Having watched Supergirl for a while now, are you a "Child of Rao"? Probably not after this episode! What happens after you are saved from a near god-like being? Is it a simple, "Thanks, have a nice day", or do you take it further? In the case of Thomas Coville (Chad Lowe), he might have gone a little too far. Tonight's Supergirl explored the transformative nature of being saved by one of our superheroes and the kind of aftermath that you can experience. It also brought us a lot closer to Samantha Arias and her role with the group. But that wasn't all that stood out, here are all the points that made an impact on us:
- Back to the Beginning: The episode starts off with a return to the very beginning! It was very interesting to see the plane crash from a different perspective. While it does take a creepy turn, you can't help but feel in awe just the same way Thomas Coville felt when he saw Kara on the wing.
- Kara Remembers All of Them: This speaks to Kara's character, saving lives is never a routine experience for her. She doesn't do it as she passes by nor does she view humans as "lessor beings". She remembers each of them; their faces, their circumstances. That's our Girl of Steel.
- Thomas Coville Sees Supergirl: He might be the only person to see through those glasses. It's possible that it's because he saw her when she was on the plane and hadn't really adopted the Supergirl persona yet, but he is the first to make that claim. He looked right at her and called her out! Impressive.
- James Tells How He Met Superman: James climbs a spire to get a better angle for a shot of a fire when he was working at the Daily Planet. James slips and falls and as he's falling, James begins to pray to someone, anyone. Then out of the smoke comes a hand and Superman has him. The way he describes how Superman answered his prayer was a simple yet beautiful way to describe what it is that Kara and Clark do on a daily basis.
- Supergirl is No God: During the hockey game, the Children of Rao make their move to "convert" a whole stadium of people into the saved. However, the pod that came with Kryptonian knowledge came with Kryptonite as well. Kara makes a HUGE move to show how she isn't a god and cuts herself to show how she bleeds. Instantly the spell over Coville's cult is broken. However, getting rid of the bomb was no easy task. But when Alex and Kara are together, there is always a way!
- Alex Wants Kids: Alex sees Ruby sing "Pure Imagination" and it triggers a huge response from her. She really wants to have kids, but it's scaring her that Maggie won't change her mind. Chyler really bought some powerful acting in this scene and it had us on our heels.
- The Ship is Populated: We all (I think) as an audience dismissed the ship a bit too hastily from the first episode of season 3 and it seems that has come back to pay us a visit. It didn't look like Reign's ship this time and now that the Betahedron exploded, it looks like the ship is POPULATED! Who could be on that ship?
Let us know what you thought about tonight's episode in the comments below and in the forum! Don't miss next week's episode directed by Kevin Smith, November 6th at 8pm on The CW! Keep us your advertisement free source for Supergirl news as well as the largest Supergirl community on the web and visit the support page!
Comments
Okay well Coville sees Kara Danvers like once? And he knows she is Supergirl...Come on Lena!
But when he found it just made my jaw drop. I really hope to see Sam and Kara's relationship grow as well as there be a relationship between Sam and Supergirl before things go south because that would just be even MORE traumatic when Sam makes her slip into Reign.
The kryptonite was so pure and fresh that it nearly killed her. Like that is the WORST we have EVER seen Supergirl. Whole entire body is bulging green and her eyes glowed as well! Cool special affects. Not to mention how she convinced them that she wasn't a god was just like all of a sudden she can bleed, like everyone else, and that means that she is suddenly like the devil or something? At least help her! But I still love it and I was kind of hoping that they would bring up the whole elevator scene from episode 2, HOW DOES NO ONE NOTICE?! Oh and let's not forget the Reign scene! I am pretty sure that that is her creator and I wonder what was going in inside of Ruby's head when it happened. Are those.. other worldkillers?!
THE SCORE
ACTING…5.0
ADVENTURE…3.5
WRITING…3.5
EFFECTS…3.5
POLITICAL PENALTY…none
BONUS…
0.5...going back to the awesome pilot episode
0.5..The Rao symbol, something the writer never heard, and saw for the first time.)
0.5...Omegahedron (from the 1984 Supergirl movie)
0.5...Willie Wonka…Gene Wilder’s Imagination song.
BONUS POINTS…2.0
TOTAL…17.5/20 (high watermark this season)
It was kind of eerie seeing in the final battle with Coville as Supergirl is suffering from kryptonite poisoning so much, her face turns this eerie green and her eyes are glowing green as she writhes in pain as if she was going to become a certain “M” company superheroine. The explosions in the arson were pretty amazing as well. Some of the music by Blake Neely adds the right macabre pitch and tone to what has been a rather dark season three so far.
If anything this episode should warn us in society, and especially on social media the dangers of Idolatry. Mehcad Brooks (James/Jimmy Olsen) told EW in an article about where a line can sometimes be crossed between just thanking someone and worshipping them to where they take over you.
“Allegiance to duty or a person; firm belief in something for which there is no proof; something that is believed especially with strong conviction”
In other words faith does not necessarily mean religious faith. A good point without hammering things home as the show tends to do.
ADVENTURE
Supergirl is seen at a fire, but one seemingly caused by Coville just to draw Supergirl there. Then again Coville has a rap sheet a mile long and his wife left him and was a major drunk.
The main adventure was the heart-pounding scene at the hockey game where a bomb fueled by kryptonian power, namely the betahedron, which has reached critical mass. But as Kara goes after the device…SHE GETS HIT BY KRYPTONITE, almost to the point where her face and eyes turn a very sickly green, as if she was about to hulk out (M company I know). Then after cutting her hand open to expose the charade in her weakened condition and Alex comes in to destroy the K-rock, Kara uses her solar flare to open a gaping hole in the floor.
Kara is knocked out, so it’s up to Alex demanding the mad leader to help her push the betahedron to the abyss. Once it’s down there…KA-BOOM.
JAMES: This is starting to feel a little…
WINN: Culty?
JAMES: Yeah.
And Brooks in one of his best scenes shares the first time James was saved by his pal Superman.
At Superman Homepage (who gave this episode a 3/5 citing the tail end of the show as where things went south), the reviewer said…
“James put this very atheistic sentiment wonderfully: ‘In this life, prayer normally doesn’t work. Nobody shows up. But Clark did. You do. Kara, you’re something that we can see, something that we can touch. How are you not a miracle?’ “
It may be atheistic, but even for a Catholic like me, some of the prayers I make to God aren’t answered. But I am not questioning God, Pope Francis on the other hand…well I’d rather not say. I don’t question the Church as a whole, but I question the leadership. Look I go to church on Sundays with my mother and go to Easter and Christmas masses, but I don’t let my religion run me.
I also site another quote to sum up what I think part of the writing was about
“This episode was bold enough to outright imply that other religions aren’t true (or, at least, don’t have gods who listen), but it was also smart enough to state that faith is a good thing to have, whether the religion is real or not.”
MORE TO COME
Melissa goes for it both as a curious Kara wanting to know about this cult all bowing down to her as Supergirl and to Rao, but also as a defiant Supergirl whom in the final scenes cuts her hand while under serious kryptonite poisoning thus ending Coville’s charade. Then again as Kara comforting her sister Alex after hearing Ruby sing “Imagination” from Willy Wonka (RIP Gene Wilder).
And Chyler goes for it and gets it done as she always seems to do as Alex, although we go from the badass season 1 Alex riding her motorcycle and helping Supergirl beat back Coville’s plot to blow up a Kryptonian Betahedron bomb at a hockey game to the season 2 weakened Alex all fawning over Maggie and her relationship. But it was outside the talent show where Alex showed the strain of dealing with the one thing that will end up splitting Alex and Maggie up…having children. Alex wants them or if not at least be a cool aunt.
(OT: there are some songs that make me lose it like “Somewhere Out There” from An American Tail by James Ingram and Linda Ronstadt, “You and Me Against the World” by Helen Reddy. As I was typing I was hearing the first few bars of the former and was beginning to tear up)
MORE TO COME
ACTING/WRITING…
I am combining the acting and writing in one section here. The acting was superb even with a good script, but not great. If anything it was cleverly written without being heavy-handed.
This was perhaps the finest acting ever seen on this show, this or any other season. The stars of this were Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh and Chad Lowe.
In his first of two go-rounds with Supergirl, the brother of Rob plays Thomas Coville, a so-called religious leader who creates his cult after the near airplane crash which was given a reboot from the awesome pilot episode. But it seems on the plane and before his mind was warped by the stress of the incident and seeing Kara save the plane he seems more like these fake televangelists than a real man of the cloth like one’s local priest or rabbi. Lowe plays Coville with a Jim Jones-like madness reminiscent of Jonestown nearly 40 years ago.
MORE TO COME
This whole thing with Alex/Maggie is becoming monotonous. We all know what's gonna happen so just get on with it
It was an average ep overall