#especially because like a lot of people my first introduction to medusa was an adaptation of the ovid version

[karamel-haven-blog]

Karamel Appreciation Week - Day 3

My favorite episodes/scenes:

I literally cannot pick a favorite episode so I’m just going to break it down by scenes and this is going to be a long, long post, because I added my thoughts/reasons why they are my favorites too so it’s going to be cut below. Like ridiculously long:

Welcome to Earth - The scene where Kara and Mon-El fight and the confrontation in the cell. (I feel like this was a great example of ingrained prejudices and shows that not even Kara is immune to it. She isn’t perfect and when her prejudice came out and she actually implied Mon-El should have died with his planet, I couldn’t help but think she’d come to one day regret that, because Mon-El, as later proved, didn’t attack anyone and Kara wrongly assumed he did, their confrontation helped her show her negative qualities and I thought it would be a beautiful thing to see the two of them help each other overcome their prejudices and be open.)

-The end scene where Kara told him about Daxam (I felt like this was a big moment. In that moment the two of them shared a pain of a planet lost and an understanding of being “alone” in the galaxy. Kara showed him empathy and sorrow for his planet and it was something they could bond over and support each other through.)

Survivors - When Mon-El talks about his planet and asks to be released from the DEO (this was such a crucial moment and, I actually think, a very strategic observation on Mon-El’s part, a caution we don’t often see. He explains he is a GUARD and then asks for freedom. Knowing he is the Prince now, and looking back, it is SMART. Because he doesn’t know these people, he doesn’t fully trust “the Kryptonian” and he has no idea whether Kara is actually telling him the truth. For all he knows, Daxam could be around and now he’s a HOSTAGE. So he tells them he’s a guard, he THEN requests freedom, which is denied. He was RIGHT not to tell them, in his mind, because if a GUARD is denied freedom, a prince sure as hell wouldn’t be. He is observing how they treat just a basic person and, perhaps, it’s with the intention of gathering what sort of people they are: how they treat the “inferiors” as opposed to the higher ups. it’s a tactical move and one that is meant to protect him from these people he literally woke up to that had hooked him up to a machine, then came at him with guns after he woke up disoriented (with a very obvious Kryptonian standing over him) and later attacked him and shoved him in a cell calling him an alien combatant for attacking the president. THIS is such a key point in how Mon-El views the DEO and their methods, Kara’s methods, they act first and ask questions later, they assume they know everything and don’t listen to you even when you tell the truth. Until THEY stumble upon it themselves. It makes sense why he is so protective of Kara later and critical of her plans, from what he’s seen, form his very first introduction, the plans are never thought through.)

-When Mon-El and Kara talk about Draaga. (Mon-El offers her a little advice about Draaga’s weakness and it leads to Kara’s victory.)

-Mon-El and Winn at the bar (I think it shows some of Mon-El’s true character. Mon-El, at first, seems to play Winn to get out of the DEO, but at the bar, he STAYS with Winn. He very easily could have snuck out at any moment when Winn was drunk, but he stayed. To me, that showed he really did just want to just be somewhere other than the DEO and learn about Earth and that he did want to just hang out with Winn. And when he hurt someone, he seemed genuinely startled and later disturbed by it)

Crossfire - Mon-El’s entire first day at CatCo (goes without explanation)

-Alex and Kara’s talk about Mon-El (I feel like Alex has a good grasp on how Kara sometimes gets too invested. She wants to mentor Mon-El and help him adapt, but she sometimes seems to be forcing him down a set path without giving him time to find it himself, which Alex reminds her to do. She picked his name, she set him to work in CatCo, without really seeing if it was something he wanted or trying to help him find something else on Earth he was interested in.)

-The Gala (the dance between Kara and Mon-El was adorable, and how Mon-El was attracted to Kara enough to approach her from afar without realizing it was her tells me he has a type (though Eve hinted at that). And we get to see some of Mon-El being a hero or wanting to be one before he even realizes it’s in him.)   

Changing - Training scenes (any and all of them are wonderful)

- Mon-El the Bounty Hunter (that’s what I call him in my head during the scene Kara confronts him in. It is technically a legal profession and Mon-El might not have known the earth term for it, but that’s what he was doing and who he was doing it for seemed to me. That entire confrontation, I think, brought up a lot of what Mon-El has observed of Kara and some flaws she has but either doesn’t admit to, isn’t aware of, or no one will tell her because they’re too close to see them. He doesn’t know everything about her, it’s very true, but I always felt like he was a very keen observer and sometimes you need a third party to help you see where your weaknesses are.)

- Mon-El standing up (the scenes where he helps keep people safe before Guardian gets there and later offers to help the “homeless man” show me that, even when Kara ISN’T there to see him, he has good in him and heroic tendencies. He isn’t changing JUST for Kara, because he does a lot of heroism when she isn’t there and likely wouldn’t even know about it or notice. I think these scenes tell a lot about his inner character when no one is around to expect things from him.)

The Darkest Place - Mon-El escaping but staying (He’s ready to break out, he nearly can, displaying tactics and form that he either learned from Kara or has been hiding from her. But he’s inches away when someone he assumes to be J’onn’s life is threatened and he stays. He sacrifices himself, because they clearly wanted him for something, to save “J’onn”. He displays he is NOT selfish or else he would have left “J’onn” to die. But he stays at the risk of his life to keep “J’onn” safe. He does exactly what Supergirl would have done if someone held a gun to Alex.)

- Karamel in the cells (the entire scene between Kara and Mon-El as they are held captive were lovely to me. They talk, they comfort each other, they worry for each other, and Kara risks herself to help keep him safe. I found it ironic really, that Mon-El who is supposed to be a “selfish Daxamite” was willing to stop fighting to save a complete stranger to him (J’onn) and do as CADMUS said, but Kara, SUPERGIRL, initially refused even after Mon-El was shot, she hesitated until Lilian was about to shoot him in the heart. That scene spoke to me so much because Mon-El proved himself, yet again, to be selfless and ready to risk himself for someone else he didn’t know, but Kara took a second to do the same. During their escape, Mon-El kept Kara moving no matter how much she wanted to turn back, so that Jeremiah's sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain.)

-The Dinner scene (Mon-El asking about Kara’s status and learning more about Earth courting customs was  adorable)

Medusa - The meal scene (Mon-El meeting Eliza and just winning her over.)

-The monopoly scene (Karamel personal “game night”)

-The medbay scene (I don’t think I need to say why ;-))

-Mon-El is cured! (The look of disappointment on both their faces when Mon-El “doesn’t remember the kiss”. I feel like both of them were trying to help the other. Mon-El probably felt like Kara would regret the kiss so he gave her an out by “not remembering.” If she wanted to kiss him, she’d tell him. If she didn’t or if she regretted it, she’d keep quiet and pretend it never happened. But for Kara, she wanted to talk about it and why he did it and if he really does like her like her, but didn’t know if he meant it now that he doesn’t remember. These two kill me!)

Supergirl Lives! - The entire Slaver’s Moon portion (and a little before, when Karamel was pretending to be a couple. But for the Moon, Mon-El coming after her because he was concerned for her and wanted to help her. Standing up to block the alien attack as Supergirl was trying to help the humans escape. Their entire interaction and what they learn about each other was lovely.)

-The couch scene (Mon-El finally deciding he WANTS to be a Superhero because of his own choice and not because Kara pushed him to be one. Literally any couch scene.)

We Can Be Heroes - The fight with the fake LiveWire (When I watch that scene, what I see is Mon-El listening to Kara and protecting the police. He gets them to relative safety and then, when he notices Kara, who IS actually vulnerable to the electricity being used against her, goes to help her. I find this important for 2 reasons. 1. Mon-El might very well be able to handle the electricity as he was absorbing it to help heal himself when he landed. He would have been the prime person to face off against electricity as opposed to someone who can be hurt by it. 2. If Supergirl goes down or is taken out for an extended period, the city is left vulnerable. In the grand scheme, protecting Supergirl IS protecting the cops and the civilians and the city itself. Without her there would be chaos, and if Mon-El can help keep her healthy and uninjured, he should. Especially considering he might be invulnerable to what Kara is vulnerable to.)

- Kara confronting Mon-El (I think James’s words about Mon-El being flawed too struck a nerve with Kara. Their species are similar so if Mon-El is flawed, so is she, and to bring up human error puts her in a position of being better than a human and somewhat arrogant, what Mon-El has warned her about. She is not infallible and she can make mistakes, so here I feel she is also taking out her frustrations on him. If she wants someone to be a partner and LISTEN to her, she needs to be willing to listen to HIM too.)

-The confession (Mon-El was very brave to talk about his feelings with Kara. I think this was the moment where he actually started to trust her. If he didn’t care what she thought, he’d have kept the kiss a secret. But he also goes there and says he likes her, but that it’s also ok that she doesn’t like him the same way. He just wants to be around her and in her life and work by her side and that would be enough for him. It broke my heart because he genuinely cares about her by now and he cares about how she feels and respects her feelings. I cried a little.)

The Martian Chronicles - The bar scene (This part killed me. Because Mon-El has already said he accepts that she doesn’t like him the same way but Kara sort of made it worse. She came to the bar, where he works, and even trying to gently explain WHY she doesn’t feel the same (when an explanation wasn’t really needed), sort of poured salt in the wound. The reasons she said she didn’t like him must have hurt him deeply, because she was basically saying who he was as a person, despite his efforts to improve, weren’t enough for her. Even her first argument about being Kara and Supergirl were a little off to add. Because if things went the way Kara had planned, Mon-El would one day be a superhero...and he’d probably still work at the bar. So he’d be Mike and “Valor” (I’m just putting that in at speculation). So that reason would be null because it would be the same situation for him and he’d have made it work. Idk, I just felt like we could really see that Mon-El was being hurt by what Kara said, but also that Kara was rambling in a way where she was trying to make excuses why they couldn’t happen when the excuses weren’t really legit. ...and club soda!)

-Eve (carrying on from the Danvers Sister Talk about Mon-El and how even Alex could tell her excuses were flimsy. Kara seeing Mon-El with Eve and her disappointment and sadness told me she really regretted what she said and did. And it also made me feel proud of Mon-El. He was trying to really listen to Kara and what she said and he heard that she felt they would never happen. So he tried to move on and get over her and put himself out there again so that it wouldn’t be awkward between them and he wouldn’t put pressure on her to be with him.)

Luthors - The little fight about Eve (I just think Kara being jealous was adorable and how she denied she was mad when she literally JUST told Mon-El she was mad)

-The almost-kiss (WHY! Why couldn’t they have kissed! What Kara said was so heart warming and then Mxzy showed up. I was rooting for Mon-El to take him out lol.)

Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk - the fight over Mxzy (I feel Mon-El’s opinion and view should have been given more merit by Kara. He had personal experience with Mxzy’s kind, he warned her repeatedly about it, but she ignored him. She wouldn’t listen to him, his plan, or his reasons, despite having told him repeatedly to listen to her and her opinions. She somewhat invalidated his experiences by refusing to consider or talk to him about his plan and why he felt his plan was needed. I feel a lot of Mon-El’s volume has to do with Kara not listening to him or hearing him and his concerns and valuing them. It showed some issues they need to work on in their relationship.)

-Kara rejecting Mon-El (even though it killed me to watch Kara tear his heart out and step on it just for a stupid plan, it showed how much Mon-El deeply cared for her and how scared he was of losing her. I feel like it also revealed some of the flaws Mon-El brought up to Kara before. What she did here was cruel. And even though she likely did it with the intent to apologize as soon as Mxzy was dealt with, the things she said and how she said it, were devastating. She did it without batting an eyelash at Mon-El’s clear heartbreak or without thought on how it would affect him or his self-esteem later. She had a plan, HER plan, and it was going to work and this was just a step towards it. In such a case, she didn’t really worry about if she hurt Mon-El in the process so long as Mxzy was dealt with, and I’d guess she assumed Mon-El would just forgive her for doing it later.)

-The make up/out (I adored this scene and how Kara apologized to Mon-El, how she expressed wanting to be with him and opened herself up. The two of them were beautiful. But on the other hand, I feel like Kara sends a great deal of mixed messages to Mon-El. She puts him down and then takes it back, so how is he supposed to think, the next time they break up, it’s not just some sort of plan of hers too? And if she breaks up with him just so he’ll apologize and change without considering how she’s acting, is it good for Mon-El’s self worth or mental well being in the long run? Watching later episodes and seeing how Rhea treated him, it made me feel sad even during this scene, but in more of a “I understand More” way. Because Rhea likely made Mon-El feel unloved that he’d take any love given to him or take any hurt and come back for more. But it gives me hope because of who Supergirl is that it’ll lead to a healthier understanding of love for both of them.)

Homecoming - pretty much every scene featuring Mon-El here (being cute and wanting to wake up with Kara in the morning, Kara not having to fear breaking him by being herself. Mon-El’s concern about Jeremiah and his confusion why everyone ISN’T concerned about how he was found or considering Stockholm syndrome. Mon-El hearing Jeremiah’s threat to reveal his identity to Kara but deciding Kara’s safety, and that of her family/friend’s was more important and KEEPING up with his investigation despite that. Mon-El going to Winn for help in keeping an eye on Jeremiah. Kara eventually LISTENING to Mon-El’s valid concerns about the situation and being cautious. Mon-El being there for Kara later when ti was revealed he was right, how he doesn’t say he told them so (which, given how they all treated him would be justified), but asks what he can do for her. Just all of it.)

(I also felt like this episode was a step up for Kara too. Because Mon-El was bringing up something concerning to him and KARA was NOT listening to him, like she keeps demanding he do to her. But eventually she opened herself up enough to sit down and actually hear him and consider WHY he was concerned. Sure, she needed Winn’s evidence to push her to do it, but I think it was a step for her towards mutual listening.)

Exodus - Mon-El being supportive of blobbing (When Kara takes LENA’s advice to write a blog about the alien disappearances, Mon-El’s encouragement was adorable. He didn’t push her, he just asked her to trust herself. Telling her she was the most moral person he’d ever known and if she felt something was right, it probably was. It’s a sentiment that could be used more in other places, would Kara think what was happening or being said was right (*firm nudge here*). 

- Kara being fired (the scene at the end, with Kara and Mon-El showed a really healthy relationship, to me. She got fired, even though she did the right thing and spoke up when no one else would, and Mon-El was there to help try and comfort her. In the long run, what she did and what Mon-El encouraged her to do was probably a good thing for her. She can blob on her own and be her own boss, tell the stories SHE wants to tell and be a voice for people that others won’t speak to. She can make her own schedule so she has more time to be supergirl. She doesn’t have to worry about being in two places at once. And I would assume, for her efforts and in needing to fill out paperwork to date Mon-El, that she’s actually an employee of the DEO and paid by them. She HAS a job, she can blob and do journalism for fun and for a reason, and she has a boyfriend ready to support her through all of it. It was lovely.)

Star-Crossed - Being happy on the couch (Funny Face! And caramel ice cream! And Kara being happy and Mon-El being happy she’s happy. I died a little)

-Going to the ship (Mon-El being willing to sacrifice himself to keep the planet safe was a true sign of his being a hero, and Kara not wanting him to go alone was adorable. Even the “shock” of Mon-El’s identity was telling in how he reacted to his parents and their attempts to hug and touch him. it revealed so much in how he just shuts down when they are around him, even his voice gets flat.

-The Dinner with the Fam (I remember Mon-El saying that the highest form of insult was to refuse a toast, which he did when his parents toasted him. And his explaining how he survived the destruction shows how little control he actually had. The GUARD runs in and pulls him away, tells him to leave the woman in his bed. The GUARD shoves him through the debris and pushes him to ignore the dying woman. The GUARD kills a Kryptonian so he can evacuate the Heir of the Royal Family to safety, as is his job, and forces Mon-El off even as the people are in jeopardy. Which is exactly what would happen in any danger to any royal family, get them to safety and THEN worry about the people. But the clear guilt Mon-El felt broke my heart.)

-The break up/talk with parents (Mon-El pouring his heart out and Kara refusing him broke my already shattered heart even more. It was a heart wrenching but amazing scene. And Mon-El continuing it by going to his parents and telling him that even with Kara ending it , he STILL wanted to be a better person even if she wouldn’t care was so telling of his development. He wants to be better not FOR Kara, but because she inspired him.)

Flash Crossover - Tommy talking to his father (I felt like this was a bit Ah-Ha! moment for Kara and the way it was delivered, how she slowly realized that the reason Tommy never told his father about loving Iris was probably the same reason Mon-El never told her about being the prince was amazing. Seeing her coming to the realization that he feared the exact reaction she gave him as the catalyst not to tell her was moving. I think it’s what pushed her to forgive him later. She did NOT make a safe space for him to feel he could tell her. She had done nothing but show disdain and disgust for the prince, talk down and bad about Daxamites, throw his heritage and race in his face repeatedly whenever he disappointed her, so WHY would he ever feel it would be ok to talk to her about being the Prince? She did not create a space where he felt he could trust her to LISTEN to him first and talk to her about it. It was a very powerful moment to me to see her realize that.)

-TLK (true love’s kiss and Kara’s forgiveness goes without saying why it’s a favorite.)

Distant Sun - Breakfast in Bed (SUCH a sweet moment. Mon-El cooking for her, and doing laundry, his yellow apron, wanting to help her take out the bad guys, wanting to fill her life with joy. Adorable!)

-Rhea in the bar/the Fortress/the ship (Seeing her interact with Mon-El says SO MUCH about his childhood and the emotional and psychological abuse he must have gone through. We already know he was terrified of his father, to see how his mother emotionally manipulated him and then physically attacked his girlfriend and himself was telling and explains so much as to why Mon-El is always so accepting when Kara belittles him or breaks his heart and then apologizes. I feel like it shows a lot about karamel as well and how they feel for each other, the lengths they’ll go to protect each other.

-Mind control (the fight was hysterical!)

-Romeo & Juliet (he needs to read that book! But I thought it was also cute to see them react to the situation. He wants to run, she wants to stay, but Mon-El doesn’t fight her on it so I felt like the way he just sort of gave in told that he wasn’t being serious about fleeing, but just trying to make the situation lighter.)

-Mon-El wanting to change things (him on the ship with his father and being so passionate about wanting to be better. He’s doing what Kara does. He’s taking a crap situation and seeing the only good thing in it. It shows how much he’s grown that he WANTS this change. He’ll be torn away from Kara, and if there is no chance at all to be with her, the least he can do is make Daxam a place she’d be proud of...and then his mother smacks him for wanting to make the planet better for the “lower classes.” Which also says a lot about how things were before the destruction. He was just TALKING about rebuilding a new system and his mother beat him for it. On the actual Daxam, with the old system in place, and his parents really in power, I imagine if he spoke up against slavery it would be that much worse a punishment. And he had no power at all, being prince while the king was alive, it just made so much sense why he probably spent so much time being a “frat boy” because he had no power at all and no control over his life and stuck with parents he feared on a planet he couldn’t do anything for.)

-Kara going after Mon-El (just adore how much she cares about him and loves him that she’d go after him to save him.)

-Kara and Mon-El talking at night (I just love how she admits that she should have LISTENED to him about his parents. And how he also admits SHE was right too about how people can change. It was just amazing and lovely.)

#karamel appreciation week #karamel #karamelaw