‘Supergirl’ episode 13 review: Like a sword in the back

On Monday night, “Supergirl” had arguably its most-significant death of the entire series so far, and for the most part, we consider it to be a game-changer.

Astra is gone, and she left in not exactly the way that many would expect. It was Alex who killed her with a Kryptonite sword in the back after she was about to strike down Hank a.k.a. J’onn J’onzz in his true form. In some ways, her death was made more sad by the fact that Astra saw no other way. You can argue that maybe she didn’t even want to be a part of the war anymore between the aliens and Planet Earth, but Non was the one with most of the power, and she knew what would happen if she were to try and turn the tables on him. If he was acting alone, he could have killed Kara rather than doing what he did, trapping her in a dream state at the start of the episode where she was back on Krypton living what was in some ways her dream life.

Eventually it was Alex with the help of some friends that got her out of this, and that set up the key showdown. In some ways, it was amazing how straightforward this episode was, with there being very little B-stories other than Hank trying to undercover as Kara at work (with hilariously bad results).

The big takeaway from this episode is now that Non means even more business … and that the writers really want to hit home the themes of family on the biggest drum possible. As invigorating and fun as some of the episode was, it at times became derivative hearing the same sentimental stuff over and over again. Even when Hank covered for Alex killing Astra, he did so by saying that Alex was her sister’s “hero” and he didn’t want that to change in her eyes.

So yes, this episode was a tad corny, but it was also a major step forward in a series that has vastly improved since the premiere. Also, great use of James Bay music in the closing minutes. Grade: B+.

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