Ah Supergirl, what a satisfying mid-season finale! A decent enough plot coupled with some great performances all around, this was one of the best Supergirl episodes, and definitely blew apart a few plot lines THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT FOR A MONTH FOR!
Ahem, sorry, shall we continue?
Melissa Benoist’s scene with Alura was the most emotional of the season so far. Having Astra strip away Supergirl’s happy memories of Alura and then Supergirl breaking down in front of a hologram of her mother was heartbreaking.
Goddamn Calista Flockhart, what an actress. Despite Cat Grant’s snarkiness about pretty much every “bad” email that she sent, the only time she truly worried was when her eldest, illegitimate son was at risk of exposure. (Not to mention this son lives in Opal City, where Starman might operate…) By showing that she was willing to step down from her CEO position, and even offer Kara a job regardless, was a testament to Cat Grant’s wisdom and strength to be able to do the right thing even under dire circumstances. Of course, Team Supergirl plus Lucy Lane saves the day, but it was a great storyline for Cat.
She also had some amazing one-liners as usual, but calling Winn a handsome little hobbit takes the cake.
And the identity reveal? Masterfully done. Who hasn’t complained about how glasses are an ineffective disguise? Well, at least Cat Grant finally saw through it. (“Supergirl is my assistant. Heh.”)
Also, finally, Wynn and James finally have some good interactions! Sure, the whole “fight each other and eventually become friends” thing is pretty cliché, but at least it happened in just one episode, and James tells Wynn to pursue Kara at the conclusion.
All’s great! Less love triangles is always a good thing for me.
Hank’s and Alex’s conversations have always been contentious and hinting at underlying tensions, but after Hank’s sick identity reveal (which I still cannot get over at how AWESOME it was), Alex seems to truly regard Hank as a surrogate father figure.
Also, discovering the full extent of his powers seems to have left her bewildered.
Props to the 1-v-1 battle sequence between Supergirl and Astra though, which was surprisingly good. One of Supergirl’s weaker points has to be the action, and this scene disproved that. However, the ending battle scene was simply lackluster. Powers all over the place, random character introductions without any explanations, and generally bad fighting. (Really, bending down and standing up makes you blow a dozen people away?)
Unfortunately, Astra still lacks depth. The clichéd “I want to get caught” storyline didn’t help much either, but she just doesn’t have much chemistry with Supergirl. Although Melissa Benoist pulls off estranged niece quite well, Laura Benanti doesn’t quite accomplish misunderstood
aunt. Moreover, the heavy-handed allegory of global warming is well, heavy-handed. I came here to watch a superhero dammit, not be reminded potential ecological disaster!
However, most of the pieces for her being a great villainess are already in place, and I can only hope that Astra improves as a villain as the rest of Supergirl continues.
Plus, the abrupt cliffhanger felt more like a misplaced cut, but overall it was still a really good winter finale, and if Supergirl builds on that, I will be a very happy boy.
Next, on Supergirl:
https://youtu.be/QAdla9QasN4
[divider]Easter Eggs/Theories[/divider]
Dirk Armstrong
Although the chairman of the board in the show, Dirk Armstrong in the comics was a journalist at the Daily Planet, serving as a conservative foil to Clark Kent and Lois Lane.
“Krptonians are impervious to my telepathy, which Superman finds hilarious.”
Two things here: this is a funny line, and also implies that Superman knows Martian Manhunter. It’s just great to imagine these two alien bros talking to each other, y’know?
Opal City
Home of the legendary Starman, a member of the Justice Society of America. Many have taken up Starman’s identity, including the original Ted Knight, who wields a Cosmic Rod and is able to fly and shoot energy beams from said rod.
The more interesting thing is that Opal City is one of the six recognised cities in the Flarrowverse. From what we’ve known up till now, Supergirl is definitely in a different universe, but with Flash opening up the multiverse, we can never say never to a crossover…