Supergirl Preview: Reactron Has a few Demands for Maxwell Lord

Still, Cat’s interview merely sets the stage for the events of the rest of the episode, revealing the Super family ties between the Man and the Girl and setting Kara up for one obstacle after another.

Today’s episode begins exactly where last week’s left off, with Cat’s vehicle being whisked away by Kara so they could have their exclusive interview. There was as much or more just out and out superhero throwdown time in “Fight or Flight” than in most episodes of the excellent Superman: The Animated Series. Whoops. Sharing the information that she’s Superman’s cousin probably wasn’t the best decision. “You never really lose it”, Cat says, declaring that her new cover story will blow Vanity Fair’s Caitlyn Jenner cover out of the water. Alex tells her that she picked up the expose that Cat did on Supergirl and tells Kara that underneath all the disdain that Cat puts off towards Supergirl, Cat actually respects Supergirl. He has it in his mind that the best way to finally beat his arch enemy Superman is to kill his cousin Supergirl. I think it also erases any doubt whatsoever that this is the most impressive and ambitious small screen interpretation of the Superman legend ever attempted. Supergirl paves the way for future superhero-related shows and changes the entertainment industry in many ways. Kara goes to a junkyard to save the captive, and Reactron greets and pulverizes Kara until she seems close to surrender. The last daughter of Krypton is who this show is about and as Kara tells this is her story. Kara is still having trouble finding herself.

Reactron (Chris Browning) arrives in National City. Superman shouldn’t be the stamp of approval for Kara as hero.

I understand why Supergirl went in the direction they did. It also placed a few great seeds for next week’s episode, where we will see more of Lucy Lane, who got introduced at the end of this week’s episode.

Kara’s only satisfaction this episode comes from a computer chat with cousin Clark Kent, who lets her know over instant message that she performed well against Reactron – something even he hasn’t been able to do much. Cat has decided that she wants to be the one to write up the interview with Supergirl, but after reading it, Kara decides to confront Cat about the very nasty write up about Supergirl. But in all seriousness the addition of another love interest for James will help the show keep these two insane kids apart a little longer (because as eager as he is, Winn is not beating James in any love triangles). To make matters worse, Maxwell Lord does a press conference and says thank you to his one true hero for saving his life – Superman. He even gave the cliche “Who else knows about this?” line, and then DIDN’T murder her!

James apologizes and says it’s always been his instinct to turn to Superman for help, but in this case he wasn’t calling him because he didn’t think she could handle the situation – he was anxious that Kara might not make it out alive and that was far scarier than dealing with the retribution of calling her cousin to lend a hand. And what the Hank is going on with Director Henshaw?

The centre of the show remains, of course, to be Melissa Benoist’s Kara. Kara is pretty upset by this when she wakes up, and rightly so, but even more so because it was James that called him in to help. When Kara’s plan to ask James out goes south, Alex is more than happy to spend the evening eating takeout at her sister’s place. Let me know how far you get! One of the highlights of this episode was Supergirl’s determination to talk it out with Reactron and appeal to his better nature. Kara had to get to Cat’s party and had no time, but alas Alex had a pretty ensemble from the DEO closet that Kara borrowed.

With Reactron done and National City safe, alls well that ends well for Supergirl and she even finds out that the DEO will continue to help her out even if the threats aren’t alien in origin. Whether teasing Kara about her obvious feelings for a certain “ex-photojournalist with a penchant for tight shirts” or sharing Chinese food with her after a busy day of crime fighting, Alex remains the flawless anchor for Kara. Lucy Lane, younger sister of Lois, is there and Jimmy quickly gives Kara the exit from the awkward air of the room. She’s already worked hard to step outside her cousin’s shadow and James has actively thrown her behind him. It’s definitely easy to be sympathetic to both sides, but I definitely lean more towards her with this since she’s right in that Superman didn’t have a get out of a jam free card like she seemingly has because of everyone being protective of her. I like that she’s doing what she can to assert herself and stand on her own as she’s doing it for the right reasons and not quite out of a sense of pride but rather need.