'Supergirl' Recap: 'Both Sides Now'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​The more I think about it, the more I’ve come to realize that we’ve hit quite the dark patch in storytelling when it comes to Supergirl. After all, since Reign officially arrived on the show, we’ve seen Kara beaten within an inch of her life, watched her and the team struggle to defeat Reign at every single turn and to make matters worse, they lost an ally in the line of duty and they now have to face off with more Worldkillers thanks to the revelation that others like Reign walk amongst us and while we enjoyed a slight break in the action last week, it was back to business last night as the DEO continued its hunt for Reign’s potential partners in crime.
 
Yet, while it seemed at first that ‘Both Sides Now’ was going to provide us with more of the same dark and powerful storytelling we’ve come to expect at this point, the series actually managed to drop quite the surprise in our lap. Because shortly after the DEO brought in the second Worldkiller, Purity, Kara had quite the epiphany. Because in reality, it’s been nothing but raw violence and fury when it comes to how Supergirl and the DEO deal with her new foes as of late, and a moment of levity when she and the gang came to arrest Purity brought her to the realization that maybe…it was time to try something new, and kill her enemy with kindness.
 
This led to a fascinating set of scenes wherein Kara tried her best to reach Purity’s alter ego, Julia, and despite Alex’s protests and outright bravado, eventually it seemed as though Kara was finally reaching the gentler side to her foe. Of course, things went south as they often do and Purity managed to escape. But another fierce showdown between Purity and Supergirl, wherein Julia took control of her consciousness and her body moments before Reign pulled her away for reconditioning, proved that Kara’s approach was indeed the correct one to begin with and oddly enough, the alter egos of the Worldkillers might be the key to putting an end to all of this madness.
 
That was further evidenced by Sam’s storyline in this episode. Because Lena dropped by L Corp to let Sam know that she was going to be enjoying more time off in order to help her heal up and while at first this looked like quite the blessing, since Sam was able to spend more time with her daughter, another transformation into Reign seemed to signal a breaking point for Ruby and Sam when all was said and done. Because Sam is starting to crack under the pressure of these blackouts, meaning that there is still good within her and it would seem that the plan going forward, according to Kara, is to save the Worldkillers from the evil that resides within them all.
 
If anything, I thought that was a lovely twist to inject into the plot line because while these super fights have been impressive through and through, it’s clear that Kara is completely overmatched when it comes to the Worldkillers and I love the fact that she’s trying a new approach to defeat them at last. As to how exactly she will bring out the best in these villains has yet to be seen, but hopefully she and her friends at the DEO can bring it out of both Reign and Purity before they find the third Worldkiller. Either way, this was a solid episode through and through, and really, it’s the first time we’ve seen legitimate hope in this storyline and I’m definitely curious to see where it all goes from here. Until next time. 

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