What I’m Watching: Supergirl

Supergirl: Season 4, Episode 7 “Rather the Fallen Angel” (B)

It’s tough to keep track of what side everyone is on here, with Tom fighting back against the Children of Liberty to save his new friend James and Manchester betraying Supergirl only to try to get revenge before aggressively assuring Hank that they really shouldn’t be working together for some strange reason since they do want the same things. The notion of Shelley Island, a place for aliens to be peacefully received on Earth, is intriguing, though of course that too would be corrupted in this universe by the Children of Liberty, seeking to reframe a haven for “roaches” as the site of their annihilation. Manchester should have realized that he would never come face-to-face with Agent Liberty since all of his followers always purport that they are the leader, and instead he just nearly got Supergirl killed before she finally flashed a signal to James that he shouldn’t go through with what they were making him do. All this is making Supergirl more resilient and angry, and I think it’s going to change her as she eventually realizes that Ben is more than just the mouthpiece for the Children of Liberty. Lena got close very quickly with her lab rat, who went from initially annoying to extremely insightful before his premature death. The real lesson here is that secrets don’t help anyone, and more honesty would benefit everyone in pursuit of the shared goal of the DEO and its greater human and alien supporters: continue to achieve peaceful coexistence between the two.