Review: Supergirl 5×10-“The Bottle Episode“
[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers]
Director: Tawnia McKiernan
Writers: Nicki Holcomb, Jen Troy & Derek Simon
Starring: Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Katie McGrath, Jesse Rath, Nicole Maines, Julie Gonzalo & Staz Nair
Reviewed by: Sean Blumenshine
Summary
The subsequent complications from the Crisis leave Supergirl to face a chaotic threat.
Positives
The episode’s greatest strength is Jesse Rath. He gets to play several different versions of his character and he is incredible in each role. It’s nice to get an episode focused on Brainy and I think a lot of interesting choices were made for the character. And I loved the more comic accurate look at the end; that was amazing. Meaghan Rath also deserves a mention for how great she is.
I think I might be too invested in this show. When Brainy dumped Nia, I felt like I had just been dumped. It was kind of soul crushing. Rath and Nicole Maines are terrific; I love that the show can get that kind of a reaction out of me.
Jon Cryer is the best Lex Luthor; I am so happy he decided to come back and do more than the handful of episodes he was in last year. And his relationship with Lena is so interesting. There’s such a weird complexity to the Luthor family that makes for excellent television. And while I still think Lena is acting like a child, the show feels more aware that she’s on the wrong path. She’s making a deal with the devil; I’m really excited to see where this goes.
The consequences of Crisis are interesting. I like that the merger of Earth 1 and Earth 38 wasn’t clean; there are random doppelgangers that are the last survivors of their Earth. That’s a lot of fun. It’s also interesting that the heroes of Earth Prime do not seem to be aware that the multiverse still exists. The alternate history is also cool. The main differences are Lex and Leviathan.
Negatives
It is a little bizarre that none of the Leviathan stuff from the first half of the season happened. Honestly, it feels like an excuse to put them on the back burner for a bit so the show can focus on Lex and their big surprise for the next episode. It makes everything feel a little pointless.
Verdict
This is a really good episode. The focus on Brainy is a lot of fun and Rath nails it. Beyond just being fun, I think this is a great exploration of that character. The layers added to him here are fascinating and I love this direction. Lex and Lena’s relationship is great. Cryer and Katie McGrath have great chemistry; I’m excited to see them share as many scenes together as possible. This is a really exciting new direction for the show and I had a blast with it.
