Supergirl Review: Confidence Women (Season 5 Episode 6)

Supergirl Season 5 Episode 6 “Confidence Women,” focuses less on the Girl of Steel and more on Lena Luthor and Andrea Rojas. In doing so, the episode lays out the background for the story Supergirl has been telling all season. It looks into what makes Lena and Andrea tick, and it just so happens that their respective motives come from a shared past. 

Even though there are a few time-related plot holes in “Confidence Women,” they can be easily overlooked due to the episode’s rich content. This episode delves into how and why Lena is teetering on the line of anti-hero and villain, and it showcases a smart backstory for Andrea Rojas, which may very well lead her to heroism. 

Each week, Lena Luthor’s status as a hero, villain, or anti-hero becomes blurrier and blurrier. As Lena leans closer to villain than anti-hero, a compelling opportunity for Supergirl to tell a different villain origin story arises. 

Lena’s motives and actions beg the question of where the line should be drawn when deciding if someone is too far gone to even try to save.

For example, due to Supergirl’s framing of the character, it is easy to deem Lex Luthor irredeemable. Lena, on the other hand, is a character to empathize with and root for, which makes her actions all the more difficult to swallow. 

Lena has said multiple times this season that she will not stand for physical harm, yet she continues to threaten its use to get what she wants. She does so with Russell in “Confidence Women.”

The way she does this is just as important and concerning as her doing it all. Lena is able to manipulate Russell to wield a weapon against himself because of her special, mind-controlling contact lens. 

Russell has no control of himself and his mind in that moment. His existence is in Lena’s hands, and that is a terrifying prospect. Lena’s stance on harm is foggy. She is explicitly against physically harming others, but her actions prove that she is not against the emotional manipulation of others. 

This is hypocritical, as Lena’s project is born from a place of emotional trauma. It does not bode well in seeing her as anything other than a threat to the safety of human beings. By the end of the episode, Lena tells her A.I. system “Hope” to access Eve’s memories. 

It is already controversial enough that Lena uses Eve’s body as a host without her consent, but now Lena is filing through Eve’s memories like they are at Lena’s disposal. It is hard to believe that Eve meant to sacrifice her free will to show her loyalty to Lena. 

Lena’s issues around consent, free will, and violence continue to become villainous as the season progresses. Yet, she is still in a gray area as not many of the Supergirl characters are aware of her actions and the effects they may have. 

This is where things become even more compelling. Lena’s actions are crooked at times, but as Supergirl herself begins to bargain with her friend, Lena’s project could become the good deed she wanted it to be.  

It is the interference of the Super Friends that may save Lena from herself. She isolates herself in an office with an A.I. system that only supplies her with answers, rather than questions. Lena needs someone close to her to interrogate her and her decisions before it’s too late. 

Hopefully this happens somewhat soon because the intriguing gray area Lena currently resides in is at risk of becoming tiresome. Her project advances slowly each week, and it would be nice to see her interact in some way with someone other than her A.I. system. 

Even though Lena has made it extremely clear that she, “…never needed them. Any of them,” Kara is unlikely stay away from her best friend for very long. Because Lena is leading Kara to believe there is no bad blood between the two, Kara is sure to push Lena for a coffee date or a classic game night. 

It is then that this story will be revitalized. It is then, when Kara notices there is something happening beneath the surface, that the true race to save Lena will begin. Right now, the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t very bright.

Alternatively, Andera Rojas is becoming much more than Kara’s new boss. She may even become a hero alongside Kara’s secret identity. 

Although Russell’s death could lead Andrea down a path of darkness, like the shadows she moves through, it could be the catalyst for her to stand alongside Supergirl in an eventual battle against Leviathan. 

It would be anything other than shocking for Supergirl to lean into the stereotype of the stereotypical hysterical woman acting out. This is not to say that Andrea is not justified in her feelings of loss and betrayal, but it is to say that she can be more than a sad girlfriend. She is more than a sad girlfriend. 

Andrea Rojas could become the anti-hero that Lena has yet to fully become. In doing so, Andrea could use her powers against the system that not only activated them but puppeteered her to do their dirty work.

An alliance with Supergirl could also mean that Andrea could fight to bring Lena back from the ledge she’s currently dangling a foot from. This could result in a powerful reckoning between the three women that may strengthen their bonds, rather than push them further apart.

After all, Andrea, Kara, and Lena all believe their actions were right and would only better someone else’s life. 

Andrea, Kara, and Lena, along with the rest of the Super Friends, would be unstoppable against Leviathan. Here’s to hoping Supergirl realizes this before it’s too late.

Stray Observations

• How is William allowed in the DEO? Is anyone allowed into this super-secret agency without any real questioning now?
• It is good to see Rahul Kohli as Lena’s ex Jack Spheer again!
• Of course, the Danvers sisters’ bond is so powerful that Kara can hear Alex’s scream in the DEO all the way from Lena’s apartment. 

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

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Supergirl airs Sundays at 9/8c on The CW.

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