Superman Homepage writer Christopher Hart reviews episodes from the “Supergirl” TV series, airing on The CW.
Check out his review of the 16th episode of Season 3 in which Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) and Imra (guest star Amy Jackson) have different ideas on how to stop the third Worldkiller, Pestilence. However, when both Alex (Chyler Leigh) and Winn (Jeremy Jordan) are seriously injured by Pestilence, Supergirl and Imra team up to stop the destruction.
Originally Aired: April 30, 2018
STORY BY: Eric Carrasco
TELEPLAY BY: Gabriel Llanas and Anna Musky-Goldwyn
DIRECTED BY: Alexandra La Roche
REGULAR CAST:
Melissa Benoist (Kara Danvers/Supergirl)
Chyler Leigh (Alex Danvers)
Jeremy Jordan (Winslow “Winn” Schott)
Mehcad Brooks (James Olsen/Guardian)
David Harewood (J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter)
RECURRING CAST:
Odette Annable (Samantha Arias/Reign)
Chris Wood (Mon-El)
Amy Jackson (Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl)
Katie McGrath (Lena Luthor)
Krys Marshall (Julia Freeman/Purity)
Angela Zhou (Dr Grace Parker/Pestilence)
Rating – 4 (out of 5): “Success is the only thing that matters.” – Imra
This week wasn’t quite the destructive Kara versus Imra battle of wills that I expected, but we did see these two moral titans butting heads on the correct path to take – Kara standing strong on trying to save the person inside of Pestilence (Dr Grace Parker) and Imra insisting that murdering Pestilence is the only way to stop the blight.
While Kara might have compassion on her side, Imra had cold, hard experience – she’s seen the future. She knows which chess moves bring about the blight, because she’s seen it with her own eyes. And that’s very hard to argue with – in those circumstances, one innocent lost to save many could easily seem like the right choice.
Add to that Brainiac (sporting Jesse Bath’s genuine look here, which is likely surely no accident – it’s a positive move away from his awful make-up) providing statistical probabilities – a 98.459% chance the blight will never happen, if they kill Pestilence, down to a 52.744% chance, if they try to save Grace – and it’s even more difficult to stand on Kara’s side of the argument.
The hunt for Pestilence – strangely, pronounced “Pest-ule-ence” by Brainiac and Kara, but “Pest-ill-ence” by Mon-El and Imra (I agree with the latter pronunciation) – took time to prove fruitful, but we got there in the end. I’m mostly happy with what Angela Zhou brought to the table here, but I think it’s still a little early to tell.
What I loved wholly was Reign’s The Empire Strikes Back-style moments (like Luke seeing Darth Vader in the Dagobah cave), where she came face-to-face with Reign – which she described as being “like facing your shadow – everything dark you’ve ever feared about yourself.” It highlighted the fragility of the women trapped inside these Worldkillers and stressed Kara’s goal – the need to get them out, alive.
Meanwhile, the death stakes on our team of heroes didn’t feel real to me. Winn’s emotional, “I might not make it” moment felt thin – almost pointless. It was clear that none of our regulars would die from this sickness, so other than getting to see Mehcad Brooks roll some tears, it didn’t add much.
Hank’s motivational speech to Kara about beating the odds and breaking through the impossible, as well the episode’s unavoidable ending, both reminded me more than a little of Avengers: Infinity War‘s plot (which I won’t go into here). It’s a pure timing coincidence, no doubt, but it’s kind of a cool one, as it doubly hammers home these shared themes of facing your foe, no mater how steep the odds, and of persevering, even if you lose anyway.
The ending gathered our witches three (Reign, Purity and Pestilence), finally, reminding me that the show has moved tremendously far away from the comic book Worldkillers, but also showing that these three will work well in tandem. It might feel like the season is nearly over (thanks, jarring hiatus), but we still have seven episodes left. That’s a lot to play with, and with the next episode being titled ‘Trinity’, which promises an ‘epic battle’, it sounds like we’ll be off to a good start.
Check out the “Supergirl – Episode Reviews” Contents page.
4 out of 5!! That’s pretty generous. We have Kara for most of the show walking around in costume, we have Winn and James reduced to crying piles of manhood, we have the STRONG WOMEN, we have a bunch of moralistic nonsense coming from Kara and we now throw in a much more human looking Brainiac. They might as well call this show Superdrama!
Throughout the “Supergirl” series, we have seen many story lines introduced then go nowhere. Characters also come and go with little development. (Are script writers coming and going?) This season, the series is beginning to feel like Star Trek. Supergirl and her super friends (there are more each week) hang out in one setting, where new technology is developed on a “as needed” basis, often on the spot. Instead of interacting with the citizens of National City – let alone the people of Earth – Kara and friends capture space aliens and put them in cages. That aspect of the… Read more »