Supergirl season 1, episode 7, “Human for a Day,” aired tonight. Read our recap and discuss the episode with fellow fans.
Kara the human
Kara’s fight with Red Tornado left her powerless. While the DEO tries to help her recharge, she passes the 48-hour mark Superman usually requires to regain his powers after an outage. Worried her powers might never come back, Kara goes to work but catches a cold on the way. Cat sends her home, and on her way, she runs into James.
Because the universe knows the city doesn’t have its hero, an earthquake strikes National City. Maxwell Lord naturally takes the opportunity to make himself look good while slandering Supergirl, who he knows must be without her powers.
Kara, who breaks her arm in the quake, can only watch as a man dies from internal bleeding. Kara is unable to help and it destroys her. James’ Friend of Superman Wisdom (trademark pending) that heroes can’t save everyone but always keep trying inspires Kara to change into her Supergirl suit and stop a looter. She manages to talk the looter down, despite having a gun aimed at her head, and James captures the moment on camera.
The superhero losing his or her powers is a common trope — but for a good reason. Before Kara can spend too long relying on her powers to be a hero, she is reminded of what makes a hero: the heart. Kara’s heart and mettle are what help her stop the robbery despite her mortality. She proves to herself that she is a hero, with or without her abilities. And now that she has her powers back, Kara will only be a better hero with that knowledge and experience.
The Hank Henshaw reveal
Meanwhile, the DEO also faces the effects of the earthquake. The quake lets out a powerful alien with mind control abilities, Jemm. Hank leads a team of two other agents, but the two agents are killed under suspicious circumstances, which only spikes Alex’s suspicion of him.
Alex confronts Hank and locks him up. But when she faces Jemm, she’s overpowered. Hank arrives and defeats Jemm. Later, Hank reveals the truth: He is not Hank Henshaw. Jeremiah and Hank did travel to South America to confront an alien. When the alien turned out to be friendly, Jeremiah wanted to leave him alone, but Hank wanted to continue their mission. In the subsequent fight, both Jeremiah and Hank died. The alien promised Jeremiah he’d look after his daughter, so he took Hank’s form, returned to the DEO, and eventually recruited Alex.
That alien? J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter. We’ll do a more in-depth look at the character in the coming days, but the basic backstory on J’onn is that he is the final survivor of an advanced civilization on Mars. After the deaths of his wife and child, he was accidentally brought to Earth. He has been a member of most incarnations of the Justice League.
Kara and James… and Winn
The side plot of this episode is the growth of the relationship between James and Kara as well as Winn’s jealousy. James and Kara share an intimate moment when James tells Kara about his father, who died in the Gulf War and gave James his first camera. He tells Kara why he likes photography — you can capture the truth of a moment and keep it forever — and Kara, heartbroken by the loss of her powers, takes comfort in the exchange.
However, Winn comes in while the two are embracing. He’s initially flustered and later cold toward Kara, telling her she can’t be with James. The reaction clearly hurts Kara, who has never looked at Winn as a potential romantic partner.
Winn is perilously close to being a Nice GuyTM, so he best tread carefully moving forward.
Also worth noting…
- Winn finally catches Cat’s attention, and now she’s getting his name wrong.
- Kara’s powers come back when she watches James nearly die on a fraying elevator cable after rescuing other CatCo workers.
- Cat gives a grand speech about everyday people doing heroic things so they don’t have to rely on Supergirl. Later, Supergirl visits Cat and tells her the broadcast inspired her.
- The episode closes with Kara being attacked by Astra and two of her lackeys. Dun dun dun!
Watch a promo for the next episode
