"Supergirl" Recap: "Human for a Day"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

If there is one particular aspect of storytelling that I don't feel is explored enough in Superhero fiction...it's what our favorite heroes are like without their powers. Think about it for a moment. Their powers are what define them, make them instantly recognizable and really that's all we know them for. Sure there are adventures that explore their inner workings, but without their powers...what kind of man or woman would they be?

It's a question that's always fascinated me and thankfully, Supergirl decided to delve into that territory last night in what was hands down, the best episode this show has offered up to date. It picked up shortly after last week, with Kara dealing with an attempt to recuperate from her burn out battle with Red Tornado. Her powers are still missing and it couldn't come at a worse time when National City suffers from a massive earthquake and there is little that Kara can do.

This is when the episode truly shined, because we finally saw Kara Zor-El for who she really is...a damn good person through and through. After all she came face to face with mortality as Maxwell Lord tried to help an injured man to no avail and It tore her to pieces to see a human being suffering so badly, so much in fact that she was ready to blow her cover in a desperate attempt to help. It was a powerful and poignant moment in the comics/television universe because how often do we see people die like this? There was no last minute return of the powers (that came later) to save the day and she was forced to sit there and watch an innocent life fade away. It was a sobering moment to say the least and one that took Kara's character to a new level.

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Because despite the fact she was nursing a broken arm, experiencing pain and illness with none of her powers to rely on, she still put on the S and still put herself in harm's way in one iconic moment that simply blew me away. It was absolutely incredible and inspiring to see her fight through the pain and take the time to find the good in others as she talked down a robber and asked him to do the right thing. At any moment she could have been badly hurt or killed, but to her the risk was completely worth it to not see anyone else suffer or die and it was that moment in this show that Kara went beyond a hero going through growing pains...this was when she became Supergirl and we've never seen her stronger than she was in that moment.

But while that was powerful and incredible stuff, the show decided to gift us with more treats this fine evening...the true identity of Hank Henshaw. We've been speculating about it for weeks but last night the truth arrived in the most precarious of circumstances...when an inmate of the DEO, Jemm, escapes from his holding cell and goes on a rampage. Of course Hank takes the lead in bringing Jemm down and when two DEO agents die and Hank disappears...Alex becomes suspicious and takes matters into her own hands, locking Hank in handcuffs and taking on the monster herself until Hank appears to kill Jemm with his bare hands and finally...after all is back to normal we learn the truth. Jeremiah and Henshaw died on the same botched mission. One that started out on a hunt for an alien that was a refugee like Kara and Kal-El, but this being was saved by Jeremiah and before he died he made the alien swear to a promise...to protect his daughter. That alien assumed Hank's identity and revealed his true self to Alex...that he was no other than J'onn J'onzz...THE FREAKING MARTIAN MANHUNTER! 

So yes! Another awesome DC Comics character comes to life before our eyes and my thanks to Dan for spotting this before I certainly did and that means we can expect some cool things down the road. But more importantly, tonight was the night that Kara finally embraced her destiny and we got one of the finest superhero stories that I have ever seen on television and I loved every single second of this episode. It was riveting through and through and I'm so glad Kara has finally found the true confidence she has been lacking and I also hope this finally signals the end of everyone giving her hell. Great job to the people behind the scenes for putting this stellar episode together and her discovery within couldn't have come at a better time since it looks like next week for the winter finale...we finally get a showdown with Astra.

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