In case you haven’t heard me bellowing it from the rooftops all season long, I’ll shout it again:
SUPERGIRL IS THE BEST SUPERHERO SHOW ON TELEVISION RIGHT NOW.
The fact that for seven straight weeks Supergirl has delivered nonstop action, emotion, and twists is something that has blown my mind. Supergirl wasn’t bad last season, it just hadn’t really found its footing. It was good, but this season is phenomenal.
“The Darkest Place” established itself as the show’s best episode thus far this season, which trust me isn’t an easy feat. It was so very much like the previous six episodes but had an extra level of danger and uncertainty that made it an hour of television not to be watched but to be experienced.
While the episode managed to blend its usual emotional and action elements, the sheer number of twists and their impact was something to be felt. These twists weren’t just twists for the sake of twists. These twists have left lasting emotional impacts on all parties involved while moving the plot forward.
I’m emotionally compromised on so many levels that I’m surprised I’m not just a heaping mess of emotion of the floor.
“The Darkest Place” brought us our first real glimpse into the darkness that is Cadmus. And from what we saw even darker than we could’ve imagined. There was a real intimidation that Cadmus established as we saw for the first time that perhaps Kara has met her match. Here we have Mama Luthor, mother of Lex Luthor, leading the charge to eradicate the Earth of aliens and doing it in such a terrifyingly mesmerizing way.
When Kara and Mon-El were holed up in Cadmus, I’ll admit that it was the first time where I was truly terrified about what the outcome would be. It was a level of darkness and fear that Supergirl had yet to really delve into this season. But it felt right given the circumstances as it really set the stage for just how dangerous this season’s big bad Cadmus is going to be.
Then Supergirl did what it does best as it brought the feels with countless relationships whether it was the familial kind or the romantic kind. Whether it was Kara reuniting with her adoptive father Jeremiah or Alex’s concern for her sister or Alex and Maggie’s slowburn and Mon-El’s feelings developing for Kara or J’Onn J’Onzz being overwhelmed with anger over betrayal, this episode really hit every angle of the emotional spectrum.
Now some thoughts on “The Darkest Place”:
Jeremiah Danvers Lives!
No doubt the biggest storyline of the episode rested with the reveal that Jeremiah Danvers is indeed alive. But I’d say that the biggest surprise wasn’t that he was alive so much that he wasn’t evil. With the introduction of Cadmus this season, I feel like we all assumed we’d see Jeremiah sooner rather than later. But I always assumed Cadmus would’ve turned him evil as a means to use him against Kara and Alex. So color me beyond shocked when Jeremiah not only saved the day but managed to help Kara and Mon-El escape without a cliched betrayal in the end. But given Jeremiah’s helping Supergirl, I can’t help but be terrified for his future. Does Cadmus know? What will his punishment be? And if they don’t know, how will Cadmus ultimately use Jeremiah against them. Because we all know it’s coming. Whenever that may be. And it’s going to hurt like hell.
Don’t Tell Me to Not Ship Kara and Mon-El
So I’ve been a lowkey Kara and Mon-El shipper since the pair’s first interaction this season, but “The Darkest Place” firmly established this ship as an officially sailing one. Supergirl is going there. They’ve made that damn clear. I don’t know if it’ll be temporary or longterm or even serious, but Supergirl has officially planted the seeds. I never really expected to ship Kara and Mon-El. In fact, I was prepared for him to be the enemy. But Supergirl is managing to do what it failed to do last season: let a romance develop organically.
Last season they tried to force Kara and James together and it just didn’t work. But Kara and Mon-El’s blossoming relationship is not only organic, it makes sense. The bond between the two has been there from the start. Both are aliens, albeit from different planets, who originally hated each other. But once they really took the time to get to know each other they’ve developed a real bond and really care about the other. Supergirl has established that Mon-El has developed feelings for Kara. You could see it all over his face, hear it in his words. And while it has yet to officially establish that Kara has similar feelings for Mon-El the inference is there for the taking.
Team Guardian Struggles Then Rises
A hero isn’t a hero until he/she struggles and falls before rising again. That’s part of being a hero. Losing. Losing and then making the decision to get up and keep fighting. And that’s what James and Winn did in this episode. As the two worked to establish Guardian as a face of protection, someone put that goodness in jeopardy, which really forced James and Winn to fight for their reputation. Guardian was painted as a vigilante that was killing instead of a hero protecting. But the two managed to work together to bring down the guy ruining their name. And in the process they grew the stronger for it. I’ll have to admit that I’m surprised that Supergirl let Alex come into the know that James is Guardian. But I’m not surprised that they’re still keeping it from Kara. This is going to be interesting.
Alex and Maggie Establish the Official Slowburn
It’s obvious that Supergirl is going to kill us with this slowburn that is Alex and Maggie. But I couldn’t be more ready for it. We saw pretty early how Alex jumped right out in front of the situation and confronted Maggie about what happened last week. Alex felt encouraged by Maggie to open up about her feelings for her believing she’d accept her into her life. But Maggie was only interested in friendship. At least at present. So Alex was rightfully pissed off. And I was so glad to see her voice that frustration. I was equally pleased to see that Maggie understood.
But perhaps the most important part of this entire situation is that Maggie, who seems to be the reluctant one, admitted to Alex that she can’t imagine her life without Alex in it. While she hopes they can be “friends” in the future, the undertone was quite clear: Maggie wants to be with Alex. She’s just not ready yet. But when she it, it’s going to be a thing of beauty.
J’Onn J’Onzz is Becoming His Own Worst Enemy
I knew something bad was coming, and yet it didn’t change how much it hurt to finally learn the real consequence of M’Gann’s White Martian blood tranfusion. At first it appeared to be minor with hallucinations (not all bad things considering). But the end of the episode — and M’Gann’s revelation — did the worst thing it could do to J’Onn: make him the enemy. That’s right, J’Onn is becoming a White Martian. Perhaps the hallucinations and the anger were all foreshadowing what was to come. But we officially have seen J’Onn’s worst nightmare brought to life. What the hell happens now?
Supergirl airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.