Series: Supergirl
Episode: 106 "Red Faced"
Previous Episode Review: "How Does She Do It?"
REVIEW
To date, Supergirl has been a very mediocre series that is often over the top in all of the wrong ways. With that being said, the series was improving slowly with each consecutive episode. That all changed when the latest episode aired earlier this week, marking an all time low for the series. This episode magnifies the flaws of previous episodes, while improving upon almost nothing.
This episode shows just how far this series can sink. Many of the situations and the way people react often came across as silly and cartoonishly unrealistic. The episode's attempts at drama are especially cringeworthy; Cat Grant's mother is perhaps the Supergirl equivalent of Jar Jar Binks. But despite a very unnecessary romance, I do have to give the episode points for humanising "James" Olsen, especially with his interactions with General Sam Lane.
The series picks up where the season's opening episodes left off by providing painful attempts at social commentary. The series tries too hard to get any sort of message across and insists on constantly reminding the audience that Supergirl is a female superhero. This episode decides to play with fire by going a step further and briefly bringing race into the equation. Thankfully, the scene didn't fall on its face. It usually isn't what the series is trying to say that's the problem, but rather how the series attempts to say it. This live action cartoon clearly can't handle the serious messages that it is trying to tackle. And considering the subject matter, the episode should have been called anything other than "Red Faced."
On the topic of the villain-of-the-week, I simply must ask: what did they do to Red Tornado?! He looks absolutely horrible, not to mention that this version isn't even a character, but rather a machine controlled by other characters. Did CBS waist their entire budget on donuts? The action scenes in the episode are equally absurd, which is enhanced by the cheesy special effects. During the fights, Supergirl's freeze breath came out of nowhere, as if the writers take for granted that everyone in the audience knows every single one of Superman's powers.
Side Notes:
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Sam Lane is perfectly cast for the series.
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Cyborg Superman is an alien?
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"It's always men who go crazy behind the wheel." *Sigh*
VERDICT
Score: 4.5/10
From the atrocious attempts at social commentary to silly action sequences and unneeded drama, Supergirl has hit a low point for the series.