One consequence of Supergirl sending its leading lady to the Phantom Zone is that the show
has become much more serialized than usual. We’re following the nitty gritty details of Kara’s journey through her newfound prison, as well as the day-to-day reality of how the Super Friends are coping without her. The upside is a nice
sense of emotional and logistical continuity; the downside is a frustrating sense
of same-y-ness. Phantoms and angst have dominated this smartly conceived
but unevenly executed start to season six, and I’m looking forward to the show moving in a drastically different direction next week. But, for now, “Lost Souls” at least uses its familiar plotting to deliver some satisfying character work along the way.
After the great Lena/Brainy showcase last week, this week puts Alex and Lena’s equally engaging dynamic front and center. During Lena’s first day as an official Super Friend, the two women deliver a
breezy Arrowverse answer to Marvel’s “Science Bros” as they team-up to
create a device that can locate Kara in the Phantom Zone. But when
the Prime Phantom’s ever-growing powers put all of National City in jeopardy,
Alex makes the tough call to give up the surefire way to find Kara in order to defeat
the more immediate threat first. And though Lena doesn’t go so far as to
put up a fight, it’s clear that worldwide heroism isn’t her first priority when
her best friend’s life is on the line.
When Lena later approaches Alex on the Tower Balcony of
Deep Thoughts to explain that she doesn’t have the selfless heroism to be a true Super
Friend, I was worried the show was going to agree with her. Supergirl has a tendency to stick to the
status quo, and I could see a world where the writers eagerly find an excuse to
separate Lena back into her own plotlines. Instead, Supergirl managed to
genuinely surprise me with Alex’s empathetic answer: The fact that Lena thinks
differently than the rest of the team isn’t a liability, it’s an asset. The
value of the Super Friends is that they all bring their diverse perspectives
and experiences to the group. And Alex assures Lena that she’s meant to be
there, even if, like the rest of the team, she sometimes has wobbles about the
cost of being a hero.
I really love the way this season is exploring Kara’s legacy
through how much she’s influenced and inspired those around her. Lena is now willing to trust other people and apologize when she’s wrong. Alex, meanwhile, has grown into a deeply empathetic leader who can give uplifting pep talks with the
best of them. It’s a far cry from how these two fiercely independent,
frequently stoic women were first introduced. And it’s a nice way to ensure Kara’s ethos still lives on in National City, even as she’s stuck halfway across the galaxy.
In fact, just like her sister, Kara has to make a big
sacrificial play this week. Though she finds a mirrored Fort Rozz
portal that will transport her right back to the Fortress of Solitude, she
winds up smashing it to stop Nyxly from wreaking havoc across Earth. Because—in an expected but still wildly fun twist—it turns out that Nyxly is actually a gleefully vengeful imp, not a humble lost soul. Peta Sergeant is once again a blast to watch in the role, especially because there seems to be a kernel of truth to Nyxly’s daddy issues. But just as I was jotting down a note about how much fun the show could have with Nyxly as a season-long antagonist, she just… dies?
The ending of this week’s
Phantom Zone storyline is so bizarre that I almost want to wait
until it’s resolved to comment on it. Blowing up Nyxly (and Kara’s dad??) at
this juncture would be a complete waste of those characters, which gives me
hope that the show has something else in store—especially because we’ve yet
to see an example of how the Phantom Zone tricks its prisoners into
hopelessness. But as is often the case on Supergirl, it can be hard to tell when an odd piece of storytelling (like Kara’s weirdly cold dynamic with her dad) is intentionally strange and when it’s just a result of bad writing. For now, I’m giving Supergirl the benefit of the doubt and leaving the whole Fort Rozz self-destruct cliffhanger in the “wait and see” box. There’s too much potential in the Kara/Nyxly dynamic to just toss it away like that.
Though “Lost Souls” suffers from some uneven plotting, it helps that it’s the most dynamic looking episode of the season so far. Supergirl is clearly working with some pretty severe production limitations this year, but director Alysse
Leite-Rogers manages to add a little extra visual flair that goes a long way
towards elevating the exposition-heavy Phantom-hunting plotline. The
scene of the Super Friends fighting Phantoms in a sewer has some nice horror movie
atmosphere, particularly in the shot of Brainy getting sucked into the dark.
And the big heroic climax where Nia, Brainy, and J’onn return to help Alex
capture the Prime Phantom is more cohesive and exhilarating than Supergirl’s action scenes have tended to be as of late.
Four episodes in, Supergirl’s
sixth season is still finding its feet, sometimes a little inelegantly and
sometimes with surprising grace. This episode offers a lovely showcase for
both Chyler Leigh and especially Katie McGrath, who’s clearly having a blast playing
this lighter but also more guilt-ridden version of Lena. (The scene where she
explains that Kara getting trapped in the Phantom Zone was her fault
was particularly heartbreaking.) But after several episodes that have felt
fairly similar, I’m looking forward to Supergirl swerving towards something entirely new next week with a time travel
trip back to Midvale High.
Stray
observations
- The “My name is Kara Zor-El…” intro is
back with a brand new season six upgrade! - After Nia’s random
absence last week, Kelly is nowhere to be seen tonight. I’m assuming there’s a budgetary reason why the show’s massive ensemble are seldom all in the same episode together. - I love that after years of everyone
being onboard with Brainy’s pop culture references, Lena is entirely unmoved by
his attempt to compare her “prototrap” to the ghost trap from Ghostbusters. - The show gives a nod to our current
reality as J’onn refers to the Phantoms’ progeny creation as being akin to a “global
pandemic.” - Brainy and Nia get a nice little
subplot about helping each other manage their shared sense of hopelessness, and
I’m really excited to see them team up for a time travel adventure next
week!