Superman Homepage writer Michael Bailey reviews episodes from the “Supergirl” TV series, airing on The CW.
Check out his review of the 21st episode of Season 4 in which Kara (Melissa Benoist) comes face to face with Red Daughter and the two engage in an epic battle. Determined to find a way to extract the Harun-El, Lena (Katie McGrath) turns to an unlikely source for help – Lillian Luthor (guest star Brenda Strong). Meanwhile, Alex (Chyler Leigh) realizes she’s missing parts of her memory, and Brainy (Jesse Rath), Nia (Nicole Maines) and J’onn (David Harewood) set out to track down aliens who have been abducted by Lex.
Originally Aired: May 12, 2019
WRITTEN BY: Gabirel Llanas and Eric Carrasco
DIRECTED BY: Alexis Ostrander
REGULAR CAST:
Melissa Benoist (Kara/Supergirl)
Chyler Leigh (Alex Danvers)
Mechad Brooks (Jimmy Olsen)
Jesse Rath (Brainiac 5)
Katie McGrath (Lena Luthor)
Nicole Maines (Nia Nal/Dreamer)
GUEST STARS:
Sam Witwer (Ben Lockwood)
Azie Tesfai (Kelly Olsen)
April Parker Jones (Colonel Haley)
Brenda Strong (Lillian Luthor)
Bruce Boxleitner (President Baker)
Helen Slater (Eliza Danvers)
Rating – 4 (out of 5): This was nearly a perfect episode of SUPERGIRL. All of the storylines converged in a satisfying manner, there was some great action, there were some interesting developments, and we got the answer to the question of how Alex was going to remember that Supergirl is her sister.
Then the whole sunlight from the grass thing happened, and things went south in a hurry.
Before that, I was on board with everything that went down. Ben Lockwood’s story is wrapping up nicely, and I like that he now knows that Lex was behind his rise to power. It complicates things and led to a fun confrontation with Otis, who is currently (and probably temporarily) dead. I liked the scenes with Lillian and Lena, though Lillian admitting she loved her daughter was a bit obvious. Brainy’s regression was a surprise, though, frankly, I should have seen it coming considering how intent he was on telling Dreamer that he loved her. It was a great scene, though, and not something I was expecting.
Up until the final few minutes of the episode the scenes with Alex and Supergirl were great. The flashbacks were helpful in laying the groundwork for Alex to get her memories back and I liked how emotional those scenes were. Everything was going fine until the moment Supergirl was able to pull sunlight out of grass, which is theoretically possible considering what photosynthesis is, but it was silly. It was the worst kind of deus ex machina, and if the episode hadn’t been so strong before that moment, then it would have ruined the entire episode.
That was my only complaint, though. Sam Witwer playing a disguised Brainy was so brilliant, that it more than made up for that misstep. While I enjoyed the last few seasons and the episodes leading up to their finales, I don’t think I have ever been this excited for a Supergirl season finale. They have a lot of ground to cover next week, but I have a feeling they are going to pull it off just fine.
Check out the “Supergirl – Episode Reviews” Contents page.
It had it’s moments. Convenient to have commie Supergirl in that masked outfit. Stunt double saving money. That’s the only thing that makes sense about that. And the sunlight from grass???? Good lord that was ridiculous. 3 out of 5 at best. I watch most of these CW superhero shows. Although one can ask,.. are they really superhero shows any more? But I see we have Batwoman on the way. We need another woman that kicks men’e rear ends like a hole in the head but their going to ram it down our throats anyway. Last nights Flash was a… Read more »
They actually stole soaking solar energy from grass from The Dark Knight Returns. Superman does it after he got hit with the nuke.
You’re right about The Flash being the best of these CW shows, Grant Gustin seems like a cool guy too. My son got to meet him this past weekend at Comicpalooza and took a picture with him.
I have to completely agree with you on The Flash. It’s THE show that can’t be beat. I love everything about that series.
With that said, I enjoyed this episode of Supergirl. The whole thing with Kara taking in sunlight from grass didn’t bother me and I don’t quite understand why some people had a problem with it. What else could be done at that moment? I suppose Alex could’ve had a miniature solar lamp in her pocket or something, but that’s not what happened and I’m fine with that.
Now that we’re getting to the real meat of the story, I’m enjoying the episodes more. I hope this will be a fantastic season finale. This hasn’t been my favorite season of Supergirl, I’m sorry to say, but if they can stick the landing, I’ll be happy.