"Supergirl" Recap: "Strange Visitor From Another Planet"

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Over the years, I've read a countless number of comic books, and watched a countless number of comic book movies as well. It's led to what seems like endless discussions on the respective powers of the various super heroes out there in the world and which ones happen to have the coolest or most practical powers in their respective universes.

But there's one particular power that I don't think we discuss enough when it comes to these characters...their heart and what's inside of it. That may seem like an odd thing to think about or even discuss for that matter, but it's important. Because it's what makes some super heroes a little darker than the rest and others...stand out as beacons of hope and goodwill. 

It's also important to discuss because...it was one of the big themes that came about on Supergirl this week since as it turns out, a good heart is one of the greatest super powers revealed to date for Kara because when she wasn't out and about saving the world from a White Martian that had come for J'onn, she was finding ways to save people's souls and relationships as well...and I absolutely ate it up. I mean who didn't enjoy watching Kara sit down with both Cat and her son Adam to moderate a tense and hurtful discussion between two people who really didn't trust one another at this point in their lives and were letting hurt and anger get the better of them. 

I also made mention of saving someone's soul, and that's exactly what Kara had to do for J'onn as well, who was so disturbed and haunted by the White Martian that came to earth...and the horrible things that happened to him and his family because of their kind that he was ready to simply lay down and die...or rip his enemy's heart out, which ever happened to come first and Kara was there every step of the way. Doing everything she could to let him know that he had to keep going in life, had to keep moving and well, it was simply beautiful to see her doing so much to save a single life on a more fundamental level. It's really something that I've yet to see on a comic book show and it led to some incredible moments from J'onn and Kara and even Alex.

Yet what impresses me more, is that all of this stems from a simple plot thread, facing one's past. Cat had to face the past when her son came calling and J'onn had to face his own when the White Martian arrived and while every character's storyline was able to wrap up in neat and happy fashion, there were plenty of consequences they had to face along the way. J'onn faced up to the cowardice he believed was deep within him and Cat...well she had to own up to the difficult decision of giving her son up and never being there for him. It was some powerhouse writing this week and I'm glad they went that route. It demonstrated that Kara's greatest power is her humanity, and how much she cares about people...and it made for an engrossing episode where you truly cared about what happened or was going to happen to every single character. Until next time.

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