This review contains spoilers!
This week Supergirl and her cousin were back soaring through National city, fighting crime and Metallo, well two of them actually, and although at the end of the episode we saw Superman leave National city to go back to Metropolis (I really hope this is not the last time we see Superman in “Supergirl”), the Girl of Steel herself isn’t going anywhere and is only starting her journey in strengthening her role as Supergirl and finding her footing as CatCo’s reporter Kara Danvers.
The episode started with a bang with the Super cousins extinguishing a fire, stopping bank robbers and getting in some quality family bonding. And this bond, that we already saw in the season premiere, seemed to get even deeper this episode, even prompting Kara to think about leaving National City behind and joining Clark in Metropolis, to be close to him. However, these thoughts seemed to stem not as much from the new found camaraderie and bond with her cousin, but more from her complications at CatCo, since we finally met Kara’s new boss Snapper Carr, and he wasn’t too thrilled with having her around. Of course, at the end Kara managed to stand up to Snapper in a true Kara fashion, what with trying to insult him by calling him a jerk-guy, but it seems that her relationship with Snapper will be an uphill battle all this season, and we will see if Kara will manage to truly impress him with her reporter skills at some point during the season.
Speaking of CatCo, we also found out that Cat herself is leaving her company to take on different adventures and move on to other projects. We of course knew that Cat’s presence will be much smaller in season 2, since Calista Flockhart, who plays Cat, is not a series regular anymore, but it is still sad to see her go, because Cat as Kara’s boss often added the humor that the episodes needed and the but-kicking that Kara needed to get things done. However, the send-off for Cat was heart felt, funny, snappy and simply perfect for the character. We saw her have a heart-to-heart with Kara and Cat encouraging Kara to stand up to Snapper, and also Cat and Supergirl’s heart-to-heart during which again Cat encouraged the Girl of Steel to dare to change, adding just the right amount of advice and heart to this episode. And the cherry on top of all this situation? James is now the new Cat, or rather Cat’s substitute while she is gone, meaning that he is now Kara’s boss and the head of CatCo. That should make for interesting story line, don’t you think?
The big fight story line in this second episode was Kara and Clark fighting Metallo and this allowed the writers of the show to do two things. Firstly, this story line allowed Kara to devise a plan that included her and Alex fighting together to beat Metallo, which fortified their bond as sisters and helped Kara realize that she needs to stay in National City. And secondly, it also let the writers and the show’s visual team recreate the iconic comic book moment where Superman is carrying Supergirl. This was a great treat for all superman comic book fans and looked visually stunning even for those, who haven’t read the comics. Well done!
In this episode we also finally found out more about Project Cadmus, what they are and why they exist. Previously we only knew that it is some type of governmental facility that deals with aliens and different experiments and that Alex’s dad Jeremiah Danvers is being held in that facilities. But in this episode we saw how this is a facility lead by people who hate aliens and want to eradicate them, even if it means experimenting on humans and turning them into cyborgs. It truly seems like a scary place, and I hope that Kara and Alex along with DEO will be able to save Jeremiah from them. I guess we will have to just watch and see.
And lastly I can’t forget to mention the last scene of the episode, where Kara is sitting next to the man that arrived in the Kryptonian pod. Not only is Kara seemingly able to finally take on the big sister and protector role that she didn’t get to do, when she and Clark were sent to Earth, but she also seems to sympathize with this man, since she knows firsthand how it is to arrive to a new planet and feeling alone. And I am looking forward to the next episode where we will finally see Mon-El, played by Chris Wood, awake, because this episode ended with him waking up and grabbing Kara by her throat.
Highlights of the episode:
• Supergirl and Superman teaming up again
• Cat’s send-off
• James becoming the new Cat
• Winn working in DEO
• Kara and Alex kicking ass together
• The conversation between Alex and Winn
• Superman and J’onn J’onzz in The Fortress of Solitude
• The cliffhanger at the end of the episode
Let-downs of the episode:
• The fights with Metallo, because I didn’t feel like the stakes were high enough during them
• Snapper being rude to Kara for no reason
• Kara wanting to leave National city for Metropolis
Quote of the episode:
Supergirl: (to the bad guys) What’s the hurry?
Superman: (To the bad guys) Oh, ah, I’m with her… Ah, I think I might have scratched you bumper here… (bad guy punches Superman) See, now, if the bullets don’t work, right, why the punching? Never understood that.