written by Cara Russell

SPOILER WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT

A lot happens in this week’s episode of Supergirl, and all of it to further various plots for our favorite Super-Scoobies – a welcome change!

Firstly, J’onn’s father M’yrnn continues to have trouble – not only adjusting to Earth, but also living a cloistered life in the DEO base after being freed from 300 years of White Martian imprisonment. Winn is the first to fully take notice of the old gaffer struggling, and being the catalyst for change that he is, gets Alex to help stonewall J’onn into being a less terrible son.

However, it quickly becomes apparent that J’onn’s focus is still on the DEO, even while going through the motions of helping M’yrnn adjust to daylight, fresh air, and the city they both now live in. M’yrnn calls him out on it, indicating that he knows he is free (despite his awkwardness), but J’onn is prisoner to his labors. As any sane person would, J’onn accepts it, and we have a happier resolution when J’onn moves them both into a (very sparse) apartment so they can function as a family once again. I hope this does work out, and Alien Dad and Alien Granddad have the Danvers girls over to help them decorate. One needs more than floor rugs for comfort, even if they just came out of a rock-walled prison.

Next, after a submarine is attacked by an “ancient” alien vessel, the DEO investigates to find that not only is it originally from a thousand years in the future, but it contains a lead-immunized Mon-El. Kara is overjoyed, even though the questions surrounding his reappearance outnumber the personal problems it solves. But whatever! She’s in love, right? With a guy…who is sneaking around the DEO and knocking out guards so he can attempt to steal things. Kara feels betrayed, but doesn’t hesitate to throw Mon-El into lockup. Mon-El begs Winn for freedom and assistance in returning to his ship, where other people are held in hyper-sleep. Kara interrupts this plot as well, but manages to be timely enough to help save a woman (Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl, played by Amy Jackson) from a failing hyper-sleep chamber. It’s here, as Imra recovers, that Mon-El and Kara start to reconcile, just to learn that while only seven months have passed on Earth, seven years have passed for Mon-El, and he’d moved on with his life and married Imra.

It’s an interesting twist that nearly makes up for all of the whining Kara’s done so far this season – were she not still hung up on him, we wouldn’t get to see her trying to get over a guy in her life who is completely over her romantically. I hope this’ll finally put her on a path to fully heal, and that we’ll see her recover with some measure of grace. Either way, he’s still pretty despicable for not being on the level sooner, and goes to show that even years of time doesn’t necessarily rid someone of bad behaviors.

And finally, Sam Arias starts backtracking her origins to answer some of the more super-powered questions in her recent life. A trip to her old household reveals an estranged adoptive mother who threw Sam out the moment she became pregnant as a teenager. And if you didn’t dislike this lady enough already, she went years without letting Sam know that she was found ditched in the rocket ship in their shed. In a scene which parallels so many other Superman “kiddo, this was your cradle” reveals, it really twists the knife to know just how lucky Clark (and Kara) were after landing on earth, and how much Sam struggled against to succeed as much as she has.

Equipped with a homing beacon from the rocket, Sam takes off through the desert, finding her very own Fortress of Sanctuary in the desolate wastes, complete with an interactive holoprojection of the Kryptonian woman from Sam’s dreams. The woman is intent on completing Sam’s transformation into Reign, the World-Killer. While Sam resists this, she’s left screaming on the ground, leading me to believe she’s not going to have much choice in what happens next, whatever that may be.

I’m sated, which is quite a feat, and with excellent timing. Since next week’s episode is part of a four-way crossover, there’s a good chance this is the last we’ll see of several of these characters for a while.

-Cara

Supergirl airs Monday nights at 8 Eastern/7 Central on the CW. Cara can be reached on Twitter at @virtualcara.

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