Supergirl is finally capitalising on its best storyline of the season – Sam’s transformation into Reign – and, boy, is she terrifying. Reign and Supergirl go head to head in what is probably the best fight in the entire series (even if it does end really badly for her). We also get the introduction of a new romantic relationship and the continuation of Kara’s grief over Mon El’s marriage to Imra.
We pick up with Mon El and Imra discussing what life in the 31st century is like. Apparently it’s pretty much the same, except more people are trying to kill each other. Sounds about right. Mon El then explains that they created the Legion (which comic fans will know well), a group of superheroes dedicated to protecting the Earth and the stars. Mon El then pours salt in the wound by saying Kara is the reason he did it, and Imra is even excited to meet her. They’re stuck on Earth, half of his team in cryosleep, until they’re able to fix their ship and get back to their time. Kara politely invites the both of them to her Christmas party she’s having, but they decline to work on the ship, which is probably for the best.
At the party, James and Lena are flirting, and Sam and Kara notice and encourage Lena to go for it. Which is still really weird, considering Kara was basically in love with him and then dropped him without any explanation. Kara and Alex agree that they’re not going to wallow over their respective love lives. Honestly, all Alex has done since leaving Maggie is talk about her and she hasn’t mentioned kids again, so I’m starting to think she has no idea what she wants after all. Except she does spend time with Ruby, and it seems very forced, as though it’s the show’s way of justifying the Alex/Maggie break up. J’onn talks to Winn and his father about how great The Empire Strikes Back is, officially making him my favourite person at the party.
J’onn gets a call from the DEO, meaning that he and Kara have to leave. The fact that Sam and Lena still don’t know the truth is, quite frankly, ridiculous, from a story standpoint. They investigate a mysterious Kryptonian symbol burned into a field, which Kara takes to the hologram of her mother for analysis. Apparently it’s an ancient symbol, so old that even she can’t translate it. When the symbols start popping up all over the city, Lena assumes it’s Morgan Edge. Normally, it’d be a good guess, but Edge has no idea what she’s talking about when she and James go to visit him.
Not believing it for herself, Lena investigates further with James, almost causing her to be assassinated for the 18th time since joining the show. James saves her with her Guardian shield (which, apparently, she doesn’t notice?) and that leads to her kissing him later on in his office. This pairing is strange for many reasons, mainly because James Olsen is James Olsen and has hated the Luthors ever since Lex came into Superman’s life. He also seemed pretty anti-Lena since her introduction too. Personally, I don’t think it will last, but I guess we’ll see how it unfolds.
Imra and Kara interact some more, and Imra tells her that she knows about her previous relationship with Mon El. Apparently Mon El tried to find a way back and didn’t look at another woman for years. That seems to make Kara feel worse, and it’s probably a good thing that she’s facing her worst enemy yet. She needs the distraction. Also it doesn’t help that Mon El and Imra are hanging around the DEO being all gross and PDA-like. Kara also meets up with Coville (the religious fanatic from ‘The Faithful’ who started the cult in her name) in prison and he seems to have prophesied Reign coming for a long time. Kara thinks he’s crazy, of course, but it turns out he’s not far off from the truth.
Reign is out there killing people. At first, it’s members of a gang. Secondly, she tries to kill Edge, who saves himself by using a panic room in his office. None of these seem really bad, but Supergirl is still determined to stop her. Reign wants to “dispense her justice” on people who deserve it, and actress Odette Annable looks great in an all black suit with a cape and dark lipstick (still not sure about the mask though). This leads to a long, epic fight between the two – starting on the roof of CatCo, hilariously making their way through a work Christmas party, to the street, and ending on a rooftop where Reign completely obliterates Kara. She’s bleeding and unconscious, and she’s not waking up.
The episode ends with Kara fighting for her life while Alex attempts to revive her at the DEO. Does anyone else feel the Lexie Grey vibes? Also, we see Ruby running downstairs on Christmas morning to her mother, who may not be her mother at all anymore. Big, urgent cliffhangers like this usually aren’t Supergirl‘s style, so it’s a nice (and much darker) change of pace. The show returns mid-January, and I have a feeling that Mon El and Imra are going to have to wake up their Legion from cryosleep for this one.
THE REEL SCORE: 8/10
