“Supergirl” Episode 311 Recap: Space Girls

Previously on Supergirl, Saturn Girl proved herself the best of the Legion of Superheroes, with Brainiac 5 in close second, and Supergirl was faced with a new foe called Reign who was also Sam in the same way that in Buffy—wait, I think I know too many people watching Buffy for the first time to make that reference. IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW.

ANYWAY, Reign was also called a worldkiller and was told there were more worldkillers afoot.

Alex’s leg is still broken, so Kara, Ruby and Sam come over to to bring her some food. While she’s there, Ruby’s babysitter cancels, so Alex offers to babysit since it’s not like she can go to work right now anyway. Kara teases her about scaring the pants off her by showing her The Shining, but after some laughter, it’s agreed. Alex will watch Ruby.

:cue Babysitter’s Club theme:

Kara suits up and goes to the DEO, where she learns that Fort Rozz’s namesake also wore the same glyph that Reign wears on her chest. Kara says it’s too bad Rozz is IN Fort Rozz and Fort Rozz is floating in space somewhere, but worry not, Fort Rozz has been found. Well, worry a little, because Fort Rozz has been found near a blue star, which is not close enough to a yellow sun to give her powers, and also, according to Saturn Girl, poisonous to anyone with a Y chromosome.

Kara then says, “Poisonous to men?!” which is not what Saturn Girl said at all, and we all know not all men have Y chromosomes and not all folks with Y chromosomes are men, but I think what Kara MEANT to say was, “Poisonous to THESE MEN IN PARTICULAR?!” referencing the people in the room, because that would mean most of the people on her team who don’t currently have a broken leg can’t go with her.

So the only obvious solution is to find Livewire and ask for her help.

Employee of the Month

Livewire laughs and laughs but Supergirl doesn’t buy her villain shtick anymore. She knows Livewire is scared, because Reign is targeting criminals, and she knows she wants to stop Reign as much as Supergirl does. Livewire saw Supergirl get beat, but Supergirl assures her they would just be collecting intel. She explains that they need to go to a place where she won’t have her powers and she needs someone to have her back, and Livewire again just laughs and laughs and laughs.

Asking for help is hard, even if you’re Supergirl.

But eventually she agrees, and goes with Supergirl back to the DEO. Supergirl has also recruited Evil Petra Psi, plucking her from her holding cell to aid in this mission. She agrees because she plans on escaping one day, and she doesn’t want to get out just to be killed by Reign. And, of course, Saturn Girl. The girls walk out like it’s the start of your new favorite movie.

Nothing but respect for MY Legion of Superheroes.

Super Spice, Shocking Spice, Psychic Spice, and Saturn Spice use the future-kids’ spaceship to head to Fort Rozz. Livewire and Psi are already fighting but honestly, I’m kind of into it. I’m also into Kara telling them to shut up. I dunno I’ve been in a weird place lately.

“This war is hard enough without infighting.”

Back down on Earth, Sam goes to L Corp to make some last minute plans for her work trip with Lena, who hugs her before sending her off, probably whispering something like, “Enjoy the screen time while it lasts…”

:whispers: “…and whatever you do, don’t fall in love with Kara, or you’ll get sidelined.”

As soon as Lena leaves, however, Sam’s eyes flicker and she goes all Reign, right there in the office.

In Alex’s apartment, Alex and Ruby are playing Trivial Pursuit, and Ruby is kicking ass because she’s super smart, and also a lot older than some people treat her sometimes. Alex moves to get up to make them some food, broken leg be damned, and Ruby calls her tough, which Alex is flattered by. But the universe is a fickle foe, and likes to knock people down a peg now and then, so while she’s basking in the glow of being called tough, she gets a text from Maggie.

It’s funny, I was JUST having this conversation with my friend, about how it seems like the one person you’re trying not to think about can sense the first time you go a full 24 hours without thinking about them. You finally think you might be ready to move on and BAM. A random text. When I saw Maggie’s name on the phone I felt like I got punched in the chest, and it wasn’t even my ex.

Is this particular face of re-opened emotional wounds queer culture? It feels like queer culture.

So Alex doesn’t feel so tough. When the text first came through all I read was “I’m so sorry” and my heart ripped full open. But then when I found out it was just about mailing her passport back to her the pieces of my shredded heart thumped pathetically onto the floor.

Up in space, Team Girl Squad finds the run-down remains of Fort Rozz and Supergirl tries to open the door but she can’t. But that’s why Kara didn’t go alone; she steps back and lets Imra open the door with her mind.

Little bitty pretty one.

Inside they stumble across the body of a dead guy and they assume it must be the blue star eliminating all the cis men, which Livewire doesn’t think sounds like such a bad thing. What IS definitely a bad thing, though, is that the cell doors are all open. As they press on, suddenly a woman in trikru warpaint drops down and yells about the House of El symbol on Supergirl’s chest and starts to fight them. Livewire eventually overpowers her, and Psi hits her head and then accidentally mind-zaps Imra.

They are VERY close to each other. Just saying.

Down on Earth, Reign goes to her fortress of eviltude and her hooded friend tells her she’s late. Reign complains that the human shell she lives in is stronger than she accounted for, but the hooded woman doesn’t care. They need to stop Supergirl before she gets to Priestess Rozz and learns that there are more worldkillers than just Reign.

Back at Alex’s, Ruby notices her babysitter has been a little out if it since she got that text from Maggie, and Alex explains what happens. They find Maggie’s passport and look through it together and Alex gets sad thinking about the places they’ll never go together.

Make Alex Danvers Smile Again 2k18

She keeps thinking she’s starting to move on, but mostly she’s still just sad, and she’s kind of wondering she’ll just be sad forever. If this is just how things are now. Ruby understands the feeling of wondering if a new horrible reality is going to be the new normal, because she’s currently being cyberbullied all because she wouldn’t let this one girl cheat off her in class. Which is why you always let people cheat off you in class, especially when you’re in eighth grade and APPARENTLY the only one who did the Spanish homework AGAIN and it’s not like YOU’RE cheating really THEY’RE cheating and besides it’s the only time everyone is nice to you at once and—

Eh hem. Just kidding. Don’t cheat.

DO however, tell Auntie Alex if you’re being cyberbullied, because she takes one look at the posts about Ruby and decides right then and there she’s going to end it IMMEDIATELY.

“They want you to do what? With a concrete WHAT?! Oh HELL no.”

After they get the prisoner tied back up, they put the power dampening headband back on Psi, who claims invading Saturn Girl’s mind was an accident, but Imra is a little shook so they don’t want to take any chances. They go and talk to the prisoner and I really wish they had managed to turn her good and take her with them but alas, instead they just get information out of her.

10/10 would watch an entire spinoff about her home planet.

They learn where Rozz is…and that people who look for her usually don’t come back.

And then! Because things were going a little TOO smoothly, there is some turbulence and the girls’ ship starts being pulled into the star, so they have an hour to fix the ship and also get the information before everyone turns into stardust.

Imra stays behind to fix the ship, and Psi stays behind too because she’s useless without her powers, leaving Supergirl and Livewire to investigate. Livewire says, “What’s the deal with that beautiful girl?” and I for sure thought she was asking if Psi was single, but actually she was just asking if Imra was single.

They talk a little more while they walk, and Supergirl knows Livewire has more good in her than she lets on. So maybe Reign does, too. But Livewire is committed to her original thought that Reign deserves to die.

They follow some fog and fight some shadowbeasts and get split up for a bit. Supergirl wakes up to someone whispering her name, her Kryptonian name, “Kara Zor-El.”

I’m blue, da ba dee da ba die.

In National City, Alex pays a visit to Ruby’s bully, and to her advantage, the girl herself opens the door instead of her parents, full of attitude from the word go. Alex lays down some FBI realness, saying she broke the law and could go to juvie if she doesn’t stop slandering Ruby online, but that she will let it go if she apologizes to Ruby and promises never to do it again. The girl, a little scared of this bamf standing in her doorway, but also probably if she grows up to be queer will point to this very moment as her root, makes all the necessary promises before closing the door.

What’s the opposite of “scared straight”?

On the ship, while Imra is fixing their communicator, Psi starts reciting a poem about blackbirds, which is her way of saying Reign is here.

Inside Fort Rozz, Kara follows the voice calling her name to the priestess she was seeking, who, fun fact, played Ursa, a villain in the 1978 Superman movie (and its sequel). The priestess says that uncertainty will be Supergirl’s doom, that she flies too close to the sun, and that there are more worldkillers, Power, Pestilence and Purity.

Reign arrives and Rozz is delighted until Reign fries her right up with her eyes. Supergirl is a little bummed Reign’s powers work here where hers don’t, but she still holds her head high and says my favorite Supergirl line, “I am not afraid.” Kara tries to talk to her, saying they can work together to find justice, but Reign isn’t buying it.

The more I see this mask, the more I want one.

Knowing Reign is there, Imra wants to help, but she also has to stay on the ship. Psi begs to help, and convinces Imra to take off her dampening headband. Imra is a little hesitant, but despite whatever Psi made her confront in her head, is still fairly quick to agree. Quick to trust this stranger who they took out of holding. I hope we learn more about Imra, I think she could be a really interesting character.

Anyway, they get really close with their faces and Psi calls her “Matilda,” which is cute because Livewire called her that earlier.

So many ships, so little time.

Reign and Livewire fight and explode in a burst of power, but Kara stops them. Reign turns her attack on Kara instead but Livewire jumps in front of Supergirl to protect her. Psi shows up just in time and blasts Reign with her brainpower. Reign stumbles for a minute and Sam starts to fight to the surface. She sees Ruby in her mind’s eye and it lets Sam take over for a brief moment.

“Where am I and why do I feel the urge to sing spunky British pop music?”

Kara sees this flash of humanity and tries to reason with her, but Reign quickly flashes back into control and flies away. Supergirl runs to Livewire’s side and Livewire smiles up at her, saying maybe they weren’t so different after all, before flickering out. And y’all I’m SO sad they brought her back just to kill her. I would have loved more of that electric misandrist. Rest in peace, Livewire.

The girls return home and Kara thanks Psi for her help. Psi at first tries to scoff at such things as gratitude, but then softens a bit and says she’s sorry Livewire died. Supergirl tells Psi’s guards to give Psi a nicer room. With a window. Maybe something, say, a tall, thin woman with psychic powers could fit through. And Psi smiles the smirkiest smile back at her.

Please come back to me, my poetic psychic mind-meddler.

At the loft, Alex thanks Ruby for being a stand-in little sister for the day, and Sam shows up to pick her up. When Alex asks how her work trip was, Sam looks at her like she’s speaking in tongues and looks at her phone. She’s missed a bunch of Lena’s texts and calls; a car was sent for her for this work trip and she just never went. She finally—FINALLY—tells Alex that for a little while time she has found herself…missing time. She thought maybe Ruby was an unreliable narrator at first, but now she’s starting to think something might be really wrong.

“I thought I was just having rage blackouts but today it happened after Lena hugged me so I know THAT can’t be right.”

And the RELIEF I felt that someone finally knows. Now they can HELP my precious worldkiller and let her fight out the badness and join Kara to form a REAL Legion of Superheroes.

Back at the DEO, Kara laments that she couldn’t get through to Reign. That she saw that glimmer of humanity and couldn’t quite grasp onto it. She thinks that maybe if she had, Livewire would still be alive. But the truth—a truth she knows deep down inside—is that Livewire wouldn’t have even been fighting at her side if she hadn’t eventually reached the humanity in HER, so there’s still hope for reaching Reign. Plus, she didn’t die in vain. Kara now knows that there are two more worldkillers she needs to find, called Purity and Pestilence.

Cut to two women walking down the street. One is called Julia and she’s refusing to be resigned to a cubicle the rest of her life when a car comes careening toward them. Julia pushes her friend out of the way, getting pinned between the cars herself in the process. But after a beat, her eyes open, and she seems fine. She pushes the car off of her and my friends I think we’ve found our next Worldkiller.

Listen I’ve already followed Krys Marshall on Instagram I’M ATTACHED, DON’T TAKE HER FROM ME.

Which just makes me hope even more that Supergirl will be able to flip the worldkillers to be more like worldsavers and have TWO super-powered women of color by her side.

Things are getting intense and we only have two more episodes before we go on one heck of a hiatus…anyone else as stressed as I am??