After a couple of kind of rough episodes, Supergirl finally turns things around in time for both Thanksgiving and the upcoming ‘Invasion!’ crossover between the rest of the CW DC shows. With CADMUS and Hank Henshaw having mined the archives of the Fortress Of Solitude, the race is on for Supergirl to stop a threat that would wipe out all alien life in National City. Pretty big stakes for an episode that clearly aimed at bringing the levity back to Supergirl after a couple of pretty dire episodes.
With that all out of the way, though, let’s dive into our Five Thoughts on Supergirl‘s ‘Medusa’. Spoilers ahead!
1. Thanksgiving, & Feeling Like The Old Supergirl
What a return to form this episode was. Even though there was still a fair bit going on, the show got rid of the contesting storylines angle that plagued the last two episodes. Instead of three simultaneous, separate storylines, every character’s contribution to the episode revolved around MEDUSA. It kept everything in focus and clear with a single goal and, honestly, I was glad to not have a Guardian plotline this time around. I really believe that was the culprit in muddying the structure the last couple of episodes.
Not only that, but this felt like Supergirl tonally once again. From the moment the episode opened on Thanksgiving with Kara’s apartment awash with sunlight and everyone just having a the time to breathe in their moment instead of rushing through scenes to get to the next one, I knew things were going to be great this episode. It was bright, it was vibrant, it was morally complex with a righteous resolution. It was everything I’ve come to love about Supergirl and everything I’d come to miss in the last couple of episodes.
2. What’s Going On With Lena Luthor?
I think I’m going to have to stop second guessing Lena Luthor. Every scene she was in showed a new facet to her without ever revealing her true nature. Her contested relationship with her mother (something of a theme in this episode) contrasted with her apparent need to side with her family over an alien strange before ultimately revealing that she was using her mother’s trust to root out the evil in her family made for an enigma of a character who shifted from scene to scene.
I don’t know if this character would work without Katie McGrath, who’s able to bring such a gravitas and presence to the character in every scene. She’s able to convey that Lena is seemingly playing everyone around her without giving away what her end goal is. It’s fascinating and captivating in a way that I don’t think another actor could pull off.
3. Kara & Mon-El Get Closer
It’s a good thing Alex and Maggie got together this episode, otherwise I’d be really harsh on how straight this was. Okay, so I’m mostly kidding, but I am glad the show has moved on from the weird love triangle thing happening between Kara, Jimmy and Winn and into something a bit more… appropriate for the show. Just so long as I never have to hear Winn talk about the friendzone just because he didn’t get to fuck Kara, I’ll put up with this male model romance shit.
Plus, I can actually, finally appreciate the arc the show is taking with these two. Mon-El was pretty insufferable to me in the beginning, but seeing him mellow out as he becomes a part of Kara’s life and seeing them fall for each other as they both appreciate one another’s better qualities is actually kind of sweet and pretty well developed.
I just hope the show doesn’t draw out Kara’s angst over this too much.
4. MEDUSA, CADMUS & Other Acronyms
Making up, somewhat, for last week’s return of Hank Henshaw as the continually bafflingly named Cyborg Superman, this actually did something with him. Sadly, he’s little more than CADMUS’ bruiser right now, but finally seeing Hank Henshaw face off against J’onn J’onnz, who has been wearing his face for years, and seeing his (mutated) true form was priceless. Even Kara’s crack about him being a cyborg, but no Superman was fun even if it still doesn’t explain why Hank would name himself after Superman.
Continued belowSpeaking of Superman: how has Clark just not been to his Fortress since Hank broke in? Like, the dude just left smashed crystals all over the console and Kara’s blood on everything. You’ve got to be more careful about who can just waltz into the Fortress, dude. Also, RIP Kelex. You will be missed.
5. Third Time’s A Charm For Alex
Oh, God, finally. I’ve been waiting for this moment for weeks now. I knew this would never be simple because this is the CW and every plot point has to be dragged out for three episodes before it can be resolved, but this was so satisfying. Not only did Maggie’s reasoning for coming around on Alex make sense in the face of certain death (although, admittedly, she did only get burned in the shoulder a little), but Alex coming out to her mum was such a fantastic moment.
Not only did it build on their somewhat contested past in the first season, but it was just so gratifying for a show about accepting and celebrating your differences to have the simple message of “It’s okay to be gay”. Especially in today’s current climate. It may not seem like much, but just to have a superhero show at least try to be progressive feels so good right now.
Bonus: So That Crossover, Huh?
According to Andrew Kreisberg, the reason this episode wasn’t fully a part of the ‘Invasion!’ crossover was because it was Supergirl‘s mid-season finale and they wanted to focus on tying up the first half of the season. They wanted to give the show a proper send off instead of having the final note be mired by being part of a crossover. I’m looking at you, “Action Comics” #52. As it stands, this was pretty much the #0 issue of a crossover; tying up the loose ends before jumping into a new storyline.
Still, look forward to seeing Kara pop up in The Flash, Arrow and Legends Of Tomorrow over the course of this week and for Brian and I to team up to tackle the crossover with our thoughts on Friday!
