Much like it’s title, things are changing all over in Supergirl! From Alex coming to terms with her sexuality to James’ attempts to become a superhero to Mon-El’s struggle to fit in on Earth, so many of our characters’ lives are in turmoil and things won’t get any better with the inclusion of Parasite.
This is a pretty emotional episode with some weighty questions being asked so there’s a lot to cover. Let’s jump in, then, to our Five Thoughts that, as always, will be discussing spoilers.
1. Introducing Parasite Like The Thing
This was one of the coolest elements of this episode, the cold open (get it?) in Norway that introduces the Parasite to Rudy’s system by way of frozen wolf. Not only did this work as a pretty effective nod to John Carpenter’s The Thing while making Parasite like a thing out of a horror film. This episode was the first that really felt the change from CBS to CW; while other episodes tried to capture that bright, largely innocent feeling with it’s plots, this embraced some of the darker, more mature themes of Arrow and The Flash.
Thankfully, it still felt like Supergirl and even coming down to the end with Kara outright killing Parasite, she felt remorse over it coming to that outcome. Kara didn’t set out to kill Parasite, but it really was the only outcome presented and lined up with the character as presented. She apologised to his face as he died, regardless of whether he could understand it by that point or not, because she really does consider death to be the final option when dealing with a villain.
2. The Moral Quandaries Of Superpowers
Fitting the theme of changing, I’m glad this episode finally gave Mon-El the push to (mostly) stop acting like a self-important asshole. The confrontation he has with Kara actually made sense from his perspective and pointed out how overbearing it is to have Kara essentially make his decisions for how to live of Earth for him, but her reasoning behind it still made sense from the other perspective. This episode felt like the only thing stopping it from having a character recite “With great power comes great responsibility” was the threat of a lawsuit.
With Kara, growing up knowing that the cousin she was sent to protect lives his life using his powers to help others was clearly this guiding hand into who she has become as an adult. However, with Mon-El he’s been on Earth for, what, a week now? A month? Kara expects him to jump right into being a costumed hero like she is with the same fervour she has without allowing him the period to adjust.
It’s largely effective storytelling because while I can easily see both sides, I wonder if it makes sense for Kara to continue to be so overbearing even when she learned her lesson last episode that forcing Mon-El to work at CatCo isn’t going to work. Also, I still can’t stand the whole “Mon-El is so impossibly handsome that every woman throws herself at him” because that’s just boring.
3. Alex Finally Decides
This episode pained me in the best way possible. I’m really glad that show is taking the emotional toll it takes to come out so late into your 20s into consideration when writing this subplot with Alex. For her to think that she has her entire life figured out only to upend it with the realisation that she has been suppressing her sexuality her entire life was a brutally emotional scene between her and Kara. It allowed Chyler Leigh to bring a level of emotion to Alex beyond simply supporting her sister. She was allowed to be her own person, to come out and be happy about it and swoon over the beautiful woman she’s in love with.
And… then it all came crashing down. As much as I rallied against the Tragic Lesbians™ trope last week, I will admit it took gumption from the show to have Maggie admit that immediately jumping into a relationship with Alex now would be unhealthy (which it would, trust me). Alex needs to come into her own now and learn this new aspect to her life before being swallowed by this very impulsive kind of relationship. As much as that last scene was painful to watch because, holy shit, was Chyler Leigh a revelation, I respect the decision to allow Alex to mature from this setback in a very real way and not simply resolve it with an unearned happy ending.
Continued belowThat kiss was great, though.
4. M’Gann’s Conundrum
I’m really glad the introduction of M’Gann has softened J’onn at least a little bit. That opening scene where David Harewood was allowed to just smile and have a drink as J’onn admitted that he was glad people like Kara were in his life was a far cry from the gruff, overbearing J’onn we’ve seen in the past. Having him connect with one of his own, or so he thinks, allows him to actually enjoy life on Earth for once instead of simply bearing the burden of the world he lost. I hope we see more of that in future because I love David Harewood’s take on the character and I want to see J’onn actually become the fun, energetic hero we know in the comics.
Still, having M’Gann, a White Martian, give him her blood to save his life isn’t going to be the route to do that. I have no idea what’s going to happen when, or even if, J’onn finds out, but that’s going to be a hell of an episode.
5. The Cost Of Superheroes
So… James Bartholomew Olsen is a superhero. As much as I might have rallied against the idea on paper, I think this execution worked more than it didn’t. For one, Mehcad Brooks’ Olsen is much more of an active figure than the character ever was in the comics. He’s older, wiser and more mature for his friendship with Clark and is looking to emulate the example set by his pal in making a difference in the world. I wonder if this move is in response to Brooks perhaps feeling left out with Jimmy left as the head of CatCo and that’s trickled down into the character. Perhaps not, but it still seems that locking Jimmy behind a desk has caused him to rail against feeling useless compared to his friends.
That, combined with the really heightened conversation he has with Winn about the responsibility about going out and confronting these dangers showed that the show is taking this seriously. Kara, Mon-El and J’onn can all frivolously go out and face danger because they will, generally, come back unscathed. James is mortal and in serious danger of dying in the face of fighting crime and having the characters confront that made this feel like a serious choice the character was making and not just the writers trying to give him something to do.
That suit does look a bit silly, though, I will admit. I don’t why the CW can’t make helmets look anything other than goofy.
