Loved It? Hated It? What did you think of "Manhunter?"

[KSiteTV]

I was at Batman v Superman last night and didn't get to make a Loved It/Hated It thread. Clearly no one else did either

Anyway... what did you think?

[Halberdier17]

I loved it. I like that they used the scene that was removed from the Pilot with Dr. Danvers giving Kara her glasses in a flashback.

[JDBentz]

This is a copy/paste job of my review for last night's episode from my new blog "Aspergian Observatory: Film & TV".

“Supergirl” is one of the two current Berlanti Productions DC properties that I am thoroughly enjoying, the other being CW-based “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”. When I first started watching this series, I was skeptical I would stay with it since generally speaking, I don’t watch many shows with female leads; in fact, the last one I actually remember watching with as much interest was “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. Greg Berlanti and his fellow producers Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim have often said they take inspiration from the modus operandi of the team behind “Buffy”, but “Supergirl” is the first time I’ve really seen that influence shine as much as they claim to take inspiration from it.

One of the key reasons for the success of “Supergirl” is obviously the Maiden of Might herself, superbly portrayed on all emotional levels by the lovely Melissa Benoist, who has an effortless charm that just appeals to the viewer, and this goes for a great deal of the remaining cast. In this episode, Kara and her sister Alex are sequestered away from the majority of the cast as the military launches an investigation into the DEO and they learn some bitter truths, including the reasons why Clark Kent/Superman will not work with the government of the United States.

Now, when I saw Lucy Lane back in uniform this episode I was thinking, “Okay, so this is either going to be very good, or very, very bad.” It ended up being the middle, as she initially let her recent frustrations with Jimmy (which clearly drove her back to her old position) cloud her judgment, but as things wore on you could see she was affected by the story J’onn J’onzz told her and Colonel Harper, who I am honestly unsurprised was leading the investigation as a personal vendetta against J’onzz due to his personal connection with Hank Henshaw. I’m fairly certain that in the real world he wouldn’t have been allowed that position, but one thing television, and in particular the Berlanti-DC properties, have a commonality in is that police and other authority figures who shouldn’t be involved in something due to a personal connection still are.

However, Lucy lost some major points with me when she decided to arrest Alex. The look on her face told me it had less to do with Alex lying and more to do with the fact that Alex was Kara’s sister, and Lucy has the view that Kara is the reason she and James broke up (this, without knowing Kara’s secret). So I can’t help but wonder if there was some vindictiveness on Lucy’s part. But she came around in the end, helping Kara rescue J’onn and Alex, who are now off on a mission of their own. That was a surprise twist I didn’t see coming, and I look forward to seeing how it plays out. However, knowing the Berlanti crew as I do, I can’t help but feel this is not going to end with a nice set of hugs and a wonderful reunion.

Now, the other aspect in this episode was Siobhan’s vendetta against Kara, which is honestly so hilarious because she got treated how she treats everyone else, including Kara, for a change. What was very cool for me was how Cat invited her back to her office and spoke with her, luring her into a false sense of security, and then snap! Sprung the trap on the unsuspecting amateur social climber (and let’s face it, that’s what she was). That it was Winn who delivered the ‘devastating blow’ to Siobhan’s attempt was just that much more satisfying.

The one thing I love about “Supergirl” is that all of the actors portray their characters so well, from the experienced and trained actors that make up the adult cast to the two girls who play the young Alex and Kara.

All in all, “Manhunter” receives a 9/10 score, which for me is very high. I don’t give out 10s anymore except for truly wonderful episodes that really bring everything into play just right. Those episodes are rare for any show.

[costas22]

Ok episode, with the usual hiccups we've grown accustomed to. What stood out for me in this episode was the flashbacks. They were unlike anything we've seen on a Berlanti show. They started out about the MM (something I was really excited about), then they became about Alex and then they became about Kara. And the transitions for each character were great.

Dean Cain was a huge bonus for this episode. Everytime he and Helen Slater are on the show they add a certain gravitas to it. I wish I could say I was surprised when we found out Jeremiah is alive, but this is a Berlanti show after all. On the plus side, we will see more of him and that's good. However, with Alex and the MM fleeing the scene, I'm guessing we won't see any of those 3 characters until the season finale.

The drama surrounding the DEO was mostly well done. One part that bugged me was how Lucy figured out that Alex was lying. It just came out of left field and made no sense whatsoever. And while we are at Lucy, I can't say I'm exactly thrilled about her becoming head of the DEO. Maybe it's because the character hasn't served any purpose besides being a love interest until now. Besides, if the MM used his mind control ability to convince Harper to quit, shouldn't he also have convinced him to make Alex the new Head of the DEO?

Siobhan's part was the least appealing for me. It was poorly written, from the moment she used Kara's laptop (apparently Kara leaves her e-mail account open for anyone to use ) to the moment she became drunk and fell off the roof.

Hope next week's episode is worth it. A lot of time and promotion has gone into it. And some times at the expense of the Flash show. Had to throw that out there as a Flash fan.

[JDBentz]

Ok episode, with the usual hiccups we've grown accustomed to. What stood out for me in this episode was the flashbacks. They were unlike anything we've seen on a Berlanti show. They started out about the MM (something I was really excited about), then they became about Alex and then they became about Kara. And the transitions for each character were great.

Dean Cain was a huge bonus for this episode. Everytime he and Helen Slater are on the show they add a certain gravitas to it. I wish I could say I was surprised when we found out Jeremiah is alive, but this is a Berlanti show after all. On the plus side, we will see more of him and that's good. However, with Alex and the MM fleeing the scene, I'm guessing we won't see any of those 3 characters until the season finale.

The drama surrounding the DEO was mostly well done. One part that bugged me was how Lucy figured out that Alex was lying. It just came out of left field and made no sense whatsoever. And while we are at Lucy, I can't say I'm exactly thrilled about her becoming head of the DEO. Maybe it's because the character hasn't served any purpose besides being a love interest until now. Besides, if the MM used his mind control ability to convince Harper to quit, shouldn't he also have convinced him to make Alex the new Head of the DEO?

Siobhan's part was the least appealing for me. It was poorly written, from the moment she used Kara's laptop (apparently Kara leaves her e-mail account open for anyone to use ) to the moment she became drunk and fell off the roof.

Hope next week's episode is worth it. A lot of time and promotion has gone into it. And some times at the expense of the Flash show. Had to throw that out there as a Flash fan.

With why he couldn't just erase the thing with Alex, is because it was a matter of record that Alex had been taken into custody along with MM. So it wouldn't matter.

As for Lucy figuring out? As I said in my own review, that seemed less about finding any 'compatriots' of MM and more about excising some demons. She knows Kara is Alex's sister and one thing all Berlanti shows have had both good and bad characters do is make decisions out of spite. The way Lucy acted throughout the episode, especially towards Alex since she didn't know SUpergirl was Kara, showed she was struggling with the break-up with Jimmy, and remember she felt Jimmy had already moved on with Kara thanks to the story Kara mentioned that Jimmy had never told her. And wow, did I just sound like some of the babbling characters on these shows?

[costas22]

As for Lucy figuring out? As I said in my own review, that seemed less about finding any 'compatriots' of MM and more about excising some demons. She knows Kara is Alex's sister and one thing all Berlanti shows have had both good and bad characters do is make decisions out of spite. The way Lucy acted throughout the episode, especially towards Alex since she didn't know SUpergirl was Kara, showed she was struggling with the break-up with Jimmy, and remember she felt Jimmy had already moved on with Kara thanks to the story Kara mentioned that Jimmy had never told her. And wow, did I just sound like some of the babbling characters on these shows?

Close.

I agree that Lucy was on a vendetta of sorts there, but in technical terms, why did she arrest Alex? Alex answered all the questions and the lie detector showed she was telling the truth. And once she took the apparatus off, it was like a light bulb ignited over Lucy's head and she figured out that Alex was lying. But how? Did she realize that Alex tricked the lie detector somehow? If so, the directing in that scene failed to convey that.