Supergirl season 2 episode 20 review: James’ powerful story; Rhea’s move
What this episode provided over the course of the hour was a story all about a number of powerful subjects, with the biggest one being acceptance and bravery over fear. It doesn’t quite matter if you are talking about humans, aliens, or anything in between.
The chaos of the story began when James found himself struggling with who he was as his alter ego Guardian. He wanted to be viewed as a hero, but instead the only thing people were perceiving him to be while out fighting crime was a menace. They were afraid to be near him, and afraid to thank him for what he did. Following an attack by a mysterious alien known as a Phorian, he also found himself in a position where he wanted to help, and in the process of investigating the alien’s home, what he realized was that she had a young child in Marcus who could be used to find her. He was a sweet, innocent kid who didn’t know what was going on.
James took it upon himself to help the kid, to teach him about the world, and to try to get some of the necessary information he so needed out of him. He started to bond with him, but after taking him to CatCo headquarters, the kid’s powers flared up and he started causing destruction against his will.
The source of the eruptions
These are ultimately tied to the experiments going on with Lena Luthor and Rhea, who are working together in order to effectively “change the world.” The only thing that Lena doesn’t realize is that Rhea is largely just using her as a means in order to ensure that she can continue her quest of revenge against Supergirl. She set of the Phorian outbursts, and there could be so much more coming up soon.
Rhea knows exactly what to say to Lena and at the right time, which is one of the main reasons why she is such an effective villain. She roped in Lena enough to the point where she saw her as a mother figure, and then took advantage of her in her attempts to terrorize much of the city starting with the Phorians.
Eventually, Kara figured out what she was up to, but she still had to find a way to stop her.
Stopping Rhea before it’s too late
Ultimately, we had a showdown with Kara and James finding Rhea and doing their best to stop her. Unfortunately, what she did was trap the Martian Manhunter in a series of nightmares, and unleash the Phorian power like never before.
It felt appropriate that James was the hero of the episode, as he managed to get through to Marcus even in the midst of the trance. He didn’t need the Guardian suit to stop the chaos; he just needed the power of his voice. (This was a fantastic performance by Brooks in the process.)
While James was stopping this, Mon-El found himself in a fierce conversation with his mother, one where she claimed that his father took his own life. She manipulated him just like she manipulated Rhea.
In the end, here’s your cliffhanger: Per Rhea, many more Daxamites are now coming to National City, and that spells all sorts of trouble for Kara and everyone else.
Overall take
James has long been under-utilized on Supergirl, and this episode showed just what he’s capable of. It also did a great job of setting up the series’ endgame. With an invasion from Daxam coming, Kara’s going to have her hands full.
Where is the story going on Supergirl moving forward?
Head over here in the event you want some more news regarding what is coming up on the show. (Photo: The CW.)