After a winter premiere that really recapped the previous episode and dealt with its fall-out, Supergirl really introduces something new in this episode, titled “Fort Rozz.” The Reign storyline takes several huge steps forward — all by bringing in a fixture of Supergirl past.
As the name would suggest, “Fort Rozz” centers around the alien prison that was integral to the plot of Supergirl season 1. It was last seen in the first season finale when Kara threw it into space. Yet Fort Rozz finally makes a return for this fun but important and surprisingly emotional chapter in the Reign saga.
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Off to See the Evil Priestess of Rozz
Team Supergirl has discovered that, after Kara threw it into space, Fort Rozz started orbiting a blue star. Still imprisoned in the jail is the fort’s namesake, Jindah Kol Rozz. Most important, Jindah is a priestess of Reign’s weird religion and might have information on the villain. Kara decides to charge off to interrogate Jindah, but there’s a few problems. The blue star will rob Kara of all her powers, and it’ll kill anyone with a Y chromosome, otherwise known as men. It’s very goofy and convoluted, but it results in the nifty notion of Kara forming a female super group with Saturn Girl and villains Livewire and Psi (because they also want to take down Reign).
It takes a lot of squinting and ignorance of logic to make it work. (Honestly, there’s no way that Kara should bring Psi, no matter how desperate she is for help.) Yet it’s interesting in concept alone, particularly because it allows Supergirl to delve into the Kara and Livewire friendship/rivalry.
The dynamics between the motley crew is the real highlight of the mission because there’s not much to hang on to from a plot perspective. There’s a solar flare, which causes the Legion’s spaceship and Fort Rozz to start falling into the star, giving the mission a bit of a time limit. That’s all. This mission is very straightforward of getting in and getting out.
“Fort Rozz” is all about Supergirl exploring the unique relationship between Kara and Livewire. Since Livewire was the first villain that Kara convinced to change their ways, Supergirl tells Livewire that she plans to do the same to Reign. According to Kara, everyone can be saved. This is a comforting thing for Kara to express again, even in this dark season 3. These scenes with Kara and Livewire are great. Unfortunately, Supergirl does next to nothing to improve the relationship with Saturn Girl and Kara, as they continue to awkwardly circle one another and never have a real conversation.
Reign Arrives (and Murders)
Eventually, though, the bonding between Kara and Livewire is interrupted for some real tension in the plot. Reign is awakened, conveniently around the same time that Sam has a business trip. Reign’s creepy priestess mentor sends her to Fort Rozz to prevent Kara from learning information from her other creepy priestess, Jindah. Reign, again conveniently, arrives just as Kara is about to talk to Jindah.
Kara is able to get out of Jindah that Reign is a Worldkiller and that there are others like her out there. As soon as that’s out, Reign is there and she wastes no time in murdering Jindah to prevent further info leaks. This leaves Kara alone with Reign. Unlike Supergirl, Reign still has her powers because they don’t come from the sun.
Luckily, Kara’s allies manage to step in and do something. Weirdly, it’s just the villains who help, as Saturn Girl continues to be virtually useless. As Reign is about to fry Kara with her heat vision, Livewire steps in front of the blast. Livewire crumbles to the ground, and Psi takes over. Using her psychic powers, Psi manages to break into Reign’s mind and Sam comes out. Sam is suddenly awake and very confused. Before she can realize what’s going on, Reign takes over again and dashes away.
This gives Kara and Livewire time to talk, as the latter starts to succumb to her injuries. Livewire dies as a result of her attack, sacrificing her life for Kara’s own. Kara and Livewire’s goodbye is more emotional than it probably has a right to be, but it does feel like more like a shame that Supergirl is killing the character off than a tragedy. The show really could tell many more stories with Livewire.
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The Next Worldkiller
As for the current villain, Sam being awakened on the ship is no mere fluke. Sam goes to pick Ruby up from Alex. Alex has been babysitting Ruby in Sam’s absence, and it’s about as tolerable and enjoyable as Ruby has ever been on the show. Alex is a miracle worker.
Yet the happiness that Ruby and Alex share comes to a screeching halt as Sam arrives. Once Ruby is out of earshot, Sam opens up to Alex that she’s been losing time. Sam doesn’t remember the business trip she was supposed to go on (and she didn’t even go). There’s whole sections of her life that Sam doesn’t recall, and she desperately asks Alex for help.
This is a pretty effective cliffhanger to end on, as it suggests that Sam might somehow join the fight against Reign or that Reign might not even be the real villain of the season. It’s that last point that becomes even more of a reality with the episode’s final tease. “Fort Rozz” closes on a new Worldkiller, Julia, being awakened.
What did you think of the episode? What did you make of Livewire’s death? Did it have a real emotional pay-off for you? What do you make of Sam asking Alex for help? Will Julia become an even bigger threat than Reign? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Supergirl season 3 airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW. Want more news? Like our Supergirl Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of The CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
