Supergirl season 3 episode 4 review + analysis: Hero worship

The latest Supergirl entered the world of cults and gave us an exploration of superheroes and religion that puts Batman v. Superman to shame.

Last week, Supergirl took something of a break from Kara. Our heroine played sidekick during J’onn’s odyssey to Mars (though she, not the Green Martian, succeeded in convincing M’yrann to trust his long-lost son). And the secondary plot had nothing whatsoever to do with her, instead following Maggie’s efforts to reconnect with her father. It made for a refreshing, if overstuffed, hour of television, letting David Harewood and Floriana Lima stretch their acting muscles.

Kara returned to the spotlight this week. At first glance, you might dismiss “The Faithful” as a detour. It does little to advance the season’s overarching conflicts; if you omit the ending, it’s essentially a self-contained story. Yet, watching it, I felt as though something I had been waiting for had at long last arrived. Calling it a miracle risks hyperbole, so let’s just say it’s special. It’s the best episode of Supergirl in ages.

Strangers on a plane

“The Faithful” opens with two strangers on a crowded plane. One asks the other if he has a wife, and the other answers in the affirmative. “We’re pregnant,” he adds. Like everything soon-to-be parents say, the seemingly innocuous declaration has a hint of smugness. Rather than ignoring it, as is polite, the first man scoffs and launches into a tirade about his failed marriage, subsequent professional woes, and general disillusionment. Evidently, he isn’t interested in having an actual conversation; he merely wants to vent. The other man might as well be an image in a mirror.

Whatever catharsis the first man sought, he doesn’t find it in his seatmate. All of a sudden, the plane’s engine catches fire, and everything goes haywire. Blurry close-ups of the man’s face convey his disorientation. Then, suddenly, clarity: the man’s gaze lands on a cross dangling from a nearby passenger’s necklace. The plane lands safely in the water – a stroke of luck, it seems. But, peering out the window, the man sees the truth: a woman is standing on the wing, exhausted yet triumphant. It’s Kara, and we realize that this is the plane she rescued in the series pilot.

Besides being a nifty reveal, the cold open encapsulates the episode’s attitude toward religion. By putting the audience in Coville’s point of view, however briefly, it invites us to identify with him. We feel his terror, relief, and awe. After that experience, who wouldn’t be transformed? Who wouldn’t at least wonder about fate and divine purpose? Hence, when Coville later returns as a cult leader, we don’t write him off as delusional. While his particular beliefs are misguided, we understand that the emotions that drive them are valid, even universal.

Lost

Still, “The Faithful” resonates most when it interrogates Supergirl herself. At the beginning of the season, the Girl of Steel disavowed her human counterpart, Kara Danvers, declaring that humanity was beneath her. It was a ruse. Kara didn’t really feel superior to humans; she felt at odds with them, and it’s easier to say the world is wrong than to admit that you are wrong. That would mean accepting yourself as flawed, weak, uncertain.

Even though Kara has now resumed her efforts to participate in human society, some part of her continues to resist. Coville describes Supergirl as “clear and free”, which isn’t quite accurate. In fact, the terms contradict each other. Clarity restricts, allowing you to see one thing, sometimes at the expense of all else. Religion offers clarity, and many people find comfort in it, in the belief that no matter what, you can always rely on this one thing.

As it turns out, Kara’s thing is the same as Coville’s. Supergirl gives her purpose; she connects her to something beyond herself. Yet she is starting to realize that Supergirl isn’t enough. When James finds Kara brooding, he tells her about the first time Superman saved him, answering his desperate praying. “In this life,” he says, “prayer normally doesn’t work. Nobody shows up. But Clark did, and you did.” It’s the ultimate superpower — the ability to be there when you are wanted. And is that not godlike?

Despite its uplifting sentiment, James’s speech misses the crux of Kara’s problem: she doesn’t feel godlike. Knowing that others view her as such only exacerbates matters. It obliges her to live up to an impossible ideal, to appear invulnerable and infallible at all times. To whom can a god pray? Who will save the savior?

Here because of her grace

Elsewhere, Samantha feels guilty for not paying enough attention to Ruby. For a while, her story seems pointless, trivial. What does a single mother’s struggle to balance work and family have to do with crises of faith?

I’ll be honest: I am still not quite sure what “The Faithful” is trying to say. But it’s intriguing that the theme of parenthood features so prominently. In addition to the Samantha plot, we get Alex deciding that she can’t compromise on having children, precipitating her inevitable breakup with Maggie. At one point, Lena attempts to console Samantha by referencing her mother, who was “objectively” the worst. Plus, remember that Coville’s airplane rant was triggered by the mention of pregnancy.

There is definitely something to be said about idols. To use a cliché, parents are children’s first teachers; they shape our initial perception of the world. For many, the discovery that our parents are neither all-powerful nor all-knowing is shattering, forcing us to reassess what we thought we knew. In a sense, it creates a crisis of faith.

It’s no coincidence that Kara associates Rao with her mother, whom she long revered. Coville’s cult upsets her not just because it distorts Kryptonian doctrine, but because it sullies her mother’s memory. And, even after the revelations about her planet’s ruin, she wants to preserve a semblance of that childhood reverence. So, when she lights a candle and prays to Rao at the end of the episode, Kara sits in the glow of her mother’s hologram. Here, for now, she can be the one searching for someone to save her.

Bullet points:

The first shot of the episode is of liquor being poured into a glass, which seems somehow significant.
I smiled at the Voyager reference, because the Voyager space program is awesome.
Clever, setting the climax underneath a sports stadium, a sort of secular house of worship.
Another stellar episode by Jesse Warn, who was responsible for the season premiere. His direction imbues a lot of moments that could come across as cheesy or silly with gravitas.
I still wish the show spent more time developing the Alex/Maggie conflict, but it’s hard not to be moved by Chyler Leigh’s performance.
Okay, the use of “Hallelujah” during the closing montage was a bit on-the-nose, not to mention stale. Maybe it wouldn’t have fit the tone in this case, but if Supergirl doesn’t use OneRepublic’s “Human” sometime this season, it’ll be such a missed opportunity.
Reign seems creepy.
The Flash also delved into religion this season, albeit less thoroughly, with its premiere, “The Flash Reborn.” For the record, I’m not opposed to this trend.
“Kara, how are you not a miracle?” (Seriously, more James and Kara bonding scenes, please.)

Supergirl airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on The CW.

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