Supergirl Season 3 Episode 23 Review: Battles Lost and Won
Stacy Glanzman
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All right, let's all take a moment to wipe the tears from our eyes before we dive into Supergirl Season 3 Episode 23.
They sure did lay it on thick with those heartfelt goodbyes and touching moments.
Who will you miss the most?
When the news first broke that Jeremy Jordan would be shifting to recurring status, it was hard not to wonder what exactly that would entail for Winn. Where would he go? How often would we see him?
The first question has been answered, but the second is anybody's guess. The good news is that Mon-El left Kara his Legion ring, so there's reason to be optimistic about his status.
Related: Supergirl Round Table: Home is Not a Place
I like Brainy, but he's no Winn. The show managed to survive the loss of Cat Grant, and many of us had our doubts that it could, but it's still hard to imagine Winn as only a recurring character.
Perhaps it will open up new opportunities for James.
Winn: I've been searching for my calling. This is it. I must save the future. What about you?
James: I can't keep waiting on the world to change. My future's now.
James took off his mask and made the leap. He revealed himself to the world as Guardian. Kara can't even tell one of her best friends that she is Supergirl, but James is done hiding who he is.
It's hard to say what this will mean for him going forward, but I think it's safe to say Kara will be keeping a keen eye on how well it works. It's basically like he is doing a trial run for her.
She can sit back and watch how it affects his life and the obstacles he will inevitably face, and then determine if continuing to protect her own secret identity is truly necessary.
What's right for him may not be what's right for her.
Kara began Supergirl Season 3 struggling with her own identity. Devastated by the loss of Mon-El, she attempted to suppress her human side and threw herself into being Supergirl. It took a season's worth of growth and discovery, but she's finally at a place where she knows who she is and where she belongs.
Mon-El came to a similar conclusion. Despite an amicable split with Imra, he realized he couldn't stay in the past with Kara. He belongs with the Legion, and thanks to Kara's own self-discovery, this time she can let him go with understanding rather than suffering.
She lost Mon-El, Winn, and her mother in one big swoop, but she's strong enough to overcome it. Change is inevitable, and the important thing is that everyone she loves is where they belong, doing what they believe is right.
J'onn: I'm not ready.
M'yrnn: You are. You looked into the flames and you had no fear.
J'onn: That's because you were with me.
M'yrnn: That will never change, J'onn. Never.
J'onn is not going anywhere (thank goodness), but he is leaving the DEO and putting it in Alex's very capable hands. It solves Alex's problem of wanting a child without putting her life at risk every day. J'onn's desire to put himself in his father's footsteps is admirable, and a touching way to remember him.
I'm not exactly sure what he's going to be doing next season, or how long his hiatus from the DEO will last (he has to return in some capacity, right?), but I like the idea of him finding his roots.
The argument surrounding sacrificing one life to save the masses is one that has come up more than once.
When Imra insisted that Pestilence needed to die to save the future, Kara was adamant about finding another way. With Reign's return, Kara finally relents and allows herself to be talked into killing Reign as a last resort.
Neither case worked out as expected.
Pestilence's death should have meant the future was safe and millions of lives were saved. Well, it did, but it also meant that one particularly evil life was saved, and because of that, Brainy had to flee his home and his time.
Related: Supergirl Shocker: Who's Out as Series Regular?
Reign's death also led to the deaths of Alura and Mon-El. Kara concluded that allowing herself to abandon her principles and lose sight of her unwillingness to kill was the wrong move.
Instead, she used Mon-El's Legion ring to go back in time and trap Reign in the valley forever, which in all honestly is probably a fate worse than death.
I never expected the Pestilence argument to come up again, but I appreciated the parallels drawn between that outcome and killing Reign.
Imra and Brainy went back in time to kill Pestilence, and now must live with the future they created, while Kara went back in time to save Reign, and in doing so, saved the lives of two people she loves.
If one life is going to be sacrificed to save many, it should be a voluntary sacrifice, like M'rynn's.
Where do we go from here?
So much has changed. What will Alex as the Director of the DEO look like? Are we going to see her adopt a kid next season?
Perhaps she'll simply spend more time with Sam and Ruby, assuming the now 100% human decides to stay? I have to give her props for her smackdown of Reign. That had to be so incredibly satisfying.
I appreciated the little nods to Superman. At least they acknowledge that he would help in a situation like this.
Once again I have no idea what to make of that cliffhanger, but I welcome your theories!
I wanted to find a way to work in that awesome Star Wars quote, but since I couldn't find one, I'm just going to insert it here anyway.
Kara: You're all clear kid. Now let's blow this thing and go home.
Brainy: I assume that's some sort of film reference.
Kara: We never showed you Star Wars? Not a single Star War?
What did you guys think of the finale and the season as a whole? How do you feel about Winn's move to the future? Did all the tearful goodbyes have you reaching for your tissues?
If you need to catch up over the summer, be sure to watch Supergirl online.
Stacy Glanzman was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in March, 2019.
