TV Show Review

TV Review: SUPERGIRL: Season 2, Episode 18: Ace Reporter [The CW]

Rahul Kohli Katie McGrath Melissa Benoist Ace Reporter Supergirl

Supergirl: Ace Reporter Review 

The CW’s Supergirl Season 2, Episode 18: ‘Ace Reporter’ explored the recent struggle for Kara (Melissa Benoist) as she makes a name for herself as an investigative journalist after getting fired from CatCo. It was only a matter of time before she got back on her feet and regained her confidence. The episode managed to fit in CatCo into the story after previous failed attempts to do so in other episodes. ‘Ace Reporter’ managed to add some workplace drama into Supergirl and prove that it’s possible to do it.

While Kara’s resurrection into the world of journalism was taking shape, we also contented with the reappearance of Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath). Lena has been a great addition to the second season even though she only appears on a recurring basis. We still don’t know what the plans are for the second season finale and how Lena plays into that. After viewing this episode, it is abundantly clear that Lena will be showing up in Kara’s life more frequently. The episode went deep into Lena’s past and her strong friendship with Kara. Lena’s past soon caught up with her with the appearance of someone who she used to be close with.

That person in question is Lena’s ex-boyfriend and former business partner Jack Spheer (Rahul Kohli). Spheer’s storyline in this episode didn’t offer any surprises, but it was valuable nevertheless. There was a great dynamic between Kohli and McGrath when they shared a scene together. It was like seeing two former lovers reconnect after a long break, which really gave an emotional impact when Spheer met his maker. The show does still struggle with dewveloping their villains into compelling characters. Spheer did have that quality that the show needed, but his assistant/puppet master Beth (Claudia Doumit) didn’t have it in her.

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Spheer AKA Biomax worked out as a physical enemy for Supergirl. The idea of a man changing into a swarm of nanites gave way to some amazing effects. It was also pretty cool have Kara use her ice breath to freeze the nanites into a beautiful ice sculpture. In plain terms, Biomax came out as one of the better villains that Supergirl as faced on the show so far. He was strange and erratic as he went toe to toe against the Girl of Steel.

It was often teased that Lena would become a potential enemy for Supergirl. There’s some doubt surrounding her and the episode set that up pretty well. This week’s story strengthened the bond between Kara and Lena while also making Supergirl an enemy to Lena. We see Lena make the ultimate sacrifice of killing the man she loved in order to save Supergirl’s life, but she may not come out of this after all that went down. It seemed like towards the end of the episode, Lena may end up on the same road as her infamous brother and despise all that Supergirl stands for.

We see these two women share a friendship that’s just as meaningful as Clark’s relationship with Lex before they became enemies. They are kind of like sisters when they first meet, making it look like Lena may avoid becoming more like her brother. However, these past couple of episodes have reaffirmed that Lena won’t be able to avoid what just happened to her, which can propel her down into a dangerous path. Seeing her potentially go dark is something that can be worrisome but exciting.

Similar to other episodes, this hour tried to mix humor with the character drama but it didn’t give the results the show needs. Kara has a great storyline where she regained her confidence during the Spheer case. It was really great seeing both Kara and Snapper Carr (Ian Gomez) argue against one another, even though they both have grown close since working together. Getting to have Kara and Mon-El (Chris Wood) teaming up to take down Spheer was brilliant to watch. Their chemistry remains to be the big highlight of the show.

The weakest point in the episode was with the subplot dealing with Guardian (Mehcad Brooks). There wasn’t much to show off for it after having Lyra (Tamzin Merchant) become the third wheel between James Olsen and Winn (Jeremy Jordan). Things would’ve been fine if James and Winn didn’t have to rely on her. Plus, there was nothing amazing about James in this particular arc. Hopefully this all builds up to something in the end.

With that in mind, this episode was an entertaining installment. There is some anxiety over the quality shown this season. We are only a few episodes away before the season comes to a close, and we still have no idea what the show is planning in the season finale. It will be interesting to see what Lena and Rhea (Teri Hatcher) cook up together, which could ultimately push Kara away. There are so many other plots in the season, so it will be difficult to resolve some during the final hour.

‘Ace Reporter’ brought back the reasons why we love this show. It really made the friendship between Kara and Lena much more powerful. This will certainly give McGrath some dark material to work with once she goes down that path. Rahul Kohli was an excellent charater by developing Lena a little more and making him a great villain. As we draw closer to the season finale, it’s still confusing about how this season will draw to a close.

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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