The CW's Supergirl - Episode 4.22 "The Quest for Peace"
Lex Luthor descends upon Washington, D.C. and summons Lena and Lillian Luthor to the White House. Supergirl realizes she has one last chance to stop Lex and turns to the power of the press to help her.
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 season finale of The CW's Supergirl.
"The Quest for Peace" was directed by Jesse Warn with story by Robert Rovner & Jessica Queller and teleplay by Rob Wright & Derek Simon
This finale is a little too simplistic when it comes to overturning all of the misinformation that Lex Luthor has sowed throughout the world in order to rise to power once more. The show seems to suggest that it only takes one powerful story written by Kara. A carefully researched piece can absolutely change hearts and minds. It can lead to people coming together for the first time in awhile while removing those in power who have abused their responsibilities. The finale opens on the Kaznian battle that highlights everything Lex was doing while Supergirl was fighting Red Daughter. It's action that plays out exactly as everyone believed it did. As such, it's a little repetitive. It mostly just shades in how President Baker came to be aligned with Lex. It's some outrageous explanation of how Lex manipulated things years in advance to get Baker on the presidential ticket in the first time. He has been biding his time until this precise moment where Marsden could be removed from office for lying to the public about being an alien which would only fuel the anti-alien rhetoric that is so predominate in the culture on Earth. The show has gotten slightly less effective with that overall theme as the season has gone on. It has replaced Ben Lockwood's zealous path of righteousness with Lex Luthor's manipulations in the hopes of killing all Kryptonians. That's really the only thing driving him forward. It makes it easy for him to betray Red Daughter. That relationship meant something to her. But she also naively believed everything that Lex told her. She obeyed his every order. And now, it leads to her also being used as a tool to potentially destroy Argo City. But again, this finale is mostly about the reversal of power dynamics. Nia and J'onn are held captive on Shelley Island in order to continue fueling Lex's sinister device. All it takes is an easy distraction for them to alert their friends to where they are while also overpowering the weapon that could be used to wipe out an entire species deep in space. Brainy made this calculation not because of the personal stakes involved but because it was the most logical after being rebooted to his original settings. He is eventually brought back to normal though and declares his love for Nia. That is a very intense moment. It also affords such a clean and neat ending to this threat that ensures none of these characters are in danger despite the odds being against them. Meanwhile, the Harun-El is taken out of Ben Lockwood and James. They still have their powers during the final battle. They both arrive on the island for very different agendas. Ben Lockwood wants his revenge against Lex for deceiving him. Instead, he becomes powerless once more and sentenced to prison. That's a fate that befalls him because of the hatred that consumed all of his actions. It's an eye-opening experience for his son who soon becomes a champion of bringing communities together by listening and extending empathy. And then, James loses an eye for some reason. It ensures that there is a cost to everything that happens here. It's just much more effective when Lena unexpectedly learns that Kara is Supergirl. Kara was planning on making that reveal herself after all of this was over. And yet, she is still given the argument not to do so because it would be too soon after the death of Lex. Kara prevails against Lex only because of Red Daughter's sacrifice. That proves that they hold similar values despite growing up in different worlds. Lena delivering the fatal shot to Lex though proves that they may be similar as well. It just also shows that Lena has been deceived all along which is bound to carry a lot of dramatic weight in the next season. Speaking of which, this show also appears to be setting up the story for the next crossover event with the other superhero shows in this extended universe. The threat may be more personal here because the Monitor brings an antagonist who has a personal vendetta against J'onn for some reason. It's mostly just a lot of plot. That defines this finale. As such, it's a little lacking on clear character moments. The few that do occur though land very well - like Alex and Kelly becoming a couple.
