Supergirl The Girl of Steel review S3 Ep1
I didn’t really plan on reviewing Supergirl this season, but if The Girl of Steel is indication of how Season 3 will play out, I’ll stick with it.
Initially, Girl of Steel suggested Supergirl was going to make the typical CW superhero show wrong turn and take its character down a darker path. For much of the episode, Kara/Supergirl was brooding and moping over Mon-El disappearance. This would resonate so much more if the Supergirl/Mon-El romance was fun to watch. Instead, it always felt incredibly forced. I know this won’t be the case throughout the season, but Supergirl is much better off without him.
Still, that left Kara is a mopey state of mind and none of the Catco/STAR crew could get her out of it. This goes against the grain of the show, but I like Melissa Benoist’s take on the character a lot more when she’s not so Pollyanna. It did feel a little weird that the CW’s superhero feminist show kicks off with the protagonist completely bummed out over a man.
But Kara wasn’t neglected her Supergirl duties and was on the hunt for a new major threat in town — Bloodsport (David St. Louis). Of all of Superman’s villains the show has poached, Bloodsport was the easiest to look like his comic book counterpart. He’s basically Roadblock with a red mask. The show did a decent job of making him formidable, but it’s becoming increasingly more annoying how often the bad guys are clueless over Supergirl’s power. Yes, she’s strong and bulletproof. Don’t look so surprised.
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I had to agree with Supergirl that James using the signal watch to make sure she met a story deadline was stupid. Although having Kara quit the job she fought so hard for … (and already lost once?) was dumb. And man, I’m going to miss Snapper, who’s been written off on sabbatical. His insight and pep talks every episode were great. For some reason, the writers decided it’d be cute to have Cat appear as the Sean Spicer for the president. Finally, Alex, J’onn and then Lena broke through to Kara to get her to stop being so down about Mon-El.
As much as I enjoyed Adrian Pasdar on Agents of SHIELD as Gen. Talbot he’s already so much more entertaining as the sleazy slimeball Morgan Edge. Pasdar just has the right kind of entitled, prickly attitude that makes his characters so easy to dislike. In AOS he was used more for comedic value, but Supergirl is using his talents to their utmost. Beyond being a far more effective rich, sexist villain and Trump allegory for Supergirl, Edge will also provide a regular nemesis for Lena Luthor’s subplots.
I was encouraged by Katie McGrath’s exchanges with Pasdar too. They had some great dialogue including Lena saying Morgan had all the charisma of a 90s Michael Douglas movie. Really good stuff. I liked that the writers immediately revealed that Edge is a bad guy. Not just for wanting to buy Catco and use it to trash Lena’s company, but from his alliance with Bloodsport indicating he will be providing a lot of the season’s Supergirl cannon fodder. Edge can be the top flight villain mastermind this show has desperately needed.
Supergirl is also having dreams of her mother, now played by Smallville’s Erica Durance. This doesn’t gibe at all since Durance is only 10 years older than Benoist and looks younger. Beyond the Mon-El foolishness, Maggie and Alex’s wedding preparations were boring. Their relationship has played out in such an exaggerated quick fashion that this wedding seems way too quick. At least it provided one good moment when Alex asked J’onn to walk her down the aisle.
At least he can do something on that front. Supergirl probably could have used Martian Manhunter’s help in stopping Bloodspot’s submarine attack. Good thing innocent bystander Samantha Arias (Odette Annable, Cloverfield) was able to summon some unknown strength to rescue her daughter. And I’m pretty sure Alan Ritchson’s calendar could instantly be freed up whenever the show wants to followup that ship in the sea segment and bring Aquaman back to CW.
[irp]
Now with Lena buying Catco through some weird corporate lingo that didn’t make a lot of sense, Kara is back in. The main question this presents though is what happens to James? Is he back to being the photographer again?
The Girl of Steel set up some interesting possibilities for the season. I’m cautiously optimistic it can deliver on them. At the very least, Supergirl will be a lot more enjoyable without her focus on Mon-El.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Photo Credit: The CW