Supergirl S02E11 “The Martian Chronicles” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on Sky 1, new episodes every Tuesday
Writers: Gabriel Llanas, Anna Musky-Goldwyn
Director: David McWhirter

Essential Plot Points:

• It’s the anniversary of Kara’s arrival on Earth, but Alex wants to celebrate on another night as Maggie bought her tickets to a concert.
• J’onn follows M’gann so that he’s ready for when the White Martians arrive to come take her away. But even though he’s ready he’s still overwhelmed by the alien. Kara decides to intervene.
• M’gann wants to fight the White Martians on her own, and she is met by her ex-husband. He wants to take her back to Mars to pay for her treachery during the attack on the Green Martians. She has to turn herself in or see her friends killed.
• A White Martian infiltrates the DEO as M’gann in disguise, and J’onn has to fight them in order to save M’gann. After fighting him, J’onn decides to put the DEO on lockdown and people start to turn on each other, fearing one of them may a shapeshifting Martian in disguise.
• The big twist is that there are, in fact, two Martians, one disguised as Winn, the other as Alex. Eventually they are both defeated before they blow up the base.
• Despite winning the battle, M’gann still decides to go back to Mars to find out if there are people like her.

Review:

It’s Valentine’s Day, so what a perfect way for Supergirl to celebrate than with an episode about love, loneliness and jealousy. Kara struggles with her feelings for Mon-El as well as a sudden jealousy over how close Maggie and Alex are, while J’onn and M’gann finally reveal that they like one another. While the UK is one episode behind the series in the US it still seems appropriate that the episode tackles this topic as part of a wider conflict between M’gann and the White Martians.

While the tales of love and jealousy dominated this episode, what made it work so well was actually the White Martians’ return and M’gann’s overall character arc. Now that we know that she actually fought against her species during the purge of the Green Martians, it was revealed this week that she’s seen as a traitor on her home world. As such they want to make an example of her, but since she won’t leave willingly her former mate decides to attack her and her friends at the DEO. It’s this particular development that is the most interesting, channelling John Carpenter as the group are trapped in one location and need to find out who among them is the White Martian in disguise. It makes for an exciting turn of events, even if this is effectively a bottle episode.

It’s a shame that M’gann has gone so soon, especially now that she and J’onn have admitted having feelings for each other and had only just reconciled in the previous episode. There’s hope that she will make a return, since going back to Mars to find others that think like her doesn’t seem to be an easy feat. The group may have defeated the most villainous Martian to exist this week, but that doesn’t mean that she’ll be immediately welcomed back when she returns. Sharon Leal’s dynamic with David Harewood has always been excellent, and this episode was no exception. They both give great performances, so it would be a shame if this is really the last time we see them together.

The narrative surrounding Kara, her Earth-birthday, and Alex’s desire to spend time with Maggie was a little forced. It hasn’t been a problem for Kara before so it felt strange to see her so rattled by it this time, although her sudden desire not to be abandoned by her family again does make her more relatable (even more so than before, that is). It would be good if this doesn’t become a recurring theme since Kara and Alex’s relationship is the pillar of the show as a whole.

The Good:

• The development of M’gann and J’onn’s relationship, as well as the conflict between M’gann and White Martians.
• Seeing the characters locked in the DEO and trying to find out who is the White Martian in disguise was very effective, and the fights between Kara, J’onn, M’gann and the White Martians were shot very well.
• The theme of love and jealousy seems very appropriate for today’s occasion.

The Bad:

• Kara’s jealousy over Maggie and Alex’s relationship seemed a little off for her character.

And the Random:

• This is the first time that M’gann was referred to as Miss Martian, which is her superhero name in the Supergirl comic books.

Review by Roxy Simons

• Read our other Supergirl reviews