Supergirl Review: The Martian Chronicles (Season 2 Episode 11)

On Supergirl Season 2 Episode 11, “The Martian Chronicles,” it’s Kara’s Earth birthday and Kara, Alex, and their friends are trapped at the DEO at the worst sleepover ever.

Winn: This did NOT used to happen at CatCo!

When two white martians show up to track down M’Gann and bring her to justice for “war crimes,” J’onn and her friends rally around her at the DEO to keep her safe from the blood thirsty aliens from her past. This kind of episode gives us a bit of insight into the relationships between our favorite characters when they are all stuck together for the full hour.

“The Martian Chronicles” is full to the brim with family bonding as M’Gann and J’onn, and Kara and Alex split into pairs to search for the white martians trapped with them inside the DEO. This episode tells us a lot about M’Gann’s past as she finally comes face to face with it in the form of her ex-mate.

Her relationship with J’onn comes full circle on this episode when she tells him she finally feels like she has someone who cares for her like family again. M’Gann has become a daughter to J’onn and she sees him now as the father figure she never had.

All of this makes M’Gann’s decision to leave all the more heartbreaking. I certainly hope that this isn’t the last we’ve seen M’Gann; she’s become such a wonderful character to have around.

Kara and Alex face an awkward conversation about Kara’s fears and how Alex spends her time. Personally, I find Kara’s worries over Alex abandoning her misplaced and maybe even a little childish.

Kara does acknowledge that she was acting immature, but Alex has never given her any reason to think she would abandon her, least of all just because she’s seeing someone.

I am all for Kara/Alex heart-to-hearts, but this one seems like a poorly handled vehicle to allow Alex to pin Kara’s weird behavior on her being confused over her feelings for Mon El.

This plotline starts off well in “The Martian Chronicles” with Kara explaining why she doesn’t want to date Mon El, albeit very awkwardly.

In this scene. it feels like Supergirl is actually following through with Kara simply not reciprocating Mon El’s romantic feelings. Unfortunately, the episode ends with the extremely overdone trope of Kara realizing she might have feelings just a moment too late.

I cannot even begin to fully express how overdone this trope is, but even Supergirl has already done this before. Kara realizes she has feelings for James in Season 1, only to find out Lucy has come to National City and they’re getting back together.

Supergirl’s continual inconsistency with Kara’s love life and strange repetition of tropes that were annoying when they were used on James and downright obnoxious when used on Mon El is beginning to drag the show down in a way that it really does not need. The show needs to make a choice and stick with it.

After last week’s episode I pitched the idea of asexual Kara, which is still an excellent option. I truly hope the show is either building to that or that the Supergirl writers come to their senses and fix what they broke between Kara and James.

Mon El has become nothing more than a love interest at this point and an extraneous one at that.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• Winn’s shout out to CatCo makes me miss both it and Cat even more. Come back Cat Grant, you’re our only hope!
• Maggie instantly understanding why Alex missed their concert date is excellent. Alex has someone that she can completely be herself, someone who encourages her not to stuff down any of her feelings.
• I really want Kara to make up with James and Winn soon, I miss the superfriends.
• I liked having those other two background agents around at the start of the lockdown, but also WHERE DID THEY GO? Did I miss them getting to leave? What happened to them? Are they okay?
• Right before M’Gann kills one of the white Martians she says “Your journey is over” and I couldn’t help but wonder if she knows the grounders over on The 100.

 

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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