Supergirl, 2.07 - "The Darkest Place"

Warning: SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED.

I am so pissed at this show it isn't even funny. This episode was so bad it doesn't even warrant a neutral introduction. Let's get into the roast.



Kara must rescue Mon-El after we saw him being kidnapped by Cadmus in the previous episode. She realizes that the original Hank Henshaw (a xenophobic asshole) is still alive, as well as her adoptive father Jeremiah, both of whom are working for Cadmus. Lillian Luthor takes advantage of Mon-El's allergy to lead (Really????) to threaten Kara, forcing her to give up her superstrength as well as a sample of her blood. Cadmus using Mon-El as leverage angers me. Sure, Mon-El doesn't deserve to die, but every time he's on screen, he's a douche, especially towards Kara. I know Kara has that innate goodness inside of her, but caving in so quickly? Seriously? Yes, they used Mon-El because he's an alien as well, but to me, it felt like the writers were comparing his importance to that of James and Alex, and that's just insulting. Luckily, Jeremiah is still good and breaks them out, but not everything has been resolved - it turns out that Kara's traits were used to enhance the original Henshaw to turn him into Cyborg Superman. No offense, but what kind of name is that? Also, there was no buildup? I guess it was supposed to be cool because of the artificial eye and the comic reference, but it just came out of nowhere and overall was ineffective. I also feel bad for J'onn that he has to wear the identity of a douche.

Since we're already talking about him, the side effects of M'gann's White Martian blood have worsened - J'onn's hallucinations become so bad he mistakes a DEO agent for a White Martian. Finally finding out the truth about M'gann, J'onn confronts her violently. No offense, but I felt that his rage translated into physical combat was out of character. She defends herself by claiming she betrayed her kind by trying to help the prisoners, but failed. J'onn is still angry enough to lock her in a prison to rot forever, only we find out that the White Martian blood coursing through him is turning him into a White Martian as well. Man, that sucks.

Meanwhile, James's late night Oliver Queen-like outings as Guardian are going great until another vigilante begins killing the people James leaves for the police, immediately turning National City against him. I mean.....wasn't last week's Arrow episode also about a competing vigilante with decidedly bloodier methods? Look, I love James to pieces, but there is no way in hell that he can be so successful without prior training in combat. Oliver suffered five years on an island literally named "purgatory", John had years of military training, and Thea and Sara received top notch League of Assassins training. I didn't excuse Laurel and the newbies for their inexperience, and as much as I love James, I won't be excusing him either. I love the fact that James can defend himself now, but realistically, how did he easily beat a guy with a military background? Kara, not knowing James is Guardian, still thinks "vigilantes are nuts" with their voice changers and masks. I see you shading Arrow, Supergirl writers, and I am NOT amused. As angry as I am with Arrow at the moment, it deserves respect. After all, if Arrow hadn't been successful, the CW DCTV universe wouldn't exist. (Although, seeing how bitter the franchise makes me, I'm not sure if that's a bad thing.) It's also very hypocritical, given how you wrote James a condensed carbon copy of Oliver's journey since you didn't have any better, original ideas. In conclusion, both Oliver and James deserve better. But the CW wouldn't know what good writing was if it hit them in the face. Sigh.

Since we're explicitly talking about the lack of good writing, the Supergirl writers continue to stick their heads up their asses by writing towards a Kara/Mon-El romance. If it hadn't been obvious before, it is now, with Mon-El "nonchalantly" asking if Kara already has a mate. James looks at him and realizes....he is still not over Kara. It was heartbreaking, and reignited my anger and bitterness. White Supergirl fans, please don't ever try to tell me this isn't about race. How is Kara/Mon-El more justified than Karolsen??? Did the writers forget how well they built them up over the course of a season? Mon-El doesn't even treat Kara with decency, brushing aside her attempts to help and generally being a lazy piece of sh*t. I'm just really tired of mediocre white men being glorified by fandoms and writers alike while the BLACK LEAD gets ignored, hated and pushed to the side!!!!!

The one good (or bad, depending how you look at it) thing in the episode was Sanvers. I will never forgive them for whitewashing a Latina WOC, but Floriana and Chyler's chemistry isn't going away any time soon. Alex confronts Maggie with her pain, but the two manage to make it work - as friends. Alex admitting that coming out doesn't feel so triumphant when the love is unrequited was very important, though it could've been more significant had Maggie been an actual woman of color. I know that one of the producers is a lesbian, so kudos to the show for realistically portraying LGBT heartbreak. I still want them to be together and believe they're going to be endgame because LGBT representation is important, but the whitewashing debacle stings, and their appeal has dimmed. I just....I legitimately thought Floriana wasn't white. DCTV played me.

This was an okay episode since I'm not emotionally invested in the show enough to be truly bitter, but the plot was messy and the CW's bigotry is overshadowing the shows' interesting elements more and more. Fix yourselves, Supergirl writers.

Rating: 6.8
Extras that didn't make it in: Stop shipping Kara with anyone other than James or Lucy. Lena's cute, but really? Shipping Kara with the daughter of someone who has abused her? Also, Alex still is the only white gay I claim. I'm glad she kept James' secret about being Guardian, though both Winn and James suck at lying. You better not f*ck her up, writers!

*My next review will probably be of Jane the Virgin, Pitch or The Flash. See you then!