This week's episode definitely changed the game in a lot of ways, from the DEO finding the second Worldkiller to secrets being revealed and important conclusions being made. The fight against the Worldkillers is really just beginning and the foundation for this fight and the rest of the season was set in this episode. We discuss the major implications we were left with afterwards as well as make plenty of predictions for the future when Supergirl returns in April.
Thanks to Kara’s vision, the DEO was able to quickly identify Julia Freeman as the other Worldkiller. But she wasn’t what they expected at all. How do you feel about Purity so far, especially compared to Reign?
Opal - Personally, as a villain I prefer Purity. Reign is kind of second to Sam for me, I’m not like, "Whoa Reign is badass," because I care more about Sam and her story if that makes sense. Because we didn’t really get to know Julia all too well, when I see her as Purity delivering those awesome monologues I’ve gotten chills. Krys Marshall has to be my second favorite addition to the cast this season (second only to Odette). She delivered more passion and resonance in her performance than some people have done the entire season. Massive kudos to her.
Mia - Purity was chilling throughout the entire episode. The way she managed to zone in on people’s weaknesses - especially Alex’s - was so terrifying. And the huge contrast between Purity and “human” Julia was so well played out; Krys did amazing. I was really impressed. I think the scenes at the end with Reign and Purity together were telling of how destructive they will be once they are both in villain-mode and reunited with Pestilence.
Winnie - I’m a huge fan of credibly menacing villains and Purity is bringing it. I found her unnerving which is not easy to do. Her monologues were also so on point. But as with Reign, her human side makes it really hard to all out hate her or want the heroes to kick her ass. This episode was a roller coaster of competing emotions for me because of her! Overall, Purity is an amazing addition to the narrative.
Michelle - I really like Purity. There’s a feral type of evilness to her and I really like it. Krys is, of course, hitting it out of the park, and the dichotomy of finally seeing her human side come out was also kind of a game-changer. Not only does it make me question if Julia can hold her off for long, but it also shows that there’s hope that Sam will be able to pull herself out of Reign as well.
Cristina - First of all, I think Krys Marshall gave an amazing performance. She hasn’t had much screen time yet but I already feel for Julia and I’m lowkey more scared of Purity than I am of Reign right now! There’s almost a wild streak that Purity has that Reign doesn’t, and that makes her all the more terrifying and unpredictable. Not to mention the way she was able to get under your skin and push your buttons with her little monologues. But even though it was fascinating to see Krys give such a dynamic performance while switching back and forth between Julia and Purity (and being aware of it), it was also frustrating because this dynamic is not what we saw with Sam/Reign. In fact, it seemed almost completely different compared to Sam/Reign and at this point, I don’t know if inconsistencies like this are intentional and meant to be explained later, or if the writers just don’t care. On one hand, there isn’t enough time to give every Worldkiller the kind of slowburn arc that Sam/Reign has had this season, so it’s a little understandable that they chose to show the back-and-forth between Julia and Purity in this way so that they could build sympathy for the character quicker. But sadly, that just brings us to the same conclusion I’ve been having many times over with this show: that the writers are content to write plot-driven storylines, rather than character-driven storylines...even if it comes at the expense of the characters.
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Kara and Alex disagreed on tactics when it came to dealing with Julia/Purity, with Kara wanting to treat her as Julia and Alex wanting to treat her as Purity. In the end, do you think that either tactic will win out or will the team have to use a combination of both to defeat the Worldkillers?
Opal - Can I just say it was extremely gratifying to see these sisters be the focus of the show once again? I’ve missed seeing Alex at the forefront. With the tactics though, I think the show has set up that it is possible to reach the real people under the Worldkiller framework. This is a serious flaw in the design to be honest, I don’t know what those priestesses were thinking. Anyways, while I do think that’s the answer I don’t believe it’ll be easy and there will definitely be casualties.
Mia - Going with just one or the other will never work, that’s for sure. Kara will never give up on trying to reach their humanity deep down inside, that’s just who she is. But I think she has learned that she can’t use that as her main tactic anymore. It might work with normal human bad guys, but these are Worldkillers and need to be treated with extreme caution. So far it seems Purity is still more in touch with her human alter ego than Reign, so I won’t completely rule out the possibility of Supergirl getting a Worldkiller on her side eventually.
Winnie - It seems that the team is leaning towards the “save them” approach. Which is very Supergirl and very noble. But I can’t help but wonder if eventually their Worldkiller side will prevail more consistently. The stakes will get even higher and the diplomatic solution may not always work. I found Kara and Alex starting at opposite ends, and then aligning again by the end, absolutely awesome. Like Opal said having their dynamic at the center, even in disagreement, roots the narrative so well.
Michelle - Personally, I think that a nice combo of the two will be what wins in the end. However, as Winnie said, they’re most likely going to go with the more noble side and that’s trying to hit that human side of them in the end. I think that brings about so much room for error and it really just leaves Supergirl at a disadvantage.
Cristina - I definitely think that it will take a mix of both tactics in the end, but I think that because of who Kara is (and because it’s her show, obviously) they will be able to save the Worldkillers somehow. Although bear in mind that “saving” them can mean multiple things. It was nice to see Kara and Alex balancing each other out, even though their disagreement felt a little forced to me. Alex has known for a long time that Kara’s greatest strength is her hopeful heart, and considering everything they’ve been through since season one, it was a little cringey to see Alex basically tell Kara to stop having so much hope. But I think they kind of figured it out at the end of the episode, so I hope to see them supporting each other throughout the rest of the season. They have always been stronger together and that will be essential for what’s to come.
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Mon-El opened up to J’onn about his past with Imra and their arranged marriage and Imra also revealed to Mon-El at the end that she and Brainy have been keeping secrets from him regarding their mission in the 21st century. How do you expect these big reveals to play into the rest of the season’s story?
Opal - The Legion lying wasn’t that big of a shock for me. I’ve said so from the beginning that they had a hidden agenda. What I hadn’t expected was that they had duped Mon-El and that he had no idea about it. It raises some very important questions. First of all, how long has this plan been in action? Did they always have the ability to come back in time? Why lie to Mon-El in the first place? He is, after all, their respected leader. No matter what the answers to these questions are, I am expecting a rift to form between Mon-El and the Legion because they knowingly placed him in a very difficult situation. It was even worse because they didn’t consult him at all. It seems to be a recurring theme in Mon-El’s life that he has his agency stripped away from him. So yes, Mon-El definitely deserves better. Side note: I really loved J’onn and Mon-El’s conversation; I really want him to bond with everyone on the main cast. Hopefully, one day I’ll get a meaningful Mon-El and Alex interaction.
Mia - It was bound to come up at one point, so I was happy they didn’t drag it out even further. Like Opal, I wasn’t expecting Mon-El to be clueless about the true mission though. There has to be a reason why Imra and Brainy have kept him in the dark all this time. As I see it, there are two possible reasons: either they did it to protect him or they did it because it goes against his values/principles. I’m curious and interested to see what it is. I know the rumors, but I won’t mention them here out of respect for people who haven’t seen them/don’t want to see them. As for the conversation he had with J’onn, that was sweet and meaningful. The way he was completely accepting of how horrible he used to be but also very clear about how he has changed, I feel like that was as much a message to *certain* fans of the show as much as it was just casual dialogue. I liked that.
Winnie - Point me towards the cliff, I’m jumping. I am so happy we are finally going to get some answers out of the Legion (in April that is). We’ve known from the start that something was up but what I - and everyone I think - did not expect was that Mon-El would not be in on it. I found J’onn and Mon-El’s conversation heartwarming; Mon-El is finally opening up, talking about what’s on his mind and how it has been for him to be back. Space dad is adopting another son!
Michelle - Yeah, like Winnie said, we’ve known since the beginning that something felt off with Mon-El and Imra, but the arranged marriage, for me, was a bit surprising. There are, of course, always spoilers and rumors or theories, and that was one of them, but I didn’t put much faith in it. The way it played out though, when Mon-El told J’onn, it fits. And fits well. I one hundred percent agree with Mia too - the dialogue given here was definitely to make a note to certain people who watch the show, and I kind of liked it as well. I’m also not surprised that Imra is hiding something from Mon-El, but I’m also really at a loss at how he’s going to react. I can’t tell which way he’s going, so it’s just another thing to look forward to in April.
Cristina - Oh, boy. I have so, so, so many questions and I have a feeling that I’m only going to get a fraction of answers by the end of this season. For starters, I am probably the number one advocate for brotps on this show, so I absolutely love anytime that Mon-El has gotten to interact with J’onn or Winn this season (which hasn’t been nowhere near enough). J’onn rarely gets personal so it was really heartwarming to see him open up so that Mon-El might also feel comfortable sharing what was on his mind. As far as the arranged marriage reveal, it wasn’t so much surprising as it was disappointing. I mean, just stop and think about it for a moment...this show is basically telling me that no matter how advanced the future is, something as archaic and patriarchal as arranged marriage is still considered a viable solution to problems. Wow. It really gives me hope for the future. (That was sarcasm, by the way.) Poor Mon-El had barely just escaped his horrible parents and past life when he was thrust into another horrible situation. To echo Opal: Mon-El definitely deserves better. As far as Imra and Brainy lying to Mon-El about the mission...I’m honestly so over the Legion. They’ve proven to be useless so far and have only been used as plot devices for Kara’s pain. Unless Imra somehow reveals that their secret mission is in fact tied to the Worldkillers then I truly see no use for them anymore. She and Brainy can take the ship and their ugly lies and go back to the ugly future where they belong.
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At the end of the episode, an argument between Sam and Lena prompted Sam to have a minor blackout, and Lena said that she’d noticed that the blackouts have been coinciding with “something.” Do you think that Lena has actually figured out the truth about Sam? And what will that mean for Sam and the fight against the Worldkillers?
Opal - This last scene left me very confused honestly; Lena has had maybe a handful of interactions with Reign while she was in a mask. She can’t figure out Kara is Supergirl, yet she’s figured out Sam is Reign somehow? That makes no sense to me. I think it’d be more believable if maybe she figured out that Samantha is drifting into these fugue states and having episodes? If she made the leap to Worldkillers, I’d hope she’d reach out to Kara and Alex and the ladies team up to help Sam.
Mia - Okay, so, I mean, Lena COULD have an idea about Sam being an alien, but knowing how the writers dumb her down, I don’t want to get my hopes up. For all we know, they could have Lena saying Sam is pregnant or whatever. I don’t know. Lena should have been able to put Kara and Supergirl together by now, but you know…
Winnie - I have a terrible, horrible sinking feeling about this and I'm not even sure why. I think it would be narratively appropriate for Lena to be the first to figure it out, especially now with her added time at L-Corp. I don’t know if I’m fully convinced that Lena “knows” but I can’t help but think that this might be an important moment in Lena’s story. If she runs tests on Sam in human form shouldn’t she get the same results as Alex did? And if she figures out a way to trigger her to turn into Reign, couldn’t she be putting herself and others (read: James and Kara) in danger?
Michelle - Yeah, so I don’t think she’s figured it out. The only way is if she’d seen a red flicker in Reign’s eyes back at CatCo, but I can’t remember if she did. But either way, it would make me mad if that little flicker announced to her that Sam’s Reign when the same area of the face is the only thing hiding Kara’s identity and Lena still hasn’t figured it out. Lena also wasn’t alarmed, or as alarmed as one should be when next to a Worldkiller, and so that also tells me Lena doesn’t truly know the extent or cause of Sam’s sickness.
Cristina - Well, it certainly appears to be the case that Lena figured out Sam has been changing into Reign. Which just makes me groan inwardly because of the obvious reason that has been mentioned already. I would have less of a problem with Lena figuring out the truth if we had at least seen some brief glimpses of suspicion from Lena before this (i.e. Sam disappearing and Lena asking her where she went, or if we’d actually seen Lena start to be worried about the strange behavior and doing some research to put the pieces together). But we didn’t get anything, and instead Lena suddenly figuring it out in this episode came out of nowhere. And it’s just made worse when it’s coupled with the fact that she still doesn’t know that Kara is Supergirl. I’m tired of the writers only using her supposed intelligence when it fits the story they want to tell. As far as what it will mean for the fight against the Worldkillers, I assume that Lena will go to Supergirl for help and once Kara finds out Sam is Reign, it will only intensify her desire to save the Worldkillers. However, I don’t think Sam will take the news well (especially since, unlike Julia, she is not aware of Reign at all) and I’m a little scared for what she might do.
Favorite Line
Opal - “Someone cut something out of you and you feel the hole everyday.“ (Purity to Alex)
Mia - “I’m glad you’re the way you are.” (Alex to Kara)
Winnie - “Cynicism is how the rest of us stay alive.” (Alex to Kara)
Michelle - “Cynicism is how the rest of us stay alive.” (Alex to Kara)
Cristina - “You want to hurt me because you’re hurt. You want me weak because you’re weak.” (Purity to Alex)
Now that you've heard our take on "Both Sides Now" let us know what you thought about the episode. We will be back with our roundtable in April, but stay tuned for more exciting news coming this hiatus!