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Supergirl: Shelter from the Storm

Initially split into three separate storylines, this action-heavy episode features a game of hide and seek against Reign in an attempt to save Ruby.

Reign continues to be a villain that is totally irredeemable, but not frustratingly evil. She makes sense given the context of the character. Now with even more power she is practically unstoppable, until Supergirl uses logic against her… yeah while I get appealing to her code might work, it does seem to fly up against what we’ve seen before.

The trinity last week were completely evil, world-destroying monsters, yet Reign is supposed to be more like Thanos: indiscriminate, yes, but ultimately trying to do the right thing (in their own twisted way). Yet Reign killed Samantha’s adoptive mother, and nearly killed her daughter. Not really seeing noble purpose there. It works in one sense, because we’ve had Reign’s motivations explained before, but her actions are often contradictory to that goal.

Moving on, the real juicy stuff came with the downward spiral that the relationship between Supergirl and Lena has taken. Lena is now so turned off of the hero, comparing Supergirl to Lex Luthor in how she behaves like a god when it comes to Kryptonite. On Earth, the only substance that could outright kill Supergirl is Kryptonite, so while her reaction is understandable, it feels like mildly forced writing for her to be so outright hostile towards Lena.

Lena didn’t have to tell her she knew how to manufacture the substance, and went to Supergirl as a gesture of trust. Supergirl didn’t even bother with niceties, she just threw it back in her face. Yet as Kara, she was surprised when Lena expressed anger and distrust, and that her relationship with Supergirl was now just a working partnership she would rather not be in. Was Kara overreacting? Or was she justified? Is this the first real steps to making Lena a villain? I hope not.

The rest of the episode focused on our expanded cast, with J’onn trying to figure out how to live with his ailing father, Alex babysitting Ruby, and Mon-El working through his issues with leaving Kara and his marriage with Imra. Most of the plots were secondary, yet came together in the end with M’yrnn giving important advice that saved the day in the end, Alex being there to defend Ruby from Reign until help arrived, and Mon-El staying behind to work out his feeling for Kara and help defeat Reign. I was sorry to see Brainy go. Though I wasn’t as fond of Imra, who felt like a convenient obstacle for the Kara/Mon’El relationship. (What’s their shipping name?)

Bits:

Brainy is so condescending, giving Winn the backhanded compliment that he was nearly a 1.42 intellect, and giving him future dirt for his collection.

Having been in a similar situation with a family member, watching J’onn struggle with his father’s memory was very painful to watch. The coffee scene at the end being the worst, the short term memory really is the first thing to go.

Mrs. Queller, played by the wonderful Cynthia Stevenson, was a little random, but she had some fun lines.

Alex suggested Young Frankenstein to watch with Ruby. Yet another reason to love Alex as a character. Although Alex should not have lied to Ruby. It was condescending and ultimately led Reign to find them. Does anyone else think they're setting up a situation where Alex would adopt Ruby if Sam dies?

The gauntlet that Reign goes through in Lex’s underground vault was a direct nod to a deleted scene from the original Superman (1978). This episode also aired one day after news broke of the death of Margot Kidder who played Lois Lane in that movie. She will be missed.

Was it as good as last week's episode? I’m not sure. But it was pretty strong, with a lot of character work and some impressive action scenes.

3 out of 4 storylines.

Samantha M. Quinn spends most of her time in front of a computer typing away at one thing or another; when she has free time, she enjoys pretty much anything science fiction or fantasy-related.

3 comments:

  1. Yes to Alex adopting Ruby and yes to this being the 1st steps to Lena becoming a villain. That's exactly what I think.

    Of course in the last 2-3 episodes I'm completely on Lena's side and I think Supergirl is too self-righteous and concecending so no sympathy here. Especially loved the let's ban cars argument.

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  2. I have to point out that "Shelter from the Storm" involves the fact that a homonym of Reign's name is Rain.

    Have also had a father with dementia, and yes, short-term memory goes first. You learn not to fight it.

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  3. Kara does have a God-complex this season, but I suppose it's difficult not to feel somewhat Godlike if you're a Kryptonian on Earth.

    Alex is very unprofessional in this episode, letting Ruby getting hold of her phone. She's supposed to be a trained agent, but her staying with Ruby seems more to make herself feels better than for Ruby's benefit.

    Also, shouldn't Lex's mansion have a kryptonite defense? I mean, it is Lex's mansion.

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