Supergirl Review: Myriad (Season 1 Episode 19)
It’s a battle of wits and morals this week as the plot behind Myriad is finally revealed and the race to stop it is on. This episode, while generally entertaining feels overall like an information dump interspersed with moments of brief high stakes action that fall short of the impact they should have.
Kara goes to the Fortress of Solitude, which has apparently become the quick fix when she needs information, and learns the truth about Myriad. It’s a mind control device that Astra created in an attempt to save Krypton, and then planned to use to save Earth from the same fate. This paints Astra as a bit of an environmental extremist–she has good intentions (saving the world) but she goes about it in a way that is highly problematic (mind control).
The problem with the device is that it can very easily be used for evil because there are no parameters on the mind control. It isn’t suggestive, like persuading people to recycle more and work together on greener solutions, it takes over their bodies and turns them into mindless drones. Which is exactly what Non and Indigo plan to use it for. Imagine Pinky and the Brain and you have a pretty accurate picture of these two.
Cat and Max work like the angel and devil on Supergirl’s shoulders respectively as they’re the only two people in National City that haven’t fallen prey to the effects of Myriad. Max comes up with a plan that will definitely work, but at the cost of over 300,000 human lives. Cat’s plan hinges on hope–it has the potential to save everyone, but it may not work at all.
Cat: You have taught me that hope is stronger than fear.
We get some interesting backstory for Max in this episode–we learn that he could have prevented his parents deaths but no one listened to him, making him the demanding tech genius he is today. Again this is a typical case of “I’m sorry about your unfortunate childhood, but that doesn’t excuse your evolution into a villain.” This story doesn’t evoke pity for Max from the viewer, he’s still incredibly creepy with questionable morals.
Max: We’re more alike than you think.
Kara: I hope not.
Speaking of creepy, is anyone else uncomfortable with the weird flirtation he has going with Cat in this episode? We’ve seen him flirt with her before, but she’s always turned down his advances. Instead, in “Myriad” she seems to fall for it a little bit, which is strange given how high Cat Grant’s standards are, not even Harrison Ford can sway her. Which is an excellent tongue in cheek moment with Calista Flockhart referencing her own marriage as why Cat won’t see him.
We don’t actually get to see Cat’s plan put in motion this week because Kara is interrupted by a Myriad controlled Alex, whom Non has sent to fight her to the death. As this week’s big cliffhanger it falls short–it would be very unwise for the show to kill Alex and there’s no Supergirl without Kara. So we know it’s highly likely that both sisters will survive the battle, we just have to wait to see how.
We are also made to believe that Jonn/Hank is dead, which is the biggest problem I have with this episode. We see that he hasn’t died in the trailer for next week’s episode, and thank goodness because this week he was no more than a plot device to get Alex back into National City so that she could fall prey to Non and Indigo under Myriad. The last Martian deserves a better exit than a plot device casualty, in fact, I think it would be another huge mistake to kill him off at all.
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Supergirl airs Monday at 8/9c on CBS.
Samantha Coley
Samantha (she/her) is a social media specialist by day and a sci-fi junkie by night. As a freelance writer and podcaster, she also enjoys live-tweeting, blogging, good music, and better television. Her current favorite television shows include Star Trek (yes, all of them), Riverdale, and Stranger Things and there will always be a place in her heart for Battlestar Galactica, Leverage, and The West Wing.