Welcome back all you Supergirl fans! I step away from the show for one week because of baseball and I miss getting to cover the first actually, legitimately excellent episode of season six??? Damn Yankees ruining all my fun.
Thanks to Chris for being my pinch hitter and reminding me that we have actually seen these actresses before, back during the sixth episode I ever reviewed for this show, wherein I complained about not having more time in this high school era AND that I wanted it to be a two-parter. It only took four seasons but here we are and so all I have left to say is…WHAZZZZAAAAAPPPPPPPP!
And as always, spoilers ahead.
1. Verisimilitude, Thy Name is Gaga
During “Midvale,” I spent an entire point questioning the odd timeline of the episode. Thankfully, I did not have to do that with these two-parters, as Prom is a pretty simple marker and the inclusion of time travel means we’re reminded very often about when this takes place. I still have issues with some of the choices made – like Cat Grant building a media empire from the ground up in only five years when it seemed like it was a much older institution or the appearance of an early commercial drone – but on the whole the 2009-ness of the episode was quite well done.
The eclectic mix of “Paparazzi” and “I’m Too Sexy?” A perfect encapsulation of the kinds of things you’d hear at public school dances. Now, if this were a USY dance there’d be a lot more “Living on a Prayer” and in a couple years “Don’t Stop Believing” would make a triumphant comeback thanks to our good friend Glee BUT that’s neither here nor there. Basically, I’m very happy with how 2009 was depicted without it feeling overly nostalgic and treated with the perfect amount of sass.
2. I Dream of Mancini
Chris called it last week and I commend him on seeing this when I did not. I’m, of course, referring to the pink cougar that Nia kept dreaming being in reference not to Naxim “Hunter in the Front, Party in the Back” Tork but instead to Cat “C.J.” Grant. It’s an interesting choice mostly because I don’t think we ever really had this connection before but Nia treats it as a “duh-doy” moment. Like, of COURSE the cougar means Cat which seems…odd but I guess it’s obvious? It must’ve been a season one thing and it’s been so long since then for me.
Part of why this struck me as odd was in the re-casting of Cat Grant. Or, more specifically, the casting of a “young” Cat Grant. I don’t understand why they needed it to be a young version of this character when, in 2015, she’s supposed to be wisened and well entrenched. Basically, while I love what we ended up getting, and I much preferred Cat during the back half of this episode over the previous one, I question the choices they made in order to have her appear here without Calista Flockhart.
I also wonder why they chose to have C.J. be a nickname from Perry rather than her choice, which could have opened up a conversation about women having to hide behind initials in order to be taken seriously, and how using Cat is a reclamation of her selfhood and an assertion of her value. This is still the ultimate result of Nia’s intervention but it loses some of its impact because of the details. That and I’m not a fan of Back to the Future style changes that didn’t need this convoluted explanation. At least in this case it’s an attempt to course correct rather than the “it was always this way” type approach.
3. Kenny Can’t You See, You’re Just the Guy for Me
OK. Enough griping! I genuinely loved these two episodes and I want to praise more aspects of them before I inevitably go back to sitting in frustration. For starters, the main 2009 trio and our intrepid time travelers are excellent, excellent, excellent. They’re funny, they sell the melodrama, and they all fully embody their roles. Peter Sudarso in particular was perfect casting for the awkward, “aw shucks” Kenny Li. After only two episodes with him, I was devastated to learn that he wouldn’t be sticking around with Kara in this new timeline. Let Kenny stay! I hope we get more of him in future episodes. It would be a shame not to have him around.
Continued belowAs for why we got an actor change, I presume Ivan Mok, the original actor, was either unable to film or looked too old now that four years have passed and they needed someone a little younger looking to better sell him in contrast to Alex & Kara. Whatever the reason, they picked the right guy to act alongside Izabela Vidovic who absolutely KILLED IT this time around. I was much cooler in “Midvale” but “Prom Night!” and “Prom Again!” destroyed any critiques I had. She embodied Kara in all her aspects, particularly the awkward-teen-having-to-have-a-tough-conversation-with-someone-she-cares-deeply-about mode, and once again I wish we had gotten those short cold opening with young Kara & Alex growing up.
4. We Sure the Blue 80s Aliens Weren’t Named Anxiety and Self-Doubt?
Ostensibly “Prom Again!” was all about getting Kara’s DNA so Brainy and Nia could save her in the future and because of the magic of time travel shenanigans, they had to go on some wacky adventures to make sure that future was able to still exist AND that they got what they came for. In reality, however, the arc of this two-parter was of Brainy and Nia dealing with their personal emotional issues. That’s good shit! It’s what I want to see more of in the main season. Brainy’s issues have been alluded to before but Nia’s have been kept under-wraps, partially because she’s been pretty sidelined and partially because this is the episode where they really come to the fore.
Nia’s self-esteem issues – not feeling good enough, not feeling like she’s doing enough to live up to her heritage – are compelling. They’re not loudly shouted at us and while Nia is constantly frustrated that she can’t understand her powers, it’s conveyed far more through the subtext than the usual “beat the audience over the head with it in dialog.” It’s all tied up in the loss of her mother, in the anxiety Brainy is radiating, in her own perceived lack of growth. Rather than feeling like this came out of left field, Supergirl has used where Nia has been positioned within the show, presented her with a challenge, and used that challenge to excavate feelings that were buried, thereby creating drama that is familiar and meaningful.
Moreover, we don’t actually get a complete resolution to Brainy and Nia’s problems! They move forward thanks to each other but Brainy will still struggle with his new emotions and Nia still has new powers she doesn’t understand and still has a ways to go with her dream interpretation. It’s just that, now, she can be more confident that it is within her ability to learn and grow. She can do it. She just needed to become the inspiration for Cat Grant to become Cat Grant, and a reassuring pep-talk and kiss from best boy Brainy, to recognize that.
5. Reality is in the Eye of the Beholder
I think what helped make these episodes feel more…real is the wrong word but that’s the only thing that is coming to mind, more real than the rest of the season, which has had a veneer of artificiality, is the way the plots & beats are structured. I don’t think it was “more traditional,” with clear A-B-C plots that rotate and have clear distinctions between them, even though they’re linked, but the plots are certainly more focused and less frenetic. This, in turn, led to a greater sense of connection to the arcs being explored and to the surface narratives.
Like, Kara having to make a decision about which college to go to was a C-plot that kept getting waylaid by Naxim Tork’s menagerie nonsense but rather than being frustrated by this, as I was anytime the phantoms were on screen, I was more invested in wanting to know her decision. The interruptions heightened the drama without feeling cheap because of the slow domino of the episode’s events over multiple extended scenes rather than a quick succession of one minute scenes that leave little impact.
That or the stars aligned and the writers knew exactly what they wanted to explore free of all the regular season baggage. Or maybe it was Chyler Leigh’s directing that kept things focused, clear, and engaging.
Continued belowThat about does it for now! What did you all think of this quick blast to the past? You excited to return to the present or wishing we could spend the rest of the season here, like I am? Think Kenny will reappear? Probably not before the second half of the season. Join me again in a week for the mid-season finale. Get ready for the return (or maybe the complete stranding of) Kara and something about the phantom zone and oh hey a butterfly. Until then, stay super y’all.
Best Line of the Night:
Brainy: “Thank you for the exposure to the High School Status-Sphere.”
