REVIEW: SUPERGIRL - SEASON 4, EP. 7: "Rather The Fallen Angel"
Agent Liberty's plans have begun to take root and escalate, putting the Girl of Steel and her friends on the defensive, as they try to stem the tide of hatred for the alien immigrant community before all out war breaks out. However, Agent Liberty is looking for his ace in the hole: James Olsen and his identity of Guardian. Meanwhile, we see Lena Luthor working overtime to see if she can harness the special heart she has to see if she can cure diseases, and see if she can grant normal humans superpowered abilities.
We open up this edition with what appears to be a theft by the Sons of Liberty at a factory containing fission rods. Turns out, Manchester Black caught them in the act, and now he looks outgunned. As he attempts to fight back, Supergirl comes in and rescues him from being shot. When they manage to question one of the Sons of Liberty, he says he was told to either rob the fission rods, or grab whatever shipment they were looking for off the docks. As Supergirl is about to call in the DEO, Black urges her to push forward with the investigation, citing that it will take the DEO too long to react to the situation and find the clues needed. He says they should work together, and Kara says she'd be in touch.
James finally gets his one on one with Agent Liberty. When he tries to obtain answers, Agent Liberty turns to him and says that he wants James to be the face of his movement. That HE is the hero and face they need against the aliens. He wants James to destroy one of the monuments that represents the aliens' freedom and new life on Earth. James doesn't answer, and Agent Liberty gives him time to ponder it. When he leaves James, he finds out that his agents have indeed obtained the fission rods necessary to his next plan. He gets everything set up so that he can kill Supergirl the following night.
Lena and Eve Tessmaucher have found a subject willing to go through with the experimentation. Lena meets the young man, and as he tries to chat her up, she just refers to him as "Subject 0331". He tries to coax more info out of Lena, but she just refers to herself as "Dr. K", and has him read the waiver she wrote up for him to sign, by using his thumbprint. He does so, and continues to press on with his questions, especially about when he'll see the doctor. Lena reveals SHE is the doctor.
Back at the DEO, Kara has Brainy and Alex start a search for whatever the plans are for the fission rods, and anything else they can dig up on this shipment that supposedly came into National City the other day. Alex manages to get Kara's attention to show her Ben Lockwood's show on TV, "The Lockdown", where he in fact, flat out accuses Supergirl herself to be the problem. This upsets Kara dearly.
James manages to escape from Agent Liberty's compound, and with Tom, head out to where Liberty plans his next attack. It turns out to be Shelley Island, which is like Ellis Island, only for aliens. James thought they closed it down years ago. Tom said he didn't think they'd go this far, and it isn't what he signed up for. James said that he isn't going to do what Liberty wants, because he doesn't care about his reputation, only doing the right thing. He knows who he is, and will never compromise that. However, Liberty's guards have them surrounded, and he shows up, ready to kill Tom. James says he'll do what Liberty wants---as long as Tom isn't hurt.
Supergirl and Manchester Black arrive at the shipyard, looking for clues to where the mysterious shipment might be. Having done his own digging, Black and Kara find the container that housed whatever it was that came in. However, when they open it, it's empty. Kara does a scan with her x-ray vision, and notices a piece of paper underneath. She lifts the container, and grabs what seems to be a reciept or piece of the manifest. They are spotted by someone, and Black chases after him, about ready to bludgeon him to get information. Kara stops Black before he throws a punch, and reads him the riot act on what they DON'T do. Black is upset the man got away, but that's the least of Kara's worries. She's now very concerned with Black's behavior, and she feels it was a bad idea to include him. She takes off.
Back in Lena's lab, the young man is still chatty with her, trying to get her to spill her guts, asking about how many others volunteered. Lena reveals he was the only one worth enough. He was chosen because he has no care if he lives or dies. He reveals that he doesn't feel like a worthy guy, because his brother died because of him. He talks about how he needed a kidney transplant, and his brother was a match, so his brother sacrificed himself for him...but his brother died on the operating table unfortunately. Lena sympathizes with the young man.
Kara is at home, with a failed attempt at baking a pot pie when Alex strolls in, giving Kara the lowdown on some bodies of the Sons of Liberty that went missing. That had busted jaws, and several other abrasions. They're also trying to get more info on the shipment label she found, but nothing yet. J'Onn comes over, and talks about how Black felt abandoned by her, and that he just wants to help. Kara asks J'Onn if Manchester is a bit too intense, and would be willing to kill to achieve their goal. J'Onn assures her that he just wants to help, and to give him a chance.
Kara visits Black with a peace offering (her burnt to a crisp pot pie), and says she'll give him a chance, and work with him again. He talks about Fiona, and Kara wishes she could've met her. Brainy calls in, and lets her know that they couldn't find out what was on the label, but it had traces of a chemical that, if used in a specific way, could be used in a nuclear bomb. They discover that they need to head to Shelley Island, where they plan to blow it up. Kara feels the need to call the DEO in on this, but Black tells her that, yet again, they'll be discovered and nutrealized upon arrival. The decide to head there alone.
Lena comes back with food for Subject 0331, who's name we find out is Adam. After some Big Belly Burger, Lena fesses up about what she's trying to do. Hoping she can find a cure for disease, as well as maybe giving some metahuman abilites to humans, that could possibly counterbalance any potential war (how naive). He still doesn't feel like the right choice, but Lena convinces him otherwise.
Kara and Black arrive at Shelley Island, where Kara knew that there were power dampeners on the island. However, she came prepared for such an occaision, by having taken pills for her Kryptonian physiology. Black says this was the place where Fiona first came when she arrived on Earth. This is where they found the fission bombs. Kara starts feeling weak, and just on cue, the Sons of Liberty arrive and surround both Kara and Black. Turns out, Black set her up so's he could have a meet and greet with the head honcho. Kara is captured and chained so she can't use her powers, even in her weakened state. She finds out that he set up the whole theft of the fission rods just to get her attention, and it worked.
Lena is treating Adam and prepping him, while he still lays on his guilt about not saving his brother, and feeling it was his fault. She assures him yet again that it wasn't, because no one had any idea that his brother would die. It was unfortunate. She then tells Adam about HER story, about how she lost her mother when she was four. How her mother drowned, and all she did was watch, not being able to do anything. Then, how she was taken in by the Luthor family, realizing how evil they were, and having to spend her life trying to rectify their wrongs. The sad part is that she felt she BELONGED with the Luthor family.
We see Lockwood ready to prep another show, talking about the death of Supergirl at Guardian's hand, and how it will spell the movement for the humans to rise up against the aliens. He gets a knock at the door, telling him that the crew is almost ready. At the same time, Manchester Black arrives at a door, and meets with Agent Liberty. He talks about how he gave up Supergirl, so that he could find out what happened to Fiona. Liberty has his guards show up, and Manchester shoots them all, and faces Liberty, who, when his mask is removed, is NOT Ben Lockwood, but one of the other Sons, taking his place. Black isn't amused, and wants to know where his boss is. The agent says if he gives the leader up, he'd be betraying him, and Black says that well, disloyalty should be rewarded accordingly.
While James, in Guardian gear, arrives at Shelley Island with the Sons of Liberty, ready to do his on camera explosion of the island, we see Kara trapped inside, trying to get out, but having trouble due to her powers being on the fritz. She does, however, manage to dig her hands into the wall and climb up, getting to the window, where she pounds on it to get James' attention. Just as James does his lip service to the camera, and prepares to set off the bomb, he hears Supergirl just in time, and starts fighting the Sons. Black has also been on the island, unhappy that Liberty didn't uphold his end of the bargain, and starts destroying the power dampeners, allowing Supergirl to escape, and take the bombs off the island before they exploded. In the melee, J'Onn confronts Black, feeling betrayed, and Black slaps an empathy enhancer on him, showing him Black's emotional downward spiral. Black says that if he has to live with this pain, because of Fiona's death, he has not heart now, than J'Onn will live with it as well. Black disappears. Back in his office...Lockwood is pissed that his plan got foiled by both Guardian AND Supergirl.
At Lena's lab, she decides to let Adam go, and forego the experiment. After becoming close to him and hearing his story, she can't, in good conscious, have him go through with it, for it's too risky. But Adam reiterates to her that he lives with risk daily, not knowing that one day, his body will reject the liver. They then begin to proceed with the experiment.
Kara and James talk. She feels upest by Black's betrayal, and how things have gotten out of hand. She's frustrated. James lets her know she did nothing wrong. HE, however, feels he compromised himself in order to get to the truth, and that nearly cost Tom his life. He feels Lena was right about what she said about him, and Kara urges him to go to her, and make up.
Back in her office, Lena is weeping, despondent over the fact that Adam did not survive the trial, and she grieves for him. James shows up, hoping they could talk and patch things up, but Lena just isn't in the mood. She says they'll talk tomorrow, and gives him the brush off. James gets it, and agrees. He leaves.
J'Onn shows up at Kara's, upset at how he let her down, and how foolish he felt about trusting Black. He lets her know that Black killed those Sons of Liberty men, and that he should've listened to her. Kara tries to assure him that it wasn't his fault. Meanwhile, we see Manchester Black roll up on a motorcycle to Lockwood's Metal Plant....finding the hideout of Agent Liberty, after he found out Ben's secret ID.
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This was a pretty powerful episode from an emotional standpoint, as emotions on all sides ran high. There were some things everyone was working through, at least from the main players in this episode.
Kara's disbelief and shock that Lockwood would try to turn public opinion against Supergirl, blaming HER to be the cause of the growing alien population. That, added on the distrust she had of Manchester Black, and she's starting to feel a bit jaded about how people act in certain situations. Kara may be wise in a LOT of ways, but she's also still a young adult---still learning as she goes, and doesn't quite have the perspective that her cousin Clark has. But we cheer her on, anyway, because she is our heroine. Also wasn't much action from her tonight---she's been very limited in caped action lately, having to rely on her smarts and ingenuity to get out of messy situations. I know many of us want to see a knockdown, drag out super hero fight, but often times, the big point about super heroes, and what makes them so "super" most times ISN'T so much the powers they possess...it's how they can deal with situations WITHOUT using them, and STILL being heroic. But I feel that as this season progresses, especially with the Elsewords crossover coming up, and the Red Daughter storyline we've yet to get more movement on, we're going to see Kara in kick ass mode soon enough.
Plus...I just gotta say this: Kara is a klutz in the kitchen. Woman can't cook worth a damn!
We finally see the true colors of Manchester Black in this episode. He's out for revenge...pure and simple. There is no justice for this man. He will not rest, and will do whatever it takes, bend whatever rules he needs to, in order to achieve his goal. And nobody better get in his way.
Lena's story this episode was heartbreaking. The bonding between doctor and patient, so to speak, was sad, but it seemed to help humanize Lena even more. While we still can't totally approve of how she's going about everything...thus that Luthor infulence in there...we know her heart is in the right place. Her connecting with Adam and hearing his story, allowed us to get a background check on Lena's origin, and it's a tragic one. The fact that she felt she BELONGED with the Luthor family, despite their evil ways, is kind of a dark part for her. But it allows us to see her in a different light...even though we all fear the path she's going down might be an "ends justify the needs" kind of route, but we will have to see.
James' desire to seek the truth not only landed HIM into hot water, but the man he befriended as well, Tom. Tom showed his naivety by believing the rhetoric of Agent Liberty, and didn't realize the criminal things he was going to be asked to do in the name of said "Liberty". James thought he was taking the right route, by trying to expose the plot from within, but only managed to put himself in the crosshairs himself. Lena's desire to protect him at all costs, he didn't like, but now he sees where she was coming from. There's still much to patch up between those two, and not sure if they're past the point of no return, but, again, we'll have to see.
It's not often we can say J'Onn J'Onzz is naive...but that's what we found out this episode...than even J'Onn is imperfect, and is prone to trusting the wrong people...which is what he did with Manchester Black. Whether or not this gets J'Onn back in the game...at least from an outside help...remains to be seen.
We see Lockwood's larger plans at work, but we also see how unraveled he can get when things go awry. Watching Supergirl disrupt his latest attempt to use the aliens as a warning shot to go to war with them failed, it probably won't take long before he loses control completely, and everything he's worked hard for will be exposed for the world to see. It's usually when the villain faces defeat on several fronts, that they start losing their sense of reality and control...thus, becoming more desperate, and, in turn, more dangerous. But right now...he's still got all the cards, and he's not done playing yet.
Alex was in the background this episode, as was Briany....they were there for a short bit, but only to drive the plot along. Not always a bad thing. Also...was nice that this Tom character realized that the lager plan isn't what he tought it would be...and that there were consequences to his actions. Hopefully, he sees that violence is NEVER the answer to a problem...unless there is no absolute way to avoid it.
As I said, it was an emotionally charged episode with SOME action, but moreso just moving the story along to HOPEFULLY, its conclusion soon. This does NOT need to be a season long arc. If you break the season up in two arcs, it makes for a much mor entertaining show. And I think that all the DC shows are starting to take their cues from Marvel and what they do with Agents of SHEILD. Therefore, the season doesn't get completely bogged down, you can tell more than one huge story, but you can also have tiny plots here and there to continue developing the characters. That's good storytelling.
That does it for ME, and I hope that if you guys have enjoyed my blog here, PLEASE subscribe and pass it along...I'd be eternally grateful! Also, don't be afraid to comment...I love the sharing of ideas and thoughts...it's what makes this stuff FUN!
One more thing....if you haven't checked out my friend Jocelyn's youtube page, where she reacts and reviews our shows, give her the once over...the link to her page is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBvUpMcZiuEvQq6giR-T_wg
Don't forget...Elseworlds in two weeks!
Until next week however...Up, Up, and AWAY!
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