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Supergirl episode 411, titled 'Blood Memory' took a hard look at the new reality of a mind-wiped Alex while at the same time giving us a lot of backstory and a character progression to Nia Nal. And, to add a little spice, the specter of the Children of Liberty raised its head again, albeit in a somewhat contrived threat.
For me, the biggest thing about this episode was how it dealt with family secrets and Nia Nal's identity. Supergirl has always been the most politically progressive of the CW shows. This episode deals with Nia being transgender and how being a woman is her true identity. This episode covers that topic in a sensitive and straightforward and, dare I say, entertaining way. I always worry that shows with plots like this can become maudlin or saccharine, preachy or ham-fisted. Not true here.As I have said, stories with an agenda are fine. Agendas with a story fit on top of them seldom work. So kudos to the writing staff for covering this important topic the way it did.
That doesn't mean the scrambled Alex isn't as big a deal. It is clear that this wasn't a minor excision of memories. These blocks have impacted Alex's whole outlook on life, even her take on aliens. If the reason to keep Alex in the DEO was to make sure someone with a heart was guiding it then this has to be looked upon as a failure. The Alex they want running the DEO isn't this Alex. Maybe it is time to pull the plug on this 'solution' and come up with something new?
Lastly, I am shaking my head at James Olsen. Don't let love blind you from doing the right thing dude! You'll see what I mean.
On to the show.
We start out again in Russia where I think we see repeated footage of the Russian Supergirl taking out missiles and drones. I am almost positive it is the exact same scene from last episode.
When she lands, it is clear something is wrong. She gets a nosebleed and collapses. To revive her, the doctors defibrillate her at 5000j. This must be a special defibrillator! Most go only to 360j.
It seems to revive her but her body explodes with purple lightning energy which seems to arc across the globe.
Purple energy does remind me of the Harun-El. We saw this doppelganger in last year's finale after Kara grabbed the Harun-El. So my guess is that she is somehow an unstable copy and is degrading. In some ways it harkens back to Satan Girl, the Red Kryptonite copy of Supergirl who is also unstable and fading away.
Incredibly, the purple energy reaches across the globe to National City. A couple of stoner bros who deal out of their RV don't notice that the purple energy zaps a tray of illegal pills. Despite the protests of their quiet little sister Bobbi, who is trying to study for a test, they continue to watch videos and burn themselves out.
When a couple of rich kids come over to purchase, they down the Harun-El'd pills and Hulk out, going on a rampage.
Meanwhile, over at Kara's, it is game night. The Danvers sisters continue to clean up, speaking 'Midvale' shortcuts and repeating the home town cheer. We learn how Nia comes from Parthas, a utopian community where aliens and humans have lived openly together for decades. (It does seem weird that just 3 years ago there were no aliens on Earth and now we have communities thriving since the 70s.)
But it is here we first see how Alex's mind is missing chunks. She can't remember Kara's favorite movie. (We do learn that Alex's favorite is Terminator 2!). But before things can get more awkward, Alex is called away to a disturbance.
It is a frat party where the raged out druggies are running amok. Supergirl arrives and between her and the DEO, the two are stopped in short order.
But Alex is quite cold to Supergirl. She demands that Supergirl call her 'Director Danvers'. And she doesn't like Supergirl interfering.
Now that isn't Alex.
Back at CatCo, Kara really laments the change in her sister. Firing down donuts, she confides in James. Alex didn't remember that Kara loves the Wizard of Oz. (Long term fans of the show know that is her favorite.) She can;t remember it because Eliza showed it to Kara because Kara was an alien girl put into a new weird planet. It resonated. But Alex no longer remembers that.
Needing to clear her head, she decides to join Nia in a trip back to Parthas to take in the Harvest Fest. She can run this utopia as part of her series on aliens living on Earth.
In a side story, James learns an employee got a tip on LCorp slushing funds somewhere. They want to investigate. James knows it is the superhuman experiments Lena is running. He says the reporter can do some digging but to run everything by him first. Will James compromise his journalistic integrity? Hmmm ...
Something is wrong and she knows it.
Again, how long can her friends and family let this go on when she is beginning to doubt herself.
As if to solidify the fact that the energized pills make one super strong and enraged (like the Hulk) we learn that they have been 'radicalized' with gamma rays. Hmmm ... where is Dr. Banner when you need him!
All the news about the frat party attack have gone viral. Suddenly, the stoner dealers are getting requests for sales and at top dollar value! Despite the sister's protest, the two hit the road.
En route to Parthas, Nia gives some backstory. Her mother has the dream gift too. It was while on Naltor that her mother dreamed of going to Earth and falling in love. That all came to happen.
Nia was lucky to live in such an inclusive community as Parthas. They accepted her as a girl early on. Had it not been for living in Parthas, her life as trans might have been much harder.
But Nia hasn't told her family that she has prophetic dreams and so she asks that Kara not mention them, especially to her older sister Maeve.
.
Things get creepy when Nia has a dream of her mother covered in cobwebs, drinking black wine and dying.
But the family is quite nice with Mother, Father, and older sister Maeve all telling old stories about Nia. She read Cat Grant's book 40 times. Nia always wanted to be a reporter to bring about change for the better.
As for Maeve, she keeps studying dream logic waiting for the 'once in a generation' dream powers to kick in. After all, the powers are passed down to a woman each generation unless they are cursed with 'Dream Blindness'. Everyone reassures Maeve it will happen. But Nia and Kara both know that Maeve isn't the receiver of the gift.
I guess I can see why Nia wouldn't want to talk. She just discovered the gift and Maeve has been prepping all her life. But, in a place built on inclusion and love, you would think Nia might have a little more trust in her family.
The drug sales continue to bring about more rage attacks. It is clear that people are now Hulking out recreationally. It again triggers a concern in Alex. She should have anticipated this.
She asks J'onn to scan her to make sure she is fine. She wondered if the 'Truth seeker' last episode might have caused some brain damage. As an aside, Brainy and J'onn agree they can't let up yet. And so J'onn lies to Alex saying everything is fine.
You might think that there is way too much lying here. And you might think Alex wouldn't like the changes in her if she was aware. And you also might think that Haley might not suspect Alex again since she cleared the Truth Seeker and so they could reinstate Alex's memories.
You might think all that ...
Meanwhile, Nia asks Kara to run some interference with Maeve. Nia will talk with her mother to see if there is some way to give Maeve the powers. Nia doesn't want them. Maeve does.
It is hard to refuse destiny.
Out on the town, Maeve speaks of her sister's strength. She talks of her mother being the hero of Naltor because of her visions.
But then we get the needed threat for the episode. The Children of Liberty have shown up in Parthas. There are always protestors at the Harvest Fest, people against the alien/Terran community at Parthas.
I have to say Maeve sounds very supportive of Nia. There doesn't seem to be any rivalry here. It has a Danvers feel to it.
As I said last week Jesse Rath has been a wonder.
Here he dresses up like a nerd and goes 'undercover' in the DEO. He speaks 'dudebro' to the original Hulks, talking about his love of the 'sweet rage candy' and gets the info on the sellers. With this info, they can track down the RV.
I love that all his local dialects, like dudebro, is learned from movies.
Seriously, Rath is just spectacular.
Nia and her mother have a heart to heart. There is no way to shift the powers.
Suddenly both are thrust into a dream. It is there that Nia's mother puts it together. Nia is the Dreamer. She should have seen it. The mother's prophetic element was water. Nia's will be fire.
Hmmm ... that is an interesting nugget tossed out with little explanation.
But then we see that Nia's mother has been bitten by a spider and dies. All the hints were in the dreams but Nia didn't recognize them. Suddenly the Harvest Fest has become a funeral.
It was a little hard to wrap my head around the fact that Harun-El Russian energy somehow, miraculously, settled onto a tray of drugs in National City. It is even harder for me to deal with a spider bite so deadly that the mother dies in moments. Maybe Naltorians are particularly vulnerable to arachnids?
Ahhh ... but then what I thought was the most suspenseful scene.
James goes over to Lena's house, most likely to confront her about the super-power experiment that he clearly thinks is wrong.
He finds her playing and studying board games on her own so that she and James can be a better couple at Game Night.
Shaking his head, James says he is all in.
He is all in on this relationship. He won't rock the boat by confronting her about this Harun-El stuff.
And that is going to come back to haunt him. He should trust Lena. He should know she wants to hear his opinion. But instead he just shuts his mouth.
This is an ill portent.
The Sons of Liberty steal the rage drugs from the dealers and head to Parthas.
Irate that her life has been turned so upside down, the meek Bobbi pops the last pill and heads to Parthas to try and stop the Sons of Liberty.
The funeral mass is overrun by the hulks and Nia has a vision of Maeve being hit. She pushes Maeve out of the way before the blow can land. Suddenly Maeve understands. Nia has the power. She never will.
And then everything goes bananas.
The DEO with J'onn arrive. The Sons of Liberty are attacking. Supergirl arrives. The super-powered citizens of Parthas defend themselves. And Bobbi shows up out of control.
When Alex aims her pistol at the alien holding Bobbi, Supergirl burns the pistol out of her sister's hand. She thought Alex was aiming at the wrong person.
Alex knows that Bobbi was acting like that out of fear and feeling powerless. Supergirl can never know that fear. Supergirl doesn't know vulnerability. Should Supergirl intercede with a DEO op again, Alex will arrest her.
Of course, we know how Kara is vulnerable, both physically and emotionally. This speech by Alex, delivered with a sharp steely edge, is all wrong. Alex should know Supergirl is Kara with all those fears and weaknesses.
Seriously, they attacked each other. Isn't it time to pull the plug on this solution?
And why of all things would Alex send J'onn into the burning barn to save people. We know that is his weakness!
Now I am sure this is a reaction to having a lifetime dream crushed, but Maeve pulls no punches. She is upset that Nia has known for months that she had the powers but let Maeve go on hoping. And she is upset that someone like Nia, of all people, not even a 'real woman', could get the gift.
It is a complete invalidation of Nia's identity, by someone she thought loved her and accepted her.
That is a horrifying.
Recognizing that both are people with powers, dealing with sister issues, and knowing they both need support and love from family, Kara reveals to Nia she is Supergirl.
Love between sisters will prevail.
And Nia has family still. She has Kara.
This was a great scene.
Nothing left but the wrap up.
James tells his reporter to stop investigating LCorp. Terrible.
Nia is given a costume by her father, the Dreamer costume I assume the mother wore.
J'onn realizes that Alex's memories of Kara's powers run so deep they have fundamentally changed who Alex is. That blood memory is lost.
Seriously, undo it, and ask Alex again if she wants to continue. I doubt if Alex knew how she was acting she'd want to!
So this was a solid episode with great plot progression for the Alex/Kara dynamic. I worry about James tossing his morals out. But the powerful message in the Nia arc was the high point. No ham-fisted sermons here. Just a good story to point out the issue and make the viewer think.
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