Supergirl: Trinity

Brainy: "Your biology's impressive, but even you weren't built to be an inter-dimensional portal."

Following and building on the "two minds" concept from the previous episode, "Trinity" ups the stakes by putting Sam and Julia in direct peril, while Lena and Supergirl go back and forth about the value of trust versus secrets.

This is not the direction I thought they were going to go with the alternate dimension. I had this vague idea that we were going to see Sam and Reign fight against one another and it would be completely separate from anything else, that the dark reality was unique to her. What they did here probably works better, since it develops the plot in a much better way.

The characters were really on point in this one, with a lot of subtle humor and well written dialogue. The actions didn’t seem forced either; the motivations made sense because of all the underlying conflicts that have been brewing under the surface. Especially with Lena being separate from the group, despite the fact she has proven again and again how valuable an asset she could be if they only trusted her more.

I’m going to be upfront about the fact that I love what they are doing with Lena. It has real Lex Luthor from Smallville vibes. Casting an actress that can play an incredible villain gives me this palpable sense of dread that at any moment she is going to tip over and become the main villain of the story. Instead they keep pulling her back, giving her heroic things to do, and I love it.

I wish I could say the same about Supergirl, who has been struggling to find herself all season again after losing Mon-El. She was downright hypocritical in this one, acting superior to Lena about keeping secrets when she’s been keeping a huge one from her supposed best friend. Is the Luthor name keeping Kara from sharing her identity? Is that secret worth their relationship? Or is Kara’s fear a just one? Could Lena turn after finding out about Supergirl’s secret identity? Or is Lena already aware and playing along, because, I’m sorry, anyone that smart could see right through Kara's disguise?

The complex morality displayed here extended to the rest of the plot as well, with the internal war between human and worldkiller making up the primary drama. The doctor we didn’t get to know at all gave up without a fight, which was set up in the last episode. Julia was overcome with fear and terrible moral pain, realizing that she was the instrument of so much death. Even Sam started to break under the pressure of Reign’s actions.

So the way things shook out, with our heroes plus Lena taking on the trinity of world killers, was fairly epic, despite some mildly dodgy CGI. What was amazing, though, was how our heroes won the day (maybe). In some ways Supergirl was right: she managed to get through to Julia, who not only took over Purity but utilized her powers in a sacrifice move against Pestilence. It makes me wonder how the Reign story arc is going to play out, with Samantha being the strongest of the three humans trapped inside of the worldkillers. Obviously the key will be Ruby, but in what way?

Title Musings:

The symbol of three is a big thing for the DC universe, the classic trinity being Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. But here we have three evil creatures and three heroines fighting with three people from the future. We even have three geniuses interacting (Brainy, Lena and Winn).

Bits:

I guess the costume budget wasn’t so strapped after all, since Alex got a spiffy new one, which is about bloody time.

As worrying as it was neat looking, the glowy power redistributing to Reign was a lot like a quickening from Highlander. She is probably now in possession of the other two sets of powers.

I really liked the discussion between Mon-El and J’onn in the corridor. Mon-El is still clearly in love with Kara but refuses to hurt his wife. It shows his growth as a character, because in a lot of ways he wasn’t worthy of Supergirl last season, and he’s acutely aware of it.

I love the way Brainy interacts with the group, and he was a part of most of the best exchanges of dialogue. If we get more of him because it’s easier without his makeup, then I’m all for it.

Imra’s powers are very inconsistent. She can project force fields and can move things with her mind. Yet at one point she was engaging one of the worldkillers in hand to hand combat. What bothers me is that a telekinetic never really has to get their hands dirty, especially one that can project force fields.

Quotes:

J'onn: "How do we send Supergirl back to this valley?"
Supergirl: "We fight fantasy with sci-fi."

Brainy: "Once I induce transmission, your minds will be immediately beamed into this dark valley."
Alex: "Is it gonna hurt?"
Brainy: "The chances are better than fifty percent."
Alex: (sarcastically) "That's comforting."
Brainy: "Really? I didn't think so. Would you like me to count to three?"
Lena: "Will that help?"
Brainy: "No, not at all."

Supergirl: "Brainy said it would be hard to carry both of you in here. Is this what it's like when humans exercise? This is terrible. Why would you ever exercise?"

Brainy: "Are you all right?"
Winn: "Yeah. Why – why wouldn't I be?"
Brainy: "Well, you spent an exceedingly long time in the bathroom."
Winn: "This isn't a bathroom."

Big, fun and complex. This felt like an important installment done well.

4 out of 4 Trios of powerful women

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.

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