Taking Flight: SUPERGIRL 215 "Exodus" Gets Political

We here at Critical Blast do not cover politics but you'd have to be living under a rock to realize the issues that are facing America today. If you're watching TV from under that rock, you'd notice that Monday's episode of SUPERGIRL unearths a lot of important issues from the current political landscape.

"Exodus" deals with Cadmus' plan to eliminate all illegal aliens (in the sci-fi, literal sense) from Earth. On the other side we have the DEO who is out to police alien activity, but not to the point of hunting down the 'good ones'. In her attempt to warn aliens of Cadmus' plan, Kara hopes to produce a news story while still protecting the anonymity of the DEO. She receives push back from her editor, Snapper Carr, who tells her that without a viable source her article can't be verified as legitimate news. He throws out the hot button term 'fake news' and warns her not to submit an article without a name attached to her source.

In today's political climate, we have conflict over the issue of illegal aliens in America and whether or not they should be deported, good or bad. Our President has also attacked traditional news outlets as producing 'fake news' that comes from 'unnamed sources' or someone who 'wishes to remain anonymous.'

I think the showrunners do a good job of tackling both sides of each issue as they continue to push the envelope. It seems each episode in season 2 they teeter on the edge of injecting politics into entertainment. It's a fine line, and a dangerous one at that, but they know what they're doing. It's a commentary on real issues happening in the world today. And while many of us sit down in front of our televisions to be entertained, hoping to suspend reality for an hour, it's a reminder of how important these issues really are.

It sparks important conversations with our children as we watch as a family. While there may be no clear cut right or wrong view, it illuminates the fact that there are indeed different views.

There's so much more to "Exodus" on an entertainment level though so let's get to that, shall we?

Alex is determined to find her father, Jeremiah, and find out the truth behind his involvement. When the alien 'dive bar' is attacked and Winn's girlfriend, Lyra, is abducted, everyone at the DEO is on high alert. Winn delivers a threat to Alex about her father if anything happens to Lyra. Mon-El suggests that everyone just breathe for a moment, even if getting a drink sounds like a better idea. Kara asks Lena Luthor for advice and assistance in locating Cadmus.

J'onn disguises himself as Jeremiah to test Alex's loyalty to the DEO and she fails miserably. He has no choice but to suspend her, because her emotional involvement regarding her father is compromising her ability to make rational choices. The scene was so well done, and I was VERY happy that they did it. I think we get too relaxed with the fact that J'onn is friends with everyone, and we forget that he's running a top-secret organization established to protect the entire planet from alien threats.

This scene reminds us that while he cares for Alex...he's still her boss.

After having been suspended, Alex goes rogue and seeks out Cadmus and Jeremiah on her own. Meanwhile, Kara debates whether or not she should go behind Snapper's back and publish her story on a blog, or as Mon-el so eloquently put it, 'blob.' He demonstrates his support and love for her by reminding her she's the most moral person he knows. So if she feels it's the right thing to do, then it has to be. Their chemistry continues to grow through dialogue as she initially corrected him on the pronunciation of blog, but after she publishes her article, she declares, "It's blobbed!"

Can these two get any cuter?

Alex ends up tracking down her father and ,after some major kick-assery, she convinces him to back her up in taking down Cadmus, even though he feared for her safety. Demanding the override code to prevent a ship full of aliens from launcing into space and across the galaxy is where the action goes full throttle, with explosions and a showdown between Jeremiah and Cyborg Superman. Alex races aboard the ship and frees Lyra from her cell, but before her or any of the aliens can get off, the ship goes on lockdown and begins it's launch.

Supergirl, through Lena's help, arrives just in the nick of time and exhausts all of her energy to stop the ship from making it's jump from Earth's amtmosphere.

The episode wraps up with Kara getting fired for breaching her contract. Snapper reminds her there's a difference between being 'right' and being 'lucky.' It's important to be a good reporter by searching for truth and facts to back it up. She discovers that even though you do the right thing, there can be consequences to your actions. She wants to continue her quest to help people through reporting, because while Supergirl is what she can do, Kara is who she is. Mon-El once again offers her support by reminding her that she has so much to offer the world, and she shouldn't let Snapper or anyone else tell her differently.

Alex receives an apology from J'onn for deceiving her the way he did. J'onn said he only did it to protect her and never meant to hurt her. They patch things up and he reinstates her as a DEO agent. Maggie deadpans on Alex's employment status in a nice moment between the two of them.

Then, just when you think the episode is over, a spaceship sails over the planet Earth carrying none other than Teri Hatcher and Kevin Sorbo! They comment to each other that they feel different, as the Sun peeks over the horizon and onto their ship. "There is something about this place," Kevin Sorbo declares as he massages his hands together.

While this week's episode was a little bogged down with commentary on politics, it didn't take away from the current story, as it was cleverly weaved into the existing fabric. Moving forward to what's surely to be a far more self-contained episode by keeping the politics out, I'm already pumped for next week's episode featuring the former Lois Lane and Hercules!

In this week's edition of "Where's James Olsen?" he appeared in a completely useless, and brief, cameo as Winn and Lyra's third wheel. Then, displaying his superpower of changing into his Guardian outfit faster than a speeding bullet, he managed to get screentime to punch a dude, as well as one epic camera shot of him standing victoriously above said dude.