Mr .& Mrs. Mxyzptlk – The magical 5th dimensional being, Mr Mxyzptlk, arrives on Earth intent on winning Kara’s heart, her hand in marriage.... and threatening to devastate the Earth if she refuses. Alex struggles with Maggie’s Valentines Day hatred while Winn winds up with an out-of-this world date.
Arrow’s 4th season introduced magic (and John Constantine) to the Arrowverse and this episode sees its first appearance on Supergirl. It very quickly becomes the most fun episode the show has ever produced as Mxyzptlk attempts to woo Kara with an manner of impromptu theatrics. There’s so much great comedy from his near limitless powers of conjuring with the exceptions list also well-defined in passing and the episode frequently carries the feel of a Supernatural trickster episode. While the guest staring Peter Gadiot strays away from the impish looks of his comics cousin, he comes across fantastically as a spoilt prince charming determined to get his princess at any cost. Not to mention that Mxyzptlk bares similarities to Gadiot’s genie Cyrus on Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. This works excellently against a sympathetic Kara playing it like an indulging yet discouraging sibling, the big sister being dragged into games a hyperactive little brother. The pair gets plenty great exchanges too, “You can’t just put me in a wedding dress!.... Why not? It’s Vera Wang”. Even extending this towards the perilous love triangle with Mon-El works because it embraces the childish nature of their rivalry and their Hamilton pistols at dawn routine is just brilliant (“fisticuffs!”). The story transitions Mxyzptlk well from comic relief to becoming more of a threat by letting others suffer until he gets what he wants. Despite the romantic comedy nature of this Valentines episode, there are also some decent action too and even a great little X-Men Magneto routine, “I saw this in a movie once”.
The romantic aspects of the episode were also on point. Once again, I like what they did J’onn’s pinning for M’gnn, mention them briefly to keep her in mind then drop the subject before things take a turn for the corny. Of all the romantic couples on screen, Winn and his new flame Lyla was my favourite. First of all, Lyla comes across well as a likeable alien badass from her introductory fight to her rather direct affections. Lyla gives us an interesting perspective on dating as a community outsider, believing Winn was just looking to tick, “hook up with an alien” off his bucket list with air of self-defeat like it’s something she experiences too often with guys. It makes them quite an endearing couple as the shy guy spirited by a confident girl and the girl with a bad history discovering nice guys really do exist. Odds are, it will all end tragically (Winn is the show’s Xander Harris) but hopefully in the mean time, we’ll get to see a similar version of Alex & Maggie’s story between pair. If feels a logical step too; they’ve established acceptance for same sex relationships within the team, why not take that further with cross-species relationships? Speaking of Maggie & Alex, their scenes were alright and Maggie’s confession carried plenty of emotional weight but despite good efforts from both actresses this was Valentines episode plot 101. Its lack of originality puts a firm ceiling on its enjoyment.
Mr. Mxyzptlk has been used as an anti-hero in the comics so hopefully we will see him and Peter Gadiot again sometime (you can just picture Kara agreeing to an awkward date in exchange for his help). This episode sees Supergirl finding a Flash level of fun/action/emotion balance. Of course, like Arrow’s superb outing last week, this is an out-of-character episode for the show and won’t be repeated to often but live for the moment and enjoy Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk for the riotous fun fest it delivers.