TV Show Review

TV Review: SUPERGIRL: Season 2, Episode 12: Luthors [The CW]

Katie McGrath Luthors Supergirl

Supergirl: Luthors Review

The CW’s Supergirl Season 2, Episode 12: ‘Luthors’ gave us a taste of what’s to come for Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath) after a brief absence since the hiatus. It’s tough to picture her as a potential enemy for Kara (Melissa Benoist) just like Lex is to Superman. However, this week’s episode proved that Lena can go in either direction as the second season continues to unfold.

It was nice that the episode gave some backstory into Lena’s upbringing in the Luthor household. We got to explore a little more on the strained relationship between Lena and her mother Lillian (Brenda Strong) while also raising the question about whether a Luthor has always had bad blood. We even went as far back into Lena’s childhood during a brief flashback of when Lena was brought home. It really did explain a lot on where Lena came from and the reason behind why she hates her mother so much.

One of the most surprising things we got to see in the flashback was the appearance of Lionel and Lex Luthor. It’s possible we may never see an adult Lex on the show, but at least we get to see him during his younger days. The origin story of Lex has always fascinated fans with his rich upbringing and his abusive father, but this version of the story blended well with Lena. We got to see the Luthors through the eyes of an outsider like Lena. The flashback and Lillian revealing Lena’s family ties really showed us where she came from and the reason behind her troubled relationship with her mother.

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Trust seemed to be the underlying theme that carried the whole episode on its feet. Kara seems to see the best in people, even though her friends and family don’t always agree with her. This is just one of the qualities that she shares with her famous cousin, so it was smart to see her clear her friend’s name just like Clark did for Lex. Clark tried for many years to prove that Lex was a good person, but it didn’t work out in the end. Even though all the proof was against Lena, Kara didn’t want to think that her friend could’ve planned her mother’s escape. Kara made the episode work by showing the goodness and inspiration for humanity.

It all comes down to whether Kara would end up making the same mistake as Clark has done. That last scene with Lena kind of foreshadows if she isn’t so innocent as Kara may be led to believe. Perhaps she’s playing games with Kara while using her own mother as a patsy. If she can beat her brother at chess in a very young age, imagine what she could do with that brilliant mind of hers.

Lillian Luthor still didn’t appeal as a menacing villain during the episode. Lena’s unpredictability would’ve been a good enough reason for her to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Lillian isn’t as much of a threat and comes off as a typical mad scientist if anything. Lena, on the other hand, come comes off as a wild card and it’s too bad the show doesn’t use her that much. Hopefully we get to see more of her frequently or before the season’s over.

The episode felt overstuffed with it’s handle on the villains, with both Metallo (Frederick Schmidt) and Cyborg Superman/Hank Henshaw (David Harewood) helping Lillian with her plans. It was entertaining to see these guys team-up but it would’ve been even better if they showed their partnership a little more. Metallo was more of a focus due to his body affecting his physiology, as he became a human time bomb. Hopefully this isn’t the last of Metallo because he did become a more compelling villain this season.

The episode had some smaller developments happening outside of the family drama with the Luthors. It was great that the show went back to the friendship between Kara and James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) by showing how far these two have come as individuals. There were even some lighter moments like when Alex (Chyler Leigh) introduced Maggie (Floriana Lima) to everyone. Mon-El (Chris Wood) and J’onn’s (David Harewood) reaction to the news was funny since these two weren’t at all surprised at the very least.

We also had a tender moment between Kara and Mon-El as Kara finally confronted her feelings for him. Even though their romance was something that we all saw coming, both actors managed to make the chemistry work. Their romance feels organic despite how predictable it all feels. Even though it didn’t go quite as planned, they finally went for that kiss. However, we did get quite a surprise from a certain magical imp, which will carry into the next episode.

‘Luthors’ may as well be considered one of Supergirl’s stronger episodes by going deep into the history of the Luthor clan. It’s still unclear if Lena would soon become a villain like her mother and brother, but the mystery of it still excites us. Lillian still doesn’t come out as a compelling villain, which the show continues to struggle. The character drama did help make this one of the best episodes we’ve seen this season.

Leave your thoughts on this review and this episode of Supergirl in the comments section below. Readers seeking more TV show reviews can visit our TV Show Review Page, our TV Show Review Twitter Page, our TV Show Review Facebook Page, and our TV Show Review Google+ Page. Readers seeking more Supergirl can visit our Supergirl Page. FIlmBook staff members publish articles by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and Facebook.

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Mufsin Mahbub

**Fired from FilmBook for Plagiarism** Mufsin is a freelance writer from New York who has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism at Long Island University. He has written for publications like HollywoodLife, Clubplanet, and Heavy. He is an avid lover for everything related to TV and film. He has gone to dozens of film screenings, press events, and loves to attend New York Comic Con every year. He gives an honest opinion on every TV show or film that people are going to be talking about.
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