The Bottle Episode

Written by: Story by : Derek Simon Teleplay by : Nicki Holcomb & Jen Troy

Directed by: Tawnia Mckiernan

 

Supergirl returns with a strong, emotional and interesting episode. This was our first visit to National City following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. As with the comics I was expecting a slightly messy clean up after the destruction of the Multiverse, but so far it looks like team Supergirl are handling it quite well.

The episode following the annual crossover event is a tough act to follow. Especially after the 5 hour spectacular we have just been treated too. Fortunately for us fans, the powers that be gave us the writing and directing combination of Derek Simon, Niki Holocomb and Tawnia Mckiernan. This was the team behind Oh, Brother where art thou? Arguably the best episode from season 4. 

WRITING

Derek Simon has been a prominent figure writing for Supergril since season 1, while Nicki Holocomb has been on writing team since season 3 and Jen Troy completes the writing team with her first credit on the show. This was a well constructed episode exploring and exposing the relationships between Brainiac 5 and Nia, Lena and Lex Luthor while simultaneously bringing the audience up to speed with how Kara, Alex and J’onn are dealing with their new Earth.

DIRECTION

Directing the episode is Tawnia Mckiernan who must have a great connection to the Luthor family having now directed four episodes with a strong Luthor story behind them. Mckiernan brings with her plenty of experience in directing episodic TV with an impressive resume including shows like NCIS, Sarah Connor Chronicles and Black LIghtning. I particularly liked a fight scene towards the end of the episode with Supergirl, Dreamer and Brainy. Some of the fights in the CW shows look very repetitive while Mckiernan chose some refreshing angels to see the action from and a unique soundtrack over top.

I am happy to finally see the return of Lex Luthor. Jon Cryer gave a surprisingly good take on the character last season and like many other fans I was disappointed he did not return for the start of season 5. Thankfully Crisis saw his return to the show and things are looking like he will be sticking around for the second half of this season. 

CONCLUSION

The Bottle Episode was a strong return after the winter break and has given us some interesting and intriguing stories to watch in the coming weeks. What will come of Brainy and Nia? Will Supergirl adapt to Earth prime with Lex Luthor? Will Leviathan make a return? And what is Lex really up too? Only time will tell so come back next week to find out.

The Bottle Episode