Supergirl Midseason Premiere recap
Supergirl and Non’s fight comes to an end when Hank appears. Non abandons the fight and flies off with Hank. Despite being classified as an active crime scene, Max doesn’t want Alex snooping around his company, and he doesn’t want to help find Hank.
Back at the DEO, Alex discovers that Hank has named her Director in his absence. Supergirl goes to Astra and asks where Non took Hank. Astra reminds her niece that blood bonds them, that she owes no loyalty to Hank; she owes it to Astra. It’s all or nothing for Astra. She thinks Kara has sided with the humans, so she won’t help.
A video comes through to the DEO. Non offers a trade: Hank for Astra. Non gives Alex 48 hours to decide, then he kills Hank. Alex is torn. If she goes through with it, she frees a violent criminal. If she doesn’t, Hank dies. Luckily – or unluckily, depending on how you look at it – General Lane shows up, announcing that the president has asked him to take over the negotiations, fearing that Alex and is too personally connected. Lane and his men visit Astra, and after he tells her a sweet little story about how “The Day the Earth Stood Still” scared him as a child – still scares him – Astra is impressed that he would reveal his fear. That is a sign of great strength. He wanted her to know how strong he is, how he is willing to do anything to get Hank’s location out of her. He wanted her to know that he is not afraid to inject her with the liquid kryptonite his men wield. He won’t negotiate with a terrorist, but he will torture one. Supergirl comes tearing into the room to try to stop the “interrogation,” but just being in the vicinity of the kryptonite weakens her too much. She cannot stop them from injecting Astra with the toxic liquid.
Non has a mind-reader with him, trying to get the location of Astra out of Hank’s head. He can’t figure out why he can’t read anything, and decides it must be because humans have developed a blocking technology. Since he is now useless, Non snaps his neck.
Astra gives up Non’s location, and Lane’s men move in. Supergirl decides she is going as well, and flies in, much to Lane’s surprise. Hank is being held in a lead box, so she can’t see through it, but she can melt the lock. Supergirl, Alex, and one of Lane’s men move in when they see Hank tied to a chair at the back of the cargo container. Only as they get closer, they see it is just a hologram, hiding a bomb. The bomb goes off, and everyone in the hangar (mostly Lane’s men) die. Supergirl was only able to save Alex and the guy with them.
Supergirl goes back to Astra, and promises she is ready to hear what she has to say about her mother. A year before the destruction of Krypton, Alura had “no choice” but to give Astra and Non a lifetime imprisonment because of the many who died due to their reckless actions. She sends Non off to prison first, to have a few minutes alone with her sister. Alura believes that Astra was doing what she thought was right, but she killed people, and no matter how noble the goal, she has to abide by the justice system. She promises to fight for Astra’s cause, but with compassion. Astra is touched that her sister never stopped believing in her but truly believes the only way to save Hank is to make the trade, something the humans will never agree to. “Then it’s a good thing I’m not human,” Supergirl says with a wink.
Alex stands with her adopted sister, and they take Astra out, only to be met by Lane and his men – and a lot of ammunition. Supergirl stands up to them, and the one who she saved puts down his gun. The others follow suit, and the girls continue on. The trade takes place on the docks (because nothing good ever goes down at the docks). Alex hopes that this will end the war between the two factions, and the exchange is made peacefully. Suddenly a dozen Kryptonians fly into the airspace, and Non tells them to prepare to attack. Astra is surprised by this and yells for them to stand down. Alex whispers to Hank that he has to transform, but before a decision can be made, Astra insists that Non honor the agreement. Non relents and tells his soldiers to withdraw. He flies away with them. Astra flips on her hard-ass side and warns Supergirl that this is not a truce. “Do not misconstrue my compassion as weakness.”
Back at the DEO, Lane believes that their idealism will be their failing and that the enemy can’t be reasoned with. He leaves in a huff, and Supergirl wastes no time confronting Hank about this “transformation” business. She is pleasantly surprised to find out about Hank’s true persona, and the fact that he can shape shift is going to be very, very important.
The B-plot of tonight’s episode was Cat believing that Kara is really Supergirl, and Kara denying it tooth and nail. Cat wants proof that she isn’t Supergirl, and lays a guilt trip on her: if she is Supergirl, she is wasting time at CatCo. Since Cat won’t believe her, Kara quits. Cat requests an audience with Supergirl, who appears. Just then, Kara comes into her office, and Cat literally does a double take. The two blondes shake hands, and Cat, placated, gives Kara her job back. She even admits she was wrong. Up on the roof, Kara thanks “Supergirl” aka J’onn J’onzz, before he turns back into Hank.
Also: with so much on her plate, James decides to investigate Maxwell Lord without telling Kara. Max catches James outside his company, snapping “crime scene photos” and makes vague threats. Winn helps by hacking into the security system, allowing James to make it into the building. He is stopped by a bio-diagnostic lock that is incapable of being hacked. Max and a couple thugs knock James out. He wakes in an empty room, tied to a chair, and Max decides to “settle this like men.” Apparently, to him this means to beat the hell out of a man who can’t fight back. He threatens James with an enormous wrench, but instead just uses it to smash his camera. Then James is released.
Finally, “she” is brought in to Max. It wasn’t easy to arrange, but it is perfect because “she” has no friends or family. Max introduces himself to the mystery blonde, assuring her he will help her. Her eyes open wildly – and they are solid black.
