#i cant remember which comic book this is from so if you know plz let me know!

[ensign-smith]

mods are asleep, time to post upscaled Lore

(source: Star Trek comics)

[morepopcornplease]

'anyway supergirl radio probably had the best thoughts on this' you're not wrong (also do you have any other thoughts on the episode?)

yES! yes i do!!!

i honestly hate how the entire conversation about the episode was taken over by next episode’s Valentines Day teaser, and not what a fanTASTIC fuckin job David Harewood did. because he DID!!!

things i loved about this ep:

the specific shot of Jesse Rath’s Brainy in the first scene when he says “come with me if you wanna live” is not only a Terminator reference, but with the helmet on he reminds me of THIS scene from Back to the Future

the transition shot from Kara pouring wine to Lex pouring liquor!! LOVE me some well-thought-out transition shots.

the introduction of Evil!Winn Toyman!!! in fact, the entire first conversation between Lex and Toyman felt like something out of Batman: The Animated Series. I remember feeling that despite having shrunk from a multiverse to a single world, Supergirl’s world felt more expansive now, with new villains all colliding together and working together in the shadows of National City. in fact i think it’s meant to be a direct parallel to J’onn opening The Tower / The Hall of Justice. thats exciting to me!!! it’s so comic-book-ish and i LOVE IT.

the way Harewood directed Jesse and Katie finding out that both Brainy and Lena are working with Lex. Bruh THAT’s where Harewood’s good directing lies. Not in the script. In where he chooses to point the camera when one character says a line and the other reacts and their worldview changes ever so slightly.

the fact that Kara’s blocking at the Toy Convention places her in-between Lex and William. Lex is clearly toying with her to see if the reporter next to her knows her identity, and William is trying to go toe-to-toe with Lex. the fact that Kara’s trapped in the middle, wanting to keep them apart because she’s afraid of what Lex could reveal to William AND afraid for William’s disregard for personal safety was FAR better at foreshadowing some partners-in-crime than the forced scene.

the fact that Kara crushes her own recording device. i’m sure that it was written this way in the script, but the extra close-up shot and Kara’s frustrated response after she crushes it hints at Kara’s deeper fears and frustrations: her identity as Supergirl interferes with the job she loves, and her Supergirl strength destroyed something that, ironically, is a tool used to record truth. (I also just love any hint of Kara’s lingering trauma and lashing out from what we saw in the Red!K episode coming to light—her trauma includes her anger, too)

the TOYMAN TOYS!!!! so comic-book-y. i LOVE IT

SECRET ELEVATOR. he clearly had a lot of thoughts on what J’onn would be doing with his Detective space in his spare time: “BUILD A SECRET ELEVATOR!!” i love it. i love how unfinished The Tower is, too. it’s nothing much yet, but you can see the potential and where it can grow.

the hard cut from Winn’s memory being restored to the enTIRE paper bag scene. just….deLIGHTFUL.

the conversation between Nia and Winn. there’s a shot with more of the Nat City skyline behind them and you know what? it made me realize how rare that shot is (profile, wide angle, such that you can see the different buildings in the background, which are only slightly out-of-focus).

the transition from Nia & Winn’s convo to Winn & Kara’s convo.

Andrea being relevant to the plot again by re-introducing the theme of journalistic integrity!!!!! THANK YOU. this is what she needs to be (to me). not a supervillian, or an equivalent Lex, or a grey person working for a bigger baddie. let corporate bad guys just BE corporate bad guys with their own greedy agendas, please??

(side note: Andrea plz just give up your dad’s company and go be an archaeologist like i know you want to be. follow your dreams, kid!!)

EYE OF THE TIGER BATTLE.

the Winn’s circling each other.

the use of Kara’s superspeed to get everyone to safety is what saves the day. not the power to destroy animatronic tigers. her ability to protect.

i think Harewood’s got every right to be pissed at everyone saying that he did a terrible job because of ONE forced scene.

here’s what happened in that ONE forced scene. either:

the script literally wrote it like that, and he’s just directing it babes

the producers asked if David could throw in a bone for romance teasing their next episode, and this is what the on-staff writers and Harewood came up with On Set in crunch mode

that’s not NEARLY enough to crucify this guy. leave DH alone yall. YES, i think its stupid that he used a Kobe quote to prove his point, but this backlash is absurd.

David is not a showrunner. David is not a producer. David is not a writer. David is just a director. And unlike with film, in TV, directors DO NOT have the power and “auteur”-ship that film directors do (and even then….well, look at poor PJ vs The Studios when he directed The Hobbit, and remember that auteur theory is really says more about how we view directors and talk about directors than what directors are actually capable of achieving on your average film set).

anyways, great episode, cant wait for part 2 and the rest of S5