Supergirl S01E17 “Manhunter” REVIEW

Supergirl S01E17 “Manhunter” REVIEW

0 comments 📅09 June 2016, 13:56

Supergirl S01E17 “Manhunter” REVIEW

stars 3
Airing in the UK on Sky 1, new episodes every Friday
Writers: Cindy Lichtman, Rachel Shukert
Director: Chris Fisher

Essential Plot Points:

  • In the aftermath of the last episode, Kara is trying to figure out how to get the public’s trust back while J’onn is still in a DEO prison cell.

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  • Siobhan is still upset about her dismissal from CatCo, and Kara’s involvement in the event means that she is now the target of her rage.
  • Major Lucy Lane and Colonel James Harper are at the DEO to begin an internal investigation into the organisation to find out who knew that J’onn was parading as Hank Henshall.
  • When they’re questioning J’onn, we get to see his, Hank and Jeremiah Danvers’ past, and the truth behind who killed him.
  • Alex is also taken into questioning, and after explaining how she was saved by J’onn/Hank from a life of excess Lucy Lane decides that she did know that he was an alien.
  • The pair are taken to be part of Project Cadmus, and after revealing her secret identity to Lucy Lane they decide to stop them from being taken away.
  • In the meantime Siobhan decides to sneak into CatCo to sabotage Kara again, only for the whole process to backfire in her face when she’s called out by both Cat and Winn.
  • Later, in a drunken stupor she falls off the top of a building only to emit strong soundwaves in her scream that cushions her fall.

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Review:

Following Hank’s decision to reveal himself to the world so that he could stop a Red Kryptonite-influenced Supergirl in the previous episode, the show now deals with the repercussions of the event. In a much more low-key episode, Hank/J’onn and Alex are put under the spotlight to determine why he decided to work in the DEO, and who in the organisation knew about him.

For the most part the episode sticks in the setting of the DEO, as Colonel James Harper and Major Lucy Lane carry out their investigation. While the questioning takes place we get to see how J’onn became Hank and how he first met Jeremiah Danvers. The flashback sequences are the strongest part of the episode, and J’onn’s one is particularly good. Seeing J’onn and Jeremiah converse with each other and connect over the fact that they both have daughters, and that Jeremiah sees J’onn as a refugee because his daughter is one, was a really nice touch. It adds a lot of depth to J’onn’s character, and gives a very good reason as to why he takes care of Alex and Kara like they were his own.

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Alex’s flashback was also interesting, as we haven’t really been able to see how she felt about Kara in her younger years that much in this series. Her heart-to-heart with J’onn/Hank was also really well done as it gives a lot of context to their current relationship and, as mentioned before, solidifies the idea that J’onn sees Alex as his own child. We also got to see Kara during her first few days on Earth, and how she was a selfless hero from the start as she saves a woman and her baby from a burning vehicle to the shock of everyone around her. The flashback is fun in that it shows that Kara has always been the same, and it also provides quite a good reason as to why Kara needs to wear those glasses.\

What doesn’t work quite so well in the episode are the interviews, particularly Alex’s one. After passing the polygraph test with flying colours, and effectively proving that she wasn’t aware that Hank was actually J’onn in disguise, Lucy turns to Alex as she’s about to leave and says that she, “saw Hank as a father figure so she must have known that he was an alien”. This is a really flimsy explanation, and doesn’t actually make any sense. Even if Lucy had her suspicions, suddenly saying that they’re going to arrest Alex without any proof because J’onn was like a father to her isn’t an adequate reason to detain her and take her to Project Cadmus.

Speaking of being taken to Project Cadmus, Kara and Lucy’s team-up to stop the truck taking J’onn and Alex to the facility was great. Seeing the pair use their motorcycles to manoeuver around the truck and “shoot” it down was a lot of fun. Meanwhile the revelation of Jeremiah’s whereabouts has given Alex and J’onn an interesting new journey to take.

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In comparison to all this, Siobhan’s side-plot really felt out of place; while it was setting her up to become the Silver Banshee in later episodes it just seemed like it didn’t need to happen. At least with what’s to come for her character, we don’t have to worry too much about her appearance in this episode.

The Good:

  • There was a lot of character development in this episode provided by many flashbacks during J’onn and Alex’s questioning. J’onn’s brief relationship with Jeremiah Danvers was the best part of the episode, and it explained J’onn’s desire to take care of Alex and Kara like they were his own daughters really well.
  • The motorcycle car chase was great fun.
  • Lucy and Kara’s relationship took a good turn in this episode; it’s great to see that they will be working together more often.
  • “After what I did the people don’t trust me anymore.”
    “You got me to trust you, that’s a start.”
  • “Do you think Supergirl’s lost the public’s trust for good?”
    “I suppose if Mel Gibson can present at the Golden Globes, then Supergirl can win the city back.”
  • “I know you’re feeling betrayed and alone, but if you go along with Jim Harper just to feel like you fit in, to feel like you belong somewhere, ultimately, the only person you’re betraying is yourself.”
  • “I designed these bullets especially for you, Martian. ‘The most powerful being on the face of this Earth.’ You know who calls you that? Superman. Sure means something, coming from him.”
  • “Seriously? I have too much self-esteem to kill myself. Killing someone else, on the other hand…”

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The Bad:

  • While the flashbacks provided great character development, the actual interviews weren’t done very well. They were awkwardly written, especially when it came to Lucy’s decision that Alex “still knew Hank was an alien” even though she passed the polygraph test.
  • Siobhan’s storyline here didn’t really add much to her character, apart from the climax of the episode where her Silver Banshee abilities were unleashed. We already knew she hated Kara, so it really just seemed out of place when compared to the rest of the episode.

And The Random:

  • Dean Cain, who plays Jeremiah Danvers, was once Superman himself in the 1993 series The New Adventures of Superman.
  • Project Cadmus is best known for being used as a cloning facility in the comics, creating subjects that can counter meta-humans. One of the people created by the project is Superboy, but we will have to wait until the second season of the series before we’ll find out any more about that.

Written by Roxy Simons



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