What I’m Watching: Supergirl (Season Finale)

Supergirl: Season 4, Episode 22 “The Quest for Peace” (B)

This was a pretty decent, action-packed finale, though I’m not terribly excited by what’s coming next based on the ending of this hour. Lex had a blast singing along and playing the hero after we saw that the president is truly a puppet he finds irritating, and he enjoyed summoning his sister and mother to the White House even though it took mere moments for his mother to try to poison him. The notion of harnessing alien power and selling it is indeed an interesting if immoral business plan, and it seems that some of Lex’s allies are okay with that but don’t want to have to deal with his obsessive attitude towards Kryptonians and need for world domination. Lockwood was particularly upset with being manipulated by Lex, though that didn’t take away his fury towards Supergirl for representing the aliens he continues to hate. Red Daughter surviving and saving Supergirl was a fitting way to send out that character, and I like that they were able to defeat Lex in part thanks to the power of journalism, which in this world managed to work even if such things aren’t always as successful in real life these days. Dreamer and Hank did a formidable job of saving everyone, and it’s good to have the old Brainy back. Lex saved his best trick for last, revealing to Lena that she couldn’t trust her best friends since they had lied to her all along about Kara being Supergirl. The fact that she didn’t confront Kara when she came over for game night means her hatred is going to stew and build, making her a true enemy for the team. The appearance of the Monitor at the end of the episode and the introduction of Hank’s vengeful brother hardly seems like the best focus for the next season, though hopefully that will all play out in a magnificent way in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover that may well serve as the opener in the fall. This has been a good season if not a fantastic one, and I’m still on board for more in the future.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Sam Witwer as Ben Lockwood