Review: Supergirl 5×02-“Stranger Beside Me“
[Editors’ note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Director: David McWhirter
Writers: Dana Horgan & Katie Rose Rogers
Starring: Melissa Benoist, Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, Katie McGrath, Jesse Rath, Nicole Maines, Azie Tesfai, Andrea Brooks, Julie Gonzalo, Staz Nair & David Harewood
Reviewed by: Sean Blumenshine
Summary
Supergirl, Alex and Brainiac thwart an alien attack while William investigates Kara. J’onn J’onzz and Kelly use Obsidian tech to solve a problem.
Positives
Any episode focused on J’onn is a great one. I love learning about the Martian history. I am intrigued by the backstory with the brother and I think it provides a good conflict. There’s also a solid mystery in regards to who wiped J’onn’s memory and why.
For the first time, Kara has to deal with balancing her work life with Supergirl. James never cared about whether or not she was on time because he knew she was Supergirl. But with a new editor, Kara has to be smarter with her time. She has to commit to being a journalist more than ever now.
I like that Alex freaks out over not knowing enough about Kelly while having strong feelings about her. What destroyed her relationship with Maggie was that neither knew what the other thought about kids. It makes sense that Alex would be paranoid about something like that happening again.
Brainy and Nia are adorable. I love every scene with them.
Negatives
Lena is just insane now. The things she does in this episode are messed up and horrifying. There’s no real way to justify her behavior as morally grey; she’s a villain. Under different circumstances, I would be fine with this story turn. But I don’t buy that Kara’s secret would push her this far. And I don’t think the writers will commit to making her a villain either because of the character’s fan base or because they like the actress too much. I think they’re taking her too far and I don’t feel that her actions have been properly set up.
I love James and I think he gets too much crap either from people who are upset about the race change or from people who see him as a threat to their particular ship. Having said that, I find it a tad bit ridiculous that James’ career choices are a senator and a museum curator. He has no experience in either of those things. He’s a journalist and a super hero. I know Mehcad Brooks is leaving to make Mortal Kombat and the writers need an excuse but this is silly. It’s not quite as bad as That 70s Show sending Eric to Africa but it’s close.
Verdict
I really enjoyed this episode. While I do have gripes, they’re both small parts of the episode and are more concerns for future episodes. The episode is really fun. It allows David Harewood to shine and I like the story of J’onn’s brother. I’m excited to see where it goes and what it has to do with the Monitor.
