The Martian "Manhunter" Is Given A Proper Introduction To Supergirl!

The Good: Good performances, Decent moments of characterization
The Bad: Very simple plot, Heavy on exposition (plot and character), Generic villain
The Basics: Supergirl deals with the presence of the Martian Manhunter by revealing his backstory in "Manhunter!"


Once Hank Henshaw - who fans of the whole Superman franchise had a reason to be excited about appearing in Supergirl - was revealed to be J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, viewers were set up with something of a narrative time bomb. The Martian Manhunter is considered a pretty a-list DC Comics character to begin with, so when characters beyond Kara and Alex Danvers on Supergirl learned of his true identity, the show would have to try to figure out how best to balance the nearly invincible with a character who is virtually omniscient, at least in relation to dealing with other characters. The process of reshuffling the characters on Supergirl to more accurately explore their abilities and experiences begins properly in "Manhunter."

"Manhunter" picks up after "Falling" (reviewed here!) and it is impossible to discuss without some references to the prior episode. After all, in "Falling," Supergirl was contaminated with Red Kryptonite, essentially went evil and in the process of bringing her down to cure her, Hank Henshaw was exposed as a shapechanging alien and brought back to the DEO as a prisoner.

National City is afraid of Supergirl following the incident with the red Kryptonite, with crime rising and Kara feeling depressed. While James Olsen mans Cat Grant's phones, Schott acts as a shoulder for Siobhan Smythe to cry on. Smythe wants revenge upon Kara for getting her fired. At the DEO, Alex visits J'onn in his prison, where he implores his employee to distance herself from him. The military arrives to prosecute those who knew about J'onzz before he was revealed. Lucy Lane and Colonel Harper debrief J'onn to learn his story. While Alex is interrogated, Smythe breaks into Kara's e-mail at CatCo and sends a message to Cat, impersonating Kara. When Alex is arrested for lying to Harper and Lane, J'onzz and Danvers are shipped to Project Cadmus.

Hank Henshaw and Dr. Jeremiah Danvers, ten years prior, were working at the DEO. Henshaw had his team headed to South America where the DEO is tracking the oldest, most dangerous alien they had yet encountered. Dr. Danvers is hesitant to hurt the alien and, in the jungle, he encounters J'onn J'onzz. When Hank Henshaw attempts to kill J'onn, Dr. Danvers steps in to save the Martian's life. Dr. Danvers is stabbed in the process and J'onzz replaces Hank Henshaw at the DEO.

The relationship between Alex Danvers and Hank Henshaw/J'onn J'onzz is strengthened in "Manhunter." Earlier in the season, Alex worked through her feelings of betrayal in relation to J'onzz, so it is refreshing to see Alex completely committed to the DEO and reconciled with J'onzz. While J'onzz is being interrogated, Alex works to find a way to get him released. Alex's loyalty is well-portrayed in "Manhunter." Alex's history with Hank Henshaw is fleshed out and the idea that Alex was essentially a drunk party girl on a course for self-destruction when Henshaw recruited her is an intriguing twist.

A surprisingly little amount of time in "Manhunter" is spent with Dr. Danvers and J'onn J'onzz building a bond and establishing a friendship. The two bond over their daughters and Danvers's unwillingness to kill J'onzz after J'onzz rescues him and realizes he is not dangerous. The foundation for a friendship between the two men is laid out satisfactorily, though it is very fast that the replacing of Hank Henshaw occurs within the narrative.

The introduction of Project Cadmus in "Manhunter" is a decent bit of foreshadowing for the second season of Supergirl. In fact, there is an added richness to some of the second season episodes because events in "Manhunter" that appear to be straightforward and simple from the perspective they are given in this episode are fleshed out later. Unfortunately, while Cadmus becomes a powerful and dangerous on-screen adversary in the second season, Colonel Harper in "Manhunter" is utterly generic. Harper is a Marine, who was personally betrayed by J'onzz and that makes him angry and dogmatic in an entirely predictable way.

Similarly, Lucy Lane is presented in "Manhunter" as a jaded ex-girlfriend. Both Lane and Harper, in real-world circumstances, would have to recuse themselves from the assignment involving J'onzz and Danvers. That leap makes the science fiction elements seem more ridiculous than they are compelling.

In the end, "Manhunter" fills in important gaps in the Supergirl narrative, but it does so in a painfully blunt and unimaginative way. That makes for an episode that is more average than it ever is exceptional.

For other works with Zayne Emory, please visit my reviews of:
"Alex" - Supergirl
Crazy. Stupid. Love.

5/10

For other television season and episode reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Ethics Save The Otherwise Unimpressive "Havoc In The Hidden Land"

The Good: Serinda Swan's acting and Medusa's character, Good pacing
The Bad: Character elements fail to resonate because of their context (or lack thereof) in the larger story, Predictable plot, Generic villain and hero
The Basics: "Havoc In The Hidden Land" moves Inhumans towards its logical conclusion with a good sense of ethics for Medusa and a weird wrinkle in the attempt to resurrect Gorgon.


As Inhumans lopes toward its conclusion, the show is going in a pretty obvious direction. The plot, much like that of any of the Marvel Comics films, is pretty formulaic. Inhumans set up an adversary (Maximus), isolated the heroes (sending Medusa and Black Bolt, with most of the Attilan Royal Family to Hawaii) and while the villain is consolidating his power, the heroes are slowly coming together and learning what they want to stand for. All of this is leading, in the most predictable way possible, to an inevitable conflict between the heroes and the villain and "Havoc In The Hidden Land" makes the penultimate moves for both sides.

"Havoc In The Hidden Land" picks up where "The Gentleman's Name Is Gorgon" (reviewed here!) left off and it is impossible to talk about the new episode without references to what came before. After all, the prior episode climaxed with the death of Gorgon and the Attilan Royal Family being fully reunited, while Maximus cleaned house on the moon of those who resist his authority.

Maximus's supporters in Hawaii are fleeing through the jungle when Crystal and Lockjaw head them off. Dr. Declan informs Medusa and Black Bolt of exactly why he was working for Maximus. The next morning, Black Bolt decides to send a message to Maximus and he has Karnak kill Auran. Crystal and Lockjaw take Maximus's forces back to Attilan and calls for a parlay. Medusa makes an impassioned plea to Black Bolt to spare Maximus's life.

Returning to the moon, Medusa is furious to learn that Black Bolt had prepared for a coup by Maximus, up to and including having a massive, well-stocked, bunker below the palace. Auran resurrects and when she discusses Maximus's motivations, she becomes unsettled by his desire to undergo terrigenesis a second time to become Inhuman again. During the parlay, Medusa gives Maximus the terms - the Royals will turn over Declan so Maximus may undergo terrigenesis in exchange for the throne back. Once Declan is freed and in his possession, Maximus reneges. Maximus tries to convince Declan to let him pick and choose the powers he wants to receive through his second terrigenesis, but Declan is resistant. Karnak wants to use a process similar to Declan's research to resurrect Gorgon through a second terrigenesis, but Black Bolt rejects the idea. So, Karnak goes rogue and approaches Auran to try to bring Gorgon back.

"Havoc In The Hidden Land" might resonate more if the characters on Inhumans had been given enough time to grow and develop early on in the series. The death of Gorgon and the return of Triton - who survived the attack upon him - might have seemed significant if they had been developed enough for the viewer to care about either of them. Triton's return especially lacks impact because he was killed so early in the series.

Medusa is given an impressive arc in "Havoc In The Hidden Land." Medusa makes an ethical argument and it is a good argument. The bulk of Medusa's early scenes in "Havoc In The Hidden Land" have Medusa being legitimately upset by being kept out of the loop for Black Bolt's many plans. Medusa's outrage is very human and it is one of the few moments in Inhumans that the viewer might be able to empathize with the characters. Serinda Swan rules "Havoc In The Hidden Land" with her performance of Medusa.

The final sequence of "Havoc In The Hidden Land" is well-choreographed, but not particularly well-directed. Triton's powers are not made clear, so his combat abilities come across as unremarkable, as opposed to an Inhuman power. That said, Anson Mount's performance in his final scene of the episode is well-directed, well-executed and does everything that he possibly can for playing a character who has to show restraint in being mute.

Ultimately, "Havoc In The Hidden Land" is one of the better episodes of Inhumans, despite it continuing the trend of being more obvious and formulaic than it is interesting.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Marvel's Inhumans - The Complete First Season, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the premiere season of Inhumans here!
Thanks!]

3.5/10

For other Marvel Cinematic Universe reviews, please visit my MCU Review Index Page for a relativistic listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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"Divide And Conquer" Continues To Muddy The Inhumans!

The Good: A couple decent performances, Production values
The Bad: Derivative characterizations, Crowded cast has more characters thrown into it, Under-developed plotline that is fractured among a massive cast, Reversals are hardly surprising
The Basics: "Divide And Conquer" crowds Inhumans even more, though Serinda Swan is finally able to do something with Medusa.


The early releases for genre television this year seem to be in a race to the bottom to ruin major franchises. Inhumans made an unceremonious debut on television after having an abysmal theatrical run, breaking the success curve of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It speaks to how unimpressive the two-part series premiere of Inhumans was that it took me, a reviewer committed to the franchise, two extra days to muster up the enthusiasm to review the new episode. Between Inhumans and Star Trek: Discovery (latest episode reviewed here!), it is a dismal time for the established franchises!

As "Divide And Conquer" begins, Inhumans is buried under the weight of the events of "Behold . . . The Inhumans" (reviewed here!), which threw a ton of new characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As fans of the third season of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. (reviewed here!) know, Inhumans have been running around Earth for years thanks to a contaminant in the water (and fish oil vitamin) supply. But, even the dismantled S.H.I.E.L.D. has managed for years to keep the Inhumans contained. Inhumans, however, hinges almost entirely on the absence of S.H.I.E.L.D. brought about by the fourth season finale. Following the coup on the moon (shudder) that installed the Inhuman Maximus as the King of the Inhumans there, most of the rest of the Royal family and loyalists to Black Bolt - including his sheared wife Medusa - are on Hawaii encountering humans for the first time.

Opening at the Declan Research Facility in Santa Barbara, Dr. Delan learns of new Inhumans on Earth and Louise Fisher tries to get into the prison to see Black Bolt. Medusa figures out that she needs money, while Maximus figures out that he needs Crystal's public support to legitimize his new government. Maximus wants to send Mortus, a powerful killer Inhuman, to Earth to aid Auran in finding and killing Black Bolt, but is anxious because his clairvoyant Inhuman cannot see Mortus's future.

While Karnak stumbles upon an illegal weed farm and loses his powers, which gets him captured, Black Bolt acclimates to prison life. While Black Bolt works hard to not speak, he is turned over to a prisoner Declan has leverage over. The prisoner actually tries to help the deposed King of Attilan. Auran's force of Inhumans encounters Gorgon and the fight goes badly for both sides. On the moon, Maximus informs the Genetic Council that he plans to abolish the caste system in Attilan before Crystal inevitably betrays him. And when the corrections officers critically misjudge how other prisoners would view a guy who hurt cops, Black Bolt and his new friend use a prison riot as cover to escape.

"Divide And Conquer" continues the whole Shakespearean "two brothers, one throne" conflict with flashbacks to Black Bolt and Maximus as children, learning from their father. The thing is, the Thor section of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has pretty well mined that whole concept and Maximus is, sadly, no Loki. But wait, Loki was actually a Frost Giant and Maximus is an Inhuman whose transformation appears to make him into a mundane human . . . so both brothers are outsiders in the world they would seek to rule. So, the characters are pretty derivative right out of the gate.

Beyond that, the characters seem somewhat stupidly defined; Mortus has to remind one of the Inhumans in his search party that she has the ability to make paths. So, while the Inhumans have a reasonable moment of being overwhelmed by all of the plant life surrounding them, the fact that they are trudging along for a while before Mortus has to tell another character her characterization is executed in a sloppy way.

"Divide And Conquer" does a decent job of having Medusa played as a "fish out of water." Medusa has not only lost her hair and throne, she has lost her entire world. Serinda Swan has several silent scenes where she has to emote with just her facial expressions and eyes to convey the powerful sense of disenfranchisement Medusa feels. Swan does that quite well. Swan's task is made somewhat difficult in that the audience still is unable to fully empathize with her. The first episode of Inhumans did a poor job of presenting the full range of Medusa's abilities. She was a woman with exceptionally long hair that seemed to have some level of control and autonomy of its own. Had it been explored more, the magnitude Medusa's hair getting sheared off would have had far more impact.

But, just like the premiere, "Divide And Conquer" suffers because it is desperately attempting to flesh out an ensemble on the fly. Inhumans implicitly justifies the long route taken to The Avengers by showing just how terrible an ensemble piece can be when viewers neither have an emotional connection to, nor understanding of the full ability range of, the protagonists involved. Gorgon, Crystal and Lockjaw, and Karnak are all given airtime, but remain comparatively under-developed so the viewer does not so much care what happens to them. Maximus continues to develop - or have his backstory revealed to be the same as that of Loki - and Mortus is thrown into the mix to upstage them all by getting the episode's best lines.

Ultimately, "Divide And Conquer" plods along with a bunch of characters independently fleeing a coup where the usurper to the throne seems like a fairly decent guy who wants to do right by the majority of his subjects and the viewer is expected to believe that a menagerie of super-powered individuals living on the moon behind a cloaking device have not yet figured out a technology analogous to the technology that gives Stephen Hawking the ability to communicate.

For other works with Anson Mount, please check out my reviews of:
Non-Stop
In Her Shoes
City By The Sea

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Marvel's Inhumans - The Complete First Season, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the premiere season of Inhumans here!
Thanks!]

2/10

For other Marvel Cinematic Universe reviews, please visit my MCU Review Index Page for a relativistic listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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