"Reign" Comes To Supergirl!

The Good: Decent performances, Interesting villain backstory
The Bad: Mediocre direction, Very forced character moments, Simplistic plot
The Basics: "Reign" is properly introduced on Supergirl in an erratic episode that sets up serious issues for the show.


I have, as a general rule, come to loathe the DC Television Universe crossover events and last week's debacle into forced comeraderie was no exception. Supergirl generally manages to avoid the worst aspects of the crossover episodes in that Kara Zor-El is forced to leave her universe for an entirely divergent series of episodes in order to allow Supergirl to participate in the crossover event. The thing is, the narrative momentum of Supergirl was killed by Kara and Alex participating in the crossover. Right before the crossover began, Mon-El abruptly returned and announced he was married and Samantha Arias learned her true origins.

As a result, as "Reign" begins, the episode pretty much has to ignore the divergence of "Crisis On Earth-X, Part 1" (reviewed here!) - which had Supergirl randomly fighting a Dominator - and restore the plot momentum from "Wake Up" (reviewed here!). Fans of Supergirl need not have actually watched the four-episode crossover; all that truly happened for any Supergirl characters was that Kara was menaced (wow, what a surprise!) and Alex learned to stand by her decision to split with Alex. And the Earth-X version of Winn Schott made an appearance. But "Reign" has to actually reflect upon what the prior episode ignored; Mon-El has returned to Kara's time period with heroes from the future and Samantha Arias learned that she was a Kryptonian who is supposed to be a Worldkiller.

Samantha Arias wakes up in her bed and is told by her daughter that she went on a trip the day before. At the DEO, Mon-El and Imra inform the team about the conditions in the 31rst Century where they came from. That night, the DEO and CatCo staffs meet at Kara's apartment in order to celebrate Christmas together. Kara and J'onn are shocked when they are called to the scene of an arson that looks like Kryptonian glyphs from above. Lena Luthor believes that Morgan Edge is behind the "crop circles" and she and Olsen go to interrogate him. Edge denies involvement, but Kara soon gets a clue as to what is going on with the Kryptonian symbols from the Rao fanatic she had arrested.

The fanatic tells Kara about the Worldkiller and the prophecies about the end of days in the Book Of Rao. While Lena and James go out on Christmas Eve to try to find who is leaving the glyphs around, rival gangs in National City end up in a turf war with one another. The gangs are taken out by a Kryptonian, Reign. Samantha, now outfitted as Reign, heads out to try to kill Morgan Edge. Edge uses his lead-lined panic room to avoid Reign, which pushes Kara to go hunting for the violent Kryptonian. When Supergirl calls out Reign, the two have a showdown on the roof of the CatCo building.

Mon-El's opening monologue in "Reign" serves to immediately catch the audience up on when Mon-El was in the period since he left Earth. The debriefing from Mon-El makes perfect sense; it makes no immediate sense following "Crisis On Earth-X," as it established that "Reign" occurred only a day after "Wake Up." So, some of the character moments do not quite fit as they would seem to precede Alex's off-world catharsis. That, at least, explains why Kara appears in "Reign" completely unshaken by the ordeal she experienced on Earth-1.

On the character front, "Reign" is instantly problematic in the way it attempts to force Samantha Arias into the narrative and Kara's circle of friends. Arias is very new to the Supergirl mix. In fact, Kara Danvers met Samantha Arias only a few weeks ago in the Supergirl narrative (whatwith the season premiere beginning several months after Mon-El left Earth). As a result, there is a forced, inorganic quality to Kara telling Samantha (who is sitting next to Lena at the time) how important she was to her getting over Mon-El. Instead of taking Lena aside and talking to her about her feelings about their relationship, the writers of "Reign" hope that viewers will accept Samantha by association and by her responding to Kara, despite the fact that their relationship is nowhere near that deep.

In a similar way, "Reign" starts to make a truly troubling insinuation for Alex. Alex and Maggie broke up because Alex wants children and Maggie does not. So, all of a sudden, Alex is thrown into a room where she is taking care of Ruby and being more social with a child at an adult party than with the other adults. The narrative pressure here becomes obvious; either Samantha and Alex will end up together to raise Ruby or when the arc that makes Samantha into Reign comes to an end, Alex will be left to raise Ruby. This, sadly, is as painfully obvious as the fact that Alex and Maggie were doomed to break up based on the fact that Lima (who played Maggie) was not made a full cast member for the third season of Supergirl.

Mon-El and Kara have a predictably awkward series of exchanges in "Reign." Imra even attempts to smooth things over with Kara by telling her how Mon-El held out hope for quite some time before ever looking at her. There are moments in "Reign" that feel like melodrama, but most of the time, Chris Wood and Melissa Benoist both manage to keep the dialogue just on the right side of realism. Benoist's best moment of performance has her simply watching Mon-El and Imra training.

Why Supergirl goes off to meet Reign alone makes no real sense. Even if Mon-El and Saturn Girl don't make a trip to the battleground, J'onn and/or Winn Schott being present on-site to monitor and learn what they can about Reign makes a lot more sense than Supergirl just going alone.

The bulk of the fight sequence in "Reign" is poorly directed, with much of the action being cheated by shots that have random people and camera shakes as opposed to a cohesive battle.

"Reign" features a b-plot with Lena Luthor getting more emotional with James Olsen and that plotline does not quite land. Lena Luthor is a good, assertive character, but the build-up to Olsen and Luthor having a credible relationship just was not there. As a result, the plotline in "Reign" feels more like filler and a forced pairing up instead of a well-developed plotline.

Ultimately, "Reign" is an important step in the third season of Supergirl, but it fails to execute its goals well.

For other works written by Paula Yoo, please visit my reviews of:
"The Faithful" - Supergirl
"Ace Reporter" - Supergirl
"Exodus" - Supergirl
"The Darkest Place" - Supergirl
"Survivors" - Supergirl
The West Wing - Season 4

4.5/10

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

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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"Strange Visitor From Another Planet" Is Average Supergirl

The Good: Good performances from Melissa Benoist and David Harewood, Moments of character
The Bad: Very basic plot, Lack of realistic and lasting consequences.
The Basics: "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" is a fairly basic Supergirl shapeshifter episode that blends an internal conflict with Cat Grant and J'onn J'onzz awkwardly.


The DC Television Universe is, in some ways, hampered by its own sense of concepts. Most of the shows in the "Berlantiverse" are team-oriented, Villain Of The Week works with a serialized element that builds a season's primary antagonist. It is somewhat formulaic, especially considering that the Villain Of The Week is very specific to the show - Arrow has the criminal of the week, The Flash has Metahuman Of The Week, Legends Of Tomorrow goes with "Temporal Anomaly" Of The Week, and Supergirl began as a series that was, largely, Alien Of The Week. The problem with such a formulaic nature across the various DC Television Universe shows is that the X Of The Week often possesses some measure of overlap. In other words, it doesn't so much matter if it is Metahuman or Alien of the week when the hero is confronting a shapeshifter, electricity-manipulating entity or one that drains the heroes of their powers. Supergirl, in many ways, drew the conceptual short straw of the series' based simply on being produced last. "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" gives viewers yet another shapeshifter villain and, because the show is Supergirl, it is an alien.

"Strange Visitor From Another Planet" picks up after "Childish Things" (reviewed here!), but it picks up more elements from "Blood Bonds" (reviewed here!) than its immediate predecessor. It is impossible to discuss without some references to the season's big revelations that came in prior episodes. After all, Cat Grant suddenly has a new son, Lucy Lane is working for CatCo, and the anti-alien agenda is rising while Hank Henshaw wrestles with actually being J'onn J'onzz - the Martian Manhunter. In "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" the White Martians become a real threat on Supergirl, which menaces both National City and J'onzz.

After Kara rescues a family from a forest fire, she returns to National City where she laments the emotional distance she now has from Winn, who told her he loves her. While Cat Grant is surprised by her older, abandoned, son Adam Foster coming to CatCo, National City is visited by the anti-alien Senator Miranda Crane. When Crane's rally is interrupted by an attack by White Martians, Supergirl has to rescue Miranda Crane and extract her to the DEO. While Cat Grant struggles through a meal with her son, James Olsen and Kara go over hit photographs of the rally and realize there is a "tell" for the shape-shifting White Martians and that Senator Crane might have been replaced by a White Martian. At the DEO, Crane reveals herself to be a White Martian and attacks J'onn.

When Adam Foster rejects Cat and her clumsy attempt to relate to her adult son, Foster rejects Grant. Grant turns to Kara to step in and Kara tries to broker a relationship between the two. When the search for the White Martian leads to the sewers, Alex is captured by the White Martians and Kara and J'onn have to rescue her.

"Strange Visitor From Another Planet" has some weird plot issues, first and foremost being that Kara has to be called by James Olsen to come save Crane from the White Martian attack in the teaser. Why the D.E.O. and Supergirl would assume that violence or a problem would not break out at a rally for a bigot seems tragically naive. Director Glen Winter assumes viewers are idiots when Kara and Olsen recognize that the photographs Olsen took imply that Crane is a White Martian, then cut to Crane for a flash of her eyes going white to confirm it. That is lazy and insults the audience. In a similar way, why the DEO uses open comms in "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" which allows the White Martian to get the drop on Alex Danvers.

Cat Grant and Kara have an interesting relationship in "Strange Visitor From Another Planet." Grant immediately fires Kara when she realizes that Kara finished her letter and sent it to Adam, which is a realistic kneejerk reaction, but she does not stick to it. Kara manages to talk her way back into her job by pointing out how she would jump to have a conversation with her own mother, who has died. Kara attempts to prep Cat for a dinner with Adam, but is rebuked . . . but when Cat later complains to her about how Kara sent her in unprepared, Kara does not point out that she tried and Grant is being churlish. The relationship between estranged son and mother is actually an interesting one, but the tragedy of "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" is that trying to be honest with Foster does not fundamentally change the nature of Grant and Kara's relationship . . . or put Grant on a more interesting and honest path.

The D.E.O. plot is a pretty standard Alien Of The Week/shapeshifter plot. Alex Danvers struggles to help Hank Henshaw and keep him on mission. J'onn J'onzz reveals the Martian Holocaust to Danvers and his honesty is tempered with the knowledge that if he is involved in tracking down the White Martian, he will draw out the White Martian. That comes to pass almost immediately, but instead of keeping J'onzz off the table and letting a human rise to the occasion, J'onn J'onzz exposes himself to the White Martians. That mistake haunts J'onzz well into the third season, but it also establishes a forced "no kill" rule that is quickly swept aside in the face of larger battle sequences on Supergirl. "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" throws down the gauntlet between Earth and the White Martians, but the payoff still has not come, despite there being a number of fast transports between Earth and Mars in the Supergirl universe.

Melissa Benoist is quite good in "Strange Visitor From Another Planet." Danvers struggles in "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" with negotiating between Cat Grant and Adam Foster. Benoist finds the right balance between being flirtatious with Blake Jenner (Foster) and expressing deep and genuine emotions with Calista Flockhart's Grant. Benoist is emotive and portrays a genuine quality that is uncommon for what she is given to play on Supergirl.

Tawny Cypress is fine in the dual roles of Miranda Crane and the White Martian. Unfortunately for Cypress, she is not given the chance to make Crane into a well-developed adversary before she is undermined. In other words, it is hardly a dramatic transformation or a great expression of Cypress's range to do one inflammatory speech, then change the character into a reformed bigot. Cypress handles the physical performance of playing - essentially - an action hero well during that portion of "Strange Visitor From Another Planet."

The two big emotional journeys in "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" are robbed by the script. J'onn J'onzz makes a profound and personal revelation and blending his plotline with a somewhat more melodramatic arc for Cat Grant and her son. Similarly, Cat Grant's arc with Adam Foster is robbed of some of its importance - as is Kara's arc as a negotiator between the two - when Grant does not have any significant or fundamental changes as a result of her meeting and accepting her estranged son back in her life.

The result, ultimately, is that "Strange Visitor From Another Planet" is an average episode of Supergirl without the extraordinary moments the show seems to be building to.

For other works with Tawny Cypress, please visit my reviews of:
Home
House Of Cards - Season 1
Heroes - Season 1
World Trade Center

5/10

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

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Generic Return: "The Flash Reborn" Lives Up To Its Name Too Quickly.

The Good: Good performances, Decent special effects, One or two moments of character
The Bad: Incredibly basic and predictable plot, Undermines the good moments of character for a plot-centric focus, Utterly generic and uninspired villain.
The Basics: The Flash returns with "The Flash Reborn," which implicitly proves how right Joss Whedon was to leave Buffy dead for a full episode all those years ago . . .


One of the big differences between the television incarnation of The Flash and its source material is that actor's contracts make it hard to make leaps the way the books do. Barry Allen, in the DC Comics comic books, makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the universe from the collapse of the multiverse and the Anti-Monitor. But shortly after Barry Allen was lost in time and space, Wally West picked up the mantle of The Flash and he spent almost twenty years as the sole Flash. As the fourth season of The Flash begins, Barry Allen has appeared to have made a similar level of sacrifice, but it is impossible for viewers to believe that Grant Gustin's Barry Allen would not show up, especially given that the fourth season premiere is entitled "The Flash Reborn."

"The Flash Reborn" picks up six months after "Finish Line" (reviewed here!). It is impossible to discuss "The Flash Reborn" without references to where the prior season's finale left off. After all, "Finish Line" found Dr. Snow/Killer Frost going off on her own after Barry Allen thwarted his temporal remnant, Savitar. But after defeating Savitar, Barry Allen had to save the world from a temporal lightning storm by entering the Speed Force and becoming a prisoner there. Barry Allen's return is an intellectual anticlimax as the leap that Barry Allen would leave the series before stopping the Red Sky (assumedly the multiverse Crisis) is far beyond the reasonable suspension of disbelief.

Six months after Barry Allen entered the Speed Force, Kid Flash, Vibe and Joe West are chasing Peek-a-Boo through Central City with Iris coordinating from S.T.A.R. Labs. Iris tries to keep the team focused. While Joe and Iris deal with Cecile moving in, the team is called back in when a teched up samurai flies into Central City and threatens everyone. Unwilling to fight Kid Flash and Vibe, the samurai demands to fight The Flash. Cisco informs Iris and the rest of the team that he has been working on a way to free Barry from the Speed Force prison, but Iris rejects his idea.

Cisco approaches Caitlin Snow at the bar at which she is working. Ramon and Snow alter the Speed Force Bazooka to find Barry in the Speed Force and try to release him. The experiment appears to fail, but soon a naked Barry Allen runs out of the Speed Force. When his friends recover Barry Allen, they discover that he is not at all connected to our world any longer. Dr. Snow has two theories as to what is wrong with Barry, but there are no easy solutions to his disorder.

"The Flash Reborn" does a decent job of redefining Iris West. Iris was frequently defined in the third season by her relationship with Barry. In "The Flash Reborn," she is a strong character doing her best to move on in the wake of tragedy. Iris is efficient, smart and far more tactical in her new role than she was as a reporter. "The Flash Reborn" opens well with its focus on her.

In addition to the positive focus on Iris, "The Flash Reborn" works when Cisco Ramon's obsession with rescuing Barry Allen is explored. Ramon has been Barry's best friend outside Iris and he and Iris seem to be working very well together as the episode begins. Ramon's various attempts to rescue Barry Allen are compelling and Carlos Valdes does good at making Ramon's pain both reasonable and realistic without it being melodramatic.

As "The Flash Reborn" refocuses on Barry Allen and his physical and psychological return, the episode becomes mired in a plot device that is focused on the single conceit. The threat of the amped up samurai is not presented as imminent enough to realistically threaten Central City. How he takes on a speedster multiple times is not made clear in "The Flash Reborn."

After the threat of himself, in an evil and tragically traumatized form, Barry Allen has little that seems like it would be compelling to fight. The samurai in "The Flash Reborn" is a painfully generic enemy. How the samurai holds its own against Vibe, the police, and a speedster is not presented in a satisfying way.

When Buffy Summers made a massive sacrifice, Joss Whedon did not return her immediately to the narrative the next year and he did almost no press for the sixth season that showed Sarah Michelle Gellar on the set, out of respect for the character's death. When Spike made a sacrifice, he was out of play for a while as well. The Flash restores Barry Allen to the story so quickly his sacrifice is undermined and the magnitude of his prison is made feeble. Instead of offering a truly reflective period, The Flash is obsessed with returning the show to a familiar homeostasis in "The Flash Reborn."

For other season premieres from The Flash, please check out my reviews of:
"City Of Heroes" - Season 1
"The Man Who Saved Central City"- Season 2
"Flashpoint" - Season 3

3/10

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

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Generic Superhero Training Episode: "Stronger Together" Continues The Slow Start Of Supergirl.

The Good: Good character development, Generally decent serialized elements, Improved dialogue
The Bad: Very obvious plot progression, Lame special effects, Very few significant acting moments
The Basics: Supergirl progresses in an obvious direction for "Stronger Together."


One of the difficult aspects of flooding the market with superhero-themed television shows and films is that it is hard to keep the genre fresh when introducing new material. Supergirl got off to a particularly rough start in that regard. After the success of The Flash (season 1 reviewed here!), Supergirl had big shoes to fill and the formula for The Flash was essentially replicated in the first season of Supergirl. The Flash was instantly preoccupied with tracking down metahumans in the nascent superhero's home city, Central City, while he was slowly menaced by the Reverse Flash. Supergirl was established with a virtually identical plot; as Kara Zor-El trains to become Supergirl, she and the DEO hunt down a bevy of aliens from Fort Rozz, while Kara's aunt Astra menaces National City. The sense that Supergirl is largely derivative is nailed home in the show's second episode, "Stronger Together."

"Stronger Together" follows on the heels of "Pilot" (reviewed here!) and is an unfortunately generic episode that shows the logical progression of the super hero training and introduces the first season's serialized villains properly. While Maxwell Lord is only barely introduced in "Stronger Together," Astra is given a decent story priority as the episode's secondary antagonist.

A week after revealing herself to National City, Kara is tested by Hank Henshaw and the DEO to explore the extent of her super powers. Winn Schott calls Supergirl to help put out a fire at the National City port. Before a tanker filled with oil can explode, Kara manages to move the ship, but it cracks open and she inadvertently causes an environmental disaster. Maxwell Lord speaks out against Supergirl, which is echoed by Cat Grant at CatCo Worldwide Media. Grant orders her staff to get an interview with Supergirl by the end of the week. That night, Plastino Chemicals is attacked by an alien and when Supergirl investigates with the DEO team in the morning, she recognizes a spine left behind as belonging to a Helgremite.

Before Henshaw will allow Kara into the field on the DEO mission to capture the Helgremite, Alex trains with Supergirl in a Kryptonite-lined chamber. On the advice of Grant, Kara restarts her superhero activities small, with Schott and Olsen's help. Kara's aunt, in the meantime, enlists the Helgremite to her team. The DEO figures out that the Helgremite, a chlorine-based alien, is stealing and consuming government-confiscated DDT in order to survive. The DEO lays a trap and the Helgremite appears, taking Alex prisoner in the process. Supergirl, having recognized that she is stronger as part of a team, spearheads the DEO effort to rescue Alex from Astra.

The derivative fashion of "Stronger Together" is reinforced by Winn Schott's presence in the episode and the pairing of Schott and Olsen together as the behind-the-scenes Team Supergirl. Schott is essentially the Cisco Ramon of Supergirl and he is written with the same voice as Ramon. "Stronger Together" mixes the training sequences from the DEO with the buddy team scenes with Schott and Olsen tasking Supergirl on minor heroic missions. Those who fell in love with the first season of The Flash will instantly recognize the sequences in "Stronger Together" as familiar ones from earlier DC Television works.

Kara's arc in "Stronger Together" is sadly obvious and familiar and pairing her, alternately, with Hank Henshaw and Cat Grant mirrors Barry Allen being paired with Dr. Wells and Joe West. Supergirl's insistence on making both of Kara's employers antagonistic is played out as instantly boring. Cat Grant is generically bitchy, but in "Stronger Together" the writers are already softening her as she gives Kara good advice for Supergirl to use. But Hank Henshaw is a terrible leader for the DEO in "Stronger Together" and the source of his hostility against Kara is not made clear in the second episode. As a result, his crotchety nature is more frustrating to watch and baffling to believe than it is intriguing characterization.

Melissa Benoist's physical performance in "Stronger Together" is noteworthy. Benoist plays sore incredibly when, after training for the first time, she limps and changes her physical bearing to be appropriately stiff. Benoist and Chyler Leigh give decent physical performances even if "Stronger Together" does not afford any of the actors the chance for any big emotional moments to play.

The special effects in "Stronger Together" are markedly erratic. The Helgremite's movement is very obviously computer generated and has no realistic sense of physics to it. Despite that, the final fight between Astra and Supergirl is well-executed.

Ultimately, "Stronger Together" is hampered by being exactly what viewers of any super-hero show would expect it to be, as opposed to a fresh or interesting take on the heroic arc.

For other works with Melissa Benoist, please visit my reviews of:
Supergirl - Season 2
"Duet" - The Flash
"Invasion!" - Legends Of Tomorrow
"Invasion!" - Arrow
"Invasion!" - The Flash
Whiplash

5/10

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

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The "Pilot" Episode Of Supergirl Is Not A Strong Beginning.

The Good: Good performances - especially between Chyler Leigh and Melissa Benoist, Decent direction/production values
The Bad: Thematically heavy-handed, Rushes the reveals of all the major characters, Simplistic plot
The Basics: "Pilot" gives Supergirl a rocky, obvious start packed with characters who are inherently unlikable.


When it first aired, I watched the first episode of Supergirl (rather unimaginatively entitled "Pilot"); I was not impressed. In fact, I recalled it being woefully heavy-handed and dull, a far cry from the other DC Television Universe pilot episodes I'd watched. But then, before the second season premiered, it was announced that Lynda Carter was appearing in the second season. As a child in the 1980s, having grown up on Carter as Wonder Woman, I am always eager to see her in new projects and that necessitated rewatching the entire first season of Supergirl. I had plans this summer to go back through the entire first season of Supergirl and today I am finally getting a start on that.

Watching "Pilot" for the third time, Supergirl got off to a fairly rocky start. Sadly, the opening of Supergirl features a number of very bad tropes from both romantic comedies and superhero shows. So, Kara spends her pre-super hero times freaking out about a blind date, being told by her sister that she has nothing to worry about because she is cute, and she works for a female boss whose initial characterization is hostile, ruthless and uncaring (yes, Cat Grant is the archetypal "bitch" boss).

Opening on Earth with exposition about Kara Zor-El, Kara is sent in a pod from Krypton to look after Kal-El, her younger cousin. Unfortunately for Kara, her pod manages to escape Krypton, but her pod is knocked into the Phantom Zone, where time does not pass for her for twenty-four years. Kal-El finds the thirteen year-old Kara and sets her up with the Davers family where she grows up with Alex Danvers. Now a young adult, Kara Danvers works for CatCo Worldwide Media as the personal assistant for Cat Grant, the CEO and editor-in-chief of the company. When Cat threatens to downsize her first newspaper acquisition, The Tribune, Kara is upset, but powerless to help.

Kara meets the new hire, James Olsen, before going on a blind date. When her date bails, she learns that the plane carrying her sister is in jeopardy and after years of not trying, she flies to the plane's rescue and she uses her super strength to safely land the plane in a nearby river. Kara is shocked when Alex is less-than-supportive and Kara returns to work the next day to find Cat Grant scrambling to capitalize on the new hero in National City. Kara confides in her co-worker (the i.t. expert at CatCo) Winn Schott that she was the mysterious woman who saved the plane. Schott helps Kara outfit herself and together they find various crimes in National City and stop them. Unfortunately for Kara, she is shot out of the sky with Kryptonite darts by the D.E.O., the Department Of Extranormal Operations. Under the leadership of Hank Henshaw, Kara is told that the D.E.O. is a result of her arrival. Kara is also informed that when she crashed to Earth, an alien prison - Fort Rozz - left the Phantom Zone with her and aliens have been on Earth since. The D.E.O. allows Kara to leave - though she is shocked to learn her sister is working for them - and soon after, she is called out by Vartox, an alien who was sentenced to Fort Rozz by Kara's mother.

Thematically, "Pilot" beats the horse of female empowerment to death almost immediately. Early in the episode, a random person praises how exciting it is to have a positive role model for her daughter and that is heavyhanded. Kara complains about the branding of "Supergirl" and Cat Grant explains why "girl" is not a pejorative. When Cat lists positive things about girls, there is something particularly unsettling about her saying she is pretty before she takes credit for being smart. And the fact that Supergirl's first adversary is a sexist alien also seems over-the-top.

So, Kara Danvers encounters adversity in her new role as Supergirl and she goes off to pout. Kara, who has wanted to break out and be herself, immediately retreats and denies her own abilities in a particularly scripted bit of lame internal conflict in "Pilot." The initial characterization of Hank Henshaw is difficult to watch as he is a cold asshole to Kara. As well, his doubt of Kara - which elicits Alex's line that he doubts her just because she is a girl - is so forced that even on my third viewing my eye roll was pretty hard. Hank Henshaw and Cat Grant are two incredibly inefficient employers coming at the Supergirl issue from opposite positions on female empowerment. It is unfortunate that the writers and producers of Supergirl felt they could only make their points about Kara and Alex's competence and efficiency by contrasting them with woefully flawed bosses.

While Alex's characterization is somewhat lame and forced (to be fair, her motivations become better as the season goes on), the on-screen chemistry between Chyler Leigh and Melissa Benoist is impressive. Leigh and Benoist leap into Supergirl with a chemistry that plays exactly like two people who were raised together.

The technical aspects of Supergirl are especially problematic in the "Pilot." Kara Danvers does an awesome job of saving the plane and the special effect is pretty cool. Unfortunately, there are no physics that account for how Kara could have used super strength to move and, especially, slow, the plane. Kara has no actual mode of propulsion; flying would seem to be the function of excessive speed and strength. Even if she had some form of levitation ability, there would still need to be a surface upon which to "push" off of; the range of a person who had not used their abilities for years seems like it would either be limited or compromised.

At the climax of "Pilot," James Olsen gives Kara Kal-El's baby blanket and it feels like a particularly sexist and troubling gift. Olsen's gift makes far less sense as a character comment and more of a subtle reinforcement of the stereotypical gender roles of the United States. Kara's "aww" reaction where she clutches the baby blanket to her and shows that she values the gift only makes real sense if Kryptonian values toward motherhood and parental responsibility mirror the gender conditioning girls are given in the United States. In a similar way, Kara is clearly taken aback by James telling her that Kal-El is proud of her; it is hard not to instantly make the Mystery Science Theater 3000-type comment, "Why would I care about my baby cousin's esteem?!" when the line comes up.

Ultimately, the "Pilot" of Supergirl tries far too hard to make a statement and be a symbol rather than tell a good story that allows the show to take off and organically become that. The result is a terribly disappointing beginning to the series.

For other DC Television Universe series or season premieres, please visit my reviews of:
"The Adventures Of Supergirl" - Supergirl
"City Of Heroes" - The Flash
"Pilot, Part I" - Legends Of Tomorrow

3/10

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

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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"Nevertheless, She Persisted" Ties The Second Season Of Supergirl Together Well!

The Good: Ties the season's plot and character arcs together well, Decent performances
The Bad: One absolutely terrible stunt/moment of direction, Initial plot is terribly stupid
The Basics: Supergirl ends its second season with the generally good "Nevertheless, She Persisted," which has the Daxamite threat being resolved . . . with a price.


The second season of Supergirl has, sadly, been a bit erratic. The season has had some truly impressive episodes of television, but is has also had some complete dogs. Sadly, going into the season finale, "Nevertheless, She Persisted," Supergirl is coming off one of the worst episodes the series has ever produced, killing the momentum going into the finale. Following the big stumble of "Resist," which essentially insulted the intelligence of every viewer watching, "Nevertheless, She Persisted" starts from a narrative disadvantage, despite the immediate action tone of the finale.

"Resist"(reviewed here!) leads directly into "Nevertheless, She Persisted" and it is impossible to discuss the new episode without some allusions as to where the prior episode ended. After all, "Resist" saw the return of Superman in its very last moment and the reunion between Kara and Clark Kent was not a joyful one. Controlled by an alien force, Superman is now a weapon poised to go off on Supergirl!

Rhea informs Supergirl that she is controlling Superman using Silver Kryptonite. Kal-El sees Supergirl as General Zod and attacks her appropriately. Supergirl fights Superman all around National City, desperately attempting to keep their battle from hurting civilians. Supergirl manages to defeat Kal-El and Alex takes the Kryptonians to the Fortress Of Solitude to heal them. While Superman and Supergirl recover, Lillian visits Lena Luthor, with a box developed by Lex Luthor to defeat Superman. Lillian informs Lena that, based upon her use of the portal technology, she might have the power to adapt Lex's box and defeat the Daxamites. In the Krypton data archives in the Fortress Of Solitude, Supergirl learns of a Daxamite ritual that allows her to act as champion of Earth to fight Rhea in single-person combat.

While Supergirl begins to evacuate civilians from the potential combat area, she is called to visit Cat Grant and then Lena. Lena has discovered a way to adapt Lex's weapon to send the Daxamites packing, but the device would make it impossible for Mon-El to remain on Earth. While Rhea and Supergirl fight, Rhea betrays the ritual combat by having the Daxamite forces attack National City. Lena completes work on the device and Lillian attempts to use it, but only Supergirl has the ability to activate the device. With the battle for National City going poorly - despite White Martians arriving unexpectedly to aid the human resistance - Supergirl is put in a position where she must make the most difficult decision of her life.

The opening battle of "Nevertheless, She Persisted" is well-directed and foreshadows the exact type of weapon any Kryptonian could be should Max Lord re-enter the Supergirl narrative with his predictable powers and arc. Within "Nevertheless, She Persisted," there is something disappointing to see Kara use brute force to put down Kal-El, though the whole "girl power" nature of Supergirl makes it feel like it works. Within the second season of Supergirl, one wherein Supergirl has had her powers drained entirely and has slowly worked to recharge her internal solar battery, her ability to defeat Kal-El seems utterly unrealistic.

"Nevertheless, She Persisted" sees the end to a number of plot threads from the second season of Supergirl, but the episode neglects even the moral dilemma posed by a plot thread that goes unmentioned in the episode. For an episode that relies upon information from earlier episodes - like the return of M'Gann in J'onn's mind - the fact that the Kryptonian Medusa virus is not even proposed as a potential way to eliminate the Daxamite invasion seems like a glaring oversight.

As well, for an episode entitled "Nevertheless, She Persisted" - after a reaction to Elizabeth Warren making an intellectual argument - it is tremendously disappointing to see the main invasion conflict come down to a brutish physical battle. Fortunately, the episode's coda provides more intellectual context for the battle and, especially, for the resolution of the battle. Alex's final scene of the season smartly ties her coming out earlier in the season to Kara's sense of doubt and that actually helps make her arc for the season feel more organic and not at all gratuitous.

On the character front, it is refreshing to see Lena Luthor maintain her integrity and intelligence, despite her mother's villainy. Similarly, "Nevertheless, She Persisted" features a grand act of sacrifice and actually allows Mon-El to complete his arc from misfit to hero. Kara proves herself to be a moral character who is willing to put the needs of her world above her personal desires

"Nevertheless, She Persisted" has a number of technical details that are unfortunately presented from a scientific perspective. Rhea being poisoned by Kryptonite makes a lot of sense; it pooling in her body and "manifesting" in concentrated bits once her skin is broken is utterly ridiculous. Similarly, while poisoning the Earth's atmosphere with minute quantities of lead is an interesting weapon against the Daxamites, the episode pays lip service to the idea that the concentration is not high enough to affect humans. Regardless of that, given that the lead comes from a source (Lex's box), it seems utterly unrealistic that Lena, Lillian, and Winn would have survived standing so close to it. Come to think of it, in one episode, Kara laments that the DEO building is lined with lead; how the hell has Mon-El been able to retain his Earthbound powers within its walls if lead is so toxic to Daxamites?!

Cat Grant is good in "Nevertheless, She Persisted," though Calista Flockhart is forced to deliver yet another ridiculously on-the-nose comment on the nature of women. The episode and even Grant's pep talk is going remarkably well until that moment. Fortunately, even that conversation recovers.

Ultimately, "Nevertheless, She Persisted" is a fairly good conclusion to a very rocky season and it gives the third season of Supergirl an excellent starting point.

For other DC Television Universe season finales, please check out my reviews of:
"Fast Enough" - The Flash
"Legendary"- Legends Of Tomorrow
"The Race Of His Life" - The Flash
"Aruba"- Legends Of Tomorrow

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Supergirl - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the sophomore season of the Kryptonian superheroine here!
Thanks!]

7/10

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

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Cyborg Superman At Last! Supergirl Visits "The Darkest Place!"

The Good: Wonderful character development, Engaging storylines, Decent ethics, Awesome effects
The Bad: Introduces a number of elements without paying them off well (a lot of blood and underuse of Cyborg Superman!)
The Basics: Supergirl goes into "The Darkest Place" with its full cast and manages to tell a wonderful story without it seeming stupidly cluttered!


Since the beginning of Supergirl, the moment Hank Henshaw first appeared on screen, DC Comics fans began to geek out. There was absolutely no reason to use Hank Henshaw as a character in Supergirl unless the Cyborg Superman would eventually pop up. After all, Hank Henshaw is a distinct character in the DC Comics pantheon and putting him into Supergirl without ever paying off the potential of that character would have been an entirely needless waste. Supergirl does not keep fans waiting very long as early in the second season, the Cyborg Superman finally appear! The episode is "The Darkest Place" and introducing Cyborg Superman on the heels of Metallo and Parasite is a fairly logical progression of Supergirl villains adapted from the Superman mythos. "The Darkest Place" manages to introduce the Cyborg Superman while utilizing the full cast of Supergirl surprisingly well in continuing the arcs that put all of the characters in the show in play.

Given that "Changing" (reviewed here!) ended with Cadmus capturing Mon-El, it is pretty predictable that "The Darkest Place" follows right up on the cliffhanger left by the prior episode. It is impossible to reasonably discuss "The Darkest Place" without some references as to where "Changing" left off; between the Mon-El cliffhanger and the revelation of the identity of the mysterious Cadmus operative, "Changing" was heavy on last-act reversals. "The Darkest Place" follows up on those reversals and continues to develop the characters and storylines the previous episode left dangling.

Twenty-four hours before she is thrown through a wall by Hank Henshaw, Kara and her friends are out at the alien bar when she expresses some doubts about Guardian and his place in National City. Winn and James Olsen disagree with Alex and Kara about Guardian's trustworthiness. Mon-El makes an escape attempt from Cadmus custody, but when he sees J'onn J'onnz threatened by the director of Cadmus, he willingly goes back to his cell. It is not, actually, J'onnz that he sees, though as J'onnz is at the DEO, where he is recovering from his wounds from Parasite. When the Guardian appears to kill a suspect, James Olsen clashes with Snapper Carr about the Guardian's stance as a hero in National City.

In trying to clear his name, Olsen suits up as The Guardian to stop a drug deal and he is confronted by the gun-toting killer who took out his prior suspect. Supergirl is headed to apprehend The Guardian when she is contacted by Cadmus. Arriving at the Cadmus facility to rescue Mon-El, Supergirl encounters Hank Henshaw. In the fight with him, Supergirl discovers that Henshaw is a cyborg who has reflexes and strength about equal to hers. Captured by Cadmus and weakened by Lillian Luthor after Mon-El's life is put in jeopardy, Supergirl is subjected to tests designed to give Cadmus her blood. While Winn and Olsen figure out who the doppelganger is, Alex and J'onnz realize what has been done to J'onnz. In the ensuing fight, J'onn J'onnz has to make peace with his past while Kara comes face to face with someone from her own past!

Alex does not simply return to the closet in "The Darkest Place," which is nice. The tension between her and Maggie, who does not want a romantic relationship with Alex given that she is "fresh off the boat," is well-executed. Not neglecting Alex or her reasonable feelings of being led on by Maggie is a good use of continuity for Alex's character arc. So, when Alex has to turn to Maggie for a favor, the conflict between them reaches a very interesting boiling point that plays in an interesting way throughout "The Darkest Place."

Similarly, having J'onn J'onnz wrestling with the consequences of his blood transfusion from the prior episode is handled in a compelling way. J'onnz is experiencing hallucinations of his family after getting a transfusion from a white martian and it tracks well that he does not instantly recognize the symbolism of the clues his visions are giving him. The conflict between J'onn J'onnz and the white martian is handled with both surprising maturity - the white martian is not monolithically evil - and with an awesome special effects sequence for the inevitable fight.

Winn Schott remains delightfully human in "The Darkest Place." Schott folds like a cheap card table to Alex and that continues to make his character watchable and relatable. Lillian Luthor is presented as a compelling villain for the first time in "The Darkest Place" as her backstory is more explicitly spelled out.

One of the issues with the Superman franchise is that Superman has become virtually invincible. Supergirl gets around that in "The Darkest Place" by providing a mechanism by which Kara Zor-El essentially becomes human by having her powers drained organically. Having a weakness other than Kryptonite is a good way to develop Supergirl to keep her compelling for the television series. "The Darkest Place" executes the idea that Supergirl can willingly drain her powers well, which keeps the idea that Kara is not invincible palpable and real.

"The Darkest Place" does an excellent job of telling a story while putting a number of character and story threads in play at the same time. The episode finds the perfect balance of humor and action and the fight sequences are legitimately awesome (who would have thought Guardian could carry a cool fight sequence?!). The introduction of a larger arc for J'onn J'onnz, the mention of the Medusa project and seeds of Cadmus experimenting on Supergirl are all handled well. Even Mon-El developing a clear romantic attachment to Kara is well-delivered, as is the potential in Alex and Maggie's friendship/potential romance.

The performances in "The Darkest Place" are good, the special effects are wonderful (which is saying something when it causes the viewer to wince when a CG-character is smacked in the head!), and the infusion of higher ethics into the story make for a surprisingly solid episode of Supergirl!

For other works directed by Glen Winter, please visit my reviews of:
"The Adventures Of Supergirl" - Supergirl
"Pilot" - Legends Of Tomorrow
"Trajectory" - The Flash

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Supergirl - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the sophomore season of the Kryptonian superheroine here!
Thanks!]

9/10

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

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Supergirl Gets Caught In The "Crossfire," So Everyone Else Evolves!

The Good: Good character development, Decent performances
The Bad: Very predictable plot
The Basics: of Supergirl has development for all of the characters in "Crossfire" as Cadmus once again asserts itself in a very obvious, villainous way.


Despite having a lot of potential and a solid momentum coming off its first season, the second season of Supergirl has been floundering. Given that the first season climaxed with the main source of alien adversaries for the protagonist and her team to hunt disappearing, the second season has been struggling to find its footing. Supergirl has overcompensated some by putting an alien around virtually every corner and severely turning many of the key character relationships that were built in the show's first season. As the show reached its fifth episode, "Crossfire," the series is looking almost unrecognizable to fans of the first season whatwith Cat Grant's departure, James Olsen being taken out of Kara Danvers's romantic tension rotation, and the addition of three new supporting characters (Maggie Sawyer for the Alex Danvers subplots, Mon-El, and Lena Luthor). "Crossfire" marks the return of Cadmus to the forefront as the corrupt scientific organization launches an attack on Supergirl.

"Survivors" (reviewed here!) immediately preceded "Crossfire" and given how much the prior episode dealt with Mon-El, it is hard to discuss the new episode without some references to the episode that preceded it. "Crossfire" opens heavy on Mon-El, so the initial fish-out-of-water story is only really understandable to those who have followed his arc so far. Similarly, the Cadmus and Alex Danvers plots are both built on prior episode's arcs.

Kara gets Mon-El a job as Mike Matthews at CatCo and, after dressing him up to blend in, they arrive at work. Olsen's new assistant Eve Teschmacher instantly takes a shine to Mike, who has difficulty restraining his powers to get through the mundane work he is given. While Supergirl is out attempting to thwart a robbery, and running into a pretty advanced weapon in the process, Alex learns that Maggie has been dumped by her girlfriend. Cadmus takes implicit credit for providing humans with alien weaponry, like the cannon that nearly knocked out Supergirl. After Lena Luthor invites Kara to a gala, to which Mon-El invites himself, Supergirl is again attacked by Chet Miner, using alien weapons supplied by Cadmus.

As the attacks with alien weaponry increases, support for the Alien Amnesty Act wanes. To combat that, James Olsen takes to the streets to fight against the villains who destroyed his father's camera and then attack the Federal Reserve. While Kara vents about Mon-El not taking his job seriously, Alex tries to come out to her, but they are interrupted by Lena Luthor. Luthor now wants Supergirl to protect her at her gala, which Miner is preparing to rob. At Luthor's gala, Kara must juggle appearing as both herself and Supergirl to both bolster Luthor and protect her guests!

"Crossfire" illustrates well some of the same problems Supergirl is having in its second season both with its less-compelling villains and its increasingly bloated cast. Winn Schott is the episode's primary DEO representative and in addition to delivering his usual quips, he becomes sidekick to another sidekick. As James Olsen steps up to become a costumed super hero, Schott becomes his armorer. Olsen's new direction gets a surprisingly satisfying counterpoint from Schott, who extols the values of being a support to a hero as opposed to attempting to be a hero.

Kara Danvers is presented in "Crossfire" in an oddly weak way. From the way she vents in an entirely overwhelmed fashion to Alex to the way Winn suggests that the alien weapons Cadmus is giving Miner could actually do Supergirl harm. When did Kryptonians suddenly become vulnerable to alien weapons while they are on Earth?! Supergirl was hampered by the Superman conceit of Kryptonian invulnerability, but in "Crossfire," it seems like the show is making a real stretch to weaken Kara. In fact, in "Crossfire," virtually everyone steps up as Supergirl literally falls down on the job.

"Crossfire" continues the pretty obvious progression of the relationship on Alex and Maggie Sawyer. Sawyer burst into the new season as an out-and-proud character who has been paired with Alex Danvers and, in the process, Alex has been moving in the direction of having a relationship with her. While I am all for more lesbian relationships on television, the change in Alex Danvers has been fairly inorganic. I've started going back through the first season and I could find no clues to Danvers being anything other than a straight workaholic. In the second season, as Alex Danvers has found herself attracted to Maggie Sawyer, she has become far less professional and her character has been almost entirely undermined. In "Crossfire," Alex Danvers goes through a very predictable arc as she initially denies her feelings for Sawyer before she recognizes and acknowledges her feelings for Maggie. Come to think of it, in the first season, Danvers had some surprisingly good on-screen chemistry with Maxwell Lord, so the second season direction is a very big character departure.

Noticeably absent from "Crossfire" is DEO Director Henshaw. "Crossfire" includes a pretty preposterous attempt on Kara's part to keep her identity secret from Lena Luthor . . . who is characterized as being on Winn Schott's level of intelligence in the episode (yet cannot figure out that Kara is Supergirl?!). The juggling role plays particularly poorly on a show where there is a resident shapeshifter who could impersonate Kara and read her thoughts in order to adapt to Luthor's questions in-character. But, without explanation, Henshaw is nowhere to be found in "Crossfire."

While the characters all evolve, the plot is incredibly stale and predictable, but the performers do a decent job with what they are given. Chyler Leigh does a decent job of transitioning Alex to someone overly interested in Maggie fairly well, even if the character leap within "Crossfire" is inorganic based on the first season. Mehcad Brooks gets in a more physical performance than usual in "Crossfire" and Katie McGrath gets through the technobabble to credibly elevate Lena Luthor to Winn Schott's level of technical expertise.

"Crossfire" is all right, but it is a transition episode that feels like a transition episode; an episode of Supergirl still struggling to make its way from its prior formula into a new paradigm.

For other works with Mehcad Brooks, please visit my reviews of:
True Blood - Season 2

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Supergirl - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the sophomore season of the Kryptonian superheroine here!
Thanks!]

5.5/10

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

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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"The Last Children Of Krypton" Establishes A New Formula For Supergirl!

The Good: Pacing, Plot progression, Balance between Kara/Supergirl and Superman, Decent effects
The Bad: Some truly terrible lines, Lack of enduring theme, No amazing performance moments
The Basics: "The Last Children Of Krypton" puts Cadmus firmly in the place of villains for Supergirl and sets up adversaries for both Supergirl and Superman surprisingly well!


When it comes to Supergirl, the approach being taken to adapt it to television is one fraught with problems for fans of the DC Comics source material. The show is set on what fans of the Berlanti-run DC Television Universes are calling Earth-3 and because it is a separate universe from The Flash, Legends Of Tomorrow and Arrow, it allows the series to incorporate a slew of very different elements from DC Comics. Most notable of those are the plethora of references to Superman-related characters, institutions and settings. As the second season of Supergirl progresses with "The Last Children Of Krypton," Project Cadmus comes front and center for the first time in the series and it feels like no small coincidence that their first major on-screen outing comes after Superman has joined the on-screen narrative. Project Cadmus affords the executive producers of Supergirl a convenient mechanism to return Alex Danvers's long-lost father to Supergirl and fans of the DC Comics source material are likely to see the villainous scientific organization as a convenient way to eventually place Hank Henshaw (the Cyborg Superman) into the Supergirl narrative, in addition to Metallo, who makes his proper debut in "The Last Children Of Krypton." I'm placing my bets on the idea that it will be Cadmus that eventually gives Maxwell Lord his telepathic powers and allows one of the most compelling Superman (and Wonder Woman!) stories to be adapted into Supergirl.

But, we're not there yet at all. "The Last Children Of Krypton" picks up where "The Adventures Of Supergirl" (reviewed here!) left off and it is tough to discuss the new episode without some references to where the season premiere left off. After all, "The Adventures Of Supergirl" climaxed with the villain John Corben being being brought to Cadmus where he was tranformed into Metallo . . . a villain who commonly battles Superman in the comic book source material. "The Last Children Of Krypton" is not much of a departure from that with Superman being targeted by Cadmus, just as Supergirl is!

Opening with a building burning in National City that Supergirl and Superman help put out, the heroes continue their team-up to thwart a pair of bank robbers fleeing the scene of their crime. While they are en route to their next heroic act, John Corben is activated as Metallo. Returning to the Department Of Extranormal Operations, Superman and Supergirl are unsettled by the way the DEO is experimenting on the Kryptonian they have in the lab. As Kara and Alex prepare for their Sister's Night, National City has a potential jumper that requires Supergirl and Superman to spring into action. The would-be jumper is Metallo and he blasts both Kryptonians with a Kryptonite beam that weakens them.

Superman and J'onn J'onzz visit the Fortress Of Solitude to analyze the metal used in Metallo's modified skeleton. There, Superman calls J'onnz out once again about the DEO's use of Kryptonite, while Kara and Alex discuss the possibility of Kara leaving National City. When Winn Schott finds a Promethium signature in National City, the heroes are able to locate Metallo. But Metallo is a diversion for an attack on Metropolis and both Superman and Supergirl have to fly off to save that city. When Scott and Alex Danvers figure out a way to track Kryptonite, they find the mole in the DEO who got the Kryptonite to Cadmus . . . which puts Alex at the mercy of the scientist who created Metallo! In rescuing Alex, Supergirl comes up with a plan to stop the two Metallos!

"The Last Children Of Krypton" makes Superman surprisingly fun. I'm not a huge fan of Superman, but by the end of the teaser of "The Last Children Of Krypton," it is hard not to be impressed by Tyler Hoechlin as Superman. Superman stands up to Director Henshaw about how Cadmus might have gotten access to Kryptonite and it is cool to see someone with screen presence equal to the Director. Viewers might be a bit disappointed that Supergirl is not given the chance to stand toe-to-toe with Henshaw the same way, but in "The Last Children Of Krypton" it is nice to see someone call Henshaw on his b.s.

Kara begins working as a reporter in "The Last Children Of Krypton" and it gives Melissa Benoist the excuse to play Kara as entirely bubbly. Benoist manages to pull off the enthusiasm perfectly in character. Kara is given another inspirational speech (sort of) by Cat Grant - which those who know backstory outside the work know is because Calista Flockhart did not want to work in Vancouver when the show moved to The CW - but spends most of the episode opposite Snapper Carr, the director of CatCo's reporting operations.

Carr is played by Ian Gomez. Gomez is good, but for much of "The Last Children Of Krypton" leaves genre fans thinking that he is playing Robert Picardo in the role. Gomez plays Carr as angry and while he has portrayed sarcasm in many of his roles, Picardo has more effortlessly played the anger that Gomez stretches for in this role. That said, Ian Gomez is good as Snapper Carr, even if the role is a bit monolithic in "The Last Children Of Krypton."

"The Last Children Of Krypton" illustrates well the new formula for Supergirl. Given that Fort Rozz was removed from Earth in the first season finale, the "escaped alien of the week" formula for Supergirl had to be replaced with something. If "The Last Children Of Krypton," Supergirl is going to be replacing aliens with experiments gone wrong from Cadmus for a while. Cadmus is presented with a realistic sense of villainy in "The Last Children Of Krypton," which is nice because elements like Supergirl very slowly pushing a car to stop Metallo stand out as oddly slow for her character.

As The Flash has gotten off to a painfully rough start this season, fans of the DC Television Universe might find "The Last Children Of Krypton" difficult to watch as Winn Schott is presented in the episode as Cisco used to be. Fans of The Flash already miss his bubbly, geeky personality and hearing the same type lines one expects from Ramon coming out of Schott's mouth only makes us miss Cisco more.

"The Last Children Of Krypton" reassures fans that Supergirl is not just destined to become Superman-lite as it is Supergirl who comes up with the endgame for fighting the Metallos. Unfortunately, it is also Supergirl who delivers the cringeworthy line of the episode when she goes to punch Metallo.

"The Last Children Of Krypton" is also a bit off on some key details. For example, in a big fight scene, Alex Danvers gets punched in the face by Metallo. While the exoskeleton she wears protects her body, her face is unprotected and there is no sense of reality that would account for her remaining conscious after such a hit. "The Last Children Of Krypton" is also lacking a genuine sense of theme that is larger than the plot and character aspects of the episode, which makes it good, but not exceptional or enduring television.

For other works with Brenda Strong, please visit my reviews of:
Sports Night
Malice
Twin Peaks - Season 2
“When The Bough Breaks” - Star Trek: The Next Generation

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Supergirl - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the sophomore season of the Kryptonian superheroine here!
Thanks!]

6/10

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

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Supergirl In Transition: "The Adventures Of Supergirl" Opens Season 2 Well!

The Good: Decent performances, Moments of character development, Direction
The Bad: Very typical and basic plot, Some character alterations that are unsatisfying
The Basics: "The Adventures Of Supergirl" continues the Supergirl narrative without throwing the entire show out of balance.


September and October were pretty intensive months for me with the Marvel Comics-based media franchises, whatwith reading a lot of Marvel Comics books, the return of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and then the debut of Luke Cage (reviewed here!) on Netflix. To try to balance that a bit, this week is swinging heavily toward the DC Comics side of my interests and to that end, I figured it was about time I started on Supergirl. I just finished watching the first season of Supergirl - I'll be reviewing those twenty episodes and the season after I polish off the end of (stupid) Agent Carter - but with the second season of Supergirl beginning, I figured it's a good time to start there.

"The Adventures Of Supergirl" is the second season premiere of Supergirl and it picks up the narrative of Supergirl right where "Better Angels" left off. For those not in the know about that, the episode begins at an inherently disadvantageous position. As well, " The Adventures Of Supergirl" marks the addition of Superman to the on-screen narrative and that creates an interesting potential dilemma for the series. How does one properly do Supergirl without the Man Of Steel overwhelming her narrative? For me, that was a big detraction to tuning in; I'm not a fan of Superman and watching a show where the story is about him is not terribly compelling to me (he already swoops in to "save" enough graphic novel stories I love!). And, while Supergirl Season 1 had its problems, I was enjoying watching how it was progressing forward. With the addition of Superman to the main cast, now I just figure we're waiting for Supergirl to get swapped into Wonder Woman's role in The OMAC Project (reviewed here!). For those not into the DC Comic book universe, feel free to check that out; it is the logical reason from a storytelling point of view to put Maxwell Lord and Superman in the same narrative . . .

. . . so, "The Adventures Of Supergirl". . . . After the recap that lets those who might not have seen Supergirl on CBS know the essentials of the narrative, "The Adventures Of Supergirl" picks up by repeating the final scene of "Better Angels."

Supergirl and Martian Manhunter reach the wreckage of another pod from Krypton, where they discover another (apparent) Kryptonian. Hank Henshaw takes Supergirl to the new DEO facility (above ground!), where they are unable to learn anything new about the alien. Cat Grant calls Kara in to work in advance of the launch of Venture, a civilian space shuttle. As Kara and James Olsen have their first date, one of Venture's engines experiences damage. Superman, who has just arrived in National City, is raced into the upper atmosphere by Supergirl and together they save the space shuttle and its rich passengers.

Supergirl takes Superman to the DEO. Exploring the nature of the alien, they recovered continues to come up with dead ends. Clark Kent joins Kara Danvers at CatCo and they discover that Lena Luthor (Lex Luthor's sister, who is running L-Corp while he is in prison) was the only person who was booked on the Venture who was not aboard when its engine exploded. Kent and Danvers interview Lena and they are given a lot of information and Danvers feels Luthor is on the up and up. Winn Schott learns that Lena Luthor was the target of the Venture accident only moments before another attempt is made on her life using attack drones. When Lena Luthor has a renaming ceremony for LuthorCorp, she is attacked again, which forces Alex, Supergirl and Superman into action to save her.

"The Adventures Of Supergirl" alters some of the relationships from Supergirl's first season, as well as pumping up the soundtrack to the show. Kara and Alex seem more . . . stereotypically girly in the way they interact with one another. And as Kara has her first date with Olsen, she seems so unnatural and bubbly in an immature way that viewers have to wonder if the show had to be dumbed down to be on The CW. That sense is enhanced by the way that the Danvers/Olsen relationship is put on hold. The "will they or won't they" thing is pretty well played out on both Arrow and The Flash; it is frustrating for fans of the DC Television Universe to be fed the same conflict . . . as opposed to showing how a relationship between a superhero and a supporting character could work out in a practical sense.

On the refreshing half of the character alterations, Cat Grant is presented with a somewhat softened, which follows her character arc organically from the first season. Grant seems to genuinely care about Kara and it is nice that she did not revert to her initial self. Grant having some anxiety over meeting Clark Kent is a wonderful twist. But Calista Flockhart is wonderful in giving a motivational speech that allows Cat Grant to both grow and deepen her character while still making Grant feel like Grant.

Kara Danvers's character arc in "The Adventures Of Supergirl" is good. In addition to fighting crime as Supergirl, Kara Danvers has to choose the new job she wants. What could be a pretty stale arc about a woman trying to figure out what job she wants is developed surprisingly well in "The Adventures Of Supergirl," despite its ramifications in the Danvers/Olsen relationship.

J'onn J'onzz is given some tension with Superman and that is a nice way to grow the relationships of both characters. The interplay between J'onzz and Superman is interesting, much the way the interplay between Supergirl and Superman is fun. Melissa Benoist and Tyler Hoechlin have pretty incredible on-screen chemistry as Kara and Clark. Hoechlin not only has the look for Clark Kent (and, surprisingly, Superman!), but he has a demeanor that plays perfectly for acting like a more experienced version of a Kryptonian hiding on Earth.

Frederick Schmidt plays the primary adversary in "The Adventures Of Supergirl" and he basically appears to be Tom Hardy on a television budget. He is fine, but not given much of a role as John Corben right out of the gate. Katie McGrath effectively leaps into the Supergirl narrative as Lena Luthor and is perfectly convincing as a family member of a crazed person who is trying to make good.

The direction for "The Adventures Of Supergirl" is good, though when Winn Schott makes a comment about the Death Star, fans of the DC Television Universe hear writer Andrew Kreisberg's voice in the episode.

"The Adventures Of Supergirl" does a fairly good job of both introducing Superman on-screen and balancing him with Supergirl. The episode only truly adds a moral component with the conflict between Superman and Martian Manhunter, but it is a solidly entertaining episode of Supergirl.

For other big season premieres, please visit my reviews of:
"Flashpoint" - The Flash
"Pilot, Part I" - Legends Of Tomorrow
"A Time To Stand" - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Supergirl - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the sophomore season of the Kryptonian superheroine here!
Thanks!]

7/10

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

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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