A lot of revelations in this episode, as Mon-El emerges from an alien ship and new L-Corp CEO Samantha Arias learns of her true origins in an episode that should define the course of the rest of the season!
Previously, on SUPERGIRL…
Kara Danvers has been pretty mopey all season. Her heartbreak over losing boyfriend Mon-El because she poisoned the Earth’s atmosphere with lead to fight off a Daxamite invasion has pushed her away from her human side and allowing her to focus on her duties as Supergirl with the DEO.
But as she investigates a space craft that Winn tells us has apparently been buried under National City for 12,000 years, she finds a series of stasis pods filled with people, along with one empty one. That empty one belongs to Mon-El, who promptly collapses after shooting at Kara, Winn and J’onn J’onnz. What has he been doing in a space craft that’s been buried under National City for 12,000 years? He’s not really forthcoming with the answers.
After he regains his strength back at the DEO, he tries to steal some equipment, gets knocked out by Kara and convinces Winn to get him back on the ship, where Kara confronts them. And then things get complicated. Turns out that while Kara has been missing Mon-El for seven months, Mon-El has been living in the 31st Century for seven years. He came back on a matter of great importance to make sure Kara is safe, though he continues to be elusive with the answers. When one of the stasis pods starts to fail, Kara frees the woman inside. Mon-El introduces her as Imra Ardeen, Mon-El’s wife.
The secondary plot of the episode follows new L-Corp CEO Samantha Arias, as she tries to learn more about her past after the weird happenings that have been plaguing her all season. She turns to her adopted mother, who apparently kicked her out when she got pregnant with Ruby. Much like Pa Kent showing Clark the spaceship they found him in, Samantha’s mother reveals her own spaceship, and sends her on a vision quest to find more answers, which she finds in her own fortress out in the desert. Samantha learns that she, too, is Kryptonian, but unlike Supergirl, she will be feared and known as the Worldkiller, Reign. She was meant to gain her powers much sooner, but her pregnancy delayed things. But now, she becomes transformed into her destiny.
Finally, we get to see J’onn J’onnz work on his relationship with his father, who has been living at the DEO for weeks and with this episode finally thought to ask to use the bathroom. That’s some bladder control. I’m guessing the Martian shapeshifting ability helps with that. After a rough start, J’onn eventually gets an apartment where the father and son can live together and get to know each other again.
Overall, a much stronger episode than what we’ve had in the last few weeks. We advanced what will clearly be the season-long arc, with the rise of Reign, and we get the return of Mon-El, in addition to a new DC Comics character introduced. Business picked up here, and hopefully once the 4-part crossover is out of the way after next week, the positive momentum continues.
Show Notes
• So, how has Mon-El spent 7 years away from Kara in the 31st Century but 12,000 under National City? Look, time travel is a bitch, OK. Throw in stasis pods and all bets are off.
• When Kara, Winn and J’onn go to investigate the space craft, they end up above the ship’s location on a busy street. Kara tells Winn and J’onn – and other innocent bystanders – to stay back, because she wants to try something she “saw Clark do once.” Supergirl was planning on mimicking Superman’s human drill trick that he used to get to Luthor in 1978’s Superman: The Movie. J’onn stopped her and phased Winn and Kara down to the ship with him instead.
• Mon-El’s wife, Imra, is also known to comic fans as the hero Saturn Girl, a member of the 31st Century group, the Legion of Superheroes. Before her comic book death in CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, Supergirl spent time as a member of the Legion. Will we see more time travelers this season?
• Reign is a recent edition to the DC Comics universe, created in 2012, as part of the NEW 52 initiative. Her origin is similar to what is told here, as she battles Supergirl to find more answers about her past, though Kara is unable to help.
The Super Cinco
- Mon-El – Regardless of the time travel continuity headaches, Mon-El managed to make his way out of a stasis pod, take out some DEO agents without killing them and convince Winn to help him back to the ship in order to save everyone – especially his wife. Sure, he was a bit surly and non-communicative, but like I said, time travel’s a bitch, right? (Last Week’s Ranking – Unranked)
- Kara Danvers / Supergirl – Her reunion with Mon-El may not have gone the way she would have hoped, but Kara stayed strong through the whole thing. She kept her wits about her through most of the ordeal and managed to save Imra from dying in the stasis pod. (Last Week’s Ranking – 2)
- Samantha Arias / Reign – Learning that you’re an alien with a destiny to destroy the world is probably a rough day for someone who spent a couple decades thinking she was human. With her Kryptonian powers taking full affect, this should significantly change things for the show. (Last Week’s Ranking – Unranked)
- Winn Schott – Finally, the show’s boy wonder has something to do this season! Winn gets all the key information about the alien craft and helps Mon-El get back on the ship, letting him out of a DEO prison cell in the process. (Last Week’s Ranking -Unranked)
- J’onn J’onnz / Martian Manhunter – J’onn loses some significant points for paying more attention to his smart devices than his dad while they go for a walk to the park, but he gains some of them back for getting the apartment in the hopes to establishing a strong relationship. (Last Week’s Ranking – 1)