Supergirl Season 3 Episode 12
This season of Supergirl has struggled to find its feet after losing two of the relationships that defined Season 2. But this episode found a way to be both sweetly moving and a fun superhero caper at the same time. Importantly, it struck the right balance between the growing number of important relationships on the show. It certainly helps that this older, wiser Mon-El is a better listener, team player, and leader. He makes good suggestions, but consults others on their area of expertise, like Winn and Brainy. He falls in a support role to Kara, which is what she actually needs from him, and backs her play. Another clear indication that the Supergirl Mon-El returned to is not the one he left: the story now clearly revolves around the women at the heart of the show, the Danvers sisters, Lena, and Sam. The writers constructed the story so that the logical next step, after Sam went to Alex with her health concerns, was to bring Lena and Kara in on the issue as friends, rather than bringing in Supergirl and the DEO as heroes. Of course, the fact that Sam’s blackouts are presenting as a health concern make that logical, but the Supergirl writers could have just as easily structured events so that the DEO was the next logical move. Indeed, last season felt more DEO-centric, with most episodes centering around that team and location in the wake of Callista Flockhart’s departure. That left characters like Jimmy Olsen out in the cold, but it also meant that Mon-El was pushed toward a role he wasn’t yet ready for yet, and as a result, he had a substantial presence in every aspect of the show. The appearance of Mama Luthor added a wildcard element that Supergirl has been lacking since it de-fanged (and then offed) Livewire. Other CW shows, like The Vampire Diaries or even Dynasty’s better episodes, have had more success at setting up a number of main characters with a variety of crisscrossing motivations. Each new development changes up the teams from one episode (or even scene) to the next, making everything a little less predictable. On Supergirl, you’re either Team Supergirl or you’re wrong – or perhaps you’ve momentarily lost you way and are in need of a good lesson and a heart-to-heart. Instead in this episode, Lillian Luthor was Team Lena, but not Team Save Edge, causing her to switch up her targets, and letting her show off her new suit. And while Lena was Team Save Edge, she’s not a Pollyanna, either. She did the right thing, but she also got her man – at least for now. We hear a lot about Lena’s intelligence, and it was fun to see her wield it against her mother, who’s smart enough to warrant it, and Edge, a true foe. Hopefully she’ll be able to Ravenclaw her way out of Sam’s moonlighting as Reign and bring down the other world killers, before Alex takes over as Ruby’s permanent babysitter.
