BWW Recap: SUPERGIRL Defends the 'Manhunter'

On this week's episode of SUPERGIRL, the government is on a manhunt for the Martian Manhunter. After last week's Red Kryptonite incident, Kara needs to find a way to win back the city, Siobhan is furious about losing her job, and J'onn J'onzz is in prison in the DEO.

National City is still afraid of SUPERGIRL after her strange behavior and a newscaster states that "What was once a symbol of hope is now a symbol of fear." Cat notes that the crime rate has risen 40% since SUPERGIRL's accident but still hopes that she can win back the city's trust. Kara has called in sick for the day, leaving Winn and James to fill in for her.

Winn soon leaves the office to meet Siobhan. "That four-eyed bitch in a kilt ruined my life," she complains to him about Kara. (When your new love interest hates your best friend? Awkward.) She explains that she can't find a new job anywhere, but Winn gets her a well-intentioned pep talk telling her that she can do anything she wants to.

J'onn J'onzz is worried that Alex will get pulled into his mess if she doesn't distance herself from him. When she goes to check on him in prison, he reminds her, "My mission as Hank Henshaw was to protect you." He warns her that there will be trouble ahead, but she retorts, "I'll lie, I'll convince, I'll do everything that you taught me to do. But I'm not abandoning you."

Major Lucy Lane and Colonel James Harper arrive at the DEO as part of a joint task force sent by the government to find out what J'onn J'onzz did and if he was planning on attacking humans. Alex remarks, "Sounds like a witch hunt" and she's absolutely right: their plan is to interrogate everyone to try to get any information they can.

It soon becomes apparent that Colonel Harper was a friend of J'onn J'onzz's for the past ten years. J'onn tells them that he plans to cooperate fully, but Harper reveals that his team has created a device to keep the Martian Manhunter from shifting forms or using his powers. Around this point, it becomes very clear that Colonel Harper is shady as can be.

As J'onn explains what happened, we get a flashback to ten years earlier in the DEO. The real Hank Henshaw declares that they've finally located the Manhunter, the most dangerous alien they've ever faced supposedly. Dr. Danvers (played by Dean Kane) suggests that the alien might have valuable knowledge, but Henshaw is only interested in its blood. In the Peruvian Andes, Dr. Danvers is nearly attacked by a snake when the Martian Manhunter saves him.

Jeremiah Danvers sets up a campfire and invites the Martian Manhunter to sit with him. J'onn reveals to the man that he is uncomfortable with fire because his family burned to death. As they chat, J'onn shares that he is the last of his kind left. Jeremiah shares a photo of his two young daughters and explains that his adopted daughter, Kara, isn't from Earth either. "I too had daughters," J'onn says. Anyone else's heart absolutely break? Jeremiah tells him, "Human can be ignorant, especially when they're scared" but vows to try to protect him.

However, Hank Henshaw appears and starts to attack J'onn. When he won't listen to reason, Jeremiah tries to physically keep him from J'onn. But Hank stabs him and he dies after telling J'onn, "Take care of my girls." J'onn explains to Lucy and Colonel Harper that he returned to the DEO as Hank Henshaw. David Harewood's acting was incredible in these scenes. Obviously, SUPERGIRL has a thing for actors playing double roles, but the difference between the Hank Henshaw we know and love and the real Hank Henshaw was so marked, it was amazing.

"Who better to protect Earth from aliens than an alien?" J'onn says, but Colonel Harper is obsessed with the idea that he was planning an attack on Earth. When J'onn insults Hank Henshaw, Colonel Harper declares, "Hank Henshaw was my best friend." If we didn't know he was shady before, this definitely confirmed it.

Alex challenging Harper leads to her being brought in for questioning. They have some strange lie-detecting device hooked up to her. Meanwhile, Kara is trying to figure out a way to disable the sound block they have on THE ROOM so that she can hear what's happening.

Alex tells Lucy and Colonel Harper, "The man who recruited me, the man that I believed to be Hank Henshaw, he saved my life." We get a flashback to a young reckless Alex who ends up in jail after getting drunk at a bar. Hank Henshaw comes to see her and reveals that he knows a lot about her. He tells her, "You can't afford to throw your life down the drain" because she feels worthless compared to her sister. He offers her a job, stating, "We need you to be the person I know you can be."

Alex tells Lucy and Harper, "You're the ones who should be ashamed of themselves." Even though she doesn't get caught on the lie detector, Lucy says that Alex knew the truth and arrests her. Harper tells Kara that he's taking J'onn and Alex to Project Cadmus.

Kara goes to James for help. When she tells him that Lucy and Colonel Harper are taking Hank and Alex to Project Cadmus, he's dismayed. He explains that Project Cadmus is "the reason Clark won't work with the government." It's a lab used to weaponize aliens for military purposes, but no one -- even Superman -- knows where it is.

James and Kara ask Lucy to come to her apartment; she's clearly still bitter about the breakup. Kara reveals that she's SUPERGIRL and Lucy responds, "It all makes sense now, I just didn't want to put it together." She asks Kara why she should help her when all aliens do is lie. Kara explains, "When you're an alien and you've lost your world and you're dropped into a new one, you don't have a choice."

Another flashback to little Kara at school being overwhelmed by her sensory abilities. She's struggling to fit in, much to Alex's dismay. When she sees a crashed car on fire, she runs over and saves the mom and baby. However, in the aftermath, Alex is injured and needs stitches. Dr. Danvers explains that using her powers puts her in danger and gives her a pair of glasses that he's lined with lead to suppress her vision and make her life easier. I loved that we finally got an explanation of why Kara Danvers wears glasses, but SUPERGIRL doesn't.

Yet another flashback to Kara's interview at CatCo and meeting Winn for the first time. Winn being immediately smitten warmed my heart. Cat asks, "Tell me why you're so special," and Kara immediately responds, "I'm not." She explains how ordinary she is while using her powers to figure out what Cat needs. She ends by saying, "I just want to be useful to somebody. I want to be worthwhile."

Kara explains to Lucy that aliens have to lie to fit in and urges her to do the right thing. "I trust who you are, who you really are, under that uniform," she says. I really admire Kara for taking a chance on Lucy...it definitely makes up for the terrible things she said about her on last week's episode.

Hank and Alex are in a truck with Colonel Harper on their way to Project Cadmus when two people on motorcycles cause the vehicle to stop. They remove their helmets to reveal that it's Kara...and Lucy! Meanwhile, Hank and Alex have dealt with the Colonel. But when Hank tries to wipe the Colonel's memory, he sees Jeremiah Danvers at Project Cadmus. "Your dad's alive!" he exclaims.

Kara wants to go with Alex and Hank to find their father, but Alex insists that they need to go alone since they're fugitives now. Alex points out that Kara doesn't need her around to take care of her, but Kara says, "You still took care of me anyways." Alex responds, "Yeah and look how great you turned out." (Definitely the best line of the episode.) Hank and Alex ride off on the motorcycles to search for Alex's father.

Back at CatCo, Siobhan is called into the office to talk to Cat. Earlier in the episode, she'd sent a nasty email to Cat from Kara's computer. Cat says that she didn't expect such a horrible email from Kara, so "I found someone who did an obsessive study of Kara for the last two years." Winn confirms that he analyzed the typing patterns of the person who wrote the email and realized that it wasn't Kara who wrote it, but Siobhan. Cat threatens that the next time Siohban tries anything, she'll involve the police, and Winn is furious. (Kind of reminded me a bit of Jeremy Jordan's upset Jack Kelly from Newsies face, to be honest).

When Kara and Lucy get back to the DEO, they find out Colonel Harper has resigned and Lucy has been named the new acting director of the DEO. "You're gonna help me do this, right?" she asks Kara who assures her that she's where she belongs. It was nice to see Lucy redeemed and to see her and Kara bond. If there's anything this show is good at, it's certainly girl power.

Siobhan and Winn argue on the roof. "You were supposed to be on my side," she yells at him. But he points out that Kara is his best friend and says that he also did it to save Siobhan from doing something she would regret. "You don't know me, you don't know anything," she tells him. (And let's be honest. She's right. We have no idea who she is. Be careful, Winn.) In her frustration, she ends up falling over the side of the building but she catches herself in midair before falling. Winn's face says it all...he's got to stop falling for girls who aren't human.

Don't forget that next week is SUPERGIRL's special crossover episode with THE FLASH! Will Kara win back the hearts of National City? Will Alex and Hank find Dr. Danvers? Who the heck is Siobhan really? Tune back in next week to see.

Photo Credit: CBS

To post a comment, you must register and login.