Welcome back to my weekly review and recap of “Supergirl.” To catch up on previous coverage, click here.
Despite the considerable raised stakes and the action that takes place in the episode, the result was a tad underwhelming after a few episodes that demonstrated the best the show had to offer as well as playing to the individual strengths of the series.
Despite my overall feeling of “meh,” here are some highlights from the episode.
Falling from great heights:
A lot of this week’s episode set up interesting set pieces before quickly petering out, stuck in a halfway point where they wanted to delve deep into the action while also holding off most of it for the finale. The moment where Non sends Winn, James and random Red Shirt tumbling off the skyscrapers ledge is the only time where both Non and the mind control seems like a viable and deadly threat. Red Shirt dies because only able to in the end save two, Kara races towards her friends.
Not only does the moment spike up the threat level, but it also is the moment where Kara begins doubting her ability to save the day.
Unlikely team up:
Maxwell Lord, Cat Grant and Supergirl isn’t the most random trio that the show could have gone with (Cat, Hank and Winn wouldn’t be odder), but it’s a group that shakes up the status quo. Max’s temperament is hostile compared to Cat’s while Supergirl is caught somewhere awkwardly in between. No, she doesn’t immediately agree with Max that dropping kryptonite bomb on the city is a good idea, but she doesn’t see it as possibly being a last case scenario option, especially with Superman out for the count (in a sequence way too silly to take seriously in a moment that was supposed to be the height of drama). She’s Supergirl though and both as the girl of steel and as Kara Danvers she has more optimism that Lord, and she’s quickly moved by Cat’s words of seeing hope in Supergirl’s emblem. She’s determined to find another way, even if it means greater overall risk taking.
It’s a trio of characters that reinforces just how much Cat has changed as a character over the course of the season, and also, more importantly, how improperly labeled she was and is by those around her. She’s ruthless in the workplace, and she takes her job and the safety of her city very seriously. But she has as big a heart as Kara’s, she just utilizes it differently and some may say to greater effect.
The ending?:
Admittedly, this is a bit of a cheap pick, but it really underscores just how lukewarm the episode was. It did quite a lot to set up what will hopefully be an explosive season finale next week, while doing very little to capture our attention this week. The ending brings Alex back into the fold in a big way as the sisters charge at each other right before the episode ends, promising an emotionally charged fight sequence. Non, like many of the villains that Supergirl has faced off with so far, is as uninteresting as they come. Placing a more human and better developed character in the “antagonist” role gives the moment much more weight. The likelihood of Alex killing Kara or vice versa is so unlikely that it’s unnecessary to even dwell on the possibility. But their fight, due to how their relationship has developed over the course of the season, is going to help kick off the season finale with high energy and high emotional stakes.
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Thoughts? Did anyone else think the episode dragged the energy down a bit? Comment below to let me know! Who is ready for the season finale next week?
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