by the names “Lex” and “Lena” frequently appearing in close proximity. It keeps automatically trying to turn both into “Lexa” but also knows that that’s not right, and it takes me a few seconds to untangle it all every time.
here’s an example screenshot of tonight’s shows: http://imgur.com/Mxxp8Cc
I love Supergirl and I love this column and I love having Valerie on the Autostraddle team!
:heart eyes:
Those photo updates?? Wow. Just wow.
Literally already writing the fan fiction in my head.
Saaaame. This is shaping up to be a great year for Supergirl.
HOLY WATERSHED RIP ME FOREVER I’M NOT GOING TO SURVIVE THIS
There are so many potential ships and we’ve only just started the season!
sara lance and kara! I ship it
The fact that Alex isn’t canon queer yet doesn’t compute. And oh man, the steamy look between them in those photos. Everyone get on your safety glasses because #chemistry.
‘Lab coats must be worn before entering the room’
*insert witty safety shower comment*
How about Kara + Lena & Alex + Maggie and then have a superman spinoff so that we would get our characters on TV sometimes twice a week?
Didn’t they say a Berlanti show would have a major character journey the same-sex this season? With the way they disposed of Kara/Jimmy with Kara being into him until she realized it wasn’t for her and all the Kara/Lena interactions (Lena sees the reporter in Kara and makes her realize it) feels _very_ much like Kara will be the character they talked about.. and the relationship will be Kara and Lena. (Or wasn’t it a major character and it could just be Maggie or even Cat whose realization was that she wanted to date women now?)
I really liked the Kara/Clark dynamic – they were so much alike in their attitude and humor – I loved it at the end when Kara teased him about getting the credit and him joking about being mad.
valerie i am unwell please send supplies
haha remember that one time I tried to embed a photo on my own recap and failed TAKE TWO OF YOUR SUPPLIES FOR SURVIVAL
ilu
That image of Cat with the quote, just perfect.
“If I say it, out loud…the whole world is gonna change.” “Yeah, it will.”
Perfect.
This series is the perfect reminder for when I read so much fanfic over the break that I kind of forget what the actors’ look and sound like.
While that sometimes comes with the worry that the fanfic storylines are just more like the stories I want to hear than the actual show, when Alex was throwing that guy around before he pulled a gun on her I was reminded that this is exactly the show I want to see.
Welcome to the AS team!
Thank you so much for writing this! I was really worried about this season, and this recap reassured me!
Also, I can’t handle Katie McGrath on any of the recap pics. I’m pretty sure when I actually watch the episode I’ll die, which won’t help with the “bury ur gays” trope, so maybe I shouldn’t watch ?
(I apologize for the lame joke, but I also don’t)
One of my favorite things about Katie McGrath (besides her entire face) is that her accent is too legit to quit and it loves to peep through when she plays an American. It makes my heart do little flips every time a vowel hits slightly off the mark. <3
This comment was not enough to get me ready for seeing her talking. I had forgotten how adorably she speaks.
Just so you know Katie McGrath played a lesbian in this miniseries called Dates.
Wait, is that also the one with Billie Piper and Effie from Skins??
No the one you’re thinking about Heather is called True Love.
Dates was a show that focused on (mostly) different couples every episode. Ep 4 is the one that would be most relevant to anyone on that site and was what sky-rocketed Katie McGrath in my top 10.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIuB1AQ1Up0&w=560&h=315%5D
Yes!Supergilr recaps! Why are all the ladies on this show so shippable with each other? I always find at least one female ship in every show I watch but I swear all the female characters in supergirl can be shipped with anyone else and it works! Also, where is Lucy? :( Alex+Kara+Cat+Lucy+Lena+Maggie = perfection
“Plus, after they save the shuttle, they’re talking to some excited kids…”
That was actually an interracial couple with their bi-racial child.
I want to like this show (because girls kicking ass! Possibly bisexual ladies! Calista Flockhart!), but does the writing get better as season 1 goes on? I watched the first few episodes but I got so tired of the constant inspirational speeches. They were so cheesy.
It does, gradually… but it’s always going to be campy. :D
Oh help me Shesus (aka Lesbian Jesus)
KATIE McGRATH and Floriana Lima with those eyebrows playin Maggie Sawyer…
I’ma die
fetch me a chaise longue, my mourning portrait needs to be fabulous.
What? No love for Miss Eve Teschmacher? Cat’s new assistant … C’mon, Valerie Perrine in the 1978 Superman film with Christopher Reeve? Anyone?
Is Valerie reprising her role as Ms. Teschmacher?
I didn’t get to see the episode, but I can share the glory of Teschmacher from ’78
Booby jumpsuit and shinny sleeved cap thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEyR-iWPYxk
Sadly, not Valerie.
Yes, oh my god, you’re right! I knew that name sounded familiar.
Damn, she was one of my all time favorites.Valerie Perrine looked fiiiine in that leather top.
Let me start by saying YAY, VALERIE!
Any chance you will be including your favorite #QueerEl tweets? I have to admit that was a favorite part of the AE recaps.
I have a few comments about this 1st episode and the rest of the season in general, now where to start.
Let me just get the elephant of Superman out of the way, I really do think it was too soon to bring him on to this show and it bugged me that he has to “stick around” to find out about his Krypton history as if he can’t jet back and forth from Metropolis in 5 minutes. I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear rumblings of a Superman spinoff for next season in the CW. And nothing against Tyler Hoechlin, he has the right look to be Superman but next to Melissa Benoist it kind of doesn’t make sense. I know Winn mentioned about Clark being 12 years older than Kara and they made an excuse that they age differently on Earth but then how has Kara aged to 20-something and Clark stayed the same age as when young Kara landed, yeah it doesn’t make sense no matter how much you try to spin it.
I like that they built a new DEO Headquarters but wasn’t it underground to A-house the prisoners and B-because it was top secret?
I mean they left CatCo the same, although I think they might have filmed those scenes in LA before tearing down the set. And with Calista Flockhart being part time-ish, I highly doubt they need the whole CatCo set anymore anyway.
My thinking is that Cat herself wants to get back into the journalism side of things so she’ll be out covering stories all around the world. And with Kara becoming a reporter, she’ll be out in the field too not really needing to write behind a desk. They gave Winn a job at the DEO now and James (even though I don’t care for him) needs to be out taking pictures before…SPOILER ALERT…he becomes the vigilante known as Guardian.
I hope they don’t expand the cast and lose some of the core relationships that were so great in season 1 especially Kara and Alex. I like Lena (Katie McGrath) so far, and I’m probably going to like Maggie Sawyer, but why couldn’t they also keep Lucy around too?
I miss Lucy too, and wonder if it has something to do with Jenna Dewan’s schedule somehow? Because I thought she added an interesting element to things. I’d rather have her come back than Darren Criss — er, I mean Clark Kent. (Even though, as I mentioned, I didn’t mind Clark nearly as much as I thought I would. He seems sweet. And at least he can’t be a love interest for Kara.)
As much as I like to talk about shipping Kara with people like Lena, I honestly think I’d prefer it if she stayed single the whole season. I think they could do all the ~romance~ drama via Alex and James and whoever else, but keep Kara more focused on her career(s). Even though I know that’s highly unlikely. Mostly as long as they don’t set her up with Winn I’ll get through it.
Oh no, what’s wrong with Winn? I actually want Kara and Winn to get together, not soon but in the future.
In my opinion James serves no purpose on the show, especially now with Superman. James was asked to keep an eye on Kara for Superman but now Superman is in National City so bye Felicia, I mean James.
Oh wow we’re on opposite sides of this one haha I find Winn and his “wahh I hate the friend zone” pouty face VERY tiring. Whereas I believe James genuinely cares about Kara and making her a better person and superhero (even as just a friend). I don’t think Kara and Winn are a good pairing at all! But hey that’s just me. :)
Well I guess we can’t see eye to eye on EVERY show. I think Winn is like old school Jimmy Olson (the geeky sidekick type), they should’ve just combined Winn and James and just have 1 male character instead of 2.
ha, we were bound to disagree eventually! ;) but I do agree that having Winn and James be one person wouldn’t suck. (But maybe more like James because hell even I swoon over him.)
Katie McGrath is in it?! Now I HAVE to watch it.
Am I the only one who felt that that line from Alex about “Your cousin smells so good” was Alex teasing Kara? I mean, Alex didn’t look overwhelmed like Winn when Clark appeared and the hug and interaction was purely comradely. But, everyone in the forums seemed to think that that indicated Alex had an interest in him.
To me though it looked more like Alex knew how Kara is going to react to all the attention Clark is getting and adding to it for fun. She seemed more interested in Kara’s reaction.
But, may be I am biased. :)
I bet it was a bit of both! It was definitely to get a rise from Kara, but probably also Superman smells great! haha I don’t think Alex/Clark would ever be a thing. He’s too shiny. Alex needs grit. Alex needs attitude. Alex needs someone who will look at her like Maggie Sawyer is looking at her in those promo photos.
Alex needs a girlfriend.
Please let it be Alex! I was so thrilled to see Chyler Leigh as a strong badass on this show. I really hope those set photos aren’t queer bait. Fingers crossed, because CW is way more progressive than CBS.
Except for their propensity of killing queer ladies, that is. :(
CBS owns part of the CW.
Calista Flockhart is only down on IMDb for 22 out of 42 episodes and they don’t have her down for 2017 at all, I find this really depressing :( Cat is hilarious.
Loving the review though Valerie, great to see you here :)
I’m sad to see Cat go, too. They’ll need to double-down on sassitude without her.
Oh no!
If Calista Flockhart leaves the show, tho, at least they might stop blur-filtering and soft-lighting the office beyond all reason? Every scene with her in it looks like one of those apps that removes all of my freckles and laugh lines.
Like, Calista Flockhart isn’t twenty, it’s ok to have a regular face! I don’t understand why the network or production team or whatever tried so hard to smooth it completely out.
Well, she is a mentor for Kara, who provided guidance to her as she was new to being a superhero… and such mentors do have a way of dropping dead every single time. Now, I don’t think this is the sort of show where that needs to happen, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been unpleasantly unsurprised at a writer’s decision.
oh yeah! I was badly looking forward a recap for supergirl.
Love the show, love your recap.
Alex need to be bisexual !
Lena Luthor was sexy as hell in the first episode.
Thanks for that!
This was my favourite part of the recap: “I mean, you’re a lesbian not a unicorn, right?”. LOL, I had to stop reading I was clapping so loudly. That’s perfection!
I started watching Supergirl during the break because I’d seen it around and knew it was cheesy but entertaining. Instantly fell in love with Alex Danvers, and of course Kara. When I heard that it was getting a lesbian cop I was all-in for that. AND then I heard that a “main” character on a superhero show would be queer and I instantly thought/hoped for Alex Danvers. But Lena Luthor? That’s just a welcome surprise.
So glad you made the move to Autostraddle, Valerie! Yay!
I did not know how much I needed Supergirl to start again- it’s a show that full of hope and hot women, both something I have sorely missed on my tv lately.
Also, On that show I just ship every lady with every other lady. That’s okay to do, correct?
That’s a good summary of my general approach to watching all TV, so, yes!
avclub’s commentary on Sara Lance being seduced by Anne of Austria: “No, there is no historical evidence that Louis XIV’s mother was sexually attracted to other women, and yes, this moment feels like it’s thrown in to get 13-year-old viewers hot and bothered…”
ummmm
There is also no historical evidence that PEOPLE CAN TIME TRAVEL. Jeebus. I thought it was very tastefully and playfully done.
Frankly, I would watch an entire season of Sara Lance navigating the Salem Witch Trials.
SAAAME. They BETTER give us flashbacks about this at some point this season.
It was really odd to see this show getting a historical detail right (hanging, not burning, at Salem).
Columnar, or Columniform.
Great recaps! But: The one-post-a-week thing means that the post falls off of the front page before all the recaps get written. Any way around that?
I’m brainstorming on it! I realized today that’s going to be an issue!
I was coming to make this comment. +1
My only real worry about the way they dealt with Sara’s bisexuality last year was that I kept having this nagging feeling that she had kinda the ‘flirtations of the week’ as all women, and then kept forcing the development of the relationship with whatshisname? And I guess you can call me pessimistic, but I’m always afraid that they are continuing with this storyline of ‘SARA LANCE, LIBERATOR OF THE SEXUALLY OPRESSED WOMEN THROUGH TIME’ right up until they decide to settle her down with a guy? I mean, who knows, maybe they’ll bring Nyssa onto LoT, and that would be amazing. Because obviously, as was mentioned above, there’s really just Sara left with all the guys as main cast, and if you want to write a serious relationship it’s easier to do so with main cast, but the solution is clearly just to ADD MORE WOMEN!
Anyways, all that said. this recap format is great, and is going to make it a lot easier for me to figure out the crossovers once they happen, since I only actually watch Supergirl and LoT. I’m glad it’s being written. Although I do echo a comment above pointing out that it tends to fall off the front page over the course of the week.
That is a very valid concern. I’m hoping that won’t be the case. I really do want them to get this right. I do hope they bring Nyssa back. Which, thanks for reminding me I actually have a really great soundbite from Katrina Law I never got to use that I can include in next week’s roundup. :)
I vote for them bringing on Dr. Light. I feel that her somewhat criminal background would make her a great match up for Sara.
Tagline for this season’s “Legends of Tomorrow”?
“Sara Lance: Time Seductress”.
Simmons and Daisy will team up on next week’s “Agents of SHIELD”.
So glad to have you hear on AS, Valerie!
I’m watching Supergirl with my now 7yo, she was a huge fan of season 1. She thinks Alex is the real hero of the show. She had me buy her black cargo pants so she could be as cool.
“what’s important to note here is that Sara Lance had a thigh holster under her dress from which she pulls her gun”
This is all I need. I want this every week.