Review: 'Supergirl' finds her stride in Season 4
Posted Tuesday, September 17, 2019 at 3:29 PM Central
by John Couture
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this news story. The opinions I share are my own.
If there is any show on TV that has reinvented itself more than Supergirl has in its first four seasons, then I don't know what it is. And yet, despite the constant change in cast, tone, and network, Supergirl continues to set its own course with little detriment from the chaos surrounding it.
A large reason for the continued success of Supergirl lies at the feet of its very talented lead Melissa Benoist. With the exception of a very nit-picky prominent scar about one of her eyebrows (would Supergirl even be capable of being scarred?), Melissa Benoist is perfectly cast as Supergirl and she brings the right amount charm and kickass to a character that is quickly finding her place in the Arrowverse on The CW.
Our whole family fell in love with Supergirl when it debuted on CBS, but my wife found the grittier version offered by The CW to be a bit much for her liking, but the show is still a weekly watch for me and my young daughter. As a father, Supergirl is everything that you could hope for in a role model for your daughter, but even I had a few cringe-worthy moments in season four as the storylines are quickly escalating into more PG-13 territory.
Season four of Supergirl focuses mainly on the growing anti-alien sentiment across National City. Our titular hero finds new enemies in Agent Liberty and the Children of Liberty as well as old ones in the always spectacular Lex Luthor. Supergirl and her alter-ego Kara must find balance in the escalating tensions before she is outed and her very life may be at stake.
As you can imagine, it doesn't take much imagination to draw the parallel between the rising anti-alien sentiment in the show and the very real-world issue of immigration and non-citizens entering the United States illegally. In many ways, both Supergirl and Superman has been an allegory and a critique to American isolationism and xenophobia.
While the heroes represent off-world visitors to our planet, our country, there are valuable lessons to be learned for how we should treat the rising fear of the unknown that surrounds us every day. Some may see the tone of the show as being a bit preachy, but I personally think that they handled it with great aplomb. I particularly enjoyed how they played with the conflict and emotions that Supergirl felt as both an alien herself and a sworn protector of those that were persecuting her and her fellow aliens.
I was interested to see how they would handle the Agent Liberty character as I think it has the potential to become a strong supervillain in the Arrowverse. I will say that Sam Witwer absolutely knocked it out of the park and I hope that we do get to see more of him in the future.
Another actor that I never get tired of seeing in the Arrowverse is Jon Cryer. His Lex Luthor ranks right up there with the best all-time and to witness him chew up the scenery is a delight for ever-longing Duckie heart.
The youngsters out there might not remember (and those old enough are still probably trying to forget), but this isn't Cryer's first foray in the Luthor family. Nope, Jon Cryer played Lenny Luthor, Lex's comic relief nephew, in the absolutely abysmal Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. It's been reported that Cryer took on Lex for The CW as a way to make penance for his earlier familial foibles. After your performance in Season four, I think that all trespasses are forgiven Jon! Interestingly, or perhaps as a tribute, the season four finale episode is entitled "The Quest for Peace."
Supergirl has been a show in flux for its first four seasons, but I'm convinced that they have finally found the perfect balance between grit and glamour that makes the show so appealing for its effusive audience. It's pretty easy to laud the show with accolades when the chemistry shared by the cast is so genuine and likable.
Season Four was a turning point for this series and I truly believe that this show's best days are ahead of it. Given what we already have in the can, that is truly a pretty heady statement. The show is now in good hands with Greg Berlanti and the sky is indeed the limit for Supergirl.
Supergirl: The Complete Fourth Season is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
