Thanks for reading my weekly recaps of Supergirl. To read about past episodes, click here.
My thoughts on this weeks episode of Supergirl which continues the upward trend of season two.
*I’ve spent a large portion of my last reviews complaining about how the writers have designated Winn but especially James to the sidelines after abruptly re-writing the dynamic between him and Kara. It seemed foolishly done and lazily structured, turning even more maddening with the introduction of Mon-El, a character seemingly CW tailor made for a love interest for Kara. Quirky personality? Check. Tragic, shared backstory? Check. Bow tie? Check, check, check. Luckily the episode this week spends time course correcting with the supporting players by giving James and Winn their own storyline as James grows fed up with playing the sidekick to both Superman and Supergirl. Despite having no powers or real fighting skills he wants to go on to fight crime with Winn’s help. Jeremy Jordan and Mechad Brooks have wonderful chemistry and Jordan is as charming as he’s ever been on the series and the two get a lot of funny scenes bouncing off of one another’s very specific energy. It’s not a complete turnaround of how they’ve been failing the James character but it’s a start. It helps that the hints of a possible Lena and Winn dynamic shone through at the end of the episode and that Mon-El isn’t nearly as grating as one might suspect on his basic outline. If this is some sort of excuse to kill the James character off though as a source of mid-season drama, the goodwill the series have gained will be lost.
*I mentioned Lena above but wanted to expand on her more, specifically, her relationship with Kara. It was an interesting turn of events to show that the evil Luther of the week was actually her mother but the real intrigue is the continuing relationship between Kara and Lena and the downright sweet friendship building between them. Melissa Benoist has had the best chemistry with Katie McGrath so far and if the show wants to replace the Cat sized hole in fans hearts, they might remedy it by giving us more scenes with Lena. Also a nice touch was seeing Lena being so hands on with her tech and being clever enough to entrap the baddies on her own.
*As has been the case for the last two episodes though it is Alex and Maggie that have been the ultimate standout, both showcasing an electric dynamic and important storytelling. Alex in season one was a character I felt who embodied the weaker elements of the series, with little characterization beyond being Kara’s sister and apart of the DEO. Season two has done much to remedy this by both showing her concerned with her own life beyond her job but also with her simmering relationship with Maggie which surprises her. Her pseudo coming out speech about how she’s always felt different but had never attributed it to liking girls was some of the best writing that the series has done to date and played beautifully by Chyler Leigh whose been knocking it out of the park this year. It’s such a heartbreaking yet inspiring sentiment, that this woman after all of these years could be finding herself and discovering some facet of herself that unbeknownst to her had been kept hidden. I hope little girls who watch are inspired, because it’s a scene written to perfection.
Supergirl has become my favorite DC superhero show currently airing this year and “Crossfire” exemplifies why.
Rating: 9/10
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