The CW's Supergirl - Episode 4.18 "Crime and Punishment"
Supergirl and Lena head to Stryker's Island to search for clues on how to defeat Lex. Supergirl tries to befriend a nosy prisoner who may have insight into what Lex was doing, but he and all of the prisoners regard her as a traitor to the country. Lena realizes Lex left behind clues for her and deciphering them could be the key to his whereabouts. Kelly encourages James to talk to someone about his PTSD. Alex faces off against Ben Lockwood after he storms the DEO and acquires some powerful weapons to hunt Supergirl.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of The CW's Supergirl.
"Crime and Punishment" was directed by Antonio Negret with story by Rob Wright and teleplay by Lindsay Sturman & Aadrita Mukerji
Kara has previously learned that she can fight just as many battles effectively as a reporter. She doesn't have to put on a cape and be Supergirl in order to make a difference in the world. Sure, that symbolism is so important to her and the alien community. She has long taken a stand as the hero the world needs. But now, the world has immediately turned on her with the suggestion that she attacked the Oval Office after the repeal of the Alien Amnesty Act. That's not true. And yet, she still believes she can be a hero and this revelation won't impact that work. That's completely ridiculous. She is flying around with a target on her back now. She is putting innocent people in harm's way simply from being in the same vicinity as her. It takes her this entire hour to learn that lesson. She hears people in danger and immediately flies away to help them. She wants to approach the situation with a rational mind. And yet, private citizens and the National Guard are still targeting her with weapons because they believe they are defending their country from a terrorist. That is the perception Lex has now created in the media. Sure, Kara and Lena don't know the extent of how Lex pulled all of this off. They are only now realizing that he wasn't as confined to his prison cell as everyone was led to believe. He could come and go at will because he was bribing the warden. Moreover, he had a secret room in his cell where he stored all of the information and monitored the world at large. His influence and impact was still being felt even though the world thought he had been dealt with as a threat. That may prove that the criminal justice system and the prison industrial complex aren't solutions to the greatest problems facing our country. It's not appropriate to lock people up and completely forget about them. Lex was still dangerous in this situation and the system wasn't in place to push back against his power. Kara and Lena are seeing just how easily he manipulated the situation. But Kara isn't able to get far with her investigation because everyone is hostile to her as Supergirl. She has to fight her way out of this place because Otis Graves is arming the prisoners and himself against her while the National Guard shows up to contain her. They may just aspire to blow up Lex's secrets to ensure Lena can't use them after discovering they exist in the first place. But that's what makes it inspiring when Kara returns as a journalist to uncover the truth. She gets a warmer reception and walks away with the information she needs. That's the role she should serve in handling this latest conflict. It's just potentially hindered by the fact that both Lena and Alex don't have any awareness about her secret identity. This season may be building to that reveal. Sooner rather than later would be nice though. Elsewhere, everyone is reckoning with big moral decisions about what actions they need to take in order to address the corruption happening at the top of the government. The President is more than willing to deputize the Children of Liberty now after initially laughing off the idea. Ben Lockwood needs people he can trust instead of working within the government which has a specific and rigid chain of command. He's a guy used to getting what he wants. Meanwhile, Lena and Colonel Haley are forced to question just how far they are willing to take a stand. They have to decide if they should knowing how toxic this conversation has been and will continue to be for the country. They know Supergirl isn't a traitor. But they also have to find a way to do what's right while working from within the same organization that led to such destruction in the first place.
