Supergirl Episode 220: City Of Lost Children

Supergirl episode 220, titled 'City of Lost Children' , came out this week and was an interesting mix of two plots.

Half the episode is devoted to James Olsen, a character who I feel has struggled to find his place in the show all season. James gets the spotlight here and we get some decent backstory and character progression. We learn about his childhood, how he was bullied, and how he kept his guard up. We also see him step up to the plate as a heroic figure just being James. I don't know if this episode solves the James problem but at least it lets him shine.

The other half is a close look at Lena and Rhea and an experiment that catapults us to the season finale. This is just as good a look at Lena as it is James. We get another peek behind the curtain to see just how damaged Lena is despite her polished and proper exterior. And Rhea definitely takes advantage of this weakness in Lena's personality. I must say that both Katie McGrath and Teri Hatcher slay in this episode

McGrath really has this wonderfully understated way of letting us know just what Lena is feeling just by a glance and a turn of the phrase. And Hatcher chews up the scenery, cloyingly sweet when dealing with Lena, stern when dealing with Mon-El, and turning quite vicious when talking to Kara. 

There is the usual dollop of political sentiment and current news in this episode as well, touching racism and refugees.

Overall this was a very good episode with a killer cliffhanger.

Rhode Island Comic Con 2016

This last weekend was Rhode Island Comic Con, the last convention of my 'con season'. That means winter is coming.

This is still a young con and therefore still suffering from some growing pains. Looking back at my last posts about this con it seems every year there is some snafu on how the thing is being run that irks me. And, as I have always said, the thrust of this con is on celebrities (ranging from A to D list) with the comic part being only a small part of the happenings.

Now overall, I had a very good experience in the one day, Saturday, that I was there but let me get the administrative difficulties out of the way.

The con has basically grown exponentially over its life so now it actually is held in two buildings - the Rhode Island Convention Center and the attached Dunkin Donuts Center (an arena for concerts, basketball, and hockey). The buildings are connected by a narrow 'sky ramp'. Last year this was the bottle neck as people were going in both directions.

My main goal in this con was getting a signature from Stan Lee. I prepurchased a 'ticket' for an autograph. A buddy of mine went on Friday and told me that Lee was in the Dunkin Donuts Center so I wanted to run there early and get in line. The line for the con formed outside the Convention Center and at 830a I was there, awaiting for the 10a opening.

Well, it turns out that two lines were forming. The one I was in at the con center. And another at the Dunks. When I entered, I headed towards the skyramp only to be told that the ramp was made 'one way' this year, heading into the convention center. If I wanted to get into the Dunk, I needed to exit and reenter there. So I had to leave the building, badge out, head outside, and then find the 're-entry door' which was around the side of the Dunk and barely marked.

Once inside, I ran to the floor and had to wait in line to turn my ticket for the Lee autograph in for another ticket. This seemed counter-intuitive and I wouldn't have done it had I not been warned by my buddy. Then I waited in line for Lee ... for 2.5 hours. I was around 40th in the general population line, and the VIPs got to go first. I am lucky it didn't take longer.

All of that said, this all seems confusing and weird. This could still be run more smoothly ...

On to the fun stuff.

Supergirl Show News: Mehcad Brooks Cast As Jimmy Olsen

The news about the upcoming Supergirl show is coming fast and furious these days and it all seems to be spot on. The latest news came out late last night that Mehcad Brooks has been cast as Jimmy Olsen. It was big enough to get covered on the DC Comics website blog. Here is the link: http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2015/01/28/breaking-news-supergirl-casts-james-olsen

And a brief blurb from that press release:

Actor Mehcad Brooks (Necessary Roughness, True Blood) has been cast as James Olsen in Supergirl, the high flying new series in development from Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment. 
 

Supergirl’s James Olsen is described as a photographer at CatCo, the media company where Kara (series star Melissa Benoist) works. He has recently been living and working in National City, though the reason is still a secret.

 There is a lot to like about this casting. Brooks is an up and coming star who has shined in his prior roles and shows. Casting an African-American as Jimmy is brilliant. Sure, I will miss the classic red hair. But this adds some nice diversity to the show. And while he looks young, he is actually 34 making me think this isn't a copyboy Jimmy, or even a young hungry reporter. My guess is he is full-blown Mr. Action here, an established photojournalist.

The blurb about him working at CatCo and living in National City for a 'secret' reason gives him a decent hook. My guess is Jimmy is 'Superman's Pal' and Superman asked him to move to National City to keep his eye on Kara. And in those leaked audition tapes, we heard Jimmy talking about seeing Superman and covering the Man of Steel's actions for the planet. So he has some super-history. For me, that makes for a better story than Jimmy working undercover for the Planet. And it adds some Silver Age patina to the story - Superman keeping a close and sometime overbearing eye on his cousin.

The bottom line is I think Brooks is a great addition to this show. Welcome aboard.

And congrats to Greg Berlanti and Ali Adler.

I was cautiously optimistic about the show when it was first announced. (I worry about everything Supergirl.) But so far every move and everything I have heard about this show has made me smile. The casting of Benoist and Brooks is one thing. The tone of the leaked audition scripts is another.

I think this is going to be great!