Supergirl season 5, episode 17 review: Deus Lex Machina

Supergirl season 5 returns as Melissa Benoist directs her first episode, taking viewers through Lex Luthor’s journey post ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’.

After an impromptu hiatus, Supergirl season 5 returns with a spotlight episode on Jon Cryer’s Lex Luthor. We’ve been following some of his antics on Earth-Prime – where it’s been looking like Lex has been playing second fiddle to Leviathan’s dastardly plan of using Obsidian Tech’s VR technology to take over the world.

But, if there’s anything we’ve learnt about this particular iteration of Lex, it’s that he always has an ace up his sleeve.

So, in Melissa Benoist’s directorial debut, we go back in time to visit the key milestones of Lex Luthor’s life, post-Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Back to Doing Things His Way

Lex made a pact with the Monitor during Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths to become a hero on Earth-Prime. And everyone believes it – he’s got the Nobel Peace Prize, and every other kind of honor a civilian can get. But we know Lex and he’s not a good guy. Even if his actions look altruistic, every good deed is a means to a selfish end. And ‘Deus Lex Machina’ proves we’re right. The episode kicks off with Supergirl and her Super-friends catching Lex red-handed at a murder scene. But they soon find all the comatose VR patients waking up and thanking Lex for saving them. Which is, of course, exactly what Lex wanted.

Lex has been underhanded at every turn as he attempts to bring Leviathan down. He doesn’t want them succeeding, but that’s because he wants power and control, not because he’s trying to save the world. It doesn’t help that Lex’s evil plans are enabled by his mother, Lillian, played with cold and calculated ease by Brenda Strong.

The episode writers retroactively insert Lex as the mastermind behind all the game-changing moments since ‘Crisis’, and, for the most part, it works. Because Lex! But the problem is, we’ve been here before. Lex orchestrated everything in season four of the show. While we can all argue that Lex is unlikely to change his habits, this seems to show that the writers just aren’t imaginative enough to not rely on Lex to drive the show forward. Lex has the Super-friends playing to his tune, which seems a disservice to the characters.

Oh, Poor Eve!

Andrea Brooks’ Eve Teschmacher began her life on Supergirl as a sycophantic replacement assistant at CatCo. It’s obvious that the people behind the scenes liked her performance enough to expand her role and give her more screen time. The trouble is, ever since Eve’s death, Brooks’ return has seen her character see-saw – every additional scene appears to be a desperate attempt to give this talented actress a reason to stick around.

Eve and Lex made for a formidable, if sometimes uncomfortable, pairing before Lex’s murder at the hands of his sister, Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath). In this episode, we see that Lex embroiled Eve in his plan to take down Leviathan. Instead of Andrea Rojas (Julie Gonzalo) being a Leviathan operative, on this Earth, Eve was caught in their web. Lex gave her a way out.

Earth-Prime’s Eve is even more innocent than the original, and Lex’s betrayal of her is almost unbearable. The showrunners are also obsessed with the idea that Eve has to fall in love with Lex – but will she rise as a woman scorned in upcoming episodes?

Tearing Them Apart

We’ve seen how Lex’s actions led to the dissolution of Supergirl and Lena’s friendship, but this episode insinuates there are numerous reasons why Lex wants the former friends to be bitter rivals. Much of Lex’s anger and competitiveness comes from his rivalry with Superman; Lex is obsessed with destroying the Kryptonian hero. Now that there’s a second Kryptonian to save the world, it’s no wonder that Lex hates her too and wants to kill her.

There’s more to it – every time Lex sees Lena try to mend her friendship with Kara, he intervenes and tears them apart. He does so again in this episode and gets some valuable information for his efforts, as well. It’s been heavily hinted throughout this season that Lex is desperate for Lena’s approval and he really just wants her to be his sister. Lillian fuels this notion by implying that Lex’s single-minded hate towards Supergirl is driven by jealousy. And, seeing how Lex reacts to watching Lena and Kara together, there may be some truth to that.

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Lex doesn’t seem to have any friends, nor does he have close relationships with anyone. He has no one to love, and no one loves him in return. Is it any wonder, then, that he’s driven crazy by the idea that his sister has someone outside the family to lean on?

Everything Lex has done on Supergirl season 5 (and indeed the show itself) is in keeping with the character we’ve all read and hated. But with the rise of Lex, we’re seeing Lena being diminished as a character in her own right. And at this point, it doesn’t look like Lena is ever going to go back to being the magnificent character of yore. Will she even survive this season?

Super Sentiments

• Lex orchestrating Jeremiah’s death is the nail in his own coffin. Did your jaw drop when that moment was revealed, because mine definitely did! And somehow, this fit Lex’s plans to the tee. The writers have worked hard to pull off the surprises this season.
• Though the episode reused footage from previous episodes, the editing must have been a nightmare. Benoist did a stellar job combining the timeline into a cohesive and suspenseful whole. She received advice from fellow Arrowverse star, David Ramsey, about directing – which she obviously took on board. Ramsey directed one of the best Arrow episodes of the final season and this episode was one of the stronger ones of Supergirl season 5.
• The soundtrack and score in this episode were phenomenal. It’s not often we take note of the music on Arrowverse shows, but Supergirl often relies on musical cues (sometimes incongruous ones) to add flare. This episode had that in spades.
• Always a pleasure to see Sharon Leal as M’gann M’orzz. Though the character never really got her due on the show, Leal’s return to the role made it seem like she had never left. And she saved Martian Manhunter (David Harewood), so all in a day’s work.

There’s no doubt that The CW’s Lex Luthor is an incredible persona. Jon Cryer continues to mesmerize with his unabashedly wicked rendition of the character. But the worry is – as we can see with the episode title – whether Lex really has become the show’s deus ex machina. Does Supergirl, a show that has been incredibly bold in so many ways, need to rely on a male villain from the Superman universe? Let’s not undo everything the show has built to be a strong female-oriented series.

Supergirl season 5 airs on The CW on Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. ET. Have you been enjoying Supergirl season 5 thus far? Let us know in the comments below!