Supergirl Review: Medusa (Season 2 Episode 8)

Supergirl Season 2 Episode 8 makes for an excellent midseason finale, even if it falls a little short as the first part of the big 4-night DC crossover.

Continuing with Alex’s journey this season we see her finally become truly comfortable with herself and who she is in “Medusa.”

This is the Thanksgiving episode, so the wonderful Eliza Danvers is in town. It’s her first appearance of the season, and boy does it make me wish we could keep her around every week.

When Alex begins to come out to her mother, Eliza makes it clear that she already knew and she isn’t disappointed in the slightest.

Eliza: You were always going to be different Alex, because you are exceptional. And I love you, however you are.

The scene is beautiful and the words Eliza shares with her daughter are so important for Alex to hear, as well as for all of the LGBT+ members of the audience. The Supergirl writers have done such an excellent job with this story. The work they are doing to show Alex’s journey in a very real, honest, and valid light are so important.

Alex later tells Maggie that while she initially thought her feelings were only about her, she’s come to realize that this is her new normal. Seeing Alex not only accept herself, but be happy with who she is and finally understand a part of herself she thought was missing, is nothing short of magnificent.

Then, in a twist that, had it gone any other way would have sent the LGBT+ community up in arms (due to the alarming amount of lesbian and bisexual women that were shot and killed on television in the past year), Maggie gets shot.

But the thing is, instead of her dying or this being the end of a relationship that has barely begun, that stray bullet (or cyborg laser) pushes Maggie past her fears and helps her realize there’s no reason she shouldn’t be with Alex.

Maggie: I thought that you came out for me, and that scared me. But life is too short, and we should be who we are, and we should kiss the girls that we want to kiss, and I really just–I want to kiss you.

Seeing these two finally reach even ground after watching each of them overcome their individual obstacles is the perfect way to leave this story in the mid-season finale. I cannot wait to see where this relationship goes when Supergirl returns in 2017.

We also get to see where Lena’s true loyalties lie in “Medusa.” The young CEO has been an enigma since she first appeared, but we have been rooting for her to be one of the good guys.

And after a veritable roller coaster of twists and turns, Lena betrays her mother to help Supergirl stop Cadmus from killing all aliens in National City.

Supergirl: I know what it’s like to be disillusioned by our parents, but I’m a pretty good judge of character, and you are not like your mother. She is cold and dangerous, and you are too good, and too smart to follow in her path. Be your own hero.

Unfortunately, the show is going forward with the relationship between Kara and Mon el, and while there isn’t anything inherently wrong with the pairing itself, we’ve seen it a million times before. 

Everything about this relationship is covered in classic television tropes, like enemies to lovers, their shared near death experience, and now a “I might be dying” kiss followed by said kiss being forgotten by its initiator.

This relationship needs to be earned for it to be any good, not just put through a series of formulas for “the perfect YA romance.”

Other Thoughts:

• Can we please please please keep Eliza Danvers around all the time? She does wonderful work with both Kara and Alex, and this week we really got to see her be a valued member of the team at the DEO. I hope we see a lot more of her in the back half of Season 2.
• Thanks to Eliza, J’onn is now cured of turning into a white martian. Hopefully, we’ll see him patch things up with M’Gann when Supergirl returns.
• Kara’s old pal Barry finally breaks through the space time continuum to get to her at the end of the episode. While on the whole it’s not much of a crossover, it does the job to set up what is sure to be a wild and exciting week for all 4 DC shows!

What did you think of Supergirl‘s mid-season finale? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Supergirl returns in 2017 on The CW.

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