Supergirl season 4 has a major problem
Too little Luthor, too late.
BY
DAVID OPIE
20/03/2019
THE CW
Note: contains spoilers for
Supergirl season 4.
As a crime-fighting hero with astounding abilities,
Supergirl possesses the might to take on any number of foes. But the same can’t be said for her show in season 4.
While most
Arrowverse seasons revolve around just one Big Bad – sometimes with the occasional twist, like
Arrow's Ricardo Diaz usurping Cayden James in season 6 – the latest season of
Supergirl has lacked focus in the villain department and the show has suffered as a result.
Back before season 4 started late last year, a number of outlets tried to pinpoint who the new Big Bad could be and although they each gave different answers, it turns out they were all right in their own way.
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The season 3 finale introduced a villainous Supergirl doppelganger whose arc was inspired by the classic comic book storyline,
Superman: Red Son. This led us to believe that the so-called Red Daughter would feature prominently in season 4, yet she’s only appeared a handful of times so far and she hasn’t even met Supergirl yet, even though we’re now approaching the end of the season.
Other sources claimed that
Mercy Graves,
Agent Liberty and
Manchester Black would all take centre stage in the fight against Supergirl – and they each have at various points this year. Unfortunately, their impact on the overall story is diminished every time Supergirl turns her attention elsewhere, with trademark lightning speed.
There’s nothing wrong with this approach in theory. After all, some Arrowverse shows have in the past suffered from pacing problems when they tried to sustain the threat of just one Big Bad across 20-plus episodes. By introducing a number of mini Big Bads,
Supergirl is effectively combining this tried and tested approach with the ‘Villain of the Week’ format to create something more faithful to the comics.
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But Kara’s split focus is also reflective of wider issues affecting the show right now. No longer fighting alongside the DEO, Supergirl is floundering to understand her place in the world and season 4 also seems uncertain about its overall direction.
Luckily, that might all start to change as the show edges closer to the season finale – and it’s all thanks to Superman’s greatest foe, Lex Luthor.
Even though he’s only slated to appear in
two more episodes, Luthor’s official Arrowverse debut has already made quite the impact. While speaking to
IGN,
Supergirl co-showrunner Jessica Queller revealed that Jon Cryer’s character will be "a major player... right through the finale" and it’s no coincidence that the final episode of season four will be titled 'The Quest For Peace' either.
Cryer previously played Lex’s nephew Lenny in the now-reviled movie
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, so he took on this new Luthor role to
redeem himself in the eyes of fans. "I feel like this was my chance to sort of reclaim it and do it a little more justice, or injustice, as it were," Cryer said.
SERGEI BACHLAKOVTHE CW
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Although Luthor’s overall plan remains unclear, it’s intriguing to see how the show has already started threading everything together through his off-screen machinations. Learning that Lex was the one who had James shot made this entire story arc far more compelling than it would have been if someone like the Children of Liberty had been responsible instead.
News that Luthor is also involved with the origin of the
Red Daughter doppelgangerpromises to help tie things together even further. It’s almost like the writers realised that season 4 lacked cohesion and retroactively brought Lex in as the deus ex machina responsible for all of Kara’s problems this year. Don’t be surprised if we discover later down the line that Luthor also helped fund or motivate the Children of Liberty too.
SERGEI BACHLAKOVTHE CW
While Lex could be the one to steer
Supergirl back on track, it’s just a shame that it took him so long to get here. It’s not like the character needed to appear in every single episode, but just a hint that someone else was pulling the strings could have given the first half of season four the cohesion and direction it sorely needed.
Here's hoping the writers can draw inspiration from Luthor’s approach and develop a new master plan of their own ready for when
season 5 kicks off later this year.
Supergirl airs on The CW in the US and Sky One in the UK.
