Supergirl season 3 episode 19 review: James Olsen’s heartbrekaing past

Supergirl

While we know that there was time devoted on Supergirl season 3 episode 19 to Reign, at the same time what’s going to stick with us is the story of one James Olsen. Mehcad Brooks gave one of his performances on the series as James revealed his difficulties with police in the past and being a young, black man in the world today.

At the center of this episode was a reconciliation — would National City and the police accept Guardian if they know that he is black? As James noted to Lena, being the hero was the first time in his whole life he’d been judged for his actions as opposed for his appearance. Yet, he found himself in a position where he could either reveal that he is Guardian or face steep repercussions as a result. He was being threatened and the last thing he wanted was to give in to that. The person he was trying to protect was a former member of the Coville cult, someone who refused to allow him to reveal himself for the sake of protecting her.

By the end of the episode, it was pretty clear precisely what the cult was doing — and it was also pretty messed-up in that they were trying to create their own Worldkiller in Olivia. By the end of the episode, they were at least temporarily successful. Yet, Kara was able to get through to the real Olivia in time to keep from undergoing the transformation completely. They were able to save the day … which isn’t a shock given that it is so early in the season.

When it comes to James’ decision to eventually take the mask off, he does want to do it eventually. He just wants to do it on his own terms rather than being threatened to do it.

Elsewhere in this episode…

J’onn thought the best way in order for his father to feel a little bit more stimulated was to go to an arcade. At first, that didn’t work out, but in the end he made a rather surprising connection with someone who he didn’t even know before that day: Ruby. Who knew that one of the best things for Myr’nn was for him to get a friend who treated him like a normal person?

Also, in the aftermath of Ruby’s time out she started to get along better and be genuinely happy. That was one of first times we’ve seen that (understandably) since learning that her mother was actually trapped within the soul of a Worldkiller.

Was there progress with Reign?

What Lena Luthor figured out through her research, with helm from Supergirl (just a reminder that the two are not friends), was that there may be a way to effectively reverse-engineer Reign. That could mean that there is a way to bring Samantha Arias back once and for all!

Well, here is the problem that the team eventually ran into with Reign — her body was slowly becoming immune to her restraints. With that, the team only has a matter of days in order to figure out how to help her before she busts free again.

As for the cliffhanger in the closing minutes, Coville is alive! We don’t know what that means, but it ain’t great.

Related Be sure to get some other news when it comes to the next new episode of the series

CarterMatt Verdict

Overall, Supergirl season 3 episode 19 presented a powerful, heartfelt episode. It didn’t really progress the story of Reign forward that much, but it did provide a topical, interesting hour of TV that we’ll remember a few weeks from now.

What did you think about Supergirl season 3 episode 19 overall? Let us know in the attached comments!

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