Supergirl met her match as Maxwell Lord unleashed his top secret project on Kara and National City. Bizarro (Hope Lauren) presented Kara with a worthy opponent but also proved to be more than just Maxwell’s version of Frankenstein’s monster. This complicated character allowed the show to explore some interesting topics regarding identity and the power of kindness.
I was glad this episode finally got back around to the story of the mysterious woman Maxwell was keeping under lock and key. It was a very interesting choice for the show to start off the character being played by Melissa Benoist before making the mid-episode transition to Hope Lauren after Bizarro is hit with the Kryptonite. Thanks to an outstanding performance by Lauren the transition from Benoist to her was seamless. Lauren did a great job mimicking the way Benoist moves and that was a big part of what made the transition so smooth. Without the right actress to take over the character this could have been a horrible fail but luckily the show got the right actress and it worked out perfectly. While I believe Benoist could have carried the episode jumping between the characters it gave the emotional moments more of an impact with her being able to play off of another actress.
Besides the Bizarro storyline the other big story in the episode was of Kara and Adam trying and failing to have a successful date. From ruined dates to kidnappings this budding relationship never really got a proper chance to grow. I did love how Alex so adamantly fought for Kara to go on the dates but when Kara is busy dealing with a pissed off Cat in the future she may regret taking that bit of advice from her sister. Given Blake Jenner and Benoist are married in real life the chemistry between them was palpable and while I was at first skeptical of this casting Jenner sold me on Adam and made me love the character. The breakup scene was hard to watch because of how raw Kara’s emotions were. She genuinely liked Adam but for the greater good she had to let him go and you could tell how hard that was for her to accept and do. I’m in the group that thinks if the show has to put Kara in a relationship she’s better off with Winn. However, I wouldn’t mind seeing Adam return one day and him and Kara be given a real chance at a relationship at least a short lived one. Carter would be so jealous of his big brother if he knew Adam had been kissing on Supergirl. Maybe the next time Adam stops by National City we can see the two brothers interact. I still want Kara to be with Winn, but Adam would be a much better substitute than James. Don’t get me wrong I like James and he’s an amazing friend to Kara but I really like the chemistry Benoist has with Jeremy Jordan. Best case scenario is that for now they keep Kara’s only relationship as that of the one with her sister but this is primetime television so inevitably relationships are going to happen one day.
After this episode Kara had better be prepared for some serious retribution from Cat for what happened with Adam. Something tells me Cat isn’t going to be the forgiving type. I do wonder what event will get Kara back in Cat’s good graces. This is another relationship I enjoy watching since Cat has become almost a substitute mom to Kara. Being on the outs with Cat is surely going to bother Kara. Given the number of times she has talked herself out of being fired I am confident she will find a way to rectify this situation with her boss. At least the whole almost relationship bit at the start of the episode did lead to several funny interactions as Cat tried to treat Kara better in order to impress her son. Now Kara has to find a way to get things back to some form of normal. I just hope this rift between them doesn’t drag on too long.
The show got its first new version of Kryptonite this week as a weapon to stop Bizarro. I loved the moment when Alex hesitated shooting the new weapon for fear of what it would do to Kara if she accidentally hit her. Now that it exists it is only a matter of time before we do find out what it will do to her. Luckily it wasn’t this week and instead the new Kryptonite did its job and managed to bring Bizarro down. When it comes time for Kara to be exposed to it I am quite curious to see what affect it will have on her and if the show will stick with the comic book effects each different formation of Kryptonite has on Supergirl.
Alex got to do some great work this week especially in her take down of Maxwell Lord and holding firm against Hank/J’onn who wasn’t at all pleased about having Maxwell in custody. That psychotic genius threatened her family and if you desire to remain free that is not something you want to do and much like Alex I would expect Hank/J’onn of all people to understand that. Alex is a big sister and as a big sister myself I can confirm that her reaction was very true to reality because if anyone threatened my brother I would take equally swift action to protect him. When Alex smashed Maxwell’s head into the desk I was cheering her on. It was a great moment and while I think Alex should have let Kara get in at least one good laser shot at the end of the episode I do still see his worth within the show. He still has a role to play within the show and I’m sure at some point he’ll be granted a redemption storyline but until then I reserve the right to like nothing about him. Credit is due to Peter Facinelli for playing Maxwell so brilliantly that it is easy to hate him. Facinelli is an extraordinary character actor and I have enjoyed watching him perform week after week so for that reason alone I hope Maxwell sticks around. I’m just glad that for now he’s locked in a cage and will hopefully pay for the awful things he’s done in the name of misguided science.
The most awful thing he’s done was take innocent and defenseless women and try to turn them into Supergirl. He not only stripped Bizarro of her identity but he also brainwashed her and inflicted who knows what level of pain on her in the process. Credit is due to Bizarro for doing her best to fight back against the brainwashing. She had enough humanity left in her and enough of Kara’s DNA in her body to be able to tell right from wrong. She tried hard to fight through the awful things Maxwell did to her but unfortunately his evil actions were too much for her. James did seem to get through to her humanity for just a moment and in that moment you could see how scared and confused she was by what was happening to her and it was heartbreaking. In the end once she was free of some of Maxwell’s influence we got to see a glimpse of the good in Bizarro. By the end of the episode she was in a primal state that was very childlike in her apology and fear. The most heartwarming moment of the episode was when Kara held Bizarro’s hand and tried to reassure her as Hank/J’onn began the process to put her back into a medically induced coma. I really enjoyed the dynamic Kara and Bizarro had in this scene and it makes me hopeful that one day they’ll need Bizarro’s assistance and they’ll bring her back to consciousness. She could be a great ally of the DEO and Kara if they can help her overcome the horrible things that were done to her.
The big ending where Kara got attacked was surprising and it should make for a really good episode next week. I’m glad they ended the episode with the catalyst event for the next episode because that means precious time won’t be wasted in the next episode to setup the situation that leads Kara to her comatose state.
This was a fantastic episode and I can’t wait to see what is ahead for Kara and the others. Be sure to tune in for the next episode on Monday at 8/7C on CBS.
Hit the comments with your thoughts about this episode and your predictions for what is going to happen to Kara next week.
As you can tell by now I’m not your normal reviewer. Pablo is off enjoying himself on a much deserved vacation so I will be here to cover
Supergirl until his return in a couple weeks or at least until the normal backup gets caught up and can take over. I look forward to the next few episodes and interacting with all of you.
About the Author - Aimee Hicks
Aimee works for a newspaper in North Carolina and has a BA in Broadcasting and Cinema. She has been a TV lover since before she really understood what TV was. She has a long list of shows that she loves to watch and can be found on twitter (@ahicks83) live tweeting about each new episode whenever she can. If the show is sci-fi, fantasy, comic book based, drama, or action the odds are good she watches it or has at least watched a few episodes of it. She also has a love for comedies 2 Broke Girls and Mom. She was the original creator and co-founder of LOST Video Island (lostvideo.net) which is still operating under the management of the very capable and skilled group she turned it over to.
You can email her at aimee@spoilertv.com.
