Supergirl Lives – Investigating a string of missing person cases leads Kara and Mon-El to discover an intergalactic slave trade run by a familiar face but also leaves them powerless to stop it. Or are they? When fighting crime gets too real Winn he becomes distant with the others and Alex struggles to stop her work affecting her happiness with Maggie.
This episode sees Kevin Smith continue his very welcome guest director appearances within the Flarrowverse for his first Supergirl episode. The title is even a homage to his script for the abandoned early 90s Superman reboot staring Nicholas Cage; Superman Lives. Although this isn’t just about Smith firsts but show firsts as the episode sees Supergirl tiptoeing into more space/intergalactic based stories, hot of the heals of the recent Dominators Invasion crossover by means of a Supergirl SG-1 trip to another planet. The results are immediately great. It de-powers Kara and Mon-El in a logical fashion (being on a planet with a different sun) to increase the challenge and peril while placing them in different out of character situations. The alien world (complete with “Murder Castle”) looks convincing for a classical genre mix of baron landscapes and sparse highly developed areas. The interiors look good too, although there’s perhaps too much visual similarity to Arrow’s Invasion spaceship scenes for multi-show fans (Mon-El using the gun almost identical to Oliver Queen doing the same). There’s plenty of good action from the truck flip opening to Alex Vs aliens in the final act. The main story carries some interesting examinations on the ideals of heroism between Kara and the more sceptical Mon-El without becoming too cheesy. The script favours shorter on the nose dialogue rather than impassioned monologues over the ideas of inspiring by example and being what people need rather than just being a fighter.
We also see the return of my favourite season 2 villain, Roulette, as once again Dichen Lachman absolutely oozes charisma; owning every inch of her tattooed and red dressed persona. Her usage feels in keeping with character as following on from the slavery of her fight club she branches out into human trafficking for intergalactic slavers which presents ideal opportunities for some god old-fashioned villain revenge gloating. I really hope they keep her as a recurring presence for the rest of the season. Although much of the episode takes a more serious tone there are plenty of very enjoyable humor pockets from Mon-El’s bartending and incognito work to Snapper’s lack of enthusiasm.
Sadly a few supporting characters fly intro brick walls this week. Let’s start with Alex. The injected conflict in her relationship with Maggie serves no purpose and feels needless. We spent half the autumn episodes watching Alex struggle with coming out and getting to a good place with Maggie. We don’t to see a rift between them so soon, let them be happy for a week or two, like they’re very enjoyable apartment scene early on. You can see why they benched Martian Manhunter to prevent an easy rescue but the way they do so via the toxic atmosphere really feels like a copout due to budget limitations. It’s the kind of moment the show should really be trying to avoid. Next up there’s Winn. The idea of him getting shell shocked after his vigilante fantasies take a brush with reality makes sense but he comes across as being far too selfish in the aftermath making him difficult to sympathise with. However, Winn’s position does improve vastly in the final third when his character is allowed incorporate more humour which has always been his strength (“I am not a Red Shirt, I am not a Red Shirt”). A few lesser faces also have very good episodes. Maggie figuring out Kara’s identity by herself is an excellent reinforcement of her intelligence and skills as a detective. Snapper Carr finally makes his way back on screen and serves as the perfect grumpy foil to Kara and James’ bouncy optimism. As many may have guessed, that is indeed Smith’s real life daughter, Harley Quinn, guest appearing as Izzy.
Being a return/”mid-season premier” episode Supergirl Lives does the important job of teasing and implying bigger plots going forward as Mon-El looks to be playing a very pivotal role. Between an unexpected events and his end conversation with Kara they practically spell out his big secret but I’ll treat it as a spoiler for now. It all looks to be a promising setup building towards Mon-El choosing between his past and his new life on Earth. Supergirl seems strong and well rested after a Christmas break. Let’s see what else she’s got in store for us.