"Supergirl" Recap: "Fight or Flight"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

In the few short weeks that it has been on the air, Supergirl has managed to get everything right. They've given us a strong, independent superhero in Kara Zor-El and we have quickly learned that she is always ready to face any challenge that comes her way regardless of the odds in front of her, and that she is willing to make mistakes and learn from them. 

It's made for one colorful character and last night the show decided it was high time to take her heroism to the next level. Yet, there was only one way to pull that off, by addressing the other superhero elephant in the room if you will...the Man of Steel himself, Superman. We know this show takes place in his universe as well, and while the show has been quick to embrace this iconic hero, I think we all knew at some point his super feats and the giant shadow his cape casts over Supergirl would have to be dealt with and they handled it in wonderful fashion in last night's episode "Fight or Flight".

In fact all the ties to Superman came from Kara's need for one simple thing, respect. This episode picked up where we left off last week as Kara finally granted Cat Grant the interview she so desperately desired and in an effort to display her quest to be as wonderful a hero as Superman...it slipped out that they happened to be cousins. This little fact went viral at light speed and caught the attention of a nefarious looking fellow who was surrounded in armor and badly burned as well. This armored fellow made a point to seek out Supergirl and attack her mercilessly in an effort to punish Superman before Kara was able to damage his armor and send him fleeing.

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It turns out that the mystery man in question was known as Reactron, a villain that fought Kal-El many times in Metropolis, even nearly defeating the Man of Steel on several occasions, which made it clear that he wanted to harm Kara to hurt Superman. With Reactron in National City, Kara saw the opportunity to finally stand out as a hero as big as her cousin by bringing him down, but Jimmy was not sure she would be able to do it and during their second showdown, as Reactron gained the upper hand...Jimmy called in the cavalry and we got our second taste of Superman on the show as he saved his cousin. Kara was of course, furious, lecturing Jimmy on how she had to handle her own fights and despite their differences, and with a little help from her sister...Kara was eventually able to do what Superman could not...defeat Reactron.

Simply put, this episode was brilliant through and through and it was cerebral enough that I really had to ponder on a few things before fully appreciating it because at first, I was a little annoyed with the fact that everyone was trying their damndest to "protect" Kara despite her abilities and that's when it hit me. This is a decidedly different kind of superhero show, one where Kara has played the part of being a normal human being for so long that those around her can see nothing else but the gentle and kind side of her she's always exhibited. 

Plus, let's be perfectly honest, the fact that she is a strong and independent woman is a big deal too, we're not used to seeing it on TV and clearly to a certain degree, neither are the characters. But what made it so brilliant is that everyone was able to work together to bring down Reactron. It wasn't about making Kara look weak in the end, it was about blending together the best ideas to enhance her powers and well...Supergirl is finally out of Superman's shadow and she's as top tier a hero as he is...and that made for one wonderful episode and a chapter in the series now closed I hope because it really is time to set Supergirl loose in this universe and let her discover her incredible potential. Until next time.

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