Airing in the UK on Sky 1, new episodes every Monday
Writers: Robert L. Rovner and Caitlin Parrish
Director: Jesse Warn
Essential Plot Points:
- Kara is taking her decision to let Mon-el leave earth hard, she’s focusing on being Supergirl and doesn’t see the point in doing anything else including see her friends or family.
- Alex et al are rightly worried about Kara, and try to cheer her up/see that they are there for her and she can move on.
- Lena and James meet with the ominous media mogul Morgan Edge, who has been working to restore National City back to its glory days in the wake of the Daxamite invasion. Unhappy with how he’s treated in the media, Edge declares he will buy Cat Co. and employs a mercenary known as Bloodsport to attack the harbour with a cloaking device.
- Kara tries to fight them off, while Alex and Maggie work to evacuate the area that’s being attacked.
- Samantha Arias is there with her daughter, when she finds her girl trapped underneath a shaft she begs for help, but a sudden burst of super strength gives her the chance to save her daughter.
- Following the attack, Kara begins to realise that she can be herself again, and meets with Lena who informs her that she’s bought Cat Co to stop Edge. He then arrives, threatening her for crossing him before Supergirl turns up and deals with him, for now
Review:
After the departure of Mon-el at the end of last season, Kara has been having trouble coming to terms with her grief. She’s determined to close her heart to these feelings and focus on being Supergirl because she doesn’t like the “sad girl” that Kara Danvers has become, but, in doing so, has managed to shut everyone else out as well. Alex, J’onn and co. are worried about her, and as National City starts to pick itself up after the damage the Daxamite invasion caused in the second season it seems it’s time for Kara to do the same.
Kara is more broken in this episode than we are used to seeing her, the perpetually cheerful superhero has always been the one to help people get back on their feet, and to see her in this state is hard going. Everyone wants to help her but she refuses to take it, forcing herself into increasingly desperate conflicts with her loved ones. It’s her argument with Alex that is the most emotional though, as the pair hashes it out and Kara’s true feelings comes to the surface. Even though she seems set in her grief, it’s the continued support of her friends and family, as well as her role as Supergirl, that reminds her that it’s ok for her to move forward with her life. All of this creates an interesting variety of performances for us to witness.
“The Girl of Steel” is a strong episode to kick off series three; it’s packed with action-packed scenes, emotional journeys, and intriguing new characters, making it an engaging first outing. Morgan Edge (Adrian Pasdar) and Samantha Arias (Odette Annable), in particular, are introduced well as potential villains. Edge is the more obvious antagonist for Kara given his threatening demeanour and deliberate attack on Lena Luthor and Cat Co, but Pasdar plays on his character’s villainy well and it’s easy to become immersed in his menacing performance. Arias may prove to be a more interesting character in the long run, though, as her character’s origins and recent discovery of her powers may see her come up against Kara in a big way — suffice to say, we are excited to see what she will bring to the show.
For all its seriousness the episode was able to balance out Kara’s depression with more light-hearted moments in the form of Cat Grant, who is now the Press Secretary for the President. The various appearances she makes on the news makes very clever, sharp, jabs at the state of American politics and, more accurately, its President. Cameras and listening devices in microwaves are mentioned, so too is the President’s intellect, and it means that we still get to see Cat even if Calista Flockheart isn’t able to come on set herself.
The Good:
- Samantha Arias is an intriguing villain with a lot of potential. That she’s fated to become a worldkiller but is presented as an innocent bystander is a clever approach on the writer’s part.
- We’re excited about Adrian Pasdar’s casting in the series, he is great at playing the menacing Morgan Edge but, sadly, his character doesn’t get to do very much in this episode. Hopefully there will be more.
- Seeing Kara in a funk was hard, but it did give her a lot of emotional moments either through self-reflection or when she talks/argues with others. We’d like to see her as her happy-go-lucky self again though!
- The sub-plot of Alex and Maggie’s pre-wedding plans was sweet, especially when Alex asks J’onn to walk her down the aisle, but we are worried that the writers are building up to a separation or death of Maggie. We certainly hope the latter does not happen, Maggie is a wonderful character.
- “You helped Supergirl save the world, you’ll be able to deal with one stubborn sexist.”
- “Don’t cry, if you cry I’ll cry and then everyone here will know we can cry!”
The Bad:
- As previously mentioned, we hope Morgan Edge gets to do something more substantial than just brood or threaten people in later episodes.
And the Random:
- Samantha Arias is better known as Reign, a worldkiller who was sent as a baby to destroy Earth after the collapse of Krypton.
- It’s Nathan Petrelli! Okay, no, it’s Adrian Pasdar who played Nathan in Heroes, but as big fans of the original show we are very excited to see what he’ll bring to the table with Morgan Edge.
Review by Roxy Simons
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