Things are changing rapidly in Kara’s life and no matter how hard she tries she just can’t get things to calm down long enough for her to catch her breath. She started off the season feeling alone and isolated despite having her sister in the same town as her and her cousin one call away. Then she discovered her Aunt Astra was still alive and they became enemies instead of allies. And then just as soon as she was getting through to the kind and loving Aunt she remembered she lost her. Kara has even been left to question just how well she knew her parents to begin with. Many of these elements Kara was forced to confront throughout this episode.
After all the insanity of the last episode I’m so glad that this episode opened with a much needed Danvers sisters bonding moment. And finally the two sisters shared a hug after all the craziness that ensued during the Black Mercy crisis and it was long overdue. I think Alex is so torn about what she did to Astra that all she really wants to do is be extra supportive to Kara. She’s proven she’ll do anything and everything for her little sister but she definitely seemed to be over compensating this week. Several times Alex was poised to reveal the truth to Kara but thankfully each time she thought better of it and stopped herself. When the truth inevitably comes out, probably in the worst way possible, I’m predicting some tumultuous times for the sisters. Kara is usually a forgiving person but can she forgive her sister for this act when she’s practically turned her back on Hank? What will it take for her to forgive Alex when the secret comes out? Hopefully we’ve got a few more episodes before we have to find out because I’m not looking forward to the inevitable rift that will form when the secret is revealed. Chyler Leigh and Melissa Benoist have such a great real life friendship that when they are on the screen together that really adds to the love between their characters. If these sisterly bonding scenes ever stop it will be a sad day for the show and the fans.
Lucky for Alex, and the audience, she wasn’t given the chance to reveal anything to Kara as Non interrupted their evening. While I loved all the sisterly bonding moments of this scene my favorite part was when Alex grabbed her gun and took up a protective position between her sister and Non. Despite Kara being superhuman and having the same powers as Non Alex acted like a good big sister should and put herself in the position of danger in the name of protecting Kara. Given all the trouble Kara has been getting into lately you can’t really blame Alex for being a bit paranoid.
While I don’t like Non I do appreciate that he was determined to honor Kryptonian tradition and have Kara lead the funeral for Astra. He may be a psychotic alien hell bent on dominating the planet but somewhere under that cold exterior I do believe he truly loved Astra. He was genuinely torn up over her passing and was even willing to give Alex and Kara a pass as he mourned Astra. The funeral sequence was beautifully shot and allowed Kara to honor the Aunt that she once loved so dearly. In truth even when they were fighting one another I don’t think she ever stopped loving Astra and she certainly never gave up hope that she could one day redeem her. It was a sad loss for the character and the show as a whole because Astra brought a wonderful energy. I do wonder if the death of Astra was meant to free up Laura Benanti for more work as Alura. Will we see her in more flashbacks? Will we get more Holo-Alura? Will Alura somehow show up on Earth alive and well? So much potential and at least the death of Astra didn’t mean the loss of Benanti because she is truly brilliant on this show.
On top of all the alien drama Kara is having to deal with she is also having a really tough time of it at work with the introduction of Cat’s new assistant, Siobhan Smythe, played by the very talented Italia Ricci. Siobhan is already causing a lot of trouble for Kara as Kara finds herself downgraded to the second assistant to Cat. While I love watching Ricci play good kind hearted characters I do think she was perfectly cast at Siobhan because she exudes this lovely personality which suits the character well then she can flip a switch and give her character a dark conniving side. I think watching her play a mean girl character against Benoist’s good girl character is going to be fun and very entertaining. Ricci and Benoist brilliantly led their characters through a series of jabs throughout the episode and all their scenes together were brilliantly executed.
Winn is back to his normal Kara champion self and it was nice to see him anxiously trying to warn her about Siobhan. The one character that annoyed me throughout this episode was James. I loved the scene where Cat was giving James a pep talk but in truth it was Cat and Calista Flockhart who made that scene enjoyable. The story she told showed how this character evolved to the woman we now know. What I don’t like is how James interpreted her story then just out of nowhere showed up at the DEO to confront Kara about Maxwell’s captivity. Sure I understand that he was just trying to do something good but I feel like he went about everything the wrong way in this episode. I also get that he hates keeping secrets from Lucy but he knew what he was getting into from the beginning and keeping Kara’s secret at all costs is a huge part of that. Asking Kara to let the daughter of a man who despises her in on her secret was uncalled for. If and when someone finds out about Kara’s secret it should be on her terms and not because someone forced her to do so. This secret is Kara’s to tell and to ask her to allow him to tell Lucy she is Supergirl just seemed disrespectful. I can forgive James for a lot because I really like Mehcad Brooks but I can’t forgive him for asking this of Kara. What’s next? Will he want to tell the whole world about Alex and the DEO? Where will he draw the line if Kara allows him to tell Lucy? I really like Lucy because I’m a fan of Jenna Dewan Tatum but I don’t for a second believe the character is ready to know Kara’s secret yet.
I guess this is as good a time as any to talk about Maxwell Lord. We all knew his captivity wouldn’t last long but just how long can he realistically stay out of trouble now that he’s free? He doesn’t seem the type of man to deal with ultimatums all that well so despite Alex’s strongly worded threat I predict he will at some point cause some trouble again for Supergirl. Or the show could take an unexpected twist and try to redeem him. I’m not at all confident he can be redeemed but Peter Facinelli and Chyler Leigh have such great chemistry I wouldn’t be opposed to Alex dropping in on him from time to time to keep an eye on him. Who knows maybe one day he’ll see the good Kara is doing and put his genius brain to work for the greater good. I’m not delusional so I’m not expecting any of this to happen but it would certainly make for an interesting turn for the character.
Of all the encounters and fights this week I think the most impactful encounter for Kara was the one she had with Professor Alphonse (Todd Sherry). Here was a prisoner her mom put away yet he wasn’t a bad guy and he didn’t hate Alura or her daughter. He broke a law, that can’t be denied, but he was doing it to try and help his family. I expect that in real prisons not everyone locked up in them is innately bad and sinister they just made mistakes that require them to do time for their crimes. They break a law and serve their time then try to find their place in society again. All he wanted to do was teach Earth’s young minds about the stars he so dearly loves. Even when his life was in danger he still tried to bargain with the Master Jailer (Jeff Branson) to free Kara. The Professor taught Kara more about justice and redemption than anyone yet in the series. I found it very true to character that Kara gave him his freedom in the end. He had a chance to take off while Kara and Alex were busy but he stayed and put himself at their mercy. While there are some truly sinister and evil alien escapees he is not one of them. After all he’d been through he never held anger towards Alura and accepted that he broke the law. In the end that earned him his freedom. Now if all the other escaped prisoners could learn from his example maybe Kara could finally get a day off. Meeting him also further challenged her view of her mom and brings back to the surface many questions Astra had poised to her regarding Alura. What Kara will do with these questions is anyone’s guess.
Another important meeting was Kara’s introduction to her mother’s right hand man the Master Jailer aka Detective Draper with the NCPD. He made things very hard for Kara and the DEO as he sought out rogue prisoners then discarded their bodies in the worst possible places. For someone disguising himself as a cop he isn’t necessarily the brightest at covering up scenes. I did really enjoy the knock out drag down fights between him and Kara especially the first one. I’m sure we’ll see him again but will it be as a friend or foe to Kara? Surely he owes some level of respect to Kara given who her mother was. Then again if he felt that way he wouldn’t have locked her in a cage in the first place so who knows how that will all play out.
Given the number of times Alex has put herself in danger for Kara recently I think someone needs to give her a sister of the year award. Even after getting shot in the vest the moment she came to her first concern was for Kara. Then when she realized Kara had been captured she once again went to great lengths to find her sister and bring her home. The one thing bad guys should learn by now is if you harm or capture one of the Danvers sisters the other will move Heaven and Hell to ensure justice is enacted and their sibling is returned home safely. Alex almost lost her head, literally, in her quest to save her sister and if that’s not love I don’t know what is. Seeing how much these two sisters love each other is going to make the inevitable rift all that much harder to endure. Leigh is brilliant with the fight sequences and I hope we get to see Alex do more hand to hand combat sequences because Leigh is brilliant at pulling them off. Benoist delivered a heartbreaking performance as Kara watched her sister fighting for her life while being completely incapable of helping her. Then when that yellow light hit her and Kara was set free Benoist got in on the action and delivered an equally brilliant fight sequence. The ladies on this show know how to deliver some amazing fight sequences and the stunt team on
Supergirl is top notch.
One problem that wasn’t so easily cleared up with week is the rift that has developed between Kara and Hank. Time and time again we’ve heard Hank tell Alex that he promised her father he would protect his daughter. Well that promise extends to Kara as well so it’s obvious how much it hurts him to have Kara so angry at him. Yet he knows it is better for Kara to hate him than Alex. He is quite honestly stuck in a no win situation. Most heartbreaking of all was the final scene when Kara declares that she doesn’t know how she can keep working with him. I hope in time this relationship repairs itself but I hope it isn’t at the sacrifice of Alex and Kara’s relationship. Secrets never end well and this one in particular is poised to change the entire dynamic of the show.
Alura, even in Holo form, continues to challenge Kara’s view of her mom. It is obvious that the hologram has information regarding Myriad so it was something that began back on Krypton but what is it? Was it meant to save Krypton and Alura dismissed it which is why Non and Alura knew about it? Is it something sinister like we all believe it is or is it actually meant to help Earth? Given it’s now in Non’s hands I predict no good will come from it but this show has surprised me before so you never know.
I really enjoyed this episode and all the guest stars were spot on. I look forward to seeing how Kara manages to put her life back together and repair all the damage that has been done lately. I do not look forward to the coming sisterly drama but if they come out of it stronger I will endure it.
Tune in to
CBS on Monday, February 29th at 8/9C to learn what comes next for Kara and those around her.
Sadly this will be my last
Supergirl review as Pablo returns to all of you next week. I've enjoyed my time being able to review this show for all of you and hope to see you in the comments sections of Pablo's reviews. Be sure to give him a big epic welcome back!
Hit the comments with your thoughts regarding this episode. What did you think about the episode? What are your feelings regarding James? Do you love or hate Siobhan? Are you worried about the potential for a rift between Alex and Kara? Is Myriad a good thing or a bad thing for the planet?
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.
