The heroes assemble for the final fight against Reign, then they all reevaluate their future paths. Here is a recap and review of the Supergirl Season 3 finale episode “Battles Lost and Won.”

RECAP & REVIEW:

Even knowing that Alex and Maggie would break up, I was so optimistic coming into season three. We were promised a refocus on the Danvers sisters, a series of Kara and Lena adventures, and an awesome villain origin story. As time moved on, the Danvers sisters lost themselves in pursuit of normalcy, Kara and Lena rarely shared the screen as Lena’s relationship with Supergirl was fractured, and Reign was repeatedly trapped in a cage, prevented from exploring the extent of her villainy.

“Battles Lost and Won” spent almost as much time wrapping up this season as it did course correcting for next year, which is rather telling in and of itself. It was a season containing a skewed focus, generally underdeveloped storylines (the Worldkillers, the Legion, Argo), and big ideas that produced small results (Sam’s dream of Alura, Purity and Pestilence, the kryptonite fight, J’onn’s weapons policy). The second half of the season especially felt stagnant, unable to move past previous storylines. It felt like a consistent loss of battles… until now. This episode is exactly what Supergirl needed: an episode about new beginnings. Looking forward to season four, I feel a glimmer of optimism once again.

Picking up where we left off, National City shakes and breaks. Supergirl and Alura, who’s mastered her powers real quick, freeze a wave that Imra holds back, while Guardian unmasks to calm a mother down. M’yrnn gives J’onn one final memory, the dawn of their kind, before he phases into the Earth and stops the terraforming.

M’yrnn, like Julia, sacrificed himself for the greater good, going out a hero rather than losing himself in an unfortunate situation, although I would have much preferred to see them overcoming their situations and having a happier ending like Sam.

In the Dark Valley, Sam almost drinks the Fountain’s water, but Patricia stops her. This is Patricia’s chance to amend for her past, and she’s not going to have Sam drink from the wrong well. Sam gulps the right water and feels better, stronger.

Brainy reveals that his evil distant relative created a future plague to wipe out all AIs. He can’t go home with the Legion, so he needs Mon-El and Winn to take his place. Both are reluctant, so Brainy shows Winn an artifact from the national archives: it’s Winn’s sketch for a piece of groundbreaking tech that saves countless lives.

They’ve been setting up Winn’s exit since “Of Two Minds” when he contemplated doing more with his life while on his deathbed, so it’s sad, but not surprising that he’s moving on. To make his departure plausible, he needed an offer grander than saving lives at the DEO; leaving this century with the Legion accomplished just that. Plus, it’s a perfect fit for someone who made a shrine to a jar of dirt. If only we could see him prancing around the Legion ship singing, “I’ve got a jar of dirt,” a la Captain Jack Sparrow.

Even though Brainy has been displaced in time because of the most mustache-twirling, cliché, evil villain plan that could possibly exist, I’m excited to see what they do with him and how they utilize him in a different capacity than Winn. He has the potential to fill the light-heartedness, humorous, and intellectual void that Winn’s absence leaves behind, but he also has the potential to be so much more. I hope Brainy has a more concrete storyline than Winn did this season because I look forward to seeing his developing dynamic with Kara and Alex and hopefully Lena, and I’m going to need a scene of Brainy at game night.

Checking on an unconscious Sam, Alex wonders if she should wait for love to have kids or do it on her own. Girl, you’re 28. Take a chill pill. Lena gives Alex a pep talk, saying, “People like you and me, we do what it takes to get what we want, and when we defeat Reign, I have no doubt you’ll figure it out.” Alex and Lena have so much in common; it’s a shame we’re not given more scenes like this one. Plus, it’s nice that Alex is not letting Lena’s issues with Supergirl bleed into her interactions with Lena.

So… it turns out that Coville is not so dead. Hit from the front, but stabbed in the back by the witches, he sends the DEO their location. Hovering above her bed, Sam wakes and super speeds away to save the day. The DEO squad and the Legion stroll into the Fortress with epic background music. With the witches shackled, Sam stabs Reign. Supergirl throws her into the cauldron, but Reign loses control of her laser eyes, killing Sam, Mon-El, and Alura.

Breaking down in front of J’onn, Supergirl blames herself for not finding a non-lethal way to defeat Reign; she lost track of what she stood for. She grabs Mon-El’s Legion ring and turns back time. Supergirl stops Sam from stabbing Reign and grabs a glowing black rock that transports all three into the Dark Valley. After Sam pummels and weakens Reign with the special water, wraiths drag Reign down through the ground.

While it included a swell of emotion, Supergirl’s reaction to losing multiple people she cared about still seemed brief and limited, like she already knew what she could do to fix this problem. It’s impressive, and somewhat unrealistic, that she was able to think that quickly and clearly. And how did Kara know the Legion ring could reverse time? Since the writers intended to use the time travel property of the Legion ring to send Kara back on the right path, they should have set it up a couple of episodes before, so it did not appear as a convenient, last-minute plot device.

Disregarding the fact that Supergirl has killed aliens in the past, her decision regarding Reign’s fate is somewhat troubling. Instead of killing her, Supergirl chose to trap Reign in her own Fort Rozz, sentencing her to a prison that did not seem like a very pleasant place to stay. Sure Reign was guilty of being a murderer and a destroyer, but is being alive in an isolated world of torment more humane than death?

Gazing at the stars, Kara realizes that Argo isn’t her home; National City is. Kara Danvers and Supergirl are who she is, not Kara Zor-El, not anymore. Mon-El understands; he thought this was his home, his place in the universe, but it’s not. He tosses her his Legion ring before going back to the future. Peace out.

Lena received a big hug from Ruby and a long overdue thank you… two actually, as Sam thanks her as well. Lena promised Sam she’d make her better, and she did. Sam is now 100% human.

As cool as it was to see Sam be like Supergirl for a moment, and I wish we could have seen it for longer, there’s something nice and comforting about Sam going through everything she went through this season and ending up normal after all is said and done. There’s no worry that she’ll be targeted or experimented on. There’s no fear that she’ll spend less time with Ruby. She’ll just be a normal working mom trying her best to raise a teenage daughter.

Alex interrupts J’onn’s meditation and attempts to quit her job, but he needs her to run the DEO while he follows the Martian way and lives amongst the people. Congrats, Director Danvers. Lena gives the Zor-Els the black rock she manufactured for Argo and gets a third thank you! After saying she’s proud of the woman her daughter has become, Alura says goodbye to Kara. The DEO sends Winn to the future with hugs and tears and speeches.

In a show where the title character balances two identities, it’s frustrating and confusing that Alex thought she couldn’t “have it all” without even trying to have it all, without a single step taken to balance having a fulfilling job with having a fulfilling home life. Alex gave up a medical career to protect Kara, so it’s not entirely out of character that she would give up a dangerous career to protect a future child (however not concrete that child may be at this point), but that doesn’t mean she would entirely give up on trying to save the world. Alex Danvers is a fighter, not a quitter. She could have asked to become a combat trainer at the DEO, a recruiter, a mission coordinator, a weapons tester, any number of nine to five jobs that kept her helping to save the world without putting her into the field.

In a rare couch scene, the Danvers sisters watch a news report of James outing himself as Guardian. Kara reiterates that everything that makes her her is here… Alex, this couch, this pizza. Alex is happy she returned and asks if they’re going to be okay. Yeah, they are.

I’ve missed the Danvers sisters couch scenes, but this scene felt off, like it was missing context. It didn’t celebrate their victories or rejoice in what they had regained. There was a literal and metaphoric space between them, a tension and sadness not attributed to anything concrete. While they were surely sad about Winn leaving, Alex asking if they’re going to be okay implied there was a more personal problem between her and Kara. Alex supported Kara’s decision to return to Argo, and Alex hasn’t done anything to bother Kara, so where did it come from? Or, reading this line another way, it could have been Alex wondering if they each would be able to move past this year and turn out okay on the other side. The lack of a comforting vibe between them, the lack of a promise to not leave her again, made Kara’s answer less convincing than a couch scene deserved.

I usually have a vague notion or at least a wild (usually inaccurate) guess about where storylines seem to be headed, but I’m at a loss for ideas regarding both James’ and J’onn’s. James wanted this move to inspire people, to reassure people that there is hope, but I can’t help but think it’s going to cost him a loss, whether being the head of CatCo, being Guardian, or being with Lena. It will be interesting to see what struggles come with having a public identity and how that effects Kara and her future decision whether or not to tell anyone (like Lena).

Removing J’onn from the DEO essentially removes him from the world in which almost all of the series’ stories begin. Unless they incorporate him at CatCo or L Corp or into the city’s leadership, all of which would be peculiar, I’m curious to see how isolated and how sustainable his storyline will be next season. As excited as I am to potentially see more of J’onn embracing his Martian customs and teachings, I wouldn’t be surprised if it mirrors Kara going back to Argo and realizing the person she thought she could be was not in line with who she actually is anymore.

Sitting before a glowing black rock, Lena informs Eve that they’re ready for phase two. Flashback to Supergirl holding a glowing black rock before entering the Dark Valley. Meanwhile, a blanket-clad Kara lookalike ambles up to a group of soldiers in Siberia.

The showrunners have said this next season is partially inspired by Superman’s Red Son comic run, but Supergirl has her own Russian origin story in Bombshells, so I’m wondering if we’ll see elements of that as well. Or maybe I’m just hoping they take the opportunity not to trap Supergirl in her cousin’s shadow because this should be her story, not her version of his story.

Like many elements of this season, I have questions about the black rock’s effect. Does it split the good side from the bad side of a person? Or would it split the human from the Kryptonian part of Kara? Will this second version lean more toward Bizarro Supergirl or red K Supergirl? Is she even an enemy? It seems suspicious that the Harun-El was glowing the same shade of purple when Lena was looking at it as it was when it split Kara in two. Does this mean we could also be in for two Lenas next season?

At this point, any attempt to turn Lena “evil” without having her possessed, infected, or under the influence of something would go against everything she has been established as. Her methods may dwell in the gray, but she wears a white hat. However, the black rock gives them the perfect chance to fulfill their go-to tease and explore an alternate version of Lena without damaging the woman she has worked so hard to be.

As exasperating as the season has been, it’s time to let go and start anew, taking the lessons forward and leaving the anger behind.

So thank you, Kara, for being brave enough to admit you faltered and strong enough to overcome your struggle.

Thank you, James, for being proud of who you are and striving to create hope for a future generation.

Thank you, Alex, for following your heart even when it hurt.

Thank you, J’onn, for reconnecting with yourself and your people, for honoring the past while you look to the future.

Thank you, Winn, for believing in your ability to make a difference and change the world with your smarts because knowledge is power.

Thank you, Lena, for proving that you are not bound by your family’s choices or destined to walk a certain path.

And thank you, Sam, for being the embodiment of strength, for never giving up despite crushing circumstances, and for being willing to do whatever was necessary to protect your daughter. You are a Supergirl even if you no longer have powers. Best of luck. I’ll miss you.

ODDS AND ENDS:

– Oooh… a force field protection bubble. Alex’s new suit is coming with all sorts of surprises. It’s a shame we didn’t see more of her in the field this season.

– Superman saved Madagascar, so he’s at least aware of the Worldkiller situation, but seriously, has anyone told him about Argo yet?

– If Kara can travel back in time with the Legion ring, why couldn’t Mon-El travel forward in time instead of needing a pickup?

– I’ve had “If I Could Turn Back Time” by Cher stuck in my head for three days. Sorry if you now do too.

– I love that they use the Red Tornado music once per season whenever Kara is faced with losing those she holds most dear.

– Supergirl: You’re all clear, kid. Now, let’s blow this thing and go home.
Brainy: I assume that’s some sort of film reference.
Supergirl: We never showed you Star Wars? Not a single star war?

– Supergirl returns Sunday, October 14 at 8 p.m. on the CW.

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