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An episode centered on an intergalactic bounty on Supergirl could have been typical ‘villain of the week’ fodder, but this week’s episode “Distant Sun” used that trope to reveal a deeper conspiracy against National City’s hero, and allowed for a new ‘big bad’ to surface amidst nuanced plot twists. Let’s dive into the good and bad in my Supergirl review for episode 17 of season 2.
Supergirl Recap: Episode 17 – Distant Sun
Airdate: March 27, 2017
Finally, Depth for Alex and Maggie
I like Alex and Maggie, and I’ve said before their relationship is a goldmine of story if the writers chose to explore it. Tonight’s B story didn’t get a lot of airtime (versus last week’s) but the time allotted furthered the progression of #Sanvers’ relationship. The arrival of Maggie’s ex-girlfriend Emily (guest star Hayley Sales) caused some unresolved feelings to resurface and revealed a new layer in Maggie’s backstory. So we knew things went bad in her last relationship, but we didn’t exactly know why.
Photo: Robert Falconer/The CW — © 2017 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Alex’s attempt to get Maggie closure backfired when Emily stood them up for dinner. According to her, when it ended, Emily said some really harsh things about her not deserving to be happy. To say that about someone you were with for five years, something bad must have happened. If Alex wasn’t wearing rose colored glasses she might have deduced that, but she’s in love and didn’t think of that. So when she confronted Emily about the brush off and her treatment of Maggie, it was Alex who got served – a dish of cold hard truth. Emily said those things to Maggie because she cheated on her! After all, who wants to wish their cheating ex well? Maggie’s narrative didn’t fit the reality. I get it.
Alex brings up what she learned to Maggie and it was a great scene. It’s was a small parallel to what happened between Kara and Mon-El in the last episode, but Alex took a more measured approach. Rather than be angry, she analyzed Maggie’s secrets and actions and opined why things are the way they are.
“So, I think that when your parents didn’t accept you, you stopped trusting people that are closest to you. And I totally get that. But, Maggie…you don’t have to be guarded with me. Okay, I’m not here to judge you for things that happened in the last, I’m here to help you heal.”
Alex could have had a hysterical tirade about Maggie’s history of lying by omission, and I would have understood if she did. I can’t praise the reaction she did have enough. Her words pierced through Maggie’s tough exterior. When Maggie cried I damn near lost it. I felt that scene right in my feels.
Maggie gets the closure she needs at the end of the episode.
Lost and Found
Kara and Mon-El’s reunion happened on The Flash. I didn’t review the episode because I didn’t have many kind words, and I’d rather not spend 2,000 words raging. The only good thing about it was the fact that Iris & Barry and Kara and Mon-El are cannon and destiny couples. Period. Anyway…
Fresh off a night of bliss (and I assume a good Daxing down by the sexy Prince), Kara awakens to Monie making her breakfast (almost in bed). Who can resist bacon? (Um, no one). Keeping with the “Mon-El learns Earth things” trend, he realizes that books are actually useful and more helpful than watching videos on YouTube. How can you not love him?
Also keeping with the “Karamel can never be happy at the beginning of an episode” trend, their moment is interrupted when an eye-patch wearing no-name villain attacks the city. First, let me say his costume was serving Season 1 of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. Mess. Anyways, Kara defeats the threat and later learns there’s a large bounty on her head.
Hank thinks it’s best for Supergirl to lay low until they learn more about the source of the bounty. Kara wants to take on any threat but the DEO wants to protect her. She rejects the idea of hiding, with Alex countering that hiding is sometimes a strategic necessity. Kara ultimately relents, agreeing to give them 24 hours while they try to find out the source of the bounty hunters. Kara in hiding lead to some board game fun with Winn and James back at Casa del Kara.
Meanwhile, Winn meets with his parents at the alien bar and accuses them of being behind the bounty. Lar Gand assures his son they had nothing to do with this scheme. Rhea uses this time to share a sweet anecdote from Monie’s childhood about how he would freak out any time she tried to leave, forcing her to have to pry him from her leg. She stated it would “break her heart” whenever that happened.
Photo: Robert Falconer/The CW — © 2017 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
“I would rather die than leave earth without you,” says Rhea, ominously foreshadowing something.
Later, a telepath takes over Mon-El’s body and forces him to attack Kara. Winn tricks him into standing down by holding a stapler (pretending it was a gun) to his back. Back at the DEO Alex is ready to beat the answers out of him but Harry steps in, opting to go head to head on the astral plane with the telepath. Harry wins, forcing him to reveal the Daxamites are behind the bounty!
Mon-El wants to run away to a hidden planet with Kara. He assures her it has everything they need to survive and his crazy parents won’t find them there. He says he got the idea from a play he’s currently reading, Romeo and Juliet (he pronounced as Ro-may-o). He says tehre’s a moment at the end where they’re about to run away and live happily ever after, and thinks that could be them. Kara hits Monie with the unexpected reality check that they both die at the end. Shocker, he didn’t see that coming.
“I’m Supergirl, I don’t run from anything,” she says.
Supergirl knows who she is and has never backed down from that. Cat Grant would be so proud of the woman she’s become.
More recap on the next page.
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