TV Review: SUPERGIRL: Season 1, Episode 8: Hostile Takeover [CBS]

CBS’s Supergirl Hostile Takeover TV Show Review. Supergirl Season 1, Episode 8: Hostile Takeover found Kara (Melissa Benoist) in fighting against family when she fought against her aunt Astra (Laura Benanti) and her husband Non (Chris Vance). Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) had some problems of her own when she gets involved in a hacking scandal that threatens her career and her company. There were some big surprises in this winter finale leaving viewers wondering where the show is heading once it returns from the winter break.

Astra didn’t prove to be a powerful villain, but she did show how strategic and manipulative she can be. Her efforts to destroy what Kara remembers about her mother Alura and adds more to the story of what went on between the twin sisters back on Krypton. Who knew that Krypton was also facing some climate changes like our Earth that can potentially kill the planet? Anyway, Laura Benanti still needs to work on making Astra more compelling than just a run-of-the-mill supervillain. Everything is finally in place, but the actress needs to find a way to put the pieces together in this narrative. The scenes between Kara and Astra don’t feel powerful or sincere. The show still struggles in making the escaped Kryptonians a threat that is interesting and special.

The battle in mid-air between Kara and Astra was one of the best fight scenes so far on this show. The show does a brilliant job of showcasing Kara’s abilities and evolving them slowly, so it was a good thing that Kara didn’t win the fight. Kara still has a lot to learn and viewers are already feeling like they are on this journey with her as she develops these powers. Even that training session with Alex (Chyler Leigh) was pretty extreme, and it was a good of Supergirl to mention that even her cousin never killed anyone. However, the final fight sequence felt incomplete and the visual effects felt a bit clunky. There are some great cliffhangers that Supergirl does at the end of every episode, but this one felt like it was cut right in the middle of the fight.

There were some powerful moments in the episode with Kara as she was facing the truth about her mother. Benoist pulled off a great performance showing an angry Kara after being burdened with this new piece of information that Astra has given her. Kara’s confrontation with her A.I. mother with tears in her eyes was really heartbreaking. This was one of the few moments where we get to see Benoist go all dramatic with her character and what she had went through. Hopefully we get to see more of that in the back half of the season. In doing so, this would give a wider range of emotions that Benoist can play with and challenge her in new ways.

Even though the hacking story wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be, we saw some more character developments with Cat Grant. Calista Flockhart continues to amaze viewers with her take on Cat, who has already become one of the best characters on the show. That new revelation about her estranged son opened her up, and it allowed Kara to confront her mommy issues. Seeing Cat do the right thing for her company and her employees was a strong statement. It really showed how powerful a leader Cat is by sacrificing her livelihood to protect those close to her.

The most shocking revelation was revealed when Cat figured out that Kara is Supergirl. It’s great that the show finally allowed Cat to finally find out the truth herself rather than by accident. It shows that Cat is someone who can’t be fooled and it gives a different dynamic between her and Kara now that she knows her secret. This gives a more modern approach to storytelling by growing Kara’s secret circle of friends. The writers did a fantastic job pulling that ploy with Cat forcefully revealing Kara’s real identity to her by removing her glasses.

‘Hostile Takeover’ brought the first half of Supergirl’s freshman season to a close with some big revelations and some new character developments to explore. The episode had some fun and intense action between Kara and Astra. The show still needs to work on making Astra a compelling villain worthy of Supergirl. Even though the last fight didn’t get a finish, the episode was heavy on drama for both Kara and Cat Grant.

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