Fly Like a Girl: ‘Supergirl’ – Episode 12 ‘Bizarro’

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

This week we finally get to find out what the deal is with the girl in the lab. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been looking forward to seeing how they handle this. As always there will be spoilers, so if you’re waiting to watch the episode without them, this is your jumping off point.

Last night’s episode opens up three months into the past. Maxwell Lord enters Lab 52 (a nice nod to the 52 universes in DC Comics). Inside he looks upon the unconscious girl we have seen in the past few episodes. She’s clearly not in good shape, but then Lord does something. Injecting something into her bloodstream, she all of a sudden starts to seize and choke. Her vital signs get strange and then her eyes go black. Lord pronounces her alive.

Back in the semi-present, Lord tells the black-eyed girl that she’s his perfect creation. He tells her that they (meaning he and her together) will change the meaning of life itself. That is some serious hubris, but then again this is Maxwell Lord. He proceeds to asks her if she understands him, to which she replies yes. She also looks a lot like our favorite heroine—and that is creepy.

This brings us back to last week’s episode where Supergirl was on television doing bad things except it wasn’t Kara. This leaves the team trying to figure out what is going on. Kara is growing frustrated by things, especially since none of the potential reasons really seem to pan out, in addition to J’onn/Henshaw not seeming to believe that Lord could really have done what it appears he has.

Meanwhile back at CatCo, Kara talks to Winn about things. Their conversation distracts Kara enough that she has forgotten something critical in her day: getting Cat’s coffee. It’s doom for Kara for sure, except when Cat comes into the office she not only has her own coffee, but got one for Kara. It’s uncharacteristically nice of her and the nice doesn’t stop there. During a meeting Cat ends up taking Kara’s side in regards to a Supergirl headline. It would be easy for Kara to think that Cat’s on drugs, but she figures out that her kindness is a side effect of Kara dating her son, Adam. Speaking of Adam, Kara tells James and Winn that she’s dating the boss’ son and both men are pretty awkward and uncomfortable about it.

Back at the Bad Lab, Lord is hard at work programming his evil Supergirl. It’s pretty straightforward programming. Lord brainwashes Fake Supergirl and shares that Supergirl is the enemy and must be killed. Moreover, he wants to replace Supergirl with the Fake Supergirl who is not bad. Right? Right.

It’s date night for Kara. She and Adam have gone to Noonan’s where Adam talks about how amazing he thinks she is. During their conversation, he cites her turning down Cat’s fancier dinner plans for them, in addition to the letter she sent that persuaded him to visit National City. It’s charming and sweet, but on the news Kara sees a tram-car dangling in a place where emergency crews can’t get to it fast enough. This is definitely a job for Supergirl! Kara abruptly and awkwardly leaves her date to save the day. When there, she is met by Fake Supergirl or, rather, Bizarro (note they don’t call her this in the episode just yet but we will get there). Kara tries to talk to Bizarro, but Bizarro’s only response is “We kill Supergirl,” to which then she attacks. This causes the tram to fall and Kara flies after it to save everyone inside. Bizarro simply watches as Kara does this.

Back at the DEO supercave, Kara explains to the team that Bizarro isn’t an android. Kara says that Bizarro is genetically identical to her. She is just like Kara, literally. This leads the team to suggest that Kryptonite would be a way of dealing with Bizarro since it is Kara’s weakness. It makes sense.

The next morning at work, Kara finds that Cat’s kindness continues. It seems that Cat went to substitute Kara at the dinner when she left. Kara assures Cat that she will go out with Adam that same evening. Cat also reveals she did more than just cover for Kara—Cat named the evil Supergirl, “Bizarro.” Since the focus of energies for the Supergirl crew is this newly-minted villain, Winn is hard at work doing research. He finds out something disturbing: Prometheus Labs kidnapped the girl who is now Bizarro and Lord didn’t kidnap just her—there were six others.

Over at Lord Tech it would seem that the programming isn’t sticking so well with Bizarro. She tells Lord that even though he says Supergirl is bad, she saw her save people. Lord tries to cover up by telling her that she is only seeing what Supergirl wants her to see. Brainwashing her further, he tells her that sometimes things that seem to be good are in fact very bad. (He is obviously talking about himself.)

Alex confronts Lord about the girls. Lord rather smugly explains that he got Supergirl’s DNA off of the arm of Red Tornado. Lord also confirms that he knows that Alex is more than just someone Supergirl works with. He makes some speech about if humanity were to survive, they have to be stronger than the aliens. Further, he threatens Alex that if she tries to stop him, he will make things bad for her and everyone she loves. Alex then goes back to the DEO and tells the team that Lord created Bizarro. She says that they need to use Kryptonite darts to take down Bizarro the next time they see her. Kara does not like this idea. Lord, not Bizarro, is the villain. Hurting Bizarro seems wrong to her, but they can’t do anything about Lord so they have to stop Bizarro first.

Back at CatCo, the unlikely pairing of Winn and James are having a drink and talking. Winn, of all people, convinces James that he needs to tell Kara how he feels. No one wants to be with someone who wants to be with someone else.

On her date with Adam, Kara tells him her generic life story about the death of her parents and how she as adopted (non-alien version, of course). The pair bond a bit over their lives both not being normal and then kiss. However, this romantic interlude is interrupted as Bizarro attacks and flies off with Kara. Once away, the two girls face off with their heat vision, while Kara tries to talk Bizarro down. Then Bizarro uses fire breath that Kara has to counter with ice breath. The DEO shows up and gets Bizarro with Kyrptonite bullets despite Kara’s objections. The bullets, despite being low-grade Kryptonite, really mess with Bizarro. It jacks with her cells and the poor girl turns white and actually cracks before flying away and screaming that she hates Kara.

Back at DEO, Kara tells Alex that Bizarro knew she, Kara, was Supergirl which means that Lord does too. They also discover that the Kryptonite actually made Bizarro stronger, so J’onn says they have to work on an anti-Kryptonite. Kara insists that there isn’t a plan that is going to work until they take down Lord. She heads back to CatCo where she asks to speak with Adam alone. Kara breaks up with Adam who resists her at first before saying that he thought it would be his issues and not hers that would end them. She tells him she is sorry and then leaves.

Over at Lord’s lab, Lord tells Bizarro that it is Supergirl who made Lord a bad man. He tells Bizarro that she should go after people who Supergirl loves.

Still at CatCo, just on the deck, James goes to talk to Kara after Adam has left. He asks her what happened and Kara tells him that she broke up with him. James offers to be there for her, but Kara tells him that she’d rather he leave her alone.

Alex arrests Lord with the help of some DEO agents. He tells her that if she does incarcerate him, he will tell the world Kara is Supergirl. Alex responds by slamming his head on the table and telling him that where she is taking him, no one will be able to hear him. While this is going on, Bizarro snatches up James.

At the DEO, Lord is being, well, Lord when they pull a hood off of him and toss him in a cell. J’onn is freaking out and furious that Alex has brought Lord there. He tells her that she is compromising their operation, but Alex tells J’onn that she is far more worried about her family than security.

James wakes up in a warehouse and finds that Bizarro has taped him to a forklift. He also discovers that his signal watch is broken. Bizarro tells the bound James that Supergirl loves him. She knows this, she says, because they are the same. James asks her to come closer, but Bizarro says no. She says she can’t because she’s ugly. James tells her that even if she feels like that, she is still part Supergirl and that people don’t love her because of her looks—they love her for who she is and that Bizarro can be more like Supergirl and not like a monster. And then Bizarro notices James trying to kick his watch and she attacks him with flame breath. But Supergirl gets the signal and goes off to fight Bizarro. Alex and J’onn get blue Kryptonite bullets and follow her.

At the warehouse, the two girls are fighting. It doesn’t look great for Kara after a bit as Bizarro is getting the upper hand, but Alex fires off a round of blue Kryptonite. It is just what they need. Bizarro goes down. Back at the DEO, J’onn puts Bizarro under low-grade blue Kryptonite. She asks for Supergirl and Kara arrives. Bizarro apologies and cries. J’onn tells Bizarro that they will put her under and she will feel no pain. Kara holds her hand and Bizarro tells her that she’s afraid. Kara tells her that she was afraid as well when she had to go to sleep when she left Krypton, but that when she woke up she wasn’t alone. Bizarro thanks Kara and drifts into unconsciousness. Kara says that Bizarro didn’t deserve this and J’onn agrees, then leaves the room. Kara also leaves and goes to see Lord in his cell. He threatens her adoptive mother, Eliza, which makes Kara angry and her eyes go red, but Alex talks her down.

Back at the office Kara goes to see Cat, learning that Adam is leaving town. Cat tells Kara that she thought Kara was different than she was, but it would seem they are more alike than she knew. Cat tells Kara their relationship should go back to being purely professional—no more friendly Cat. Kara leaves and invites James to go with her to Noonan’s. He says he would love to, but has to pick up Lucy.

She flies home later and hears something when she gets there. There is a light outside of her apartment and there is a plant on her table. Something is weird and when Kara goes to touch the plant, some other part of the plant shoots down from the ceiling and attacks her.

And that’s where we leave off for this week: Attack of the plants and James, despite his feelings for Kara, off to pick off Lucy. Sigh. Let’s see if they sort things out better next week.

What is up with that plant thing? Give me your best theory in the comments section.