All of the counterintelligence in the world won’t prepare someone for a supposed ally’s betrayal. Especially when all that intel is washed away by those in power, like President Baker on last week’s Supergirl. Kara hardly ever remains captive for long, but learning that the U.S. government is in cahoots with Lex is worse is so many ways. Especially when even Agent Liberty is out of the loop on Luthor’s involvement. The Kaznian invasion remained on track as Kara and crew continued the struggle against a now much larger enemy. All parties, both in the know and not, are descending on National City, including the Red Daughter. But the Kryptonian mirror match is simply the undercard.
Ancestral Memory
With Lex’s plan finally uncovered, Brainy recruits Nia and J’onn to track down the vast amount of aliens Ben apprehended. A vision of an alien riding a unicorn while being chased by wolves somehow leads the trio to Amertek’s headquarters. Nia sees the alien from her vision, prompting them to find a way into the building. J’onn quickly shoots down her plan to pose as prisoners, but she and Brainy go ahead with it once J’onn leaves to check the perimeter. They should’ve listened to their Martian friend. Brainy’s iffy Ben Lockwood impersonation doesn’t work, and the two get separated and taken prisoner.
Ben’s men restrain and torture Brainy, provoking him with the threat of Nia suffering the same fate. They cast him aside as an alien without powers, but one too many hits to the head prove them all too wrong. Brainy essentially reboots as all of his compartmentalized memories flood back, restoring his ancestral memory. Brainiac-5 is back and takes them all to beatdown city, recovering his Legion ring in the process. Bad comes with the good: the memories of a villainous lineage return. Brainy purposefully allows Nia and J’onn’s to be capture and transportation offsite with the rest of the alien prisoners. His plan to have Nia astral-project the location on the other end of the portal doesn’t sit well with them. J’onn and Nia watch him leave as they are marched toward the gate.
Unstable Pawn
Lena and James now have to track down Ben and Lex. The latter gets underway by boosting Lena’s mother, Lillian, out of jail for 24 hours and forcing her to derive a means of removing the super serum from the body. A toxin-laced lunch motivates her to work quickly while Lena and James track down Ben. She confronts him, hoping he will lead her to Lex, but it turns out that Ben had no idea Lex was using him. Even worse, his body is beginning to deteriorate thanks to the serum. The revelation sends Ben speeding toward answers with Lena and James close behind.
Ben returns to his original safe house to find Otto alive. Lena and James eavesdrop as Otto confirms Lex’s manipulation and reveals the Kaznian invasion is a false flag operation, meant to allow Lex to assume the role of America’s hero. Of course, Otto now has to kill Ben seeing as he’s in the know. James intervenes, allowing Ben to remove Otto’s kryptonite heart, killing him. Lena is unable to pursue Ben because James begins to show similar signs of degradation. They rush him back to Lillian where he’s stabilized with another injection of black kryptonite rather than have it extracted. With Lillian’s job done, Lena gives her the antidote.
A Hero Restored
As Alex begins having flashbacks to her adolescence with her superpowered sister, Kara breaks free. That attempt ends quickly when she encounters the Red Daughter and big hunk of kryptonite. Instead of shooting her in her weakened state, the Red Daughter tries to force Kara to admit that she’s wrong for defending American morality. Kara instead tries to convince her that Lex will betray her in the end. Neither will budge on their points, so Kara forces her way out, taking a bullet in the arm in the process. Knowing that Lex knows her secret identity, Kara heads to the DEO to protect Alex. Kara can’t safely reverse the mind wipe by force, but Alex’s psyche might recover if she discovers her sister’s heroic alter ego on her own.
Kara tells Alex and Haley about Lex and President Baker’s alliance, leading them to cooperate to track down the Red Daughter. Haley determines that Lex wants to get the tech which built the failed Claymore defense system. Kara tracks the Red Daughter to an apartment overlooking hers. Alex arrives later, recognizing that the place looks eerily similar to Kara’s. That goes by the wayside when Alex and Kara learn that the Red Daughter is with their mother, posing as Kara. Kara rushes there and the two battle as she still tries to convince her that Lex is using her. Watching the fight sparks Alex’s memory again, restoring her memories of Kara’s dual life.
Kara falls and her doppelganger leaves after hearing Kara’s heart stop. Alex rushes to her sister’s side, weeping as she tries to pull her back from the mortal brink. Kara draws yellow sun energy from the plants around her and comes back to life as the Red Daughter finally realizes not everything works the way Lex taught her. The reunion isn’t happy for long. Haley calls as President Baker broadcasts an emergency address. Lex’s plan has already started. He has already placed himself as the new American hero by killing Supergirl with a Claymore-powered suit. In reality, he has killed the Red Daughter.
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