We pick up where we left off with Kara and Non whipping each other’s arses in the air above Lord Technology. Kara gets her butt kicked and when Hank goes to rescue her he gets kidnapped by Non. Alex tries to talk to Max about what exactly it is Non and the others were looking for but Max isn’t giving up any information.

Kara interrogates Astra in an effort to find out where Non would’ve taken Hank but Astra turns it on her, as usual, and tells her that she, not Kal, is the true heir to the house of El. That blood is the only thing that matters, but Kara tells her that’s bullshite and all life matters, human, Kryptonian and everything in between. Astra figures that means that Kara is more human than Kryptonian and too weak to do what is necessary, whatever that is.

Blood Bonds Us All is the theme as in flashback we see the sentencing of Astra and Non to Fort Rozz. Alura says that though they are bound by blood that doesn’t make them above the law, especially as their actions have put all kryptonians in danger, Non tells her that all of them are going to die because they didn’t listen to them, which turned out to be true but I’m sure there’s a bit more to the story than that.

At work Kara fills in the guys about everything that happened, including Cat knowing that she’s Supergirl. They’re like, ‘WTF? How?’ but she has no time to explain as Cat shows up and pretty much confirms that Kara is Supergirl without even trying. Cat then tells Kara that every moment she spends at Catco is a moment someone’s not being saved and that either Kara proves she’s not Supergirl or she’s fired. Kara’s day just keeps getting worse and worse.

James goes to investigate Max via taking photos of the surveillance system at Lord Tech. After speaking with Max he realizes that Max is planning to do a preemptive strike on the kryptonians and enlists Winn’s help in breaking in. Winn is able to do so but it’s a trap and now Max has his hands on James and nothing good is going to come from that.

At the base General Lane usurps Alex’s, the Director of the DEO in Hank’s absence, command and starts with the torture of Astra, with kryptonite filled syringes because that always works so well. Alex and Kara try to stop it but get kicked out for their troubles and Astra is furious with Kara for choosing these animals over her own people. At the kryptonian base Non tries to have Hank’s mind read and that absolutely does not work, which makes Non irritated and intrigued but he’s too busy setting a trap for Lane’s men to push. Because the information they got from Astra? BS. Because of course Astra played them. She’s a general, she knows from torture. All Lane did was prove her point about humans and how awful they are.

Max has James hogtied and beaten to try and find out who it is that helped him break in but James gives him nothing so Max threatens him with a wrench and when that doesn’t work Max takes the wrench and destroys his camera telling him next time it’ll be him that gets wrecked. When Kara finds out she has a meltdown and wants to go after Max but Winn and James talk her down. Kara then goes to Astra and tells her that she finally understands, just a little, the anger she must have had on Krypton and wants to know what really happened, all of it. The gist is Alura did believe Astra that Krypton was dying and fought for her cause, the only reason she imprisoned Astra was because Astra killed people and it broke Alura’s heart.

Kara tells her that she’s going to agree to the prisoner exchange, and at first it seems like it’s all going to go to shite between Non and Lane fighting to see who wins biggest jerkass and idiot but Kara got through to Astra who tells everyone to stand down. They call a truce for now but neither Lane nor Non are down with it.

During the melee Kara overhears Alex telling Hank he might have to transform and later she’s like ‘So….what does that mean?’ Hank finally tells her he’s J’onn. Kara’s like, ‘HOLY BALLS!’ and it’s adorable. It also allows J’onn to assist with the whole Kara is Supergirl thing at work as he shapeshifts into Supergirl and meets Kara in Cat’s office. Cat is finally convinced Kara isn’t Supergirl but I’ve a feeling it won’t stick.

And Max has some young girl strapped to an operating table with an IV of who the hell knows what in her and Red Tornado’s hand chilling in the background so this is all going to end super poorly.

While I know the show has to have other conflicts beyond Astra, and I like that Astra can be reasoned with, I’m tired of all of these types of shows painting the military as jackboots who have no strategy beyond ‘kill the other’. It’s a boring cliche and one we’ve seen one too many times. Hell we just saw it last year on The Flash, from these same writers, with Plastique.  This show has so many good things going for it, I need it to rise above this very lazy cliche.

I’m also going to need to see some shades of something other than crazy with Max going forward. Right now, he’s Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex Luthor but without the charm and I’m already bored. I know his backstory is tragic but with how maniacal he is and how much he lies I’m beginning to wonder if that story is even true. Hopefully that’s what the writers want and not poor characterization.

What about you? Feel like Max is a good villain? Ready for more? Think there are too many plotlines or not enough?

Let me know in the comments!