The seventh episode of the second season of the American superhero drama TV series “Supergirl” that aired on The CW on November 21 set the stage for the battle of Kara and Cyborg Superman.
The episode lived up to its promise to viewers of a one-two punch of surprises and both actually hit real close to home for the Girl of Steel, played by Melissa Benoit, reports TV Line.
It was finally revealed during the episode that Cyborg Superman was the real Hank Henshaw, played by David Harewood, who apparently survived his infamous scuffle with Jeremiah Danvers, played by Dean Cain.
It can be recalled that Dean Cain played the role of Clark Kent a.k.a. the Man of Steel in the TV series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” back in the early 90s.
Supergirl made the surprise discovery herself when she infiltrated Cadmus to rescue Mon-El, played by Chris Wood. But instead of being able to save Mon-El, Kara ended up being close to him in captivity.
The episode also showed Lilian Luthor, played by Brenda Strong, getting a few good shots at Supergirl, all in the name of revenge for Lex, whom she claims was betrayed by Superman.
While they were in captivity, Kara even made Mon-El promise to tell Alex Danvers, played by Chyler Leigh, to live on her own terms, as if it was her last will and she will no longer live long enough to tell her sister about it.
But from out of nowhere, Kara and Mon-El were actually rescued by Jeremiah, who instead of joining Kara and Mon-El, decided to stay at Cadmus to ensure his daughter’s safety.
A revenge for Lex
It was also revealed during the episode that the reason why Lilian Luthor had Cadmus abduct Mon-El during the previous episode is because she wanted him as bait for Kara.
Lilian threatens to kill Mon-El if Kara does not show up at Cadmus all by her lonesome, which she did.
When Kara arrives at Cadmus’ facility, she’s immediately confronted by the real Hank Henshaw, who survived his tussle with J’onn and Jeremiah and has been transformed into Cyborg Superman.
Cadmus rescued him years ago and since then, they’ve given him a cybernetic upgrade that makes him stronger than Kara, details the Entertainment Weekly.
The fight scene between Supergirl and Cyborg Superman is quite dynamic, because of the smooth and sweeping camera work. Cyborg Superman overpowers Kara, after which she finds herself inside a cage beside Mon-El.
Trapping Kara behind bars gives the show an opportunity for Lillian to explain to Supergirl why she hates aliens so much. According to her, Superman promised Lex the world when he arrived on the scene.
However, Lex eventually grew concerned about Superman’s unchecked power and tried to take the power back, but Superman used his propaganda to turn the world against Lex, leading to his imprisonment.
Working for the greater good
In addition to her revenge motivation, Lilian also believes that aliens pose a grave danger to the planet and views herself as a patriot for trying to kill them all. For her, it’s not only about revenge but also the greater good, which is kind of scary.
Lillian instructs Kara to wear a special helmet that will absorb the radiation from her solar flare. At first, Kara refuses, but then Lillian shoots Mon-El with a lead bullet, which is actually more dangerous than it sounds because lead is deadly to Daxamites.
Kara relents and uses the solar flare with the helmet on, causing her to lose all her powers. This was all part of Lillian’s plan to weaken Kara long enough to drain her blood.
Unbeknownst to Kara, Lillian gives Cyborg Superman her blood so he can access the Fortress of Solitude and find something called Project Medusa.
The Cadmus guards return a weakened Supergirl back to her cell where she made her last message to her sister Alex via Mon-El.
While Melissa Benoist delivers a fantastic performance in the scene, the real scene winner goes to Chris Wood, who seamlessly and believably moves from cracking jokes to revealing Mon-El’s vulnerable side as he admits he never thought he should’ve survived Daxam.