Supergirl Review: Distant Sun (Season 2 Episode 17)

Supergirl Season 2 Episode 17, “Distant Sun,” is actually rather delightful.

Mon El is in a rare form where he’s actually not that annoying, Queen Rhea goes full mustache twirling villain, Kara takes control of her story again, and we also get another look into how good Maggie and Alex are for each other.

If you missed the Supergirl / The Flash (Season 3 Episode 17) crossover, the sweet domesticity at the beginning of this episode might be a little confusing after watching Mon El and Kara break up in Supergirl Season 2 Episode 16. In the crossover, the pair is magically reunited when Mon El has to “prove his love for her” in order to save her life.

This opening scene is actually quite endearing. At several points many things about Mon El continue to be grating, and it’s impossible to ignore the character he’s been thus far. However, if who he is in this episode had been who he was all along, we might have actually enjoyed the last several episodes of this arc.

As I said, the character he is this week is endearing and I believe his feelings are genuine. Which makes the last several episodes, in which he’s been obnoxious and manipulative, even more frustrating because the Supergirl writers clearly didn’t have to write him that way to make him interesting.

Mon El: I figured since you were good enough to take me back, I should be good enough to fill every moment of your life with joy.

I am still not Team Mon El but I could definitely learn to like him if he spends the rest of his time on Earth just being Kara’s house husband and making cooking jokes with Winn.

Queen Rhea puts a bounty on Supergirl’s head in order to get her son back. First she lies about it, then she brings dual kryptonite swords to their attempt at a peace talk, when she gets him back she throws him in jail, and then she literally kills her husband when he gets in her way.

Queen Rhea: I crossed an ocean of stars looking for my son, I’m not going to let you get in my way now.

This woman will literally stop at nothing to get her son back. Seeing her just lean completely into the dark side and take what she wants is incredibly entertaining and it makes her one of the most compelling villains on Supergirl to date. I’m definitely excited to see more of her.

Meanwhile, we get some very sweet Alex/Maggie content. While this story doesn’t really relate to anything else in this episode, it’s still very satisfying to see these two work through their issues in healthy ways. Most of the other romantic relationships on Supergirl are fraught with chaos, angst, or fighting.

But every time Maggie and Alex have hit a stumbling block they take a moment to breathe and process and then they come out stronger together on the other side of it. They’ve each had their fair share of struggles in the past, but every week Alex and Maggie are there for each other with kind, loving reassurance.

And yeah, I’m just really happy to see them being the cute yoga couple with flirtatious bickering.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• The stand off between J’onn and the telepath is FANTASTIC. Coolest space dad ever.
• I would watch an entire episode of the Superfriends having game night.
• President Wonder Woman came back to tell us not to start fights on the intergalactic playground and remind us that she is indeed an alien. BUT CAN SOMEONE TELL US WHAT ELSE SHE’S UP TO? WHAT KIND OF ALIEN IS SHE? DOES SHE COME IN PEACE? IS SHE PLANNING A KILLER 4TH OF JULY PARTY? DOES SHE HAVE A SECRET PLAN TO FIGHT INFLATION? I have a million questions. One of them is how many of you got those last two references?
• Winn and Mon El making Star Wars jokes is too pure and too good.
• Is James okay? He was around for like 5 seconds before he got smashed into a car and then disappeared. I hope he’s doing his job at Cat Co.
• I miss Cat Co. I miss Cat.
• I need to have a long talk with the writer who thought the title of this episode was a great pun. I can’t decide whether to agree with you or laugh for a full 5 minutes.
• “Hey Sam, what’s your kryptonite?” Morally grey moms. Or just moms.

 

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

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

 

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

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!