Supergirl S02E10 “We Can Be Heroes” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Sky 1, new episodes every Tuesday
Writers: Caitlin Parrish and Katie Rose Rogers
Director: Rebecca Johnson

Essential Plot Points:

• Kara and Mon-el have started their training for the latter to become a superhero.
• Winn and James continue to go on their adventures as Guardian. Because of the flaws in James’s suit Winn asks him to tell Kara about what they’re up to since the risk is too great now. It’s better if they work together.
• M’gann is attacked by something mysterious, and is put into some form of coma.
• J’onn is the only one who can help her, but because of his hatred for the White Martians he refuses to help.

• Livewire manages to escape prison by manipulating a guard and another prisoner.
• Mon-El wants to join Kara and go into the field to fight her.
• Livewire decides to attack the police and Kara and Mon-El go to stop her, only to find out that Livewire is actually using the guard and prisoner to attack them.
• Guardian joins the fray so that he can protect the police officers and Kara discovers that it’s James.
• Kara confronts Mon-El about why he is working with her, and asks if he likes her but he doesn’t respond.
• After discovering that Livewire was a victim rather than a perpetrator, Winn decides to tell James so that they can prove their usefulness to Kara and Mon-El decides to follow them.
• J’onn decides to carry out the bond with M’gann in order to save her life.
• James and Mon-El try to save Livewire, but get captured instead. Kara decides to save all three, and while they team up for the mission Kara still says she can’t fight alongside Guardian and Winn when they could die.

Review:

It’s all about forgiveness in this week’s episode Supergirl, with not one but two plotlines focusing on the notion in “We Can Be Heroes”. Kara must face Livewire once again, and learn to forgive her nemesis a little, while J’onn struggles to accept that he is the only one who can help M’gann from dying.

It’s a strong concept to focus on and is one that results in some loose ends being tied, particularly James’s secret escapades as the Guardian.

The first of these storylines gives Livewire some much-needed redemption as a villain, at least in terms of Brit Morgan’s performance. In her previous appearances in season one Morgan wasn’t given much to work with as Livewire; she was all bark and no bite. But here she feels more developed than ever before. This can perhaps be linked to the fact that she’s not portrayed as a villain any more. While the episode starts out with the idea that Livewire is behind her prison escape, it’s soon revealed that she is actually subject to extreme experiments to create super soldiers and it’s when Supergirl saves her that she’s able to really shine. Yes, she’s still a “bad guy”, as is often said in this episode, but she’s able to have some form of reconciliation with Kara this week and this allowed gave her the chance to shine for the first time in the show.

While the development of Kara and Livewire’s hero/villain relationship was a welcome sight this week, it was J’onn and M’gann’s story that was really moving. After discovering she was a White Martian earlier this season, J’onn felt betrayed and compelled to cast her aside in a DEO prison cell. When a mysterious psychological attack leaves her on the brink of death he has to make a hard choice and forgive her despite what her people did to his.

J’onn’s inner turmoil is dealt with well onscreen, especially thanks to David Harewood’s performance, and this is especially true when he goes into M’gann’s mind to save her from her memories. It’ll be interesting to see how their story develops in future episodes.

In contrast, James’s confession that he is Guardian and wants to be accepted by Kara doesn’t work so well. While he’s determined this is his path in life, Kara makes the very good point that he’s human and therefore not indestructible, one mistake and he could be dead. It’s hard not to side with Kara in this argument, everything has pointed to James’s vigilante adventures being a bad idea. He hasn’t got super powers, and even his suit isn’t proving to be perfect these days. It’s unlikely that James’ decision to fight alongside Kara will be fatal, but it’s still hard to back him on this.

All in all, “We Can Be Heroes” is an enjoyable episode. While not perfect, it showcases the power of forgiveness and empathy to great effect. That J’onn and M’gann will be the focus of future episodes is certainly going to be good, if this episode is anything to go by, and it’s always good to see Kara evolve as a character.

The Good:

• J’onn and M’gann’s storyline this week was particularly impressive, especially because of David Harewood’s performance.
• Alex and Maggie continue to be a cute couple, more of this please.
• Mon-El has had some excellent character development this series, and his confession at the end of the episode was quite effective. It certainly gives Kara a lot to think about.
• Kara and Livewire’s rivalry was dealt with well, and Livewire finally had a chance to stand out as a villain even if she wasn’t presented as one.
• “You hit hard.”
  “Not hard as you – yet,”
  “Ever.”
• “What is that – a toy?”
  “No it’s expensive”
• “I hate having a nemesis. Clark makes it seem like so much fun like a deadly pen pal that gets in touch once a year.”
• “Your cosplay sucks.”
  “That’s not very nice.”

The Bad:

• James’ determination to be a superhero isn’t that appealing, and his attempt to convince Kara of his need to be one didn’t work well. If anything, it’s Kara who seems to be in the right.

And The Random:

• Ninja Warrior Jessie Graff is Livewire’s body double in this episode, and she is known for being a huge fan of Supergirl.

Review by Roxy Simons

• Read our other Supergirl reviews