Kara and Mon-El hit (yet another) snag in their relationship in this week’s middling episode of Supergirl…
‘Star-Crossed’ finally unveils the truth about Mon-El – he’s not really a mere servant, but the royal Prince of Daxam himself! Who could have expected that…? Well, apart from anyone who has actually watched Supergirl this season, of course.
Ultimately, this plotline would have been a lot more involving if a) the reveal that Mon is really the Daxam prince wasn’t so obviously signposted and b) we hadn’t had endure Kara and Mon breaking up every episode for the past month. As I’ve said before, Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood have terrific romantic chemistry and it would be easier to root for the couple if we could spend more time with them as a unit. Not necessarily as “rom-com on steroids” happy as in the episode’s opening scene, but at least trusting each other and talking things through. At least there is an interesting ethical element to their split here: can Kara forgive Mon for the years that he did nothing to help his oppressed people, even if he has changed now?
At least Winn was on fire this week. The Arrowverse’s other resident comic relief tech expert Cisco has been a bit more serious lately so it was great to have Winn getting the chance to spout hilarious lines left, right and centre. The poor guy just can’t take a break when it comes to women, as it turned out that his alien girlfriend Lyra was really a con artist – albeit only working with intergalactic hoodlums to save her brother. Winn’s b-story also nicely ties back into Kara’s own predicament, as Kara clearly lampshades with her line: “sometimes those we are closest to are our biggest blind spots.”
But the thing we were all waiting for from this episode was the lead-in to tomorrow’s The Flash musical crossover special. Thankfully, it does not disappoint. Darren Criss looks to be a lot of fun as the flamboyant Music Meister and the 1940s setting should make a nice change of scenery. I mean, the scene itself made no sense and was incredibly contrived – how did Music Meister know that Kara would have the interdimensional transporter at that exact moment? Why did J’onn make such a big announcement about their new prisoner? – but it got us hyped for what should be a welcome jolt out of the Arrowverse’s usual formula.
The bulk of this episode was only worth 3 stars, but Winn’s increased role and the ending bump it up to a 3.5.
Rating:
Krypto-Notes:
- Winn calls Lyra “She-Hulk” when she breaks a lock with her bare hands. That at last 100% confirms the long hinted at running joke that Marvel comics exist in the Arrowverse.
- “How about one of those movies where everybody breaks into song out of nowhere?” says Mon-El when picking a DVD to watch with Kara. I see what you did there, fella.
- I should probably mention that Mon-El’s parents are none other than 90s TV stars Teri Hatcher (Lois & Clark) and Kevin Sorbo (Hercules). They were terribly underused here, but they are no doubt going to step up in future episodes to make up for it.
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