This episode was packed full of story. Most of it was good, some of it, not so much.
Kara and Mon El had quite an adventure together this week. Kara tries to come to Mon El’s rescue upon hearing that Cadmus has taken him, only to end up captured herself after losing a fight with Cyborg Superman. Honestly, for me, Cyborg Superman’s appearance didn’t feel like all that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. It seemed like more of a nod to comic book fans than something of any true significance to the story. I wasn’t too impressed by him. After being defeated by Cyborg Superman, Kara ends up locked in a cell next to Mon El. During their capture, Mon El has the chance to see more sides of Kara’s heroicness. In the last episode he accused her of being a hero for selfish reasons, for the attention and fame. Something tells me he’ll reconsider his stance after having watched her sacrifice herself to protect him. Cadmus has discovered that Daxamites have a lead allergy, and so they shoot Mon El with a lead bullet, threatening to kill him if Kara refuses to cooperate with them. We see the return of the Solar Flare, as Kara drains herself of her powers in exchange for Cadmus not hurting Mon El further. As a result, both Kara and Mon El manage to escape Cadmus alive. “Is Kara mated to someone?” “Say what now?” As a result of seeing Kara’s courage and sacrifice, it seems Mon El has developed a bit of a crush on his mentor. I had to laugh watching him, in so many words, admit his feelings to Winn and James, both of whom have unrequited feelings for Kara themselves. Their reaction to hearing Mon El ask about courtship customs and watching him glance longingly across the room at her was priceless. The idea of Kara and Mon El as a couple is growing on me some. I’m still not convinced that Kara needs to be in a relationship right now, but this is a CW show, so it’s probably inevitable. If it does, I’m not opposed…for now.
Jeremiah Danvers finally makes a present day appearance when he comes to rescue Kara and Mon El from Cadmus. The reunion between Jeremiah and Kara was so sweet. She gets to hear him tell her how proud he is of who she has become, which is a pretty big deal coming from the man who essentially sacrificed everything in order to keep her safe. Of course, Kara cares more about Alex and how she is going to react to seeing her father again. She tells Jeremiah how strong Alex has been since he “died.” Unfortunately, Alex does not get the opportunity to see her father again, as Kara has to leave Jeremiah behind in order to escape. It’s heartbreaking to watch her struggle with saying goodbye to him again, believing that Alex won’t forgive her for not bringing him home. The whole time Kara is captured, the bond between her and Alex is ever present. Even before Jeremiah comes to her rescue, Kara’s thoughts are with Alex, as she relays a message to Mon El that he is to give Alex in the event that she doesn’t survive their stay at Cadmus. When Kara finally does escape, and is reunited with Alex, her immediate first thought is to tell Alex that she saw Jeremiah. Even though it didn’t happen in this episode, I get the impression that a reunion between Jeremiah and Alex is coming in the not too distant future. Given that he seems to be, for the most part, himself, and doesn’t seem to have turned evil or forgotten his family, I genuinely cannot wait for that. It’s going to be beautiful and emotional, and probably a little bit heartbreaking, but to finally see Alex in the same room as her father again after all this time, that’s going to be a special moment.
Kara and Mon El had quite an adventure together this week. Kara tries to come to Mon El’s rescue upon hearing that Cadmus has taken him, only to end up captured herself after losing a fight with Cyborg Superman. Honestly, for me, Cyborg Superman’s appearance didn’t feel like all that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. It seemed like more of a nod to comic book fans than something of any true significance to the story. I wasn’t too impressed by him. After being defeated by Cyborg Superman, Kara ends up locked in a cell next to Mon El. During their capture, Mon El has the chance to see more sides of Kara’s heroicness. In the last episode he accused her of being a hero for selfish reasons, for the attention and fame. Something tells me he’ll reconsider his stance after having watched her sacrifice herself to protect him. Cadmus has discovered that Daxamites have a lead allergy, and so they shoot Mon El with a lead bullet, threatening to kill him if Kara refuses to cooperate with them. We see the return of the Solar Flare, as Kara drains herself of her powers in exchange for Cadmus not hurting Mon El further. As a result, both Kara and Mon El manage to escape Cadmus alive. “Is Kara mated to someone?” “Say what now?” As a result of seeing Kara’s courage and sacrifice, it seems Mon El has developed a bit of a crush on his mentor. I had to laugh watching him, in so many words, admit his feelings to Winn and James, both of whom have unrequited feelings for Kara themselves. Their reaction to hearing Mon El ask about courtship customs and watching him glance longingly across the room at her was priceless. The idea of Kara and Mon El as a couple is growing on me some. I’m still not convinced that Kara needs to be in a relationship right now, but this is a CW show, so it’s probably inevitable. If it does, I’m not opposed…for now.
Jeremiah Danvers finally makes a present day appearance when he comes to rescue Kara and Mon El from Cadmus. The reunion between Jeremiah and Kara was so sweet. She gets to hear him tell her how proud he is of who she has become, which is a pretty big deal coming from the man who essentially sacrificed everything in order to keep her safe. Of course, Kara cares more about Alex and how she is going to react to seeing her father again. She tells Jeremiah how strong Alex has been since he “died.” Unfortunately, Alex does not get the opportunity to see her father again, as Kara has to leave Jeremiah behind in order to escape. It’s heartbreaking to watch her struggle with saying goodbye to him again, believing that Alex won’t forgive her for not bringing him home. The whole time Kara is captured, the bond between her and Alex is ever present. Even before Jeremiah comes to her rescue, Kara’s thoughts are with Alex, as she relays a message to Mon El that he is to give Alex in the event that she doesn’t survive their stay at Cadmus. When Kara finally does escape, and is reunited with Alex, her immediate first thought is to tell Alex that she saw Jeremiah. Even though it didn’t happen in this episode, I get the impression that a reunion between Jeremiah and Alex is coming in the not too distant future. Given that he seems to be, for the most part, himself, and doesn’t seem to have turned evil or forgotten his family, I genuinely cannot wait for that. It’s going to be beautiful and emotional, and probably a little bit heartbreaking, but to finally see Alex in the same room as her father again after all this time, that’s going to be a special moment.
My question in all of this is, despite the fact that Jeremiah seems like he is himself, why has he not managed to escape? He literally has an access card, which seems like a key to freedom, and yet he’s still sticking around. What is it that ties him to Cadmus and keeps him there? It has to be something pretty big for him to have kept up this guise of death and stayed away from his family. My guess is that Cadmus has done something to threaten his family unless he cooperates. I also think that it’s possible that Cadmus has done something to Jeremiah in his time with them. After he helps Kara and Mon El escape, they turn around for a split second, and when they look back, he has disappeared. I get the impression that maybe Jeremiah has acquired some sort of superpowers, much like his former partner Hank Henshaw. It will be interesting to see, going forward, what is really going on with him behind the scenes.
I’m curious about the time frame of this episode, particularly in regards to how long Kara was trapped at Cadmus. My impression is that it’s about a 24-hour period. She gets the call from Cadmus at night, the next day has Alex questioning her whereabouts, and then when Kara and Mon El escape, it’s nighttime again. It’s somewhat hard to tell since most of the action takes place in dark warehouses, but that’s my read of the situation. The reason I bring this up is due to all the flack that Alex is getting online for not being more diligent about realizing that Kara was missing, and not doing more to go and find her. My oh my, what a horrible big sister she is…I say in my most sarcastically dramatic voice. Let’s forget for a moment the fact that Kara is a grown woman who doesn’t actually need someone looking over her shoulder 24/7. Let’s also forget the fact that, in suggesting that Alex has nothing else going on in her life except monitoring Kara’s every move, you’re basically missing the entire point of Alex’s arc this season, which is to separate herself from her sister, and have a life of her own. Last season, Alex’s life literally revolved around Kara every second, and I don’t care how close you are to someone, that is not a healthy attachment. Kara even called her out on it while under red K. “Without me, you have no life, and that kills you.” Not to mention the fact that from a writing standpoint, that singular focus made Alex a pretty one-dimensional character. Returning to the current episode though, it’s not like Alex shows a complete lack of concern over the fact that she can’t reach Kara. She questions Winn, who assures her that Kara is probably at work. He then creates a distraction when he drops the bomb on her about Guardian’s identity, at which point Alex goes to talk to Maggie about backing off of Guardian’s case. When she returns to the DEO, her attention immediately returns to Kara. She talks to J’onn, who again tells her not to worry yet, and then hallucinates a White Martian and pulls a gun on one of his agents, creating yet another distraction for Alex to take care of. That’s on top of following up with the Guardian case and keeping Maggie from arresting James. So from the looks of it, Alex spent the episode doing her job, all the while still remaining concerned about Kara having not checked in. It’s not like she’s ignoring Kara to go take personal time for something selfish. She’s literally fixing other people’s problems the entire day. By the time she has a second to actually be able to worry without distractions, Kara has already escaped and made her way back to the DEO. We see Alex literally running through the DEO to get to her sister when she hears what happened. All of that said, I wholeheartedly disagree with the suggestion that Alex was not diligent or concerned enough about Kara in this episode.
Maggie meets Kara for the first time. “Oh! The sister. I’ve heard so much about you from Alex.” “And I have heard all about you.” Kara is a little bit salty upon seeing Maggie, knowing that this is the girl who broke her sister’s heart. Alex’s face watching the two of them interact was amusing. It’s a solid mix of “this is really awkward” and a little bit of pride in hearing Kara throw a little shade Maggie’s way in her defense. I do love that Kara has become this protective helicopter circling the periphery of Alex and Maggie’s interactions. She’s ready to swoop in if she thinks that Alex might get hurt again. We see it some in this first scene, and also later when Maggie stops by the loft. “Spy much?” Again, it’s a refreshing change of pace to see Kara stepping up on Alex’s behalf.
“I don’t feel liberated, or like I’m on some great journey. All I feel is pain because you don’t want me.” I was proud of Alex for standing up for herself and letting Maggie know how she really felt. While I understand Maggie’s reasons for not wanting a relationship with Alex at this point and time, I do think she’s being rather dismissive of Alex’s feelings about the situation. It’s not really her place to tell Alex how she should feel or to force a friendship between them when it seems pretty clear that Alex isn’t comfortable with that right now. Newly gay or not, Alex’s feelings are real and relevant, and she deserves to be able to deal with the pain and heartbreak that she is going through. I think the way that she handles the situation was well warranted. She doesn’t get emotional about it, and she’s not petty or mean towards Maggie. She simply tells Maggie frankly and honestly how she feels and why, which was a completely mature and rational reaction to the situation. It sort of reminds me of last season when Winn kissed Kara and all that Kara wanted was for their relationship to return to normal. “I just want my friend back.” Alex told Kara that Winn needed time and space to deal with his feelings. Essentially, I think that Alex is, in so many words, asking Maggie for the same thing. That’s not an unreasonable request. I think some of Maggie and Alex’s conflict also comes from the fact that you have two very strong personalities, who are both used to being in control, butting up against one another. It’s obvious that Alex doesn’t like being handled as the delicate newbie, and being treated as though her feelings are the result of some shiny new change in her life and not something genuine. At the same time, Maggie is trying to keep both of them from getting hurt by calling the shots, but I think she’s underestimating Alex’s feelings for her.
“I don’t want to imagine my life without you in it.” This final scene between Alex and Maggie, to me, sheds some light on how Maggie actually feels about their situation. Like Alex, Maggie has a bit of a guard up when it comes to her emotions. She keeps pushing the “we’re just friends” line, but it seems pretty clear that she has stronger feelings for Alex than she’s letting on. Maggie was notably upset after their conversation in the parking garage, and she actively seeks out Alex after the fact to plead a case of how important Alex has become to her in whatever time has passed over the last four episodes. She even goes the extra mile of finding Alex at Kara’s apartment, rather than waiting until she is at home or shows up at the bar or something. It’s at this point that I think Alex starts to sense the subtext and realizes that maybe Maggie feels more for her than she’s letting on. This is likely why Alex is so quick to agree to that pool date, despite what she said earlier about not wanting to be friends. Something that will be a sticking point for Maggie and Alex as their relationship continues to evolve is the fact that they never quite seem to be on the same page emotionally. When one of them is open and vulnerable, the other has her guard up and isn’t willing to be honest about how she really feels. While there are many things about Maggie and Alex’s similar personalities that make them a good match, this particular trait will likely cause them some problems and miscommunications from time to time. I’m still rooting for the Sanvers ship to sail though. It might be a long, slow burn, but it’s going to happen eventually.
I love how pool has become the measuring stick by which to determine the state of Alex and Maggie’s relationship. The very first time we see them hanging out in a personal, non-work capacity, they’re enjoying a game. Ever since then, that simple act has sparked this visual metaphor for their connection to one another. When things are going well, like in the last episode, there is lots of pool being played. Literally every scene they had together in Changing took place around a pool table, including their first kiss. In this episode, Alex and Maggie are kind of on the rocks, and no pool is played at all. However, when they make up at the end of the episode, they agree to a pool date. I don’t know if this measuring stick is intentional or not, but I kind of like that they now have this imagery of sorts to accompany their relationship. I hope that this actually is something intentional that we see more of as the show continues.
J’onn still doesn’t seem to have fully recovered from being attacked by Parasite. He’s having hallucinations of his wife and kids, which is troubling him. I thought Kara and J’onn had a beautiful moment together when she comes down to find him practicing Tai Chi and trying to find his center. She tries to relate to his feelings by sharing a story about when she first arrived on Earth and how she thought that getting close to her Earth family somehow meant that she was forgetting the family she lost on Krypton. It was another piece of backstory that added depth to Kara both individually and in her relationship with the Danvers family as she recounted to J’onn Eliza’s words of comfort and the fact that this was the first time she ever let her foster mother hug her. As sweet as this was, there actually is more happening to J’onn than just his mind and memories getting the best of him. J’onn has Alex run tests to figure out what’s wrong. Yay for Alex getting to use her science skills. What they find out is that his blood transfusion wasn’t as legitimate as they thought, because of the fact that M’gann is a White Martian. J’onn reacts to this news as well as one might expect him to. He attacks M’gann, refusing to even consider the possibility that she is anything other than evil. Her lying to him about her true identity certainly didn’t help her case in terms of earning his trust, but even so, J’onn is completely blinded by hatred and rage. Making matters worse is the fact that M’gann reveals that her blood will eventually turn J’onn into a White Martian. He is slowly becoming the thing he most hates. I’m envisioning two possible scenarios that will come out of this. The first is that, as J’onn becomes more and more White Martian, he will retain his own “humanity”, for lack of a better word. As a result, he will come to realize that even though he believed White Martians to be inherently evil, animalistic, unbridled creatures, in reality they’re not, and therefore the possibility exists that M’gann is telling the truth. The second, worst case scenario option, is that J’onn will actually turn into the inherently evil creature he believes White Martians to be. I’m hoping for the former, but the latter could be an interesting story twist. Either way, M’gann is locked up at the DEO now, so I don’t foresee a positive relationship between her and J’onn returning any time soon.
The last piece of the episode left to discuss is Guardian. James and Winn finally get to come hang out at the alien bar and have drinks with Kara and Alex, at which point they discuss Guardian’s latest heroics in the city. Kara shares her thoughts on the new vigilante, saying that she doesn’t trust him, because who wears a mask if they’re a good guy. I will say that it’s probably mildly hypocritical of her to criticize Guardian for wearing a mask, just from the standpoint that she also has a secret identity. That said, her comment did give us a Batman reference, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It makes more sense to me that Alex agrees with her, just from the standpoint that we know Alex doesn’t trust any hero or vigilante that isn’t Kara, Clark or J’onn. Kara’s distrust, given what she went through last year coming out as Supergirl, seems a bit unwarranted. I did have to laugh when Winn takes offense to Alex’s suggestion that Guardian has a sidekick, arguing for the moniker of equal.
Unfortunately, Guardian lands himself in hot water when another vigilante starts killing the bad guys that Guardian rounds up. Winn, in trying to protect James from being targeted by the police, asks Alex to tell Maggie to back off of Guardian. Alex presses him on his interest in the issue, and he unintentionally lets slip that he knows something about Guardian’s identity. I genuinely have to say that Winn and Alex’s interactions have become one of my favorite new parts of season two. There is this big sister/little brother dynamic growing between them, where he’s mildly terrified of her because he knows she’s a badass and she’s slightly annoyed with him because he gets himself into trouble. I had to laugh when, after Alex threatens Guardian’s identity out of Winn and has her “are you kidding me?” moment, she smacks him upside the head and tells him that she’ll deal with him and James later. It’s such a big sister move, scolding him like that. I have to say, Alex having this secret with James and Winn does make for an interesting dynamic. Usually, it’s Kara, James and Winn teamed up on something, so to have Kara in the dark and Alex in the know is a fun twist. They’re going full tilt with the sibling role reversal between Kara and Alex this season. I feel like Alex knowing will force the boys to be all the more careful in regards to how they go about this vigilante business, because they know she’ll be watching them. I don’t find it all that surprising that Alex doesn’t tell Kara and agrees to keep the Guardian secret just from the standpoint that I think some part of her understands why they’re doing it. She has spent most of her life living in the shadow of Kara, so she knows what it’s like to want to rise up and find a way to be heroic when you don’t have superpowers. I do think that she’s frustrated with the fact that, not only are James and Winn doing something that could get them hurt or killed, but now they’ve involved her and have created another situation in which she’s lying to Kara. Technically, it’s not her secret to share, however, if the boys do get hurt, something tells me that blame will somehow fall on Alex for knowing and not doing anything to stop them. Kind of like how her mom blamed her for Kara coming out as Supergirl.
As a whole, Guardian’s story is still lacking for me. When James is actually out fighting and stopping criminals, it’s fun enough to see some of the moves and gadgetry that he and Winn have put together. For what it’s worth, Guardian in action does look cool. The problem that I have comes when James is out of the Guardian costume. He said all along that the reason that he wanted to become a vigilante was that he wanted to be a hero and protect people and do good. His claim was that he had the noblest of intentions for taking on this new role. However, that’s not what they are showing us now. Instead, James spends most of the episode, when he’s not attempting to clear Guardian’s name, trying to milk praise and admiration from everyone about how wonderful Guardian is. He’s like a little kid who wants a big gold star for his efforts. Considering the fact that I’m already struggling to warm up to this story, watching James beg for praise does not help his case, and just turns me off of his character even more. It feels more like he’s being written as Booster Gold than Guardian. For those who don’t know Booster Gold, he’s a member of the Justice League known for being a bit of a showboat who thrives on publicity and building up his own reputation rather than actual noble heroics. That’s actually a pretty apt description of James in this episode. The bottom line is, I still don’t think the writers have figured out how to write James’ character in a compelling way. I will give them due props for at least trying to give James a non-love triangle related story, but I still am just not connecting to him.
Overall this was a good episode of Supergirl. I can’t say that it was necessarily my favorite, but it did have some great character moments, and the Jeremiah reveal was a perfect story twist. I think this episode was meant to set up new dynamics and stories, with Alex being let in on the Guardian secret, and Kara learning about Lillian Luthor and Cadmus, and J’onn learning the truth about M’gann. Even the personal relationships go through some changes, with Maggie and Alex agreeing to be friends again, and Kara and Mon El growing closer. Hopefully this means that there are some interesting episodes coming down the line as we explore these new elements. Again, there was much to enjoy about The Darkest Place, and a lot happens, but I think we have seen stronger episodes.
I’m curious about the time frame of this episode, particularly in regards to how long Kara was trapped at Cadmus. My impression is that it’s about a 24-hour period. She gets the call from Cadmus at night, the next day has Alex questioning her whereabouts, and then when Kara and Mon El escape, it’s nighttime again. It’s somewhat hard to tell since most of the action takes place in dark warehouses, but that’s my read of the situation. The reason I bring this up is due to all the flack that Alex is getting online for not being more diligent about realizing that Kara was missing, and not doing more to go and find her. My oh my, what a horrible big sister she is…I say in my most sarcastically dramatic voice. Let’s forget for a moment the fact that Kara is a grown woman who doesn’t actually need someone looking over her shoulder 24/7. Let’s also forget the fact that, in suggesting that Alex has nothing else going on in her life except monitoring Kara’s every move, you’re basically missing the entire point of Alex’s arc this season, which is to separate herself from her sister, and have a life of her own. Last season, Alex’s life literally revolved around Kara every second, and I don’t care how close you are to someone, that is not a healthy attachment. Kara even called her out on it while under red K. “Without me, you have no life, and that kills you.” Not to mention the fact that from a writing standpoint, that singular focus made Alex a pretty one-dimensional character. Returning to the current episode though, it’s not like Alex shows a complete lack of concern over the fact that she can’t reach Kara. She questions Winn, who assures her that Kara is probably at work. He then creates a distraction when he drops the bomb on her about Guardian’s identity, at which point Alex goes to talk to Maggie about backing off of Guardian’s case. When she returns to the DEO, her attention immediately returns to Kara. She talks to J’onn, who again tells her not to worry yet, and then hallucinates a White Martian and pulls a gun on one of his agents, creating yet another distraction for Alex to take care of. That’s on top of following up with the Guardian case and keeping Maggie from arresting James. So from the looks of it, Alex spent the episode doing her job, all the while still remaining concerned about Kara having not checked in. It’s not like she’s ignoring Kara to go take personal time for something selfish. She’s literally fixing other people’s problems the entire day. By the time she has a second to actually be able to worry without distractions, Kara has already escaped and made her way back to the DEO. We see Alex literally running through the DEO to get to her sister when she hears what happened. All of that said, I wholeheartedly disagree with the suggestion that Alex was not diligent or concerned enough about Kara in this episode.
Maggie meets Kara for the first time. “Oh! The sister. I’ve heard so much about you from Alex.” “And I have heard all about you.” Kara is a little bit salty upon seeing Maggie, knowing that this is the girl who broke her sister’s heart. Alex’s face watching the two of them interact was amusing. It’s a solid mix of “this is really awkward” and a little bit of pride in hearing Kara throw a little shade Maggie’s way in her defense. I do love that Kara has become this protective helicopter circling the periphery of Alex and Maggie’s interactions. She’s ready to swoop in if she thinks that Alex might get hurt again. We see it some in this first scene, and also later when Maggie stops by the loft. “Spy much?” Again, it’s a refreshing change of pace to see Kara stepping up on Alex’s behalf.
“I don’t feel liberated, or like I’m on some great journey. All I feel is pain because you don’t want me.” I was proud of Alex for standing up for herself and letting Maggie know how she really felt. While I understand Maggie’s reasons for not wanting a relationship with Alex at this point and time, I do think she’s being rather dismissive of Alex’s feelings about the situation. It’s not really her place to tell Alex how she should feel or to force a friendship between them when it seems pretty clear that Alex isn’t comfortable with that right now. Newly gay or not, Alex’s feelings are real and relevant, and she deserves to be able to deal with the pain and heartbreak that she is going through. I think the way that she handles the situation was well warranted. She doesn’t get emotional about it, and she’s not petty or mean towards Maggie. She simply tells Maggie frankly and honestly how she feels and why, which was a completely mature and rational reaction to the situation. It sort of reminds me of last season when Winn kissed Kara and all that Kara wanted was for their relationship to return to normal. “I just want my friend back.” Alex told Kara that Winn needed time and space to deal with his feelings. Essentially, I think that Alex is, in so many words, asking Maggie for the same thing. That’s not an unreasonable request. I think some of Maggie and Alex’s conflict also comes from the fact that you have two very strong personalities, who are both used to being in control, butting up against one another. It’s obvious that Alex doesn’t like being handled as the delicate newbie, and being treated as though her feelings are the result of some shiny new change in her life and not something genuine. At the same time, Maggie is trying to keep both of them from getting hurt by calling the shots, but I think she’s underestimating Alex’s feelings for her.
“I don’t want to imagine my life without you in it.” This final scene between Alex and Maggie, to me, sheds some light on how Maggie actually feels about their situation. Like Alex, Maggie has a bit of a guard up when it comes to her emotions. She keeps pushing the “we’re just friends” line, but it seems pretty clear that she has stronger feelings for Alex than she’s letting on. Maggie was notably upset after their conversation in the parking garage, and she actively seeks out Alex after the fact to plead a case of how important Alex has become to her in whatever time has passed over the last four episodes. She even goes the extra mile of finding Alex at Kara’s apartment, rather than waiting until she is at home or shows up at the bar or something. It’s at this point that I think Alex starts to sense the subtext and realizes that maybe Maggie feels more for her than she’s letting on. This is likely why Alex is so quick to agree to that pool date, despite what she said earlier about not wanting to be friends. Something that will be a sticking point for Maggie and Alex as their relationship continues to evolve is the fact that they never quite seem to be on the same page emotionally. When one of them is open and vulnerable, the other has her guard up and isn’t willing to be honest about how she really feels. While there are many things about Maggie and Alex’s similar personalities that make them a good match, this particular trait will likely cause them some problems and miscommunications from time to time. I’m still rooting for the Sanvers ship to sail though. It might be a long, slow burn, but it’s going to happen eventually.
I love how pool has become the measuring stick by which to determine the state of Alex and Maggie’s relationship. The very first time we see them hanging out in a personal, non-work capacity, they’re enjoying a game. Ever since then, that simple act has sparked this visual metaphor for their connection to one another. When things are going well, like in the last episode, there is lots of pool being played. Literally every scene they had together in Changing took place around a pool table, including their first kiss. In this episode, Alex and Maggie are kind of on the rocks, and no pool is played at all. However, when they make up at the end of the episode, they agree to a pool date. I don’t know if this measuring stick is intentional or not, but I kind of like that they now have this imagery of sorts to accompany their relationship. I hope that this actually is something intentional that we see more of as the show continues.
J’onn still doesn’t seem to have fully recovered from being attacked by Parasite. He’s having hallucinations of his wife and kids, which is troubling him. I thought Kara and J’onn had a beautiful moment together when she comes down to find him practicing Tai Chi and trying to find his center. She tries to relate to his feelings by sharing a story about when she first arrived on Earth and how she thought that getting close to her Earth family somehow meant that she was forgetting the family she lost on Krypton. It was another piece of backstory that added depth to Kara both individually and in her relationship with the Danvers family as she recounted to J’onn Eliza’s words of comfort and the fact that this was the first time she ever let her foster mother hug her. As sweet as this was, there actually is more happening to J’onn than just his mind and memories getting the best of him. J’onn has Alex run tests to figure out what’s wrong. Yay for Alex getting to use her science skills. What they find out is that his blood transfusion wasn’t as legitimate as they thought, because of the fact that M’gann is a White Martian. J’onn reacts to this news as well as one might expect him to. He attacks M’gann, refusing to even consider the possibility that she is anything other than evil. Her lying to him about her true identity certainly didn’t help her case in terms of earning his trust, but even so, J’onn is completely blinded by hatred and rage. Making matters worse is the fact that M’gann reveals that her blood will eventually turn J’onn into a White Martian. He is slowly becoming the thing he most hates. I’m envisioning two possible scenarios that will come out of this. The first is that, as J’onn becomes more and more White Martian, he will retain his own “humanity”, for lack of a better word. As a result, he will come to realize that even though he believed White Martians to be inherently evil, animalistic, unbridled creatures, in reality they’re not, and therefore the possibility exists that M’gann is telling the truth. The second, worst case scenario option, is that J’onn will actually turn into the inherently evil creature he believes White Martians to be. I’m hoping for the former, but the latter could be an interesting story twist. Either way, M’gann is locked up at the DEO now, so I don’t foresee a positive relationship between her and J’onn returning any time soon.
The last piece of the episode left to discuss is Guardian. James and Winn finally get to come hang out at the alien bar and have drinks with Kara and Alex, at which point they discuss Guardian’s latest heroics in the city. Kara shares her thoughts on the new vigilante, saying that she doesn’t trust him, because who wears a mask if they’re a good guy. I will say that it’s probably mildly hypocritical of her to criticize Guardian for wearing a mask, just from the standpoint that she also has a secret identity. That said, her comment did give us a Batman reference, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It makes more sense to me that Alex agrees with her, just from the standpoint that we know Alex doesn’t trust any hero or vigilante that isn’t Kara, Clark or J’onn. Kara’s distrust, given what she went through last year coming out as Supergirl, seems a bit unwarranted. I did have to laugh when Winn takes offense to Alex’s suggestion that Guardian has a sidekick, arguing for the moniker of equal.
Unfortunately, Guardian lands himself in hot water when another vigilante starts killing the bad guys that Guardian rounds up. Winn, in trying to protect James from being targeted by the police, asks Alex to tell Maggie to back off of Guardian. Alex presses him on his interest in the issue, and he unintentionally lets slip that he knows something about Guardian’s identity. I genuinely have to say that Winn and Alex’s interactions have become one of my favorite new parts of season two. There is this big sister/little brother dynamic growing between them, where he’s mildly terrified of her because he knows she’s a badass and she’s slightly annoyed with him because he gets himself into trouble. I had to laugh when, after Alex threatens Guardian’s identity out of Winn and has her “are you kidding me?” moment, she smacks him upside the head and tells him that she’ll deal with him and James later. It’s such a big sister move, scolding him like that. I have to say, Alex having this secret with James and Winn does make for an interesting dynamic. Usually, it’s Kara, James and Winn teamed up on something, so to have Kara in the dark and Alex in the know is a fun twist. They’re going full tilt with the sibling role reversal between Kara and Alex this season. I feel like Alex knowing will force the boys to be all the more careful in regards to how they go about this vigilante business, because they know she’ll be watching them. I don’t find it all that surprising that Alex doesn’t tell Kara and agrees to keep the Guardian secret just from the standpoint that I think some part of her understands why they’re doing it. She has spent most of her life living in the shadow of Kara, so she knows what it’s like to want to rise up and find a way to be heroic when you don’t have superpowers. I do think that she’s frustrated with the fact that, not only are James and Winn doing something that could get them hurt or killed, but now they’ve involved her and have created another situation in which she’s lying to Kara. Technically, it’s not her secret to share, however, if the boys do get hurt, something tells me that blame will somehow fall on Alex for knowing and not doing anything to stop them. Kind of like how her mom blamed her for Kara coming out as Supergirl.
As a whole, Guardian’s story is still lacking for me. When James is actually out fighting and stopping criminals, it’s fun enough to see some of the moves and gadgetry that he and Winn have put together. For what it’s worth, Guardian in action does look cool. The problem that I have comes when James is out of the Guardian costume. He said all along that the reason that he wanted to become a vigilante was that he wanted to be a hero and protect people and do good. His claim was that he had the noblest of intentions for taking on this new role. However, that’s not what they are showing us now. Instead, James spends most of the episode, when he’s not attempting to clear Guardian’s name, trying to milk praise and admiration from everyone about how wonderful Guardian is. He’s like a little kid who wants a big gold star for his efforts. Considering the fact that I’m already struggling to warm up to this story, watching James beg for praise does not help his case, and just turns me off of his character even more. It feels more like he’s being written as Booster Gold than Guardian. For those who don’t know Booster Gold, he’s a member of the Justice League known for being a bit of a showboat who thrives on publicity and building up his own reputation rather than actual noble heroics. That’s actually a pretty apt description of James in this episode. The bottom line is, I still don’t think the writers have figured out how to write James’ character in a compelling way. I will give them due props for at least trying to give James a non-love triangle related story, but I still am just not connecting to him.
Overall this was a good episode of Supergirl. I can’t say that it was necessarily my favorite, but it did have some great character moments, and the Jeremiah reveal was a perfect story twist. I think this episode was meant to set up new dynamics and stories, with Alex being let in on the Guardian secret, and Kara learning about Lillian Luthor and Cadmus, and J’onn learning the truth about M’gann. Even the personal relationships go through some changes, with Maggie and Alex agreeing to be friends again, and Kara and Mon El growing closer. Hopefully this means that there are some interesting episodes coming down the line as we explore these new elements. Again, there was much to enjoy about The Darkest Place, and a lot happens, but I think we have seen stronger episodes.