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Supergirl: For Good

J’onn J’onzz: "There is great power in being the calm at the center of the storm."

While worrying about what is going on with Reign and the other Worldkillers, our heroes face fights between mortals and their cutting-edge technology.

I liked this episode a lot. Partly I liked it because there were things that it did not do. We did not have much romance-gone-wrong in the episode, none of the woe-is-me on the part of either Kara or Alex, just some residual awkwardness between Kara and Mon-El. The episode also didn’t introduce a plethora of superheroes and supervillains whose powers and backstories I can’t keep track of. Instead the writers mined the story elements introduced in previous episodes, something I always appreciate.

I also liked where this episode went, exploring the influences that people have on each other. An example of goodness can be powerful (as J’onn J’onzz tells Kara). It can be more powerful than we realize.

This episode focuses mostly on Lena and some on Samantha, while Kara and Alex take the roles of supportive friends. And they are both real friends in this episode.

Samantha knows something is wrong. She doesn’t know that she’s Reign, but she does know that she’s blacking out, and she turns to Alex (who conveniently has a medical degree) and they use the facilities at L-Corp (another great convenience) to investigate. How convenient, that all of this can be off the books! Alex finds nada, which is sort of strange, because you’d expect there to be some sort of hint that Samantha is not human. But we get a wisp of an explanation earlier in the episode: that Reign and the other Worldkillers were created in Kryptonian labs and so don’t have the same characteristics of other Kryptonians. Anyway, Alex is able to get a needle into Samantha and finds nothing peculiar. Alex does give Sam some excellent advice: to tell Lena and Kara what is going on.

But as I said earlier, most of the episode is about Lena. Morgan Edge thinks that Lena has tried to kill him, and so retaliates with the old cyanide-in-the-coffee trick. Although I’m not sure that he was responsible for the cyanide because later he is coerced into confessing, and he says lead poisoning. Now, this could just be him saying something wrong to protect himself, or possibly he’s not behind the attempt on Lena’s life. (Lena, rather amazingly, never asks what type of poison was used.)

Lillian Luthor, Lena’s stepmother, is the one going against Edge, at least later in the episode. She’s doing it, she claims, because she loves Lena, and in Darth Mader fashion, encourages Lena to embrace her dark side. Lena is able to recognize her own cunning but she chooses to use it for good, rather like Harry Potter in Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets. Which brings us to the title.

Title musings: ‘For Good’ is the first title with the potential for several interpretations that we have had in a while. Of course, ‘for good’ can imply forever. But it also implies a choice: deciding to do what is right as opposed to choosing a darker path. Lena decides in this episode that she will used her abilities for good instead of for evil. And why does Lena make that choice? Because Kara/Supergirl has made that choice, and influences and inspires her friends.

Bits and pieces

Morgan Edge – the name is very close to Morgen Edge, which could be translated as edge of tomorrow. Or, as the story implies, tomorrow’s cutting-edge technology.

I’ve always wanted a robot car (I absolutely hate driving) but maybe I’ll reconsider.

James Olson and Lena Luthor have some real chemistry.

So, Alex is able to get a needle into Sam while examining her. Shouldn’t she be impenetrable? Or is the Reign physique episodic? Am I asking too many questions? Or did I answer it above?

Nice to see that Lillian Luthor has a supersuit! Why shouldn’t middle-aged gals have the chance to suit up too?

I think plenty of parents would kill to save their children. That’s a basic instinct.

And a hat-tip to the writers giving Winn the chance to say, “These drones are not the drones you are looking for,” a famous line from Star Wars IV (in case anyone reading this does not get the reference). Winn, unlike Obi-Wan, is telling the truth: those were the wrong drones.

Quotes

Alex: I needed a little more action than just a microscope and an Excel spreadsheet.

Alex: You know what else causes memory loss? Caffeine withdrawal.

Morgan Edge: I thought Vironique’s had a hard no-liberals policy.
James: But apparently they’re fine with murderers.

Morgan Edge: Enjoy the eggs. They’re mediocre, just like you.

Kara: Let your friends help you.

Lillian Luthor: You’re equally as fiendish, but savvier.

Kara/Supergirl: Don’t grab women, sweetheart.

Alex: For right now, just enjoy the good news.

Overall Rating

I liked the themes in this episode. I also liked a lot of the cool bits – dissolving bullets, hacked robot cars, and Supergirl’s use of freezing breath to save Lena. Much of the dialogue was extremely relevant to today’s political events. On the other hand, occasionally the conversation was a little too much in your face, overkilling the point. Three and a half out of four orange lollipops.

Victoria Grossack loves birds, math, Greek mythology, Jane Austen and great storytelling in many forms.

4 comments:

  1. Morgan Edge saying lead poisoning is referring to the past episode where he framed Lena for lead poisoning all the children.

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  2. Lena decided to be good again, but the day when she realizes everyone has been lying to her especially Kara and James will probably make her evil nonetheless. Season 4 big bad maybe?

    Reing's powers are very convenient, they save her from a bullet but also turn off for blood tests.

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  3. Im glad that some people can see were its heading with Lena..When she finds out Kara and Sam have been lying to her she is going Evil..
    I feel for the Supercorp shippers who are just setting themselves up for massive heartbreak..They do have incredible spark Kara and Lena but its just not going to happen, they are building this up like they did with Lex and Clark on Smallville. I personally hope they don't go that way either but its the CW.

    ReplyDelete
  4. To Nick, yes, of course Edge is referring to the previous lead poisoning. But who put cyanide in Lena's coffee? He did not confess to that!

    Am enjoying the other speculations.

    ReplyDelete

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