Supergirl 4x19 : American Dreamer review

Be warned there will be *SPOILERS* involved in this review. With that being said let's get into it. 

After last week's rather brilliant episode of Supergirl can this show continues it's upwards trend as it heads into the final couple of episodes?? yes it can. Beginning at Cat.Co where we see Kara writing an article on Lex after being given all sorts of info on him at the end of last week's episode. Outside on the streets of National City we see 2 thugs causing some problems. This leads to Dreamer appearing and putting them to sleep. Dreamer was even nice enough to write 'Sleeping Beauty' on one of their heads before leaving as DEO agents rushed to the scene. At Lena's secret lab we see her, James his sister and Brainiac-5 working over James who seems to be only getting stronger and showing signs of more powers each time he goes through one of his traumatic episodes. This leads to Brainy using a device the calls the Mind Palace to go inside James's mind to find the root of the problem and banish it. Inside Brainy and James see various people running towards them but as things get too much for James he freaks out and in the real world shoots lasers from his eyes like Supergirl / Superman. Back inside his mind Brainy seems to have helped James calm down but the problems are only beginning really as we see a young James standing over an open coffin. The person inside it? well it's James's dad and on the outside as Brainy mentions it Kelly says that James never did show up for his father's funeral. She said she waited for him to show up but he never did. James says that he was across the street at a diner and got locked into a bathroom and by the time he got out the funeral was over. He missed his own father's funeral and the guilt / remorse shows on his face. Later Kelly talks with Alex and says that was one of the worst days of her life. All she wanted was her big brother by her side but he never showed up to help her. But just why didn't he show up to his own father's funeral? well turns out he did but well before the service was to begin. He gets asked to leave the room and outside gets chased by two bullies who end up trapping him in another coffin in a different room. With James freaking out Kelly steps in to help her brother and enters his mind in place of Brainy. She sees want he went through and why he didn't show up to their father's funeral. James says he is sorry and feels so guilty as he buried this in the back of his mind. The diner story that I mentioned earlier was just a cover up story he used to tell. Before he leaves his Mind Palace James overcomes the bullies, banishes them and helps his younger self out of the coffin. A truly interesting and compelling sequence that really brought the James Olsen character forward a lot in my opinion. He will continue to have powers going forward but will be able to manage them a lot more according to Brainiac-5. 

Earlier I mentioned how Kara was at Cat.Co writing an article on Lex. Well as she is working and going through various files she sees the name AmerTek come up a lot. With her super hearing she overhears a co worker talking to someone about AmerTek. She confronts the co worker whose name is Franklin and asks who he was speaking to. It was his sister Edna who works for the company. Kara tells him that she's writing and article on them and would like to interview his sister. Franklin agrees and asks his sister thus setting up a meeting between Kara and Edna the following day. As all of this is going on Nia continues her protection of National City in Supergirl's hiatus and while out on the streets comes across a refugee bar where various aliens are staying. Inside she sees young kids and adults who seek only help and shelter. Peace doesn't last long as Ben Lockwood's men rush into the bar and declare all aliens inside as enemies of the state. Dreamer stands up to them in a scene that was completely badass. With American Woman blaring over one of the sound systems Dreams gets the better of the agents but one of the aliens inside said it doesn't matter. While they survived today, those agents will be back. Back at Cat.Co and Kara learns of some money that was taken out of L Corp over 5 billion dollars to be exact that was used to buy a military base in another country. The name of the person is Sebastian Melmoth. Kara ends up going to see Lena who has been continuing her own experiments on the human heart while the others were helping James. Lena seems incredibly upset with Kara and says she hasn't been there for her. Supergirl who Lena does not get along with at all has and even though we know Kara and Supergirl are the same person Lena still doesn't leading to her believing that Kara only treats their friendship as a way for her to get information. And that's exactly why Kara goes to see her. To get more info on Lex and the money taken out of L Corp in 2018. Between them to manage to solve the puzzle. Turns out Sebastian Melmoth is an alias Lex has been using for years and the secret military base he bought is in Kaznia. Hopefully in next week's episode Kara will meet Red Daughter because I am just itching to see those two collide. 

The episode draws to a close with the before mentioned reveal that Lex was behind pretty much everything but before that Dreamer got interviewed by Kara inside of Cat.Co. Using it as a way to provide hope for all the aliens in National City. Dreamer (Nia) as we know her is half human and half alien and she embraces each side of herself to the fullest. Her interview is actually pretty inspiring in it's own way and offers a big sense of hope for the people of the city. Ben Lockwood see's the interview at the DEO and sends his crew to Cat.Co where Kara and Dreamer are. Inside all hell breaks loose as Ben shows up also and demands that Dreamer be brought it. Brainy and Alex come to the rescue and along with James who shows up get the better of Lockwood and his crew. How long it'll last is anyone's guess as Ben promises that he will get Dreamer. The episode pretty much ends soon after with the reveal of Lex being the one who bought the military base like I mentioned. But not before we see Martian Manhunter on Mars. He passes on the knowledge inside of the White Martian staff to the sacred symbols of the Green Martians before his father appears before him. He thanks his son and says he can return to his family now and that's where it ends. All in all though this episode was fantastic. With a really positive message of embracing who you are and believing in yourself Dreamer is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters on this show. Kara working solely as a reporter is always something I enjoy and James overcoming his past guilt and modern trauma was entirely compelling. This is Kara Danvers near her absolute best.

★★★★