There will be no new episode of Supergirl this week - on Sunday, February 24. The popular superhero series is taking a break, presumably not to compete with the 2019 Academy Awards. The annual movie awards ceremony is a major cultural event and broadcast networks typically try to avoid airing new content opposite it.
Supergirl’s release schedule has been increasingly erratic since it moved to its current Sunday evening time-slot last year. The show returned from its winter hiatus following the Elseworlds crossover event and aired only two new episodes before it went on a two-week break. This was due to Supergirl’s new air time being scheduled against both the 2019 Super Bowl and the 2019 Grammy Awards. Supergirl then aired one new episode - “Menagerie,” on February 17 - before taking another hiatus for the Academy Awards.
Practically all of the CW’s shows are on a break this week, including all the Arrowverse shows, but the Oscars give Supergirl a specific reason for not airing a new episode. Thankfully, the wait for more Supergirl won’t be as long as the earlier hiatus in February. Supergirl is scheduled to return on Sunday, March 3 with a new episode, titled “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice and The American Way?”
This catchy title may ring a bell with comic book fans, who will recognize it as the title of Superman #775. The action of this issue pitted Superman against a new team of super-powered vigilantes called the Elite. Led by the charismatic Manchester Black, (who has already been adapted for Supergirl season 4) the Elite enforced a harsher form of justice than Superman was comfortable with, but which the general public seemed to approve of. This left the Man of Steel wondering if his idealism had become old-fashioned in a world that seemed darker and more dangerous than the one in which he had first started fighting crime.
This core question of whether or not a society can uphold their higher ideals when faced with evils who turn the law and ethics of that society against it lies at the heart of Supergirl season 4. The main menace of the season has been the Children of Liberty - a violent militia, whose terrorist activities have endangered both alien immigrants to Earth and normal humans alike. Despite this, the ending of “Menagerie” saw President Baker ordering the release of the Children of Liberty’s leader, Ben Lockwood, under the flimsy pretense that the anti-terrorism statute he was charged with violating did not apply to non-humans.
Based on the preview images and trailer for “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice and The American Way?”, it seems likely this pushes Manchester Black, who was arrested for attempting to kill Ben Lockwood to avenge the murder of his fiancée, to form the Arrowverse version of the Elite. Luckily, Kara has the help of super-friends like Martian Manhunter and Dreamer to deal with the coming battle. Unfortunately, it seems likely that a lot of innocent people will be caught in the crossfire between the Elite and the Children of Liberty when Supergirl season 4 continues.
