Supergirl 2×18 & 2×19 Review: “Ace Reporter” & “Alex”

Supergirl does right by its ladies with back-to-back episodes focusing on the Danvers sisters. “Ace Reporter” finally remembers that Kara had a dream at the beginning of the season, and “Alex” showcases the titular character’s strength and resourcefulness.

Once upon a time, Kara wanted to be a reporter. It’s been several episodes since she was fired from CatCo, and she hasn’t even mentioned her blog since then. I mean, I can’t exactly fault Kara for wallowing, but for a show that’s about female empowerment and “for the girls”, I have felt very lackluster about Kara’s storyline lately. It was established very early on this season that Kara’s dream was to be a reporter, but the show never really spent any time focusing on that. Most of her “reporting” was just quoting herself as Supergirl and involved very little actual reporting. Therefore, I was pleased that “Ace Reporter” got Kara back into the game.

Of course, a lot of the stuff that Kara did in this episode was either unethical (eavesdropping on Snapper to get his source) or just plain illegal (breaking into Spherical), but I enjoyed watching Kara do some real sleuthing. I even thought it was cute that Mon-El tagged along with her. This is the kind of episode I can really get behind, and I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing something like this more often.

I also wouldn’t mind seeing more of Kara – or Supergirl – and Lena working together. I’m a big fan of their friendship, because I think Kara needs more female friends, and I have absolutely no issues with more ladies on my screen – especially when they come in the form of Lena Luthor. Lena, whose response to the phrase, “Behind every great man is a strong woman” is, “I wouldn’t know, I’ve never stood behind a man.” Lena, who finally got some backstory in the form of an ex-boyfriend (an ex-boyfriend she sadly had to sacrifice to save Kara’s life). Lena, whose turn to the dark side is being foreshadowed so heavily that I will be more shocked if they don’t go in that direction.

In the end, Kara decides to go to Snapper with the information she learned, and he rewards her cooperation by putting her name in the byline and giving her her old job back, putting her at least partly back on track to where she was headed at the beginning of the season. I had hoped that Supergirl would use the opportunity to send Kara to work at L Corp, but having her back at CatCo will allow for more screentime for James, who is still being sadly underutilized.

In “Alex”, it’s the high school reunion from hell, with an old classmate of Kara and Alex’s swooping in to kidnap Alex and threatening to kill her unless his father is released from prison. The crisis leads to a confrontation between Maggie and Kara that has obviously been a long time coming. I am actually surprised that it took this long for this to happen; Maggie, as a cop, has a very different opinion on Supergirl than the others obviously do, and when she makes her case, you can see that she has a point. Kara thinks people should be satisfied that she puts the bad guys in prison, but Maggie is frustrated that Kara doesn’t understand that her interference often has consequences.

Kara and Maggie clash when it comes to approaching how to save Alex. Kara is rash and impulsive, and when she ignores Maggie’s advice and rushes off to save Alex, she only ends up putting her in more danger. But with time running out, Maggie almost goes against her principles by nearly freeing the father and needs Kara to talk her out of it. In the end, they make a good team, but only time will tell if Kara will learn anything from this. I’ve noticed that each episode tends to feature Kara learning a lesson, but none of those lessons really seem to stick.

Considering the events of “Ace Reporter”, I would love to see Kara team up with Maggie to solve a case and use the opportunity to polish her journalism skills.

Another great thing about “Alex” is its villain – not because he’s particularly clever or amazing, but because he’s a violent young man who blames his criminal actions on his less-than-stellar childhood. Like the rest of Supergirl this season, he’s extremely relevant, because this is a villain who – unlike a lot of the larger-than-life villains on a comic book show – exists in real life. He’s bitter and angry, blames the wrong people for his problems, and resorts to violence as a solution.

The best thing about “Alex”, though, was Alex herself. That was some James Bond-level technique at the end, turning her pants into a flotation device, and I am suitably impressed. I have loved Alex’s development throughout the season, both with her own growth and in her relationship with Maggie. I thought the Alex/Maggie scenes were really well done, particularly the scene when the video gave out and the one at the end with their love confessions. These two continue to get better every week.

All in all, these two episodes did a fantastic job of showcasing the awesome ladies on Supergirl.

What did you guys think of “Ace Reporter” and “Alex”?

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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