Supergirl Recap: “Supergirl v Supergirl”

The actual title of the episode is ‘SOLITUDE.’ But it’s our Supergirl verses the Supergirl from ‘Smallville.’ How cool is that? Laura Vandervoort is the guest star, and in this episode she plays a big-bad named Indigo, formerly Brainiac 8. She’s blue, bad news, and looks and fights like Mystique from the X-men. And just an aside here: the special effects on the show have been pretty darned good. But their character designs have really been missing the mark. In past episodes, ‘Red Tornado’ and ‘The Jailer’ looked like they were wearing Halloween costumes. While here, villainous Non wears an unflattering unitard, and Indigo looks like a Mystique wannabe. They all must shop at the same place, ‘Bad-Costume Designs-R- Us!’

A pretty blonde hacker appears on every video screen at Catco. And she announces that she’s going to punish them all, because National City is going to heck in a hand basket. So she turns all the traffic lights green, at the same time, causing a lot of accidents. Luckily for one family headed for disaster, Supergirl swoops down and picks up the car before it gets T-boned by a big truck. But who is this Hacker? That’s what Winn, James and Kara intend to find out. They go back to Kara’s apartment and before you can say Vandervoort, Winn is in touch with the mystery woman. But she’s not just a hacker, she’s an alien, and she’s able to pop right off the screen. Her name is Indigo, and she didn’t come to talk, she came to fight. So she kicks Supergirl out the window, and threatens to kill Winn and Jimmy. That’s when Alex and Hank break in. They’ve been tracking her. But before Alex and Hank can stop her, Indigo flees back into the computer and makes her escape.

Remember Supergirl is mad at Hank for killing her Aunt Astra, and she quit the D.E.O. because of it. But the truth is that Alex killed Astra, and Hank’s taking the blame to prevent any tension between the two sisters. But Kara is still upset about Astra and is being stubborn, even though the D.E.O. can help with this new threat.  So Supergirl sticks to her guns and goes solo. Well not really solo, she has James Olson, much to Lucy Lane’s dismay. And long-story-short, by the end of the episode Lucy cuts James loose. Lucy knows that he’s in love with someone else, even though James won’t admit it. Here’s my take:  Lucy Lane’s character was never given much to do, so I’m wondering if she’ll leave the show, or just hang on uncomfortably.  I think they brought her on because of the Lois Lane connection.  But since they don’t intend to show Lois, what’s the point?

Winn isn’t helping Supergirl because he’s been recruited by the D.E.O., leaving James and Kara with a computer guy. So James suggests they take a little trip to the Fortress of Solitude to look for answers about Indigo. So she flies him there, because I guess he knows the way. Supergirl’s never been to the Fortress, though Superman did invite her several times. She was afraid it would remind her of Krypton. To get in, Supergirl has to use to gold key to open the door to the fortress. It’s left in plain sight. But it is so heavy only another Kryptonian can lift it. (That was a comic book thing)   Once inside, we see that this Fortress is a crystal marvel, with ice sculptures and flying robots.  And Kara does learn a thing or two about Brainiac 8, also-known-as Indigo.   Here’s my take: It’s kind of weird that she goes to the Fortress on James’ say so, without talking to Superman. Would a phone call or text have been out of the question? Or what about a Metropolis flyby? It’s like the show wants to use all these iconic Superman things without acknowledging that there is a Superman that could help her out if things get rough. And this may seem childish, but if they aren’t going to use Superman, they shouldn’t mess with his stuff.

Meanwhile, we see that Non and Indigo used to know each other very well. The way Indigo hates on Non’s dead wife Astra, indicates they were close, maybe even lovers. We’re talking Internet porn Kryptonian-style. But even Non isn’t as psycho as Indigo, who wants to Nuke the planet. Astra and Non’s project, named Myriad, is about somehow living side-by-side with humans, not wiping them out. So Indigo is pretty much on her own when she infiltrates a military instillation to set off a nuclear bomb. She sneaks in via cellular phone, then fights like Mystique, taking out the guards single-handedly. Then Indigo stretches like Reed Richards to use both passkeys at once to start the launch. Clever girl.

Supergirl swoops in to stop her, and of course they fight. But Indigo still manages to launch a nuclear missile. Supergirl goes after the missile, but can’t just destroy or stop it without setting off the bomb. So she’s forced to work with Hank to disarm it mid air. But that doesn’t stop Indigo. She’s ready to launch another. But Winn is able to infect her with a computer virus that pretty much destroys her. And with Indigo gone, Supergirl realizes that she works best with the D.E.O.’s help. So she reluctantly goes back to work for the D.E.O., still holding a grudge against Hank. It’s a situation that Alex feels the need to rectify. And she finally tells the truth, revealing that she killed Astra, not Hank. Of course Supergirl is a little miffed, but she understands why Alex did what she did and they all hug it out.  So all’s well that ends well. Or is it? Brainiacs are notoriously hard to kill. So don’t be surprised if Indigo returns. In fact, Non is already putting the pieces back together. STAY TUNED!!!

Side Note: Winn finally gets some love. Cat’s aggressive non-Kara assistant, lays a big kiss on him after they share a confidence.