Maxwell Lord unleashes his Code Phoenix creation, a doppelganger trained to destroy Supergirl. Kara’s budding romance with Adam forces James to face an uncomfortable truth about his relationship with her. Alex and Kara realize that Lord knows about Kara’s secret identity, which they understand places their loved ones in danger.

My Lord this was a good episode! I was excited to watch it twice and write the recap because it was that good. The show still has some of the same issues particularly related to the acting, but I really appreciated finding resolution to the Code Phoenix mystery, the reason behind Lord obtaining Red Tornado’s arm, the quick discovery by Alex and Kara that they were being spied on, and Winn using his Friend Zone status to make James face his own feelings. While some of the acting was still shaky, the story progression was well handled. This was a fun episode to watch.

Episode Highs:

Game Time: Max brought his A-game! This episode showed us the truth depth of his hatred and depravity where the alien visitors are concerned, as well as the depth of his privilege. This well respected billionaire, lauded by the public, has been acquiring comatose white women-AND NO ONE SAID A THING!!! He’s been experimenting on them trying to perfect the ultimate counter to Supergirl. He went through 7 women in six months. SEVEN WOMEN! SEVEN WHITE WOMEN! IN SIX MONTHS! I know I keep emphasizing it, but it screams of a man who just knows he’s untouchable-and he’s right. Even Hank is reluctant to go after Lord, and is furious when Alex Patriot Act’s his ass and throws him in their alien Guantanamo Bay prison. But back to the Max’s plan. He creates, using the DNA he pulled from Red Tornado (remember, Red Tornado drew blood in his fight with Kara), a doppelganger of Supergirl who Cat dubs Bizarro. He then uses electroshock treatment to create negative feelings of Supergirl in his creation, training her to kill his intended target. He believes he has created the world’s savior and protector. His hubris is amazing and his gall unmitigated. Even when Alex confronts him the first time after Bizarro makes an appearance, he basically tells her “yeah, I did it, but you can’t prove it, so kick rocks. And by the way, I know all your little secrets.” Max has no chill. His smugness should have made me angry, but I was just partying because he’s been one of the most interesting characters on this show. We still don’t know where his absolute hate for all things alien comes from, but at this point I don’t care. Let this man cook. He is good at what he does. More than that, for all of the avarice behind his actions, he seems to genuinely care about Bizarro. When she fails at finishing off Kara during the tram incident, she returns to Lord, confused about his assertion that Kara is evil when she witnessed Kara saving people. Instead of subjecting her to more torturous methods to reinforce his view, he reasons with her gently, like a father instructing his child. Peter Facinelli is killing it as Maxwell Lord, giving us this amazing, complex character that we should hate but can’t bring ourselves to.

Friend Zone: I was not a fan of the romantic triangle between Winn, James, and Kara. I still am not. However, I do appreciate how they are writing it moving forward. James and Winn look wildly uncomfortable with the fact that Kara is dating Adam. They pretend to be okay with it, but it is so clear they are not. Commiserating over a bottle of Big Boar whiskey in the bullpen (by the way, where do they work cause I’d love to be able to have a tequila shot at my desk), they discuss the situation. Instead of trying to convince Kara he is the one for him, Winn freely acknowledges his friend zone status. He then proceeds to tell James what the audience knows and has been screaming for 12 episodes: Pretending to be her friend is disingenuous when you know you want more. You should take your own advice and come clean with her.   James tries to throw Lucy out there as an excuse, and Winn drops the best truth bomb of the episode: “No one wants to be in a relationship with someone who wants to be in a relationship with someone else.” Winn let that liquor tell the truth and shamed the devil! It’s the reason Winn is pretty much steering clear of Kara. It also brings us around to Kara’s feelings for James, since he’s the first one Bizarro snatches up when Max tells her to go after the ones Supergirl loves. In his captivity, James admits to the Bizarro that he does love Kara. Later, when given a chance to clear the air with her, he doesn’t, using Lucy’s arrival at the airport as an excuse to leave.  It’s too soon to throw them together, but the progression makes perfect sense and was done well.

Episode Lows:

Somebody Save Me: I say it almost every week, and unfortunately this week was no exception. Faux Supergirl/Bizarro was at her best when she was being portrayed by Hope Lauren (The Valley), who portrayed the young comatose woman in the previous two episodes and Bizarro after being hit with kryptonite darts in this one. Melissa’s performance was once again all over the place. In some scenes she was fine. In others I felt like I was watching a really bad soap opera. Resorting to teen regression when discussing interactions with the opposite sex is continuously annoying. Enough already. Alex was over the top during the fight between Bizarro and Kara and with her declaration of the love her family. Also, I’m a little sick of Alex lecturing Hank. If you don’t sit your five dollar….never mind.

Smarter than You: So yes, Max basically drops dime that he knows everything about the Danvers sisters. Kara and Alex discuss it at the DEO facility. Alex ASKS Kara “You don’t think he knows about us, do you?” Alex, he told you he did. Kara says, no, there is no way that a man this smart, who had a drone following me, who found a way to snatch up 7 white women in six months with no one calling foul, would be able to find a way to discover who we are (note the sarcasm). Can someone explain to me how Alex in all this time still hasn’t found that 1980’s Radio Shack spy camera on her purse? Does she even carry her purse? Also, once they had confirmation that Max was on to them, why in God’s name wouldn’t they give Hank a heads up when you first suspect it? After all, if Bizarro can know that Kara loves James, that means she knows about Hank theoretically. He has a right to know! I also take issue with the way they wrote Adam to be the dumbest person on the planet during his first date with Kara. Kara tells you her grandmother fell and she has to leave. She never once looked at her phone, it didn’t chime, and it wasn’t as though she said “Oh my God, my grandmother’s on that tram, I have to leave.” Yet he accepts her bullshit excuse as gospel. Then, after Bizarro snatches her up like a falcon snack during their second date, she reappears, announces she was kidnapped, and no one says anything more than “Oh, good, glad you are okay.” Where are the police? Why aren’t they asking about police involvement? Or who snatched her? Or why? Really writers? Come on now, do better!

This episode ends with Kara coming home to a chestburster egg open on her table. I’m thinking we need Ripley stat.

It was a fun episode. The lows didn’t overshadow the highs for me, even after a few times watching it. The next episode appears to be taken directly from the Justice League Unlimited comic. After that, we get to see what the seven added episodes add to the series. I’m still watching. If I can survive the first two seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the entire series run of MacGyver, this is nothing.

Comments

comments