TV Review: Supergirl 2×15 “Exodus”

Thanks for reading the weekly recaps of Supergirl. To read about past episodes, click here.

Firstly, thank you Mae for taking over review duties this last few weeks. A move and other life shenanigans made consistent coverage a bit of a challenge. Luckily, it seems like I’ve returned for one of the stronger episodes of the season so far. While many of season two’s problems continues to plague Supergirl, there was a greater focus on what made us all love it in the first place with the added bonus of a remarkably powerful hero moment from Supergirl herself.

Some thoughts on the episode…

On the nose as ever, Supergirl tackles immigration rights. 

There have been many a viewer who has complained over the past two seasons that the shows feminism was “too obvious”, possessing the right amount of nuance to really allow it to land. Considering how little positive female representation we see elsewhere, I was always excited to watch a show that embraced those themes and it seems the show hasn’t slowed it’s roll with the way that it handles immigration. With Mr. 45 in office trying to ban an entire people from entering a country that once stood as a beacon of offering a safe haven to the poor, tired and weary who sought safe refuge, maybe it’s simply worth celebrating a superhero series that is unabashed about tackling social justice issues? The aliens-the alien registry-being used to capture and deport registered aliens to light years away from earth rings remarkably true. If only we had a feminist hero in a cape.

Journalism and mansplaining. 

I’ve gone on the record in the past about how much I despite bad journalism being passed off as good and insightful journalism in television and film, with one of the greatest recent offenders being Karen Page in Daredevil. Shows love to write a keen eye for justice and heart full of sympathy as a backbone to a character being a good journalism, and then rely on those characters moral instincts to force the viewers to believe that no matter how poor the skills or writing that the character in question is worthy of their position.

I have yet to be convinced that Kara is a strong journalist and while there is something morally worthwhile about her aptitude and instincts, her blog perhaps wasn’t the strongest choice.

That being said, I did not need an entire sequence of Snapper yelling at Kara about who and what makes a good journalist. Perhaps it’s just a sensitive subject, but I am more than sick of men talking down to women in order to further them in their chosen career.

That scene. 

One of the two biggest problems with season two of Supergirl (the other being the lack of focus) has been how little relationships outside of the romantic ones have been explored. While Lena pops up every once in a while to offer a refreshing reprieve from everything else and James is kind of, sort of still a character, more than anything the significant relationships have been pushed to the wayside.

If there’s any pairing that can bring me back however it’s that between the Danvers sisters and they’re the duo that get the big highlight this week when Supergirl takes on the impossible in the spaceship in order to save Alex and the rest of the Aliens. It’s one of the strongest individual hero moments sense Supergirl took on the red tornado and it’s a necessary reminder of just how strong Kara is.

It’s not a perfect episode but it’s certainly on a better direction. Thoughts?