Fly Like a Girl: ‘Supergirl’ – Episode 9 ‘Blood Bonds’

Supergirl is DC’s television adaptation of the comic book of the same name. It airs Monday nights at 8/7 Central on CBS. Our writer, Nicole Drum recaps the series each week updating you on the latest episode here in Fly Like a Girl.

Image Credit: CBS

And we are back! I hope everyone had a good holiday season and are excited about 2016. Supergirl is back this week and while I doubt she made any resolutions, I’m excited to see what the New Year holds for her too. Picking up right where we left off, Kara is fighting her Aunt Astra’s husband, Non. It’s a pretty impressive aerial flight with some fancy dodging of a giant jet, but then they slam down to earth right in front of Lord Tech—where it appears that Uncle Evil is about to destroy Kara. At the best moment possible, Henshaw shows up to save Kara, but is taken by Non. With Henshaw kidnapped Alex and Kara go into Lord Tech to work on some investigation, but Lord tosses them out. He really, really hates aliens and specifically, Supergirl.

Back at the DEO, things are tense. They have to find Henshaw and at the same time, figure out who is acting director. It turns out that Henshaw thought about what to do should he not be in charge. He made Alex acting director and now she has to figure out how to find Henshaw. Kara still doesn’t like or trust the guy, even making a snarky comment about Henshaw having his own powers. With not too many options to find Henshaw, Kara goes to talk to Astra to get assistance from her even though talking to Astra got to her so much before.

In her special kryptonite-emitting cell Astra is defiant, calling Kara “Little One,” and pointing out that her niece’s stern voice isn’t going to move her. When Kara invokes Superman, she shoots that down, too. Kara tries to manipulate Astra a bit, which seems to surprise Astra, who then points out that Kara is afraid of the truth of her mother. Kara plays that she isn’t, but Astra says that she told her husband not to kill her. She says that blood bonds us all, to which Kara points out that blood bonds everyone—even Hank Henshaw. This doesn’t win Astra over, who claims that they have no bond to or responsibility to humans. She mentions what humans have done to her, as Kara points out that Astra brought imprisonment onto herself. For Astra, it is truly a sign that Kara has chosen humans over family. Kara leaves and Astra is left to contemplate and have a Kryptonian flashback.

Krypton, one year before it all goes “splodey.” Kara’s mother invokes the “blood bonds us all” bit, but also says that it keeps them from seeing the truth. Astra says that the people of Krypton won’t see the truth and both sisters have a difference of opinion. Whatever Astra’s plan was apparently would have cost Kryptonians a great deal. She says people are inherently good, but that it makes them weak. She just wanted to give them the courage to save themselves. Non is a much more aggressive character and says that she’s wasting her breath. He makes claims and has some anger towards Kara’s mother. Nothing he says changes the situation. Kara’s mother sentences them both life sentences, and when Non says that it is she who has damned the Kryptonians (and specifically makes a verbal jab about Kara)—not them—she ships him off.

Back in the here and now, Maxwell Lord is on television covering up the attack. Kara, James, and Winn are talking about how to handle Lord because he can’t be trusted and is up to something. Kara hears Cat in the elevator (like she always does) and starts to kind of freak out, telling the guys they have to act extra normal. Winn wants to know if she’s having a stroke so Kara explains: Cat thinks she’s Supergirl so she wants to try to handle that by being as normal as possible. This doesn’t work so well. Kara forgets her glasses, spills coffee, and is a mess. James gets her the glasses in the nick of time and Kara lies about the coffee shop being out of lattes, but of course Cat is suspicious and sees through it. It doesn’t help that Kara overacts her normal. Cat isn’t going to let it go, no matter how hard Kara tries. Cat wants to make it into a story, but Kara protests and insists she’s normal. Cat lets it go, for now.

Kara leaves work to pick up some lunch for her sister. Picking up lunch in Kara’s world means flying to Chicago to some random food truck before bringing it to her sister in the DEO super secret underground headquarters. Lunch doesn’t get to happen, though, because Non contacts them. He shows that Henshaw is alive and then tries to negotiate: Henshaw for Astra, 48-hour timeline.

Alex is trying to decide what to do. She is aware that if she doesn’t release Astra, Non will kill Hank. If she does, Alex unleashes something pretty major on the world: A foe with the powers of Supergirl. They don’t get to really talk about it though because as they turn the corner General Lane is chilling in the DEO war room. He has taken over the DEO on the order of the President. His orders are to find the aliens, get Henshaw back. Alex is not cool with this. Neither is Kara. (I don’t blame them.)

At Lord Tech, James is taking photos. Maxwell isn’t cool with it and is onto James. He’s “troubled” by James’ associations with Kara and says how uncomfortable it makes him. James tells him the media is about truth, not his comfort. Then Maxwell blathers on a bit and says that he is going to do what needs to be done and says he will have James escorted away. James says he can take himself.

In Cat’s office, she’s still not buying that Kara isn’t Supergirl. She has been researching Kara’s life and starts interrogating her about her life, including her first grade report card. Kara navigates the questions, but Cat says this proves it even more because Kara knows all the details. That usually means lying. And she insists on calling her Supergirl. Alex calls Kara as she’s walking out and says that Kara needs to get there.  Now.

In Non’s Secret Base, the bad guys are trying to get into Henshaw’s head—but they can’t. One of them assumes humans have developed tech to prevent mind reading. Henshaw pegs that Non wants to know the location of the DEO so they can pull a preemptive strike. Henshaw clearly hit the mark because Non doesn’t like that and threatens to snap his neck. Of course, Henshaw isn’t afraid. Kill him, Astra’s dead and Non is pretty ineffectual. As if to prove himself, Non kills his associate. This does not rattle Henshaw at all. He remains cool. Martians are cool like that.

General Lane goes to see Astra in her pen. Astra is pretty unimpressed. The General tells a story about how when he was a child he saw The Day the Earth Stood Still and it gave him nightmares. He tells Astra that he feels that same fear standing in front of her. Astra is moved by this and tells him that on Krypton, admitting fear is a sign of great strength. The General says that this is why he told her, because he wants her to know that he is a man of honor especially for what he plans to do next. He reveals some scary syringes of liquid kryptonite. He plans to use torture to get the information he needs. Kara and Alex burst in, but Kara can’t get to Astra. She tells them that they don’t have to do this, that they are better than this, but the General says the aliens aren’t. Kara really, really tries to get to her aunt, but can’t because of the lights. The General injects Astra as Alex pulls Kara away.

Back at CatCo, Kara fills the guys in. She is worried about her Aunt, and James points out that she’s still family. Kara asks if they’ve made any headway at Lord and James tells her that it’s a dead end there. Kara is relieved by this, but Winn can tell James is lying. He wants to know what James actually found out. James fills Winn in: Lord is planning a counter move against the Kryptonians. This includes Kara, so the guys need to find out what he’s up to ASAP. James shows Winn the surveillance photos he took because he wants Winn to help him break in. Winn is not sure he wants to do this, but James plays on his desire to not get Kara mad at him. The guys get to work.

Cat is still trying to get under Kara’s skin. This time she tells her that she has stayed up all night watching news footage. Cat tells her how when Kara works, bad things happen at work and that is not okay—so, Kara has an ultimatum: Prove she’s not Supergirl or she’s fired for being Supergirl.

James is breaking into Lord with the help of Winn. Winn even impresses him by turning of the lasers. How are they doing it? James is taking pictures that go back to Winn in real time. It goes well until they hit upon a biometric lock—and then Lord knocks James out.

Kara gets a phone check in with Alex who is mobilizing to get Hank. Astra, it seems, gave into the torture. Kara isn’t so sure and says that she has to go with them as they try to go after Non. Supergirl goes to help, which doesn’t make the General happy, but she is able to determine that the containers are lead-lined for privacy from Supergirl. And Non is expecting them. They get into a container and they think they have Hank, but it turns out to be a hologram. What is really there is a bomb. Supergirl is able to protect Alex and one other dude survives, but they realize that Astra played them. They walked into a trap.

In another creepy and dark place, Maxwell Lord has James tied up. He takes this moment to brag about himself, but doesn’t get James to tell him anything so Lord has to go straight to violence. James says that he’s not really afraid and then Maxwell punches him. A lot. And then gets a big scary wrench that he looks like he might use on James before swinging instead at James’ camera. He tells him next time he won’t stop at the camera—James is officially afraid.

Back at Cat’s office, Kara goes to talk to her. Kara says that she can’t tell Cat that she’s Supergirl. Instead, she tells Cat just how much her job means to her, how Cat can read her like no one else and that she gets so much from Cat’s support and mentorship. She really feels like Cat is helping her grow as a woman. Cat tells her that she knows what she needs to do then, and Kara elects to quit. Cat, a little surprised, tells her she can work out the rest of the day.

Heartbroken, Kara goes to check in on the guys and finds the beaten-up James. He and Winn have to come clean about what they were up to, which upsets Kara even more because they lied to her. She’s also upset about Maxwell Lord and decides to take him down no matter the cost. The guys point out that she sounds just like Astra. Winn tries to talk her down, but Kara is pretty upset. She feels like she’s losing everything. She can’t stop Lord, she’s can’t fix things with Cat, and she doesn’t even have the memory of her mother left intact. Feeling broken and powerless, James gives her a pep talk, as the guys help her regain emotional strength.

With her well-being restored, Kara goes to see Astra. She tells Astra about how she almost snapped, how she was so upset that all she wanted to do is hurt someone. Kara tells Astra how when she felt that she understood how Astra felt back home. Kara tells Astra that if they are to have hope, they have to be better than the fear. Kara still has faith in Astra, and tells her so. A not-worthy feeling Astra finally tells Kara the truth about what happened on Krypton: Kara’s mother knew that Krypton was dying but she had to send Astra to prison because she killed people. The decision to send Astra away was hard on Alura, but she would continue her sister’s cause. She tells her sister that she loves her. She hadn’t stopped believing in her. This is still hard for Astra, and Astra tells Kara that she is a lot like her mother. Kara asks for where Henshaw is and Astra tells her that the trade is the only way to save him, but the humans won’t do it. Kara says it’s a good thing she’s not human.

Alex, Kara, and some DEO agents lead Astra out. General Lane threatens to kill and stop them, but Kara doesn’t waver. One at a time the General’s men stand down. She saved them, after all, and they aren’t going to turn on her. With no way to stop them, the General has to let them go, but wants to know how she knows they aren’t walking into a trap. Kara tells him that she doesn’t, but has faith. They get to the exchange and make it there quite uneventfully. That is, until Non reveals he has brought a whole army of Kryptonians. Alex tells Henshaw he might have to transform. Kara hears this and files away. For a moment things are tense, but Astra calls off the Kryptonian army. There will be no fight this day and Astra says it is not to be confused for a truce. Kara says it is a start.

Henshaw is back at the DEO and Kara mentions to him that she heard the bit about transforming. Alex and Hank let Kara in on his secret and she is astonished to learn he is an alien. Next, we’re back at CatCo where Cat is in her office having sushi. She runs out of her saki and calls for Kara, but she’s not there. Supergirl shows up and Cat starts to call her out on the whole costume thing when in walks—Kara. Cat is stunned, but finally convinced that Kara and Supergirl are not the same person. She also offers Kara her job back.

On the roof we discover how Kara and Supergirl could be in the same place at the same time: Henshaw used his shapeshifting powers to help out. He tells her that he wouldn’t have minded having her full-time at the DEO, but Kara explains that her friends keep her human the way the DEO keeps him human. Back at her desk, she messages with Clark a bit who asks if she needs help and tells her that he learned the blood binds us all bit from her, showing her that she is still a role model for him even if he is older here. She touches base with Winn and James, and they start to shift their focus to dealing with Maxwell Lord.

And what of Maxwell Lord? Well, he’s up to no good. In his super secret room he seems to have gotten his hands on a girl with brain trauma, no family, no anything. He tells her that he is going to help her and then her eyes suddenly open to all black. Hello there, Bizarro Supergirl.

So what did you think about this episode? It felt like one of the strongest of the season thus far, and I am so excited to see what Maxwell Lord is up to. Until next week! What were your thoughts on this week’s episode? Share with us in the comments below.