There was a time when everything was going right for this season of Supergirl. Reign was shaping up to be a kickass villain, Samantha Aries was fully defined, Lena Luthor was firing on all cylinders, and the entire season seemed thoughtfully cohesive. And then the whole Andrew Kreisberg sexual harassment debacle happened and everything went to hell. Supergirl took a hiatus for a few months and came back a complete and utter mess. I almost don’t have words to describe the disaster that has been the last stretch of episodes. Props for consistency because this finale is probably one of the worst episodes this show’s ever done!
Worldkillers No More
Even if Andrew Kreisberg hijacked the season’s entire manuscript, there’s no excuse for the show fumbling the Worldkillers so clearly. Trinity and Pestilence were introduced and killed off in the span of two minutes (after a whole lot of buildup), and we ultimately had to make due with Selena and two random witches as our Big Bads. Reign herself was a force to be reckoned with in the first half of the year, singlehandedly making short work of Kara every time they fought, and then she was promptly robbed of all her strength and complexity. Wasn’t Sam supposed to struggle with her dual natures? Wasn’t that the whole point of building such a strong friendship between the core ladies (Kara, Alex, Lena and Sam)? The show took the easy way out by simply “splitting” Reign and Sam apart (literally), and sucked all the suspense and drama out of the equation. It’s just so laughable in every way.
Mommy Issues
And then there’s Alura’s return. The entire premise of Supergirl is built on the foundation that her parents died protecting her, only for the show to completely retcon everything a few weeks ago with Kara rediscovering her mother and home planet. Worse still, Kara was barely emotional about it all, and the show just skimmed over the entire subplot like it wasn’t the biggest reveal in the world (which it was). I genuinely felt nothing when Alura returned, and I felt nothing in the finale when she left again (it’s not like the show even bothered to show us the goodbye because everything seems to happen off-screen these days).
Maybe Next Year
This finale is particularly interested in focusing its efforts on setting a new status quo for season four instead of tackling the year’s arcs. Alex will be running the DEO, Winn will be gone (prompt replaced by Brainy), Sam will be gone (even though Odette was terrific), Mon-El will be gone (his goodbye did not tug at my heartstrings in the slightest), and James will still be here after outing his superhero persona to the public. The writers never figured out what to do with his character, so it amazes me that he’s the one they’ve chosen to keep for next season.
I am not optimistic.
Super Bits
– Kara and Alura kicking ass together should have worked in theory, but the CGI was so atrocious in those first ten minutes I could barely look at the screen. The frozen tsunami, the CGI fire, Imra’s powers, the spaceship – every single element was horrendously brought to life.
– The show finally acknowledges Superman by saying he’s off saving Madagascar. Okay then…
– J’onn’s goodbye with his dad did nothing for me. What a waste of Carl Lumbly this season was.
– Show, please don’t use Saturn Girl in a sentence. Please.
– Sam seeing her mom in the Valley was the most ridiculous thing ever. Why? How does anything in this finale make sense?
– If only Sam kept those powers and stuck around next year. Maybe then we’d have something to get excited about.
– The big fight between both teams in the cave was also terrible. Even the action couldn’t save this hour because there was nothing memorable about it.
– I have a big problem with Kara not even checking all the bodies that Reign laser beams to supposed death. She just assumes they’re all dead because that’s what the plot calls for. No common sense because Kara HAS to go back in time for the finale’s “big” moment. Ugh.
– Yup that’s Harnessing Anger. But it’s such a horrible episode that it actually detracts from the theme’s power.
– Lena gives Aluna a “recipe” for Harun-El and it’s completely ridiculous. It’s not a dessert!
– It’s so strange that the show wrote Mon-El out again! This season succeeded in making him severely unlikeable so I won’t really feel the difference. Do the writers not like the fact that Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood are a couple in real life? Because this relationship used to feel endgame to me until it suddenly wasn’t.
– Winn calls J’onn Papa Bear and it’s pretty fitting. I’m really going to miss Jeremy Jordan.
– The most touching moment of the entire finale: Alex saying goodbye to Winn. Chyler can break my heart with a look.
– Kara telling Winn that he was the first person she revealed her identity to broke my heart.
– Group hug! Awwww.
– Well at least the show remembered that it’s best when focusing on Kara and Alex. I love watching the two bond over wine and pizza.
– Is anybody surprised that Lena left some of the black kryptonite for herself?
– The cliffhanger is super weird with another Kara wrapped in a blanket at the Siberian border as a product of our heroine’s time traveling antics. I’m barely intrigued.
Must-Download Tune
Through it All by Charlie Puth
Conclusion
An abysmal season finale that bookends a terrible back-half. It’s a true pity what happened to Supergirl this season; here’s hoping the show recovers next year.