Five Thoughts Supergirl s3 ep20 - Featured Television 

Five Thoughts on Supergirl‘s “Dark Side of the Moon”

By | May 29th, 2018
Posted in Television | % Comments

Welcome back all you Supergirl fans. Are we certain there are three more episodes in the season? It doesn’t seem like there’s much more to go from here. But hey, I’ve been wrong before. Speaking of being wrong, my notes are a contradictory mess of guesses about what was going to be revealed this week. Some were right, some were wrong. Others were me screaming in frustration at Alex again.

As always, some spoilers are ahead.

1. Give it a Schott

Winn and Alex represent two different methods of dealing with children. One talks down to the kid, attempting to shelter them from the realities of the world, even when that shelter is actively harming the child. The other lays out the harsh reality without tact, providing ample reasons for the child to become bitter and reserved. In the case of Ruby, both are harmful because they don’t see Ruby as a person. She is a category.

To Alex, this is her baby, someone she welcomed into her life that needs sheltering. To Winn, this is an annoying child, a burden he’s saddled with that needs to be dealt with. It’s exemplified best when Alex and Winn have their short back-and-forth about babysitting. Ignoring Alex’s cognitive dissonance, the two express these opinions succinctly.

Yet, as opposed to Alex, Winn actually learns from his screw-up, apologizes, and manages to connect to Ruby through his own personal situation. Both scenes, him blowing up at her and then him apologizing, were well shot, using close-ups to let the actors act without the necessity of too much dialogue, and just the right amount of awkward. Watching everyone except Alex actually get through to Ruby has been a strange development and it’s hard to tell if it is intentional or not. It doesn’t seem to be, which is heading scratching to say the least.

2. B-Plot Blues

I was going to just put two paragraphs of me screaming for this but I’ll save you (and my editors) the headache. This week’s B-plot was, erm, how do I put this articulately? Bad? No, that’s not quite it. It was well constructed and accomplished the goals it set out. Pointless? No, that’s not it either. It had a point: to show Alex’s devotion to her job, provide some action for an otherwise low-key episode, and to raise some questions within Alex about said devotion to her job.

The best way to describe it would be sudden, disjointed, and a distraction. What was the purpose of putting this plot-thread here and now? Instead of getting more time on New Krypton (yes it has a name but I don’t remember it), the show keeps cutting back to Alex’s quest to find her would-be killer. This would be all fine and good if it had ANY connection to the rest of the episode thematically or even in content.

Fine, they just needed some way to fill time and attempt to offer some wisdom via Alex’s confrontation via the paroled ex-sheriff. Now that I’m writing this out, maybe the connection was the sins of the past coming back to confront you but, as with many TV B-plots, this came out of nowhere without any prior lead up that it falls on its face in that respect. Regardless, I was on board with it up until Alex and J’onn’s conversation at the DEO at the end.

One: I fucking called it with Ruby. I don’t think I said this in last week’s review but for a while I’ve been wondering if this plot line was a continuation of her baby conversation with Maggie. I questioned whether Alex saw Ruby as her child, which would explain the way she was talking to her and treating her. It totally was. God. Dammit.

Two: WHY? How the hell did anything in this conversation, save you almost dying, have anything to do with J’onn bringing you into the DEO? A majority of the conversation meanders from thought to thought without any connective tissue until we get to the aforementioned Alex sees Ruby as her own child idea and connecting that to her almost falling in the earlier chase. If this show had structured this thread a little better, it could have worked beautifully.

Continued below

Instead of the antagonistic/patronizing relationship between Alex and Ruby, there would have been a more genuine connection made visible throughout the previous episodes as well as Alex slowly questioning the dangers of her job, which would have come to a head this week. Then we could have seen these things manifest themselves instead of being TOLD them. In place of that, we got this muddled mess that left me frustrated at its inclusion.

3. Council of Evil

Did they really need to so heavily hint that the center lady was the mysterious hooded figure that’s been training Reign? Like, wow was that heavy handed. Ominous music, holding on her first appearance even though none of the other council members got it, etc. At least they didn’t keep us in suspense, doing the full reveal at the end of the episode.

This does raise the question of how she was able to do all of this, why she did it and also why the show didn’t give any hints as to the existence and survival of this planetoid. Also, why wasn’t this a two-part episode? I know shows nowadays focus on the season-long arc but throwing out the smaller, multi-episode arcs is not the way to make a solid season-long show. Let the characters explore and learn. Let the focus linger. Let the new locations feel real instead of a temporary distraction and trust in your audience a little more.

4. Mon-El

This was one of the first episodes that I found myself connecting with Mon-El. He has had some true growth this season and this is the first time we’ve seen that growth independent of Supergirl. The build up to it was well done too. Mon-El is kind and acts as a hero should, he is not attempting to take control of everything, and he proves himself selfless and caring. Why he singled out this one kid and what it set off in his mind is a question I have but this is a good question.

It’s clear there is some motive and that it’s internal to Mon-El. It’s placed upon the screen instead of being a speculation on my part. It’s a small bit of the episode but one that expands it, making this temporary stop feel a little more permanent within the show’s characters.

5. Mother Dearest

This was a wasted plot line and I’m so frustrated with that. What we got was (mostly) great, having Kara interact with her mother once again and learning of her mom’s regrets. Of how they both believed each other to be dead and how, now, they wish they hadn’t given up hope. There are only two issues with it. The first is that there is not enough time given to developing this more. Because of this, the conversations are rushed and the two don’t have the necessary development to make this have as big an impact as it should.

The second is that Supergirl barely bats an eye at AN ENTIRE KRYPTONIAN CITY, in addition to her mother, still being alive. She has a small reaction when she sees her mom but otherwise she, and Mon-El, seem completely reserved. A little shocked but she treats this almost like another day at the office. Something, anything to show the tremendous gravity of the situation and the weight this places on, as well as lifts from, Supergirl’s shoulders.

What will Kal-El say once he gets the news? That would be something that crosses Supergirl’s mind, right? What will Alex say? What does this even mean for Kara? This is an entire section of your people, Kara Zor-El, and you can’t even muster as much emotion as you did for Mon-El’s sudden return? This is your MOTHER.

Maybe I missed something. Maybe I blinked and missed her heartfelt reunion and the gravitas of discovering that, again, an entire city from Krypton, complete with your mother survived its destruction. I doubt it and that is, despite all the great moments in this episode, perhaps, this episode’s greatest sin.

Next week, Reign breaks free of her cage and Supergirl will have to use a magic space rock to stop her. And then there are two more episodes! What could possibly pad them out? Find out along with me next time!


//TAGS | Supergirl

Elias Rosner

Elias is a lover of stories who, when he isn't writing reviews for Mulitversity, is hiding in the stacks of his library. Co-host of Make Mine Multiversity, a Marvel podcast, after winning the no-prize from the former hosts, co-editor of The Webcomics Weekly, and writer of the Worthy column, he can be found on Twitter (for mostly comics stuff) here and has finally updated his profile photo again.

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