Supergirl 219
Written by Eric Carrasco & Greg Baldwin
Directed by Rob Greenlea
Last week Supergirl seemed to be back on track and this week’s episode certainly proved that with a storyline that takes us on a journey to what Supergirl is truly about. Supergirl must search within herself and not go against what she believes in. However, the cost may be the person she loves most, her Sister Alex. We also get to see more of Maggie, not as just the girlfriend but as the clever police detective, and what we first witnessed in her early encounters with Supergirl is still there. Now they both must work together to save the person they love. Of course, Maggie hasn’t said the words yet. It's race against the clock to save Alex from a kidnapper who wants to blackmail Supergirl. You know no matter what Kara and Maggie will save Alex in the nick of time.
Let’s take a closure look at this episode that took us through the gambit of emotions with them that was aptly titled 'Alex'.
We may have forgotten but Maggie Sawyer is a police detective so we open to her not just cleaning up after Guardian or Supergirl but trying to talk down some robbers who have hostages. However, Supergirl arrives and the gunmen are brought out. Maggie doesn’t seem pleased and Supergirl whispers she will see her later at dinner.
Alex is cooking, well, setting off the fire alarm so we can tick this off the list of her skills. Luckily Kara has brought pizza but a comment by Mon- El about the robbery soon has Maggie voicing her displeasure about Supergirl barging in. It seems some criminals are using this to get off charges. Maggie states Supergirl uses excessive force and Maggie was talking the guys down when Supergirl burst through the ceiling. Unhappy at the criticism, Kara leaves, followed by Mon- El. Alex wants Kara and Maggie to get along and tells Maggie she is going to talk to Kara.
Last week we were left with Lena getting a surprise visit from Rhea, Queen of Daxam. Although she comes to Lena in Earth clothing with a business proposal that is she up to, it certainly has Lena intrigued who accepts her dinner invite to talk more.
Maggie visits Kara at Catco asking if Alex stayed with her last night as she never came home. Kara hasn’t seen her and neither has the DEO as Maggie checked. Just then Alex calls Kara but a mysterious voice at the end of the phone tells her he has Alex and knows Kara is Supergirl. He sends a picture of Alex, knocked out cold on the floor.
Alex awakens in a room that has two glass walls and two corner walls. She knows who has taken her and soon goes about threatening them via the camera set in the box she’s in.
At the DEO, Kara relays the message she received on the phone, the kidnapper would kill Alex if Kara/Supergirl does not break Peter Thompson out of Jail. The question is how does the kidnapper know she is Supergirl and who is it. Maggie says they need to ask the right questions, which is who is Peter Thompson to this guy? Winn is using everything in his tech power arsenal to find Alex but her tracker, seems the Deo puts them in all the Agents, is offline. No surprise as well that there is no way to locate her phone.
Seems the kidnapper thought of everything.
Over dinner, Rhea opens up about her family. Seems a horrible girl took her son away and led to her husband’s death. Lena is sympathetic after telling her about her problematical relationship with her mother. You get the feeling Rhea has studied everything about Lena and seems to be saying all the right things. However, when she thanks the gods for bringing them together Lena gives her a look.
J’onn, Maggie, and Kara go to visit Peter Thompson in prison. Kara is close to losing it but J’onn assures her Peter knows nothing about Alex’s abduction. J’onn read his mind. They still have no clue to who has Alex or where she is.
However, Winn has been working his magic and found a constant visitor in the logs to the prison under a false name. Winn has run the face through face recognition software and found out Peter Thompson has a son. A Rick Malverne who grew up in Midvale where Alex and Kara are from.
Rick has a house outside the city but of course, Alex isn’t there but a video feed of her being held captive is. Rick is also there and gets thrown across the room. He does let Kara speak briefly to Alex. All he wants is his dad out of prison in exchange for Alex. Supergirl’s eyes blaze but she holds back.
At the DEO Kara doesn’t understand why Rick is doing this as he was always nice in school. J’onn can’t read his mind as he is blocking it somehow.
On interrogation by Maggie and Kara Rick tells them how he discovered Kara was special after seeing her rescue a baby from a burning car as a child. Then when Supergirl appeared in National City he worked it out. He has been watching them all for a year and planning this. Kara wonders what happened to him as she remembers the nice boy who sat with her when Alex wasn’t in school. Rick reveals a sad story of abuse at home and his father saved him from that life.
They only have 24 hours to rescue Alex, Supergirl flips and once again you think Rick may just be left as a human stain but she holds back, while clearly frustrated and upset. Rick taunts them both by saying he wonders which of them loves Alex more.
Maggie has figured out Thompson is the key to getting Alex back but an attempt to deceive him with J’onn doesn’t go as planned. Like he says, he has been watching them and knows all about the Martian man hunter.
Meanwhile, Lena is doing some detecting of her own with the Alien detection device she invented. She uses it on Rhea and knows she is an Alien. I can’t help but notice two things here; One the design is for a stargate, I mean trans world portal, and two Lena is quick to pick up Rhea is an Alien. I wouldn’t mind betting she knows a certain reporter is one too. She orders Rhea to leave.
Alex is not one to sit around and wait for the rescue. Kara told her in the brief chat her transmitter wasn’t working so she cuts it out herself and wires it into the camera feed. Winn notices and interrupts Kara and Maggie who are in the interrogation room with Rick.
Kara tells Rick he has lost but he doesn’t seem rattled at all which worries Maggie and she begs Kara not to race off to the location they have.
It is a false reading. All Supergirl finds is a laptop with a feed to the cell and a message ‘you now have four’ as the timer speeds down to four hours and water suddenly starts going into Alex’s cell. She brings the laptop back to Rick who lets her speak to Alex who tells her not to do as he asks ‘Supergirl is bigger than her’. She hears Maggie’s voice and asks to speak to her alone. When Alex starts talking Maggie interrupts her saying they will find her as she wants to have so many firsts with her. They only just got started. Your heart breaks with them and both actresses have you right there with them.
Kara comes out but Maggie lashes out saying she should have listened to her. Kara shouts she is her sister but as Maggie says she is her girlfriend and has as much to lose as well. Again, both actresses really nailed this scene, barely holding back tears of sadness, rage, and frustration as they both feel helpless.
Lena, who always seems to be working, has a visit from Rhea who admits to the deception but blamed it on the fact Lena’s mother hates Alien’s. She wants to work with Lena to build the portal to get home.
I am not buying it but of course, Lena sees the good in the invention and promises to think about it. She calls Kara and notices her friend is upset but Kara says she will call her back.
Kara is trying to listen out for Alex’s heartbeat but hears nothing. She has all these powers but feels so helpless, she tells J’onn. She is afraid she is going to lose the person most important to her. J’onn corrects her and says ‘us’ as he has always treated Alex like a daughter. A truly touching scene again between these two, both have lost so much and still could lose again.
Maggie is waiting it out with Rick but he realises Supergirl won’t be saving his dad but will Maggie?
Alex is putting her survival skills to the test. As the water is rising she makes a makeshift buoyancy aid out of her trousers but can’t do anything to escape the cell and the water is rising higher.
Kara notices they have less than an hour to save Alex but Maggie isn’t around.
Supergirl stops Maggie at the prison, she was about to free Peter Thompson. Kara talks to Peter telling him to help them save Alex and in turn, save his son from killing someone. He says he may know where she is.
Maggie and Kara arrive just as the water has filled the cell and Kara soon punches the glass to pieces to get Alex out, who coughs and splutters but is ok; much to both Maggie and Kara’s relief. Talk about getting there in the nick of time. I am guessing Kara flew Maggie.
Alex wakes up at the DEO and no surprise Maggie is with her. Alex tells her she was cut off earlier and tells Maggie she wants those first with her too and that she loves her. Maggie tells her she loves her too. Granted not the most romantic of settings but after what they have been through they certain couldn’t wait any longer.
Alex comes back to the main room in the DEO as Rick is led through. J’onn is going to wipe his mind to protect the DEO and Supergirl. Alex, of course, punches him and wants him to remember that.
Maggie thanks Kara for stopping her making a mistake but it was Maggie’s own advice she was relaying back to her so after all, they do make a good team. It's hugs all round. Lena calls Kara who apologises for earlier but Lena says she came to decision. She turns to speak to Rhea, so she’s clearly going to work with her.
This was certainly one of my favourite episodes this season and one of the best. Melissa does it all this episode, from strength to a vulnerability in Kara we haven’t seen in a while; Alex clearly is her kryptonite. Chyler delivers once again, showing every aspect of Alex’s character and how she has grown this season. Maggie got to show her detective skills and clearly needs to be used more in future. We also saw her heart breaking as she could lose the woman she loves. Floriana stole so many scenes with her vulnerability on the show.
As for the villain, he wasn’t an evil genius but a troubled and emotionally scarred man. Clearly, without his father, he has gone off the deep end and in desperation, he crossed a line.
Rick, after watching them for a year, should have learned you don’t mess with the Danvers sisters and now you have another badass in the form of Maggie Sawyer who had some interesting tech at the prison.
So, what were your thoughts on the episode?
