Welcome back to Season 2 of The CW’s Supergirl which, after a long spring break, has come back to us with as solid an episode as ever! This week, Kara struggles with being unemployed, yet somehow ends up stumbling into her biggest story ever. Meanwhile, Lena reconnects with an ex-partner in love and science (played by Rahul Kohli, A.K.A. Ravi on iZombie!), and James and Winn take their relationship to the next level … along with Lyra. Welcome to Season 2, Episode 18, “Ace Reporter!”
**THIS IS A RECAP – SPOILERS ARE PART OF THE TERRITORY.**
S2, EP. 18 – THE RECAP
- Kara is so bored thanks to unemployment that she’s working overtime as Supergirl. Thanks to her … there’s much less crime happening, and the DEO has run out of things for her to do. Kara goes home to look for ways to occupy her free time. She tries, and fails at baking. Thankfully, Lena shows up to distract her from “grief baking” with a
secret date using some dude as an excusemission: to accompany her to a press conference to which she’s been invited, because it’s at her ex-boyfriend’s company, and she wants Kara to act as a buffer against things getting weird. Lena says that this guy is her Kryptonite, then asks Kara what hers is. Uhhh … - The press conference at Spheerical Industries, where Lena’s ex, Jack Spheer (Kohli), takes to the stage to announce the company’s latest brilliant innovation. As it turns out, it’s something that he and Lena had worked on together in the past but never figured out: nanobots. The audience marvels as Spheerical CFO, Beth Breen (Claudia Doumit), brings out a sphere (they really latched onto that theme) filled with nanobots. Spheer cuts his hand on stage only to have the nanobots fly to his aid in a swarm, mending his hand until he’s completely healed. Meanwhile, Snapper Carr and his CatCo press pass are sitting next to Kara and Lena taking every opportunity to cut down Kara and her blogging and her “fake journalism.” They go head-to-head in trying to ask questions during the Q&A. It ain’t pretty.
- After the conference, Jack meets up with Lena and Kara in the hallway. Jack is thrilled to see Lena, and it’s clear they have chemistry and history (and art class, and gym?). So clear, in fact, that Kara takes her cue to go. As she does, she is stopped by a mysterious dude who tells her that he “knows Jack Spheer,” has information she should hear, and that she’s the only reporter he can trust. He asks her to meet him in the Spheerical parking lot later that night, and she agrees.
- Guardian fight. *yawn* When Guardian is done taking down his latest criminal and goes back to his truck, he finds Winn and Lyra making out. He’s not exactly thrilled, because Winn is supposed to be watching his back. Winn then asks James if Lyra can make their crime-fighting duo into a trio. James agrees reluctantly.
- Later that night, Kara meets up with the source, Joe Watkins, who used to be a lab tech at Spheerical. He tells her that, despite Jack having said that the company followed U.S. Government protocol re: human testing, that when he looked in the computer archives, there were no records of human testing. Spheer is hiding something. Before he can say more, a swarm of nanobots descend on the car and cause it to explode, killing Joe as Supergirl rises from the flames in shock.
- Kara goes to CatCo to ask James to file a Freedom of Information Act request on Spheerical for her, since CatCo might have a bit more sway in getting an answer than Kara Danvers. Just then, Snapper busts in with a lead of his own—a human nanobot test subject willing to talk—and not only continues to belittle Kara, but warns James against using CatCo resources to help her. James puts him in his place, and Kara tells James to forget the FOIA, but Snapper remains crabby.
- Jack shows up at Lena’s office, and after lots of sultry banter, and questioning Lena’s enjoyment of L Corp (to which she replies, “I feel good about the work we do here.”), he asks her to dinner. He doesn’t like how things ended between them, and he’d like for them to have a chance to reconnect properly. After declining several times, Lena agrees.
- Guardian is out stopping a robbery with Lyra for the first time. He stops the thief and removes his mask only to discover it’s just a teenager. As James is about to let him go with a warning, Lyra runs over and starts kicking the crap out of the kid. Guardian has to pull her off and tell the kid to go. James is really not happy about this.
- Snapper goes to see his lead as Supergirl hovers outside the building, using her X-ray vision and super-hearing to eavesdrop. It turns out that even though he signed up for the nanobot trials, the test subject was never actually tested upon. Weird. Suddenly, a swarm of nanobots get into the apartment, killing the test subject as he tries to escape. Before they can take care of Snapper, however, Supergirl busts in, freezes the nanobots with her freeze breath, and gets Snapper out of there.
- Back at her apartment, Kara enters freaking out about the fact that the nanobot swarm has killed two people on her watch and it takes Mon-El a couple of times to be able to get out the fact that Lena called asking Kara to talk her out of going to dinner with Jack. Kara, wanting to get close to Jack to find out more for her story, asks Mon-El to go with her to the restaurant where Lena and Jack will be. Mon-El thinks that’s stalkerish. Kara calls it journalism. Potato, potahto. Mon-El accompanies her in her “creepy journalism.”
- Lena and Jack are having a great time at dinner when Kara and Mike totally bust in on them and invite themselves to sit at their table. Lena reassures Kara that she actually wants to be there and is having a good time. So, not needing to worry about her friend, Kara goes into full reporter mode, trying to get information out of Jack. She asks him how he developed the technology, and when Lena says she wants to know too, Jack tells the story of how, after seeing a flock of starlings outside his window and thinking about what a mistake it was to let Lena go, he realized that he was modeling the nanobots on the wrong animal. They move like birds. Also, he really wants Lena back. Lena seems to want the same thing, and she asks Kara and Mike to leave them alone to talk. As they say goodbye, Mike initiates a hug with Jack and an elaborate bromance moment, which confuses the heck out of Jack, but which has allowed Mike to take Jack’s office security badge.
- Later, Lena and Jack are at her office, and he proclaims his continued love, saying that he wants to make room for her in his life. They kiss. Then suddenly, Jack says that he has to go.
- Meanwhile, Kara and Mon-El are at Spheerical and break into Jack’s office. Kara cracks his computer password (it’s “starling.” Duh.) and finds a folder marked “Human Trials” which is empty … save for one video file of Jack injecting himself with the nanobots. He’s the nanobot swarm killer! Kara takes a copy of the video away on a thumb drive.
- Kara immediately goes to Lena’s office and tells her about Jack. At first, she refuses to believe it, but when Kara shows her the video, she’s convinced. Kara asks her not to go see him, and Lena reluctantly agrees.
- At the alien dive bar, Lyra meets Winn, and Winn seems to be buttering her up for something. Turns out, he and James don’t think Lyra should be a part of their team anymore. She does not take it well.
- Kara goes to CatCo to see Snapper. She apologizes for not listening to him and not being as good a reporter as she could have been. This is all he’s wanted to hear. He accepts her apology, and she gives him her research on the nanobot story hoping that, combined with his, they can get at the truth.
- So, remember the time when Lena said she wasn’t gonna go after Jack? She lied. She goes to his lab to confront him about the murders, but … he genuinely doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Enter Beth, who in addition to being Spheerical CFO also had a financial stake in the company. Nanobots will make her a very rich and powerful woman, and she’s even more powerful, because she’s been controlling Jack with nanobots this whole time, hence his not remembering the murders. Her new plan? To control Lena, too, and take control of L. Corp.
- Thankfully, Supergirl comes to save her, and while she keeps the nanobots busy, Lena goes after Beth with one of the most gratifying exchanges ever (Beth: “It’s true what they say. Behind every man is a strong woman.” Lena: “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never stood behind a man.”). With Beth knocked out, Lena turns her attention toward Jack and Supergirl. Turns out, she can kill the nanobots … but she will also be killing Jack. Tearfully, she does so.
- Kara visits Lena at her office to console her after Jack’s death. Lena is worried that she’s getting Luthor dark, because this event has left her feeling so cold that if she is able to feel again, she might not be able to handle it. Kara promises, “I will always be your friend.”
- James goes to Winn in their truck and apologizes, telling him that Winn is like a brother to him, and that this is the first time he’s felt that with someone since Clark. He also reached out to Lyra and invited her to join their team again.
- Kara delivers a danish to Snapper, and he delivers the big feature story in that month’s magazine, the one Kara contributed to, with her name alongside his in the byline. She’s back in his good graces, and he gives her her job back!
- Over at L Corp, Lana is in her office, and is approached by a mysterious woman interested in a “business proposition.” It’s Rhea, Mon-El’s mom!
S2, EP. 18 – THE REVIEW
After a several-week hiatus, I was thrilled that we came back to a Lena episode. I continue to be fascinated by her, and as she steers ever-closer to the darkness, I hope that she will allow Kara/Supergirl to keep her on the side of good with her friendship. I was also really happy to see Rahul Kohli in this episode, because he’s rad. He and Katie McGrath had wonderful chemistry, McGrath (as usual) gave a wonderful performance, and Lena’s journey continues to be worthwhile.
I was really amused by Kara/Supergirl’s boredom, and I was glad to see Kara actually becoming a reporter! Not just paying it lip service, but actually doing it. It was cool seeing her be that competent. and I’m definitely into her improved relationship with Snapper. He’s definitely a good mentor for her.
Finally: a Guardian subplot that didn’t bore me to tears. I think having Lyra on their team is a great idea, and I love how vulnerable James was when he apologized to Winn. Their relationship gets better and better all the time. Hopefully, this change will make future Guardian scenes worth a damn.
I was wondering how they were going to continue to use CatCo without Calista Flockhart, and I love that this episode had very little DEO in order to make room for CatCo. With James one of Kara’s friends in high places, and her improving relationship with Snapper, CatCo once again feels like a place Kara can call home when she’s not super-heroing.
“Ace Reporter” was a thoroughly entertaining and streamlined episode, featuring a great guest star, and I’m totally giving it bonus points, because the episode was written by two women: Paula Yoo and Caitlin Parrish. Supergirl is back, and better than ever! What did you think? Let’s chat about it in the comments below!
Supergirl airs Mondays at 8PM ET/PT on The CW.
(images: Diyah Pera/The CW)
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