Supergirl Season 2 'Mr & Mrs Mxyzptlk' Review

Love is in the air in this week's episode of Supergirl, where Kara meets fifth dimensional being Mxyzptlk, who spontaneously appears declaring his love with red roses and quartet galore. 

It was refreshing to have an episode based entirely around the character's emotions and relationships. Kara and Mon-El's turbulent conflict and complex coming together was played really well by Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood.










 More interestingly, Maggie's reasons for not liking Valentine's Day was really fascinating, her bad experience with her parents opened up more opportunity to learn more about her character.

Alex/Maggie's relationship is wonderfully raw and unpredictable but there is an underlying respect and love that is undeniably adorable.  Winn's abrupt relationship with alien Lyra was another welcome addition, as politcally and socially it reflects society's transgression of other races.




Additionally, the comedy elements were rather silly but served their purpose of providing light entertainment as Mxyzptlk kept clicking his fingers, desperately trying to make Kara his wife. 

The straightforward resolution didn't detract from the more layered character moments as it was nice to have the villian defeated rather efficiently.  Maggie giving Alex the Valentine's Day she always wanted was so heartwarming and strengthened their relationship further. 

 Even though it was great to see Kara and Mon-El finally admit their feelings, it began the long road of seeing how it will end, Mon-El is already hiding the fact that the aliens they encountered a few weeks back spared his life and he seems to be very important to some killer aliens. 

Overall, Valentine's Day provided some sweet and complex relationship developments, warming the heart and providing some laughs along the way.

Supergirl Season 2 'Luthors' Review

Lena Luthor takes centre stage in the latest episode as she is framed for working with Matello and her mother, albeit causing the whole of National City to believe she is guilty. It's only Kara who undeniably believes in her, demonstrating her loyalty and goodness.

Katie McGrath and Melissa Benoist performances are incredibly charming as they showcase their friendship with donuts and a declaration of Kara being Lena's hero. There is a lovely bond between them which is both sweet and turbulent.

It was great to introduce the episode with Alex introducing Maggie to her friends, the warmth and familiarity of the 'Super' family is indulgent and cemented the strength of their friendships. 

 

The flashback to Lena's childhood was an interesting insight into the fractured relationship between Lena and her mother. The cutbacks were edited together smoothly and gave an extra gravitas to Lena's character.

There were some quality character moments between Kara and James as he questioned Kara's lack of trust in Lena and not him. James' character was certainly more engaging than his Guardian persona.

 

Mon-El and Kara's dynamic naturally took a huge stride as Kara admitted her feelings for him but didn't believe she could be Supergirl and be in a relationship. Chris Wood and Melissa Benoist's chemistry is always so charming and funny that it's hard not to become invested in their coupling.

Lillian and Lena's complex relationship became richer and more engaging which undoubtedly makes both characters better equipped to grip the audience. I just hope that the last scene with Lena was not an attempt to showcase Lena's true motivations. If she did turn out to have her own agenda which involved death, destruction and insanity, the friendship built between Lena and Kara would feel meaningless and betray Lena's journey to proving that being a Luthor does not always involve evil intentions.

This was one of the best episodes of the season with compelling character developments, emotionally driven drama and showcased Kara's heroic qualities beautifully.

 

 

Supergirl Season 2 'The Martian Chronicles' Review

The best aspect to this episode was the complexity surrounding Kara and Mon-El's relationship, Kara's confusion as to what she feels for Mon-El was wonderfully executed by the writers and Melissa Benoist's performance felt raw and truthful.



There were specific themes incorporated in the plot; Kara and J'onn's loneliness being the focus point which converged on Kara's feeling of abandonment when Alex asks to reschedule Kara's earth birthday so she can go to a concert with Maggie.

It was interesting to see Kara's reasoning behind her insecurity but seeing how happy she was for Alex, she must have known that she would be seeing less of her and the fact that their sisterhood is really strong, that should be assurance that Alex would never abandon her sister.



The psychological effect the DEO's lock down had on the characters was engaging and enforced some great horror elements; the gooey trappings of Winn and Alex and the burner testing were brilliant techniques which played with the audience.

Also, this gave the cast an opportunity to extend their acting abilities,  Jeremy Jordan and Chyler Leigh's portrayal of the white martians produced refreshing performances, drawing out Supergirl's confusion and loneliness.



J'onn and M'gann's growing relationship was charmingly moving because it allowed David Harewood to explore the vulnerabilities of his character, albeit creating a more dynamic and complex character. 

M'gann's departure felt a bit rushed but it was inspiring to see that J'onn has had such a positive influence on M'gann that she would be willing to sacrifice herself for the opportunity to save her race from their own weaknesses. 

 

Overall, this episode had some fantastic character moments which developed and fleshed out J'onn and Supergirl's characters with clever construction. The horror themes emphasised the psychological tensions effectively and the action sequences were some of the best the series has produced. 

8/10

Supergirl Season 2 'We Can Be Heroes' Review

We Can Be Heroes plays with Mon-El and Kara's relationship as she reunites with her nemesis- Lvewire. 

This episode made me feeling relieved and surprised at Supergirl's reaction to James being Guardian. Happening by chance, it's understandable that Kara would be angry that her friends had kept this secret from her, but it doesn't explain why she would be so dismissive of Jame's justification for wanting to be Guardian.



Supergirl seems to think she has a right to tell James that he cannot be a superhero, while training Mon-El who only feels like he wants to become a superhero so he can work with Kara and gain recognition from her.

It is clear that Kara is worried about James being killed but de-valuing his motivations for wanting to be a hero doesn't feel like an action she would take. 



Elsewhere, with Kara thinking Livewire had escaped, when in fact she was kidnapped,  this was a clever twist which was entertaining and compelling because you're left debating how Livewire's imprisonment has changed her psychological condition.

Another successful aspect to the episode was the gradual evolution of Kara's and Mon-El's relationship. Kara's frustration that Mon-El wouldn't admit his true intentions for becoming a superhero was an interesting development to their partnership because it provided texture to the complications of their dynamic.



J'onn's complex relationship with M'gann produced a moving and uplifting dynamic to the narrative because the themes of forgiveness and the chaos of war featured heavily within J'onn's solution to accepting what happened to his people, and his commitment to forging a friendship with M'gann was indeed honorable and noble.

The visual aesthetic of M'gann's psychological attack was an intelligent technique to use to project the expansion of her memories and her internal torment, this was a great way to engage more effectively with her character.



There were many strong elements to the episode; Mon-El's development, Kara/James confrontation and J'onn/M'gann psychic bond which beautifully explored the history of two aliens who have suffered greatly.

With gripping action scenes and engaging drama between Kara and her friends, We Can Be Heroes delivers on atmosphere, drama and action but fails to justify Supergirl's lack of empathy for James as Guardian.