Supacell Review, Part 2

Let’s get back to our discussion about Supacell, season one. In this portion of our discussion, we get deeper into the different characters’ storylines, and in the end, we give this one a Goodreads rating and talk about if we’re going to stay around for season two. So, stay with us.

Y. M. Nelson: This is the Nerdy Romantics Podcast and I’m your host, YM Nelson.

Marcie: right.

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[00:00:52] Just right viewing

Marcie: But this one made me after, when I got to the end of episode one, I knew that I was going to get to the end of six because I knew at that point that I was gonna, that I wanted to see where he was and I think I can’t, I mean, I can’t, I think we can’t.

Stress to viewers that enough if you haven’t seen it, but you’re looking for a story that’s going to engage you I’m going to be honest. I couldn’t binge it because the intensity level was a lot for me episode to episode But did I look forward to it the next night? Yes, was it, did I, was it part of my schedule this week that I was going to?

That I had penciled it in because I knew for sure I was going to watch. Yes, because I knew Because I was stuck. I was hooked. Yeah, I just

Staci: the fact that it was like six episodes. yeah, The British do it so

Marcie: They do they do

Y. M. Nelson: yeah

Staci: Pack in a

lot in like, hey, not that many episodes. Pack in a lot, but you don’t feel like necessarily it’s rush, rush. So, if it was, I don’t know how they do it. I just

Marcie: Because it happened really fast

Staci: they do it.

Marcie: but also at the pace that I kind of like Like at a pace that kind of made sense for the rest of what was happening Like it wasn’t it didn’t seem rushed but like that when we get to the point where they’re all in the same room together Like that moment that’s another thing he cut at the absolute best moments for for like the cliffhangers like at the absolute best moment he was like And it was black and you were like, oh no not right there but It it did everything was happening fast, but nothing seemed you’re right rushed Everything seemed like it was the perfect time like How things slowed down.

The other thing about Dionne I’m gonna be honest. She was real conscientious And she when she started doing her own leg work and trying and googling and then realizing the connection to the To the to the missing to the her client the missing girl and then going back to see the family I was like, well, she really is committed to this relationship. She’s committed to this man

Y. M. Nelson: Right, but you

Marcie: And she really is trying to understand, she really is trying to understand where, what is happening. I said, I,

Y. M. Nelson: That’s what you do when you want.

Marcie: I’mma work on myself. Cause I’m not sure that, that, that I might have dug that deep. But she kept going. And then she said, I too can be a superhero. I too can save people.

And let me do my due diligence. I am his partner. That is the one thing that annoyed me about Michael. Is his communication skills were a negative one.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah,

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[00:03:29] Michael as a communicator and … a leader?

Marcie: He was the best at an open mouth, but no words for a long period of time, and then be like, I gotta go. So, the two minutes you stood there looking at me, but not speaking, you couldn’t have given me one nugget I could use?

No, you’re just gonna stand there, say nothing, and then be like, I gotta leave right now. I gotta go. I can’t stay here. I can’t tell you. I was like, Oh, for the love of Pete, man, man up here. That was, I think that that was the, of all of them, even with tasers, immature behavior and inability to control himself and his emotions.

It was still not as annoying as Michael and his inability to form full sentences when she asked a question. It really did start to grate on my nerves. It was absolutely he, I feel, could have prevented a few forest fires if he had used more words. He was not the best communicator to be the, to be the ambassador for this whole experience because anybody he needed to talk to, it took him forever to get to the point.

And they were like, no thank you. But that’s because it took him five minutes to be like, look, I need your help. Okay. And look, I know it sounds strange, but, like, he was the Terri he was the worst ambassador, and then the one person who was actually trying to understand him, he would not give more than two words, and most of them were, I can’t tell you, I don’t want to talk about it.

And I get that it was a sensitive subject, but that was far more information that he could have probably provided than he did after that initial conversation. After that, it was just annoying to watch her ask him questions, him standing there with his mouth open and looking at her like Bambi, and then leaving the room.

It was really annoying. I’ll

Y. M. Nelson: I think part of that was because he Well, obviously part of it was because he was like, I don’t want to mess up the future, I’m trying to protect her. You know, that was part of it. But I think the other part of it was, that was kind of, His That was kind of part of his character was, he’s not gonna be the quintessential leader. Even though everything, every frame that we see, it’s like he’s the obvious leader. He’s the first, he’s the first one we see. He’s the one that, you know, is kind of leading the team in the future or looks like he’s leading the team in the future You know, he’s the one with the he’s the one with the foresight, right?

Like that’s part of his superpower, right? So, everything is kind of leading him that way to be the leader but in true fashion to what we’ve seen from all these other characters is they’re not going to be put into a mold. And I think a little bit of that, and maybe me reading too much into it. But a little bit of that, him not being a good communicator is going against his stereotypical role.

Marcie: you that because even when he’s giving himself advice. He wasn’t great So I’ll give you that even even when he was trying to get the four of them together and and and you can, you can save her. I’m, sorry. That’s all I got. That’s all you got. That’s-

Y. M. Nelson: He couldn’t even talk to himself in the past!

Marcie: even in the past, he is the worst ever at pertinent information. Even to

Y. M. Nelson: he’s like

Marcie: but I’ll give you that that does make him the antithetical leader. It makes him, it does put that against type. But it does also create a lot of opportunity for, Unfortunate shenanigans because didn’t nobody know nothing. He wasn’t giving anybody anything. Everybody was like

But I can’t help but you I need you to stay in the car. She doesn’t say it 50 times I’m not Bambi. I’m not your dog and I’m not just gonna sit cuz you say sit So, I don’t know why you think this this method is gonna work this time too in the next it just I I, I’ll give you that it was probably his, his character arc, but if anybody had a flaw that really annoyed me, that was it. That was the one. That

Staci: I just couldn’t understand him. I mean, I, I mean, I understand. And I tell somebody, you know, you will die. I

Marcie: part.

Staci: understand that, but you need to have some other cop. You need to, you are in danger.

Marcie: Right.

Staci: May not have all the things, but I’m trying to do something to give a little bit more. So, I need some

Marcie: Right. He didn’t give her nothing.

Staci: I’m thinking about the other people he was trying to get together. And it’s like, so you want me to do what to save?

Marcie: Right. Right. I don’t even know her, sir.

Staci: I a superhero just to save her?

Marcie: sad for you, but this ain’t got nothing, and they said, all of them said that that’s sad for you, but it ain’t got nothing to do with me. Because he doesn’t, he doesn’t deliver information in a way me feel, why, why do I have to do this besides save? I don’t even know her. What’s her-

Staci: name again? What was

Marcie: Right. It was,

Staci: Sandy? What?

Marcie: terrible. He was bad. And again, no one agreed because of his plight at all. Everybody agreed once one of their people was in danger. But then nobody cared about him at any point because his delivery was trash. And even when people would call him on the phone, he would sit there and look at it. Sir, say something! Like, it, that was the best.

That was the one thing that I was like and I and and you’re probably right Yvonne. It was intentional but it’s the one thing that ticked me off the most across all the things he could have warned her differently. And he could have listened when she was trying to give him information because that’s another thing he didn’t do well Okay, he didn’t listen well either.

And I think that was as much as again, I think Taser, a lot of his was situational and maturity, right? He didn’t have a lot of it and his friends didn’t either. They raised themselves and clearly not well, but I think, so I was able to try to be more empathetic with him, recognizing wolves, raising wolves is just going to be what it is.

But I just at one point I just couldn’t empathize with him. I mean even at the end I was like; this is unfortunate but it’s also your fault and it explains why you let yourself go in the future. I get it now That’s why you you look like you live in the woods. I understand now because You probably do but it just, I couldn’t get there with him.

I felt I could feel for André I could feel for Sabrina. I really felt for Rodney I felt for Rodney when spud was injured, but I felt even more for him when I saw his interaction with his dad Mother right that he could even have any light at all considering his circumstances I think was you know commendable, but you know, but Michael at the end.

I was like, well, you know, this is your fault, sir This this is your fault because if she had been more informed she may not be laying on his ass fault, sir Every time your fault every version your fault every redo your fault Communication is important Thank you for listening to my TED

Y. M. Nelson: And for those who are just listening, Marcie is pointing to indicating a fallen Dionne.

Marcie: Yes, because, it was his fault. His lack of informing her of the true nature of the situation and his refusal to allow her to be part of that process when they had been partners clearly up to this point was-

Y. M. Nelson: And obviously, she thought she was an

Marcie: Right. She thought she was. So, I, I,

Y. M. Nelson: that’s why she was so-

Marcie: exactly. And so, for all of a sudden to be, to turn into what he became and his inability to, to share things with her.

And he kept saying the next time now we all know, we all know the next time ain’t going to be the next time. I’m sorry. When I get back. I’m going to tell you, sir, you ain’t coming back. I heard that and knew better than that, sir. And I think that’s the thing. And I, so I do, I do put a little bit of onus on him.

And I think also sort of rap man, because I think it explains his wilderness experience. But I think that’s it. He, he in a way that the others did not everybody else fully disclosed to someone, to someone, everyone else fully disclosed where they were. Right. He did not,

but everybody else did. Right.

Even if they didn’t like it, even if they were scared themselves, every one of them fully disclosed to their other important person, to their person. Whoever that was, good, bad, and ugly, here’s where we at. But he, in trying to shield, made her vulnerable. And that, I think, is, was his fatal flaw.

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[00:12:07] Sickle Cell, X-Men, and the “otherness” of mutation

Y. M. Nelson: So, Marcie, you said you, you’ve hit on two things, which I do want to talk about first and then and then two, they’re also kind of connected in a way to me. So first, the, the, I kind of want to go back to what you were saying about Sickle Cell. And how he does that. You, you how he manipulates that and how he uses that. As far as part of the sci-fi thing. You know, the first thing after coming out of this that I thought about. was X Men, because X Men is, you know, the reason why we have mutants is because of a genetic mutation, and the genetic mutation gives them superpowers. And I was thinking, and too with X Men, also there is that there inherent other, right?

The X-Men are other, or the X-Men are a different race or the X-Men, you know. And so, there’s always this struggle between humans and X-Men and do we like them? And, and then do we co-exist and live together or do we not, kind of thing. And I’m wondering if, you know, if he gets future. you know, seasons of this, will that be explored?

Because, you know, our slice of South London that we’ve gotten so far has been one of you know, people coexisting, people living together, people whatever, you know, but we haven’t necessarily seen, and people, Saying, Oh, well, something’s different about this person, but we’ve only seen little glimpses and not even

that of the, and not even really that of that, of what people are thinking on the outside. And that’s only from like a news thing here.

Marcie: I don’t know, because when the hood people see you go to Yellow Eyes and disappear, and they still down, I feel like that’s a level of acceptance you don’t often see of mutants. I don’t, and they, and they

Staci: Yeah, but I think it’s,

Marcie: held it down after, after he disappeared. They all kept showing up at the meeting, and I was like, I, I thought they were gonna-

Y. M. Nelson: saying. I’m saying there’s agreement. Yeah. Yeah, I’m saying there’s agreement and in the slice of life that-

we’re seeing now because we’re seeing the South London We’re seeing their neighborhood, but we’re not necessarily seeing You know, Scotland, unless Rodney runs there,

Marcie: and I wonder,

Y. M. Nelson: what, what happens when this becomes global. Like when X Men

Marcie: hang on, right, and I, and I still can’t,

Staci: I kind of want to see,

Marcie: ahead.

Y. M. Nelson: go ahead, Staci.

Staci: of see like when we see like in in Black Lightning, when we see that and how, if it was just Black people that aren’t, because we have, right now we’ve always seen as Black people who’ve had, who have these gifts. How that’s going to be if it becomes worldwide or beyond South London and how that will affect it.

Cause that’s kind of like did y’all the woman there’s a problem. Women were getting these powers.

Marcie: Oh yeah, the Whitman.

Staci: Yeah, that, that, that, and it’s kind of like how once women started getting powers, it’s like, oh, you can’t ride with us. We can’t do this. I mean, black, we’re already a marginalized group, you know, you know where we are and these, you know, we’re already that. How’s it gonna affect even further, it’s like, oh, it’s not just black people. That black person might have superpowers. Which one are, what kind are they? Hey, are they? gonna go into that?

Marcie: do you think that’s why, because I, I don’t, because at the end when you see who’s running the program and staffing the program, versus the people they had out there in the streets, there is a definite, difference in crazy and the people that were on his team and the people pushing the buttons in the background looking at the Looking at it and making a decision.

So, I think you’re right Yvonne that there is probably going to be some Tension between those two. I’m still trying to figure out but I, but it does appear that it’s very x men like in that except I think it looks like Where in X Men

Y. M. Nelson: Men in that way too, Marcie, because Wolverine does not have his powers because of a genetic mutation. He has it because he is being, you know, because

Staci: He did it because of genetic. No, he had his powers before Striker, he just didn’t have the,

Marcie: The, yeah,

Y. M. Nelson: he had his, he didn’t have the adamantium. That’s right. He didn’t have the adamantium.

Staci: Even though, like you said, it could be a still, like, racial kind of thing too, connotation, because again, Stryker didn’t like X Men. He didn’t like mutants. He was using them to

Y. M. Nelson: he was experimenting with-

Marcie: and that part, that’s what I was just getting ready to say, it does appear that I think where in X Men there was less of this, it does appear that there’s far more exploitation of, of the gifts that these people seem to have. In a different way than x men because in x men a lot of times they were only trying to use it as weaponry But in this case, I don’t think that that’s the ultimate goal in the same way But I think we got to see where that goes but I do think that there is a thread of that in this as well because you can see it in what’s happening in the facility in the in the A state wherever they are wherever the people are so I do think that there’s a thread of something and it does appear that they are trying to to and we now know they’re gathering and and deploying those powers because that’s how he got his It’s because he doesn’t remember he said remember he said I’d like to try that one and that’s when I was like so you, I mean, so that’s when you knew that he was, he was engineered because he said I’d like to try that one like it’s a buffet and he could pick the next set of, you know, once they, once they pick the people up.

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[00:18:28] Surveillance and CCTV as a character

Marcie: The other thing and it goes back to being British that I thought about was how prevalent a character CCTV is in this show as opposed to American TV, right? Because CCTV is so prevalent in, in, in Britain, especially when we see London programming, it’s almost another character. We see that, we see the eye moving all the time and it becomes its own thing in a way that we, in America, even if they exist, we don’t have the same understanding that we’re being.

That they’re so prevalent, and so I think, to me, that’s one of the things that struck out as different. But also, that it’s almost like another character, because you see it, and then you’re like, you get this glimpse, and then you’re back in it. But you, that moment where you realize, okay, they are, they are watching everybody. And I don’t-

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah, I

Staci: That’s a project.

Y. M. Nelson: so, I think more so here, like, as far as it being with America, we’re just like, it’s Big Brother, and it’s conspiracy and you know, we have all this mystery whatever behind it. It’s not like, you know. Like, there, it’s on every corner, and if you don’t know, you are living in a hole somewhere that, you know, because it’s obvious it’s on every corner, it’s obvious that they are being watched. And I kinda think that’s part of the reason why Andre is, A, as under the radar as he

Marcie: Yep. Mm-Hmm.

Y. M. Nelson: And B, why he wasn’t necessarily shocked when these people come in. You know, and are like, you know, we’re coming in and we’re doing whatever. But you know there, there’s not as much shock around it. It, it is there. It is on every corner. Whereas like with Americans, we’re just like, we know it’s there. But we’re, you-

Marcie: We, I think for us,

Y. M. Nelson: mystery around it. And

Marcie: think it’s there, but we don’t know for sure where they

Y. M. Nelson: of, right,

Marcie: And,

Y. M. Nelson: we kind of have, yeah, and they’re in some kind of, right, and a lot of shows are kind of created around what we think might be happening somewhere, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then, two as far as prevalent thing with us, I think what’s more prevalent with us is other people watching us. Yeah. Mm-Hmm.

like, you know, a private eye watching, or Somebody whippin out their cell phones, recording somethin or

Staci: Caught on somebody’s ring camera.

Y. M. Nelson: Right,

Exactly! Lookin at somethin from somebody’s ring camera, people watchin each other, versus the government watchin us. You know, But but but yeah, so so that that first thing got to me and that kind of connected You know the superhero element the sickle cell element was kind of connecting with the superhero element

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[00:21:34] People are disappearing, especially people of color

Y. M. Nelson: And now Staci that you kind of Corrected me on the wolverine thing, it was also a connection kind of from these people disappearing.

Marcie: yeah.

Staci: I was about to say about when, especially the women were disappearing.

I mean, everybody was disappearing, but I mean, it really related to me about how when women of color disappear, there is not as big of a to do about it. It is like until recently when we can do hashtag this and whatever, you know, it was like, if you, you are, if you were a black woman who disappeared, you know, The only options for anybody who disappeared was like TV, newspaper, which back in the day, newspaper and meal cards.

And that’s it.

And a meal card. And you saw, you know, if, if someone’s missing you to have a big thing about it, number one, they have to be a woman, but also need to be white, a white woman. And a young white

Y. M. Nelson: and, young.

Staci: and no white women who’s also traditionally pretty. And as it also is close to what we consider virginal, she be a virgin, but she can’t be the town pump.

She gotta be somebody, you know, who we can say is, you know, somewhat virgin. She might, you know, she has that one boyfriend or she’s, you know, she’s about to be married. I mean, like with that, what’s, you know, a couple of years ago that who was it? Gabby or that girl who was on, she had a YouTube video, she had an Instagram, whatever. And she was killed by her

Marcie: Yep. And then he I forgot her name. I can’t remember her name now, but Google how many people they found searching for her body.

Right. And, and, and that was the first time we saw like like the sleuths on and every social media was like zooming in on photos and looking at videos. Gabby

Staci: like nine,

Marcie: Patillo

Y. M. Nelson: Petrillo. Yeah.

Staci: they found like nine people searching for her body, nine dead bodies. They found that over the

Marcie: Gabby Petito. Mm-Hmm.

Staci: And when you look at and when you see the people that they found, they were men, they were, there were different races, there were men, there were some women, white women too, but they were also older,

you know, they were not the same. That little niche that she was, that she’s in. And I mean, I just remember over the years, just like, you know, cause I used to travel and stuff like that. It’s like the stuff I do is because I don’t know what’s going to be looking for me. So let me put stuff in place. So y’all know where to start searching if something

Y. M. Nelson: right. Exactly that.

Staci: And I mean, when we are missing, we rarely see something being done. It’s like the, you know, the daughter who was missing, you know, when she’s, she, you know, you know, what did they say? Was she kidnapped? Was she, oh, she just, she just didn’t show up. I mean, it was just,

Y. M. Nelson: right.

Staci: you know, and I’m with Marcia and I, we’ve talked, it’s like, if my bills are paid, I did not leave home. Cause if I was going to make a decision not to come or disappear, stuff would not be paid. I wouldn’t be keeping up with all my stuff and then I’m going to

Marcie: Yep.

Staci: So, I mean, it was stuff like that. It’s like that or his what was his name? What was the thug’s name? The we,

Marcie: Oh mom,

Staci: what was his name?

Marcie: Tabor. Taser.

Staci: Who Tate Hazel’s

Y. M. Nelson: Taser’s. Mom.

Staci: we see, you

Y. M. Nelson: Yes, and that’s the first one we see. That’s exactly what I was

Marcie: Oh, God.

Staci: It was like, your mom left you. your mom didn’t

Marcie: mom didn’t leave

Staci: never left, she didn’t have a choice on that. And it was just, you know, just the fact that, again, missing, but right there. And it’s like, and no one really did a deep dive. With all those CCTVs, and no one saw nothing? You know, Mm hmm. I think that’s come on now.

Marcie: think you’re and that’s the thing, you’re right. They don’t And, and when you When you look at the difference between the mother and the father and how the mother was like I had to do something So I called the police, but nothing ever happened from that. I think you see that that dynamic where You know, it’s easy to assume that somehow Children of color want to run away more than the average person.

No, she’s not a runner I’m coming. I’m coming to find her. She didn’t just run away. Runaways don’t nobody look for. I came to look for mine. She didn’t just choose to, to not come home. And I think that you’re right, that that’s one of the things you see is that largely, It’s a lot of women in those rooms.

And also, young people, you know, I think, I think a lot of times when young people go missing, people say, Oh, they just trying to find themselves. Oh, they just didn’t want to live under your rules, all this. And so, you’re right. There are a population that’s really easy to be missing. Add to that, that, that, especially for Taser’s that she had mental health problems beforehand.

And you’re right. She had, she had of the people we ain’t looking for. I mean, she was not on anybody’s list of people to be like, let’s, let’s put out an all-out effort for the older, crazy black lady from the, the projects. Like, if she wasn’t, she wasn’t going to make the cut. Anywhere, no newscast was gonna be like this the one, so I think you’re right in that regard that it was it’s interesting to to see that and to to recognize that and again, I I applaud Dionne because she said this little girl is important.

I’m gonna I’m gonna do my job I’m gonna Find I’ma I’ma keep I’ma keep on keeping on she is on my list and I’m gonna Keep after her but she’s black and she’s a black woman You Looking out for the welfare of a Black girl. And I think that’s the difference in the dynamic. That she was, she was looking because she’s part of our community, right?

But had she been her supervisor, he clearly would have given up. He clearly would have been like, run away.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah, and, and actually, and like her co worker was like, Yeah, but then he was like, No.

Marcie: would have been like, run away.

Y. M. Nelson: He was trying, he was trying, he was trying there for a second, then he was like,

Marcie: was like, run away. I ain’t got nothing on it.

Y. M. Nelson: yeah.

Staci: To like when, a few years ago when I was traveling remember there was a big to-do in Tennessee, a girl, she they kidnapped by her teacher. She’s a high school, and they said she’s kidnapped and. And yes, it was a, it was, it was illegal in all sense of the word because she’s underage and he’s a teacher, but there’s all this thing about we got to find her.

She’s in danger. And when they show pictures, like they walked into Walmart, this stuff together, but she was kidnapped, considered kidnapped. But during the same time in DC, they had like a list of black girls who were, who were gone, missing considered runaways. And the thing that really caught me was that this high schooler has gone with a teacher.

So, she was in her teens, and he was in his like late twenties or early thirties, Washington dc Same thing in the DMV area. She was considered, she ran away her boyfriend and she’s like 15. How’s boyfriend? 27. So why is that? And how is that They consider that a runaway. She’s 15, he’s 27, but they’re both black.

But this one is a tick, you know, 15 and a, with a teacher who’s same age bracket, but she, we need to find her,

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah. know, it’s that kind of thing that, you know, it’s like they were, they’re both in danger. is it we not getting, you know, airtime for both of them trying to find both of them?

Exactly, exactly. And, and, and, you know, bringing that, back to here, that’s kind of why, you know, some of the things can go on that can go on because there is that whole misconception about people being missing, you know, it, it, That’s, that’s why they can do the experiments that they can do. And that’s kinda too, why, you know, kinda also, now that you, now that, you know, we’re saying this is also making me think a little bit about, you know, about X Men and about the experiments that they did on, on mutants and stuff and, and the different, cause they’ve done that in a few of the movies.

You know, it wasn’t just Wolverine, but they did, they did that in a few of the movies. They had some issues there. And then there was actually one of the movies was, there was a mutant that could take or dampen. The powers of others, and I think there’s one person in here that that’s their, their Supacell power. Is that they can either mimic somebody’s power, take somebody’s power, something.

Marcie: Is it Michael because isn’t wasn’t there a part where he said man how many powers you got.

Staci: Yeah, I think that was him. every time he touched somebody was that every time, he touched somebody, their powers-

Marcie: I think it’s Michael.

Y. M. Nelson: yeah. So, so I noticed that connection.

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[00:30:58] The quintessential making of a superhero: Loss.

Y. M. Nelson: And then also, Marcie, when you were talking about Michael, and you were talking about, you know, him not being a communicator, and about how Dion was Every bit the equal partner that she thought she was, but Michael was thinking I’m protecting her by not saying stuff. You know, his character immediately made me think of of kind of like a Batman character, or

a character where Yes,

Marcie: He was always trying to coddle her.

Y. M. Nelson: And, and he, and they have to lose this person. Right? Like, Batman had to lose his parents to really become Batman. Right? And go.

Staci: and everyone that he meets just about.

Y. M. Nelson: Right, exactly. Yeah, exactly. But, there’s that thread, you know, you know, these are not the only ones, and there’s that thread in a lot of superhero of stories where what makes the superhero a superhero is that they have to go through a loss. And I think that’s what inevitably will or inevitably makes him the leader, right?

Because he’s doing everything possible not to be the leader with his miscommunication stuff. But because that happens and because that loss happens It, it, it fulfills his

Marcie: that entire wilderness

Y. M. Nelson: It fulfills his,

Marcie: The reason that he looks the way he does in that first scene where he sees

Y. M. Nelson: because

Marcie: looked like he had been through a whole lot. And it explains it. And it explains that one lock in the front. It explains a whole lot of things about his experience.

Yes, a lot of it is explained in that moment.

Y. M. Nelson: he’s the Dark Knight version of, of, of Michael at that point.

Marcie: you can tell that, that, that moment changes him in a lot of ways fundamentally. And you can see them because his, cause it’s crazy. But now I understand why he sent his other self on this mission. Cause he already knew it was a fool’s errand.

Like he already, you see what I’m saying? Like, he already knew, because that’s the one after. That’s the after Michael that we meet. And so, he already knows. See, he did good work there. But yes, it explains his wilderness behavior. Because it does look like he has been through something when you meet, when he meets.

And you’re like, boy, it must have been rough. Because, I mean, present day Michael was really groomed. And wilderness Michael was like, Walking dead, almost. Like, they clearly live in an outpost with, running

Y. M. Nelson: and two, you know, right, and two, you know that when we go forward into that world, that world, now granted, they are, you know, fighting and throwing stuff around and stuff like that, but that world looks like it’s in a little bit of disarray

Marcie: And so that’s the

Y. M. Nelson: So, I’m wondering what else is gonna

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[00:34:16] The Portal: what was with that?

Marcie: Because I thought the people coming, because the portal, why are they both coming

Y. M. Nelson: portal!

Marcie: portal? Because, at first, is it the same portal? Because the one that Michael jumped

Y. M. Nelson: I’m not kidding.

Marcie: Is that the same one that craze and them came out of is that the same portal and it’s so

Y. M. Nelson: Or is he, or, or does he have the ability to make that?

Marcie: because it’s it’s at first, I thought Until I until I started throwing lightning. I really thought the people coming out of the portal were other versions of of the superheroes It wasn’t until they started being and then I was like Now I’m confused because is everybody in the portal?

Is that the, is in the after? Is everybody fighting over there? Or, but then when I realized where, where those people were being deployed from, now I’m confused. Which port, is it the same portal or it, are there two different? Ways to

Y. M. Nelson: Or yeah. Can they make, can they make portals and is it different time?

Marcie: ride. And is that a superpower? Is that part, is that a superpower of the people that are is it? Or is that, is that something that the, that the organization is doing? Like I couldn’t, it got a little,

Y. M. Nelson: Right. Because in the end it does seem like that’s something that the organization is doing because the organization is the one that’s sending them to get That

Marcie: that’s why there’s

Y. M. Nelson: I totally understand everything that you are

Marcie: Yeah, there’s always that moment when somebody comes out of the portal where nobody knows if we’re fighting or not. And it’s because everybody seemed to not be sure of which portal and was this my help or not. Because I think it was confusing for a minute because everybody stops to see who’s coming.

Nobody is like danger immediately because because they don’t know. You don’t know who’s stepping out because a couple of times it’s been Michael and then a couple of times it’s been I don’t know. I think one of the other ones, didn’t Sabrina come out of the portal one time and go back? So, I think, yeah, that portal thing is interesting.

That’s going to be interesting to see how he fleshes that out in season two.

Y. M. Nelson: Yeah, exactly. I want to, I want to see that. I want to see kind of how he builds or gives us more information for the sickle cell mutation. Because my feeling is, my feeling is that it, it is behaving a lot like the X Men mutation kind of thing. Like, the second generation is getting the powers. Where the first generation, you know how they were talking about their parents did this? And like, Michael’s mom is very ill, but then he has powers.

Marcie: he doesn’t have the trait, and that’s what I think I was.

Y. M. Nelson: but he doesn’t have the trait Exactly! So is it like, what is going on?

Staci: So, is it possibly could be something that the government’s putting in into the food or water or something for that area? Specialists that they are in that South London

Marcie: I don’t know, that’s what I’m

Y. M. Nelson: that’s something that we don’t, we don’t, we don’t know this.

Marcie: as simple as what Yvonne

Y. M. Nelson: I want to know.

Marcie: the next generation doesn’t get the disease; they get a superpower? But I think the interesting part was, But not the trait. They literally get a superpower but not the sickle cell trait. And, oh, maybe

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[00:37:46] Supacell’s Statement about Black people in the healthcare system

Y. M. Nelson: And so, I’m thinking that instead of the trait.

Yeah, I’m thinking that instead of the trait, they got a mutation like the

X Men gene, but they can’t look, but they, but conventional medicine, the medicine on the outside is not looking for that. Just like how we were saying the people were not being looked after with sickle cell because it was, it was given this immunity.

So, people are not looking at this. And plus. You know, I always have this feeling like things that are happening more so to health things that are happening more so to the black community are not getting the due medical research that they should.

Marcie: But, but this story, but this story is using that to an advantage though, because that’s Yes! that’s why

Y. M. Nelson: That’s exactly what I was gonna say.

Marcie: that’s why this clinic, that’s why they’re getting all this access to people is because they’re saying that they’re the ones doing this research. But yeah, but I think, but yeah, that

Y. M. Nelson: doing some hidden stuff on the ends, and they’re like, yes. Yes! Yes, like all of this Like, and see, this is why I’m like, yeah, all of this is just, it’s like, all together, it’s just a wonderfully

Marcie: Yeah, he rich story that you just want to come

Y. M. Nelson: back to. I mean, it’s not just one thing that we like, you know, although having, you know, a 99 percent cast of black people, that could be the one thing, but it’s not just that it’s, it’s so much other stuff in here.

And the reason why we’re talking about this on Nerdy Romantics Podcast is because of the nerdy aspect of it.

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[00:39:43] The Love Stories of Supacell

Marcie: But there’s true romance there’s true love.

Y. M. Nelson: romantic

Marcie: Like it’s grounded in, it’s grounded in the love story between Michael and Dionne and what? What he’s willing to do for love like I think that that is an

Y. M. Nelson: it’s, and it’s actually. Yeah, it’s that, yes, that starts it off, but again, as we talked about, everybody has somebody they want to save. So, it’s not just about their love. It’s about everybody has somebody. Somebody they love and they love so much that they are willing to deal with this whole superpower thing so they can save them. And so that’s the romantic aspect of it, that it’s just so much in here that I really, that just speaks to so many parts of me, of, of, all.

of us. Because we all come in and, you know, we’re saying that we love it and, you know, we’re talking a lot about, you know, we’re talking a lot about this, a lot about, you know, what’s going on here.

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[00:40:55] Other superhero shows and movies not from a Comic Book

Y. M. Nelson: But I did want to kind of just give a little bit of perspective for anybody that’s watching any of these because this is not the only, you know, Superhero, but not really from a comic book kind of thing that’s out there. And, if you’re watching any of those kinds of things, what do you like? Or, or, or how does this compare? You know, in my opinion, for me, I’m hooked. Now granted, I don’t really have access to the boys. And I have not good things about the last couple of seasons of Umbrella Academy. The final season is coming out as we’re recording.

Staci: it’s already out.

Y. M. Nelson: Or it’s out as we’re recording. But there are a few other things out there.

Staci mentioned Misfits. Fallout don’t think has started yet. So, I kind of want to see what that’s about. But

if you’re watching any of those other things, Fallout is on, I think, Peacock. I’m not sure. I’m not sure where Fallout is. But

Staci: okay. Okay. I mean, but the others you said, I’ve seen the misfits. The Umbrella Academy, the boys, you know, I’m in for it for something that’s like a superhero, but not the regular superhero kind of a thing. I mean, I liked the movie Brightburn. I wish they did more of those. I mean I like it has a superhero, that’s not as atypical than a, than a superhero.

But compare of all of the ones you mentioned, like the boys, Umbrella Academy and the Misfits. To me, this is the closest to the Misfits, but I, and part of it may be because Misfits is the English version too. And the fact that these, the Misfits is a bunch of basically juvenile delinquents though who get powers through a meteor shower or something like that, but it’s not just them, it’s other people. And it’s a good cast. And Game of Thrones, you know, Theon, not Theon Bolton, Ramsey,

Marcie: Uhhuh. Yep.

Staci: That evil, evil ass Bolton. He’s in the misfits and he’s not evil. And it’s like, oh my gosh, he was.

Marcie: he acted really well.

Staci: went from that to like, Oh my God,

Marcie: probably trying not to be typecast People.

Staci: I didn’t really see that.

Marcie: You seen extraordinary?

Staci: Academy,

Marcie: Have you seen extraordinary on Hulu?

Staci: Those are the people, the woman, they, everybody gets a superpower. I’ve seen that. That everybody gets a superpower, but this girl who didn’t get a superpower is trying to get it. Like I’ve seen that too. All those, I mean, I like shows like that, but this is the out of all of them. He’s not, this is the only one that has a predominantly. Cast of black people, just people in color in general, because everything else has not been, you know, you’ll have one or two people in there. And so, the perspective is different. I mean, I know.

you don’t have to be, you know, you don’t have to be black to enjoy this, but if you’re black, you kind of get it, get certain things a little bit, a different aspect of, you see it a different way.

I mean, it’s like when you see Get Out and you see that white people watch, it’s like, how did that scare you? And they say, oh, it’s scary. It’s like, how? But to you but they, but people get it, you know, so. You don’t have to be black to, to understand or like Supacell. You just have to like to be superheroes.

And like a superhero, that’s not, you know, just

Y. M. Nelson: average.

Staci: average or goody, goody, you know, whatever that actually has to struggle with some, some real issues. And I think misfits and the boys, they all kind of do that. They all struggle with that. But the, The boys.

Marcie: Oh Lord.

Staci: a,

Marcie: They, really

Staci: Jesus, they see that from a consumer, you know, a consumer kind of society and commercialization of hero hood and assholes and just horrible people.

Marcie: that, that bad people can be, can be, can be quote unquote

Staci: and how you can market that and how it can change it and say like, he’s a hero. And I’m not going to talk about the boys right now, but

Y. M. Nelson: Ha ha

Marcie: think the redeeming,

Y. M. Nelson: another show!

Marcie: in these characters is that they actually at the core do have some good. And I don’t know that I feel like in the boys that there’s a couple that don’t seem to have any redeeming value. But at least in these, when you see them go hard for the people.

person that they’re trying to save. And when you see them realize that it’s bigger than just them, you see them evolve and I never saw much evolution in the boys, but so I think you’re, I think you’re right about that, but I do think that you’re right. They all play against the, the straight type of superhero.

And and think even if you don’t like superhero type things, I think that there’s, that I can almost separate their superheroes from them having special powers. Like, I think the special powers themselves can almost just run the sci fi gamut without even calling it superhero. In some ways so I think even if you just like sci fi you’ll still like Supacell in a way that maybe you won’t understand the boys or something where Because I think there’s enough of both that the balance is a little different than where That heroism is the core of it, right?

But yeah, because I’m again, I’m not

Y. M. Nelson: I think, I think even if you, yeah, I think even if you like something like The Witches or, you know, something like that, you would, you would still get it here. You still get that, that nugget of whatever you went into

Marcie: if you like drama if you like like you if you like action if you like character arcs if you’re somebody who likes to see that progression of one character this episode another character another But where they cross over if you like that kind of presentation of a story I think you’ll you’ll like Supacell because of the way that it’s done You and I think that part can almost transcend the genre almost in how well it’s done. That if you, that if you just, I mean, I saw 100 percent Rotten Tomatoes and thought, oh, oh, they just hyping it up. But then I was like, oh, this is 100 percent Rotten Tomatoes for a reason. Like, this is, this is what you give that to, like the level, the caliber of, all of the parts is what you give that to.

The production quality, the acting, the, the storyline itself, the writing, the soundtrack, everything. It is, it’s phenomenal. I, my only complaint is that I’m old and sometimes it’s hard to see people in the dark in the alleys, but otherwise it’s great. That fight scene I had to get real close because I had to try to find everybody in the dark I just wanted one more street light anywhere one more street light anywhere in the alley Just would have helped me out as a person with suspect eyesight, but beyond that fantastic I see the hundred percent rotten tomatoes I watched that scene anyway, and I just paused it a couple times to be like who was that laying down?

Because it got a little everybody was flying people were landing. I was trying to figure out who was where and so

Y. M. Nelson: that scene and that thing was fast, but I see the 100 percent Rotten Tomatoes and it’s well earned. I think that’s fair. And I think that to be able to do that and have the cast be predominantly black and have the viewership be as broad as it seems to be when you look at the reviews.

Marcie: Kudos. Yeah

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[00:48:33] We rate Supacell the Goodreads way

Y. M. Nelson: And in that vein, of course, as you know, we do a Goodreads rating here. And since, we’re not giving, you know, tomatoes, we’re giving stars. Let’s, let’s talk about star ratings here. So, one star didn’t like it. Two stars, it was okay. Three stars, we liked it. Four stars, we really liked it. And five stars, it was amazing. So, Staci, tell us what your star rating was, and also, did you have anything else maybe that we didn’t go over that you kind of wanted to bring out?

Staci: No, because I’m starting to wind down. It’s been a month. But this? Because this is between a four and a five. I’m not sure. I

Y. M. Nelson: And you can give half stars, or a quarter, or

Staci: guess it’d be a four, four and a half. I mean, I really enjoyed this. I want to see what’s coming on for the next one. And it did, you know, as Marcie knows, I did sit down to watch a lot of it. versus me walking around when I’m doing it. So, if it, if it gives me like, I want to sit down and watch it, then it’s like, oh, this is pretty good. So, you know, I am a sucker for British TV shows, and you got Black people in it and. And the writing is always so, I mean, so good and everything like that.

It’s just, I mean, I can’t, I don’t, I might say a five if it was, I guess I want the second season, but I’m not like, I hadn’t looked into what, when, when is it, when, you know, I haven’t put it, I haven’t researched like, okay, when they say it is, that’s when I really know it’s like, okay, they started, they released it when, 2025, when it, you know, have they, but we have the plot lines, when I do research like that, that’s how I know I really, really like it.

Like when Bridget and Firth came out, I was doing that for the second one, but not so much on the third one. But but you know, it’s one of those things. So, I would say I’m not to that point that I enjoyed it, but maybe it’s because also the writing, how to end it. They end it on the fact that you you would want a second season, but they didn’t necessarily have cliff cliff hangers so that you had to clamber for it. They left the door wide open for more. So, to me that they kind of left it so that we aren’t sure if people liked it or not, but we liked it. And so, I am going to say four and a half stars.

Y. M. Nelson: Okay. Alright. Marcie, what did you think about it as far as star rating goes and why?

Marcie: Generally speaking. I’m usually the the overly positive one and I’m gonna keep my streak with this one because I’m gonna give it the whole five I think for not being a sci-fi person and not Not necessarily always gravitating towards the superhero genre in general to To be so hooked on it.

And to have enjoyed it as much as I did, I think it deserves all five of the stars. I think I mean you heard me talk about everything from the quality of the the material to the actors to the to the storyline to to the cliffhangers to what I’m looking forward to in the next season. And I think of that combined to me is, is that five stars?

Like that’s, that’s what I’m looking for. And something that’s going to make me want to come back and something that I say is supremely well done, I think I think they deserve every kudo that they’re getting and I, and I’m, I’m glad to be able to give my five stars cause again, I, I started off not being sure and not being sure that it was going to live up to the hype and to get to the end and be like, Oh, it definitely did five stars.

Y. M. Nelson: Alright, and so, for me, I’m going to give this one I’m gonna this one four- and three-quarter stars. And the reason why I say four and three quarter and not the whole five is part of what you said, Marcie, in the beginning is that it was intense. And I think a couple of moments for me was a little bit too intense. And You know, I was like, in the very beginning, I was like, you know, especially looking at some of the taser scenes, I was thinking, Oh, too much for the culture. You know, I was, I was, I was like, come on, we, we gotta, we gotta show the whole gamut. But then, they showed the whole gamut, so that’s why I’m back in it, you know. But, again, that reason, some of it was a little bit too intense, is why four and three quarter. But also, for what said which is, I’m, I’m liking this season. I I’m ready for the next season. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m not at that clamor point like I am with some of my other Nerdy sci fi things.

Sometimes I get to that clamor point, like Staci’s saying, you know, she’s, you know, looking for like, you know, when is it coming out next? When is it blah, blah, blah. And I think, too, partly is because of the way he did set up that last episode, cause he was like, I’m gonna set this up so we can be cautiously optimistic. Right? We gonna wrap this up. But we’re gonna leave a little bit hanging in case we get that season two, but we know what we’re working with We know what kind of industry this is and we’re not sure if we’re gonna get a season two on this, right? But and so I guess it felt a little wrapped up to me like I’m good for now you know kind of thing but Even when you have those kinds of things happen in some series, sometimes when I, if I’ve given it a 5 star, it means I still want more.

I still want more. Even if, even if I get the happily ever after in a romance novel, if I know that there’s another one coming, sometimes I clamor for more. That’s when it, that’s when it becomes that 5 star. So, I’m like that I’m like as well, Staci. That’s why it’s not necessarily that 5 star.

Five star. Yeah, but it’s so close to me because everything that’s happening in this season is, is everything that I’m looking for in a show. It’s, you know, as we’ve said, it’s got the romance. It’s got the whole nerdy thing for me. It’s got the representation for me. It’s got the diversity of representation for me. It even has some of the, as far as superheroes goes, it has some of those hallmarks, you know, some of those Things that we look for with the superheroes like the loss and then spud we didn’t necessarily talk about this but Spud being Not just you know, the guy that you know It’s reasoning with Rodney, but he’s also the one that’s bringing the nerdy in

Marcie: Hey, when you, when you go invisible, what does that feel like? That was a, yeah.

Y. M. Nelson: Right. And, you know, he tells them, Hey, what about the butterfly effect?

Marcie: Yeah. And he was like, what?

Y. M. Nelson: Start talking about that. And, you know, and it’s always one of those. It’s always one of those in a, in a superhero thing where, you know, they’re like, yeah, let me explain some of the, some of the science to you about this world or some of the, some of the rules about this superhero thing to you. So, you know, and it had, it had a lot of those little, little moments that clued me in that this was superhero, but also gave me so much more than I liked in TV in general. Like, you know, I could, we could have been watching a Shondaland drama, but we didn’t. For some, some of these scenes, you know, it, it was just so gripping sometimes.

And, you know, we could have been watching, you know, a, a crime show in some of them. We could have been watching a superhero show, you know, it’s just so much in this. And so that’s why I gave it four and three quarters stars. So, ladies, oh my gosh, I was so giddy to talk with you guys about this. And I’m so happy that you, that you watched and that you loved it as much as I did.

And I just want to say thank you for coming on and talking with me about this.

Marcie: Thank you very much for having us.

Staci: You’re welcome.

Marcie: was glad that I liked it as much as you did too. I wasn’t sure at the beginning, so I’m glad it turned out to be a win.

Y. M. Nelson: Awesome.

Staci: Yeah, I’m glad. I was glad to come on the, on these podcasts and I’m glad this is ending because my battery on this computer is about to give out in about 10 more minutes, so I’m glad we’re here.

Y. M. Nelson: Alrighty then! Hi, want to get show notes from this and future episodes in your inbox? Then subscribe to Nerdy Romantics newsletter. At Nerdy Romantics Podcast.com/subscribe, Nerdy Romantics Newsletter not only has show notes, but nerdy and romantic recs and sneak peeks and exclusives of my spicy, nerdy romances and love, love stories.

I love talking sci fi, superheroes, fantasy, and romance books, movies, and shows with my friends. So, share this podcast with your nerdy romantic friends. Thanks for listening and for watching.

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