Supergirl season 6, episode 13 review: Lightning strikes

Supergirl season 6 hits a high note with a throwback episode full of fun and fond memories.

Supergirl‘s final season has tried to wear a lot of hats. It has spent much of its time trying to bring back its titular character after she was understandably written out. It has also introduced a new villain and took its time in setting the stage for her to take her place as this season’s Big Bad. And it has also told some meaningful stories on its way to completing one hero’s journey towards her destiny while taking another one in a completely unexpected direction.

As great as all of those story choices were, it was beginning to feel like the show had bit off more than it could chew, because the final season wasn’t necessarily the right time to be juggling this many stories.

But by rerouting its attention back to the main narrative in this week’s episode, it steadied itself and unexpectedly found one of the things that made Supergirl so beloved early on in its run: Fun.

Here’s everything that went down in “The Gauntlet” and why it succeeds as one of the season’s absolute best episodes.

Supergirl season 6, episode 13 recap: The Gauntlet

Having discovered Nxyly’s bizarre and complex plan to unite the magical totems, the Super Friends make it their mission to uncover the truth about them and stop the problematic Fifth Dimensional Imp from achieving her goal. To find out what they need to know, they consult a simulation of Vita. You know, one of the Dark Kryptonian Priestesses that tried to bring Reign to life in season 3? Yes, her!

Vita tells them that the totem of courage must be treated with the utmost of caution because it can have dire consequences if the person who wields it fails their test. She is certainly right, but before that even happens, a showdown between the Girl of Steel and Nyxly results in the totem splitting in two and sprinkling everyone in the surrounding area – including the Super Friends – with courage. Too much courage.

As a result, Alex is too recklessly courageous, J’onn is finally unafraid to open up about his feelings and Brainy allows himself to make guesses instead of accurate predictions. It’s all as crazy as it sounds, meaning that Kara must desperately pass her test. Thankfully, she has Lena by her side to guide her. However, Lena is worried about her newfound abilities as a witch – abilities that even an AI simulation of Vita can sense.

Things get worse when Dr. Beatrice Lahr, who was also affected by the outburst of magical courage, decides to reobtain her now-defunct project to harness lightning, creating a lightning storm over National City. And they continue to escalate when Kara fails her test of courage (by being too courageous apparently) and Nyxly passes hers (by confronting her beloved brother and showing vulnerability after he betrayed her).

Disaster is averted when Kara decides to let her part of the totem return to Nxyly, ending the courage-ridden antics from those affected, allowing her, J’onn and Brainy to subdue the lightning storm in the process.

In the end, Kara still can’t figure out why she failed the test (and neither can the supportive Lena) but the outcome of The Gauntlet created a mental link between her and Nxyly, so she plans on using that to defeat her. And another thing she can now rely on is Lena’s abilities, as the witch-in-the-making opened up to her best friend about her family history and what it could mean for her going forward.

Supergirl season 6, episode 13 review: Back to basics

“The Gauntlet” is a relatively simple episode on the surface and yet that’s what makes it so good. For as great as Supergirl is at telling powerful stories, it’s easy to forget that the show is also at its best when it’s just delivering straight-up fun adventures like the comic books that inspired it. That’s one of the main reasons that season 1 is continually held up in high regard and why this week’s episode succeeded in ways that previous offerings have not.

Speaking of season 1, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t come over all emotional whenever Kara found herself planted back in that bar from the pilot before she took flight to save the plane with Alex onboard. The show hasn’t really done anything to pay tribute to its past in the final season as of yet (Cat Grant flashback aside), so to see it executed so well within the story, with the same music and everything, made for a spectacular moment – one that this longtime fan of the series truly appreciated.

Something else that was much appreciated was the notably light-hearted tone that this episode took. Alex’s overly courageous run-ins (much to Kara’s frustration) made for a number of fun moments but they came only second to J’onn’s hilarious mid-battle monologues. I’ve said recently that these two beloved characters haven’t had that much to do lately so this was a clever way to avoid that issue here and both Chyler Leigh and David Harewood were clearly having a great time doing it.

Sure, the episode was chaotic – and maybe a little too chaotic at times – but it was a standalone installment that still contributed to the main arc by being the result of a problem created by the main arc. Again, a total season 1 episode.

One more reason that “The Gauntlet” felt like a real throwback? It felt larger-than-life, with everything from the lightning storm to the non-recycled shot of the CGI plane in Kara’s second test of courage, looking incredibly convincing on-screen, imbuing the episode with a spectacle-like feel that the show rarely possesses anymore.

Few shows do fun like Supergirl and even it forgets that from time-to-time. This week, though, it remembered it and delivered in a huge way.

Super Sentiments

• I really enjoyed the dynamic between Kara and Lena in this episode. We haven’t gotten to see much of them as a unit this season, so to finally see the pair team up as allies and friends, with no secrets between them now that the season 5 stories are out of the way, was exhilarating to watch. And to see them together on Kara’s couch, sharing a moment usually reserved for the Danvers Sisters’ moments, was really something special.
• On the no secrets note, it was also refreshing that Lena opened up to Kara about her newfound abilities. While she definitely would have been within her rights to hold onto that secret for a little longer to figure herself out, the fact that she shared that with the Girl of Steel after last year’s secrets/no secrets debacle was nothing short of monumental for the character’s development.
• Though I’m still really unsure about the random turn Lena’s story has taken this season, “The Gauntlet” definitely convinced me that we’re on a good path. I hope it can keep it up going forward.
• Seeing Alex and Kelly fighting together as Sentinel and Guardian was fantastic.
• The fact that William still had some understandable trauma after being shot by Eve Teschmacher would have made an interesting story if explored properly. Unfortunately, it was just a story beat in this one to move the plot forward. It was mostly effective but it could have been more.
• Speaking of which, where is Eve?
• Supergirl has been on an incredible roll since returning from its midseason break, with multiple episodes earning the “season best” title. This one may have just been the latest in that run to do so.

Supergirl season 6 returns to The CW next Tuesday, October 5, at 9:00 p.m. ET. Watch the trailer for the next episode here.

What did you think of Supergirl season 6, episode 13? Have you been enjoying Supergirl season 6? Let us know in the comments below!