Supergirl S3 Ep. 4 Thoughts

"The Faithful"

This week's episode of Supergirl definitely took a different direction in storytelling that the genre (at least on television) hasn't really tackled as heavily until now. Going in a more religious path with our "villain" of the week was pretty refreshing and one that I never thought that I'd see in this particular series. The central theme of the episode centers around faith and fate altogether as we get a different perspective of our girl of steel while also getting an intriguing look into Samantha's destructive destiny.

The Power of Belief

Religion can be a tricky subject to tackle in any genre, so it's nice to see Supergirl take its very own fictional belief via "Raoism" and make that the primary center of attention. During the episode's opening sequence, we get an interesting new perspective of the pilot episode's plane rescue sequence. Instead of Alex and Kara being the focus as previously shown, we're introduced to Thomas Coville, a recently depressed passenger who witnesses Kara during the rescue. It's one of the best surprise misleads that I've seen on TV in quite a while as it shows that the writers are willing to dive back into previous iconic events in order to organically tell future stories.

Looking upon Kara as his savior, Thomas eventually collects Kryptonian artifacts (which I'm guessing is easy to find at your local Walmart) and utilizes the religion of Raoism to pit Supergirl as Earth's savior. It's an interesting concept to have the central hero of the show be worshipped by a cult as it makes for an intriguing dramatic twist to see unravelled. When Kara and the gang discovers this cult, I loved the idea of showing how uncomfortable she felt as one of the worshippers speak about her encounter with Supergirl as a spiritually transformative encounter. This is something that we simply do not see in other superhero based series as much, so kudos to the writers for switching things up a bit for the new season.

When Thomas decided to escalate his recruitment methods by placing new followers in life threatening scenarios in order to call forth Supergirl's help, I started to realize how brilliant this antagonist was. The idea of making a typical Supergirl rescue now some part of a positive religious trial was compelling as it gave our hero a personally unwanted and dangerous level of praise. How does Supergirl fight someone's beliefs? This was a battle that couldn't be won by superpowers necessarily making the conflict at hand an even more dynamic change of pace.

Now, we do eventually get our big climatic moment where some timer based cataclysmic event has to be stopped. However, as opposed to having some destructive creature or power hungry maniac at play, we have someone who truly believes that said cataclysm will help Supergirl on her godly path. Again, this is one of those weekly antagonists that you just have to sit back and admire the boldness of the writers to go against the traditional superhero TV plot. After removing her god-like status to the cult by cutting the palm of her hand with a nail (going along the episode's religious tone through biblical imagery), Supergirl is finally able to stop the self destructing Kryptonian artifact.

What really shook things up for me during this story wasn't so much how Supergirl needed the help of Alex and Thomas to save the day while fighting through artifact's Kryptonite sample, but Thomas himself. After rescuing 100s of people from what could have been an explosive massacre, Kara visits Thomas in prison to speak about his reasoning for keeping her identity a secret. What makes this scene so engaging is that, again, we're not seeing some crazy criminal alluding to revenge, but a man who still believes in Supergirl as his savior despite his current predicament. Usually, religious fanatics are presented as menacing psychos in the end, yet here we have someone who still genuinely wants to help Kara through some twisted mentality. It's an effectively eerie way to close an antagonist's chapter.

Overall Thoughts

Did this week's episode of Supergirl deliver some visually spectacular battle or incredible science-fiction set piece? No, but what it offered was a different take on how superheroes can be viewed. What's been great about this season thus far is the variety in story and artistic directions taken with the series as a whole. Going back in time to the pilot in order to tell a compelling story for the present was a fascinating idea that definitely payed off in the end. Inserting a couple of dramatic beats with Alex's marital issues and an eye opening cliffhanger revealing Samantha's fate as Reign, I'd say this was a successful episode overall. I'm interested to see where things go from here in the following weeks to come.  

Bonus Thoughts

Easter Eggs

1. You Will Soon Reign

During the episode we see Sammantha getting closer to both Lena and Kara as friends, though the ending sequence might allude to something tragic in their future. While looking in the mirror, Sammantha sees her entire face and body covered in alien symbols as a demonic looking hooded figure tells her that she was born through Rao's fire and will soon reign. Is this our first big visual tease of Sammantha's transformation to come?

2. Who's Who?

The biggest question right now spinning around Season 3 surrounds the identity and reveal of our season villain. Although online articles have spotlighted Sammantha as being Reign, this week's cliffhanger alludes to one or more other possible candidates. The previously shown underwater Krytonian ship is shown to be activated as is the individual(s) inside. Who does this hand belong to? Have we been mislead this entire time?

3. Kryptonian Tech & Culture

One of the few things that places Supergirl on a different level to other series in its genre is its unique science-fiction heavy universe. The fact that the central character is an alien from a destroyed planet and civilization lends to some interesting looks into a foreign and cosmic lore. In this episode, we dive into Krypton's religion known as Raoism (based upon Krypton's sun) as well as Kryptonian archival tech similiar to Earth's Voyager.

4. Jimmy's 1st Encounter With Superman:

A Miracle

During a conversation with Kara, Jimmy recounts his first encounter with Superman after being saved from a deadly fall. What's powerful to note here is the importance of visuals for our species. As Jimmy explains, in our life, God isn't some individual that simply shows up when needed. This is why the physical evidence of Superman or Supergirl appearing as a savior out of nowhere comes across as a miracle on Earth.

5. M'yrnn & J'onn

During the episode, we get a glimpse of M'yrnn J'onzz continuing in his prayers with J'onn eventually joining in. It's a nice inserted scene showcasing a wide spectrum of different acts of worship in this universe as well as a reminder that his character will indeed be sticking around.

6. Supergirl's Positive Influence

One of my favorite things about the comic book genre is seeing the way in which costumed heroes make a huge impact in the world's culture. In this episode we see a negatively altered use of Supergirl's presence via Thomas, but in a more positive light, we get to see young girls dressed up in her attire in celebration. It's another great reminder of how this world perceives super powered heroes.

Episode Rating: 8/10