Superman Homepage reviewer T.A. Ewart (aka liheibao) reviews episodes from the “Supergirl” TV series, airing on The CW.
Check out his review of the 15th episode of Season 2 in which Alex searches for Jeremiah, while Kara investigates a series of alien kidnappings.
Originally Aired: March 6, 2017
WRITTEN BY: Paula Yoo and Eric Carrasco
DIRECTED BY: Michael Allowitz
REGULAR CAST:
Melissa Benoist (Kara Danvers/Supergirl)
Chyler Leigh (Alex Danvers)
Mehcad Brooks (James Olsen)
David Harewood (Hank Henshaw/J’onn J’onzz)
Jeremy Jordan (Winslow “Winn” Schott)
RECURRING CAST:
Chris Wood (Mon-El)
Floriana Lima (Maggie Sawyer)
Katie McGrath (Lena Luthor)
Ian Gomez (Snapper Carr)
GUEST CAST:
Dean Cain (Jeremiah Danvers)
Brenda Strong (Lillian Luthor)
Tamzin Merchant (Lyra Strayd)
Teri Hatcher
Kevin Sorbo
Rating – 1 (out of 5): The nightmare that most people can identify with, is the one where you have no hope, no matter how far or fast you run, no matter what you do, the monster is everywhere and everything. That monster is Alex Danvers. It’s enough to tolerate her character on a regular basis, as she is the generic cipher, which viewers either love or do not, but to have an episode focused on Alex, where the laws of any and everything do no apply, it is completely impossible to withstand such an onslaught, unless one has Kryptonian genes. There was no point during the installment that any of what transpired regarding Alex felt real, and it should have. Alex taking her anger out on the apprehended alien was puffy, yet another show of her imaginary bad-assery. However, when J’onn entraps her to discover what truly dwells in her mind, that is something that should have been explored… but there was no way Alex would be subject any analysis that wouldn’t be flattering. No, where she should have had to dwell on her double betrayal, of both her boss and her blood, Alex moves right along to saving her father, and, of course, being reinstated into the DEO. This reeked of hypocrisy, as Kara was fired for her independent actions, and she was actually right. Alex’s selfish actions, instead, were rewarded at the end of the day.
The most egregious offense was when Supergirl needed to save the ship. That was Kara’s moment; Alex had plenty of her own throughout the show and the season. I would have loved to see Supergirl dig deep and shut things down. However, even in this instance, Alex could not resist self-indulging. No, Alex must somehow connect to Kara, and it will be the sisterly bond that they share which saves the day, and not the determination of Supergirl. No character has so completely dominated the scene, and left absolutely nothing in return. CATCO is a shell, Jimmy is a guest star, Winn is a prop, Kara is 3-dimensional, and ignored for it, yet Alex, the most diaphanous and self-absorbed player that I have witnessed in some time, is blessed with ever more screen time, to the point that all others are irrelevant. It’s worse than Olicity, but rather than dub it, I’d rather it just go away. Please, please, go away.
Check out the “Supergirl – Episode Reviews” Contents page.
I stopped watching the show some time ago, but couldn’t help but notice that every clip/preview/interview I saw about it for some time has been Alex-centric. It made me wonder if the show had simply become all about her. Guess I have my answer.
Honestly I find this vitriol towards Alex ridiculous when it leads to a perfectly serviceable episode that IMHO warrants at least 2.5 out of 5 only getting 1. Frankly I thought this was one of the better episodes of the season and almost made last weeks episode palatable. Given that this weeks episode was the payoff for last weeks clunkily executed set-up. You’re not alone though T.A. There are people out there who hate any episode where Mon-El gets a significant amount of screen time. There are even people who can’t stand Kara. I’ve never understood this mindset where if… Read more »
Put aside whatever notions you have about my dislike of the character and re-examine the episode. If you really believe that Alex was portrayed in a reasonable light, one that wasn’t hypocritical, one without favoritism or fanw@nk, then there is very little to discuss, if anything at all. Alex is the epitome of a character that is extremely hard to tolerate as she is given everything other characters need, and simply because she is a Mary Sue. That’s the rub.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a Alex fan. It’s just that I don’t like her any better or worse than any of the other characters on the show. Because of this I really struggle to see where you’re coming from when you use terms like Mary Sue. I didn’t think Alex was meant to be portrayed as reasonable in this episode. I believe an interview with one of the shows producers prior to this episode said that her character would take a darker turn. To me this was an episode where Alex went off the rails a bit but… Read more »
Because of this I really struggle to see where you’re coming from when you use terms like Mary Sue. Is there anything Alex cannot do? She can fight aliens hand-to-hand because of “training”. She can fly a Kryptonian vessel on a whim. She can kill Kryptonians. She is never, ever wrong. When Jimmy and Winn had the secret of Guardian, who found out first? Alex. Alex is everywhere at every time on the show, and why? What does she honestly contribute aside of being a plot device. When we need a character for anything, just slide in Alex. It’s nauseating.… Read more »
This was probably the most intense episode so far.Not a fan of Alex or her relationship with Maggie I’m sorry to say,but I became a fan after this episode because she decided to disobey orders and go after her dad. I also loved the fact that Maggie backed her up.The scene were Jeremiah turned on Cadmus stirred me. Nobody who ever played Supes can be a total bad guy.The ending with Supergirl pulling a Superman and using a power that she rarely gets to use,super strenght was a beautiful culmination to the show. Yes,it had it’s flaws,but this has been… Read more »
I’ve had some pretty negative opinions regarding all the relationships on this show (and all four of the CW shows for that matter). I didn’t find Alex and Maggie too distracting this time around. In fact I thought this episode was fairly decent. I was surprised with your low rating. A 3 out of 5 is what I would have given it. If these shows are going to warrant an intense tear down and pick apart every week then you will always be able to dish out a low ratings. I thought the Jeremiah reunion was the weakest part. Gone… Read more »
I love how despite disagreeing with you, none of the people before me that found the episode decent can bring themselves to bump the score higher than a 3.
I wouldn’t say that exactly. I said that I thought the episode warranted at least 2.5. That was me trying to be objective rather than give my personal rating. Honestly I’m not that good at rating things. I either like something or I don’t. Trying to assign an exact number is hard. Especially as I’ve gotten older. When I was younger everything was fresh and exciting and things blew me away and got me a lot more hyped than they do these days. There was a time when I would give things 5 out of 5. Nowadays the highest score… Read more »
Well..I’m not sure that (including myself),that we are actually grading this one episode alone without mentally including previous episodes.
I agree with this review! So many elements are wrong this season.
I’ve liked the series until now, but one more episode like this and I’m probably going to drop it. Clearly one of the goals of Supergirl is to inspire girls and young women, but what are they trying to do here? The lesson of this episode was true empowerment is means that even if you have an important role and are part of a team, you can chuck all your responsibilities and go pursue your personal agenda. After J’onn demonstrated that Alex did not have her priorities straight and was more concerned with saving her father than protecting the public,… Read more »