Listener Email: Lots of Subplots
08 Feb. 2019

Listener Email: Lots of Subplots


Christine wrote in to share some thoughts on the Supergirl season four episode titled, “Blood Memory”!

Supergirl is my favorite show and after each episode, I’m always left wondering what will happen next.

I love, love, love this season. So many little storylines going on. I get the impression they will converge into a major collision somehow.

First, I’d like to address the James-Lena duo. If Lena ever discovers Kara’s true identity and Lena finds out that James knew about the secret all along, that may be just the catalyst that will spin Lena over the edge.

And, if Lena goes off the deep end to the dark side, where does that leave James? Most likely, throwing himself back into his work in a more professional manner. At least, one hopes for that to be the case. This season has revealed a different side to James. He’s compromised his ethics this season on multiple occasions. Part of that has a lot to do with his relationship with Lena. Her strong personality has pulled him in that direction. I predict James, at some point, will see where he’s gone wrong and where he’s been blinded by his own affections towards her. He wants to believe that deep down, Lena isn’t capable of anything truly evil. This scenario is likely to end very ugly, especially since Lena now owns CatCo. She could fire James and replace him with someone who will comply with a radicalized agenda of fostering fear and distrust of aliens. She most certainly will fire Kara. Honestly, CatCo’s only means of being salvaged in a scenario of an evil Lena Luthor is if Lena is forced to sell CatCo before she ventures off into the dark side.

And what about the new tension between the Danvers sisters? I must admit, I was really taken off-guard when members of the DEO so willingly decided to have their brains wiped of their memories. Seriously? No one had any reservations about this? No one asked if there might be any long lasting side effects? And now we’re seeing the downside to that plan. Alex has turned into a cold, heartless, no-nonsense government agent with absolutely no empathy for aliens at all, even Supergirl. Hmm. Well, I’m not sure where the writers plan to take this. It’s pretty gut wrenching to watch. Viewers have gotten used to the great relationship the two sisters have always had. This really hurts. And what about all the other DEO agents who had their minds wiped? Maybe they’re all suffering the same or similar effects. Will J’onn be able to restore their memories once the danger is gone?

Nia Nal. Well, not much can be said here. Her story is pretty self-explanatory, and, frankly, predictable. We all knew she’d be ‘coming out’ so to speak, as a hero, with her powers, at some point. It’s all a tad bit tragic and over-the-top, though. Her sister’s attitude was really awful. I mean, really, really bad. I personally wouldn’t be crying over that broken relationship. What kind of self-centered human being runs away leaving behind her friends and family in a burning building just because her pride is wounded? All those people trapped in a burning barn and all she can think of is herself? She runs off alone to sulk while Nia does the heroic thing and rescues everyone else. With siblings like that, who needs enemies? Thanks a lot, sis! And YOU were the one who always wanted to be a hero? Somehow, I think she missed the boat when it came to heroic qualities. Or, even being a decent human being.

At the beginning of “Blood Memory”, Supergirl’s doppelganger collapses and Russians use paddles to try to bring her back to life. Their attempts fail, but they trigger a blast of purple lightening that circles the globe and zaps an RV where a couple guys are selling pills. When swallowed, these pills turn people into the DC version of the Incredible Hulk. It is later explained by Brainy that these pills were irradiated with gamma rays.

Now, this scenario has a whole lot of problems because there’s just so much of this scenario that completely goes against natural science. But, since this is science fiction, let’s just say for the sake of argument, such a thing could happen. How in the world would such an event go unnoticed by scientists? Or, the military? Astronomers are constantly scanning the skies with sensitive instruments to glean clues about our universe, and the military uses sensitive instruments to scan for nefarious transmissions. If such a peculiar burst of energy ever did happen, in real life, it is likely entities around the world would be pouncing on it, trying to explain how it happened and how they might pinpoint the source. I fully expected Brainy to pounce on the energy burst as soon as it happened and within seconds, using his superior intellect, provide a plausible explanation, and locate the source. Why has this not happened?

Well, I hope that gets all explained in the next episode.

The American – who is the American the Russians plan to contact to help them revive the doppelganger? I am guessing ‘the American’ is someone from the Luthor clan, but probably not Lena. Lena hasn’t joined the dark side yet. She’s dropped comments here and there in which she has expressed her distrust of Supergirl, but as yet, she has not made a public show of it. She also owns CatCo, the media giant that made Supergirl famous. So, there is no reason why the Russians would think Lena would help them. But, perhaps Lex or Lillian. I am betting on Lex because I think this would be a perfect opportunity to introduce a Lex Luthor character!

Lena’s experiments to make humans invincible – It definitely looks as if the writers are planning to flip Lena to the dark side. She’s already hinted at her distrust for aliens, and there was already a tension between her and Supergirl. If that distrust grows, it might be enough for her to forge an alliance with Agent Liberty. Making humans stronger than aliens fits perfectly with his agenda. Could Agent Liberty become the next super-human?

Thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts!


– Christine

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