Kyle’s Thoughts

We were spared Mon-El and Kara hooking up for one week by Mr. Mxyzptlk dropping in on the two before they could express themselves. “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk” was filler but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. A lot of that comes from Mon-El and Kara making out at the end of this week’s episode. I don’t like the coupling. It’s forced, but at least Supergirl put in the time and I couldn’t stand the show wasting valuable closing minutes on Monra. Crap or get off the pot. It looks like crap but at least Supergirl can work through this Monra nonsense.

Who am I kidding? It’s the CW; Monra has just spread its wings.

I still like how Alex and Maggie’s relationship is being handled. Their romance is one of the best, if not the best, relationship on the CW. Maggie not liking Valentine’s Day had me concerned, but there’s a good reason for it that’s rooted in who she is as a character. I’m impressed with this aspect of Supergirl’s writing. Forget Monra. We need a name for Alex and Maggie. They’re both government employees who go by their surnames: Sawyer and Danvers. Go, Sanvers.

J’onn J’onnz didn’t have a huge part to play in “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk,” but Supergirl worked him in well. A sage piece of advice J’onn gave Kara played a role in the episode’s conclusion. I’m not going to say much else for fear of spoilers, but it’s a nice moment. I also liked how Supergirl kept M’gann relevant. If Arrow has shown us anything, it’s how a CW show can go months without a pivotal character and drop them in on a whim. Take a note from Supergirl, Arrow. It doesn’t take much to work in characters on a semi-weekly basis. J’onn missed M’gann and sent her a message. The exchange J’onn had with other characters worked on multiple levels.

Winn hooking up with an alien felt out of place, at first. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would do that and Supergirl shies away from bed hopping, but how the scenario played out rang true. It was more the alien female being forward with Winn. I liked how Supergirl didn’t sex shame the alien but it did show that a deeper connection is more rewarding. It’s a tightrope walk and the show handled it better than I would’ve expected. But still, it’s another romance. The CW has never met a romance it didn’t like.

Speaking of romance and getting back to Mxyzptlk, “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk” focused on Mxyzptlk’s love for Kara. It’s a superficial love. I’m not sure Mxyzptlk could love anyone but himself and come to think of it, I don’t think Supergirl explained how he fell in love with Kara, besides saying the too easy he watched her from afar. It was nonsensical. But the trickster Mxyzptlk is nonsensical.

So, the Mxyzptlk story worked, for the most part. Mon-El hid how to banish Mxyzptlk from this plane, get him to say his name backward. That wasn’t out of character for him, but Supergirl didn’t do a good job of explaining how Kara could overlook Mon-El’s bloodlust. He wanted to kill Mxyzptlk. I also thought how Kara tricked Mxy into saying his name backward was too obvious, but the same can be said of many times Superman tricked Mzyzptlk. And the bigger takeaway is that Kara, not Mon-El, dealt with the problem.

There were plenty of visual treats in “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk,” too. Mxy pretended to be Superman and Aaron Burr, the man who killed Alexander Hamilton. Who knew there’d be a Hamilton reference? In fact, there were plenty of sly references about pop culture and comics throughout the episode. There was even an odd cameo by an ice sculpture Jor-El (Russell Crowe). “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk” stretched the boundaries of what the CW can do and had fun.

I’ve been on record as not liking Monra (for all the reasons I mentioned before) but if Supergirl can stop ending every show with a Monra update, I’m okay with the coupling. Even if Supergirl can’t, the show is still the best CW superhero show going this year. And it’s not even close.

Thanks for reading.