Supergirl “Red Faced” Review : There is a tornado building up in National City-and inside Supergirl.
Supergirl is hired by Lucy Lane’s father, a major in the army, to fight a robot created by the army to defeat aliens and things don’t go according to plan when the robot-dubbed Red Torando-escapes and starts to work on its own. Meanwhile, Kara is dealing with the anger inside her and tries to find the root of it all thanks to Cat Grant-and realizes that her love for Jimmy Olsen and friends might be more rooted in anger than anything else.
This week was definitely the best episode of Supergirl so far. Everything clicked together in the themes and characters. Here, we see Kara finally realize who she is supposed to be-and how that might not be what she 100% is looking to be. After an outburst, being pushed too far by Cat Grant, Grant gives her advice in order to use her anger to her advantage, in which Kara finds that the real reason she is obsessed with Jimmy and Lucy is that they are normal…and she is not. Nor does she believe she can ever be. No relationships, no love, no normal life-she thinks that in order to be Supergirl, she can’t have any of those things.
One of the things that makes Supergirl stand out from other shows is that she is a younger protagonist and is dealing with very relatable things. Dealing with anger, living in a world that expects things from you that you don’t always know you can deliver on-these are things I feel, along with many people. We can relate to Supergirl/Kara’s dilemmas and that makes her so much more than just a super human being from Krypton. It makes her one of us.
The relationship between Kara and Cat continues as well and Cat Grant is a great character in this show. She is the combination of a J. Jonah Jameson and an Aunt May, where at one point she is giving Kara a hard time, but the next she is teaching her important things. I love this relationship and hope to see more of it. Seeing Kara learn things from one of the most successful women in this world is great, even though Cat doesn’t seem like a role model at first glance.
The external plot is good as well and I feel Mr. Lane’s presence is here to set-up more things in the future. Red Tornado is interesting as a threat and seeing that not everyone has warmed up to Supergirl is realistic and brings a story arc where people are not exactly trusting of her. This is all hinted at due to the army and Maxwell Lord’s screen time and I suspect we will see more of it soon.
This episode was perfect, showing us why this show is great and what makes me a fan. Melissa Benoist is fantastic and the whole show feels worthwhile. And with the news that a full 20-episode season has been order, Supergirl is flying stronger than ever.
Grade: A
Fun Notes (SPOILERS):
-I am wondering if Hank is Martian Manhunter, but the news that he and Alex’s dad worked together and then encountered an alien is interesting. My guess is that Alex and Hank died and Martian Manhunter took the form of Hank to blend in. I can hope!
