Supergirl season 6, episode 11 review: Mission Imp-ossible

Supergirl season 6 reintroduces an old friend of the Super Friends but could “Mxy in the Middle” maintain the show’s recent resurgence?

Supergirl has been on a bit of a roll lately. Ever since the long-running CW series pulled its titular hero from the Phantom Zone and waved goodbye to the depressing first half, it has found its hopeful footing once again, channeling its efforts into reintroducing CatCo, setting up a new hero and ultimately building towards a conclusion.

That reignited Supergirl‘s fire for thought-provoking stories, with the tenth installment focusing on the Super Friends’ attempt to rehouse the formerly reincarcerated when the system had turned its back on them.

But the return of an old enemy in Nyxly returned the show to its supernatural roots, forcing Kara to end a pretty grounded episode with the summoning of none other than Mr. Mxyzptlk.

Here’s what went down in the eleventh episode, “Mxy in the Middle”.

Supergirl season 6, episode 11 recap: Mxy in the Middle

“Mxy in the Middle” wastes little time getting into things, picking right up where its predecessor left off, with Mr. Mxyzptlk smack in the middle of Supergirl and Nyxly. Apparently both of them summoned him (which really doesn’t make sense, but we’ll go with it) and he can’t use magic without being tracked by Nyxly, so the Girl of Steel has to fly them both out of there as soon as he frees her.

But Nyxly is a vengeful sort that doesn’t forget what was done to her in the past, so she isn’t about to let Supergirl’s intervention stop her from getting revenge on Mxy for turning his back on her over 300 years ago when she tried to destroy the Fifth Dimension after being wronged by her father. Of course, Supergirl being Supergirl wanted to reason with her but it doesn’t take a Fifth Dimensional imp to tell you that that wasn’t going to work. But that’s what makes the Girl of Steel so lovable because, in spite of the odds, nevertheless, she persisted.

Nia’s guilt over freeing Nyxly from the Dream Realm (I’m still not entirely sure on how she got trapped there and I don’t think the show is either) is weighing on her and, after confiding in Brainy, she decides to be honest with Kara. This is after Nxyly unleashed a giant cat on a National City that looks very like Central City because every Arrowverse city looks the same because they’re all really Vancouver. You had to be there.

This allows them and Mxy – who was feeling rather helpless without his powers – to hatch a plan to use Brainy’s image inducer to trick Nyxly into thinking they were handing over Mxy when they were actually handing over Nia – who would then put a special magic-dampening handcuff on her. That didn’t work either and the villainous Fifth Dimensional imp decided to summon a Kryptonian-killing dragon to, uh, eat them? In the end, though, Mxy surrendered himself to her and was absorbed into the magic imp-imprisoning crystal… but not before putting the dampener on her.

Nyxly was rescued by Mitch, who returned to his ship after Nyxly freed him but also told him to leave his ship, and the two decided they would team up going forward. Yes, it’s all very confusing but long story short: Supergirl and the Super Friends vow to rescue Mxy, but it seems that they will be fighting a different battle instead next week. And as for Lena Luthor? Well a trip to visit her mother’s hometown not only revealed that her mom was a witch but that she was one too.

 Supergirl season 6, episode 11 review: Back to basics

“Mxy in the Middle” is a very serviceable episode that succeeds in moving the season’s plot forward but I’ll admit that it feels like something of a regression compared to recent episodes. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t good (because it is), it just feels like it goes about things in the Arrowverse‘s all-too-familiar tendency to go-through-the-motions.

Maybe it’s down to the fact that Supergirl works best when it has an emotional story at its heart and even though it touched on emotions through Nia’s guilt over freeing Nyxly or Mxy’s feelings of helplessness (and his ultimate decision to redeem himself), neither one gets more than a scene or two to ponder on those feelings and the ones they do get essentially just function as repetition (or, in Mxy’s case, are played for comedic value).

It does manage to find a way to make every character pivotal to the plot, but much like we saw on Arrow and The Flash, adding everyone to the super team risks making them mindless superheroes, and it’s beginning to feel like that’s happening with Alex and J’onn – neither of whom have had really significant material since the show returned from its midseason break. It’s an unfortunate risk of removing them from the DEO but one that I sadly saw coming.

But we’re not here to criticize a 40-minute adventure designed to entertain us – because that’s exactly what “Mxy in the Middle” is: Entertainment. Thomas Lennon absolutely shines as that mischievous little imp and Mxy was as entertaining as ever, belting out an ad-lib-filled version of “I Will Survive” (which was a really clever way to cover what would have been an expositional monologue).

One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about this season is how much we get to see the Super Friends team up and we get plenty of that in this one, with the team battling a giant cat, a giant dragon and facing off with Nyxly herself. Maybe if we could ease off on the CGI monsters and save that budget for the lighting, it would be nice, but nonetheless, it makes for a fun watch. Just like the episode itself.

Super Sentiments

• I’m intrigued by Lena’s arc this season. I’m glad that she is finally exploring her origins outside of the Luthor name and even though I’m not sure how to feel about her finding it in the supernatural, I’m definitely open to seeing how it turns out.
• It was really nice to see so much of Nia. She’s an underappreciated character that really stands out whenever she’s given the spotlight.
• The show really missed the CatCo setting this week. I’m sorry but J’onn’s Tower is the most aesthetically dull set Supergirl has ever had so the less time we spend there, the better.
• Kelly Olsen wasn’t around this week but that’s because she’s set to thrive in next week’s groundbreaking episode.
• The show has done a bang-up job of evolving Nyxly into a formidable villain. It didn’t get there right away with her but now she’s someone that should be feared and it’s gone a long way in presenting her as a worthy threat for Supergirl season 6.

Supergirl season 6 returns to The CW next Tuesday, September 21, at 9:00 p.m. ET.

What did you think of Supergirl season 6, episode 10? Let us know in the comments below!