Would a, could a and should a. That was exactly how I looked at Monday night’s episode of Supergirl that featured the appearance of Bizarro. While that part of the story was spot on and fun to watch, the other aspects of the episode left a lot to be desired. Warning, spoilers ahead…
Part of the fabric of a Superman or in this case, Supergirl is the doppelganger of Bizarro. We got a sneak peak last week when we learned that Maxwell Lord was creating his own opposite version of Supergirl. We learned that he’s been spying on Alex and in doing so learned of Kara’s true identity. What worked very well for the episode was the Bizarro storyline but there just wasn’t enough of it. Kara has a sense of compassion for her “opposite” self that could have made this episode especially poignant. Instead, a resolution to this week’s alien threat came across as rushed by the end. The quickness of the resolution was in my opinion replaced in large part by the many suitors of Kara and then making room to establish a new alien threat that attacked Kara before the episode faded to black.
There was so much potential with this episode that I wish that they spent a greater amount of time dealing with the emotion and inner conflicts that plagued Kara. She saw Bizarro as a victim, not the enemy. Think of the possibilities that these feelings could have presented over a longer story arc? And what of Maxwell Lord? Now that he is in custody, what will Alex, Hank and Kara do with him? This was a very disjointed episode with loads of questions and very little answers.
The last issue I wish to address is the aforementioned love life for Kara. Whether it’s Oliver-Felicity on Arrow or the triangle of Barry-Patty-Iris on The Flash, relationships seem to have become a staple across the many DC properties that appear on TV. Supergirl is not immune and nor should she. Kara deserves a life as much as anyone. But unlike the others, it seems to be an even greater distraction to the overall narrative. Kara’s love life or lack thereof is taking too much time on a weekly basis. It takes away from the main plotline of that episode instead of remaining what it should be, a side story.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
