Supergirl Review: Supergirl Lives (Season 2 Episode 9)

This week Supergirl returns with “Supergirl Lives,” an episode that brings a campy joy to my inner sci-fi nerd.

After receiving a tip from a worried mother, Kara goes looking for a series of missing persons who just happen to be on an entirely different planet. As the show’s resident fanboy, Winn makes the reference I practically shouted at my television when the DEO finds the portal through which Kara, Mon-el, and the missing persons were transported.

Winn: Oh my god, it’s Stargate!

This episode is reminiscent of the Season 1 episode “Human for a Day,” in which Kara is powerless after overexerting herself.  In “Supergirl Lives” the red sun on Maldoria, or Slaver’s Moon, the planet they are transported to deprives Kara and Mon-el of their powers. The pair have to use their hearts and minds to overcome Roulette and her cronies rather than relying on their powers.

Roulette is a truly evil villain, and I hope this isn’t the last we see of her.

This mission comes at a time when Kara had begun to feel like she wasn’t making enough of a difference on earth to help people, meanwhile Mon-el had given up on being a hero entirely. Kara’s heart and her determination to save everyone inspires both the captive prisoners and Mon-el to not give up, to keep doing the right thing.

J’onn: Bring our girl home.

The DEO storms the planet when Alex figures out what happened and helps save the day. This episode is filled with everyday heroes overcoming obstacles. After Winn has a near death experience helping the Guardian, he must overcome his crippling fears in order to keep fighting.

Mon-el: START THE CAR! START THE CAR!

We also get to see more of Kara back at Catco, working on her day job this week. I’d been missing seeing the duality of Kara’s life, since Cat left earlier in Season 2 but this episode brings back a bit of that balance. It’s important that the show maintain all aspects of Kara’s life, not just the “super” ones. “Supergirl Lives” managed to weave together Kara’s work at Catco and the DEO in a way that I hope continues for the rest of the season.

Kara: I know you want me to follow my head, but I would rather be wrong about a dozen leads than not follow the ones I believe in. That’s the kind of reporter I want to be. I’m always going to follow my heart.

In the winter finale we got to see Alex and Maggie begin their journey as a couple, and for the first time in her life Alex seems to be truly happy. Alex’s worries that the universe won’t allow her to be happy are perhaps over exaggerated, and she takes her frustrations out on Maggie in a way that while understandable, is easily an overreaction filled with misplaced fear.

When Alex explains what happened and why she reacted that way Maggie responds in a way that I found kind of… odd. Maggie tells her that she “get’s one” mistake/time to freak out/panic. I know Maggie has been hurt before, but while Alex’s actions weren’t the best, they were also fairly forgivable as well.

The show has been handling this relationship beautifully so far, and it’s completely logical (and good television) for the two of them to have to overcome obstacles and face bumps in the road. Hopefully the writers continue to handle these two with care, the problems they face continue to make sense, and Maggie and Alex come out stronger together on the other side.

Other thoughts:

• Maggie is the smartest person on the show for immediately figuring out that Kara is Supergirl. Can we get a scene in the future where she talks to Cat Grant about how thin that disguise is? (Yes, I will be bitter over that retcon until I die, okay?)
• I still miss Cat Grant.
• How cute is Maggie in Alex’s t-shirt? I’m 100% here for this cute domesticity.
• Someone on Maldoria is looking for Mon-el. Who could it be and what do they want from him? Is he a criminal? Did people from Daxam survive and need to find him? Is there a bounty on his head? Is he actually royalty and not just an assistant as we’d been told before?
• Winn’s sci-fi references are MY FAVORITE. I am so pleased with his character this season, he’s not the unrequited love interest, he’s not the red shirt, he’s the plucky comic relief! (Ten points to everyone who gets that sci-fi reference.)

What did you think of this episode of Supergirl? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Supergirl airs Monday at 8/7c  on The CW.

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