Supergirl Review: Phantom Menaces (Season 6 Episode 3)
Supergirl Season 6 Episode 3, “Phantom Menaces,” makes a case for the final season’s mission — instilling hope in those who need it most. This show is always more likely to succeed when it leans on that theme, and it’s taking a more pointed approach in its last episodes.
With the arrival of Phantoms and the ever-looming presence of Lex Luthor, Supergirl has the opportunity to vanquish National City (and hopefully Earth-Prime) of both evils and have hope, help, and compassion for all prevail in the end.
On “Phantom Menaces,” Kara extends hope to someone who hasn’t had it in so long that it ends up freeing her from literal shackles. The introduction of Princess Nxly, a fifth-dimensional imp, is one of the strongest parts of this episode.
Earth-Prime is missing some hope without its Paragon. On the other hand, the Phantom Zone lacked hope since its creation because the Phantoms thrive on the opposite. Nxyl’s personal story is moving within itself, and it’s celebratory to watch her realize in real-time that she’s always had the magic and power within herself.
Supergirl adds another layer by having this happen thanks to Kara and Nxyl’s meeting. Not only is this a moment where women help women, which is something Supergirl can be good at when it wants to be, but it’s yet another moment of the Paragon of Hope in action.
The Phantom Zone’s inhabitants could use that hope if they’re going to find a way out of there. Since this is the final season, something tells me they’ll be finding their way out sooner rather than later.
The moment that beats the one where Kara and Nxyl heal each other is Brainy and Lena’s breakthrough scene. It would be too easy to see this moment as Brainy having a breakdown. That’s not what this is, especially knowing that Brainy is still adjusting to having feelings without his personality inhibitors.
This moment is Brainy grappling with everything that happened and will happen because Lex Luthor exists in the world, and he can’t seem to find a way to stop him. That’s a lot for him to shoulder, and it becomes even heavier since he is complicit in Lex’s crimes.
That’s why Brainy’s newfound friendship with Lena is such a welcomed addition to Supergirl, because, in some ways, they’re the only other person who could understand with the other is going through.
This is also a massive scene for Lena because she’s the one who gives Brainy the advice to let his anger out and then let it go. Lena’s growth this season alone has been amazing to watch, and we’re only three episodes into the season.
It’s impossible not to cheer her on when she stands before Lex and chooses to love herself more than she hates him. That’s enough to make Lex act out to get more attention, but Lena is right; he’ll self-destruct. Either way, Lena is free of him, and that’s a massive move that she deserves to be congratulated for taking.
Some downsides to this episode could have easily been fixed had they not been so rushed. Chyler Leigh gives an incredible performance as Alex Danvers grieves her sister, struggling to find hope that there is a way to save her after their first plan backfired.
It’s heartbreaking to watch Alex watch those tapes Kara recorded, not just because Kara’s wig is bad.
Understandably, Kelly would want to stand by her girlfriend during this challenging time, but it makes me wonder if we’ll ever get to see Kelly do anything else this season. So far this season, Supergirl predominantly uses Kelly when there is an inspiration speech needed. That’s all fine and well, but Kelly deserves more.
The end of the episode hints that Kelly feels helpless amongst the Super Friends, which could be an exciting storyline to tackle. It is a little odd since we know that James left Kelly the Guardian shield since we’ve seen her use it multiple times already.
It doesn’t make much sense that Kelly wouldn’t keep the shield in the Tower or take it with her knowing she would help with Phantom things. Maybe that’d be an easy fix to a problem Supergirl wants to explore this season.
Kelly’s sidelining becomes even more frustrating because “Phantom Menaces” makes it even more evident that many pivotal moments for this character are happening offscreen. Not only did Alex tell Kelly about Supergirl’s identity off-camera, but Kelly also struggled with the fallout of Obsidian off camera.
It would have been much more grounding for the audience to see Kelly deal with that on-screen because her speech to Silas would be even more special. She tells Alex on “Phantom Menaces” that her reaction to Obsidian inspired that speech, but we didn’t get to see that.
Imagine how much more effective that would have been if Supergirl showed it. Azie Tesfai is an amazing actress, so it works regardless, but it would have worked even better.
The lack of Kelly Olsen is a double-edged sword because it influences the emotional impact of that final scene between Alex and Kelly. They are a sweet couple, and I want nothing but the best for them. However, their scenes are so few and far between that I was positive they already lived together.
Then again, it’s not entirely clear how long they’ve been together. Supergirl could easily explain this continuity inconsistency away by the mere fact that Alex makes this decision after losing the person she’s closest to in this world. Why wouldn’t she want to keep the other women she loves as close to her as possible?
The other downside of this episode is that M’gann only gets hurt so that J’onn can have his emotional breakthrough. Supergirl Season 6 Episode 2, “A Few Good Women,” suggests that this storyline would be much bigger than it turns out to be.
Supergirl quickly slides in that Martians are more susceptible to Phatoms’ possession to explain why this would happen to her, but it just comes across as convenient. It doesn’t take away that it still stings that a female character had to take a fall that could have killed her just for J’onn to realize that his emotions are not a weakness.
“Phantom Menaces” has some truly remarkable moments that will stand out in this final run. Between those, though, there are some places where the show can improve, and hopefully, it does because the women of Supergirl deserve the best.
Stay Thoughts
- Seriously, give Jesse Rath and Katie McGrath all the awards.
- That Mxy mention was so wonderful!
- Are we done with Lex now?
- Brainy is really great at those information dumps.
What did you think of this episode of Supergirl? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Supergirl airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
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Shelby Elpers
Shelby is a TV enthusiast and pop culture writer. She's an avid podcast listener, green tea drinker, and soccer fan. Her brand can be summarized in rom-coms, superheroes, teen dramas, and workplace comedies.