Supergirl 6x13 : The Gauntlet review

 

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

Supergirl sure has picked up the pace lately and had some good episodes and this weeks episode is no different infact in some aspects it's even more fun than the past couple of weeks. Beginning with the search for the Courage Totem Nyxly learns that said totem is to be placed in National City's museum. While Nyxly puts her plan into motion Supergirl along with a newly returned Lena head to the Fortress of Solitude to learn more about the totems from a hologram of a Kryptonian Witch. The witch mentions just how dangerous the totems are and points out some steps. The totems have to be collected in order starting with the Courage Totem. Once collected whoever wields them has to go through a gauntlet which ties in heavily to this episode. The final thing she says is that once all totems are together they're extremely powerful and will lead to nothing but destruction. So with all that information now in mind Supergirl and friends show up at National City museum just as Nyxly steals the first totem which is the Courage Totem. Disguised as a slingshot artefact Nyxly is about to be beamed out of the building but before she gets away Supergirl uses her heat vision on the artefact splitting it into two different parts with one part being left behind as Nyxly gets the other. With only a half of the Courage Totem in her possession Supergirl is forced to pass her own gauntlet which is very interesting indeed. 

The Courage Totem gauntlet for Kara is finding her courage during the night she became Supergirl. We get flashbacks to the shows pilot including Kara saving a plane from crashing into the city along with Alex who was a passenger. Before heading home Kara intervenes in a mugging which she thinks is the key to passing her gauntlet but turns out it isn't that at all. When she comes to her senses in the tower a bunch of fifth dimensional energy ends up getting released from the totem. This is what really makes the episode fun here as the energy affects everyone who was in the blast radius from the totem originally being split into two. So J'onn, Alex, Brainy and more get affected but it's not really a bad thing to be affected with as it's pure courage that they get affected with. This in turn leads to J'onn acting completely out of character for a bit and Brainy miscalculating which is totally out of character for him. It's just really enjoyable as Supergirl is the only one unaffected here. So with Supergirl fumbling her gauntlet at the moment we see Nyxly go through her gauntlet and it involves her father and brother. At first she thinks to pass she has to kill her father but that is not the case at all. It's got to do with her brother and her feelings after he betrayed her. 

The episode draws to a close as Nyxly passes her gauntlet just as a giant storm forms in National City thanks to a scientist affected by the fifth dimension energy. After stealing the plans for a secret project with involves harnessing lightning a giant storm forms within the city with the main point forming just above the tower. Supergirl, J'onn and Brainy deal with the eye of the storm (literally) while Alex and Guardian do some ground team work. When the storm is stopped and project bolt is destroyed Supergirl who is extremely happy with their team work Said excitement is short lived however as she begins to feel Nyxly's pain, anger and other emotions. It turns out that both her and Nyxly are connected now thanks to the Courage Totem. The episode ends soon after with Kara again feeling Nyxly's anger. We see the magical imp who tells Mitch that the search for the rest of the totems is well underway now and if it's anything like this episode I'm extremely excited to see how it all pans out. This was a great episode. Funny and goofy yes but it really worked at least for me. Supergirl's inner struggle to find her inner courage was and always will be fascinating to me. Nyxly is quickly and quietly becoming one of my favorite villains from this show which is not something I would've said earlier this season. This was a enjoyable episode that sets up the remaining episodes well. 

★★★★