I am running out of superlatives for this show this season, walking a tight rope of silliness, comic homages, character growth, and epic action. How can it be all things and do them all well? How ?!?
Three weeks ago, we had a brutal action episode, Superman and his allies fighting the Cyborg Superman. The action was huge in scope and destruction. I did not think it could be topped.
This week we have a similar high action episode but this one even bigger in scope and destruction and emotion. Our heroes and some new allies fight an all-powerful Eradicator, a mix of Superman' powers, Lex's evil mind, and (I assume) some Doomsday evolution powers. This Eradicator is like Doomsday in that he is seemingly unstoppable, violent, murderous, and always gaining new abilities. But it is also like Lex, devious in the end. Like episode 5, this is Dragon Ball Z meets Zach Snyder.
And yet, in all this brawling is intense character development. Lois worried about her future as a mother, wondering if she'll be any good at the role. Clark still suffering from his lack of powers and watching his family being injured, obviously pained by his helplessness. The future children of Lois and Clark are cold and focused, lacking any of the love their parents should give them and willing to kill.
The character that steals this episode is Supergirl. I bristled at her last season being a weapon for Brainiac. But her growth this season, loving Earth, loving Superman, realizing she can decide her future has been brilliant. Her fierceness and hope are pure classic Supergirl. And what she does in this episode, stepping up as a hero, defending her family and her future, and sacrificing herself is just perfect. This is Supergirl.
Enough intro. On to some moments worth savoring.
We have had two character driven episodes but we are back to the main plotline of future dystopias and time travel. One thing this show has shown us already is that timelines are mutable.
In episode 5, the Cyborg Superman is defeated. Superman is not killed. That future is rewritten. We ended that episode with sleek looking Eradicators roaming the sky and Lex ruling the world.
This episode starts with Jonathan and Lara Kent, Lois and Clarks two children, traveling back in time from that future to stop it from happening. So things have changed.
But when we get a view of the Eradicator Lex is building in the present, it is a bulkier, hulkier model. And if you stop and read the programming on the left you can see, already, Lex is struggling to keep this thing under his control. Ominous.
Interesting to see where all this timey-wimey stuff goes and if our main characters will remember all of them. And even more interesting to see how coming back in time can make things worse.
Prior to the action we do get another moment where Jimmy and Kara talk about what they want in their relationship. Jimmy again slow rolls saying he wants to be a better friend ... but then says he wants to be with her.
But Kara is a little worried. What if Jimmy leaves her again.
Seeing these two tap dance around dating is an fun sort of side plot and does a great job giving them some dimension.
Clark and Lois assume this Superboy is the Jon they met a few episodes ago. But this isn't that happy-go-lucky guy. He has a chip on his shoulder. He demands to be called Superman (a less cute version of the comic Conner wanting to be called Superman when he first arrived). He demands to be called Jonathan. He grew up alone, without Superman, and learned to use his powers on his own.
And he is here on a mission.
New timeline. And a very different Jonathan.
And when Clark tries to reach out to his future son, Jonathan flies off.
Clark again has a vision ...
I don't think Krypton has two suns so I don't know where this is.
But things get a even darker.
With Clark and Jonathan outside, Lois talks to Lara.
Lara says General Lane sent them back to kill Lex Luthor. And then we here that General Lane isn't Sam. It is Lois. Not Mom ... General Lane. Chilling.
And it furthers the thread we have seen about Lois questioning her future and what she can accomplish in her future.
But Lara calling her General Lane!
Back at LexCorp, after the Cyborg Superman debacle, Amanda Waller comes around to shut down Lex's experiments.
One experiment is the Eradicator, a being that has Superman's powers, that self-heals, that auto-evolves. Sounds almost Doomsday like. But there is more.
This Lex has always had luscious locks. Now we see he is bald. And he is bald because he had a brain biopsy so a piece of his brain can be put into the Eradicator, a possible means to control the thing.
It also means The Eradicator has Luthor's mind. That is definitely not a good thing.
The Eradicator isn't comatose either. He is observing the conversation and sees the time travel device Luthor is creating.
Chekov's time travel device for sure. We have seen Jon wear it. We see Jonathan wearing it.
But this is where that future timeline we saw at the end of episode 5, that smooth Eradicator, ends.
Lara arrives to kill Lex.
Lex activates the prototype Eradicator.
And this thing is tough.
So in the other timeline, Lex must have time to tinker with the Eradicator, bring it under his control, and rule the world. But in this one, because Lara is here, he turns it on early.
And then you need to settle in because we get a long action sequence in the sewers below Metropolis as the Lara/Eradicator fight heads there and our other heroes arrive.
In some places, this feels almost like Alien, our characters roaming dark passages looking for a 'monster'.
We see Jonathan, Lara, and Kara fight this thing. And it does heal and evolve, growing hair, gaining heat vision, and fighting smarter.
The brawls are crazy powerful and destructive. But any time I see a suplex in superhero cartoons, I need to highlight it.
But the star in this fight is Supergirl.
It is clear that Lara and Jonathan are no match for the Eradicator. And Kara won't see them get hurt.
She is relentless, chucking trains at the thing and fighting it every way she can.
She yells at it that she is it's opponent. She tells it to stay away from her family.
Fierce. Defending her family. Strong.
Incredible.
But there is more.
Even though Kara didn't raise this version of Jonathan with a kind heart like she did the prior (in fact when Jonathan says he was all alone with no one to train him it implies Kara is dead in his future), she still believes that there is a choice. There is a better tomorrow. They have to keep fighting.
Seriously, this might be one of the best non-comic representations of Supergirl I have ever seen.
Clark wants to enter the fray but he is powerless. Lois tells him this is a job for Superman and that isn't him.
Remember that Clark is dealing with his own personal demons, trying to wonder who he is in this new role.
This is Lois and Clark's show in many ways and seeing them struggle with their insecurities adds depth to them to.
And then ... holy Crisis on Infinite Earths ... Supergirl dives in front of a killing blast from the Eradicator aimed at Jonathan.
It appears she is killed (although Jimmy only says 'she won't wake up').
But her dying (?) words are to Jonathan that he is her better tomorrow. Kara has her own demons in her past. She doesn't want to see Jonathan hardened the way she was.
Wow.
Seriously, this is a fantastic take on Supergirl.
Then Clark gets another vision, this time of Superman. And the Fortress.
The answer is there.
Great image here of Clark so small in front of the vision of a huge Superman.
But things get even scarier.
Spurred by Kara's sacrifice, Jonathan flies into the fray and looks like he might have the upper hand briefly. But during the fight, the Eradicator grabs Jonathan's time travel device and blips away.
A super-powerful, Lex-brained Eradicator is loose in the timeline.
It can go back and stop Superman from arriving. Or really do anything! That is frightening.
Meanwhile, Clark and Lois can't help but wonder if there is a future ahead for them.
The show ends with Bizarro flying Superman to the Fortress. But when the Kryptonian sentry robots activate, Bizarro flies into a rage and knocks Superman out. Cliffhanger!
There is a whiff of the Superman II movie where a powerless Superman hits the Fortress to regain his powers.
But this was another insane episode, on par with Episode 5 in terms of action and pathos. Gut-wrenching.
That isn't to say there is no whimsy, a staple of this show.
I did like when Lara wondered if she was an accident.
And when Clark said his fall through the street was broken by the sewage.
Having recently rewatched the first two seasons, I think this season stands out. It is the whole package.
What did you think?
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