Five Thoughts on Supergirl‘s “Call to Action”

Welcome back all you Supergirl fans! I gotta tell you, season 4 is fast approaching to be my favorite season of the show.

It’s not flawless, no show is, nor is it particularly spectacular — many of the technicals are standard and is subject to the frenetic pacing of the CW shows, wherein the situations, actions & spelled-out dialogue take precedence over allowing the characters to develop through quiet moments or treating the audience as participants instead of recipients — but it has managed to craft a solid story that explores current fears, worries and troubles in nuanced ways.

Here, in episode six, we get treated to some more complications to the larger plots & boy does this season have a lot going on. Let’s talk about some of them, shall we? As always, spoilers ahead.

1. Supergirl’s Pal, James Olson

Last week, I mentioned my fears regarding Jimmy’s story, not from a writing perspective but from a character one. The path they have set Jimmy upon is fraught with danger, which makes for effective drama, but it also sets up an aspect of Jimmy that really wasn’t established well before this: his views on the news, reporting and his role as editor in chief of CatCo.

Until this season, we saw so few newsroom workings. As such, Jimmy’s desire to meet with the Children of Liberty in hopes of changing their minds via reporting & highlighting them feels slightly forced. I say slightly because we’ve been given enough justification via the last few episodes; it’s just a failing of poor foresight.

The way “Call to Action” handled Jimmy’s attitude, however, was fantastic. He wasn’t simply meeting with them because he fell victim to the consistency hobgoblin of all speech must be treated in private as 100% equal no matter what it is followed by or its intent but because he truly believes in the power of debate to change the minds of people who are intent on violence. He is mildly successful but is forced to counter action with action. He also goes back because he believes that goodness should prevail over the worst instincts of those who have been infected by hate.

He believes in redemption. . at least, that’s my speculation. There’s no evidence he believes in that as it hasn’t been explored as of yet. It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out; I just hope he doesn’t continue to be dragged down by the people he is trying to save.

2. The Tell-Tale Heart

I’d forgotten Lena had the Haron-El and was hating on Supergirl. I still don’t get where ANY of that came from but now that we’re here, I see that Lena’s story this season, other than being party to some of the worst bits of this episode (getting to THAT later,) is going to revolve around her feeling of inferiority & powerlessness. Again, not 100% sure where this came from but it’s here now.

And so she tries to cure cancer in a dead heart & instead creates something invulnerable and is about to start human trials and LENA STOP! Have you learned nothing from the greatest science-fiction novel dealing with resurrected flesh, Frankenstein? This will not end well. Do this and soon Butch from Gotham is gonna wander out of Slaughter Swamp and Supergirl is going to have to listen to him recite about his Monday birth and Tuesday christening.

I have no doubt this is going to end poorly and with a fight with Supergirl. I don’t know if it’ll play out OK or if it will be trainwreck of a storyline but as of now, I’m cautiously optimistic. Can we get some consistency in why she hates Supergirl though? That’d be nice.

Also, what the hell happened between her and Jimmy? This was a bit of forced drama that really didn’t click and relied on an overused, poorly done cliche that I DESPISE in media. Can you guess what it is? Yup. It’s the “You lied to me?” line. NO DUH JIMMY. Of course she lied about getting the DA to drop the charges. Their whole break-up has been poorly telegraphed through fights that feel completely manufactured and the final straw was so minor and short and unexplored that I can’t believe this is how they chose to end it.

Olson’s reasons for leaving are valid but, again, underexplored or discussed and is there just for the cheap tension and to give him a reason to ignore Lena’s call at the end. It’s unsatisfying. I just hope that they deal with this better in future episodes, allowing the fallout to resonate and be discussed.

3. Back in Black

Manchester “Fuck you and your rules” Black is back this week, feeling more and more like the comic book version of himself every day. His philosophy of “ask questions first, kill ‘em dead after” is beginning to take form. Having this happen right in front of us is a bold choice instead of having him roll up fully formed, like he is in the comics.

I have a soft spot for Manchester as a character because his history & character are so rooted in the era of comics I was first exposed to. Growing up post-“The Boys” and their ethics, it’s easy to see Manchester’s view, which again has only started to grow here, as the right moves. How else do you fight against an enemy such as this? Who has taken everything, has no scrupules, and is hunting innocent people under the guise of anonymity and freedom.

Manchester is one answer. The show does not frame this as the right one, nor do they let him curse, as it is a network television show — they censored Black Lightning’s cursing too. But the fact that they are exploring it, letting it develop, and showing the compromises & struggles he’s going through is a breath of fresh air as it means they’re letting their heroes be flawed and letting the falls from grace be messy and all too human.

4. It Always Feels Like, Somebody’s Watching Me

Colonel Haley is another example of this, wherein the antagonistic side of her isn’t rooted in the standard bigotry or strict adherence to protocol and the law, but instead to her sense of what the DEO’s mission is and should be. She may not have many characteristics as of yet but we are peeling back the layers on her episode by episode. It’s easy to hate her as she stands in the way of Alex’s investigation into the Children of Liberty but then she admits her wrongness at the end and earlier baked sweet potato pie for everyone, breaking the aloof, military persona she was projecting.

I don’t mean to imply they are mutually incompatible but the vulnerability she shows is not a part of the standard characterization of this archetype. It’s very much welcomed and also gives us some of the BEST Brainy moments of the episode.

I’ve stopped giving him his own thought because it should be a given that he’s the best but seriously, Brainy’s scenes are always funny without deprecating the character and give us plenty of insight into who he is and how he operates. He is a fantastic foil character and his awkward interactions with Nia always brings a smile.

Speaking of Nia, I know very little about her in the comics but something is totally up with her. They (rather heavy-handedly) hinted at her “narcolepsy” being important and have yet to delve too deeply into her past/why they’re focusing so hard on this. I assume this is because she has some kind of sleep powers? It’s not exactly subtle but I am truly, deeply glad that they’re laying the foundation for this without making it too central to every single episode. It’s there just enough to get the curiosity going and the moments on camera so that when the reveal eventually happens, it’ll feel natural.

My big question: if that is the case, what has she been doing all this time and how will it come into play?

5. Children of the Corn

There is so much to unpack about the Children of Liberty and Ben Lockwood’s presence on the talk show but I want to talk about the dogs. The dogs are the “best” addition to this not because they serve a story purpose, which they do, but because of the connotations this particular species has. It’s a German Shepard, an attack dog that was heavily used in Nazi Germany, Apartheid South Africa (in conjunction with the Boerboel) and the Antebellum/Jim-crow era South. It’s one more unsettling reflection of reality and sent a chill down my spine.

I end here because this season continues to wrestle with hard realities through the allegory of human-led hatred of aliens instead of human-led hatred against other humans they believe to be “alien.” It’s going to evoke the worst of our history and our present and I don’t ever want to forget that these are not fictions. They may be rendered more clearly, with the haze of reality & time removed, but the ideas and fears and hopes remain real.

That about does it for now. What did you all think about this week’s episode? Let me know in the comments and I’ll see you all next week for Jimmy’s bad decisions Mark 2. Until then, stay super y’all.

Best Line of the Night:

Brainy: “Or else I’ll be required to beat you up. . .with physics.”