The 7th episode of Supergirl is one of the best examples of why one should stick to a show even if they're not entirely satisfied with the overall experience. I've always went by a 3-5 episode run policy stating that in that time span, the series should hook me in enough or at least keep intrigued enough to continue on until the end. Supergirl although never kept me entertained enough in its run so far, definitely kept me intrigued in the premise and possibilities to become something amazing. With a streak of forgettable to downright boring "villain of the week" adventures, it was in last night's episode that I felt the series finally began its journey to potential greatness. Let's see what made this episode such significant improvement from the others in the past.
Now, already from the tittle of the episode and the central plot point, I have to admit that I wasn't entirely onboard with the popular cliche of superheroes losing their powers for a temporary time causing them to have to obviously overcome obstacles as a "normal" human being (we've all seen this countless of times). However, I do have to admit that in the midst of the complete utter chaos and destruction that set the scene in this episode, it actually made for quite an engaging viewing experience. It's also worth mentioning that although I may not have enjoyed last week's character debut with Red Tornado from a design perspective, I did like the fact that they fully acknowledge the reproductions of that encounter significantly in an episode of its own.
Another thing that I really liked about this episode is the "villain" in this episode wasn't necessarily an alien or bad guy destroying the city but a natural disaster. Usually, I'm not so keen on scenes in shows or films that involves a perfectly timed event coinciding with a character situation just for story sake as it sometimes completely takes me out of the experience. However, much like the whole superpower losing cliche, I actually got over it pretty quickly which lets me know that there were enough positive things in this episode to distract me.
I mentioned earlier that the main city destroying villain wasn't an alien but a natural disaster this time around. However, there was an alien baddie present this week in the D.E.O. causing quite the chaos on its own by exploiting the earthquake's damage on the base to plan its revenge and escape. This is the first villain of the entire series so far that I actually enjoyed watching. Jemm felt completely ripped out of a comic book (in a good way) and actually felt like he posed a threat with his menacing presence and ability.
The D.E.O. base's half of the episode was definitely the more interesting story here (not to talk down what was going on with Supergirl in the outside world) as we got what I would describe as a nice "Science-fiction/horror short presented in a comic book universe". I really enjoyed the dark and classic Sci-fi/horror-like scenes where we would see quick shots of Jemm flashing in the dark when taking control of the soldiers sent in to take him down. It felt as though the director really wanted the audience to feel the terror of encountering and experiencing what this alien was able to do to the human mind and for the most part, it was pretty effective (although very quick).
As far as character moments go, we do get some very interesting to borderline awesome scenes in this episode. Before getting to the big reveal towards the end, I really enjoyed the moments where Kara was completely stripped down as a god-like individual and basically thrown into hell as a human being. Sure, it's not a good thing to see your hero suffer, but I looked it at as a humbling life lesson experience which I'm assuming the show was presenting it as. The idea of Kara feeling pain, getting sick, and having to completely be aware of the dangers in her surroundings was interesting but the best part for me was definitely the robbery scene.
There's something engaging about watching a superhero that you the viewer knows is completely powerless completely bluffs a dangerous individual in front of them and actually wins the bluff. Seeing this paranoid guy hold a gun to Kara's head understanding that she can possibly die (even though I'm well aware it would never happen) was actually pretty intense. What made the scene an amazing scene however was the speech that she gives the robber which was beautifully woven in with the speech Ms. Grant delivers on the live feed. This scene alongside the "Superman text conversation" was without a doubt the most heartfelt scenes in this season thus far and I hope we can get more moments like these.
Now, let's get into that big reveal that we've been waiting for since the first couple of episodes. Not only do we get Hank Henshaw's secret identity revealed, we're also given that very much anticipated heated discussion between Alex and her boss. I was really pleased by the way they handled the Alex/Hank relationship in this episode when she decided to risk everything to force him to spill everything that he's been hiding to her. When he revealed his side of the story about her father's death and why he took her in (one of the only side plots that I was interested in when they introduced it a couple episodes back) I was surprised by how invested I was in the story. Hank Henshaw has always been the big question mark on the show in terms of teased future character plot points, so it was refreshing to finally see them completely spill the beans on his character.
From the moment he said "I am not Hank Henshaw...he died", I immediately started to get my theory manufacturing mind driving at full speed. It was the quote "The last son of Mars" leading to the J'onn J'onz reveal that genuinely caused my inner nerd to yell out in excitement. Not only did Supergirl just introduced a major Justice League character in this scene, but the amazing performance by David Harewood made it all the more exciting and epic. It was a great character reveal scene overall and definitely one that I'll remember in the future. I must give Supergirl major props for this as not every comic book TV series can pull of big reveals like this and still add in an emotional reaction instead of just coming off as fan service.
Overall, this episode was without a doubt the best episode this series has offered so far and has completely ranked up the quality and potential of what this show can be. If you've been following my reviews for Supergirl then you know that I've constantly been on the borderline of mixed and negative as far as the overall reception has been, but this episode has showed me why I shouldn't loose faith in what the writers and creators have in store for us.
Like I said in the beginning, sometimes you have to stick to something even if you're not completely sold on it. If there's a glimmer of hope in a property then there's an opportunity to discover something amazing although it has taken 7 episodes, we've finally reached that glimmer of hope becoming a shining light of belief. I cannot wait to see what's in store for us in the upcoming episodes.
Episode Rating: 9/10
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