Welcome back all you Supergirl fans. It’s time to return to the season long plot that has both been dragged on and way too condensed. I had hoped and prayed we would be free from it for at least another week. Alas, wishful thinking only gets me so far. On the bright side, at least one of my wishes has been fulfilled. And, as always, some spoilers are ahead.
1. Guess Who’s Back, Back Again
That’s right everyone! The breakout star of the series has returned! After wallowing in obscurity for nigh on three episodes, he is back and ready to steal the show once again. The one, the only…JAMES OLSON! Wait, hold up, that’s not right. *Looks at cue cards* Sorry. I had the wrong thing written. Let me try that again.
Ahem. The one, the only…BRANIAC FIVE! There we go. Much better.
If it isn’t obvious enough, the two extant members of the Legion makes their return this week. As much as I wish I could say that I couldn’t be happier, I’m of two minds about this episode. (I needed to get this joke in somewhere. I wasn’t going to miss that opportunity.) Every second Brainiac 5 is on screen is a blessing and distracts me from the rest of this week’s weak, weak script. I wish I could say more good things about the events of this week but honestly, beyond Winn’s scene with Jimmy, Lena’s heartfelt yet utterly stupid reasoning for keeping Sam under lock and key, and Brainy, this was an episode that was phoned in on every level.
But that’s for later. For now, it’s Brainiac 5 time and…he doesn’t really do all that much. Don’t get me wrong, he’s great but he isn’t given a lot to do over the course of the episode. Most of this episode is focused on, groan, Mon-El. Also Imra but it’s all filtered through Mon-El’s anger at Imra for not letting him in on the mission. Why is this even a concern? Imra’s a jerk and a hypocrite, fine, we know this already but why do we need to drag this out? We haven’t heard hide nor hair of Imra since we found out that the Legion’s nebulous mission was, in fact, different to what was told to Supergirl and Co.
What purpose does it serve to have them disappear and then bring this back up? Either commit to having Imra around the whole time, have Imra in scenes independent of Mon-El AND her ill-defined vengeance plot, or just drop the thread altogether.
2. The Real Slim Shady
I know it’s a TV procedural thing but was it super obvious to anyone else who Pestilence was? She was the only brand-new character to get extended screen time with two named, important characters, they made a point of showing her bump into the two of them, she was the only person that had any contact with Winn and Alex, etc. I could go on but it was very jarring to have this. Plus, this was the first time we’ve met this character in any way, shape, or form.
You know what would have been great? If we’d have met this character before, acclimated us to their presence as a doctor in the background or hell, even as a trusted civilian. Break out of our DEO bubble and make this show feel populated with people instead of the 6 or 7 actors and 5 extras we always see. I’m being harsh here, true, but it’s only because I care about this show. I want it to be better than it is. I want it to live up to the potential that a Supergirl show should be.
3. Where’s the Beef? (AKA I have exhausted by Eminem knowledge for titles)
You know, I’ve noticed something these last two episodes. We haven’t gotten a decent, half-season long B-plot in forever. Like, all the plots that we’ve gotten – J’onn’s father’s dementia, the tension between Mon-El and Imra, the tension between Mon-El and Kara, the League…doing things. They’ve all run their course over the run-time of one, maybe two episodes. But instead of having multiple, long running stories that come and go and feed into each other, we get a series of small B-plots that are only there to set up the next episode or to act as a second piece to the A-plot.
Continued belowNo character arcs. No good secondary adventures that will pay off later down the line. Nothing. First half of the season, we had Sam becoming Reign and for all my problems with it, at least it felt like its own story. I say this week in and week out but the greater world and characters of Supergirl languish because of this.
I brought up Jimmy earlier. What has he been doing? Seriously. Is his only job to be the “concerned boyfriend?” Is his next plot going to be getting angry at Lena for keeping her secret project with Sam secret? Is he going to be anything but a clichéd trope? Is he going to do ANYTHING OF CONSEQUENCE as head of CatCo? Ya know, a newspaper?! Or as Guardian?
You know what my going theory is? I think CatCo and the DEO are places that the writers feel obliged to keep simply because season one wrote them into a corner by having Supergirl’s identity be so tied to these places. It won’t happen but maybe by the end of this season, I hope we get to see a change in location and status quo that means something to Supergirl. Something like, oh say, the destruction of the DEO. Or maybe Bones taking over and bringing in some more supernatural foes. That’d be fun too.
I did it again, didn’t I? OK, so, this episode isn’t any worse than the others of the season but as I said earlier, it’s phoned in. The show is on autopilot and I’m fed up with the writer’s inability to handle these characters and locations. There are so many good opportunities to develop the world and the people but instead we have to keep coming back to Mon-El and Supergirl and Reign and her gaggle of scenery chewers. If only they chewed them in a more fun way.
4. Communication is Key
THIS IS WHY WE TELL PEOPLE THINGS, LENA! GAH! Sorry. I just had to get that off my chest.
Lena’s plot, another one of these both way too rushed and way too dragged out narratives, comes to a head this week as Supergirl and crew beam down to Lena’s…I actually have no idea where she is. Is it the Luthor cave? Let’s call it the Luthor cave. In the Luthor cave, Supergirl finds out that Lena has been keeping Sam in a cage, finds out that Sam is, in fact, Reign and that Lena was “going to tell her.” Not a great evening, all things considered.
In light of this, I just have to ask, why did Lena keep this a secret? I’ve been asking myself this since the stinger at the end of “Schott Through the Heart.” Here she says she hasn’t told anyone because then Sam would be carted away. Why? It makes no sense, characterization wise, that Lena would keep this from Supergirl of all people. Alex and the DEO, certainly. Kara, yes. Supergirl? When has Supergirl betrayed Lena’s trust that way?
Supergirl actively believes in redemption, knows Sam, and would trust Lena enough to let her try. At least I think Supergirl knows Sam, it’s been a while and I can’t remember what Lena thinks Kara knows vs what she thinks Supergirl knows. I blame the writers not giving us enough Kara interactions with characters or genuine character interactions but I digress. While these events will certainly feed into the weekly drama, it most likely won’t hold much weight and will be an exercise in frustration for all involved.
5. Londo Has Better Fashion Sense
Whew, I’ve written a lot this week so let’s end on a lighter note: more silly decisions that make me question this show.
On Reign: why the hell does she have the stupid modulated voice inside Sam’s head? Is it supposed to be intimidating/her real voice? If it is, it is neither intimidating nor does it sound “real.” Ollie’s fake voice sounds more real and his is made with a machine from 2012. If they wanted Reign to have a voice different from Sam’s, putting an echo on it and having a couple different pitches play at the same time was not the way to go. And it’s in Sam’s head! What use do they have for this?
Continued belowPlus, the mask looks as stupid as ever.
On Pestilence: When she returns with Purity, we know she’s evil now because she has black eyeliner because that is the ultimate mark for evil of any villain. At least it’s not a Gotham Poison Ivy 3.0 type change.
On Purity: Is that a skull imbedded in the house of El crest? Really? Is that what we’re going for or did I just see it wrong? Also, the pure white eyes. Creepy, so good on them, but with the screeching power and the acting, it again feels over-the-top in all the wrong ways.
And there you have it. Thank you all for putting up with the length this week. I promise that next week won’t be as crazy long or as furious (unless the show does something extra stupid like how they handled the Maggie/Alex break up). Still, hopefully that gives you all something to look forward to. In the meanwhile, let me know what you thought about the episode and if you think I’m being too harsh. Or maybe not harsh enough. You never know.
Line of the fucking season
“You should be at Catco” – Winn to Jimmy
