A bittersweet family reunion sends the Danvers family on an emotional roller coaster in one of the best episodes of season two.
When J’onn and Supergirl stop a Cadmus transport, they’re shocked to find that Jeremiah Danvers is the prisoner inside the truck. While it was amazing to see him back with his wife and daughters, the whole episode had this underlying ominous feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Mon El become suspicious of how easily Jeremiah was returned to them. Winn and Kara join his concerns after discovering that Jeremiah’s first move when returning to work was to snoop through files on the mainframe. They’re ultimately proven right when Jeremiah attacks J’onn and steals classified information, utilizing the robot arm Cadmus gifted him with, giving credence to my theory from The Darkest Place that he had been enhanced cyberneticly just like Henshaw. It turns out that Jeremiah’s rescue was actually a way to plant him at the DEO, in order to get Cadmus access to the National Alien Registry. After a showdown in the woods, which gave us the awesome scene of Supergirl saving the train…talk about epic visual effects, Jeremiah and Cadmus get away with this new information in hand. The suspense for the next episode is certainly well built now. How will our heroes get out of this one?
“Family’s complicated.” Taking a step back though, I think it’s important to address the emotional implications of Jeremiah’s return and subsequent betrayal, especially where Alex is concerned. We finally get the father/daughter reunion between her and Jeremiah that we’ve been waiting for since the end of last season. Alex rushes to his side the second he gets to the DEO, getting to hug her father again for the first time in over a decade. Alex’s journey was definitely the heart and soul of the episode. She’s so happy to have her dad back, and true to her role as family protector, she’s determined to make his return a joyous one. Anybody who tries to question him or cross him in any way has to answer to her first. While I respect her loyalty to her father, that also meant that pretty much everyone except J’onn, Maggie and Eliza ended up on Alex’s bad side this week, which is a scary place to be. The girl is a badass. Just ask Mon El. Superpowered or not, he came pretty close to getting his butt kicked when he starts questioning Jeremiah at family dinner. Quite honestly, I would have enjoyed a showdown between Alex and Mon El, as I think he kind of deserved whatever she had to dish out. However, Kara and Maggie intervene before things get to that point. While I appreciate Mon El’s concern, and even though he ultimately was right, I don’t think that he expressed himself in an appropriate manner. From the start, he seemed to show little empathy for the situation Kara and Alex were in, being reunited with their father after so long. They attribute it to his own sour feelings towards his family on Daxam, which, I get it if he can’t relate, but seriously, he could have handled his suspicions a bit more delicately. Not everything is about him and how he feels. I do find it interesting that Jeremiah seems to know something about Mon El’s past. I wonder if that means that Mon El’s family also has ties to Cadmus. We know that someone is searching for Mon El, so maybe whoever that is has made some sort of deal with Cadmus to help them find him.
When J’onn and Supergirl stop a Cadmus transport, they’re shocked to find that Jeremiah Danvers is the prisoner inside the truck. While it was amazing to see him back with his wife and daughters, the whole episode had this underlying ominous feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Mon El become suspicious of how easily Jeremiah was returned to them. Winn and Kara join his concerns after discovering that Jeremiah’s first move when returning to work was to snoop through files on the mainframe. They’re ultimately proven right when Jeremiah attacks J’onn and steals classified information, utilizing the robot arm Cadmus gifted him with, giving credence to my theory from The Darkest Place that he had been enhanced cyberneticly just like Henshaw. It turns out that Jeremiah’s rescue was actually a way to plant him at the DEO, in order to get Cadmus access to the National Alien Registry. After a showdown in the woods, which gave us the awesome scene of Supergirl saving the train…talk about epic visual effects, Jeremiah and Cadmus get away with this new information in hand. The suspense for the next episode is certainly well built now. How will our heroes get out of this one?
“Family’s complicated.” Taking a step back though, I think it’s important to address the emotional implications of Jeremiah’s return and subsequent betrayal, especially where Alex is concerned. We finally get the father/daughter reunion between her and Jeremiah that we’ve been waiting for since the end of last season. Alex rushes to his side the second he gets to the DEO, getting to hug her father again for the first time in over a decade. Alex’s journey was definitely the heart and soul of the episode. She’s so happy to have her dad back, and true to her role as family protector, she’s determined to make his return a joyous one. Anybody who tries to question him or cross him in any way has to answer to her first. While I respect her loyalty to her father, that also meant that pretty much everyone except J’onn, Maggie and Eliza ended up on Alex’s bad side this week, which is a scary place to be. The girl is a badass. Just ask Mon El. Superpowered or not, he came pretty close to getting his butt kicked when he starts questioning Jeremiah at family dinner. Quite honestly, I would have enjoyed a showdown between Alex and Mon El, as I think he kind of deserved whatever she had to dish out. However, Kara and Maggie intervene before things get to that point. While I appreciate Mon El’s concern, and even though he ultimately was right, I don’t think that he expressed himself in an appropriate manner. From the start, he seemed to show little empathy for the situation Kara and Alex were in, being reunited with their father after so long. They attribute it to his own sour feelings towards his family on Daxam, which, I get it if he can’t relate, but seriously, he could have handled his suspicions a bit more delicately. Not everything is about him and how he feels. I do find it interesting that Jeremiah seems to know something about Mon El’s past. I wonder if that means that Mon El’s family also has ties to Cadmus. We know that someone is searching for Mon El, so maybe whoever that is has made some sort of deal with Cadmus to help them find him.
“You’re either part of the family, or you’re not.” Kara also gets in hot water with Alex when she starts agreeing that Mon El’s concerns may have some validity. This puts the Danvers sisters through a bit of an emotional wringer. Initially, when Jeremiah first returns, Alex is more than happy to share in the joy, pulling Kara in for the reunion hug, and laughing and reminiscing about old memories at family dinner. However, the second that Kara starts doubting Jeremiah’s intentions, Alex is quick to lash out. Some of this is obviously just a fierce protectiveness over her dad. He’s family, and when you’re part of Alex’s family, nobody messes with you, no matter who they are. That said, I think that there’s also a part of Alex that is fixated on denying any possibility that Jeremiah is anything other than the man that went missing all those years ago. She’s processing it from the standpoint that she just got him back, and she can’t bear the idea of losing him all over again. To protect herself, she refuses to consider his betrayal as an option. It’s no secret that Alex has a tendency to react on emotion, which is why, despite the hurtful things that she says, I do think her confrontation with Kara was in character. I don’t think she means what she said about Kara not being part of the family for questioning Jeremiah. It was more so a “don’t you dare try to take him away from me” type response to the situation in general. It also doesn’t help that their confrontation falls after Mon El’s performance at family dinner. Alex probably feels like people are ganging up against her happiness, which taps into that emotional hurdle she’s been struggling with for a long time. She’s so emotionally invested that she can’t see the bigger picture. Ultimately, while I don’t enjoy tension between the Danvers sisters, I do think that in the long run, they’ll be stronger for it. They’ll have to talk eventually, and I think Alex will realize that Kara was only trying to protect her by questioning things. It might take some time, since Alex is pretty wounded right now, but they’ll fix things. All will be right with them soon enough.
“You were always the best part of me.” In the end, Alex’s close emotional connection to her dad makes his betrayal of her all the more heartbreaking. Their last scene in the woods was rough. It was beyond cruel of Jeremiah to put Alex in the position of “kill me and end this” or “let me go,” knowing that she loves him too much to actually shoot him. I do think this scene offers up a parallel to Kara’s journey with Astra and Allura last season. Remember how Kara, too, dismissed Astra’s assertion that Allura played any role in Krypton’s destruction because “[her] mother was the best woman who ever lived”? She had an unwavering faith in Allura, similar to what Alex has with Jeremiah. It wasn’t until Kara talked to Allura’s AI and learned the truth that she finally understood the big picture, and saw the darker sides of what happened in those final days. Young Kara, orphaned on Earth, had held on to this idealized image of who her parents were, and when that image was shattered, she was devastated. We even saw some of that this season in Medusa when Kara learns her father helped create the virus. Essentially, Alex is going through the same thing. Ever since Jeremiah’s “death,” Alex has held on to this perfect image of who he was. He sacrificed himself for Kara, he was a brave DEO agent who saved J’onn, giving up his own life, and most importantly, he was her dad. As a result, Jeremiah’s betrayal of everything that Alex has ever believed him to be completely turned her world upside down. He broke her. If you were to watch their final confrontation and compare it to Kara’s confrontation with the AI, the scenes are eerily similar. The good news is that Kara had friends and family to pull her back from the darkness, and Alex has the same. While I think Kara is smart to be worried about her sister, hopefully J’onn is also right to believe that they’ll all come out of this stronger than before.
“Hey. I’m here. You can tell me anything.” One new, but extremely important, member of Alex’s support system is Maggie. Before everything went bad, Alex actually got to introduce her father to Maggie as her girlfriend. He seemed accepting of it, though part of me wonders if that wasn’t him buttering Alex up for his later betrayal. I’d certainly like to believe that’s not the case, but I have suspicions about his motives given the Cadmus problem. Regardless though, all along, Maggie has been a rock for Alex. She was there through the whole coming out process, and now that the two are dating, she’s been helping Alex deal with her emotions in a healthier way. In this episode, she has a couple of small but definitely significant moments that made me love her effect on Alex all the more. The first was the way that she steps in to calm Alex down after Mon El starts questioning her father’s intentions. Again, it’s not a big moment, but she does put herself between them, which is more than I can say for the parents, J’onn included, who just stand there and say nothing when a brawl nearly breaks out. Maggie’s best moment though came in her last scene. Alex, not able to deal with her father’s betrayal, turns to alcohol again to drown her sorrows. Maggie comes in, immediately recognizes that something is wrong, and tries to get Alex to open up. Proving again how good she is for Alex, Maggie also takes the alcohol away from her, which is a huge blessing. Watching the way that Alex finally lets go when Maggie asks her what happened with her dad, and seeing Maggie instantly wrap her up in a hug while Alex clings to her and sobs, wow. It was beautiful, heartbreaking, and so many other emotions. The love in that relationship is incredible. Alex doesn’t say a word the entire time. Maggie is able to read her, and just knows exactly what to say and do. I grow increasingly happy that these two found one another with every passing episode. Also, the Bootstraps cover playing through that scene is awesome. Everything about that scene was magic. Alex may be in a dark place right now, but she’s got Maggie on her side. She’ll come out okay.
Alex wasn’t the only one dealing with clouded emotions from Jeremiah’s return. J’onn is also in a bit of a blind spot due to his indebtedness and gratitude for Jeremiah saving his life all those years ago. I do think it was a bit of a dumb move on his part to grant Jeremiah DEO access before doing anything to verify his intentions or look into what he’s been doing for the past decade. That seems like a huge security risk. Then again, since when does the DEO actually have security? People waltz in and out of there all the time without question. Eliza also gets an emotional reunion with her husband. I will say, as grateful as she is to have her husband back, Eliza did also seem to be the most rational one amongst the Danvers clan. While Alex wants to return to the way things were before, Eliza recognizes immediately that there is no way that Jeremiah could possibly be the same man he was all those years ago. She’s willing to be there for him, but she also wants to take things slowly and get to know one another again. Smart move, Eliza. Smart move. I also love that Maggie and Eliza seem to have such a positive relationship. As soon as Maggie walks in the door, Eliza wraps her up in a big hug. The one thing that I kind of wish we had seen with Eliza was the discussion between her and Alex after Jeremiah’s betrayal. I get that they were saving the emotional moment for Alex and Maggie, but I still think Eliza would have had something worthwhile to say to her daughter about the situation. That would have been much more satisfying to see than spending extra time ending on a Karamel moment.
Basically, at this point, I can no longer enjoy Kara and Mon El’s relationship. We’ve reached a repetitive cycle of “I’ll listen to you. Wait, no I won’t. Please forgive me, I’ll do better next time. Wait, no I won’t.” The entire issue with their arc in the last episode was Mon El’s complete lack of respect and acknowledgement of what Kara was saying. Then this episode starts off with her asking him not to tell people about their relationship, and he can’t even last until the next scene before he blabs about it, not to one or two people, but the entire DEO. Seriously? Why is she with this guy? He literally is incapable of listening to anything that she says to him. Add to that his inability to keep his mouth shut at dinner about Jeremiah. Yeah, he may have been right, but a family reunion dinner is not the time or place to air grievances. Especially when Kara, once again, asks him to be quiet and he can’t handle doing so. So no, I’m not going to find their morning after opening scene romantic or cute, and I’m not going to find his comforting her at the end of the episode sweet or genuine. They’ve done with Mon El exactly what they did with James last season, only instead of being a cheater, Mon El is emotionally abusive and chauvinistic. Kara deserves better. The only Karamel moment that I actually enjoyed had very little to do with Karamel themselves. Watching Alex and J’onn’s reaction to Kara and Mon El being a couple, and their discussion about clearing the relationship with Pam from HR was actually pretty funny. It works because of the straight faced seriousness and almost annoyance J’onn shows at the news, as well as the small amount of pleasure Alex seems to get from telling Kara about how she’s going to now have to sit through sexual harassment videos. Again though, the scene wouldn’t even have happened if Mon El actually had any clue how to respect Kara. Alex definitely is not a Mon El fan after the events of this episode. I have to wonder if this won’t cause further issues between her and Kara, since it’s not exactly a good sign when your sister doesn’t like your boyfriend. Hmmm. Alex even takes a dig at Mon El’s influence over Kara, suggesting that she’s only questioning Jeremiah because she feels the need to agree with everything Mon El says. Alex has never been his biggest fan anyway, only giving him leeway because of Kara’s good faith in him. I don’t see that continuing. Can’t say that I’d blame her. I’m not a fan of Karamel right now either.
Elsewhere in National City, Winn and Lyra are in their honeymoon phase, and are adorably gaga for one another. They spend most of their screen time in this episode making giggly kissy faces at one another. Lyra is also teaching Winn how to play darts, partly so that he doesn’t injure anyone else at the bar. Poor fish head guy. “I mean, he was nice about it but…” Winn’s bar sport mishaps are great comedy. Winn and Lyra’s scenes were also paired with some bromance moments between Winn and Mon El. Mon El goes to Winn for advice about Kara. Winn basically tells him “listen to her.” What a novel concept. Also, why does he have to hear that from another guy? Why hasn’t Kara repeatedly telling him to listen to her been enough to get the point across? I don’t like that Winn is stuck being mixed up with the two most problematic characters on the show…Mon El and James…but, I do like the role that he takes in this episode, saying what needs to be said about Mon El’s treatment of Kara. He tells Mon El to “just be good to her.” Yo, writers. Your other characters have spoken. Stop making Mon El a toxic partner.
I do think this episode was one of the strongest we have had all season. Alex’s emotional journey was especially poignant, and it set up what should prove to be a rich character arc for her in the coming episodes, dealing with Cadmus. In general, the entire Danvers family reunion story really made this episode suck me in emotionally because I have come to care about all of these characters and their relationship to Jeremiah so much. Continuing to show snippets of Winn and Lyra’s relationship was fun as well, and their scenes in the bar kept the episode connected with the outside world. Honestly, my only genuine issue with this episode, and really with the last several episodes, is Karamel. Mon El is not a worthy partner for Kara, plain and simple. I would have thought that after last season, they’d have learned how not to force a romantic relationship with Kara, but it seems clear that we’re stuck in that trap yet again. Oh well. It didn’t really dampen my enjoyment of the episode that much. Bring on episode 15. I look forward to seeing what’s next for our heroes and the fight against Cadmus.
“You were always the best part of me.” In the end, Alex’s close emotional connection to her dad makes his betrayal of her all the more heartbreaking. Their last scene in the woods was rough. It was beyond cruel of Jeremiah to put Alex in the position of “kill me and end this” or “let me go,” knowing that she loves him too much to actually shoot him. I do think this scene offers up a parallel to Kara’s journey with Astra and Allura last season. Remember how Kara, too, dismissed Astra’s assertion that Allura played any role in Krypton’s destruction because “[her] mother was the best woman who ever lived”? She had an unwavering faith in Allura, similar to what Alex has with Jeremiah. It wasn’t until Kara talked to Allura’s AI and learned the truth that she finally understood the big picture, and saw the darker sides of what happened in those final days. Young Kara, orphaned on Earth, had held on to this idealized image of who her parents were, and when that image was shattered, she was devastated. We even saw some of that this season in Medusa when Kara learns her father helped create the virus. Essentially, Alex is going through the same thing. Ever since Jeremiah’s “death,” Alex has held on to this perfect image of who he was. He sacrificed himself for Kara, he was a brave DEO agent who saved J’onn, giving up his own life, and most importantly, he was her dad. As a result, Jeremiah’s betrayal of everything that Alex has ever believed him to be completely turned her world upside down. He broke her. If you were to watch their final confrontation and compare it to Kara’s confrontation with the AI, the scenes are eerily similar. The good news is that Kara had friends and family to pull her back from the darkness, and Alex has the same. While I think Kara is smart to be worried about her sister, hopefully J’onn is also right to believe that they’ll all come out of this stronger than before.
“Hey. I’m here. You can tell me anything.” One new, but extremely important, member of Alex’s support system is Maggie. Before everything went bad, Alex actually got to introduce her father to Maggie as her girlfriend. He seemed accepting of it, though part of me wonders if that wasn’t him buttering Alex up for his later betrayal. I’d certainly like to believe that’s not the case, but I have suspicions about his motives given the Cadmus problem. Regardless though, all along, Maggie has been a rock for Alex. She was there through the whole coming out process, and now that the two are dating, she’s been helping Alex deal with her emotions in a healthier way. In this episode, she has a couple of small but definitely significant moments that made me love her effect on Alex all the more. The first was the way that she steps in to calm Alex down after Mon El starts questioning her father’s intentions. Again, it’s not a big moment, but she does put herself between them, which is more than I can say for the parents, J’onn included, who just stand there and say nothing when a brawl nearly breaks out. Maggie’s best moment though came in her last scene. Alex, not able to deal with her father’s betrayal, turns to alcohol again to drown her sorrows. Maggie comes in, immediately recognizes that something is wrong, and tries to get Alex to open up. Proving again how good she is for Alex, Maggie also takes the alcohol away from her, which is a huge blessing. Watching the way that Alex finally lets go when Maggie asks her what happened with her dad, and seeing Maggie instantly wrap her up in a hug while Alex clings to her and sobs, wow. It was beautiful, heartbreaking, and so many other emotions. The love in that relationship is incredible. Alex doesn’t say a word the entire time. Maggie is able to read her, and just knows exactly what to say and do. I grow increasingly happy that these two found one another with every passing episode. Also, the Bootstraps cover playing through that scene is awesome. Everything about that scene was magic. Alex may be in a dark place right now, but she’s got Maggie on her side. She’ll come out okay.
Alex wasn’t the only one dealing with clouded emotions from Jeremiah’s return. J’onn is also in a bit of a blind spot due to his indebtedness and gratitude for Jeremiah saving his life all those years ago. I do think it was a bit of a dumb move on his part to grant Jeremiah DEO access before doing anything to verify his intentions or look into what he’s been doing for the past decade. That seems like a huge security risk. Then again, since when does the DEO actually have security? People waltz in and out of there all the time without question. Eliza also gets an emotional reunion with her husband. I will say, as grateful as she is to have her husband back, Eliza did also seem to be the most rational one amongst the Danvers clan. While Alex wants to return to the way things were before, Eliza recognizes immediately that there is no way that Jeremiah could possibly be the same man he was all those years ago. She’s willing to be there for him, but she also wants to take things slowly and get to know one another again. Smart move, Eliza. Smart move. I also love that Maggie and Eliza seem to have such a positive relationship. As soon as Maggie walks in the door, Eliza wraps her up in a big hug. The one thing that I kind of wish we had seen with Eliza was the discussion between her and Alex after Jeremiah’s betrayal. I get that they were saving the emotional moment for Alex and Maggie, but I still think Eliza would have had something worthwhile to say to her daughter about the situation. That would have been much more satisfying to see than spending extra time ending on a Karamel moment.
Basically, at this point, I can no longer enjoy Kara and Mon El’s relationship. We’ve reached a repetitive cycle of “I’ll listen to you. Wait, no I won’t. Please forgive me, I’ll do better next time. Wait, no I won’t.” The entire issue with their arc in the last episode was Mon El’s complete lack of respect and acknowledgement of what Kara was saying. Then this episode starts off with her asking him not to tell people about their relationship, and he can’t even last until the next scene before he blabs about it, not to one or two people, but the entire DEO. Seriously? Why is she with this guy? He literally is incapable of listening to anything that she says to him. Add to that his inability to keep his mouth shut at dinner about Jeremiah. Yeah, he may have been right, but a family reunion dinner is not the time or place to air grievances. Especially when Kara, once again, asks him to be quiet and he can’t handle doing so. So no, I’m not going to find their morning after opening scene romantic or cute, and I’m not going to find his comforting her at the end of the episode sweet or genuine. They’ve done with Mon El exactly what they did with James last season, only instead of being a cheater, Mon El is emotionally abusive and chauvinistic. Kara deserves better. The only Karamel moment that I actually enjoyed had very little to do with Karamel themselves. Watching Alex and J’onn’s reaction to Kara and Mon El being a couple, and their discussion about clearing the relationship with Pam from HR was actually pretty funny. It works because of the straight faced seriousness and almost annoyance J’onn shows at the news, as well as the small amount of pleasure Alex seems to get from telling Kara about how she’s going to now have to sit through sexual harassment videos. Again though, the scene wouldn’t even have happened if Mon El actually had any clue how to respect Kara. Alex definitely is not a Mon El fan after the events of this episode. I have to wonder if this won’t cause further issues between her and Kara, since it’s not exactly a good sign when your sister doesn’t like your boyfriend. Hmmm. Alex even takes a dig at Mon El’s influence over Kara, suggesting that she’s only questioning Jeremiah because she feels the need to agree with everything Mon El says. Alex has never been his biggest fan anyway, only giving him leeway because of Kara’s good faith in him. I don’t see that continuing. Can’t say that I’d blame her. I’m not a fan of Karamel right now either.
Elsewhere in National City, Winn and Lyra are in their honeymoon phase, and are adorably gaga for one another. They spend most of their screen time in this episode making giggly kissy faces at one another. Lyra is also teaching Winn how to play darts, partly so that he doesn’t injure anyone else at the bar. Poor fish head guy. “I mean, he was nice about it but…” Winn’s bar sport mishaps are great comedy. Winn and Lyra’s scenes were also paired with some bromance moments between Winn and Mon El. Mon El goes to Winn for advice about Kara. Winn basically tells him “listen to her.” What a novel concept. Also, why does he have to hear that from another guy? Why hasn’t Kara repeatedly telling him to listen to her been enough to get the point across? I don’t like that Winn is stuck being mixed up with the two most problematic characters on the show…Mon El and James…but, I do like the role that he takes in this episode, saying what needs to be said about Mon El’s treatment of Kara. He tells Mon El to “just be good to her.” Yo, writers. Your other characters have spoken. Stop making Mon El a toxic partner.
I do think this episode was one of the strongest we have had all season. Alex’s emotional journey was especially poignant, and it set up what should prove to be a rich character arc for her in the coming episodes, dealing with Cadmus. In general, the entire Danvers family reunion story really made this episode suck me in emotionally because I have come to care about all of these characters and their relationship to Jeremiah so much. Continuing to show snippets of Winn and Lyra’s relationship was fun as well, and their scenes in the bar kept the episode connected with the outside world. Honestly, my only genuine issue with this episode, and really with the last several episodes, is Karamel. Mon El is not a worthy partner for Kara, plain and simple. I would have thought that after last season, they’d have learned how not to force a romantic relationship with Kara, but it seems clear that we’re stuck in that trap yet again. Oh well. It didn’t really dampen my enjoyment of the episode that much. Bring on episode 15. I look forward to seeing what’s next for our heroes and the fight against Cadmus.