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Supergirl S2E19 “Alex” Centers on the Women Who Love Alex Danvers

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Logan Dalton

In “Alex”, Supergirl focuses on the heart of its show, Alex Danvers, played with fierceness, warmth, and a side of sheer terror by Chyler Leigh. But instead of having Alex go on a solo mission or something, writers Eric Carrasco and Greg Baldwin put in her in a cell in the middle of nowhere and have her sister Kara and girlfriend Maggie work against the clock to save her from Jigsaw-like criminal mastermind, Rick (Z: The Beginning of Everything’s David Hoflin). He also happens to be an old friend from Midvale Middle/High, and a blast from a past bad guy with the simple motivation of wanting to save his criminal father, Peter, from prison might be just what the doctor ordered for a show which had a human nanobot swarm as the antagonist last week.

Carrasco and Baldwin immediately pit the optimistic, yet less than wary of collateral damage Supergirl against the pragmatic, by-the-book cop Maggie Sawyer in a quick action scene followed by an awkward pizza dinner. Thankfully, Mon-El is sidelined as the goofy comic relief, and the focus in on Maggie and Kara arguing about the ethics of being a superhero. Maggie likes it when Kara helps with aliens and monsters, but wishes she would stay away from human criminals. It’s a similar to the debate between Tony Stark and Captain America in Captain America: Civil War where Cap wants the freedom to make on the fly decisions to save people while Tony wants the the Avengers held accountable. But, luckily, “Alex” isn’t a Civil War ripoff as this ideological conflict reveals the deep love that Kara and Maggie have for Alex, and they show it through doing anything possible to save her, including almost freeing a murderer in jail. They might differ on how to fight crime, but they both care for Alex Danvers very much.

Rick is an interesting villain of the week. He’s a regular guy with the superpowers of creepily stalking Alex Danvers for the past year and learning everything about her relationships and friends, which is why not even DEO super tech and Martian Manhunter’s shapeshifting can stop him.He also knows Kara is Supergirl because he witnessed her use her powers during a middle school beach trip to save an exploding car. Carrasco and Baldwin hint at Rick having a crush, but he doesn’t kidnap Alex because he has feelings for her. He imprisons her because he is still jealous of her and Kara’s “stable” home life while he had an abusive mother. This is definitely a sad backstory, but he ruins it through his traps and games that take up most of the episode’s running time. I enjoyed how the final rescue doesn’t come through brute force or advanced interrogation techniques, but Kara appealing to the fact that though Peter is a pretty crappy person, he was a good dad to Rick. Usually, Melissa Benoist’s portrayal of hopeful optimism is bright eyed and bushy tailed, but there’s an undercurrent of rage when she holds Rick in her grip and threatens him with her heat vision.

The acting from Chyler Leigh, Melissa Benoist, and in a small, but powerful role, David Harewood is pretty great in “Alex”. Harewood continues to nail the role of father figure and commander as he barks out orders one second and then softens and gives Alex and Maggie a big hug later. Leigh turns a part that could be a cliched “scream queen channeling both fear (Her desperate confessions to Maggie.) and resourcefulness (Cutting into her own body to activate her tracker.) in her performance. Melissa Benoist leans into the wistfulness of Supergirl as she realizes that although she has the ability to fly and maybe even turn back time by flying around the Earth, she can’t save Alex. But when the danger is over, she is back to her goofy self while half-flirting with Lena Luthor about not having kale at their brunch next weekend.

Floriana Lima also gets to show the softer side of Maggie’s character while also having a pretty epic action jaunt when she breaks into a federal prison with a raygun to rescue Alex even if it means caving to a terrorist’s demands. On the other hand, there is a detective-like precision to the way she delivers her thoughts about Rick and Alex’s kidnapping transforming it from a superhero mission to a very cold case. The almost silent scene that she, Alex, and Kara share at the end is filled to the brim with love, and director Rob J. Greenlea takes some time to soak in the moment after his claustrophobic camera work of Alex almost drowning in a cage.

Running almost in a parallel universe is the B-plot featuring Rhea (Teri Hatcher) trying to get Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath) to help her build a transmatter transporter (To cure world hunger, she claims.) and opening a real Pandora’s box of mommy and family issues. During a dinner scene, McGrath plays Lena with a real empathy as she opens up to a woman, who thinks might be the mother she has always wished for. But this ends up backfiring although Lena and Rhea end up working together at the end as Eric Carrasco and Greg Baldwin continued the time honored Supergirl Season 2 tradition of pushing Lena Luthor as close to the edge of evil as possible. Her desire to make L-Corp a company that is the exact opposite of Lex Luthor may come back to bite her.

With a thrilling villainous death trap plot that steers close to the personal, “Alex” is one of the better Supergirl episodes in 2017. Centering the episode on a character that most fans like, Alex Danvers, is a stroke of genius as writers Eric Carrasco and Greg Baldwin use a cuckoo plot to coax out some real feelings from Alex, Kara, and even Maggie with Chyler Leigh, Melissa Benoist, and Floriana Lima creating a wonderful emotional bond as the credits roll.

Overall Rating: 9.0

Supergirl S2E17 “Distant Sun” is an Intergalactic Escapade

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Logan Dalton

So, writers Gabriel Llanas and Anna Musky-Goldwyn and director Kevin Smith (If it’s not obvious from the quite clever Star Wars reference in the third act.) achieve the impossible and make a Mon-El-centric episode compelling thanks to some royal intrigue, bounty hunters, and super fun action scenes. Smith lines up some great sequences from a cold open pitting Supergirl against a fellow heat vision alien; Supergirl, Guardian, and Winn teaming up to take out a bald, mind control alien, and a Big Kahuna of a final brawl featuring Martian Manhunter. Other highlights, include Rhea, played by an icy and intimidating Teri Hatcher, rising up to true villain status, a strong subplot featuring Alex and Maggie working out some emotional baggage with Maggie’s ex-girlfriend Emily (Hayley Sales), and Martian Manhunter continuing to be a great father figure and even standing up to the president of the United States herself. There’s even a decent plot twist, and Llanas, Musky-Goldwyn, and Smith set up the pieces that will likely be knocked down after a month hiatus.

After spending the last episode tangling with Mon-El drama and showcasing her golden pipes in “The Duet” The Flash crossover episode, Melissa Benoist is back to being moral, a little bit goofy, and well super as Supergirl. (And Mon-El knows his place: the kitchen.) Smith shows this early on as she immediately leaves a scrumptious breakfast spread to save some innocent citizens from a heat vision wielding alien bounty hunter and shields them with her own body. When it’s revealed that someone has put a bounty on Supergirl’s head, she constantly bristles to go back into action, but decides to lie low and play Settlers of Catan so no one gets hurt in the crossfire. Supergirl will even fight a close quarters battle against her boyfriend’s kryptonite sai wielding mom to save the man she loves and protect Earth from the threat of a xenophobic alien monarchy that put out a bounty just so their crown prince would return to their ship. There have been plenty of Mon-El saying Kara is great speeches throughout this season, but I almost bought the one where he talked about admiring her as a hero. Maybe, it’s because it’s after a battle where they helped each other out and not a last ditch pity apology.

Speaking of relationship issues, Llanas and Musky-Goldwyn tell an Alex and Maggie story that falls outside the main plot, but ends up showing why their romance works so well. Maggie’s ex Emily is in town, and Alex is the best girlfriend ever and invites them all out to dinner because she doesn’t possess a jealous bone in her body. The first appearance of Emily causes a lot of strain in the usually unflappable Maggie Sawyer’s face with Floriana Lima conveying that there’s some darkness in their past. Alex finds out that Maggie actually cheated on Emily, but instead of going the soap opera route and breaking up with her, she is empathetic and understands that it’s hard for Maggie to trust people after Instead of going for the easy pre-hiatus drama route, Llanas and Musky-Goldwyn double down on relationship development via talking and even steal some adorable smooches and flirting along the way.

“Distant Sun” is a generally well-structured episode of Supergirl with Gabriel Llanas and Anna Musky-Goldwyn centering the action of the plot on the strained relationship between Mon-El and his parents in a battle between heroism and an easy life of comfort. Mon-El is pretty darn heroic in this episode and talks with his father about establishing a democracy in Daxam. Lar Gand (Kevin Sorbo) acts as kind of a buffer between Rhea’s hardline stance of wanting her son back at all costs and has a quiet, misguided nobility to her ruthlessness. (If you’ve watched or read Game of Thrones, you know how these things turn out.) Teri Hatcher is fantastic at Rhea with her unflinching devotion to getting what she wants and provides an upper crust, extraterrestrial foil to Brenda Strong’s Lillian Luthor as a Big Bad this season. If you’re a mom, it’s a good bet you’re really evil if you appear in Supergirl Season 2.

Kevin Smith helps with “Distant Sun’s” strong structure by making each setpiece a little bigger than the other culminating in an extended sequence of Martian Manhunter in his green form beating down Daxamite royal guards. There aren’t any Daredevil-style one takes in this episode, but Smith lingers on the punches, kicks, and holds creating some truly epic moments like Supergirl pushing back five guards with one of their staff weapons. This longer shot technique combined with searing glances from David Harewood makes a psychic battle between Martian Manhunter and a telepathic bounty hunter believable without wasting any of the CGI budget on the CW’s Legion. Unfortunately, it hinders some of the suspense towards the end of the episode, but the action more than makes up for it.

“Distant Sun” has yet another nuanced Maggie and Alex subplot, a likable Mon-El, the addition of interplanetary intrigue to Supergirl‘s season long arc, and rock solid action scenes from Kevin Smith, which means this reviewer will be going into the hiatus as satisfied as Kara Danvers after devouring a plate of hashbrowns and poached eggs.

Overall Rating: 8.0

Sister Power Prevails in Supergirl S2E15 “Exodus”

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Logan Dalton

“Exodus” reminded me of why I loved and started to write about Supergirl in the first place and is the show’s best episode of 2017 so far. It puts Mon-El and Kara’s romance on the backburner, fishes out a criminally underused Snapper Carr (And the talented Ian Gomez, who embodies truth in a single passionate, yet cynical glance.), and best of all, puts the focus on the sisterly relationship between Kara and Alex Danvers. But this episode isn’t just long stretches of Kara and Alex pouring out their feelings, but is filled with some top notch action as writers Paula Yoo and Eric Carrasco and director Michael Allowitz have Alex basically go rogue and take out Cadmus all by herself when J’onn suspends her from Cadmus. Also, in an episode that guest stars TV’s Lois (Teri Hatcher as a mysterious alien) and Clark (Jeremiah Danvers) themselves, the most romantic moment comes from Supergirl catching Lena Luthor after she helps put her on the trail to Cadmus. They don’t get a ton of screen time, but Yoo and Carrasco continue to completely debunk the Luther/Superfamily rivalry and give them a genuine friendship even if they don’t have time for kombucha this time.

Even though Supergirl is pretty damn heroic in this episode carrying a spaceship filled with deported alien refugees (There are tons of political parallels in “Exodus.), the reporter Kara Danvers is pretty flawed. And even though “he’s rooting for her”, Snapper Carr is quick to point out those flaws that include basically only using Supergirl aka herself as a source for her pieces. He might come off as irascible, but Snapper is a true crusader for journalism ethics, which is kind of big deal in a time where journalists from the venerable BBC aren’t welcome at President Trump’s press gaggles.

Snapper humors Kara and interviews “Supergirl”, but she doesn’t reveal that she got information about Cadmus taking the alien registry from the DEO even off the record so there’s no story in his eyes. But Kara goes off the reservation and exposes Cadmus in a blog post. (Sadly not done in WordPress.) She’s a great superhero, but not a great journalist. These series of events causes Lillian and Cadmus to go into hiding, but it costs Kara her job. Now, she has an existential crisis in her civilian position, and you can definitely see the sadness in Melissa Benoist’s eyes as she sits on the window sill in a sequence tearfully framed by Allowitz. It’s a relatable sequence to anyone who has lost a promising job that they were passionate about. And yeah, Mon-El is there to reassure her, but that emptiness is still there as who knows what Kara Danvers is going to do with her life moving onwards.

Continuing the theme of going against authority, Alex Danvers decides to take down Cadmus all by herself. (With a little help from Maggie Sawyer, who is there for the smooching, snarking, and raygun blasts.) Her emotional bond with her father Jeremiah continues even after he steals the alien registry from the DEO, and she continues to passionately hope that there is good in him bringing her into conflict with J’onn and disagreement with Kara. One of “Exodus'” most shocking moments is J’onn shapeshifting into Jeremiah and coercing Alex into “betraying” the DEO by agreeing to team up with him. Thankfully, J’onn walks this back later in the episode after most of everything is set to rights, and their father/daughter relationship is intact.

But before the tearful reunion, we get to see Chyler Leigh and Floriana Lima star in the queer, female starring remake of Bad Boys that everyone secretly (or not so secretly) wants. They use some gun play and detective smarts by using their buddy from the alien bar, Brian, to act as bait for Cadmus goons before springing the trap in a thrilling hand to hand combat scene. Then, Alex gets to unleash her inner Splinter Cell character and stealthily infiltrate the DEO and team up with her dad, who is in deep, deep cover and joined Cadmus to protect her and Kara. Alex believes in him so much, and they move fluidly in combat trying to stop Lillian from sending a group of alien refugees to the far end of space before Cyborg Superman has to ruin things. Alex Danvers is a true action hero, and because her abilities don’t require CGI, her fight scenes are better staged with longer takes.

Nonetheless,The Flash and Vampire Diaries director Michael Allowitz brings some powerful visuals to the forefront of “Exodus in both the action and emotion department. Women kicking ass is the throughline of the episode’s setpieces even if Guardian gets a killer save in the early going from Lena tasing her own mom’s goons before jumping off the roof because Supergirl will save her to Lyra saving her fellow aliens while Alex and Supergirl attempt to crash land an “alien ocean frigate”. A group fight scene featuring Maggie, Alex, and Winn at the alien bar is relentless as Alex uses pool cues and whatever she can find to fight off the goons and try to save the aliens from Cadmus. It shows her resourcefulness and that she is willing to do whatever it takes to protect anyone in need. This ruthless pragmatism comes in handy later in the episode when Alex threatens to blow up Lillian Luthor’s top secret base and then sets off some explosives to show her that she wasn’t bluffing. Alex Danvers has a darker edge compared to her adoptive sister, but her relationships with Maggie, Kara, and her father figures Jeremiah and J’onn give a warm humanity to a character who brutally beat a prisoner early on in the episode.

However, Allowitz’s finest moment is a tribute to Star Trek: Wrath of Khan as Alex and Kara touch hands through the glass while Kara strains to prevent the ship with the alien refugees from going into light speed. The shot is a subtle homage to the film, and no one makes a joke about Star Trek, but it’s iconic enough to be shorthand for a lasting bond of friendship that transcends life and death. Blake Neely’s score is also pretty heroic, and Melissa Benoist does these death howls to show much pain she is in while saving this ship. Kara and Alex’s relationship has been the bedrock of Supergirl since Season 1 and centering an episode around it makes “Exodus one of Season 2’s sturdier episodes. They resist authority separately with the help of the women they love (Lena and Maggie) to protect the Earth from an evil, xenophobic organization and then end up saving the day together in a glorious instant.

The past few episodes of Supergirl have focused on romance and villains of the week, but “Exodus” is grounded in the reality of the 2017 albeit through the spaceships and extraterrestrials. Allowitz opens the scene with a moment of broad comedy as a mom and dad sings along to the latest Bruno Mars hit single while the pre-teen daughter makes snarky little comments. But then they are stopped by the police, and the context immediately turns frightening as they are snatched up and sent to Cadmus’ prison base. This is a jarring sequence to watch, especially after the “Muslim Ban 2.0” executive order was signed into law by a man, who thinks that security briefings are optional before sending soldiers to be killed in action, perjury is no big deal, and it’s totally cool to conduct international diplomacy in full view of the public at a Palm Beach club for rich white people while eating wedge salads on taxpayers’ dime. Just like the random aliens that get rounded up in “Exodus”, people are getting snatched up and deported because of their religion and national origin instead of being treated like human beings. This real world connection adds weight to Lillian Luthor and Cadmus’ villainy and makes Supergirl part of the pop culture resistance in a way.

Paula Yoo and Eric Carrasco throw aside most of this Mon-El foolishness for an episode and zero in on the flaws and heroism of Kara Danvers and Alex Danvers through relationships, defiance of authority in various ways that even have negative consequences in the case of Kara’s job, and finally a breathtaking rescue sequence that is one of Supergirl Season 2’s most memorable.

Overall Rating: 9.0

Supergirl Gets Sentimental in S2E13 “Mr. and Mrs. Mxyzpltk”

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Logan Dalton

A week after the fact Valentine’s themed episode, Supergirl kicks it Silver Age style when the 5th dimension imp and classic Superman villain, Mxyzptlk, rolls into town. In a meta-casting twist, he is played by Peter Gadiot, who played a genie in ABC’s Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, and wants to marry Supergirl because he thought she was beautiful while traveling between dimensions. Writers Sterling Gates and Jessica Queller definitely go for broke on the goofy side with Mxyzptlk’s havoc culminating in an homage to Hamilton, but the real meat of “Mr. and Mrs. Mxyzptlk” is in the romantic relationship depart where Maggie and Alex spend their first Valentine’s together, Winn takes a chance at love with the alien Lyra, and the ball is dropped yet again in the Mon-El/Kara department.

Mxyzptlk is a fantastic villain of the week, and Gadiot plays him with unbridled energy while director Stefan Pleszczynski shoots some inventive set pieces featuring him. However, the solution to beat him is pretty low budget and word for word faithful from the comics showing Mort Weisinger zaniness can co-exist with real human feelings. It’s a nice change to have a villain that is an intellectual challenge for Supergirl and not one that she can defeat by punching, using heat vision, or the DEO armory/MacGuffin closet. She defeats Mxyzptlk in a sly way not unlike the covers of the Weisinger-era Superman comics that involved him being more of a trickster than a Big Blue Boy Scout to drive sales. Kara also fights Mxyzptlk on her terms, her turf (The Fortress of Solitude.), and without Mon-El or anyone’s help driving home her agency as a character.

James gets the week off as both Guardian and in his day job at Catco, but Gates and Queller give Winn a solo subplot of his own and an adorable, yet sexy bond with Lyra, an alien whose martial arts skills help save him at the Alien Bar. In an episode where men are trying to do “rescuing” some way, Winn’s lack of toxic masculinity is refreshing. Winn is a fan of the literature of Lyra’s home planet, Starhaven, and he immediately falls for her forward approach to romance, including asking him out and kissing him first. Except their bond isn’t just physical, and they share a nice scene where Winn talks about the pain of heartbreak and getting hurt in a romantic relationship that is relatable to anyone in the dating scene. Their storyline didn’t have much to do with the main plot, but presented some nice counterprogramming to the machismo and posturing of Mxyzptlk and Mon-El, who fight over Kara like she’s not even in the room.

Exactly how I feel about Kara/Mon-El.

I think the writers of Supergirl, including Gates and Queller, are going for an aggressive bickering leads to romance kind of vibe, like Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford in Empire Strikes Back or Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally… Except those couples had chemistry (Or at least great dialogue from Larry Kasdan and Nora Ephron respectively.), and Kara and Mon-El don’t have that even though Melissa Benoist are charming actors. Mon-El reaches new levels of ridiculousness in “Mr. and Mrs. Mxyzptlk” by treating Kara, who taught him to be a superhero, like a damsel in distress and being patronizing towards her. Also, he’s jealous of an imp from another dimension, who has major issues with boundaries and thinks that Mxyzptlk will “take” him away from her. Most of the episode is spent by Kara rescuing Mon-El from his own stupidity when he tries to go mano a mano with Mxyzptlk and lecturing him about forcing the issue in their relationship. But they still end up smooching at the end of the episode after Kara basically walks back everything she said over the past episode as not wanting to lose her “cover” when pretending to marry Mxyzptlk. It’s the silliest thing in an episode that features a teleporting, reality warping Aaron Burr cosplayer.

The message of “Mr. and Mrs. Mxyzptlk” is simple and true. Romantic relationships should be organic and selfless with both parties caring about each other instead of doing ridiculous things to impress the other person, like Mxyzptlk and to a lesser extent, Mon-El. Except Gates and Queller walk that idea back by having Kara instantly being okay with Mon-El as a romantic partner even after she has constantly said that they aren’t good for each other, and that she is tired of his rescues and stunts on her behalf. The extended make-out between Kara and Mon-El is tacked onto the verbal equivalent “I’m sorry” as the product of all the non-existent sexual tension between them. It will be interesting to see their relationship develop in a car running a red light on a busy intersection and getting majorly totaled kind of way.

But, on a happier note, Gates and Queller spend a little time with Maggie and Alex, who are celebrating their first Valentine’s together. There is a big, sad emotional beat when Maggie reveals that she was outed to her parents as a lesbian by a girl that she had a crush on in high school on Valentine’s Day. They didn’t respond well, and she had to live with relatives. From personal experience, being outed against your will is a painful, trust destroying, and agency removing experience. Maggie’s first reaction is to be alone, but she runs into Kara, who tells Maggie about how much Valentine’s means to her because this is her first one as a couple. And the ending is beautifully romantic and slightly cheesy as Maggie and Alex dance like they’re at prom together. Maggie and Alex’s relationship is pretty emotionally volatile, but through Floriana Lima and Chyler Leigh’s long glances and soft tones to each other, they truly care about each other and are Supergirl”s best romantic coupling so far in two seasons.

“Mr. and Mrs. Mxyzptlk” has a plot and villain that indulges in some true Silver Age silliness as Sterling Gates, Jessica Queller, and Stefan Plesczynski embraces Superman and Supergirl’s past canon with open arms while still having some insightful things to say about the nature of relationships. The Mon-El subplot continues to be an eyesore, but this episode of Supergirl is filled with romance, whimsy, and a touch of truth.

Rating: 8.0

Supergirl S2E9 “Supergirl Lives” Takes the Show to Space with Mixed Results

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Logan Dalton

Unlike director Kevin Smith’s two stellar episodes of The Flash, his directorial debut on Supergirl is a little bit of a mixed bag. Writers Eric Carrasco, Jess Kardos, and Andrew Kreisberg give the show more of a sci-fi bent as Supergirl (in disguise as reporter Kara Danvers) and Mon-El chase down a lead on a missing girl and end up on a planet called The Slaver’s Moon. They have to liberate a coterie of missing humans from Roulette, played by a woefully underused Dichen Lachman, and the twist is that this planet has a red sun. Without her abilities to back her up, Supergirl relies on her power to inspire Plus Mon-El has a sketchy connection to the Dominators from the “Invasion” crossover, which could play a bigger role in episodes to come.

The villains of “Supergirl Lives” are kind of an intellectual and physical snore. Roulette seemed otherwordly earlier this season when she was running an alien fighting ring, but being on another planet has kind of ruined her bite. Her scientist henchman is just plain creepy and not really threatening like an annoying guy on a subway whereas the alien guards are there to get punched over and over again by depowered Kryptonians, random civilians, and Winn. But, luckily, Supergirl has a stellar cast, and character development given to Alex Danvers, Winn, Supergirl, and especially Mon-El keeps this episode from being a disaster. Plus Ian Gomez returns as Snapper Carr, and his cynical attitude towards Kara’s reporting skills thaws just a little while he goes on a hilarious rant about wanting to be left alone with his coffee and Danish.

Up to this point, Mon-El was a character that I kind of detested as he came across as an overprivileged douche from another planet and not a good romantic match for Kara. However, in 2017, it seems like the writers have decided to make him a little likable and more heroic while using his laziness and obliviousness to some things on Earth for quick bits of humor. For example, there are running gags involving club soda and Highlights magazine that create a real bond between him and Kara to go along with their teaming up to save runaway aliens. Mon-El truly changes in “Supergirl Lives” as he goes from trying to run through the portal back home to covering the runaways’ escape routes with some well aimed blaster bolts. He is inspired by Supergirl’s optimism and willingness to take multiple energy blasts to become a hero in his own right. But his work ethic is still terrible (He takes a day off on his second day as a bartender who doesn’t know the difference between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.), and his connection to the Dominators is a little unsettling. Maybe, he is not all he seems to be.

Even though they gets the C-Plot of “Supergirl Lives”, Smith, Carrasco, Kardos, and Kreisberg nail the dynamic between Winn and James Olsen with all the fear, anger, and adventure of being a superhero team. The opening car chase scene featuring him, Guardian, and Supergirl gave me chills as Smith ably switched angles to show Supergirl’s epic poses and heat visions before swooping in up, close, and personal for some street level vigilante action. Also, Winn gets his face bruised, and a jewel thief puts a gun to his head.

Even though he’s relegated to comic relief for the most part in Supergirl, Jeremy Jordan channels pure fear in “Supergirl Lives” in the opening scene, and also when Alex decides to take him along as tech support. He kind of nails what I would be feeling if I had to go into action against criminals or aliens with a bit less vomiting and promptly quits being a team with Guardian. However, going on the off-planet mission gives him a surge of confidence that he shows off to James in a meeting where he is ready to go back into action as “Agent Schott, Defender of the Stars”. Alex and Winn have had a special bond in Supergirl, and her little nudge to get him into to go into the field is a nice payoff for this.

As usual, Chyler Leigh gives the best performance of Supergirl and has the most emotionally powerful arc as she struggles with her newfound happiness with Maggie Sawyer. This can be seen in the lighting used by Smith to film the morning after their first sleepover, which is filled with super cutesy, rom com-ish dialogue. But this is kind of the point. Alex has only recently come out of the closet and gone through a crazy “will they, won’t they” thing with Maggie, and it’s nice to have them pleasantly chatting over coffee. However, Alex is new to romantic relationships and feels insecure about letting Maggie into her problems rebuffing her at the DEO when Kara goes missing.

Instead of pointless drama, Carrasco, Kardos, and Kreisberg go for more nuance with Maggie and Alex’s relationship as Alex feels like she doesn’t deserve to have an amazing glow on her face when she describes Maggie as her “girlfriend”. Her work and protecting Kara has been her life so far, and she doesn’t feel like she’s entitled to this kind of relationship so Alex pushes Maggie away when she wants to help her find Kara. However, at the end of the episode, Alex realizes this is kind of ridiculous and has a cute, touching reunion with her where Maggie reveals that she knows Supergirl’s secret identity. There is room for Alex to care for both Kara and Alex in her life.

“Supergirl Lives” has a nifty car chase scene and some great hand to hand fight scenes featuring Alex Danvers, and the red filter used by Kevin Smith and Shamus Whiting-Hewlett brings out Kara’s vulnerability as she and a depowered Mon-El wander Slaver’s Moon. This combined with the strong characterization of Winn and Mon-El along with the continuing acting brilliance of Chyler Leigh balances out a weak bad guy and a yawn of an alien infiltration arc to make a decent hour of Supergirl.

Overall Rating: 7.5

TV Review: Supergirl S2E6 “Changing” is literally and metaphorically draining

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Logan Dalton

In “Changing”, writers Caitlin Parrish, Andrew Kreisberg, and Greg Berlanti round off several characters subplots as James Olsen and Mon-El wrap up their heroic journeys, Alex Danvers comes out to her sister, Supergirl, and Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian are brought closer together in a traumatic way. Oh, and there happens to be a villain in this episode as director Larry Teng pays homage to The Thing with an alien parasite taking out scientists at a remote base near one of the poles in its cold open. Parasite (Lost’‘s William Mapother) that extremists can be on both the left and right side of the aisle. Climate change is terrible, but killing human beings isn’t the solution

But Berlanti, Parrish, and Kreisberg use Parasite less as a global warming parable in classic Superman villain form and more as a way to cause the cast of Supergirl external discomfort to go with their inner pain. The strongest emotional beat in “Changing” and one of the best character arcs on a TV show in 2016 belongs to Alex Danvers. Chyler Leigh excels at changing her vocal timbre and has great range as an actor going from aloof to happy to completely broken at the drop of the hat while also kicking ass in the action scenes against Parasite. She doesn’t have to speak to show the depth of her uncertainty about how to talk about being a lesbian, or the depth of her feelings towards Maggie Sawyer. The scene(s) where Alex comes out to Kara are the complete opposite of an after school special as Teng uses soft lighting with a minor piano score from Blake Neely as well as getting rid of Kara’s “glasses disguise” for a true moment of authenticity as she is there for her sister. Alex coming out as lesbian wasn’t a stunt for ratings or titillation, but an organic part of development of a character as she strives to be whole in her personal life as well as her professional life as an agent of the DEO. The ending of her storyline is completely happy, but thankfully Berlanti, Parrish, and Kreisberg go the route of Carmilla rather than The 100 as far as tragic queer characters are concerned.

Last episode, I described Mon-El as “adorkable”, but maybe he is more of a douche than a dork. His storyline in “Changes” starts out promisingly enough with Chris Wood flexing his impeccable comedic timing with Mon-El’s reactions to various aliens sending him drinks at the alien bar, which has become the show’s most memorable setting with Catco being a pale spectre of its Season 1 self. But it all goes to hell after this as Mon-El uses his powers to be an enforcer for an alien bookie and not feel any guilt about it. His amorality has gone from naive to downright frustrating or disgusting, and it’s kind of cathartic to see Alex light into him for using his powers to hurt people weaker than him and call him a coward. Mon-El does pathetically participate in the fight against Parasite as he takes baby steps towards being a superhero. He’s not very likeable though, but his role in the episode’s cliffhanger opens up a possibility for him to regain some face in the long run.

I have mixed feelings about the James Olsen becomes a superhero subplot, and all of Mehcad Brooks’ charm goes out the window when he is covered up behind a helmet and voice modulator. But his transformation into the vigilante Guardian has brought him and Winn closer together as well as added another black superhero to television. Even though he ends up cracking wise in the heat of battle when James battles Parasite while Supergirl and Martian Manhunter are down for the count, Jeremy Jordan plays Winn very seriously in “Changes” as he basically tells James to back off his demands for the Guardian suit. He cares for James and doesn’t want to kill himself while playing superhero. Winn is skeptical about James’ actions and kind of a stand-in for Supergirl fans, who are wary of his arc in Season 2. However, he ends up coming around when he realizes that telling a guy in a suit how to punch and defend himself is kind of an adrenaline rush. Olsen might have the gruff, grating voice of Christian Bale’s Batman, but he and Winn have a genuine good time as superheroes even if his origin story is rooted in the death of his father and his own insecurities as a “sidekick”. Some better sound editing would make the patter on Olsen’s side a tad bit snappier.

Due to dramatic timing (and probably budget constraints), Larry Teng saves the reveal of Rudy Jones’ final Parasite form for the last third of “Changes”. Unlike the shoddy CGI of a recent of “monster” in The Flash, Supergirl”s visual effects artists give him the purple hue of the comic book version to go with intimidating size and scale. The makeup and visual effects team should also be commended for their work on the wounded Martian Manhunter and Supergirl, who look like they’re on death’s door and completely drained of their health and vitality. They definitely don’t look like powerful, adorable superheroes or cool, regal Martians. In the big brawl between Mon-El, Guardian, and this week’s villain, Teng doesn’t neglect the horror giving Parasite a “chest burster” for a mouth that he breaks out when fighting Mon-El on the streets. His direction (and the writing) does falter a little bit with the quick reveal of a limitless energy MacGuffin that Supergirl gives Parasite to finally defeat him which is even little too much deus ex machina for a superhero show. However, the image of Kara taking on a huge burst of energy that could destroy any of her friends is a visual representation of her ability to inspire James Olsen to become a superhero, Alex Danvers to embrace her queer identity, and for Mon-El to “show up”.

On the surface, “Changes” get its title from the physical transformation that Dr. Rudy Jones endures as he goes from an overzealous scientist to a character in an early David Cronenberg movie to a tricked out supervillain. However, it is truly about the transformations in Supergirl”s well-rounded supporting cast. Some changes are more thoughtful (Alex Danvers) than others (Mon-El), but the episode is another shining example of how Supergirl has reached new heights by focusing on the people behind the icons aka their feelings and not just flying, alien punching, and shapeshifting. All those things are cool though.

Finally, Changes” is also yet another stellar example of how inspiring science fiction and superhero stories can be towards queer people as Kara finds common ground with Alex in their shared “secret identities” as a superhero and queer woman respectively. But Supergirl doesn’t stay in the world of metaphor and strives for nuanced LGBT representation as Alex and Maggie are at very different places, and maybe a romantic relationship isn’t the best option for them right now even though all the fans want them to smooch.

In a country where the government will be run by a man who allowed queer teenagers to be literally tortured and shocked into “becoming straight”, Chyler Leigh’s portrayal of Alex Danvers is a beacon of hope and a reminder that you can come out at any stage of your life.

Overall Rating: 8.5

TV Review: Supergirl S2E5 “Crossfire” showcases the show’s robust relationships

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Logan Dalton

If there is one word to describe Supergirl Season 2, Episode 5 “Crossfire”, it is meaty. Writers Gabriel Llanas and Anna Musky-Goldwyn intertwine the relationships between characters with a shared theme of identity. They exhibit this through James Olsen coming to grips with being a lifelong sidekick, Mon-El completely failing at being the Catco intern Mike Matthews (He would make an excellent male stripper though.), and Alex Danvers struggling with coming out as queer as an adult as well as her romantic feelings for the newly single National City cop Maggie Sawyer. And along the way, they deepen the legitimate friendship between Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor in light of mercenaries with alien weapons attacking her big gala while making the mysterious Cadmus Doctor (Brenda Strong) an even more deadly foe. She is a family woman and is more menacing in an Uber than Non and the Myriad gang were all last season.

“Crossfire” is really the episode for Mehcad Brooks to shine as James Olsen deals with the insecurity of always being a “sidekick” even though he is currently the acting CEO of Catco. But he wants to be more than an editor of a gossip magazine; he wants to be a superhero like his close friends, Superman and Supergirl. Director Glen Winter carefully shows the bumps and bruises that James takes when he foolishly goes into action against soldiers with extraterrestrial weaponry. Winter doesn’t go full Arrow with the fight choreography letting him throw a few good punches and a kick or two, but showing that he has a long way to go as a superhero.

Llanas and Musky-Goldwyn also revive James’ friendship with Winn because there is so much more to their relationship that being two vertices on a love triangle with Supergirl. Winn isn’t afraid to bring the truth by punching James in the ribs after he makes a half-assed excuse about a basketball injury and telling him that he isn’t prepared to be a superhero. However, he also listens to why James want to be a hero. James want to live up to the example of his father, who was killed in war as well as Supergirl and Superman and not just be “behind a camera”. Winn sees a little bit of himself in James because he felt lost and listless as Cat Grant IT’s guy and feels much better doing more meaningful work in the DEO. Llanas and Musky-Goldwyn avoid temptation to turn James into a total badass in his first episode as a crime fighter and craft his journey slowly drawing on his feelings and relationships as well as Brooks’ presence as an actor that has been underutilized this season even with his “promotion”.

If you thought Mon-El was going to end up being a derivative of Superman or gender swapped Supergirl, “Crossfire” easily puts that to rest beginning with a funny musical montage. Like most parts of Supergirl, this scene of Kara making up Mon-El to be just like her is on the nose, but it connects into the sub plot of her choosing an identity for Mon-El instead of letting him be his own person on Earth. Mon-El has a much different personality than Kara and is frankly a party bro with a side of adorkableness rather than a hard working, yet slightly awkward, driven person like her. Seeing him utterly fail as an intern is hilarious, but slightly sad as well, but through a well-timed conversation with Alex about how she let Kara become her own person on Earth, Kara lets Mon-El find his own path just like Winn helps James become a superhero. (He would be great as a guest star on No Tomorrow.)

Winter continues to show the power of eye movements and shots of them in creating romantic tension and chemistry between Alex and Maggie in Supergirl in a manner similar to Todd Haynes in Carol. (But without the age gap.) True love definitely comes through in the eyes. Alex genuinely has feelings for Maggie and wants her to be okay after her breakup and spend time with her. But she doesn’t straight up ask her out or come out as lesbian or queer because “intimacy” and dating has not been a good thing for her in the past. Llanas and Musky-Goldwyn make her coming out process gradual and rooted in her emotions instead of going for a quick kiss to boost ratings. It also shows that there is room for all sorts of queer characters in the CW’s DC Universe from the flirtatious, yet occasionally vulnerable Sara Lance in Legends of Tomorrow to the happily married Mr. Terriffic in Arrow, and now Alex, who is battling with coming out as an adult. Llanas and Musky-Goldwyn aren’t quick to label Alex’s personality, but let her articulate it at her own pace while Maggie watches longingly and listens to her strive to put her feelings to words. The relationship between Maggie Sawyer and Alex Danvers is easily the best example of queer representation in a superhero TV show, and Chyler Leigh plays her scenes with great pathos.

Two other characters with great chemistry are Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor. Lena shows her dedication to being the “good” Luthor in deeds as well as action as she rigs a special device to destroy the alien weaponry than Miner and his men are using to rob wealthy guests at her party. Katie McGrath is gamely up for spouting out technobabble alongside Jeremy Jordan, who plays Winn, but the weapon’s goal as well as the final moments of the episodes continue to paint her as an anti-alien chess player. Plus Kara does a terrible job of concealing her secret identity around her. Nonetheless, Kara and Lena share a real tenderness, and Llanas and Musky-Goldwyn continue to align her on the side of the angels. (For the most part.)

Even though Miner is a one-dimensional greed obsessed, gun toting NRA wet dream, Llanas and Musky-Goldwyn are self-aware of this fact and make him the object of constant criticism from the Cadmus Doctor, who is shaping up to be the real Big Bad of Season 2. The broadcast that Cadmus sends out are pretty generic and Anonymous-y, but the Cadmus Doctor herself gets some real personality this episode. There is even a touch of Amanda Waller in her as she uses a special gadget to remotely doing the network television of head explosions on Miner and his men when they are about to rat on her to the D.A. There isn’t a hint of fear in her voice when she stands up to him and his alien machine gun and says that attacking Lena Luthor is a bad idea.

The Cadmus Doctor is a perfect supervillain for a day when politicians, like Donald Trump, create an atmosphere of racism, sexism, hate, and xenophobia with their speeches to win elections and rally supporters. Through Miner’s attacks, she hopes to get the Alien Amnesty Bill repealed and whip the people of the world into a frenzy against them so she can make it “great again” for her children and humanity. Even if her goons are a little on the dumb side despite possessing Supergirl KO-ing weaponry, the Cadmus is terrifying, and Brenda Strong plays her with the perfect blend of distant coolness and almost maternal warmth. Definitely watch out for her down the road.

“Crossfire” and Supergirl Season 2 as a whole understands that what makes serial superhero fiction great isn’t just the plot twists and surprise character deaths, but the bonds between characters that can be developed over time. This is what makes Alex’s questioning her sexuality so potent as we have seen the stalwart soldier and caring sister, but now we get to see her slowly have the romantic relationship that she has always wanted.

Overall Rating: 9.0

TV Review: Supergirl S2E4 Survivors

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Brett

While investigating the murder of an unregistered alien, Kara and Alex find an alien fight club run by Roulette; Hank tries to get to know M’Gann better; Supergirl begins to train Mon-El.

The first rule of alien fight club is don’t talk about alien fight club. Yeah, that joke will probably be made in most of the reviews of this episode of Supergirl which further explores the second Martian survivor M’Gann and also gives us an alien fighting ring.

But, the episode is really interesting because it continues the themes of last episode as to who is “human.” There’s a tidbit in the episode focused on this as Roulette explains that humans don’t care about what happens to the aliens because they don’t see them as human, but other.

And that’s a lot of the episode’s focus, about the “Survivors” of various planets and species on Earth trying to make a life. It’s about the aliens that are here attempting to go forward, but being treated as less.

And that idea of being a survivor extends to Supergirl figuring out what to do with Mon-El and J’onn trying to get to know about M’Gann. All are survivors from their home worlds and have to figure out what to do. Should they continue tradition or should they forge their own way forward? It’s an interesting debate and gets into real world debates such as inter-faith marriages for Jewish individuals and also an exploration of prejudices. It’s some good use of metaphor in entertainment.

I think there’s also a case to be made that the concept of “survivor,” otherness, and trying to find your own also applies to Alex who clearly is crushing on Maggie. I’m cheering for these two to get together.

The episode as a whole is decent and gets us away from the usual alien attacks and the DEO and Supergirl have to deal with it. It also sets up a lot to come. The end of the episode has some twists I don’t want to ruin and is best to experience them. Some are telegraphed, but others are a bit more left field.

A good episode that sticks to positive themes while keeping the entertainment high.

Overall Rating: 8.3

TV Review: Immigrants Get the Job Done in Supergirl S2E3 Welcome to Earth

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Logan Dalton

In a single hour of Supergirl, writers Derek Simon and Jessica Queller grapple with racism, homophobia, and xenophobia through both metaphor and reality. Instead of going the original X-Men route where Stan Lee used a team of white teenagers to explore racism in the United States, Simon and Qweller deal with it head it on in pointed speeches from J’onn, who mentions how being taking the form of an African American man has had an impact on how he is treated, and new supporting cast member Maggie Sawyer (Floriana Lima), who talks about how growing up lesbian and Latina in Nebraska, has caused her to connect with the more extraterrestrial citizens of Metropolis. Rachael Talalay’s (Doctor Who, Tank Girl) direction of the scene captures why science fiction and superhero stories have captivated people of color and LGBTQ folks as she lovingly closes in on the different features at the aliens at the bar. Chyler Leigh (who plays Alex Danvers) also has magnetic chemistry with Lima, and even though, they are chasing a lead on a possible Kryptonian assassin of the president of the United States (played by a a positively regal), it seem like they are on a date at a gay bar. Text and subtext mingles to create an over the top, yet wonderful episode of Supergirl.

The main plot of “Welcome to Earth” is centered around the signing of the Alien Amnesty Act, which allows all extraterrestrials to become American citizens. There are overt parallels with the amnesty towards undocumented immigrants in the United States, and both the real policy and Supergirl one are connected to the fact that the United States is a nation of immigrants from all over the world. However, instead of having Supergirl fight against some xenophobic figurehead, Simon and Queller have her confront her own implicit racial biases towards Mon El (Chris Wood), who is from Daxam, a planet that was involved in a civil war with Krypton years ago. While Mon El is being held in DEO containment, Kara basically tells him that Krypton is a more “enlightened” planet than Daxam, which characterized as a lawless, warlike land. She is the good guy, but this is flat out racism. This scene is painful to watch, but shows that everyone (Even paragons of virtue like Supergirl.) have biases and prejudices that we need to overcome. This is in spite of Mon El’s inclusion in the plot being your usual run of the mill red herring deal as it’s revealed that an alien named Scorcher is behind the attack on the president.

Scorcher is the weak link of this episode. Her powers look cool, but there is really no substance to her character. She is just there so Supergirl and the DEO have something to fight and investigate. But Simon and Queller don’t revert to superhero comic politician cliches with the president’s reactions to her attack as she (slightly naively) continues to push the Amnesty Law even when she is attacked by an alien twice. These attacks are also a chance to show Supergirl’s unflinching heroism as Talalay zooms in on shots of her covering the president with her cape, or carefully using her freeze breath to make sure that the Amnesty Act is unharmed. It’s unfortunate that Scorcher is a pyrokinetic plot device, but she is a small setback in an episode filled with real world connections underneath a warm sci-fi veneer. Plus Lena Luthor returns in this episode and shows the signs of being a possible, excellent Big Bad as Katie McGrath delivers her lines to Kara with a casual friendliness even as she channels her inner Donald Trump and says that humans must have the ability to detect the aliens among them. Lena has the makings of a great villain because she thinks she is helping out (and making a buck) with this new technology, and because she isn’t impulsive like Metallo or Scorch, but quite the chess player.

Supergirl also continues to do an excellent job showing the difficulties that Kara has in her day job while also finally giving James Olsen some scenes that channel his undeniable charisma in Season 1 as he and Snapper Carr butt heads. By the end of “Welcome to Earth”, it is clear that he is the boss as he rewrites Carr’s choosing to take a moral stand instead of hiding behind the cloak of objectivity. Snapper does get to show off that he’s a journalist’s journalist as he pursues all angles (including religious) of the Amnesty Act and helps Kara channel her passion for the truth while filtering out her “pro-alien” bias to be an objective reporter. It’s nice to see Kara learn the craft of being a reporter instead of just using her day job as a way to set up plots, and the bias discussion with Snapper dovetails with a conversation she has with Mon-El where she admits her bias towards his planet.

Maggie Sawyer is truly a great addition to the supporting cast of Supergirl as she instantly connects with Alex Danvers with their similar take charge attitudes as they try to one-up each other at the scene of the attack on the president.. And on her own, she fills in a gap in Supergirl as she is connected to both the human and alien citizens of National City in her job as a police officer. She also happens to frequent an alien bar and be the ex-girlfriend of a certain prominent DC character, who gets revealed in a gorgeous flourish of CGI and yet another tense confrontation scene from Talalay. Talalay builds the connection between Maggie and Alex through glances similar to the looks Cate Blanchett throws Rooney Mara’s way in the 2015 LGBT indie film Carol. Add some sharp banter, and the fact that Maggie helped Alex have a more sympathetic view towards aliens and see them as nuanced individuals, and we have the start of a beautiful friendship, er, romance.

Supergirl soars to new heights in “Welcome to Earth” as Derek Simon and Jessica Queller pay tribute to the Super-mythos’ immigrant roots while taking racism, xenophobia, and homophobia head on through superpowered metaphors as well as great characters, like Maggie Sawyer, J’onn, Mon-El, and even Supergirl herself, who confronts her flaws in this episode while continuing to be adorable, especially in her interactions with Lynda Carter’s president, who is an alien herself…

Overall Rating: 9.5