Supergirl - S2E15 - Exodus

Previously on Supergirl: Homecoming

In a manner that’s most prescient, Supergirl comes up with the right episode at the right time. Just as the Trump Administration rolled out “Muslim Ban 2.0”, Exodus highlights the plight of those aliens (literally) who have had their identities usurped by CADMUS. The episode begins with a harmless alien family on vacation from the city, only to find themselves illegally detained by CADMUS operatives. This brand of heavy-handed thuggery hits home with Winn and his friends when, at the alien bar, Winn’s new girlfriend Lyra is violently abducted, despite Alex and Maggie fighting back. Still, despite the chaos, they manage to obtain a hostage of their own.

Alex is still pretty much cut over Jeremiah’s betrayal last time around, so much so that in a neat scene early in the episode J’onn disguises himself as Jeremiah, entrapping Alex into a conflict of interest. This, despite Alex going all Jack Bauer on their captive CADMUS goon when Martian Manhunter’s telepathy fails to garner any clear information. Alex is conflicted all right, but she only wants to do the right thing and prevent Jeremiah from coming to any harm by DEO hands. So, under suspension, Alex finds a willing ally in Maggie – “ride or die” – and the duo break up another alien abduction and obtain GPS data on CADMUS’ location.

Meanwhile, Kara needs to let the public at large know that CADMUS has misappropriated confidential alien registration details. But Snapper Carr won’t publish the story without a reliable source. His journalistic morals won’t allow him to published unverifiable material for fear of “putting a fascist in the White House” with fake news. Even a hastily staged interview with Supergirl fails to sway her boss. Urged on by Lena Luthor, Kara publishes the story on her own blog. This has repercussions on two points, which I’ll address shortly.

CADMUS is traced to an old Luthor Naval Solutions facility, one that Lena believes is no longer part of the corporation. When she asks for paperwork regarding the site, her mother orders her inside woman to send Lena a little warning message. Mothers, huh? Supergirl manages to save her from a fate worse than pavement pizza, though.

Alex sneaks into the facility where Lillian and Jeremiah are planning Operation Exodus: the deportation into space every alien resident on Earth. Because Kara’s blog post has revealed to the world CADMUS’ intentions, Lillian has to fast-forward the action. On board the first launch is the family abducted at the start of the episode, and Lyra, Winn’s girlfriend. Alex pleads with her father to abort the launch, appealing to his sense of humanity. She manages to sway him, but not before the spaceship launches, with Alex on board. The catch is, as soon as the ship leaves Earth’s atmosphere, it will engage its lightspeed engines and be almost impossible to retrieve. The crew at DEO can’t help her in time as the ship is moving too fast. But Supergirl, urged on by her sister at the helm, just about manages to slow the ship down to a complete stop. Jeremiah is last seen having seven shades of shit beaten out of him by Cyborg Superman. Pity the poor fool.

Snapper is not happy when he finds out that Kara went over his head and published her piece independently. He fires her, much as it pains him to do so. Every action, no matter how moral its intentions, has a consequence. But at least J’onn and Alex patch us their differences, agreeing to never “do the wrong thing for the right reasons.”

The teaser for next time features the long heralded return to the SuperUniverse of Teri Hatcher (Lois Lane from The New Adventures of Superman). Going from their surroundings and costume, both she and her co-star Kevin Hercules Sorbo are Daxamites. Maybe soon we’ll learn more about Mon-El’s history and secrets.

Exodus is a much needed shot in the arm for Supergirl’s second season. It is both a galactic and personal story. Much of the focus this season has been on Alex’s relationship with Maggie. This week we’re reminded of the strong bond between Alex and Kara. Both women break the rules to do what they feel is right. Alex goes rogue, while Kara publishes her story regardless of what Snapper thinks. Together at the end, they bring out the hero in each other, and Kara’s rescue attempt is well filmed, played, and scored. There was a point in the action where I thought Kara would fail, that’s how tense it was.

The political commentary is important, too. At a time when human beings are being deported from the United States and sent back home to danger and possibly death, the writers this week made their point without beating the viewer on the head with a lump hammer. It is incumbent on each of us to ensure this does not happen to our fellow man, woman, and child. We too can be heroes – if we choose to be.

We’re coming to the business end of the season now, and we’re promised more Lena/Lillian Luthor madness, more CADMUS, a possible Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain reunion of sorts, and maybe some answers about Mon-El. I’ll be watching.