TV Review: SUPERGIRL: Season 1, Episode 9: Blood Bonds [CBS]

CBS’s Supergirl Blood Bonds TV Show Review. Supergirl Season 1, Episode 9: Blood Bonds picked up where the winter finale left off when both Kara (Melissa Benoist) and Non (Chris Vance) fighting in the sky. However, the fight gets cut short as soon as they land in the ground, with Non deciding on kidnapping Hank Henshaw (David Harewood) for ransom to free his wife Astra (Laura Benanti). Kara also faced a problem on a professional level: Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) thinks that Kara is Supergirl. Kara must not only save Hank, but she must also save her secret identity from being exposed.

The relationship between Astra and Kara are greatly explored in this episode, giving us a strong scene between aunt and niece. Even though Astra still isn’t convincing enough as a villain, the show still does a great job in showing the complex relationship between her and Kara. The other thing that Laura couldn’t excel at in this episode was pulling off a double act playing Laura and Astra. In the flashback sequences, the twins play off each other as if they were the same person rather than being polar opposites. Laura’s performance was rather dull and nothing stood out as far as emotional expressions being used.

The fight between Astra, Non, and their Kryptonian army against the DEO was really exciting with the show’s use of special effects. Seeing a bunch of Kryptonians floating in the sky as they surrounded the warehouse seemed much better than the fight scene early on in the episode. Having Astra getting her men to stand down to fight another day was a smart decision that gave more depth to an otherwise lackluster quarrel between the Fort Rozz escapees and the DEO.

With Hank kidnapped by Non, Alex (Chyler Leigh) was given command of the DEO, that is, until General Lane (Glenn Moreshower) takes over and uses some ruthless techniques to get Astra to confess to where her base is. General Lane is shown exactly how he is in the comics, a man who has a sudden distrust in aliens and working with one like Supergirl. The DEO has remained to be one of the weakest links in the show, and having Hank as the Martian Manhunter doesn’t really help their case. However, Kara does eventually find out his secret and uses his shape shifting abilities to help her trick Cat into thinking that she was wrong about her assistant doubling as a superhero.

Cat Grant has proven to be very intelligent and sharp, so it will be a matter of time before she finally gets the truth. Which is why having her not know who Kara is will be frustrating in what looks like a game of cat and mouse between her and Kara. It was fun to see Kara trying her best to act as normal as possible around Cat to arouse suspicion. It especially got really interesting when Cat gave Kara an ultimatum, either she proves that she isn’t Supergirl or get fired. It was a great development to their dynamic until the problem resolved itself. The episode pushed Kara out of her comfort zone as she was about to lose everything, but the way her secret identity problem was kept in tact felt a bit too easy and predictable.

The argument between Kara, Winn (Jeremy Jordan), and James (Mehcad Brooks) was the highlight of the episode. Having both James and Winn work together worked out really well, bringing out a strong bond between two men who both care deeply for Kara. James went a bit too far though when he thought he can take on Maxwell Lord (Peter Facinelli), underestimating the power of the rich billionaire. Lord still has a long journey ahead to make him a worthy opponent for Supergirl. The only thing that he has going for him is what’s behind that lab of his, and it looks like something he is looking to use on our female hero.

‘Blood Bonds’ put in some interesting developments for the series as we saw Kara forced to choose between family and her duty to protect Earth. However, the episode didn’t execute that very well as the plot went all over the place. Both Lord and Astra still lack the kind of villainy that this show needs as they both try to gain the attention of Supergirl. Even Cat’s discovery of trying to uncover Kara’s secret was cut short instead of going all the way. The episode wasn’t a strong one, but the show still has appeal left in it.

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