Posted in: Arrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, CW, Review, Trailer, TV | Tagged: arrow, batwoman, black lightning, bleeding cool, cable, comic books, Comics, dc, dc comics, episode 13, it's a super life, katie mcgrath, Legends of Tomorrow, melissa benoist, Review, season 5, streaming, supergirl, television, The Flash, thomas lennon, tv

"Supergirl" Celebrates 100th Episode "It's a Super Life" With Walk Down Memory Lane [SPOILER REVIEW]

As The CW's Supergirl passes the century mark, we get one of the best "walk down memory lane" episodes in a long time. This time, bringing back Mxyzptlk with a new face (Thomas Lennon) as he helps Kara (Melissa Benoist) revisit her past decisions about concealing her identity from Lena (Katie McGrath).

The "clip show"/retrospective is usually a bottle episode (not to be confused with Episode 10 of this season, "The Bottle Episode") that is heavy on nostalgia, but in this case the show mixes old footage and new with pitch perfect, seamless recreations, even down to Kara's changing haircuts and outfits, as it reaches for a broader point. Most of these type of episodes are our cast sitting around, reminiscing. This one creates new dynamic situations and action sequences, including an alternate dystopian present, one where Kara's policy of truth has created a disaster.

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Deftly, smartly, the show criticizes the idea that you can Doc-Brown-your-problems-away through time travel, and that maybe the best thing to do with your past and mistakes is simply to learn from them and make peace with it.

It should go without saying that Lennon as Mxyzptlk is fantastic. Perhaps the take on the character, normally a mischiefmaker, this time more of a reformed alcoholic going through the 12 steps and righting his past wrongs, is a deviation from the normal characterization, but it really works. The way he presents the visions into the past — as films, as VHS tapes — is also fun, as it plays up the voyeuristic nature of his (and our) fascination with Supergirl. There's also some great jokes layered in there, such as how all of the VHS tapes are labelled "The one with…" "The one where…" a la the naming convention for episodes of Friends.

And like most flashback episodes, it also gives us a chance to bring in some old friends. I will never tire of Sam Witwer as Ben Lockwood/Agent Liberty, and it was good to see some "What if?" scenarios play out where he and his militia movement change rather drastically, but still present a major threat.

It was also great to see a fully powered up and kicking ass Dreamer (Nicole Maines), as well as a villainous Brainy (Jesse Rath), especially as the show seems inclined to tease those two eventualities.

But the episode really centers, as it should, on the relationship between Kara and Lena. And Benoist and McGrath go through so many different sets of emotions. It's great to see people so talented used to the best of their abilities, especially in quiet ways. All of these scenes of Kara trying to "fix" the past by telling Lena her secret identity are so fraught with multiple emotions. It centers the show back where it is strongest: as a narrative about the power of female relationships and all of the ways society pits women against each other to make them fight.

The final denoument where Kara apologizes to Lena but tells her that her decisions from here out are her own is also powerful. It places agency back in our characters' hands, tells Lena that she is the center of her destiny, not her brother. And it allows our characters to not be #StrongFemaleCharacters, but complicated, flawed characters. I much prefer this to the idea that we have to give Kara a boyfriend somewhere in the story. More of this, please.

Speaking of… Supergirl returns in two weeks – on March 8 with "The Bodyguard."

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