In our latest DCTV roundtable, we discuss representations of faith, attempts at female bonding, and a potential Sanvers breakup in last week’s Supergirl. Check out our thoughts about “The Faithful,” along with our friends Fangirlish!
Last week’s Supergirl explored religious faith in several iterations, as Kara was faced with a a group of followers that claimed to worship her. “The Faithful” took us back to the pilot episode from a different perspective and demonstrated the incredible impact that Supergirl has had on the citizens of National City. At the same time, we watched Alex (potentially) reach a crossroads in her relationship, as she realized the depth of her desire for children. All the while, Samantha moved closer and closer to becoming Reign…
We reflect on this and more in this week’s DCTV roundtable with our friends at Fangirlish. Team Fangirlish came up with the awesome questions, which I’ve included below along with my responses and Lizzie’s (Fangirlish) contributions. The full roundtable post includes a total of six contributors, so definitely check it out HERE for more about “The Faithful”!
1. Describe your thoughts about “The Faithful” using just six words.
Funmbi: Love the flashback to Season One!
Lizzie: We could have had it all.
2. Describe your feelings about “The Faithful” using a gif.
Funmbi:
Lizzie:
3. A reporter, special agent, detective, CEO, and CFO had a girls night in where they drank wine and discussed boys. How did you feel about that scene and what does it tell you about the Supergirl writers room?
Funmbi: I love the idea of Kara and Lena cultivating this friend group of awesome ladies who are badasses in their respective fields. Over the course of the scene, Kara, Lena, Alex, Maggie, and Samantha shared jokes about previous relationships and also offer support to one another, especially when Samantha talked about potentially failing as a mother. I also liked that Kara was able to open up a little about Mon-El and found reassurances from these women. Positive female friendships FTW! At the same time, I wouldn’t be real if I didn’t say that, when Kara and Lena first invited Samantha to join them for the girl’s night, I was all *DNW gif* It’s quite clear that something is going on with Samantha, and I don’t want her insinuating herself into Kara’s life in a way that will backfire on Team Supergirl. Alas, this seems to be the direction we’re heading in.
Lizzie: I feel like this is, in a way, rather normal, and also, a bit tone deaf in that the conversation probably wouldn’t have revolved around JUST guys, not only because there are two lesbians in the room, but also because I don’t think I’ve had a girl’s night out with my friends where we just talk boys since I was like …16, and that was mostly because, at the time, we were all still trying to figure out how boys worked.
These days we discuss politics, sports, OUR JOBS, current affairs, really, most anything BUT boys. And in a way, it’s disrespectful for Supergirl to imply that’s all women talk about, and to me, it shows that the writers room probably doesn’t boast as many women as a female-oriented show like this should.
4. Alex broke down and finally told Kara about her want for a child and her fears about what it means for her future with Maggie. What does it say about their relationship that they didn’t talk about this child issue before their engagement? Is this something that would tear a couple apart in real life? Whose side are you on?
Funmbi: Here’s the thing–I’m very sympathetic to Maggie’s position on this issue. In real life, I think there’s an assumption that surely all women (and maybe men too) of a certain want children. If you don’t have kids, then there must be something physically wrong because, naturally all women want to be mothers, right? I reject this. Not everyone wants to have kids and women shouldn’t be shamed for making that choice. At the same time, I feel Alex’s perspective quite deeply. The scene where Alex watches Ruby perform on that stage and breaks down is so moving. Alex wants to be a mom and I sincerely believe that is an experience she should have. But I find myself in a conundrum. I can’t choose a side. I don’t think the decision to have (or not have) children is something that should necessarily be a compromise. But now Alex and Maggie’s relationship is at a major crossroads and I don’t see how they can move forward together. Maggie shouldn’t feel pressured to have kids and Alex shouldn’t have to give that dream up. I hate that I’m even saying this because I love SANVERS. I mean, I’m sure a relationship therapist would have counseled Alex and Maggie have the conversation about children earlier. Yet, the two of them fell deep in love pretty spontaneously. Even with this disagreement, I think Alex’s and Maggie’s love is strong. But the truth is sometimes love isn’t enough.
Lizzie: I don’t think there’s a right or a wrong answer here, it’s as valid for Alex to want to have kids as it is for Maggie not to want to have kids, and as much as it might seem absurd that there’s no compromise to be reached, sometimes, there just isn’t. Sometimes no one is willing to change their minds. Now, granted, this is all moving fast and the show isn’t really showing us Maggie’s side, but I’m assuming that, since Floriana is leaving, this will be one those cases where there’s no compromise to be found.
Do I think they should have talked about this before? Certainly. I don’t find it unbelievable that they didn’t, though, because they sorta skipped a few steps along the way. What I find sort of, if not unbelievable, at least unlikely, is that two people who clearly care about each other enough to consider sharing a life couldn’t just have an open conversation about this now. And the thing is, even if I wanted to take a side, I couldn’t, not yet, because we still don’t even truly know what Maggie thinks …and we don’t really have that much time left!
5. Chyler Leigh, who plays Alex, gave us all the feels in her characters confession to Kara. Use a gif to describe your feelings about her acting and that scene.
Funmbi:
Lizzie:
6. What did you think about the cult that worshipped Supergirl? Were they cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs or were they just over excited fangirls and boys?
Funmbi: When Kara, James, and Winn walked into that “service” and realized that all the people in that room were worshipping Supergirl, I was totally shocked. At first I was sympathetic. All of these people had been saved by Supergirl and it changed their lives in a major way. Coleville was on the plane that Kara saved in her first act as Supergirl. We know that Kara’s priority was rescuing her sister, but you could see that it completely altered Coleville’s perspective of life in that very moment. Similarly, the one lady that shared her testimony talked about regretting her decision to commit suicide instantly, and Supergirl swooping in to give her another chance. But then, when homegirl’s boyfriend set a building on fire to essentially trick Supergirl into saving him so he could join the group? Nope, I’m not here for that type of deception. Plus it was bonkers! Kara is already stretched thin; she does NOT need people staging accidents in order to meet her! However, one of the themes of the show is the importance of faith and a much healthier representation of that are the scenes where Kara is praying with her mom and J’onn shares religious services with his father. To me, a couple things were even more curious: (1) why would Coleville say he was worshipping Rao? Where did he even learn about Rao? (2) What happened to that lady who approached Samantha at Ruby’s soccer game and said that Ruby was “special”?
Lizzie: I’m going to go with A. It was more than a little creepy, and the sad part is they didn’t realize it, but I guess that’s the way it always is. I liked that the show tried to tie this together with true faith and, in a way, show the difference between the kind of fanaticism these people engaged in and the faith that can truly lift you up.
7. Sam is on the fast track to becoming Reign after being covered in markings, Doctor Who ‘The Silence’ style, and haunted by some mysterious figure while in the bathroom. Speculate on what happens next.
Funmbi: I have no frame of reference for understanding what is happening to Samantha. She seems like a nice enough lady, a dedicated mom and co-worker. But this impending Reign situation feels dangerous. It’s like I said before, I don’t even want Samantha anywhere near Kara and Team Supergirl. We know that Reign is coming and whatever it is that triggers Samantha into embracing that evil side will be something bad, indeed. I’m quite nervous.
Lizzie: Granted, Sam seems more interesting than about any other villain so far, but I’m still not too emotionally connected with her story and I still want to just ground Ruby half the time, so I’m not the person who’s given this much thought or concocted Reign scenarios in my head. That being said, we know she’s going dark, and I kinda hope Ruby is, eventually, the one who breaks her out of it. I also hope she survives. We need more female friendships on this show.
8. The episode ended with a scene of a mysterious pod and it’s occupant awakening. Speculate a little on who you think is in there.
Funmbi: OK, I need to be honest. I thought the person in the pod was the lady/being who Samantha saw in the mirror at the end of the episode and said to her “one day soon you will reign…” But after rewatching, I realize that I was confused because there’s another pod, somewhere else, with someone waking up. It better be Mon-El, and hopefully whatever is happening in that pod has made it so he can return to the Earth’s atmosphere without being harmed.
Lizzie: All signs point to it being Mon-El. Supergirl is hardly subtle, and even if we didn’t know Chris Wood was still a regular, him coming back would just make sense. His story just feels unfinished. But, other than that, and the certainty that the Legion of Superheros is going to have something to do with this, I’ve got nothing. And I’m perfectly happy that way.
