Season 6 Episode 5 – Nia and Brainy attempt to save Supergirl from the Phantom Zone by time travelling back to Kara’s home in 2009; a young reporter named Cat Grant sets her sights on Midvale as she suspects there is a big story in the small town.
What I Liked
1. I have to give the CGI and surroundings props. The ship Brainiac and Nia are on looks beautiful. Brainiac was also hilarious during this scene, especially the stress eating again.
2. Props to the showrunners on the casting choices for both a younger Kara and Alex. They actually look very similar to their counterparts.
3. Although Nia is going by the name of Brenda in 2009, she looks happy. She connects with Kara almost instantly and it was lovely to see. I am happy this episode is going to focus on her a bit more.
4. Brainiac’s bag is like mine when I go to work. Just full of snacks, and become agitated when it becomes empty. As he’s waiting hours for his makeshift 3D printer to finish, he goes off to find a vending machine, and then he’s spotted by a teacher. I love how they’re making it out as if 2009 technology was trash yet it was only 12 years ago, it wasn’t that bad, was it?
5. A great scene with that blue alien duo, who took control of a gas-filled truck and lead it on a chase in order to draw Kara out. What’s great here, is that Nia tells Kara to use her frost breath on the wheels in order to bring the truck to a stop. I don’t believe Kara told her that either. Also, Brainiac superhero landing…class.
6. We all laugh at Brainiac’s stress eating, but I do feel sorry for him when it becomes so overwhelming he struggles to cope. Nia steps in to briefly help by singing “9 to 5”, and he seemed to calm. I liked this, although somewhat uncomfortable, it was beautiful.
What I Disliked
1. I gave props to the younger Alex and Kara actresses, however, what were they thinking with Cat’s casting choice? Supergirl came out in 2015, which would mean Calista Flockhart (Cat Grant’s original actress) is around 51 at the time of the first season airing. The new actress, despite looking very similar to a young Cat, doesn’t look 45, at all. Now don’t get me wrong, it is a good cast, but the cast would have worked a hell of a lot better if Cat had have been much younger.
2. I know the episode was still largely centered around Kara, but it would have been a bit better if they had shown us the actual present-day Kara in the Phantom Zone. The episode felt a bit lost without Melissa’s Kara all episode.
Favourite Moment
My favorite moment was the scene Alex implodes on Kara for being stupid essentially. I liked this scene because it highlights just how rocky Kara and Alex’s relationship actually used to be, in comparison to how it is in the present day. It’s something that I’m glad the showrunners highlighted in such a great way.
Standout Character
It’s going to Brainiac this week. My main reason for this is because he’s finally back to how he was in season 4. It’s the Brainiac I’ve missed, and I know a lot of others have missed also. He was great this week in how he’s handling the mission itself.
Verdict
With a 7.8/10 due to the way we rate shows, I do think the show deserved higher because it was actually surprisingly very entertaining this week. It’s a Nia and Brainiac focused episode, and I’m glad we’re getting this because these are two incredible characters that deserve the spotlight.
Rating 7.8/10
Promo For Next Episode
Ratings
Story - 7
Action - 7
Characters - 8
Entertainment - 9
7.8
Good
With a 7.8/10 due to the way we rate shows, I do think the show deserved higher because it was actually surprisingly very entertaining this week. It's a Nia and Brainiac focused episode, and I'm glad we're getting this because these are two incredible characters that deserve the spotlight.
