Senator Miranda Crane is coming to town with a suspiciously familiar anti-alien rhetoric. Crane believes aliens are a threat to their country, freedom, and lives. She calls them monsters, even suggests building a dome to keep them out. As if to prove her point, a monstrous alien attacks the rally. Hank and Alex jump into action, as they are there under the guise of FBI to provide security. Luckily, James is also covering the action, and he calls Supergirl. She flies in and gets Crane to safety – in the DEO.
Hank is scared and testy, and Crane isn’t putting his mood at ease. Crane believes that the DEO may have staged the entire stunt, then goes into her anti-alien rhetoric again, which infuriates Supergirl. Hank takes the Danvers girls aside and explains that what they are looking for is a white Martian. They came from beneath the surface of Mars and burned all the green aliens up. “They are devoted to killing me and my kind.” Hank believes that when he used his powers in last week’s episode, the White Martian sensed it. Supergirl vows to bring it in.
While looking over the photos James took at the rally, he and Kara notice that in all the photos taken after Supergirl saved her, Crane’s eyes glow. Back at the DEO, Crane’s eyes still glow. That’s not Miranda Crane. Kara calls Alex to warn her, and she has her gun trained on Crane.
Hank and “Crane” are talking, and “Crane” believes rumors which say that an alien has infiltrated the DEO. She wants him to conduct an internal investigation, which Hank refuses. “Fine, let a mole run wild in here, like a White Martian ran wild out there,” she retorts. Hank is no idiot – how would Miranda Crane know what a White Martian is? When Hank outs her, “Crane” goes ape sh*t and tears the place apart. Alex gets off a shot, but it just removes the White Martian’s finger. Supergirl arrives and fights her off with her laser eyes, then chases her into the night. She loses the White Martian pretty quickly, and returns to the office at Cat’s anxious command.
Hank is suffering from survivor’s guilt, and not just because of the agents the White Martian killed. When the White Martians attacked the Green Martians, their technology overwhelmed them. There was no honor in how they fought, and he describes Auschwitz-style death camps which killed his wife and daughters. Hank can track the White Martian, but doesn’t want Alex or Kara’s help. He is determined to find the White Martian and kill it. Alex points out that there is no honor in that kind of kill, but Hank doesn’t care.
He uses his Martian powers to track down the White Martian, still posing as Miranda Crane. It has set up in the sewers. Alex and some of the DEO have accompanied him, and they respond to weak (and clearly fake) cries for help from “Crane.” But that’s impossible, because Hank finds the real Crane tied up deeper in the lair. Alex starts firing, but the monster is too quick for her, and takes her for bait. Hank communicates telepathically with the White Martian, and after it proves Alex is still alive, they agree to meet in the desert for the final showdown. Hank has already decided that, once he knows Alex is safe, he is going to surrender, so he can “join his people.”
Out in the desert, Hank and the White Martian trash talk each other in their native tongue. Hank surrenders, but before the White Martian can destroy him, Supergirl flies out of nowhere and attacks. Hank reverts to his J’onn J’onzz visage and the three aliens take to the sky for an epic battle. Supergirl eventually lays the White Martian out, but rather than accept the win, Hank weakens her with Kryptonite handcuffs and goes towards the White Martian with a knife. As he holds it to the monster’s throat, Supergirl begs him not to do it, not to “throw away who you are,” because “otherwise the last son of Mars dies, even if you are still standing.” Cheesy, but effective. They take the White Martian into lockup, where it still takes on Crane’s form, and threatens destruction to all those who are against the White Martians.
Crane revisits her stance on the anti-alien initiative. Supergirl caught the attacker and saved countless lives. She has realized that not all visitors are our enemies.
Kara and Alex are tucked in for TV night when a breaking news alert brings them to their feet. The live news feed shows Supergirl saving a car from going over a bridge. But that is definitely not Kara.
Tonight’s episode also devoted a lot of time to Cat and her estranged son, Adam. Kara saw some half-written letters to him, finishes one of them, and sends it. Adam shows up and a lengthy, awkward reunion ensues, unsuccessfully. Kara has to go for coffee with them and encourage them to speak freely, open up about their feelings, not make it a place of shame… All that psych 101 crap. Maybe it is because there was a lot of parent/child drama in tonight’s episode of The X-Files, but I just wanted to get back to the aliens.
You can watch a preview of the next episode, titled “Bizarro,” using the player below.
