On Supergirl season 5, episode 18, Rama Khan returns with a vengeance as he hadn’t been stopped on Earth-Prime, while Lena and Lex finally deliver on Project Non Nocere… with surprising and completely disappointing and expected results.

Feels like we’ve been waiting since “Crisis on Infinite Earths” for Supergirl season 5, episode 18, doesn’t it? This episode finally has major progression for the season’s stories, but I now have to wonder: What was the point of this season?

That question is particularly unsettling when you think about how much time has been wasted on Project Non Nocere for results that have literally been predictable since the first episode of the season.

‘Supergirl’ season 5, episode 18 review

Supergirl season 5, episode 18 was the second best episode from this half of the season, but the bar is on the floor, so that’s not really saying much. As incredible as some of the performers were, the stories felt incredibly frustrating to watch.

Lex Luthor’s presence on Supergirl is infuriating, for reasons I will get into later on, as is how the writers have completely flip-flopped with Kara’s character. Her lines about stopping “both Luthors” were ridiculous, and as much as many may disagree, that’s not the Kara — the Paragon of Hope — that I have grown to love since the series began.

And to top it all off, seeing the return of Rama Khan was just another unnecessary season 5 plotline, as we had more than enough of him over two episodes before “Crisis on Infinite Earths” screwed everything up.

Feels like everything that could have, and should have, happened since the crossover has been pushed off for these last two episodes. I mean, did we really need to wait 18 episodes for Lena’s project to launch (and fail)? Did we really need to wait to learn, via a flashback episode, how Lex was manipulating everything, even though he was already taking up screentime on almost every other episode since the crossover?

Most of this season feels like such a waste of time, which is incredibly disappointing because it started off with such potential. Reminds me of Supergirl season 3, which also had potential at the beginning but quickly diminished and gave us possibly the most anticlimatic ending to any season of any Arrow-verse show.

Lena’s realization

Well, Supergirl season 5, episode 18 finally saw Lena realize the error of her ways, both with Lex and Project Non Nocere. And, truthfully, this moment was long overdue.

It took two minutes and one failure for Lena to realize her viewpoint was deluded, Lex was manipulating her, and that everything she had done was villainous, so why did we have to wait 18 episodes for this? Feels like this drama between Kara and Lena was stretched out solely for the sake of keeping them apart, nothing more, and it didn’t fit the story for their separation to last this long.

Imagine this: Supergirl season 5 where, post-Crisis, Lena immediately realizes that she needs to help Kara stop Lex, so they begin working together and slowly work through their issues that way. Would’ve been so much better.

One thing I do appreciate about this entire story is that Lena saved herself from going down the wrong path. Sure, she’s made some serious mistakes on the way, but she hasn’t done anything completely unforgivable. She didn’t need anyone else to show her that what she did was wrong, she came to the conclusion herself.

While a lot of Lena’s actions this season have seemed pretty out-of-character, this is one moment that perfectly aligns with the Lena we all know and love. Lena’s not a villain, she’s a hero, even after being on this misguided path.

Can we just talk about Katie McGrath’s acting abilities for a minute? God, she really gave it her all on Supergirl season 5, episode 18.

First, the scene where tensions rise between her and Lex was entirely too chilling. Jon Cryer deserves praise too, as I don’t know that anyone could play Lex Luthor as well as he does. His screams at Lena were bone-chilling and a little nauseating, as it’s never been more clear just how much Lex has emotionally abused and manipulated Lena throughout her life.

But Katie McGrath really sold that scene. As a victim of Lex’s abuse and manipulation once more, this was Lena’s moment of clarity. She saw how deluded he is, how he’d never change (despite the many, many chances she’s given him), and how she’d let her mind be twisted by all of the pain she’s endured. It was beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time, particularly when Lena called Lex a monster and refused to be one, too.

And then, finally, a real, emotional moment from Lena with Kara. She’s kept her walls up all season, pushing Kara away as much as possible, and while it’s going to take longer to recover from the pain, she’s ready to try with Kara. It’s about damn time.

That final scene of Supergirl season 5, episode 18 could not have been better, in my opinion. I mean, I wish Kara would have been a little more open with Lena, but it made sense. She’d already apologized and reached out many times, just to be shut down. Kara was hesitant with Lena because she didn’t want to be hurt again and she didn’t know if she could trust Lena. (Which, given how they’ve written Kara recently, was in-character, even if the whole of this story is very out-of-character for her.)

These two scenes, in particular, saved what would have otherwise been a disastrous episode. Supergirl doesn’t rely nearly enough on the talents of the cast because they get too caught up in trying to remain a kid-friendly superhero show. The grittiness of what it takes to be a hero (and just a person) is what makes these shows stand out. If we wanted a simple, happy-go-lucky adventure, we’d go to Cartoon Network.

The fallen DEO

Finally, the true villain of Supergirl has fallen! The DEO has been a major setback for the show and in direct opposition to Supergirl‘s mission for “justice” as they’ve always done whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. So, you could say I’m happy that this facility was destroyed on Supergirl season 5, episode 18, which is hopefully symbolic of the organization falling to pieces in the future.

I mostly hope this means that Alex is permanently separated from the DEO. She’s potentially becoming a vigilante with her own costume and codename, which is badass and the most exciting thing they’ve done with Alex since she was brainwashed and fought Supergirl during season 1.

The DEO has been a setback for the show, but also for Alex’s character development. She’s always fallen back on the DEO when times got tough, so with that gone, she’ll have to dive into who she is and the person she wants to be without anywhere to run. It’s just a shame that they waited so long to do this, as the show is definitely more than halfway over.

As for Brainy, I’m interested to see if this is what makes him put his inhibitors back on and find his place in the present day. Since he couldn’t go back to the future with Mon-El, Brainy has also used the DEO as a way to avoid his problems. He’s never really had to make a place in this time period for himself because he used his work to avoid thinking about it.

How does Brainy fit into a world that’s so archaic in comparison to when he’s from? His relationship with Nia should play a big part in this self-discovery, but we’ll see. They’ve never been on worse terms, and putting on his inhibitors isn’t going to solve their relationship problems. I mean, the fact that they can’t get along without his personality inhibitors is off-putting by itself.

‘Supergirl’ season 5, episode 18 final thoughts

The future of Supergirl has potential. Whether that potential will be met is another story. Supergirl season 5, episode 18 is the makeshift penultimate episode for the season, and episode 19 (which was meant to be the penultimate episode) is now the makeshift finale. It’ll be interesting to see how they leave the season off, though it’s incredibly disappointing that we’ll still have to deal with this Lex and Leviathan shit — at least briefly — during season 6.

Kara and Lena working together is the most exciting aspect of the next episode, as it’s been far too long. Hopefully the two will patch things up and Lena will be inducted into the super friends next season because it’s annoying to see the same pattern play out as Lena is always only allowed to help save the day in the season finale.

The Supergirl season 5 finale airs Sunday, May 17 at 9 p.m. ET!