'Supergirl' Recap: 'Far From the Tree'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

What I've always found magnificent about superhero stories in either print or television, is the fact that when they throw caution to the wind and worry about the story over anything else, they can truly accomplish wonders storytelling wise. It's a rarity because let's be honest, we expect action, adventure and amazing one liners from these types of tales, and the people behind the scenes know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But once in a great while, these shows seize an incredible opportunity and deliver those perfect storylines that move you and leave you thinking and that's precisely what Supergirl is accomplishing in season three. 

Because really this season of the show has shed everything that most superhero shows thrive upon. Sure, there's still action and adventure, but all of that is now an accessory to the saga since this show has shifted to far more intellectual concepts. The season premiere focused heavily on dealing with loss and the trauma that comes with it, while last week's story was all about the power of fear and overcoming it and this week, well this episode, 'Far From the Tree', followed in this new tradition of philosophical storytelling by giving us a story wherein two key characters faced severe pain from their past to move forward into the future and holy cow, did this make for one moving tale.  

Now what truly made this dynamic fascinating is the fact that it examined both good and bad results for confronting said pain and the more uplifting storyline in this matter came by way J'onn, who ventured to Mars with Supergirl in order to deal with M'gann's distress call from last week and upon his arrival, J'onn came to learn something shocking; that his father was still alive after all these years. Which meant that J'onn was forced to confront his decision to leave Mars and the fact that his father firmly believed that abandoning the planet is a coward's decision and it took incredible effort on J'onn's part to not only convince his dad that he wasn't a trick or illusion created by the White Martians to get information out of him, but also that J'onn was a good and just man, and that his decision made sense and well...in the end everything worked out great for J'onn. He was able to reconcile with his father, and even gets to make up for lost time with dear old dad since he returned to Earth with with his beloved son.

Unfortunately however, to balance out the story, there was some sadness to be found as well and that came by way of Maggie and Alex and their upcoming wedding shower. Because while Eliza took the time to get to know her future daughter-in-law, and pondered as to why there were no pictures of her in a collage made up for said shower, Maggie revealed a painful memory; the day when her father disowned her and abandoned her because of her sexuality. It's a memory that broke Alex's heart and with the best of intentions she suggested that Maggie reach out to her dad to see if time has made things better and surprisingly, Maggie did indeed, inviting him to the shower and he even bothered to show up. But it didn't take long for him to make a scene and when Maggie confronted him, he tore into her about her inability to be normal and how he wanted nothing more than for her to fit into a world that saw different as ugly and the only beauty to this heartbreaking story, is that Maggie took the time to confront him over his beliefs and point out that she was in fact...accepted and loved and fit in just fine. 

Yet while there should be joy to be found in what Maggie did, in the end it's really just bittersweet. Because while it's wonderful to see her lay down the hammer when it comes to her father's ignorance, there's really no resolution for her when it comes to that fateful day, and while she's strong and will no doubt endure regardless, I think we all wanted to see her father soften and provide just a smidge of hope that maybe, just maybe...he would come back into his daughter's life. But life isn't always full of happy endings, and it's bold that the show didn't deliver one here either. Regardless, this truly was another beautiful episode, one that allowed us into the hearts of a pair of characters that seemed impenetrable emotionally a couple of seasons ago and this new style of storytelling continues to impress and I really cannot wait to see what other storytelling wonders await us down line when it comes to this magnificent series. Until next time. 

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