'Supergirl' Season 5 Episode 13 Review: Landmark 100th chapter finally addresses the Lena-Kara relationship
Spoiler alert for 'Supergirl' Season 5 Episode 13: 'It's a Super Life'
For a landmark 100th episode, it was only fitting that the writers chose friendship as the plot point. The Lena Luthor-Kara Danvers (Katie McGrath and Melissa Benoist) relationship storyline has been central to the season and after 12 episodes there seems to be a conclusion as to how the best friends take their relationship forward.
The post 'Crisis' episodes of 'Supergirl' saw radical changes. Jesse Rath's Brainy siding with Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer), Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) quitting the DEO, the return of the Toyman were all plotlines we didn't see coming and that briefly took the spotlight away from Kara and Lena. 'It's a Super Life' puts the duo in focus again and in Thomas Lennon's Mxyzptlk/Mxy, there is some fun element as well as an important lesson.
With time travel being one of the fifth-dimension being's abilities, Mxy offers to take Kara back in time and help rebuild her strained relationship with Lena. While Team Supergirl thinks of it as a gamble, Kara still chooses to go back in time to different scenarios and repair the damage only to see Lena still being distant.
Alternate timelines are explored and each of it sees Kara reveal her secret to Lena, except in each of it, the impact is fairly different. One such reveal in a different timeline sees the heroes killed by Agent Liberty, while at another point, Mon-El (Chris Wood) and Lena are killed by Reign.
Ultimately, it all just boils down to the old-school classic message: Sometimes, you just let things be. Kara eventually meets Lena and tells her that it was a mistake, and eventually leaves the decision to Lena. Irrespective of what it is, she'll continue to be the Girl of Steel.
'It's a Super Life' is not a disappointment. Not one bit. There might not have been any Leviathan or Project Non-Nocere, and it was good they weren't in the frame. One of the themes 'Supergirl' revolved around was friendship, and this arc had to come to an end.
However, 'It's a Super Life' ends with a fair share of questions. Will Lena still work with Lex on Non-Nocere? Will the duo get back to being friends? What of the Leviathan? For now, those who have seen or heard of the 1946 classic 'It's a Wonderful Life' can immediately guess where the title of the episode came from. Plus, 'Supergirl' is the first female-led superhero TV series to hit the 100-episode mark. Enough reasons for a celebration.
'Supergirl' airs Sundays 9 pm on The CW.