Welcome back all you Supergirl fans! You know, for an episode called “All About Eve,” there’s very little Eve Tessmacher in it and, instead, we focused on Jimmy, J’onn and Lena. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t the worst decision they could have made nor was a particularly bad one, it’s just a baffling decision considering the title. Maybe the next episode will be called All About Lex and feature exclusively footage of Superman on New Krypton. I’d watch that.
As always, spoilers ahead.
1. Sheer Mind Crush
CARL LUMBLY IS BACK AND NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.
. . .I kid, well, partially. When I saw Carl Lumbly’s names in the “special guest appearances” section, I was floored and so, so jazzed and he did not disappoint. Lumbly’s performance was a treat and a gem and I really do think his presence on the set helped Harewood’s performance opposite him. This was the most open J’onn has been in a long time and certainly the most vulnerable, which gave Harewood a lot to work with. But Lumbly’s effortless portrayal of J’onn’s father, he wouldn’t have had anybody to work off of and, were Lumbly a lesser actor, what Harewood would have worked off of wouldn’t have been nearly as funny nor as effective.
This was the culmination of the whole of the season’s journey for J’onn, the final step he needs to take to actually find himself beyond who his father wanted him to be. While this part hasn’t been explicitly explored — Manchester’s whole schtick was about peace being weaker than violence and, to a lesser extent, about J’onn denying the violence within him and not exploring the damage that J’onn was doing to himself by denying the aspects that were within him and channeling them into something positive — it is there, in the background of much of J’onn’s thoughts.
I really loved how Lumbly had zero chill at the start, while J’onn was losing his shit. He came in, took one look at J’onn and went, “You failed so hard that imma take my stuff back. Byeeeeee.” It was refreshing to see him again, and to have a bit of levity intertwined with some effective drama. Plus, hearing ka’a’fee again, like music to my ears.
2. Worse Company
Why, oh why, did Lena visit her mother the first time this episode? It’s such a minor complaint but I see this a lot in TV, especially here on The CW, and it’s one of my pet peeves. The scene lasts less than one minute, the character walks into the room, the villain says something awful or manipulative, and the protagonist leaves in disgust, maybe says something ineffective or snarky, and we never learn why the protagonist went there in the first place. It’s infuriating to say the least.
The scene serves the purpose of vocalizing and reinforcing Lena’s fears that it will all come crashing down around her if Supergirl/her friends, learn that she worked with Lex to create the kryptonite super serum. I also call BS on this because, later on, it’s clear that Alex knew about the Haron-El and doesn’t care and Jimmy already knew so what is she afraid of? She already distrusts Supergirl for forced plot reasons that were poorly set up and/or because they have failed to really interrogate Supergirl’s arrogance outside of this one VERY REASONABLE line of questioning, so she wouldn’t really care about her finding out.
Maybe I missed something in previous episodes. It’s possible she kept the details from everyone else and I’m misremembering, which is probably the case. It still doesn’t make me like the prison scene.
One last thing on this: while I appreciate Supergirl’s apology to Lena and the resolution to that tension, it really did come across as forced. Not the actual performance or even the speech itself, but all the framework and scaffolding that was required for this to happen at all. But, now that it’s all water under the bridge, I’ll look beyond it too.
Actually, this helped pave the way for the final stinger scene, where Alex & Lena both say they believe Supergirl with zero hesitation so I’m even more willing to forgive what came before, as now we don’t have to go through with the stupid, stupid plot where Supergirl has to convince her friends that she’s not actually the one who attacked the white house, no matter how much she might have wanted to.
Continued below3. Earth, Eye-Beams, and Lex-O-Suits
So, what is Lex’s plan? World Domination? The death of supergirl? I think it’s to purge the world of all non-humans (and Terran plants and animals) but I couldn’t care less about this plan. It’s standard super villain stuff that feels so divorced from the grounded stories they were trying to imbue the season with that I’m pretty apathetic to any of the ramifications. I think the reason I can’t get behind Lex being the secret mastermind is that he is a LITERAL EVIL VILLAIN billionaire.
As Chris pointed out to me last week, Lex is filling the role of a billionaire plutocrat who exerts an oversized impact on governmental policies, facing no real punishment for his crimes, which are numerous and undeniable, all because of the clout he has bought. It is self-serving and there only to further his own personal agendas. It’s an easy character to place into this position. However, this is Lex Fucking Luthor. He comes with his own baggage and clout within the universe and is a poor stand-in for the people he is trying to represent.
He is TOO known, too ever-present and way too hands on. He’s not doing anything out of a desire to fund ideas and actions he agrees with, everything and everyone is a pawn for him so that he can be the hero and rid the world of people more powerful than he is.
What his presence does do is makes me question everyone’s motives. Who’s working for Luthor, why, and for how long? Maybe he is a good representation and I’m not seeing it but for now, I’ll continue to be bitter that he’s back.
. . . but that Lexo-Suit is so cool!
4. Echoes
Jimmy Olson has developed PTSD. After 9 attacks by Lex Luthor, it should come as no surprise that this trauma has had a lasting impact on Jimmy. He is a Hero in Crisis, one that will be struggling with this for a long time to come, in numerous different ways, large and small. . .Or this will last all of one episode because we’re running on a TV schedule and every side-character growth can’t extend more than one episode.
I sincerely hope we get a legitimate exploration of the ways in which these experiences have affected James and how this most recent one, as well as the revelation that it was Lex and Eve, not Manchester, will affect him. I’m not holding my breath though. Why is it only now, after eight, EIGHT attacks that we have been given the information that he may have these triggers? Was it that he had gone through therapy before? Did he find coping mechanisms and they’re starting to fail?
The simple answer is that the writers only did this to add a bit more drama to the situation and to take Jimmy out of the running in the White House attack. I say this because, well, Jimmy’s sister’s comments betray the writers. She says that Lex is a major trigger for Jimmy because of all the previous attacks but we have seen zero indication of this before. Let’s say that it’s him being on the loose that’s making this different than before. Fine. Maybe his sister simply had the trigger misidentified. Fine.
If the latter is true, why DIDN’T all of Lex’s previous attacks give him lasting trauma? If the former is true, why is it that the sound of a gunshot causes his flashbacks and not anything Lex related? If both are true, then they failed to set the former up and the latter is poorly dealt with, rushing to resolve what could have been a greater exploration and an expansion of his character. Let’s hope I’m wrong but knowing this show’s track record for sticking with long-term character arcs, I don’t think I am.
5. Legion’s Ring
This is a very small thought but I haven’t gotten to talk about Brainy in a while. The show has been bouncing around since the mid-season return and while it has found its focus, that means we’re still seeing less of the DEO. I’ve got the feeling the return of Brainy’s legion ring was a bit of foreshadowing and I wonder if Haley is secretly working for Lex but those are half-baked at best.
Continued belowThat about does it for now! The CW has decided to put all their current shows on a three week vacation so join me again in three weeks for the start of the final stretch of season four. It promises to be, well, to be a time. Did I get anything wrong? Let me know in the comments. Until then, stay super y’all.
Best Line of the Night:
Mama Luthor: “I can smell your fear, Lena.”
