Welcome back all you Supergirl fans. After last week’s solid, dramatic and dare-I-say-it, moving episode, we’re back to the weekly grind of screaming at the screen and hoping someone will hear my cries. Was it too much to ask for the focus found in last week’s episode to transfer over? Maybe one day I’ll get lucky but until then, as always, some spoilers are ahead.
1. Martian Dadhunter
The best part of the episode, and the focus, is once again Carl Lumbly. His acting is a cut above and he has perfectly captured the struggles of his character after last week’s revelations about his slowly worsening dementia, something that this week turns that subplot into the main plot.
While it is nice to see Lumbly getting more screen time, the decision to have this happen 1) so late in the season and 2) so rapidly was a misstep. It’s a bit ridiculous how fast this escalated considering how sidelined J’onn’s father has been. We needed more time with this plot thread, allowing it to develop throughout multiple weeks, in order for this episode to have the impact it is supposed to have.
Despite this, Lumbly and David Harewood’s acting kept me invested. There is true heartache in J’onn and his father’s eyes as J’onn confronts him and even more heartbreaking is J’onn’s father recognizing his pride is hurting others and, with shame in his eyes, asking, begging for help from his son. As the conclusion to a chapter in J’onn father’s life, it is fantastic. As a piece of the show, it falls short and its impacts are lessened because of it.
2. We Can Work It Out
Why is Mon-El such a prominent character? Like, honestly, I know I’ve asked this week in and week out but what purpose does he serve within the narrative as a lone character? As a member of the Legion, he is the link from past to future but we haven’t seen hide nor hair of the other Legion members, of which there seem to only be two, for weeks. Where’s Brainy at? This episode answers my first question, I guess. It’s to allow Supergirl (not Kara) to finally, finally, hash things out with him so that we can finally, FINALLY move on past their relationship.
Again, another problem with this episode, and the whole series’ pacing, is made apparent here. We’ve had so many false starts and stops with Supergirl getting over her relationship with Mon-El that the revelation, to her, that maybe her relationship with Mon-El was romanticized in her head doesn’t carry the same weight as it should. It’s a good moment and an important one for Kara (who doesn’t appear in this episode at all…again) but because these thoughts weren’t being developed in the background of previous episodes, it comes out of nowhere. Instead of being a natural development, it feels contrived for the sake of drama.
3. Cell Block Blues
Poor Sam, trapped with Lena in a plot thread that, honestly, was completely unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong, it was important to the larger narrative of the season but for this episode, it only took away from time that could have been spent having the secondary characters like Winn and Jimmy and Alex and that DEO agent from earlier in the series that seemed like she was going to be important. Hell, I would have even loved if Mon-El and Supergirl spent a good portion of the episode talking things out.
Instead, we got a thematically appropriate but disconnected series of scenes following Lena getting Sam to realize she’s Reign for…reasons?
OK, so Sam is a smart character yet she refuses to believe that she’s Reign even after threatening her daughter and having all those blackouts? I refuse to believe that. Plus, this is the first time she’s exhibited this refusal to accept information. She came to Lena for help because she was afraid she might be Reign but now that’s changed for the sake of drama. Then by the end of the episode, that’s all sorted out. (Noticing a pattern yet?) The show plays these scenes out as if it’s something I should be deeply connected to Sam’s plight but I’m just not. I wish I was.
Continued below4. Missed Opportunities
This was an episode filled with missed opportunities, namely the fact that they had the perfect set up to explore more of the worries and stressors of all of our supporting and main cast. We get a bit of it from J’onn and Supergirl but Winn fights things out with a random, now named, DEO agent, Jimmy is absent for most of the episode, Mon-El does jack diddly squat, Alex is…there I guess, and the rest of the Legion is missing!
They could have had Supergirl blow up at Mon-El earlier in the episode and dealt with the fallout of that. Then we could have had Mon-El fighting with the Legion over their refusal to include him in their plans and hashed out some beef with Imra. With Winn, we could have developed his role at the DEO through this or hell, developed the DEO agents a little bit. It’s become the stand-in backdrop that we forget it’s a full-on government organization and not just Team Arrow or Team Flash.
Also, I say this every week but where the hell is Kara Danvers? Part of what makes superheroes so compelling is seeing them as people. Sure, Supergirl lets Kara Danvers shine through sometimes but a majority of these episodes are Supergirl talking, not Kara Danvers. It may still feel like I’m being needlessly picky but the two are, and should be, different people ala Clark Kent and Superman. We still don’t have that.
5. Fashion Forward to the Future
Mon-El, buddy. What’s with your suit? You look even sillier than usual. I think it’s the lack of insignia that does it but the full-on red doesn’t quite work. In fact, a lot of the costumes for Supergirl have felt uninspired and lackluster. I wonder if it has to do with the militaristic approach the TV shows and movies have taken towards costume design in order to make them work in live-action. It’s a decent choice but come on, be a bit bolder than that. Give us something that stands out.
And there we have it. I know the last point was short but this episode was a bit of a wasteland when it came to smaller thoughts for me. A lot of big, structural problems and a poor follow-up to last week. I think next week might be more focused but who knows. Let me know what you think in the comments. See you all next week!
