Supergirl season 5, episode 15 review: Reality Bytes

Supergirl focuses on the everyday realities of the trans community, while Alex, Kelly and J’onn investigate the disappearance of a friend. Content warning for transphobic language and scenes.

In ‘Reality Bytes’, the Supergirl showrunners explore the many aspects of the digital world. Be it how the immersive Obsidian Tech VR lenses can be perverted by villains, to the harsher realities of bigots trolling social media to attack vulnerable communities.

This is not an easy episode to watch but the writers attempt to end the proceedings with a sense of hope.

Nia Fights for her Community

We were, thankfully, forewarned that Nia Nal/ Dreamer (Nicole Maines) would be fighting a transphobic villain in this episode of Supergirl. The episode begins with an innocent night out for Nia and her roommate Yvette (Roxy Wood), who is waiting for her online boyfriend to arrive. The boyfriend turns out to have faked his profile and is actually a hateful transphobe who attacks Yvette as a message to Dreamer. He wants Dreamer to stop being a superhero because she’s trans. If that sounds like a pitiable excuse, it’s because that’s what it is. The show makes it clear that hate-mongers have little reason to hate.

Yvette and Nia’s arcs echo the experiences of so many trans women in the real world – their trust is shaken and they have no faith in the police to bring this man to justice. Nia takes it upon herself to draw out this attacker and help her community. Though in real life we do not have a Dreamer to save trans people, we do (or we should have) allies. The understated part of this episode was how Brainy (Jesse Rath) aided Nia’s investigation and also ensured the police had the information they needed to stop an anti-trans group and solve cold cases. As Brainy said, the DEO takes their ‘sister superheroes’ very seriously.

What was commendable about this episode was that the writers toned down the kind of transphobic language that is often used, and they refused to misgender any of the on-screen characters. The violence took place off-screen, which meant we saw the aftermath and repercussions, rather than a triggering scene of the attack. And no one died! We are all so tired of characters of colour, women and especially trans characters being killed off for plot purposes. Supergirl once again makes bold decisions that very few other entertainment properties do.

Reality Bites for Kara

Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist) is a big-hearted superhero, in and out of her cape. But there are some experiences that even those of us with the best of intentions simply don’t understand. The Arrowverse shows have never shied away from portraying their heroes as flawed, and Kara is no different. In this episode, Kara has no idea what the trans community’s lived experience is. But she strives to be a better ally by pulling in favours.

Kara asks Brainy for help, and she writes a piece about Yvette’s attack. Kara is horrified by the massive number of trans women who are annually killed in the US, a fact made worse when William Day (Staz Nair) explains that the number could be higher because police reports often misgender victims or the cases go unreported. Everyone – Kara and the viewer alike – learn important information about the plight of the trans community through this episode. All these statistics are real, which makes it all the more disturbing.

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• 11 things nobody wants to admit about the Arrowverse
• The 7 best (and 6 worst) Arrowverse villains

At the end of the day, Kara became a better ally by focusing on what the trans community goes through and how she can help. All this while, Nia was fighting a lone superhero fight, now there are the rest of the Super-friends. Whether the show decides to spotlight trans-related subject-matter or not in future episodes, we can imagine that Kara will not back down from her promise to Nia to keep her community safe.

Unintended Uses of Obsidian

We always knew that Andrea Rojas’ Obsidian Tech VR lenses could be used for evil. These devices are literally being promoted by Leviathan, so what can we expect? This episode gives viewers an inkling into how bad things can get when the technology falls into the wrong hands.

When Al from Al’s Bar turns to J’onn J’onzz (David Harewood) and Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) for help finding his brother, Alex dives into the VR world with Kelly Olsen’s (Azie Tesfai) help. Alex discovers that someone has exploited a glitch in the system – one that Kelly had fixed some time ago. This person uses the glitch to torture his victims for days.

As if that’s not bad enough, the showrunners delve into the downsides of living in a virtual world that feels very real – people can get lost in those worlds and make mistakes that have real-world repercussions. The kidnapper is acting out his revenge in an endless loop because his real-world partner was having a digital affair with another man. Though we’re not there yet in reality, Alex and Kelly have an important conversation about virtual boundaries and fail-safes that Obsidian needs to put into place. Will Andrea listen? Not if Leviathan is pulling her strings.

Super Sentiments

• Kelly getting screen time is what we all needed. She’s amazing even without having to punch things. We should never forget that real heroes do not have superpowers.
• Looks like there’s no shaking the Dey/Danvers romance. They seem to be getting along really well, so let’s see how it goes.
• Killing Jeremiah Danvers was probably a smart move. Dean Cain has become a problematic figure, which is unfortunate since he made for a very caring and kind Jeremiah. At least that plotline finally gets some closure. How will his death affect Kara and Alex? How will the show handle the character’s death?
• We got a glimpse into Alex’s upcoming arc when she entered the VR world. Looks like one Alex’s fantasies is becoming a superhero herself. Perhaps Alex escapes in the VR world to cope with her father’s death.
• Leviathan is playing a very slow game but they’re already begun building some sort of army. The virtual realm will be their playground, but we still aren’t sure of what their plan is.

Despite the fantastical nature of the show, Supergirl continues to reflect the real-world problems we face. Some may complain that it’s too literal and on-the-nose, but that’s the only way real issues will sink into people’s heads. The show does its best to empathize with various communities and bring to the surface the lived experiences of people who usually fly under the radar in pop culture. That is what fantasy is supposed to be about.