TV Review: SUPERGIRL: Season 2, Episode 9: Supergirl Lives [The CW]

Supergirl: Supergirl Lives Review

The CW’s Supergirl Season 2, Episode 9: ‘Supergirl Lives’ proved to be one of this season’s strongest episodes thanks to some great performances from the cast. The episode also gets praises from Kevin Smith, who makes his debut directing an episode of Supergirl after his great work on The Flash. There wasn’t anything shocking that occurred during the episode, which is good. Smith is known not to make a big splash when it comes to working with DC TV shows, and ‘Supergirl Lives’ is already ending up to be one of the best episodes so far this season.

We did expect Smith to bring up some references to his cancelled film Superman Lives, which was fun to look out for but nothing else tied into that story. The script would’ve ended up being a film adaptation on the famous ‘Death and Return of Superman’ comic book from the 90s. Seeing that Kara (Melissa Benoist) ended up losing her powers due to the Red Sun was a direct reference to that storyline, but no other connections were made beyond that. The main point was to have Kara vulnerable so she can overcome this obstacle and gain the experience one needs in being a hero. She just needed some reminding that her role as a hero is more than just her extraordinary strength. She is the one who gives hope to others when things go south. She proved that when she got Izzy Williams (Harley Quinn Smith) and rest of the prisoners to rally together to fight their alien overlords and return to Earth. It’s a great way to start off the second half of the season of Supergirl.

Supergirl has gone deep into the problems with the alien species, and it makes the show stand out from the rest of the Arrowverse. These problems come up on Earth and utilize some fairly normal looking aliens. It was great to see this episode change it up for once as it went into a faraway planet/moon and featured some aliens that don’t look human at all. There were some great nods to sci-fi fare like Stargate and Star Trek. Supergirl does have some sci-fi elements embedded into the show, so we can expect some of the aliens we encounter to be somewhat similar to the popular franchise.

We saw the return of Dichen Lachman as Roulette, and her second outing on the show didn’t improve her character since the first time we saw her this season. She wasn’t a convincing villain this time around with so little for her to do than just looking pretty. The only villain who stood out was James Urbanlak, who managed to play a good alien slave trafficker in disguise as a human scientist. We also got to see a Dominator make it’s appearance, tying the episode to the recent events during the big invasion crossover. Even though we won’t be seeing the same storyline with the Dominators here, we do expect to see more scenes with them. It looks like the Dominators have plans for Earth, which revolves around Mon-El (Chris Wood) and the Daxamites. Mon-El has some secrets up his sleeve, so here’s hoping we learn more about his background.

Until then, the relationship that is brewing between Mon-El and Kara is one of the best developments made during this week’s episode. Both Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood have a great dynamic, whether they are arguing or Mon-El finding his calling as a hero. It’s great that Mon-El sees Kara’s bravery as inspiration for him becoming a hero like her. This will make a great arc for Mon-El, especially since he may be carrying a deep, dark secret that could jeopardize his relationship with Kara.

Another relationship that was fun to watch was between Kara and Snapper Carl (Ian Gomez) at the workplace. Even though the CatCo storyline hasn’t been the best this season, getting to see both Snapper and Kara bantering is so good to see on the show. Snapper’s remarks never ceases to amaze us. It even seemed like Snapper was warming up to Kara after that last confrontation, seeing the potential Kara has as a great reporter.

There were some negatives coming off from the midseason premiere. The Guardian storyline still doesn’t work well. Getting to focus more on Winn (Jeremy Jordan) during this episode did help, but it didn’t come off as a strong arc for him in the end. It was great to see Winn living in fear after experiencing a bad night doing vigilante work, but seeing that problem resolve itself felt too quick and simple. We did get to see more drama between Alex (Chyler Leigh) and Maggie (Floriana Lima). Their relationship has become stronger with each episode, but their latest feud came off as something that wasn’t really needed. Seeing Alex attempting to break things off with Maggie for the safety of her sister was made too hastily. Alex has already matured herself and can handle leaving things professionally.

Supergirl made the perfect lift off into the second half of season two with this great episode. Instead of dealing with daily heroics, this week’s installment made a great sci-fi adventure. Kara and Mon-El’s relationship truly carried the episode and overshadowed any of the subplots that didn’t leave a mark just like the weak use of it’s villains.

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