- Title: Supergirl – Bizarro
- wiki: link
Melissa Benoist does double duty her as both Supergirl and Maxwell Lord‘s (Peter Facinelli) pet science experiment in an evil doppelganger of National City’s savior Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) decides to name Bizarro. If there were any doubt, the episode firmly cements Max as the show’s Lex Luthor and removes any question as to the man’s true nature or motives. Of course the show does have a reset button in its back-pocket should J’onn J’onzz (David Harewood) decide to use his powers to limit Lord as a threat both to Supergirl and the DEO.
While there are several individual pieces of “Bizarro” that work, the episode flails as far too much of the story feels rushed and crammed into a single episode, not leaving nearly enough time for its payoff moments to be earned, and Kara continues to make decisions that only the show’s writers understand. Kara’s heroism and heart are well displayed over the storyline but Bizarro never quite works as the character’s complex motivations aren’t allowed time to fully develop.
Cat Grant’s unexpected warmness to her assistant, and how it completely freaks Kara out, is certainly a highlight. However, Kara’s mismanagement of her dates with Cat’s son (Blake Jenner) which culminates in an odd blow-off from out of the blue is completely mishandled (the show gets rid of him before either Kara or the audience were even properly introduced to the character), as is the not-so-revealing revelation of how Superman’s black friend James “Don’t Call Me Jimmy” Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) feels about the Girl of Steel. Knowing there’s absolutely no chance of the characters acting on their feeling given Olsen’s current relationship status the entire thread (which isn’t shocking in the least) is a waste of time.
The episode ends with Lord imprisoned but still a threat to Supergirl and Bizarro (who is nowhere near as weird or humorous as the comic book male counterpart, which is really needed to help sell the ridiculous premise) is out of commission as well. In what is becoming a trend, “Bizarro” also teases us with a look at next week’s episode and the introduction of the Black Mercy in an episode that should give us a far better look at Krypton before its destruction than what we’ve gleamed so far.
