Supergirl S01E10 “Childish Things” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Sky 1, new episodes every Friday
Writers: Anna Musky-Goldwyn, James DeWille
Director: Jamie Babbit

Essential Plot Points:

• The Toyman makes his appearance, and it turns out he’s Winn’s father. After escaping from prison he has one thing on his mind: reconciling with his son. How he intends to make it happen is a little more sinister than expected, though, as he tries to make his son follow in his footsteps.
• The DEO decides to investigate what is happening in room 52, so Hank/Jjon agrees to use his powers to find out what’s happening there while Alex distracts Maxwell Lord with a dinner date.
• Winn meets with his father, with the police in tow, but things don’t go according to plan. After Supergirl tries, and fails, to stop him, Winn reveals his feelings to her before he is kidnapped by his father.
• After he is kidnapped, the Toyman blackmails Winn into killing his former rival in the toy-making industry.

Review:

When it was revealed that Winn’s full name was Winslow Schott many people began to wonder whether this meant he would become the Toyman, one of Supergirl’s main adversaries, at some point in thw series and now in “Childish Things” we finally get an answer. It turns out that Winn is actually Winslow Schott Jr, and in this week’s episode his father has decided to break out of prison just for him.

“Childish Things” is definitely all about Winn as it focuses on how he struggles to come to terms with his father’s return and the fear that he could one day become just like him. It’s a welcome change for the series, as it gives one of its support characters some much-needed development. The last time Winn saw him was when he was 11 years old, and he could only watch as his father was carted off and charged with murder. Now, he must face his demons as his father is determined to find out if the apple fell far from the tree. Jeremy Jordan is given his moment to shine in this episode, and boy does he do a great job. The inner turmoil he is dealing with, as well as his determination not to turn out like his father, are evident in his performance and the whole ordeal is compelling to watch.

The dynamic between him and his father, played brilliantly by Henry Czerny, is also intriguing especially thanks to Czerny’s take on Winn’s disturbed father. It is especially interesting how he expresses his love for his son by telling him that even if they run away or go to prison it doesn’t matter because it will still be together.

Despite the strength of his presence in the episode, the Toyman is defeated quite quickly. It’s a shame that Supergirl repeatedly tends to dispel of its guest villains in such a perfunctory manner. All too often the “bad guy” is introduced and defeated within the space of one episode, a like a “crime of the week” in a police procedural show. It would be good if the series could focus its attention on one villain for a while rather than saturating us with so many.

Speaking of villains, the plot thickens surrounding Max Lord. While we still don’t know what he has in store for Kara yet, or what project phoenix is, it seems that Lord is prepping himself to be the big bad of the series. It’ll be interesting to see how his experiments will compare to what Astra has planned for Earth. Whether we’ll get to see both of their plans come to fruition is questionable, since it would be a little ridiculous to have two villains demand Supergirl’s attention in the season’s finale but we shall see. For now, it’s exciting that Lord has discovered Supergirl’s identity and it’ll be interesting to see how he uses this information to his advantage!

The Good:

• This is Winn’s moment, and Jeremy Jordan delivers a fantastic performance in this week’s episode.
• The dynamic between him and his father is quite compelling, and it’s especially interesting to see his father’s twisted way of showing his love for him.
• The storyline surrounding Max Lord is getting interesting. It’ll be good to see him go head-to-head against Supergirl but if he has to fight for her attention with Astra it may seem like a little bit too much.
• Cat delivered some of the best lines of the episode again during her conversation with Lucy Lane. She’s definitely the wittiest one there.

• It was great to see what Hank/Jjon meant by him not wanting to use his powers. The fact that he has less control of them than in the comics, and it meant that he erased the guard’s whole memory was very interesting.
• “To be honest, Cat, Lois and I don’t talk much. We’ve never been particularly close.”
  “That’s not how she portrays the Lane sisters in her memoir, A Time To Soar.”
  “I never read it. Seemed like self-promotional claptrap.”
  “I see. So you’re the smart one and she’s the pretty one.”
• “Now, look, I’m not immune to the allure of James Olsen wearing a shirt that is unbuttoned one too many. But a woman with brains who gives up everything for love inevitably finds herself staring into an existential abyss that men, babies and cardio bars simply cannot fill.”
• “Your sister looks like a pretty blonde cheerleader. J’onn J’onzz looks like a monster. I will never be tolerated here on Earth.”
• “She’s actually a lovely woman. If anything, it was my narcissism and ill-kempt facial hair that ruined any chances I had with her.”

The Bad:

• It’s a shame that the show seems to be rotating villains and disposing of them by the end of the episode.
• The storyline surrounding Lucy Lane and James seemed a little stagnant and out of place with the rest of the episode.

And the Random:

• The toy that the Toyman sends to Winn features the original design for his character in the comics – clever little Easter egg there.

Review by Roxy Simons

Read our other Supergirl reviews