Supergirl season 3 episode 19 review: The Fanatical

Supergirl — “The Fanatical” — Image Number: SPG319a_0032.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Chris Wood as Mon-El, David Harewood as Hank/J’onn and Melissa Benoist as Kara/Supergirl — Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW — © 2018 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

James gets his due in a Supergirl episode about what it means to be yourself –and who’s free to decide.

When Supergirl debuted on CBS, it envisioned James Olsen as a lead, second only to Kara and perhaps Alex. Along with the aborted plane crash, his arrival in National City motivated our hero to don her signature cape; as a matter of fact, he gave it to her, doing a favor for her cousin and his friend, Clark Kent. He and Winn formed Supergirl’s primary support team at a time when she had a rather tenuous relationship with the DEO. And he seemed destined to be Kara’s ultimate love interest. From the instant they met in the pilot, sparks flew.

In season 2, several things changed. For starters, Supergirl moved from CBS to The CW, joining the rest of Greg Berlanti’s superhero series. Whether because of that or for an entirely unrelated reason, James retreated to the sidelines, replaced by Mon-El as Kara’s main love interest and by the DEO as Supergirl’s partner. Suddenly, the show seemed to have no idea what to do with him. His decision to become Guardian came out of nowhere, as did his romance with Lena. He, Kara, and Winn — the original “super-friends” — rarely spoke to each other anymore.

James left Metropolis to escape Superman’s shadow. But he couldn’t escape shadows altogether.

“The Fanatical” gives James his most well-developed storyline since last season’s “City of Lost Children.” It isn’t quite a showcase episode like that one was; there is too much else going on — quite understandably, since we’re getting close to the finale, and the season has lots of dangling plot threads to resolve. Luckily, what we do get of James is powerful, and actor Mehcad Brooks takes full advantage of it.

Struggling to repair her relationship with Lena, Kara takes her frustration out on James, berating him for telling Lena about their secret investigation. Unfazed, he explains that his relationship with Lena relies on total honesty (or at least near-total; he hasn’t revealed Supergirl’s identity, of course knowing that it isn’t his place). Kara, however, doesn’t see total honesty as an option; she adamantly believes that the truth would only endanger her and those she wishes to protect. Her attitude still doesn’t make much sense (does she not trust Lena to keep her secret?), though Lena would probably agree with it. Anyway, at this point, it probably would do little to help matters.

As usual, an intrusion interrupts the argument: a stranger bursts into the CatCo offices holding a book. It turns out that Thomas Coville’s cult lives on, though Reign has supplanted Supergirl as its object of devotion. While translating Coville’s journals, Tanya found a formula that she thinks the cult will use to make a bomb, and she wants to give the information to Supergirl. Initially, she relished the sense of connection the cult gave her — both to members and to a higher power — but the formula made her realize it was illusory. Her personal desire for belonging wasn’t worth risking the safety of others.

Kara leaves to take the journal to her “friend.” In her absence, the cult’s remaining members, led by Olivia, storm CatCo with machine guns and take Tanya. James springs to action, donning his Guardian suit and mask and chasing after the captors on a motorcycle. One “cool guys don’t look at explosions” shot later, he finds them in a shadowy garage. During the ensuing scuffle, James’s Guardian mask gets knocked off, exposing him, which he doesn’t seem to mind — until the police arrive.

The scene that unfolds won’t surprise anybody who knows history or follows current events (or, well, looks like James and lives in America). Even though James insists that he is unarmed, and Tanya insists that he’s protecting her, the police treat him like a culprit. While they order him to put his hands behind his head, Olivia and her followers slip away.

Fortunately, thanks to a handy smoke bomb, the scene doesn’t end in the familiar outcome. After all, as Tanya tells James with no small amount of joy, Guardian is a superhero. Yet, anger clouds her joy: “And they still would’ve shot you.” She doesn’t need to elaborate for us to understand to whom she is referring.