#I'm pretty sure what M'Gann is doing isn't it

[captainshadowgirllostfan]

OMG WHAT KIND OF FUCKING EPISODE AM I WATCHING!!!?

Garfied's arc deals with depression right.

In episode 16 of Season 4, Static Shock, Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl, and ...some robot (whose name idk because idk Doom Patrol that well tbh) stage an intervention per Miss Martian's instruction to help Garfield get help for his depression and see a psychiatrist...

and you know what their fucking method in doing that is!!?

Guilt-tripping Garfield in failing them all because he's depressed over Conner's death along with the many deaths he had to fucking himself up from including his mom, Rita, Tula, Jason, Wally, and now Conner...and there were other names too but I forgot

like wtf is that really how you help someone with depression and help them seek help? Guilt-tripping them and making them feel like THEY'RE THE VILLAIN for failing everyone else.

I don't blame Garfield for not responding to those sorry-ass speeches. EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE made those speeches about themselves. All about themselves. Yes they were talking about Garfield and how he inspired them...but ultimately it was about how they needed him

NOT about what he needs.

And M'Gann....she just ends it "It must feel nice huh...dismissing them all like that"

ugh fuck this bitch I swear. She should be no one's psychiatrist or guidance counselor...even her way of dealing with Harper and her domestic abuse problem was questionable a bit now that I'm seeing how she's dealing with Garfield

I thought M'Gann was a trained guidance counselor

She fucking sucks!

[probablyjustturtle]

I've always thought/headcanoned that during Young Justice season 2 Dick took over Bruce's duties similar to the arc (I don't actually know what the arc is called) where Bruce is 'dead' for a bit and he has to take over being Batman and training Damian.

Like the whole reason he has to be Batman is because Gotham cannot survive without him. Crime rates go up significantly when criminals realize Bats hasn't been seen in awhile.

Batman is off world for most of season 2.

So therefore, my headcanon is that Dick would take on the same responsibilities he does in that arc.

So to add them all up, Dick's responsibilities are:

1. Leading the Young Justice team and their missions.

2. Secretly running a double agent/undercover mission to infiltrate the light.

3. Being Nightwing and protecting Bludhaven.

4. Being Batman and protecting Gotham.

5. Taking care of Tim.

6. Probably taking care of WE.

7. Being Dick Grayson (keeping up civilian responsibilities and relationships)

8. Probably training the team too.

Like this man is BOOKED. On top of that his BEST FRIEND is mad at him because he put his girlfriend undercover and his other close friends don't know the extent that he is working. AND Jason recently died so he's suppressing THAT grief the WHOLE time.

I'm pretty sure this guy probably passed out or nearly passed out from shear exhaustion. There were probably a few times he started confusing Bludhaven and Gotham missions for YJ missions which normally isn't a problem but he hasn't slept for 72 hours.

M'gann touched his mind and was like "hey, woah. How are you standing?? You just finished patrolling as Batman, did a YJ mission as Nightwing, did the reports for both, and you're planning on going to go do patrol as Nightwing right now??? No, go to bed???"

Or even Tim going up to M'gann and Conner like "hey, Dick is really going through it. I don't remember the last time I saw him sleep. Maybe he fell asleep at the batcomputer the other night and Agent A has to chase him down to get him to eat a proper meal."

Here is your angsty fanfiction fuel. Basically overworked Nightwing stretched far too thin.

(if anyone writes fanfiction for this please let me know I would LOVE to read it)

[ekat-fandom-blog]

Abandoned Fic Idea

So, a year or 2 ago, I was working on a (now abandoned) Gravity Falls/DC crossover fic where the DC heroes (and some villains probably) needed to use the Cipher Wheel in order to trap/get rid of Bill Cipher. In the fic(which will never be worked on again probably), Dipper and Mabel were accidentally sent to the DC universe so their place in the wheel didn't need to be filled. (also, they were there to warn the heroes about Bill)

The Symbols seem to have dual meanings (I'm extrapolating this off of very minimal research I did when I was planning the fic) seeing as Soos's symbol is the question mark because of the shirt he was wearing and Wendy's was the ice symbol because of her demeanor and being "cool in the face of danger".

My first thought was that Question would take Soos's place as the question mark symbol (easy and obvious). But given that the only information given in the show is Bill calling Soos "Question Mark" and Soos wearing the question mark t-shirt pretty consistently, I don't know what personality trait it would be other than "inquisitive" (which, in my opinion, doesn't fit Soos very well)

My second thought was Constantine taking over Wendy's place as the ice symbol, but the reason she's the ice symbol is because she's cool under pressure, so I also thought maybe Batman, Wonder Woman, or Raven. Or go a more literal route and have an ice powered individual take Wendy's place.

Then there's the fish/crescent/oyster (because it slowly went from a crescent to a fish "oyster" shape) symbol that wasn't ever explained because it was on Stan's fez hat. Maybe Aquaman would fit because it's a sea creature at the end of the show? Or maybe Constantine because fish and oysters are commonly symbolic of luck?

Next one would be the pine tree. I know I said Dipper and Mabel are there to fill their spots in the Wheel, but if they weren't, who would take their place? I'll get back to Mabel later, so focusing on the pine tree: Plant Thing is honestly the best choice for this in my opinion (even going the symbolism route). The symbolism of pine trees is typically longevity, wisdom, and stability. Wonder Woman would also be a good fit.

The pentagram (star) with an eye in the center is Gideon's symbol as well as the symbol he uses for his Tent of Telepathy. Going off of that: J'onn and M'gann comes to mind. Honestly the only thing that I think of when the symbol is "mind reading" and "magic" so I'm not sure who else could fit this one.

A six fingered hand is next on the wheel and boy do I want to cry when I attempt to think of anyone other than Ford filling this spot. Not because I'm especially fond of Ford or anything, but because the only thing I can think of is "extra limb" and I don't know any heroes or villains who have extra limbs that isn't a feature of their species (which means it isn't "extra"). There does seem to be a spiritual meaning to having 6 fingered hands (luck, spiritual connection, unique ability, disharmony in your soul, wisdom, compassion, and a bunch of other things which kinda makes sense if you think too hard about the show and Fords relationship with Bill) but I do get a headache whenever I think about this one, so I'm gonna stop.

Llama is the next symbol and it's another one I don't understand because it was only filled by Pacifica because Mabel gave her a llama sweater. Some symbolism is communication (especially when trouble arrives), tenacity, ruggedness, action, courage, duty, etc, etc. I don't think this fits Pacifica especially well, but whatever. Beast Boy might suit this for the sole reason of being able to turn into a llama (which seems to be enough of a reason for it to work). NEXT!

Mabel's shooting star symbol is next! I told you I'd get back to her. The shooting star seems to fit her personality better than anyone else's symbol. It's the symbol of hopes, dreams, creativity, and change. Now - unlike Ford's symbol - I don't want to pick one of the DC characters to represent the shooting star symbol because Mabel is my favorite character in the show, but alas that is the challenge I have given myself so I must try. I feel strongly that Jason or Steph when either were Robin would fit the bill (lol) pretty well, or Nightwing, but I kinda want to pick Stargirl, Jessica Cruz, or Starfire. All of them are good, but there's one that suits the position much better(in my opinion): Hope Corgi.

On to Robbie's stitched up heart. I'm not sure what the meaning was because - like everyone's symbols except for Wendy's and Fiddleford's - the meaning was never explained in the show outside of "oh look they're literally wearing their symbol." My best guess is that the symbol symbolizes past heartache, working past emotional turmoil, and healing heartbreak. This meaning would make most of the heroes suitable for representing this symbol. I think Cyborg might be the most literal in this case though. Or Razor(1, 2).

Last up is Fiddleford with the glasses symbol which is representative of a scholar. I really want to point at Batman for this one, but I'm not sure how well the word "scholar" fits rather than "eclectic know-it-all". Hal was in the air force which means he's pretty smart too... And then there's Diana whose job is museum curator or a diplomat and the princess of Themyscira. Ok, this one sucks because it's basically "pick the smart one" and at that point you've just gotta hope that everyone else available was better suited for one of the other symbols on the wheel and there isn't more than 3 people left over to watch on the sidelines.

Anyway, that's all of them! Let me know your thoughts, ideas, and questions. If anyone wants to snatch this idea and do something with it, just tag me so I can see it!

Cipher Wheel under the cut

[threewaysdivided]

How would you describe Wally and Dick's season 1 relationship? It was pretty clear even if you're not paying attention that they've known each other for a long time and you know what? I feel like Dick has a lot of guilt for that whole end of the world situation. He feels like he lead Wally to his death. What do you think?

If I had to sum up how I see Dick and Wally in Season 1, I would probably say "best friends and honorary brothers".

When I think of Season 1 Dick and Wally I think of that scene in E24 Performance where Dick says that he left Wally off the unofficial mission to Haley's Circus because he "didn't want my best friend questioning my objectivity", and Wally replies that "that's what a best friend's for".  As well as small moments like the mutual wordless head-nod and the "you knew" in E16 Failsafe.

It's explicit canon that they consider each other best friends in Season 1. We also know from the many little jokes and comments that Wally is in on the secret of Dick and Bruce's identities, and it's strongly implied that Dick was the one who told him.

I'm not sure how much of this is explicit canon and how much of it is Word of God clarification, but I think there's info in the S1 animated canon and tie-in companion comics that - of the current generation of League proteges/"sidekicks" - Robin was the first, with Kid Flash and Speedy having close competition for second. And we know explicitly that there's a much wider age gap between Speedy/Red Arrow/Roy and Robin than there is between Robin and Kid Flash.

Based on that I think there's a pretty strong argument that Wally may have been one of, if not the first close friend Dick made following death of his parents, leaving the circus and joining Bruce, and certainly the first friend who Dick could fully be himself around without having to be careful with the details of his identity. And while we don't have any significant canonical information on what Wally's school life was vis-à-vis friends (aside from that one little joke montage of him having a rubbish day waiting for the bell at the start of E6 Infiltrator) it's possible that Dick was the same for Wally.

That history gives them a lot of closeness and a level of connection that isn't as strong between them and the others. From the Roy-Artemis thing in E6 Infiltrator we kind of see that Wally can be a little possessive and territorial about his friends (he spends that episode and a few of the ones that follow being a bit of a backseat rival to Artemis on Roy's behalf, it's kind of cute), but I think you can also see a bit of the same thing to a subtler degree in Dick. He rolls his eyes a lot at Wally's flirtations with girls and in E3 Welcome to Happy Harbor and the associated tie in comics he has a slightly affronted reaction to just how thick Wally is laying it on towards M'gann (he even takes her hand out of Wally's at one point). And I know some people will (and do) interpret that romantically but honestly, as someone who tends not to go in for the romance-and-sex-stuff, it's also a pretty normal, natural pseudo-sibling/best friend response to seeing them make a genuine advance towards someone and the anxiety about how them getting "other friends" / "a significant other" might impact the relationship that already exists.

There's also a few times where it feels like they might be clued into each other moreso even than they might consciously understand themselves. In Failsafe Wally recognises without being told that Dick is lying to them about the potential of the others being alive for the sake of the mission, and then again in Performance he clocks and calls out Dick for lying about the "official" nature of the mission within just a few lines of their phone call. We don't really see Dick doing the same thing as explicitly to Wally but you can read reciprocity between the lines.

Also the fact that they both know each other well enough to recognise, and feel comfortable calling each other out for bullsh*t when necessary says a lot about the strength, openness and health of their friendship.

As for the "whole end of the world situation", I'm going to assume you mean the train-for-failure mission in E16 Failsafe and not something from the later seasons. Dick is pretty explicit about his feelings and his sense of guilt during his session in E17 Disordered:

"Hurting? Try traumatised. I finally become leader and wind up sending all of my friends to their deaths. ... I know I did what I had to, but I hated it. And that's not even the worse of it... I always wanted - expected - to grow up and become him. And the hero bit? I'm still all in. But that thing inside of him? That thing that drives him to sacrifice everything for the sake of the mission? That's not me. I don't want to be The Batman any more."

Intellectually Dick understands that what he did may well have been necessary. Within the reality of the simulation the whole world was in danger and in those circumstances the needs of the many were worth more than the lives of the few, even if those lives were some of the most important people in Dick's whole world.

He knows he did what he had to, what he was trained to, and on some level he may even understand that he didn't have many viable alternatives given the situation... but despite all that he hated it.

He hated it so much that he decides he never wants to become the kind of person who has to, or would choose to, make those decisions.

(This is one of the reasons why the later seasons are so infuriating to me. We see him openly acknowledge this conflict, but then in later seasons so much of the drama comes from him lying to and manipulating his friends in ways that sacrifices their friendships and even puts some of them in danger. And not only is there little to no evidence that their lives would be in greater danger if he didn't do this, doing so actively hampers their ability to contribute to the mission. So what is he even sacrificing them for? He's become the thing he said he didn't want to be, the thing Bruce also said he didn't want Dick to become, and the series never asks him to confront this or even bothers to engage with how tragic it is. It's really sad.)

With Failsafe I don't think it would be possible to separate where Dick's guilt and grief over the loss of the Team as a whole and each individual member ends, and where his specific grief over Wally begins. But we do see how close they are to each other and how committed they are to heroism - even after Wally realises Dick has lied to him, he doesn't walk away or try to change the plan; he's even reluctant to leave Dick to plant the bombs by himself despite it giving him a better chance to get out. They were literally ride or die, right to the end.

But to be honest, I think Season 1 Dick would always feel a sense of guilt if Wally died, no matter how it happened. We feel responsible for the people we are close to and it's hard not to feel guilty or like there was something more we could have done when someone we care about dies.

It wouldn't matter if Wally had just tripped under a bus out of the blue, the guilt and questions would still linger. If only Dick had been there with him, if only he'd thought to call just then, if only he'd agreed to meet or sent that text or answered that message...

If only I said this.

If only I did that.

The easiest trap to fall for, no matter how much we rationally understand that a situation was out of our control.

[buddha-in-disguise]

5.18 So that was a lot!

Posting without editing, so apologies for any errors. I am running on barely any sleep, but really wanted to get this written while I could.

Overall impressions were great episode .... but again there were issues for me. However I will address them as I go through my thoughts on it all, and please don't think I am trying go bring this episode down. I'm not. It really was great! I just still see things that haven't been done that could've easily occurred to appease fans further or are examples of why 5b has been so problematic for me.

The opening was good, in that they actually explained that Leviathan were no longer at the location they'd used in Earth 38 before Crisis. These little pointers are what have been missed a lot this season (a couple of examples later ref Kelly). Too often it's been, we need to find their location; no explanation as to why that is.

Now onto the whiplash with Kara and her anger towards Lena.

Kara is angry over Lena being at the fortress and the reaction over her use of Myriad. Alex is the one actually acknowledging Myriad is a trigger for Lena.

Alex, who suddenly starts defending Lena? Then Kara is convincing herself Lena is involved with Lex. Look, I get that she would feel suspicious, I get she has the right to feel angry. But it is this sudden, seemingly out of nowhere anger, not recognising the good in Lena she has staunchly defended until now. With Alex understanding Lena's position.

As I say, I'm not saying Kara doesn't have a right to be hurt and angry. But to see such a quick role reversal in the Danvers sisters in how they're talking about Lena? That is what I find difficult to get my head around.

I don't expect Kara to be there fully defending Lena as she has done. But this just feels OOC yet again. This really isn't normal for Kara. We've seen her angry and feeling betrayed by those closest to her before, but you could see how it built. Understanding as to why those actions left Kara feeling like she did (Astra and J'onn anyone?)

Did I mention whiplash? Because, whiplash.

But it is good to see Kara once again around a table brainstorming with most of the Superfriends. Using her intelligence and skills to try and figure things out.

Nia is also finally able to be involved properly. I still feel annoyed Nia isn't really in CatCo at all these days, because as much as I love seeing her as Dreamer, I want to see Nia as more than just a Superhero. I want to see her continuing as a journalist, and like Kara, use both skills together when feasible.

The Tower is actually getting used (those computers aren't simply sitting there looking pretty). How many episodes has it taken to see this used properly for more than a brief scene? Too long.

M'gann is back. I love M'gann, and despite still feeling angry that they had J'onn throw her into a DEO cell, with no due process simply for being a White Martian, I've always enjoyed the dynamic between the two characters, and it wasn't a surprise they kissed. Although god damn it, where was our Dansen kiss. Even a hug? But onto Dansen in a bit.

Alex got into some action. That car hood slide?! Phew. It is suddenly very hot in here. We certainly wouldn't complain if they throw a few more of those hood slides in future episodes.

This is the sort of thing a lot of fans love Alex for. Her kick ass, throwing herself around best.

Plus the scene with Kara in the library just before that, also had the Danvers sisters vibe we have just missed a lot this season, especially 5b.

The DEO being destroyed. Of course we knew it was coming, but it was still good to see the whole sequence of action leading up to it. Kara jumping through that window! Day. Made.

The Nia and Brainy scenes though. My poor Brainia heart. Actually the way Nia and Kara turned and walked away outside after the collapse of the DEO .... oof. Understandable but still gut wrenching. The parallels to Lena and Kara, with Brainy and Nia are also there. God damn it, what is with all this pulling apart relationships and friendships on the show this season.

Kelly, while still frustrated she is working with William, in this episode it made more sense, as Nia and Kara were out doing Superhero things. I've said for ages though, William really isn't needed to simply stand over Kelly's shoulder as she does her thing. Okay, so he realised an image inducer was being used, but if Kelly was working this on her own, (with the Superfriends at The Tower), you can't tell me she wouldn't have been giving the footage the same level of detailed going over that William was. Nothing in those scenes couldn't have been done without him. Kelly is far more capable to do this. She is ex-military for gods sake.

Which leads me onto Dansen, but also Alex.

Once again we had them acknowledge that as ex-military Alex was finding it difficult to adjust. I broached this in an earlier piece I wrote when J'onn and Alex were talking about it. I would've far preferred Kelly had that conversation with her girlfriend, at home. That end scene with Dansen was great, but the dialogue with Kelly's ex-army buddy - that should've been Kelly when Alex says her actions led to it happening. That whole segment had Kelly and Alex talking written all over it. Another wasted opportunity of so many this season. It is especially galling as we've had so little meaningful Dansen content. That small change would've made a huge difference. Plus no hug? No kiss? M'gann and J'onn get one, but once again Dansen don't, and they don't even get the intimacy of a hug. It is ridiculous. And people wonder why fans have had increasing issue of the LGBTQ storylines. Or rather lack thereof.

Which brings me to my other bugbear from this season. Does Kelly know Kara is Supergirl? I mean I think she does after last weeks episode, which I've covered at the time. But that is only conjecture on what we saw, not what we know for certain. Where is Alex getting her income from? Is J'onn paying her, and if so, where is he getting the income from? Are Kelly and Alex actually living together? Because Kelly sure as hell looked comfortable in Alex's apartment, and Alex certainly looked as if Kelly not only was expected to be there, but belonged there. I know we can't get every minute detail about their lives, but these aren't small things. Plus it would only take brief dialogue to explain what the situation really is.

As for Alex becoming a vigilante. I will be honest, I've never been overly comfortable with vigilantes in shows, however they are littered throughout The Arrowverse. In fact, without them most Arrowverse shows wouldn't exist. As for the support of Kelly, that was a pleasant change. She understood the difficulties Alex faced, and offered a solution. After all, she has the Guardian shield. Whether she becomes her own version of Guardian I guess we wait and see. But since Alex needs to try and stop both Lex and Leviathan and has no other means to do it effectively, a vigilante is the most logical step. After all, isn't that what they've all been doing since Alex left the DEO? They just haven't placed a name to it until now.

Time to go onto Lex and Lena. Possible trigger warning here.

"You're a monster. But that doesn't mean I have to be one to."

First off. Jon Cryer and Katie McGrath were masterful in the scene where it all came to a head in the prison. Despite my misgivings of the overuse of Lex this season, there is no doubt this is why he is so good! His emotional range just came shining through. Just as Katie McGrath's did.

Him getting up into her face like he did, and her flinching. Here is what I tweeted about it: "Listen, I've been in an IPV relationship. I can't speak for victims of family abuse and if they grow up in the same way, but the way Lena flinched in this scene. That was me when my ex did what Lex did. That was real.

Katie McGrath's shone in tonight's episode."

Katie just completely nailed it. This is when I wish I could just stand there and tell her just how amazing that scene was. The same for Jon.

Those who have denied time and again Lena wasn't a victim of abuse, or it didn't excuse her for her actions in how Lex manipulates her, this is why we spoke about it. This is the victim of abuse. If she wasn't expecting that to escalate into a violent reaction, then that scene wouldn't have happened like it did. She was expecting the blow. That whole scene was visceral. I'm still trying to get to grips with how once again, the acting just brings through a depth so often lacking. So please spare me the excuses of she isn't a victim of abuse. That scene is canon now to the story. Between Lex last season, and this leaves no room for doubt, and if you do - you're not doing it for any other reason than to simply hate on Lena.

That last scene with Kara and Lena. Fucking finally! It's only taken 18 episodes to get there. Again I am still frustrated Kara is being so defensive against Lena, but I also do kind of understand it. She is also feeling hurt and no doubt worried. Is Lena trying to trick her again, like she had earlier in the season. Will she get her heart ripped out if Lena is presenting her with an act. Trust goes both ways, and both of them have found it difficult to reestablish it. I get that. I really do. Again though I just wish it hadn't taken until 5.18 for any kind of resolution between them to begin. Even if it had gone to the 20 episode season as planned, we couldn't get time to really get this sorted. Kara needs to let Lena explain why Lena did what she did with more than that speech. She needs to understand just how abusive the relationship is between Lex and Lena, and why to some degree Lena fell back into old habits like she did. Much like we had Lena and Andrea get that backstory, to really help show why Lena has trust issues, Kara and Lena now need to lay those cards out on the table in a similar way. No more hiding. Sadly I doubt we will get anything of that depth, and we certainly won't this season. But it is a start and that's more than I could've hoped for before the episode began.

Lastly, William getting black bagged by Eve. I wonder if her anger at Lex will make her use William as a pawn to gain revenge? Or will she let William know Lex was the one who has fed William those details, or activated him? Still a weird ass way to describe it by the way. But we will see. Honestly, William as a whole holds absolutely no interest for me. So I didn't even find myself reacting to what happened. It was ... meh.

And that's it for now. I've almost certainly forgotten something, but it was a lot to take in this episode.

Overall, I felt this episode was far better than some of what we've seen so far this season, particularly in 5b. It certainly leaves me looking forward to 5.19 with less dread than of late.

[buddha-in-disguise]

I'm not going to review the season finale in quite the same way as I've usually written something afterwards. I'm ultra tired due to distinct lack of sleep. So it is more truncated than I'd intended. Also unedited so advance apologies if something makes no sense or is misspelled etc.

The episode was facing the challenge of not only being edited after COVID-19 shut down production, but what was intended to be the penultimate episode became the finale. So I'm trying to take that into consideration.

First part in Kara's loft. It was choppy. Don't get me wrong, I had nothing against the humour, or the scenes in general. Although they missed the glaring opportunity to place a "flew here on a bus," moment! It felt pretty disappointing they didn't recognise what has become an iconic line within the SG fandom, and made it even more iconic.

Before the bus though, back at the loft, considering that Lena had literally only just arrived at Kara's, with all that entails, it felt completely out of place for that context. Did it have been overwhelming heavy at that point? Absolutely not. But it was too close to slapstick at times for me and internally I was cringing. I admit, I'm not sure where they could've put it in, but perhaps if they'd just lowered it a fraction, made it a little more subtle a couple of times, it would've helped for me.

Some of the dialogue (especially early on) was also all over the place for me. It did get better as the episode wore on, but I wonder how much was the need to redo parts of the episode because of COVID-19? Unless they think to put an episode as intended in a future season DVD (perhaps S6 DVD), or someone gives us full details via an interview we will probably never know.

Which brought me to one piece of dialogue that I wish they'd not put in at all!

In 5.18, as I've spoken about a lot on Twitter especially, the way Lex screams into Lena's face, and Lena's flinch, and how that had been me 20 odd years ago. They then had the line as Lena talks to Kara; "Go ahead. Scream at me if you have to, I know I deserve it."

I know for many, they'd just see it as a line to use, but .... for many of us who have suffered abuse, who recognised (& in some instances were triggered) by last weeks episode, to not have acknowledged why that line was so problematic is worrying. It heavily suggests they're not going to address Lena's trauma and abuse because they really don't understand it (& again, if anyone believes she didn't suffer trauma and abuse, but accept others in SG do, go away with your bias from my page), but considering they haven't addressed much of Kara's trauma, particularly watching Argo destroyed again, being stuck for months during Crisis like they were, etc - then I guess it isn't a surprise.

But it is uncomfortable as hell to watch a line like that glossed over.

Overall though, I did enjoy the episode. Once that 1st half was over, especially (baring a few moments, including watching Alex do her badass Mission Impossible meet Cirque du Soleil moment because that was awesome) it felt much more like SG of previous seasons. So that was great.

Watching Lena as she watched Alex and Kara hug behind her was so emotional. Watching siblings love unconditionally. Something she thought she had with Lex, only to realise he hadn't changed at all. Lena didn't need to say anything, as once again Katie's acting brought all the emotion Lena was feeling to the fore.

Having Lena and Alex mirror they choice of words in regards Kara was pretty iconic. Then having Alex whisper, "Jinx." really made it work.

Seeing Dreamer in her element, including some great lines again. "I can't believe you left to fight Earth, Wind & Fire without us." "Guess they didn't take the bait? Maybe you should've been meaner?" As they begin the fight with J'onn, M'gann Alex and Dreamer - Alex to Dreamer: "You ready?" Dreamer. "Nope." Alex. "Me neither." Dreamer at her best imo.

Kelly going all, damn my girlfriend is hot & I want sex right now despite the circumstances was pretty cute and funny.

The Kara and Lena monologues being in unison. Now that was pretty amazing and one of the best parts of the whole episode imo.. But again, you feel as if they're matching Lena and Kara together with those scenes as a couple.

Lena not only protecting Kara, but stopped Andrea from going down a dark path as Acrata. Was also great.

Last frame of Lillian. Does it turn out she is the head of Leviathan? Because again they laid out more than once the leader was a woman. It has been noted several times now in different episodes. I was hoping Lena's biological mother, considering she knew of the legend of Acrata, but it is now looking more likely this reincarnation of Lillian is who it is, unless it is a character we've not been introduced to, but I highly doubt that.

The 2nd half of the episode was what we missed so much this season. In fact aspects throughout the episode were missing for too much this season.

This includes the women being the focal point of it. Brainy though absolutely rightly taking a strong subplot to what else was going on. J'onn ably supported by M'gann. M'gann who managed to advise Nia on embracing her dreams and not trying to avoid part of them. Dansen actually working together and both being badass in their own way (after all, this is something I've advocated for much of the season, & while fantastic to see, it never should've taken this long. Now where have we heard that before?)

But we still have glaring unanswered questions that I can't imagine would've been answered in 5.20.

Every indication since 5.17 is Kelly knows Kara is Supergirl. Yet we don't know for certain, because they've failed to show us how or when. I've said before, considering every other person who knows Kara is Supergirl, we had them tripping over themselves to explain to the audience how it happened. I'm pretty annoyed that we as the audience don't get given the same courtesy with Kelly. This is why so many of us feel short changed on some characters this season. The really aggravating thing is would only take a few lines to clear it up!

Now onto Alex. This ties in with J'onn. Where are they getting the money to survive? Did J'onn manage to accumulate enough over all the years he was on Earth to finance everything & pay Alex a wage? No clue.

Also, are Kelly & Alex living together? Or do they have keys to each others apartments? Yes, Kelly was at Alex's in 5.17 so the answer is pretty much yes, but nothing has been said! We knew more about Brainy & Nia's living arrangements from 5a than we do Kelly & Alex.

Kara's trauma. Lena's abuse & trauma. See above.

Lastly, the one most I know want (except a few vocally against), leaning towards Supercorp becoming canon. Again for another season, we end up with the, 'Maybe they'll do it next season.' being said. Particularly as in 5a they really went all out on Supercorp parallels to Clois and at times Dansen, plus even a little on Brainia. But unless something pretty fundamental changes behind the scenes, they're going to recognise what their biggest draw is, keep baiting but never fully go into it. And that is what I fear the most. When you've got media, even non-Supergirl fans saying it, but the show refusing to acknowledge it - that could be their legacy, and it will not look good or have a lot of fans look back kindly on them for it.

The 4 seasons it took for Lena to find out Kara was Supergirl was, in the end, terribly executed. This waxing and waning as well of; is Lena good or bad? Will she follow in the Luthor footsteps?

She is flawed. She's made some pretty awful mistakes. But now they're said she is good. She isn't evil or a villain. So now that line they've drawn needs to stay there! No more ambiguity on her character being a villain.

But you know what's not good? Feeling you can't trust the show to draw a line under that aspect of the character. That doesn't mean you have to have any one of them not be flawed, or to even cross some lines (they've all done it at some point, some moreso than others, but not one character is innocent).

When the show is now generating that level of mistrust on how they could handle future events, that is a problem.

Season 5 overall (particularly 5b) was absolutely horrendously bad. It had some moments of sheer brilliance (either individual scenes, or some episodes), but the rest was just flat out awful. Irrelevant. Messy. No cohesion. 5b became too much of the Lex Luthor show. Certain character additions were vastly unpopular and definitely caused down turns in viewer numbers (& again, from far more than a section of fandom). As did keeping Lena away from everyone for so long.

To sum up. Season 5 was a disaster.

Season 6 needs to have considerably different direction to even try & pull back some viewers (if they can at all). Distrust is rife.

The worst is no-one in the cast deserved this, especially as they're so talented. Some of the performances, even with how poor much of the season was, have been magnificent. But as the saying goes, you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

I've never been so relieved a season is finally over. We'll watch our favourite episodes for sure, of which there aren't many, but a full rewatch of the season we normally do will not be happening. Some episodes were better off consigned to the trash.