Airing in the UK on Sky 1
Writers: Robert L Rovner and Caitlin Parrish
Director: Glen Winter

Essential Plot Points:

• A brainwashed Kal-el fights Kara, but as his mind has been controlled by Silver Kryptonite he believes that Kara is actually Zod.
• After fighting Kal-el, Kara wakes up to find herself at the Fortress of Solitude with Alex and the man of steel.
• Lilian gives Lena one of Lex’s creations, telling her that if she adapts it to target the Daxamites then she could be the one to save Earth.
• Kara and Kal-el decide they need to find Dakam Ore to defeat Rhea, but Mon-el isn’t too pleased about that. She requests to fight Rhea in trial-by-combat.
• Kara and Kal-el, as Clark, go to Cat co to talk about having an exclusive interview with Supergirl in exchange for the media not sensationalising the event and making innocent civilians want to watch them battle.
• Lilian and Lena decide to meet Kara and Kal-el to tell them about their plan, but it would also affect Mon-el as well.
• In order to prepare for the fight, Kara spars with Kal-el. She confides in him about her desire to keep Mon-el in her life, and he tells her to keep him in her heart when she fights.
• Kara and Rhea start to battle it out, and as they do the Daxamite ships start to attack the city. As they fight Mon-el, Kal-el and J’onn decide to stop the invasion.
• Rhea’s blood is made from Kryptonite, since Daxam was exposed to it by Krypton, so it is becoming harder for Kara to fight.
• Since the Daxamite ships are locked onto hospitals and schools Mon-el tells Kara that she can use Lena’s device to affect the atmosphere. As Mon-el is also affected by it he has to leave the planet.

Review:

Kara must stake all in her fight against Rhea this week. With the Daxamite invasion looming over National City it becomes clear that she can’t have it all if she wants to save Earth and she must give up what she cares for most if she wants to succeed. After the last episode’s lacklustre outing it seemed like season 2 of Supergirl would falter at the last hurdle, but luckily that wasn’t the case thanks to some excellent fights and character development.

In our review of the previous episode, we were a little sceptical of Kal-el’s role as a brainwashed thug. Since Kara already had to face Alex in a similar situation last season it seemed a little too familiar, but what was presented in this week’s episode was a pleasant surprise. The fight between Kara and her cousin is quite intense, it almost feels like a round on Injustice 2 with its slow-motion punches, flying sequences and set changes. The visual effects in this scene were stunning, and, while it seems like the budget was spent entirely on this fight and not the one between Kara and Rhea, it was fascinating to watch. It was also good that Kara was able to win quickly though, because it meant that we had a chance to see Tyler Hoechlin back as the charismatic superhero and the dynamic he had with Kara in this episode was great.

Of course the main story here was between Kara and Mon-el. The development of the relationship between the pair from enemies to friends to being a couple has been dealt with quite well throughout this season; Given how frequent love interests appeared and reappeared in Kara’s life in the first season it was good to see the writers pick one person and stick with it. We’re really quite sad to see Mon-el go, the chemistry that Chris Wood and Melissa Benoist have is hard to deny and they were so sweet together. Their farewell was hard to see, given how much the characters have grown to care for each other but perhaps this will help Kara become stronger than she already is.

Almost every new character from this season had the chance to reappear again in Kara’s hour of need. While it was nice to see them again their presence seemed to be wasted since they didn’t really do anything to develop the plot. M’gann, for example, was only really useful because she helped J’onn wake from his nightmare but her reappearance later didn’t serve much of a purpose. Alex and Maggie also didn’t do more than just stand around as the fight went down, it was only Alex’s heartfelt proposal at the end of the episode that was wonderful.

This was a good ending to the season, while there are still some storylines left unfinished (like CADMUS) it was an interesting episode will help Kara grow in the future. It focused well on the more important characters of the episode like Kara, Mon-el and Kal-el, and the fight between Kara and Rhea wasn’t that bad either. The season leaves off on an intriguing note, with the reveal that a demonic Krypton baby was also sent to earth, so it’ll be good to see where the writers decide to take the show next time.

The Good:

• The fight between Kara and Kal-el had some amazing visuals and choreography, you could really feel the punches between them.
• Mon-el and Kara’s relationship was a highlight of the season so it is hard to see him go now, but at least their emotional farewell was very well acted.
• It was good that the episode went on a different path to last season, given that the penultimate episode was almost the same as the one in the first season.
• The fight between Kara and Rhea was good, though it seemed like the budget for the effects was mainly spent on the first fight between Kara and Kal-el.

The Bad:

• There were too many characters to keep up with this episode, and unfortunately most of them didn’t do anything to really add to the plot.

And the Random:

• We were right! Cat does know that Kara is Supergirl, finally it’s been confirmed.

Written by Roxy Simons

Read our exclusive Supergirl Season 2 finale set visit!