Darkknight2149 Reviews: SUPERGIRL Season 1 Episode 5 "How Does She Do It?"

Series: Supergirl

Episode: 105 "How Does She Do It?"

Previous Episode Review: "Livewire"


REVIEW

This week's brand new episode of Supergirl, "How Does She Do It?" was originally set to air last week in place of "Livewire." However, due to the similarities between the crimes depicted in the former episode and real life current events, it was pushed back to this week. As you would expect, some things seem a bit out of place in the episode. The Lucy Lane story arc, the fact that Supergirl and Alex Danvers still believe that Hank Henshaw can be trusted, references to the season's third episode, ETC. However, nothing seemed too confusing with the episodes' mixed order, which is a relief.

Cat Grant is continuing to evolve from a typical Devil Wears Prada boss into an actual character. I like that Cat Grant is so manipulative that she seemed rather pleased when she figured that Kara was manipulating her. The episode also reveals that Cat Grant has a son. Wait...Cat Grant runs her own news network, she is middle aged, AND she has a son? This character seems like a future version of the Cat Grant from the comics, rather than Cat Grant's traditional self. The series should start calling her Cat Grant 2.0.

Who isn't improving as a character is the show's version of Jimmy James Olsen. To make matters worse, this episode has firmly established an unneeded love triangle between Olsen, Kara and Lucy Lane, Lois Lane's sister who is only in the series because that's the closest they could get to using Lois. And while we're on the subject of unnecessary drama, this episode manages to force a romance between Maxwell Lord and Alex Danvers. Two in one episode, who would have thought?

The villain-of-the-week for this episode is a boring character whose storyline only exists as plot filler and to establish Maxwell Lord as a possible big bad for the season (watch out General Astra, you have competition). The antagonist is Ethan Knox, and his generic subplot is pretty much the same thing viewers have seen over and over, where a smaller villain is only a villain because they want revenge on a bigger villain. I should also point out that the scene between Supergirl and Maxwell Lord at the end of the episode was recycled from a similar scene between Superman and Lex Luthor in Superman: The Animated Series.

On a more positive note, the show's special effects remain impressive. CBS has been using their budget for the series wisely thus far.

Side Notes:

• Siegel Award...Clearly a nod to Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel.
• I thought the toys on Winslow Schott's desk were a nice nod to the Toyman. Too bad we already know that Schott isn't the Toyman in the series.

VERDICT

Score: 7/10

The more things change, the more they stay the same. On some fronts, the series has greatly improved. On others, the flaws haven't changed a bit. "How Does She Do It?" was over-all not a bad episode, but the series is starting to feel like a retread of previous Superman television series.