Supergirl 1.14 “Truth, Justice, and the American Way”

Kara Danvers never has an easy day, let alone an episode in which her double lives are not on the brink of spiraling out of control.  This is why we tune in, though.  “Truth, Justice, and the American Way,” the latest episode of Supergirl, is no different.  After dealing with the death of Astra and nearly dying herself, Kara just wants to relax before she must clean up the mess at the office of Ms. Grant being upset that Kara not only called in, but also dumped Adam, sending him packing just when Ms. Grant was starting a relationship.  No rest for superheroes, however.  First, Kara must perform the traditional Kryptonian Last Rites as Non whisks her away to a funeral of sorts for Astra.  At least Non will be out of Supergirl’s hair for the next two weeks as he observes a bereavement period while he helps guide Astra’s spirit on its journey to the spiritual world.

The formula of “Supergirl meets a new adversary each week,” is getting a tad old, but this week’s “very special foe” was a small departure from the normal revenge seeking criminal alien we normally get.  This week, Supergirl faces another supervillain straight from the pages of the comics.  The Master Jailer first appeared in Superman Vol 1 #331 in 1979 as the alter-ego of Carl Draper, a character who grew up in Smallville and was in love with Lana Lang who only had eyes for Clark Kent.  This latest version of the Master Jailer was a jailer from Fort Rozz who was roaming National City and sentencing all of the prisoners that had escaped from Fort Rozz to death by guillotine.  This is a classic example of a hero or “good guy” being transformed into a villainous vigilante and becoming evil due to a crazed lust for his own version of justice.

Supergirl’s own actions seem to parallel those of the Master Jailer.  Supergirl and the DEO have imprisoned Maxwell Lord, an evil villain in his own right.  James Olsen has started to feel guilty that an alien with God-like powers and a secret government agency that has been trained to deal with aliens have detained a regular citizen without due process.  Basically, this entire episode, James grated on my nerves.  He lectures Supergirl and threatens to expose her and the DEO because he felt at odds with himself as a reporter and photographer, at one point even sought advice from Cat Grant.  He also felt torn because he is lying to Lucy Lane.  At one point, he even asks Kara if he can “out” her to Lucy!  If Kara is not careful, everyone will know she is secretly Supergirl by the end of the season.

In other news, Cat has hired a second assistant, Siobhan Smythe (Italia Ricci), who is ready to make Kara’s life hell and wants to become the next Cat Grant.  Grant has pitted Kara against Siobhan, but the chemistry is not there. Comic fans will recognize the name “Siobhan Smythe” as the villain Silver Banshee.  Hopefully, whatever turns her from merely annoying to actually evil in Supergirl will also infuse some passion and actual anger between Kara and Siobhan.