Into The Arrowverse: Sibling betrayal and virtual realities

Pictured: Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers — Photo: Sergei Bachlakov/The CW

Supergirl Episode 516: “Alex in Wonderland”

What would the world be like if Alex was Supergirl? Well, we sort of get a glimpse of that in this week’s episode of Supergirl. And by “sort of,” I mean that Alex put on those pesky Obsidian virtual reality contact lenses, even though there’s something very wrong with the interface.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. The reason Alex puts on those lenses is that she’s overwhelmed with a lot of feelings after learning her father has died. Given the dishonest relationship she’s had with him all these years, Alex isn’t entirely sure how to feel about his death.

But one thing is for sure: Alex is definitely angry. She gets in a huge fight with Kara and refuses to go to the funeral in Midvale, and even argues with Kelly and sends her away. Sick of the reality she’s in, Alex pops in those lenses and dons the Supergirl outfit. (Hey, it looks good in black!)

This episode was a bit trippy because it’s not an alternate reality, but rather a virtual reality. But it also represents a part of Alex that feels insecure and incomplete. She loves Kara more than anything and always has, but I think part of her has always felt like she’s not good enough. Jeremiah loved Kara and Alex feels extremely betrayed by his actions, so it all comes full circle as Alex breaks down.

In this virtual reality simulation, Alex comes across a woman named Tilly, who is escaping into VR because of her sister’s recent cancer diagnosis. At first, it seems that people from the outside world know they are in VR, but as time goes on, the memories of their reality fade.

This is a result of a problem in the simulation, specifically the failsafe. Obviously, something is very wrong because hundreds of people using the lenses have been in VR for way too long. And not to mention, Andrea is being shady, and Lex is a new board member. Everything is adding up to badness!

Alex has no idea what is going on at this point, or at least, the VR version of her doesn’t. Luckily, Kelly shows up to see Alex laying on the couch wearing the Obsidian lenses, which are now very red and creepy. Nothing is pulling Alex out of the simulation so Kelly has to enter the VR to get through to Alex.

The episode is actually very good at balancing this back and forth of realities. At first, I was skeptical of it, but they pull it off effortlessly.

Okay, so back to the VR world. Kelly enters it, tries to get Alex to realize what is going on, but Alex thinks Kelly has just become a victim of a Psi attack. The VR world thinks Psi is making everyone doubt their reality, so it presents a huge problem in terms of getting Alex out of there.

Kelly’s only option is to create a teenage version of Alex that confronts adult Alex in VR…and it works! End simulation, and voila: Alex is out of that frightening world she didn’t even know she was in.

The mystery behind those users endlessly stuck in the VR world is revealed as William gets some intel from his friend at the NSA. But when William shows up at the address he’s given, he finds nothing at all. And that’s a result of a cloaking device that has hidden all those folks from William.

Harry Potter meets Supergirl.

It looks like Andrea has a huge problem on her hands with this whole failsafe situation, and it is only going to get worse. But hey, at least Alex made it to Midvale for the funeral. She would have lived to regret it if she didn’t. At least this gave her some closure, right?

Grade: B+

Alright, Arrowverse fans, that’s a wrap on this week’s shows. We didn’t have the usual number, but between Batwoman and Supergirl and all the Alice in Wonderland references, we had plenty to keep us busy.

Alex got to play Supergirl while Kate dealt with a major sibling issue. Both shows ended in a manner that promises a lot of trouble in the coming weeks.

I’m getting nervous, guys! How about you?

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels