Previously: Scorch tried to kill Lynda Carter and there are new aliens and cops in town.
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Survivors
Samantha: We open on Daxam on The Day that Krypton Died. Fireballs are raining down on the planet and Mon-El and the Prince are running. They find a Kryptonian Ship that some dead emissaries left behind. Mon-El insists that the Prince escape in it but the Prince admits he cannot fly it. Mon-El gets in to pre-program the destination and then the Prince shut him in because he’s wounded and wants to go down with his planet.
Marines: Mon-El totally fell for that classic “can you get in there first to check it out?” move. I hope he’s not the brightest Daxam had to offer.
Catherine: I said that I would do a quick run-down of Mon-El in this episode and I’ll go ahead and do it now. Because why not? So, his first appearance was in 1961 in the old Superboy comics, which were about Superman’s time as a… boy. Only in those his real name was Lar Gand and after crash landing on earth he got amnesia and called himself Mon-El because he thought he was Superman’s brother. As ya do. In the newer comics, all of that never happened and now he’s with the Legion of Super Heros.
He’s not used very often and is pretty much a good guy. This is actually the first time he’s ever been in live action.
Samantha: We cut back to the present where Alex and Winn are watching Mon-El bench press as he nonchalantly relates this story. Kara talks about how the Royal Family of Daxam were the worst and especially their Prince. It comes off really unnecessary and callous, especially since this guy just related the story of their demise? (C: Good job being diplomatic, Kara.) He asks if there was any response to the signal he sent, and Alex says that there wasn’t. He tries to break the gloom by asking what everyone does for fun and Winn offers up PlayStation. Hank J’onn tells him that he has to stay at the DEO until they further assess his abilities and then weirds off for “personal matters.” “I didn’t know he did anything personal,” Alex says before her phone rings and it’s Maggie Sawyer with a dead body.
Mari: Hank doesn’t really do personal, hence why he just weirded off instead of just stomping away like he normally does.
Samantha: Alex and Maggie arrive at a crime scene. There’s a dead alien in the trunk of a car. Supergirl arrives and Maggie kind of jealously pouts, I think? The alien has signs of being in fights often and Supergirl is confused because this species is usually very non-violent. Alex and Maggie figure that maybe someone killed him in a bar brawl and panicked. Supergirl looks confused at their easy back and forth and then a little jealous when they box her out.
Super Sigil.
CatCo. Snapper Carr snaps at Kara for not, like, doing her job. She relates the alien murder story and Snapper is unimpressed, his usual mode of existence. He schools her on all the research she didn’t do and tells her to put some more work in.
Catherine: Why would he not be impressed by that? An ALIEN was murdered. He doesn’t want to like…look into that?
Samantha: Aliens are very 2015.
Alien Clubhouse Bar. Hank arrives and tells the Martian woman good morning in their language. She answers in English. They marvel at how they both thought they were alone and then J’onn jumps right in with wondering how she escaped. She was in an internment camp, which sounds exactly as horrifying as internment camps are. One day a White Martian refused a kill order and smuggled M’gann off world. That was 300 years ago. Wow. Hank J’onn asks M’gann to “take the bond” with him, which sounds really intimate. This is confirmed to be sharing minds. She has customers though and doesn’t want to talk about it. Hank J’onn looks crestfallen but that felt like an awfully quick step.
Mari: Take a Martian to dinner first, damn.
Samantha: Headquarters. Mon-El breaks a block with all his strength as Winn watches. Alex wanders in to ask about the murder victim and Winn relays that the thorn found on the body (there was a thorn found on the body) is from a Brevak alien and there is exactly one registered Brevak. I gotta tell you guys, the registration stuff is still making me uncomfortable. Alex declines the offer to get a team together and instead calls Maggie. (M: Foreplay.) (C: Things are definitely coming up lesbians.)
The ladies approach a man out on the street. They ID themselves and the man gets spikes out of his arms and attacks them. Fighting ensues and they mostly have him subdued when these random men show up and taser Maggie and wrap Alex in a net. They grab the spikey man and throw him in a van as he yells, “Don’t let them take me!”
DEO. Alex is telling Hank and Supergirl that the men were combat trained and meant business. The girls ask Hank J’onn why he’s so grumpy and Supergirl threatens to pout. It’s kind of a cute family feeling moment. He leads them into a conference room and tells them about not being the last Green Martian. He admits that he thinks he made a mistake by offering to psychically bond with her. The connection shares dreams, emotions, memories, and thoughts. A world with no secrets. Seriously, Earth and humans must be so hard for J’onn. He tells them that he’s so grateful to have them but it’s a fuller experience with Martians and he could have that with M’gann. The girls tell him to apologize and tell her all of that.
Alura Mom Hologram Room. Supergirl tells her HoloMom about getting her first article published. I feel like Dumbledore would be concerned with HoloMom.
Mon-El wanders in. A lot of wandering happens at the DEO. Supergirl tells him that this is a private place and then introduces him to HoloMom. He mentions that they had this technology on Daxam too and HoloMom starts saying bad things about Daxam so Supergirl shuts her down. She says that sometimes she just likes to tell HoloMom about her day. They bond over feeling alone and Mon-El calls Alura a babe because that’s what Winn taught him. (C: Of course. FFS.) Supergirl says to not let Winn teach him too much and Mon-El hopefully asks her to teach him and accompany him outside. Supergirl declines and leaves.
Alex answers another Maggie Call because there’s been a tip! Also, Alex should wear something nice.
They meet up all gussied up and compliment each other, Alex a little more awkwardly. Maggie gives her a mask and holds her hand and takes her into like… a big Masquerade Party?
Mari: I’m pretty sure a random masquerade party is a reason to break out our “another effing dance” tag.
Catherine: Didn’t take long for The CW to turn this into Gossip Girl: National City. OF COURSE there’s a masquerade ball. My schedule is positively full of them, isn’t yours?
Samantha: I genuinely wish.
Maggie isn’t sure why all the wealthy and powerful of National City are here but suddenly a woman in a red dress walks out to helpfully tell us. And omg it’s Dichen Lachman of Dollhouse and many other things fame!
Mari: AHHH!! DICHEN. Ahem, we are totally gonna finish Dollhouse in 2017. For real.
Samantha: She starts monologuing about the aliens and why they came before leading them to a cage and announcing that they’re here to fight and entertain. Ew. It’s an underground alien fight club. EW. The alien they found dead was killed here, the girls conclude. And the spiked alien who was kidnapped earlier is thrown into the ring. He’s facing M’gann, last daughter of the red planet, and undefeated champion. M’gann walks into the ring and Alex gets “oh shit” face. Dichn Lachman tells them to fight and they do so. Maggie wishes they had called back up and Alex announces that she did: Supergirl busts in and lands in the ring. She looks horrified and Dichen Lachman announces that it’s The Girl of Steel versus Draag, a giant strong looking alien who is suddenly out there too. I’m not super sure where the previously fighting duo went. They start fighting. Maggie shoots her gun into the air and shouts “Police!” Alex busts into the cage where Supergirl is gasping on the ground, as everyone flees.
DEO. Alex is patching Supergirl up. J’onn is horrified at the alien fight rings and the girls break the news about M’gann. He storms out.
Mari: Ya girl couldn’t mind-meld because she’s secretly in a fight club. Rough.
Catherine: This is bizarre to me only because Smallville also did the ‘alien fight club’ thing in one episode. But this is actually better done. This is a worthless anecdote, I just like repping for all of the Smallville fans out there! All one of you! See you at the next convention, Ralph!
Samantha: Ralph is going to be so excited when we cover Smallville one day.
Winn is listing all the powers that Mon-El does not have that Kara does. He is also not as strong as her. He can leap but not fly, but Winn thinks he can be a Superhero. Mon-El just wants to go outside and keeps trying to get Winn to let him. Winn holds his ground until he doesn’t. It’s cause Mon-El says that he’ll let Winn name him and make his costume if they go outside. Tumblr made a handy gifset for it.
The URL where I found it ends with did-winn-even-try so lol. (C: Lol, oh Tumblr.)
CatCo. Kara pitches the alien underground fight club idea to Snapper. He asks who her sources are, and she doesn’t have any because she really does not understand how this works.
Mari: I propose: did-Kara-even-try.
Catherine: She super did not.
Samantha: Winn and Mon-El are at a bar. Instead of testing his powers, Mon-El wants to drink. Winn gives in again and they’re heavy drinking in a montage that ends with Winn asleep on the table. Mon-El arm wrestles some guy and breaks his arm. Winn awakens to the man screaming and some other alien guy trying to punch Mon-El and crunching his hand. Winn rushes him out. Idiots. Winn should have to pay the medical bills.
Catherine: Also, love how they randomly shoved a bunch of background actors in costumes on here. Obviously they found out it was gonna air on Halloween pretty late in the game and felt like they had to acknowledge that. For some reason.
Samantha: J’onn just walks through the door into M’gann’s apartment, like a creep. They start arguing about the alien fighting. J’onn wants to know who runs the fights and M’gann thinks she has too powerful of friends. She claims that she’s fighting for herself? Because of the world they live in? I’m not following. She tells him that she wants to forget Mars, not remember it. So I guess she’s using the fights as a way to channel her grief? But like….the people you’re fighting are being forced into it? Or at least some of them so….? Kinda shitty. J’onn says that he will never forget his wife and daughter and M’gann yells that they are dead. As J’onn goes to leave, she tells him that the woman’s name is Roulette, or Veronica Sinclair.
Catherine:
Roulette is a pretty medium level villain from the comics. She has no superpowers but is real, real good at calculating odds and and gambling and stuff. So, like, math. Her power is math. She’s also good at martial arts and throws knives and stuff. But that math, dude. In the comics she also has this gladiatorial arena thing happening. Interestingly, the episode of Smallville that she was in was not the episode with that plotline. I know that’s not interesting. There is no Ralph.
Samantha: But maybe if we believe hard enough Ralph will exist?
Supergirl lays a line of fire down in front of Sinclair’s limo and she gets out, champagne in hand. Supergirl says she’s shutting down the fights, but Sinclair says the aliens are not people and have no rights so it’s not illegal. Again: EW. This line of rhetoric gave me an undocumented immigrants vibe and how calling them “illegals” is dehumanizing and strips them of their personhood, one of the first steps of oppression. Sinclair thinks she gives them cash and a chance to feel special. Supergirl just locks them up and beats them up. There’s a lot more gross alien rhetoric and a Michael Vick reference. Supergirl will never shut it down permanently.
Mon-El tells Supergirl that he has realized that they weren’t trying to keep him safe. They were trying to keep humans safe from him. Supergirl relates a story of her junior prom, where she stepped on her date’s toes and broke them. (C: I love these little stories from her teenage years.) He needs to give himself time to adjust. She also admits that she hasn’t been standoffish from him because of where he’s from. It’s because she wants to remember her parents as good, honorable, strong people. He reminds her that they weren’t perfect, and couldn’t save their planets from destruction. They let the end of Krypton happen. Mon-El tells her that it wasn’t their fault and he’ll listen from now on. He also tells her about a weakness in Draaga’s leg.
Alien Clubhouse. M’gonn takes the garbage out and finds Hank J’onn waiting for her. He apologizes and refuses to abandon her. She says that she isn’t worth his kindness and this is interrupted by J’onn getting tasered. It’s Veronica and her goons. M’gonn set Hank J’onn up, though I’m not sure how, since this seemed like an unplanned visit. Maybe they just stake out the Clubhouse?
Mari: Sure. Let’s go with that.
Samantha: DEO. The gang has realized that Hank is missing and traced his phone to the alleyway. They quickly deduce that Veronica has him. Supergirl heads to the spot but the nightclub has moved. Supergirl thinks that she knows someone who might be on the list and know where it is.
Lena Luther’s office. Is Lena the new Carlisle? We haven’t seen much of him. (C: Good point! I may even miss him. But I like her so far.) For some reason Kara is there as Kara instead of as Supergirl, which would probably yield faster answers. Lena says that Kara is welcome in her office whenever she wants. Kara asks about Veronica and Lena admits that she knows where the fight club is at, even if she’s not interested in it. Kara thanks her and heads out.
Fight Club. M’gann and J’onn are shown into the ring to fight to the death and become the last Green Martian. That is so fucked up. M’gann says that she doesn’t fight to the death but Veronica don’t care. J’onn says that he won’t fight her but M’gann says that they don’t have a choice. Pretty sure you two could take the Taser Goons. She punches him and they morph into their Martian forms. She wails on him and says that only one of them is walking out of here. J’onn morphs back into his Hank form and is like “Okay but now you’ll be a killer.” He tells her not to be ashamed of surviving and that she fights because she needs to punish herself. But they are forgiven. They stand up and she refuses to keep fighting. Veronica “cool story bro”s and the giant gladiator from earlier comes out. Alex, the police, and Supergirl show up. People scatter and the gladiator alien throw Supergirl around. She remembers the weak knee spot Mon-El mentioned and takes him down.
Alex and the police corner Veronica but a host of aliens surround her protectively. Supergirl arrives to make an impassioned speech. She tells them that they can’t fight each other, they need to focus on the real enemies and the real problems. They need to prove Cadmus and people like Veronica wrong. The aliens stand down (M: That was easy…) and Alex arrests Veronica.
Outside, Alex walks up to Maggie who is uncuffing Veronica, due to orders from above. She gets back in her limo and Alex tells Maggie that she’s a great cop. Alex invites Maggie to get a drink but her girlfriend walks up, so she has to raincheck. (C: Ouch. Poor Alex looks awkward as fuck. Do I like Alex now, too? Is that happening?)
CatCo. Kara hands Snapper her fully researched and sourced story. Her first person source is: Supergirl. IDK, I might just being grumpy, but I hate this. It feels like super cheating and like she’s not going to learn anything about real journalism. Snapper gives her some notes but agrees to publish it.
Catherine: It is cheating. But to be fair she got her entire job via cheating. So…
Samantha: DEO. Supergirl tells Mon-El that she’s going to teach him how to use his powers. She asked the DEO to release him into her custody because helping him gives her a chance to fulfill her missed purpose with Clark. They good naturally trade planet insults. Probably unlikely lovers here, huh? (C: Ugh, they will have such bland children.)
M’gann’s place. J’onn actually knocks on the door and says that it would take more than alien fighting to drive him away. She apologizes but J’onn Hank wants to move forward. He’s okay with not taking the bond together because he’s just glad to know her. He leaves and she transforms into a White Martian. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, okay.
Mari: So I guess she didn’t want to mind bond because of secret fight club AND mortal enemies. Cool.
Samantha: Well. I miss Cat. (C: SO MUCH seconded.)
Next time on Supergirl: Cadmus comes back with alien guns in S02 E05 – Crossfire.
I'm a 28 year old graduated English major and almost librarian. I can often be found singing too loudly (poorly) in the car or spending some time (hours) on Tumblr. I am a lover of Harry Potter, the Spice Girls, and too many other things.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
I am a 30-something year-old human woman who lives in Maine. I'm a freelance writer who mostly spends time that I should be doing that, watching T.V. I also love reading and comic books way too much.
