Supergirl Ep. 19 Thoughts

"Myriad"

This is almost exactly the type of episode that I was expecting to see if you flashback to my Episode 13 review. Ever since then, I've been anticipating a big climatic Non driven episode to eventually make its way and here we finally have it. Is it the awesome villain take over episode that I hoped for? Well, let's see what worked and didn't work in the end.

First off, I love how almost completely in control Non has become as he actually takes over the entire city (aside from a couple of people) which is something that I never would've expected to see done this early on in the series. A villain actually controlling the entire population where the main hero resides in isn't something that you would imagine seeing in the first season of the show, so to that, I tip my hat to the writers for taking such a bold step.

That opening scene with the DEO being under Myriad's control with Non commanding the agents to release the prisoners was pretty entertaining to see. The action itself isn't necessarily amazing, but the idea of the aliens that we've seen (and have not seen behind the scenes) all being released to wreck havoc in the city was a very hopeful thought entertainment-wise. I also love the fact that Non specifically tells them to make sure that the White Martian remains in captivity as he he'd hate for it to be released in the world. It shows just how much of a threat that specific creature can be even to a Krytonian general like Non.

Speaking of which, Non has become the only villain on the show that I actually really admire as a character overall, aside from Astra and the Black Mercy. The way that they write off Non as not so much a mustache twirling villain simply wanting to take over the world, but as an individual with his own twisted way of seeing himself as a savior is pretty interesting to me. Some of the greatest villains ever written in fiction were those who saw themselves as the real hero of the story sometimes actually having a legitimate vision of saving everyone. As for this story, Non is right up there in that category of fascinating villains (although I wouldn't rank him as one of my top favorites on TV).

Stepping down to the more human related part of the episode, I honestly wasn't a big fan of the idea of having Cat Grant be immune for whatever reason just to throw her into the episode, but thankfully, it never really distracted from the main plot. I've already caught on to the pattern of the writers always finding some scenario in which Cat and Supergirl are placed into the same place and time to which some motivational speech is delivered to encourage Supergirl to overcome her weekly obstacles. If this is the show's way of pushing the hero forward then who am I to complain once it never feels completely forced in. This is one episode where Cat actually does throw in a few significant lines to Supergirl about the power of hope that I thought worked really well for the episode.

However, my favorite moments during Supergirl's time at CatCo in this episode actually revolved around Maxwell and Supergirl having a strong one on one battle of ideals. This lead to Maxwell's true intentions to come out about his vision of saving the world no matter the cost. You essentially have an episode here that brings out the "I am not a villain. I am the real hero." concept in Supergirl's biggest villains on the show which is pretty incredible considering how much is taking place story-wise. I'm not sure that I've ever seen this done in a comic book TV series as of yet, so that's something worth praising when you realize how much the writers had to juggle in this episode. 

Another moment that I really enjoyed during the CatCo set episode is where Non randomly walks in and almost complete defeats Supergirl without even laying a finger on her. Now, what I mean by "defeat" is the fact that he was able to threaten her by using her friends' manipulated dialogue regarding his plans to "save" the planet as well as their eventual suicidal attempts which almost completely destroys all hope within her. Keep in mind that after she begins to fear that the situation is beyond her grasp, she actually temporarily (but desperately) goes onboard with Maxwell's population sacrificing plans to defeat Non. Also keep in mind that although the scene happens quick, she managed to only save Winn and James leading to the other employee's death right in front of her.

I await the moment where that symbol stands for something awesome and legitimately terrifying

As far as the Indigo scenes go, as I've mentioned previously in my Episode 15 review, I simply cannot get over how lackluster and visually cheap the character comes across to me onscreen. The only thing that literally gets me somewhat excited whenever she appears is the Braniac insignia on her forehead bringing hope that the series may actually see the character in a future season. All of her scenes with Non felt a little out of place and unnecessary in my opinion almost making Non seem less of an individual powerful threat with his own driven motivation and more of a man getting manipulated himself through seductive words from a cheap Mystique cosplayer regarding world domination.

If this is the show's way of slowly bringing Braniac in as a force taking advantage of Non's invasion for its own gains, then I'm fully onboard with the idea. However, as of now, I'm constantly hoping that Supergirl or perhaps J'onn can completely eliminate her character from the show as she is starting to become a bit of an annoyance for me as far as the Kryptonian invasion arc goes. We'll just have to wait and see I suppose and put hope into the writers for doing something interesting with that symbol pretty soon.

This is arguably one of the coolest things that the show has ever visually presented design-wise.

With Indigo's time wasting scenes out of the way, let's get to the part of the episode where something pretty awesome is actually presented. Again, referencing my Episode 13 review, we get to see one of the show's coolest elements return via Alex's Anti-Kryptonian gear. Ever since we saw Astra's demise from Alex's Kryptonite sword, I've been dying to see it make its big return on the show. Finally, we get to see it in action again or so this episode implies towards the end. Not only do we see the sword return, but Alex is actually fully equipped in what looks to be a badass Kryptonite laced battle suit. Did Indigo take Alex back to the DEO to get the suit? As a matter of fact, what's happening at the DEO now?

Now, I'm usually never a big fan of seeing heroes get mind controlled resulting in them taking on other heroes, but in this scenario, I'm actually fully onboard with the idea of seeing a fully geared up Alex fighting her own sister in a battle to the death via Non's control. This reminds the audience just how powerful of a threat Non can be to Supergirl without physically having to confront her.

Overall, this may not have been the Non episode that I was hoping to get, but there were some pretty interesting things explored here as far as character development goes. The Martian Manhunter vs Indigo fight was a bit too short for my taste, but I was never expecting much there to be honest. The spotlight is on both Maxwell Lord and Non being developed here in ways that I very much enjoyed and Supergirl's desperate nature of saving the world being put to the test which I'm always interested in seeing with my superheroes. With the only major negative leaning towards Indigo, I can safely say that this was a pretty well laid out "set up" episode for what's to come.

Bonus Content

1. Superman's Very Brief Cameo

And here we have yet another cool "Blink and you'll miss it" cameo by the man of steel himself. Also, I find it compelling that Superman was immediately brought under mind control himself. What if Non used him to fight off Kara?

2. Maxima's Debut

Being that I'm not completely familiar with the character, I can't get genuinely excited here, but it was pretty cool to see a villain debut take place during the DEO scene

3. The Fortress of Google Search

With Superman's Kryptonian computer in the Fortress of Solitude, I do wonder how many times the team will use it to help with their weekly alien encounters.

Episode Rating: 8/10