Bizarro (Supergirl)
| "Bizarro" | |
|---|---|
| Supergirl episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 12 |
| Directed by | John Showalter |
| Written by | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Rachel Shukert |
| Production code | 4X7612 |
| Original air date | February 1, 2016 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Bizarro" is the twelfth episode in the first season of the CBS television series Supergirl, which aired on February 1, 2016. It was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Rachel Shukert, and directed by John Showalter.
The episode centers on Maxwell's plot to destroy Supergirl with a Bizarro-version of the Girl of Steel, while Kara begins romancing Cat's son Adam.
Plot
 | This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (May 2017) |
In Maxwell's Lab 52, Lord begins putting the final touches on his new creation that preserved from the morgue by injecting a special piece of hardware. The infusion causes the comatose woman to come alive and her eyes to go black. Maxwell is impressed with the birth of his new creation, who now looks exactly like Supergirl, albeit with disappearing pitch black eyes (in this universe, a female version of Bizarro) and follows Maxwell's orders. Kara is frustrated over what happened with her doppelgänger and Hank is concerned about how capable Maxwell will go far to destroy Supergirl. The next day at CatCo, Cat brings her own latte and Kara a coffee, who suspects her of trying to play matchmaker. On the other hand, James and Winn have concerns. Max brainwashes the doppelgänger into thinking she is Supergirl and wanting to kill the real one, saying she is a bad person. That night, Kara excuses herself from Adam regretfully when she spots a tram car in danger on the news. When Kara arrives as Supergirl, the lookalike is ready to kill Kara, placing the passengers in the tram car in more danger. As Kara sees the wires snap, she rescues the tram car. Bizarro is confused because she saves people but Max tells her that even heroes can be bad underneath.
At the DEO, Kara tells Alex and J'onn that Bizarro isn't a gynoid but is genetically similar, suggesting the only way to deal with her is by using kryptonite. Winn would later discover that there was a kidnapping at Prometheus Labs, and that six people were among those missing, including the comatose woman that became Bizarro, which is what Cat has now dubbed her. Alex confronts Max and discovers that he used Kara's DNA from Red Tornado's broken arm, with the goal to help humanity survive and be stronger than the aliens. Alex suspects that he knows about Supergirl's identity. Kara, who is very much against using kryptonite, says Max is the real enemy, but Alex tells Kara that the DEO can't do anything about him. When Kara gets a text from Adam about their second dinner date, Alex tells her to go. Later that evening, James tries to talk Winn into how to talk to Kara, while during their dinner together, Kara explain to Adam about "her life" and they finally kiss, only to be interrupted by Bizarro, who kidnaps Kara and the two fight each other at a park, matching each other's powers. As the DEO hit Bizarro with kryptonite, she is degenerated and mutated, causing her skin become cracked and grayish and her eyes become black again. She now hates Supergirl, truly believing her to be evil and flies off.
Kara tells Alex that Maxwell knew she was Supergirl and sent Bizarro after her. She also learns that kryptonite also made Bizarro more powerful than ever, prompting Hank to look for an anti-kryptonite mineral to stop Bizarro. When Kara returns to talk to Adam, she tells him that they have to break up, and despite his desire not to, she apologizes and he leaves. Back at Lord Technologies, a deranged Maxwell sends Bizarro, now dark-suited and displaying a reverse shield, to destroy Kara's loved ones. Alex arrives with the DEO and arrests him. Over at CatCo, James tries to talk to Kara, but doesn't want to bothered and leaves. All of a sudden Bizarro shows up and takes James to a warehouse and ties him to a forklift. Bizarro knows that Kara and James have feelings for each other as she and Kara are connected. James tries to convince Bizarro that Supergirl is good because she cares about people and in the process finally confesses he is in love with Kara. When he uses his watch to contact Supergirl, Bizarro uses her heat breath to stop him, but the signal does reach Kara just in time to confront Bizarro. They have a hard-fought battle till Bizarro grabs Kara by the neck and strangles her. Alex, using blue kryptonite darts, subdues Bizarro before she finish off Kara. When they bring her back to the DEO, the two supers reach an understanding as Hank puts her back in a comatose state for her safety. In another cell, Max vows to threaten Eliza, but Alex stops Kara from threatening Maxwell with heat vision.
The following day, Kara learns from Cat that Adam is leaving town, having realized that Kara is more similar to Cat than thought and suggest that their relationship remain businesslike. Kara also asks James to join her for drinks but he has to pick up Lucy at the airport. When Kara returns to her apartment, she notices a plant on her table and when she touches it, another part of the plant, a tentacled creature with thorns in its center, lunges down at her as she turns around.
Reception
Ratings
The episode attracted 546,000 viewers for its British premiere, making it the 10th most watched programme on Sky One for the week.[1]
Critical response
Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode a 4.8/10: "The interesting twists of “Bizarro” – Alex arresting Lord, Lord knowing Supergirl’s secret identity, James confessing his love for Kara – are undercut by the unbearably relationship drama and the over-the-top characterization of Maxwell Lord. While the portrayal of Bizarro and Supergirl’s compassion for her was spot-on, this episode was a failure on all other fronts."[2]
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly noted: "This week, Supergirl asks if Kara can be Supergirl and still have a life. If you’ve seen any other superhero show, particularly ones in the Berlanti-verse, then you probably know where this episode goes. There are several frustrating parts of the episode, particularly Kara’s answer to the “can she have it all question,” but there are also moments where the show redeems itself and makes you fall in love with it, its heroine, and what she stands for even more."[3]
Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.0 out of 5 stars.[4]
References
- ^ "Weekly top 10 programmes". www.barb.co.uk. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "SUPERGIRL: "Bizarro" REVIEW" from IGN (February 1, 2016)
- ^ "Supergirl: Bizarro" from Entertainment Weekly (February 1, 2016)
- ^ "Supergirl Season 1 Episode 12 Review: Bizarro" from TV Fanatic (January 25, 2016)
