Supergirl season 5, episode 13 review: It’s a Super Life

It’s not a super life for Supergirl in the 100th episode of the show. Mr. Mxyzptlk is back and he’s offering her a gift she can’t refuse.

If there’s one thing that’s been established on Supergirl, it’s that Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist) loves Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath). Her friendship with Lena is the most important thing to her, and the dissolution of it has impacted every aspect of Kara’s life. She can’t move on and the knowledge that Lena is headed down a dark path because of her, is eating Kara up.

What a novel idea it is, then, to celebrate the 100th episode of the show with an attempt to repair the pair’s broken bond.

Entertainment media has always celebrated love, but not the platonic kind. Yet again, the showrunners of Supergirl subvert the norm and focus ‘It’s a Super-Life’ on Kara’s desperate efforts to save her friendship.

Mr. Mxyzptlk Returns

It had been reported that Thomas Lennon would be stepping into the shoes of Mr. Mxyzptlk in the 100th episode instead of Peter Gadiot, who had played the character earlier in the show. The writers don’t dwell too much on the change in the character’s look, which works for the best. If there’s one rule that writers should follow, it’s that one should never try to justify anything too much.

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Lennon as Mxyzptlk is reasonably comedic (though a little too ham-fisted). The character’s return, however, provides a valuable opportunity for the showrunners to address one of the more questionable plot lines of past seasons.

When Mxyzptlk first appeared on the show, his aim was to get Supergirl to marry him. The entire storyline felt regressive on a show that championed women’s stories. In this episode, Mxyzptlk has been sent to atone for his actions, and he outright apologizes for what he did. Some people in real life should take note about pursuing unwilling love interests and eat humble pie like Mxyzptlk.

Mxyzptlk’s mission – to give Kara a second chance at saving her friendship with Lena – is brilliantly handled. The episode was a mix of nostalgia, time-travel, alternate universes and plenty of emotion. Who knew that a character that none of us once cared for would participate in one of the best episodes of the show?

The One with the Cameos

Since Mxyzptlk essentially sends Kara back in time to restore her friendship, this episode of Supergirl is filled to the brim with cameos. Jeremy Jordan sticks around to play Winn Schott, while Odette Annable returns as Sam Arias/Reign. Sam Witwer reprises his role as Ben Lockwood/ Agent Liberty with Robert Baker at his side as Otis Graves. Chad Lowe was also back as the fanatical Thomas Coville, still worshipping at the altar of Supergirl. As was expected, Chris Wood had a sizable part to play as Mon-El, Supergirl’s former boyfriend. The writers, intelligently, steered clear of rekindling their romance for the episode. Instead, Mon-El comes across as a mature and helpful ally in Supergirl’s fight.

There are some characters, though, that didn’t make the cut. Seems like Mehcad Brooks chose not to return for the celebration, but the episode does include footage of him from a previous episode. Callista Flockhart’s Cat Grant doesn’t make an appearance either (we do see an image of her) and the Danvers parents don’t feature. While Lex Luthor’s presence looms large in this episode, Jon Cryer surprisingly doesn’t appear at all, nor do Andrea Brooks (Eve Teschmacher), Tyler Hoechlin (Clark Kent) or Elizabeth Tulloch (Lois Lane).

It’s Time to Let Go

One wonders who is more heart-broken over the loss of the SuperCorp friendship – Kara or the fans of the show? Lena and Kara were an unstoppable force, but once the bubble burst, they have not been able to mend their bond. Kara has been burdened by the guilt of her hypocrisy, and despite her every attempt to reach out, Lena has chosen to side with her evil and deceptive brother.

In the 100th episode, Kara tries to pinpoint all the moments in time when she could have told Lena the truth. Her embarrassment at her actions is akin to people watching home videos of their childhood. Mxyzptlk shows her how changing those moments would affect Kara’s life. Out of all the attempts, there’s only one where Lena and Kara remain friends, but even that timeline ends disastrously.

After trying and failing to win her friend back, Kara makes the ultimate sacrifice of letting Lena go. This was an expected conclusion to the story, but a sad one all the same. Kara’s harsh confrontation with Lena at the end seems to suggest that Lena’s path to villainy is set in stone. In one of the alternative universes, we see how evil Lena can truly be, so how close will the real Lena veer towards that version?

Super Sentiments

• Azie Tesfai’s Kelly Olsen once again is seen donning the Guardian shield. If the showrunners don’t make Kelly the new Guardian, they’ll be doing the character a huge disservice.
• Nia Nal’s (Nicole Maines) powers continue to be impressive. The way that her powers are rendered are even more outstanding. Somehow, she needs to get more screen time, irrespective of how over-powered Nia seems. Viewers are being denied this amazing character otherwise.
• Mxyzptlk wondering what Kara saw in Mon-El is a much-needed nod to how undeserving Mon-El was of Kara. He was toxic and disrespectful. Even Mon-El admits that in this episode. Why did it take the writers so long to take a mature look at how poorly Mon-El was written?
• Since Kara has found closure for her relationship with Lena, we can assume that her romance with William Day is going to go full-speed ahead. This is probably going to be Mon-El 2.0.

Concentrating the 100th episode on Kara and Lena was a demonstration of how unique Supergirl continues to be. The showrunners don’t have to try very hard to make the show different, they just need to be authentic.

This show has always risen to the top by having its ear to the ground. Season 5 has been exciting, but has lost some of the luster of the previous season because of its over-reliance on being a ‘superhero show’ rather than a show about people who are heroes. While this episode does not signify a paradigmatic shift in how the rest of the season will pan out, it was a highlights reel of how essential this show is because of its different outlook. And now we return to fighting villains, big and small.

Did you enjoy Supergirl‘s 100th episode? What was your favorite moment? Let us know in the comments below!