Supergirl S2 Ep22: “Nevertheless, She Persisted” – A Recap

It’s here, you guys. As much as I hate to see it happen, the season 2 finale of Supergirl is here, and with it, we say goodbye to many a season regular. It picks up exactly where episode 21 left off, with Kara shocked to find that Superman is attacking her, seemingly on Rhea’s behalf. She holds her own against him, while Rhea explains that she used Silver Kryptonite to manipulate The Man Of Steel. The oddly colored Kryptonite doesn’t weaken Kryptonians, but instead shows them their worst fear, directly before their eyes. Kal-El isn’t fighting Kara, no…in his mind, he’s fighting Zod. And he makes it extremely clear that he will do WHATEVER it takes to stop the madman before he takes everything that Superman loves. Their fight spreads over downtown National City, where Alex and Maggie see extreme readings on the radars at the DEO, what they find however, is two supers trying adamantly to stop the other. Kara is forced to knock Kal-El out, and though she is victorious, the fight weakened her considerably. (Side note, the cinematic features of this fight were PHENOMENAL, and I can only praise the crew for their fantastic skills!)

Both Kara an Kal wake up in the Fortress of Solitude, both mostly back to full health, on both physical and mental levels. Meanwhile, back in National City, Lillian Luthor comes upon her daughter brooding in her office at L-Corp. Lillian verbally berates Lena for having fallen into Rhea’s trap, to which Lena responds that she “was taught to doubt herself, to look for validation from the first mentor that offered it.” It caused my heart to break. ( I will give you all the validation you want, Lena, seriously you deserve all the things.) Dejected by her daughter’s response, Lillian apologizes and produces the silver box she’d pulled from Lex’s vaults. She explains that it was originally meant to emit trace amounts of Kryptonite into the air, making the Earth uninhabitable to the species. She believes Lena can alter it to Daxamites, and their avoidance to lead.

At the Fortress, Kal explains that he didn’t see or hear Kara. He heard Zod, threatening to end the life of everyone on Earth, and destroy Superman when he was finished. He admits that he was at full strength, and you can see the pride in his eyes when he tells Kara that she beat him fair and square. Their goal is to come up with a plan to defeat Rhea, so they return to the DEO. Superman is greeted by an ecstatic Winn, who soundlessly mouths the words “I love you,” at Clark when no one is looking. (One of my favorite Winn moments to be honest.) They’ve looked into the Kryptonian databases at the Fortress, and found only one option: Dakam-Or.

Supergirl sends a message to Rhea that consists of this: “I, Supergirl, Champion of Earth, invoke the sacred right of Dakam-Or…the fate of my people rests on the fate of my life.” Rhea accepts the challenge, and Alex asks what Kara just did. The Girl Of Steel later explains the trial by combat, one that will allow everyone to keep their lives…if Supergirl wins. Mon-El shows very little faith in his girlfriend, though he expresses it as concern for her wellbeing. While they debate the details of the Dakam-Or, Alex checks up on J’onn, who has yet to recover from his encounter with Rhea. M’gann arrives soon after to check on him, where she leans down and tells him that it’s time to wake up. J’onn jolts out of bed and demands to know where she went, but Alex explains that the martian is still on Mars.

As J’onn approaches the DEO, Winn run/slides into his arms with a happy exclamation of “Papa Bear!” (Let’s be real, everyone in the Supergang has dad issues, and DAMMIT J’ONN IS A GOOD SPACE-FATHER.) Clark and Kara head to Catco, where Cat is working overtime to promote the “biggest intergalactic fight of the year.” The duo of reports convince Cat to tone down the promotion of the fight, and in exchange: An exclusive interview with Supergirl herself. As Clark goes off to see what sort of reporter-y thing he can do, Cat tells Kara that when he takes off his glasses, she’s certain “he’s a tiger in bed.” Kara weakly chuckles, before muttering to herself that she hopes Rhea kills her. (Lol though.) Lena sends off an alert to the Supers, letting them know she wants to meet. As they arrive, Lena explains the box’s use to them, and tells them that NO Daxamite will be able to survive it for long. She warns Supergirl that this includes Mon-El, Kara Danvers’ boyfriend. Kara tells Lena to get to work on it, and she’ll do what she can from her end.

The Supers meet back at the DEO and tell the gang about the failsafe box, to which Mon-El responds that if it comes down to it, use it, and that he won’t be responsible for the death of a planet. While sparring to keep her on her toes, Supergirl admits that she hates having to choose, and that if she doesn’t beat Rhea, she’ll lose everything she wants to have. She doubts that it’s possible to have everything, but Clark assures her that “The people we love are another secret superpower,” and she should focus on using that to her advantage. A short while passes, and Rhea and Kara meet to fight for the fate of the Earth. Kara brought along Mon-El, while Rhea tagged her Captain as her number 2. As they fight, Kara begins to get the upperhand, but gets distracted when the Daxamite ships start firing on National City.

Kara sends Mon-El to help the city, while J’onn recruits Superman to save the victims of the falling building. Despite their rocky past, the duo have found their bond, and as they head out to help, J’onn tells Kal “El Mayara,” which are the House of El’s words: Stronger Together.” As Kara manages to land a blow on Rhea, she soon finds that the explosion of Krypton poisoned her veins, infusing her blood with kryptonite. The exposure of the rock weakens Kara, and Rhea begins pummeling her.

At L-Corp, Lena and Winn are hard at work, when Lillian gets a little snarky. Winn flat out tells the Luthor that he doesn’t like her, which had me cackling. Lena completes the device, and Lillian snatches it up in an attempt to turn it on, but it doesn’t work. With a trade-mark smirk, Lena tells her mother that she gave the remote to Supergirl. The hero of National City is the only one able to turn it on. On the streets, Mon-El fends off soldiers, while Superman is putting out fires and protecting National City Hospital. Seeing him be so successful makes Rhea irate, so she sends her Captain after him. Their fight takes place in Catco, where James protects Cat from their onslaught. Superman throws the Captain out of a window, before sadly sighing and saying “Well…at least he tried.”

Eventually, M’gann DOES show up, explaining that in his weakened state, J’onn called for her telepathically. She brought some help with her, and we learn that she isn’t the only White Martian who regrets what they’d done to the greens. Rhea nearly has Kara defeated, and continually gloats about how she’ll take Star City and Metropolis next. Angered, Kara regains her strength, before retorting that she will do whatever it takes to protect her home. Rhea says it doesn’t matter if she dies, the Daxamites will keep coming; Alex alerts Kara that the Daxamites have locked onto every school, hospital, and municipal building in the city, intent on destroying everyone.

With a nod, Mon-El silently tells Kara to use their failsafe, and as she pulls out the remote, she whispers that she’s sorry. Across the city, Daxamites fall to their knees gasping for breath as the atmosphere is infused with lead; not enough to harm humans, but just enough to cause any Daxamite within the Earth’s atmosphere to suffocate. As they flee, Rhea begs Mon-El to save her, and he dryly replies “Like you saved Father?” The effects of the lead take place quickly, turning the Queen of Daxamite to ash. Mon-El himself is on the verge of death, gasping for air. Kara has Alex prepare his ship, and as he readies to leave, she gives him her mother’s necklace. They exchange I love yous, and tear-filled goodbyes, before Mon-El is forced to get into the ship and fly away.

Later, Superman finds Kara on the balcony, and he admits that what she did was more than he could ever manage. He’s humbled by her, and he tells her that she is stronger than he could ever hope to be. He admits that he couldn’t willingly give up Lois for the world, and explains that he’s only a fraction of the hero she is. As he leaves her to think, M’gann and J’onn catch up a little. He asks how long she can stay, and when she responds a while, they happily kiss and go on their way. Alex, concerned for her sister, meets with her and tells her that sometime ago, when she was going through something that altered her life forever, she had broken down and nearly given up. But Kara was there, and had gathered her in her arms, said she was proud of Alex, and held her.

 

Alex does the same for her sister, before asking what she wants Kara to do. The Super tells her to never let go of Maggie, before flying off. Maggie approaches to assuage Alex’s concerns, when Alex blurts “Marry me.” to her. Maggie smiles widely, obviously joyful over the prospect of marrying the DEO agent. The next day, the news states that Lillian Luthor has claimed responsibility for ridding the world of Daxamites, through the help of CADMUS. Which is bullshit and we all hate Lillian Luthor. As Kara approaches Cat, the CEO asks what’s wrong with her face. The frown the reporter wears is obvious, and Kara sighs, admitting to having had a boyfriend.

Cat gasps, before proclaiming “A year in a yert and I miss EVERYTHING!” (She even stamped her foot, guys, Rao bless Calista Flockhart.) Kara tells her that it didn’t work out, and claims to have loved him. Cat sits her down and tells her that the thing that makes women strong is their ability to be vulnerable, before praising Kara’s work. She tells the reporter that she had done many a great thing this year, and this one setback will not stop her. On the televisions, Kara overhears news of a fire; She tells Cat that she has to go, and as she exits the room, prepared to rip her shirt open and fly away, Cat proudly whispers “Go get ’em, Supergirl.” As the episode comes to a close, Kara is accepting the fact that Mon-El is gone, though as she flies you can see the tears well up. In Space, Mon-El is holding onto Kara’s necklace, when he panics a little – A black hole has opened in front of him, and there’s nothing to do but watch as his ship gets sucked in.

35 years prior, the day Krypton died, another baby had been sent to Earth. It’s…weird…hooded cult saviors tell it of the great powers it will have, and one of them proclaims that once it’s of age, “It. Will. Reign.” Speculation is already popping up about what this could be, and many are making notions that it could be one of Supergirl’s biggest villains, Reign. Who do you think it is? What did you think of this season? Will Kara EVER TELL CAT AND LENA OUTRIGHT THAT SHE’S SUPERGIRL? And will The CW ever stop trying to twist Lena into a potential super villain? Who knows. Let us hear your answers, and as always, thanks for reading! I’ll see you all next season!