'Supergirl' Recap: 'The Darkest Place'

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Despite the fact that Supergirl is hands down one of the most intelligent superhero television shows out there, it's also a series that never forgets where it came from. We've seen this series tackle some iconic moments from the comic books, often times repurposing some of Superman's best stories and bringing them to life on the small screen and the end result of that has always been fantastic.  

So imagine my surprise and outright joy when I heard that the Cyborg Superman, a villain that made life hell for the people of earth when Superman died so many years ago, was coming to Kara Zor-El's world and while his appearance on last night's episode of the show most certainly did not disappoint, he was merely the appetizer for what turned out to be a full course meal of action and adventure and flat out comic book goodness because 'The Darkest Place' ended up being one of the most action packed episodes that the show has put forth this season, and as an added bonus it even answered one of the biggest questions that the show has left us wondering about over the past half year...what happened to Jeremiah Danvers?

But before we get too deep into that, let's talk about this week's side story which saw James dealing with some incredible challenges as the Guardian. Despite the fact that he was saving the day left and right...he found himself under fire from N.C.P.D. when an imposter in similar armor decided to start committing murder in the name of justice, in essence framing James. This is where the show delved into a hint of Batman territory in brilliant fashion as Wynn and James worked overtime to figure out who framed the Guardian and how exactly they can bring him down and their sleuthing paid off in spades since they were able to figure out the man behind this murdering spree was an Ex-Navy Seal out to avenge his late wife and by capturing this man...James was able to show everyone that the Guardian is indeed standing on the right side of the law and hopefully N.C.P.D. can find a way to work with him amicably from here on out and when all is said and done, it was simply incredible to see Wynn and James work in tandem like this. They really do make quite the pair and it seems as though when they put their minds together, nothing can stop them.

But the centerpiece of the night...was the return of Cadmus. Yes this evil organization clearly has something big up their sleeve since the kidnapping of Mon-El was designed to do one thing, draw out Kara and well...she takes the bait and that's where the Cyborg Superman came into play and he...was...AWESOME! They kept some elements of his character true to the comics by allowing for the original Hank Henshaw to become this iconic being and after he gave Supergirl the beatdown of a life time we saw Cadmus go to work on her, forcing her to burn out her powers once again so they could harness some of her blood so that Cyborg Supes could gather information on a project known as Medusa from the archives at the Fortress of Solitude. But what matters more...is that we discovered that Jeremiah Danvers is okay...at least it seems that way. He was the reason Kara and Mon-El escaped Cadmus' little funhouse and not only was it a joy to see Dean Cain return to the show once again but Jeremiah's brief appearance served as the heart for this episode since he was able to tell Kara that she made him proud by becoming quite the hero.

What truly made this episode special however, was the fact that it was just downright fun. After spending several weeks toying around in more cerebral storylines or tales filled with social commentary, the series basically decided to take a break and deliver some chills and thrills and it was a wonderful way to change up the pace of the season so far. Not that there's anything wrong with having incredibly intelligent stories on a show like this but hey, we like seeing super fights and super feats to satisfy the big kid in all of us, so my thanks to the show for mixing up the formula this week and for setting up some juicy plot points for the rest of the season. After all, J'onn has to deal with the fact that he is slowly turning into a White Martian because of the transfusion he received from M'gann last week and I think all of us are wondering what the heck Medusa is...and what Cadmus wants with it. I'm sure we will find out in due time, but before we get to that...I do believe we have an awesome superhero crossover to deal with first...until next time...

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