Winn: "Yes it is."
Brainy: "She is so much braver than I ever knew. I’ve seen espresso machines with more processing power."
Supergirl is going to Fort Rozz to find out more information about Reign from a locked-up dark priestess. Fort Rozz is currently located in the orbit of a blue sun – which means that Supergirl won’t have her superpowers. Oh, yeah, and anyone with a Y chromosome will die. Oh, and Alex, conveniently has a broken leg. This means that when Supergirl assembles her posse she has to turn to Imra, her ex-boyfriend’s wife, and Livewire and Psi.
A very enjoyable episode!
I always have a frisson of concern whenever Samantha/Reign shows up. But instead of bringing justice without mercy, she’s just bringing carbs. She is supposed to go on a business trip, and as the babysitter for Ruby can’t make it, Alex offers to be in charge of Ruby. That leads to some pleasant B material, where Alex gets a text from Maggie – we see that Alex has not fully recovered – and Alex gives a stern FBI warning to a young woman who has been engaged in cyberbullying.
The A plot, however, is about Kara’s journey to Fort Rozz to learn more about Reign. First she has to assemble her team, picking up Livewire (probably the most dangerous waitress ever) and releasing Psi from her cell. Kara is an idealist. That’s why I like her. She’s not totally impractical, though. She appeals to Livewire and Psi through their desire to survive (Reign, who offers justice without mercy, would obliterate them).
The same Kara, although without her powers, is the person fighting and striving on Fort Rozz. She appeals to the better natures of her antagonists. She feels like a failure because she didn’t reach Reign – actually she made some headway, but she doesn’t really know that. Of course, Reign is also a mother – something that is a wild card in all of this – and her instinct to protect her daughter is very strong.
The support team back at the DEO is fun as well. Brainy is so much fun, but despite our antiquated tech, Winn comes up with a suggestion that saves the day, by using tech that is even older, from the 1970s. Go, Voyager 2!
Mon-El, however, is kind of creepy. He’s trying to be “there” for Kara, but his moves strike me as off. I’m starting to like his wife more than I like him.
Title musings: "Fort Rozz" seems to have no double meanings. Perhaps I will give up this feature of my reviews until the titles become more interesting.
Bits and pieces
So, if Supergirl is going to Fort Rozz, a place where she will be hated because the inmates were locked up by her mother, why does she go wearing the emblem of the House of El? Wouldn’t it make sense to wear something else? On the other hand, the priestess had the sight, so maybe a change of outfit would not help.
Shouldn’t the inmates of Fort Rozz be tad less angry? Their being locked away is what saved their lives. Most Kryptonians died!
We usually worry about our heroes leading double lives. It’s interesting that the villains have the same problem – except Reign does not even remember where she was. And I have to wonder why Lena doesn’t fire her. Or perhaps Lena, dealing with the absences of Kara and James when they go off to fight, simply thinks that is normal.
No Lena or James in this episode. Hey, maybe they’re off at some B&B!
I wonder (given the first two quotes below) if one of the writers is obsessed with carbs.
Quotes
Sam (as Sam, not Reign): I come bearing carbs.
Male diner: Do you have a gluten-free toast option?
Livewire: If you want to go a few rounds, come after the breakfast rush.
Brainy: I’ll go down in history as the 12th level intellect who let Supergirl burn up in a blue star.
Livewire: You and your Pollyanna BS.
Overall Rating
I’m old enough to remember when you were lucky to get more than one woman on a show (often there was just one, like Carrie Fisher in the original Star Wars). Now they’re everywhere, and it does not feel forced. Also, a lesson for everyone trying to persuade others – sometimes it takes time for a message to sink in. Give your message, but don’t press too hard. Very enjoyable, and I liked the tag at the end (I think we met Purity and Pestilence). Three out of four pieces of gluten-free toast.
Victoria Grossack loves birds, math, Greek mythology, Jane Austen and great storytelling in many forms.
Lena was present in the episode at the begining wishing Sam luck on her trip.
ReplyDeleteWhy did they have to kill Livewire, she agreed to travel from LA to Vancouver to film, they should cherish such actors. :)
Blue stars being fatal to males must be in the top 3 stupidest astronomical made-up facts I've ever heard in my life.
I was so sad to lose Livewire. She was a lot of fun in this episode and it felt like they were starting to make an unexpected hero out of her. And did anyone else think that maybe they're setting up Alex as a possible foster mother for Ruby? After all, Samantha/Reign is the big bad and likely to end up in... well, Fort Rozz or something, if she doesn't end up dead.
ReplyDeleteJust a small tidbit, the woman who played the dark priestess was non other than Sarah Douglas, a veteran Superman actor who gave us the villain Ursa in the Original Superman II movie.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how Kara inspired Livewire to become a good guy in the end, literally sacrificing her life to save Kara's. That's not a small thing, it symbolizes something that Kara has been feeling, that she's inadequate. When in fact it's the other way around, she is so good and is such a symbol for that good, it affects others even when she isn't flying around saving people.