Kyle’s Thoughts

Well, I messed up last week’s writeup. The title of last week’s Supergirl was “We Can Be Heroes.” This week’s episode is the real “The Martian Chronicles.” Sorry for any confusion; I’ve fixed the titles so we should be good. Bad Kyle. Let’s get to this week’s episode of Supergirl.

“The Martian Chronicles” continued Supergirl’s recent trend of solid episodes. My largest complaint—and it’s a minor one really—is that Supergirl whipped through a lot of story in short order. It could’ve taken its time with the moment when someone was a shapeshifting, white Martian spy, and the means with which the gang figures out who’s who was too quick and easy. But I liked that Supergirl went this direction. With how “The Martian Chronicles” ended I’m sure we’ll see more Martian stories.

Supergirl’s development of white Martians as antagonists is the closest thing the CW has come to its development of Deathstroke. Furthermore, the CW did a better job relating a Supergirl storyline to our nation’s climate in “The Martian Chronicles” than it did earlier this season in “Welcome to Earth.” M’gann struggles with who she is, what she did during wartime, and her culture. She’s proof that not all white Martians are killers, and that message could be applied to several groups of people today, whether it’s ethnicity, political affiliation, or religion. It’s a universal theme that should have relevance years in the future.

The romantic interests continue to evolve and change, and that’s why I don’t mind them on Supergirl. The CW doesn’t do a good job with romance. Jim and I have dinged all the CW superhero shows for bad romance, but Supergirl comes at the subject from different angles. Unrequited love, missed connections, social awkwardness, and sexual preference (in a non-sensationalistic way) are at home on Supergirl. It’s refreshing. It rings true, or at least truer than any other Arrowverse show (in terms of romance). My only gripe—and it’s another small one—is that “The Martian Chronicles” ended with a romantic note. This marks the second week in a row Supergirl ended with romance. It’s not bad, but I’d prefer if Supergirl varied its episodes’ punctuation.

I’m not sure what Supergirl’s endgame is this season. Since white Martians have been resolved, I’d imagine the Luthors are back in play. The Luthors could make a compelling big bad, but Supergirl must re-establish this arc before long. If next week’s episode is any indication, we could be in for a thrilling Luthor misadventure.

Thanks for reading.