Supergirl’s second episode (“Fallout”) had so many powerful moments that it’s hard to know where to begin. The writing has been absolutely exquisite, and I love all of the girl power moments (Eve, Lena, and Kara teaming up and kicking ass? Yes, please.). But I was particularly touched and moved by Nia, both the strength of her character and her backstory. The way she stood up and in front of Brainy was masterful. She did exactly what we should do in a situation like that: speak up, intervene, and use what power she had to protect (“Did I stutter? I said you need to back off.”). The way she looked the man in the pizza place in the eye and calmly told him, “No, sir, you are the traitor”—all the props in the world go to Nicole Maines. Her exchange with Brainy was also very sweet, and I kiiiiinda think I ship those two already.
But Nia’s amazingness doesn’t end there. I appreciated the way she spoke to Jimmy about writing an editorial, how she spoke with conviction and compassion. I thought the way she spoke about her own truth was really well done. I was also impressed with how passionate she was: “I had to stand up, hold a mirror to that bully’s face. And it made a difference. And that was just one person. … You can hold a mirror up to the entire city. … When innocent people are being attacked, it isn’t about balance. It’s about justice.” And daaaaamn, the girl is right.
I want to talk more about the badass trio of Eve (a delightful Andrea Brooks), Lena, and Kara. Eve had great quips (the delivery of “Oh, well, she’s fun” was pitch perfect) and can MacGuyer with a hairpin. Lena sweetly, insistently trying to protect Kara, hacking so flawlessly, and picking up her mother’s enhanced gun arm to square off with Mercy was inspired. I loved how fierce she was, and how Supergirl chimed in with, “You’ve got that backwards. The Luthor name doesn’t deserve Lena.” I kept thinking that Lena was going to catch Kara deflecting bullets or faking a frosty sneeze. But I loved every moment of that scene, for both the camaraderie and the humor.
Mercy and Otis need to fall off a cliff and not just because they’re members of the Evil League of Evil (side note: is Agent of Liberty supposed to look like a nefarious Rocketeer crossed with Darth Vader? Because he does.). They’re also hideously boring. This episode showed them off in greater detail, but the portrayals left me feeling all kinds of flat. Perhaps the intention was to not make them compelling, but the line delivery from both of them felt sluggish, overenunciating, and off.
You know what wasn’t off? Kara’s supportive, hope-laden, uplifting broadcast speech (hell, it even had Lena tearing up): “The character of a person or an alien is not defined by where we’re from, but what we do. … I know that we can work together with love and respect. … I’m an alien, and I love this planet. … I want what we all want: to be a good American.” I think the whole thing was spot on.
Obviously, the Kryptonite version of super-focused toxic gas is not going to be awesome. I would shiv a kitten for someone to catch Supergirl and do a play on the, “you’ve got me, but who’s got you” line from Superman. But failing that, I will settle for Mercy getting her Earth-first, neo-nazi behind kicked by Alex.
Comments are closed.