“Better Angels” is episode twenty of season one of Supergirl and the season finale.
At the end of the previous episode, “Myriad”, Kara, Maxwell Lord and Cat had headed to an old TV studio of Cat’s, to try and override Myriad’s signal with a new message – hope. Max’s plan to defeat the Kryptonians was to detonate a kryptonite bomb. Which would have killed several hundred thousand people as well, so not an ideal solution. Non had sent a mind-controlled Alex to fight Kara, and given her armour with kryptonite on it as well as the sword Alex used to kill Astra in “For the Girl Who Has Everything”.
The episode opens and Kara and Alex fight. Alex is doing better for, not only is Kara weakened by the kryptonite effect of Alex’s armour, Alex is also not holding back, as she isn’t in her right mind. Unlike Kara, who is. Then Alex’s mother Eliza Danvers appears, with her mind protected from Myriad’s effects by a clearly injured, but not dead as Indigo thought, Hank. Eliza tells her daughter to fight it, that this isn’t who she is. That Alex’s father would be proud of who she is. This speech works, and Alex breaks free of Myriad’s effect.
Back in the studio, the plan is to broadcast a symbol of hope. The emblem of the House of El. Supergirl is also going to make a speech about hope. Hank asks how this is going to cut through Myriad. Cat tells him that Supergirl is her protégé, and reaching people is what she does. Plus there’s scientific evidence to support this. Which Max explains. Alex tells them that, whilst under the influence of Myriad, she could see and hear but not feel. Mention of her father flipped a switch in her brain, and she broke free of Myriad. Kara’s speech, as Supergirl, is going to be broadcast on television, and Max is also going to get her symbol onto computers and phones. So Supergirl makes a motivating speech and the speech and symbol get broadcast and the people of National City break free of Myriad’s effects.
Non is not happy. He tells Indigo that Myriad has failed. That he has failed. He refuses to let Astra’s entire life’s work be undone by that child, Kara Zor-El. Indigo tells him that he is dreaming too small, that there are endless worlds out there to conquer. What Non is attempting is probably not what Astra wanted. She was doing what she did out of a, probably misguided, belief that it was the only way to save the world. Non, especially with Indigo whispering in his ear, seems more interested in Myriad for the sake of power. Indigo tells Non to finish the job. To kill the humans and leave behind a dead planet for Kara Zor-El to be queen of.
At CatCo, James and Winn both approach Kara and apologise about what they said. She replies that it wasn’t them; that this is them. Both also thank Kara for saving their lives, but she still thinks of the one she failed to save. James reassures her that not even her cousin could have saved all three of them. He also wants to talk about that thing. The thing that happened right before Myriad struck. You know, that thing. Winn realises that the thing has nothing to do with him. He has other things. The thing, of course, is Kara kissing James.
At the DEO, Hank is in a room with Lucy looking on when General Lane arrives. The general asks if Superman is still down for the count. He is, in the same room as Hank (although only part of him is seen; Superman has yet to be fully seen in the series – perhaps they haven’t picked an actor to play him yet). General Lane tells his men to re-secure the prisoner J’onn J’onzz. Lucy tells her father that he is wounded, and that he helped them all. They wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Hank. As far as General Lane is concerned, Hank is still a prisoner. Lucy tells him that if continues to treat everything as just black and white it will breed the same type of fear and resentment that allowed the Kryptonians to nearly destroy them. General Lane insists to Lucy that he is simply trying to protect everyone, especially her. Lucy replies that it’s sad, as he keeps pushing her away. Just like he did with Lois. She goes and sees Hank, who is quite understanding about the matter.
Alex is trying to clean up as well at the DEO (no-one seems to have mentioned that she, too, is an escaped prisoner) and Kara lends her a hand. Then their mother comes in and asks Lucy why she and Hank really came to see her in Midvale. She asks Alex to tell her because she can handle anything. Alex explains that, in “Manhunter”, Hank had discovered when the touched Colonel Harper’s mind that Jeremiah Danvers was still alive, and at Project Cadmus. Which leads to an interesting question; is the real Hank Henshaw still alive? And, if so, could he be what Hank Henshaw normally is?
Maxwell appears and puts a dampener on the mood. He says that he is worried about what’s still happening. When told that everyone is protected and no minds are being controlled, Max explains that he had checked to see what damage the Kryptonians did to the LT network. He says that the Myriad wave has amplified tenfold. In emergency rooms in National City people are coming in complaining about headaches. The headaches are coming from Myriad. The effects will be amplified until people’s heads start to explode. Max explains that Myriad used a frequency that penetrates neural tissue, and it’s like using an Uzi on a mosquito. In four hours, people’s minds will blow. Quite literally.
Max is looking for the source but he tells Kara that find the source will be the easy part. Kara will be the only one to go and deal with it. She asks if Max hasn’t learned by now that she can handle anything. He tells her he’s saying this not to be an ass, but because he’s worried as Kara will have no backup. J’onn J’onzz is both injured and a prisoner and the DEO’s resources are depleted and, even if they weren’t. no human could go out there as their heads would explode as they got close to the source. Maxwell wants Kara to know what she’s facing, that it could be a suicide mission, so that she’s prepared.
With this in mind, Kara starts telling people how she really feels about them. It becomes quite noticeable; Cat tells Kara she is either reading Cat’s eulogy or dictating a suicide note. It’s enough that some get worried about what she’s saying, for Kara is talking as if she isn’t coming back. Her reasoning is that she never had a chance to say a proper goodbye to anyone on Krypton and doesn’t want that to happen again. Going out on a dangerous mission with that sort of attitude is not a good idea.
There’s no true cliff-hanger ending, but there is something new for season two and “The Adventures of Supergirl”.