Supergirl’s 20th episode (“City of Lost Children”) is aptly named. The “lost” in this episode are many: Jimmy, Marcus, the Phorians, Lena, and the Daxamites. But first and foremost, we’ve got to give some credit to the Queen: Teri Hatcher as Rhea is about twelve different kinds of fabulous.
There are two different sides to Rhea, and Hatcher played them both to the hilt: the ideal, encouraging, uplifting pseudo-mom—and the laser-focused, vindictive psychopath. Watching Rhea with Lena, who has been disappointed by yet another powerful woman, was immensely enjoyable. If I hadn’t already known Rhea was Satan in black, I would’ve fallen for her sweet, earnest, and empowering speeches: “Failure is a part of the process, Lena. … You’re smarter than Lex. … But you need to stop trying to think like your brother. … So, if you weren’t trying to do what Lex would do, what would you do? … Not power. Balance.” That’s some grade A encouragement, y’all.
While Rhea was working with Lena for her own gain, there was a softness to the Daxxomite that was so convincing that it was almost startling. Of course, the razor-sharp turn came when she picked up Lena’s phone to threaten Supergirl (“You need this planet to worship you, the last daughter of a failed world. … Everything that happens from now on is your doing.”). She went full viper in the blink of an eye. And you have to be one cold-hearted bag of asses to lie to your son about his father’s death (RIP Hercules—sorry, Lar). The deft way that Hatcher employed, then abruptly dropped, the kindness that allowed her to weasel into Lena’s good graces was masterfully done. And she was, if that’s not already clear, my favorite thing about the episode.
My second favorite thing about the episode? Well, it wasn’t a horde of Daxamite ships flying through the portal. And it wasn’t Lena getting knocked out cold. No, it was Jimmy. Sure, in the beginning of the hour, I pegged him as self-pitying and whiny. He was saving people’s lives, but they were scared of him (this is a crap plot point, honestly, but let’s overlook it). He was feeling inadequate, like anyone does at a new job. Especially when, maybe, it seems like someone else does it better. But it took bonding with Marcus, talking with J’onn (giver of the BEST Fake Dad Pep Talks ever), and being a “hero without a suit,” as Winn said, for Jimmy to really soar. And it was nice to see Jimmy come into his own, find his purpose, and see it through when weaker people would’ve quit. When Jimmy lets his walls down, that is when he shines. Talking about cameras with Marcus (although, why did I think his father’s camera was destroyed?) and swapping war hero father stories. Yes, it was dramatic when Jimmy was shouting at Marcus that he wasn’t alone. But I adored the scene at CatCo before everything went sideways.
And it looks like we’ve got some fun in the future. The president is back! And so is Cat Grant. TOOK LONG ENOUGH, FLOCKHART. *ahem* I am curious to see how the last two episode pan out, but I know this: it will be an adventure full of strong women. And that’s not nothing.
Comments are closed.