Supergirl - Thus Far...
Peter Saenz
Recap
Realizing that the world around her has increased anti-alien sentiments, Supergirl attempts to stop humans from committing violent attacks on aliens throughout the city, several times over. After discovering that human siblings Mercy and Otis Graves are behind a particular alien hate group, Supergirl is able to stop them from attacking the U.S. President. Unfortunately, she is too late to stop them from revealing to the public that the President is really an alien herself. This fans more flames of hate as more alien hating humans begin to fall in line behind the Graves sibling's dark organization.
Review
Though captured by the DEO for his attempt to harm the President, Otis Graves manages to coerce a weak minded DEO agent to set him free. Returning to his sister, Otis and Mercy use the DEO’s working knowledge of the building to infiltrate back into the DEO to steal the device that helped liberate Earth from the Daxamites. Once they have it, they use it to disperse microscopic traces of Kryptonite throughout the Earth’s atmosphere. This causes Supergirl to become deathly ill, forcing Alex to put her into a containment suit to seal her off from the poison in the air. Brainiac 5 and the other DEO members scramble to find out a way to clear the atmosphere before it kills Supergirl.
We are then shown flashbacks to a National City university professor, named Ben Lockwood. Though generally good-hearted, we see that his alien hating father lives with him and his wife and son. His father constantly says disparaging things about aliens, often calling them roaches. Ben tries to shield his father’s views from his son, but soon a series of events take place where Ben starts to sympathize with his bitter father’s views on those different from him. Ben begins sharing his points of view in the classroom, which causes some negative backlash from his students. The university learns what he’s done, and fire him. Angry, he insists that he lost his job due to aliens reporting on him, and doesn’t see that his own hate speech is what caused his job loss. During the Daxamite invasion, Ben’s father dies during the fallout. Before he passes, he tells Ben to see the aliens for what they are and rise up against him. Ben does and begins donning a mask, calling himself Agent Liberty. Members of the Graves’ hate group take notice and begin donning masks of their own, hiding behind a false face as they attack aliens indiscriminately.
The Earth’s atmosphere is eventually cleared, and Supergirl is able to act again. She manages to stop a citywide attack on aliens by the Citizens of Liberty. While James Olson attempts to interview Agent Liberty to expose him, his alter ego Ben Lockwood manages to get a new job as a talk show host, where he can spew his take to a larger audience.
Final Thoughts
So, I'm going to recognize the obvious elephant in the room: Agent Liberty represents Donald Trump, and the Citizens of Liberty are his illegal alien hating followers. The season is trying to parallel what is happening politically in the U.S. at the moment. So much so that the similarities practically hit you over the head. Not only do the Citizens of Liberty look and act a lot like tiki torch carrying Alt Right members, but the phrases they use mimic the same hate phrases the Alt Right tote such as: Earth First (America First), Roaches (equating to a racial slur), alien lover (liberal traitor), and on and on. Obviously the producers are trying to show just how hateful the current administration is by showcasing their actions in a familiar TV series setting, and how damaging their hate is to those around them.
Personally, this is the exact reason why I don't care for this season. I constantly see the evils of the political people in power, and their reach daily; whether it's on television news, logging on to social media, talking with friends/family, or even passing by people on the street in heated debates. It's dark and depressing because it's not on television, it's real life. Things like families being torn apart, children held in cages, and Nazis shooting up public spaces aren't TV series plots, they're really happening before our eyes. For most people, myself included, television and movies are escape mediums. It's a place where you can leave your life for an hour or so and go somewhere else more entertaining. Supergirl did that for me many times over, brilliantly even, in previous seasons. This one, not so much. I myself don't want to be reminded of the evils of what's going on, or reminded of just how terrible things are. I already know. I'm living it, engaging it, everyday. What I would rather see for Supergirl? I'd rather see awesome reunions like Supergirl teaming up with her cousin Superman to save a city from disaster, or Kara stealing a romantic moment with Mon-El, or Kara having a girl's night out with her sister Alex and her mom, or even seeing Supergirl explore her past more on Argo. Supergirl saves lives, but I'd much rather see her doing that against familiar faces like the Luthors, Brainiac, Metallo...not khaki pant wearing conservatives with hate in their hearts. Not for me anyway. It serves no purpose for me as it provides no resolution or answers to the true life counterparts that still exist in the real world once the episode is over.
On a brighter note, I am happy to see the introduction of the Manchester Black character. A rarely seen, but well established character in the Superman mythos, Manchester Black has a lot of potential for this season to turn the corner. Thus far, he is only a no-nonsense brawler who is avenging the death of his alien girlfriend. In the comics though, he is a powerful PSI (mental abilities) character who is powerful enough to kill Superman, and has done so. Actor David Ajala plays the character beautifully. He brings mystery and appeal to the character, which only helps to augment the show's likability. Likable too is the new Nia Nal character, played by actress Nicole Maines. Both the actress and the character are transsexual, but the show isn't focused on making that fact a huge banner issue. Her trans status was spotlighted in the show, but the moment didn't feel forced and the revelation actually helped add to the scene it occurred in. Very classy on the staff writer's part. I also love that being trans isn't something the Nia character is solely centered on, but at the same time, is focusing on the same things other trans people are focused on: having a work life, a home life, connecting with friends, and possibly finding someone to love. She's smart and well rounded, and for that I am happy.
Supergirl – Thus Far…
- Writing - 6/106/10
- Storyline - 3/103/10
- Acting - 7/107/10
- Music - 5/105/10
- Production - 8/108/10