Secrets Come Out on SUPERGIRL

Episode 15 of Supergirl (“Solitude”) is rife with connections, quips, and revelations. There were some hilarious lines, and I am now fully on board the Winn train—and not just because he mentioned Doctor Who.

Alex is carrying around an entire universe of guilt still over Astra’s death. Kara refuses to return to the DEO, since she’s still blaming Hank (she’s cold to him, even when he rescues her at one point). I have to give major props to Chyler Leigh for her subtle, layered, and honest portrayal of grief-guilt. Not even a sparring session with Hank put a dent in her raging self-hatred. Leigh brings an emotional weight to this role, because she’s flawless honest in her acting.

This week’s villain is Indigo, who is basically an evil version of the Internet (with more than a passing resemble to Mystique). She hacks a site like Ashley Madison and throws a thumb drive at Cat, who instructs Siobhan: “You. Brown hair. Put it in the microwave and set it to popcorn.” She wants nothing to do with outing other people’s secrets, and Calista Flockhart delivers another excellent speech about it. Cat’s also demonstratively less petty toward Kara during this episode.

Meanwhile, Siobhan’s still awful. She told Winn, “I’m sorry I have difficulty making conversation with men under six feet tall.” Ouch. (Kara later says, “I could throw her into space. I dream about doing this.” This is a perfect work vent for Supergirl.) Of course, Winn rescues Siobhan from a malfunctioning copy machine—while referencing Office Space—causing her to open up about her philandering father. It was a bit of a random unburdening, but it did what it was supposed to do: It humanized her. She’s terrified of being let down and rejected, because her dad was a jerk.

Speaking of jerks, Jimmy tries to bribe Kara with potstickers so that she’ll let him tell Lucy about her secret identity. Jimmy: do not sully the sacredness of food by using it as a bribe. But seriously: Kara shoots him down faster than a stray nuke. It was a really awkward conversation (there are a lot of those in this episode) that Kara only escapes because Indigo starts wreaking havoc on the city, because Cat refused to leak the information.

Which, okay, sidebar: Jimmy’s Supergirl watch. How does it work? What are the parameters? I’m a little confused. During this episode, he talks into it twice (around the office, because that won’t be suspicious or make you look crazy) like it’s a walkie talkie. From the way it was initially explained and its previous usage, this seems like a deviation. Also, how is she receiving the communication? Is she wearing an earpiece? Is she employing her super hearing? I need more clarity here.

Cat thinks that the only way to stop the attacks on the city is to out the hacker. Of course, Winn spends this entire episode in his element, being a tech wizard. The DEO even enlists him to do some alien hacking, and it’s a nice way to get him involved on that side of things.

But let’s talk about Non and Indigo’s relationship. They met up, do a little weird flirting, and he seems moderately turned on by her—and equally disgusted. It’s an interesting dynamic, and Laura Vandervoort is excellent in the part. She does bad quite well. Non tries to ferret out Indigo’s evil plan, revealing that she must’ve deliberately waited until Astra was dead before coming out of hiding. She only purrs, “See you after the apocalypse.” (Someone should beep Buffy.)

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In an adorable scene, Jimmy and Kara fly to the Fortress of Solitude to get information on Indigo. This is basically just an excuse for them to flirt with each other, which they do constantly. Even their body language betrays them in a later scene, when they’re sitting next to each other. But their trip has consequences: Jimmy totally forgot about his date with Lucy. This may make him the worst boyfriend ever, because he didn’t even remember until she told him the next day. Since Lucy is absolutely (understandably) furious, Kara goes to talk to her…and makes things worse. (Is she me? I feel like this could be me.) Kara talks Jimmy up, and it’s sweet until she brings up his camera and the fact that Jimmy’s dad had given it to him. Lucy’s entire expression shifts, because—whoops—Jimmy never talked about his dad to her. So, it’s kiiiiiiinda no surprise that she breaks up with him at the end of the episode. And it’s no surprise that she tells him that he and Kara are in love, because anyone with eyes could tell. But now that they’re broken up, I’m rather curious as to what they’re going to do with Lucy.

Granted, Lucy is super helpful. She discovers that the website hack was just a ploy to get people doxxed, and Indigo needed information on a general who has access to nukes. Kara flies to the base, fights Indigo, and then ends up chasing after the warhead. It’s then Kara finally admits that she needs help and calls Hank—kind of like we all do when we need our parents. Together, they neutralize the threat, opening the door for Kara to go back to the DEO. But we’ll get to that in a second.

Kara returns to confront Indigo, who reaches through a cell phone and chokes Winn, just as he’s about to release malware to cripple her. Like most evil villains, Indigo’s flawless confidence leads to her downfall. She proclaims, “I am invincible. I am a God.” (Shoutout to Alan Cumming’s Boris?) Winn brilliantly retorts, “No, you’re just a glorified Windows Vista.” (SNORT.) He sends his virus, and she explodes. (Non, at the episode’s close, is poised to reassemble her, so we know she’s not gone for good.)

High on his brilliance and world-saving, Winn kinda/sorta confronts Siobhan, then ends up sharing his sad tale of familial woe. Siobhan responds by kissing him, then threatening to kill him if he tells anyone. I cannot wait to see Kara’s face when she discovers Winn is getting frisky with her work nemesis.

Finally, the ending scene made me cry. Again. I’m going to have to start buying Kleenex in bulk, because GUYS. The FEELS. Kara walks in on a sparring session between Hank and Alex, letting them know that she’ll come back to the DEO, despite her feelings. Kara is doing what she thinks is best for the people she’s protecting. It’s selfless. And then Alex confesses, painfully and slowly: “He was defenseless. She said she was going to give him an honorable death. And I reacted, because that’s what I was taught to do.  … I was afraid of losing you, and I can’t lose you.”

The way Leigh’s tears give way to sobs, the way the sadness overwhelms her—it was expertly done. I’ve been in that situation, confessing my darkest truth. I have felt those feelings welling up and boiling over. I felt every ounce of Alex’s pain—and every ounce of her relief when Kara, instead of rejecting or scolding her sister, embraces her. Alex’s relief gives way to more tears. But the embraces offers a moment of understanding between Kara and Hank, whose hand she takes as he’s about to leave the room. The three of them ripped my heart open, and I wasn’t prepared for it.

Then again, we’re never really prepared for our emotions, are we? Kind of like the Spanish Inquisition.

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