Supergirl Review: The House of L (Season 4 Episode 16)
Red Kara has arrived. After months of anticipation Supergirl Season 4 Episode 16, “The House of L,” finally gives us an episode centered on Kara’s Russian, or rather Kaznianian, doppelganger.
During a flashback of Lex Luthor’s trial towards the beginning the episode, Lex proclaims that no matter where he is or what kind of sentence is handed down, he will always have his thumb on the scale. Most of “The House of L” is spent proving that point.
“The House of L” tells Red Kara’s backstory through flashbacks that also insert Lex into various events from earlier in the season, such as the kryptonite bomb set off on Supergirl Season 4 Episode 2, “Fallout” or the ship explosion on Supergirl Season 4 Episode 10, “Suspicious Minds.”
We see that Lex has been pulling strings for the entire time period that season four covers, including being responsible for the rise of Ben Lockwood, and also well before that when he meets a fan in Eve Teschmacher and installs her in a job at CatCo to be close to James and Kara, when he calls her “other Kryptonianain.”
The main point of all this is not just to show that Lex has been involved and manipulating events for years, but to show that he is the one training and grooming Red Kara, and trying to shape how she sees the world.
The episode itself is okay, but not particularly special. The pacing feels rushed for a story that has been building all season and it lacks the emotional impact of some of other more recent episodes.
There are some standout moments to be sure, primarily when we see Red Kara questioning Lex’s instructions and calling him out on his ego, but overall it feels like an episode that should be so much better than it is.
In fairness, this is at least in part the result of the constraints of a one hour TV show, but it’s also another argument that they should have spent less time building up Ben Lockwood (especially if he just turns out to be a pawn in Lex’s master plan) and more time developing Red Kara.
But all that said and despite a rather uninspired episode, I like a lot of what “The House of L” sets up for the final leg of Supergirl Season four.
One of the most significant things “The House of L” does is suggest that Lex is a sort of puppetmaster behind much of the tension and conflict around Alien rights and the growing Xenophobia we see embodied by the Children of Liberty. In some ways, this undercuts the political relevance of the Anti-Alien themes that have been so much a part of this season.
In reality, things like hate and bigotry are never as simple as a bad actor making bad things happen as much as we might wish it were. Making Lex the big bad behind everything that’s been happening is more wish fulfillment than it is a reflection of reality.
But that’s ok because the Children of Liberty story hasn’t been particularly compelling for months and with so many different storylines going on the season was in danger of going off the rails and losing any sense of cohesion. What is lost in political relevance is more than made up for with a tighter more exciting story.
The other thing I love about what “The House of L” suggests for the rest of the season is that Red Kara isn’t a villain. She has the same sense of empathy and desire to help as our Kara. She is an innocent trying to figure out who she is and what her purpose is.
I know there will be a conflict between the two Kara’s and that they will be at odds for most of the rest of the season but I love that Red Kara is her own person trying to do the morally right thing and not just some weapon version of Kara stripped of her humanity.
Relatedly, my favorite thing about Red Kara’s backstory is that when she’s first found the only thing she can remember is the name Alex. Granted this is what Lex uses to gain her trust but it also speaks to that unbreakable bond between the Danvers sisters.
Red Kara remembering Alex’s name raises a lot of questions as to what exactly she is, but it also sets the foundation for a resolution that focuses on the Danvers sisters and the importance of their relationship. Supergirl can never go wrong when that is its focus.
Between Alex’s connection to Red Kara and the continued fall out from Alex’s mind wipe it seems we have a lot of Danvers sisters moments to look forward to and as a result a lot to be excited for in the next few weeks.
What did you think of this episode of Supergirl? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Supergirl airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.
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Sarah Fields
Sarah is an obsessive geek who likes to get into the weeds and over think things. She is passionate about Sci-Fi and comics and is a giant classic film nerd. Sarah cares deeply about media representation and the power of telling diverse stories. When she's not writing or watching her favorite shows she spends her days working in the non-profit world trying to make life a little better for those that need some extra help.