EPISODE 14: HOMECOMING
SYNOPSIS: When Jeremiah Danvers (guest star Dean Cain) is rescued from Cadmus, Alex (Chyler Leigh) and Kara (Melissa Benoist) are thrilled to have their father back. The Danvers arrange a family dinner to celebrate but things go awry when a suspicious Mon-El (Chris Wood) starts to question Jeremiah about his sudden return.
REVIEW:
Full disclosure here, folks. I am going to be all over the map in regard to how I feel about tonight’s episode of SUPERGIRL. On the one hand, there were two fantastic action sequences and several scenes worth of raw emotional conflict that hit me really hard. But then, there were also moments that frustrated me to almost no end. In regard to what went down during tonight’s adventure, I’m going to let Winn sum it up, as he did so conveniently after a quick commercial break. “So, what you’re telling me is Jeremiah Danvers, former D.E.O. agent and Alex and Kara’s long-lost father, has returned from Cadmus custody with news that our enemy has developed a nuclear fusion explosive using Kara’s otherworldly heat-vision-radiation, and that they’re going to drop that on National City and kill us all.” Thanks Winn, you’re a real pal.
Alright, so now that you’ve got the jist of it, let’s dig into the details. As I’ve stated in my reviews of previous episodes for this season, love is in the air for Kara and her band of super friends. Alex and Maggie are working through their differences but loving life, Winn is still dating the alien Lyra, and most recently, Kara and Mon-El have moved on to the point in their relationship where they’re knockin’ super boots. For me, each of the relationship feels very natural and engaging, regardless of their longevity. There’s quite the difference in intensity around the board, too. Right now, Kara and Mon-El are nestled – albeit and little uncomfortably – in their “Honeymoon stage”. Straight up, these two kids have their first night of super sex and, the next morning, Kara is delivering a litter of puppies in between picking up a caramel macchiato and giving a tug boat fisherman a lift. As far as post-coital activities go, it sure beats smoking a cigarette.
So, now that Mon-El and Kara are an item, the dashing Daxamite is going to have work on that listening thing we’ve been talking so much about these past few episodes – that is if he holds any hope of remaining as Supergirl’s main squeeze. If I may, I’d also like to add to the list of things that Mon-El needs to do. Okay, here goes. Mon-El, dude, you need to work on your communication skills. Tact makes a very big difference for when you want to be heard. Coming at Jeremiah the way you did at the family get together was a real dumb move. I’m with you though, on the whole “We should be questioning the convenience of Jeremiah’s return” elephant in the room, but there are better ways to go about it.
Also, you need to take a moment to think before you open your mouth in response to Kara’s requests for space and understanding. There’s a part of me that likes that you’re finding out the hard way that you can’t just go around saying whatever floats into that brain of yours, but by the same token it’s time for you to make some progress. Again, I’m totally with you on the “Jeremiah is probably evil and we should vet him out” state of mind, but let’s remember that this man has been missing for over a decade and people are going to be clouded when they react to his return. We’re cool, though, you and I. I’m actually really glad that Winn had the decency to really consider your side back there at the bar, as opposed to boogieing down with the rest of the Jeremiah Jambaroo. That little faux-hawked hacker sure has grown by leaps and bounds, this season, hasn’t he?
I’m going to pause here for a moment, and take a paragraph to remark about how cool tonight’s big action sequences were. SUPERGIRL certainly has had its share of excitement this season, but that altercation between Supergirl, Martian Manhunter, and Cadmus was frickin’ sweet! Did you see the way Manhunter touched down in front of those vans and blew them up into the sky? Or the way Kara dismantled that truck like one of Immortan Joe’s chromed-up War Boys? For my money, this was one of the coolest action moments of the season. Additionally, there was also that classically-cool bit where Supergirl had to save a train from careening off the tracks. I’ve seen this scenario if a ton of both Superman and Supergirl comics throughout the years, and found this scene to be a damn good recreation of that setup. I’ll say this though, you’ve gotta love how the ruined track pieces of the tracks were not warped at all, despite being blown to smithereens just moments before. Oh comics, you just do you, okay?
Let’s talk about Dean Cain’s return for a moment. Personally, I think Jeremiah makes for a much better villain than some Lifetime-quality father figure. From the get go, I didn’t buy Jeremiah’s too-wholesome-to-be true attitude. While I realize that, even with the cybernetic enhancements, Jeremiah is still connected with his more human emotions, there’s no way that someone would be that cool after having been held captive for more than a decade by a nefarious organization. It’s a bit bizarre to think that we might have two cyborg Supermen running around now, but hey, there have been plenty of those in the comics. There’s no rule that states that show can have only one. And besides, I think that writing Dean Cain into a role where he double-crosses everyone he holds dear was a bold move. Not only does it make him more interesting, it created some really great drama between he and Chyler Leigh’s Alex. That moment where she almost shot him was intense, and quite heartbreaking to boot.
Backing up a bit though, I’ve gotta say that I was quite disappointed in Alex’s behavior in the moments when she and Kara had it out about the specifics of Jeremiah’s return. That whole “family first” malarkey was hard to swallow, for me, and the idea of her not listening when Kara is asking sensible questions frustrated me greatly. Now, I understand that her judgement is clouded given that it’s her father and all, I just wish that, for once, Alex would put her years of training ahead of her emotions. It’s a lot to ask, I know, especially from a television character, but dammit, I need these people to grow, man!
That said, the whole situation is the sort of scenario where rational thought pretty much gets chucked out a window, right? Alex’s father has been gone for what must have felt to her like forever, so of course she’s going to be on the defense when someone comes along to rain on her long-awaited parade. Still, I just … arrrrggghhh. At the very least, she didn’t run away when Maggie offered to comfort her, after everything came crashing down. That was a rock solid moment, and one of the best of the night. You really got to see how much she and Maggie have grown as a couple in that moment and I love seeing shine through in an otherwise sad and emotionally conflicting scene.
I suppose I’ll wrap things up by questioning what the hell was up with that arc-like ship that was chillin’ the Cadmus hanger at the close of the episode? After speaking with my wife, she suggested that it could be some manner of transport ship. Thinka about it, it’s probably reserved for Cadmus and a select few of their people for after the nuclear bomb they possess goes off. If this is true, we’re guessing that Jeremiah has struck a deal to reserve seats for both Alex and Eliza – but not Kara. If we’re right, and I’m not saying that we are, I’ll be very curious to see how this all shakes out. Could Jeremiah really be foolish enough to think that Lillian will keep her word? Has he perhaps sabotaged the vessel, unbeknownst to Lillian, during the ship’s construction? I guess we’ll have to wait until next week, when the adventure of SUPERGIRL continues!
SCORE:
STINGER: “EXODUS” Alex searches for Jeremiah while Kara investigates a series of alien abductions; in an effort to get Snapper Carr to run a story that would help her stop Cadmus, Kara agrees to set up an interview between Snapper and Supergirl.