Superman on Television

Supergirl: Episode Reviews

Season 4 - Episode 21: "Red Dawn"

Reviewed by: Michael Bailey

Red DawnOriginally 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)

4Rating - 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.



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