“Falling” is episode sixteen of season one of Supergirl.
The episode opens with The Talk, a show, and a real one at that with the actual presenters, on which Cat Grant is appearing. She has been named the most powerful person in National City – and Cat corrects one of the presenters when she says most powerful woman on that matter. They talk about Supergirl, and Cat says she is strong and brave and the nicest person she knows. Supergirl herself shows some of this niceness by appearing next to a young girl wearing a Supergirl outfit who is being bullied by some other girls.
At CatCo, Kara is watching The Talk on the monitors when Cat arrives and says that the interview went well. Then asks where her computer droid (Winn) is. Kara doesn’t know, and goes looking for him. In the previous episode, “Solitude”, Siobhan decided she liked Winn after he shared something with her. Kara hears Winn in a storage room and uses her X-ray vision to look through the – locked – door. Which she regrets, as Winn and Siobhan are in there together. After they come out, Kara tells Winn she isn’t touching anything from that room without gloves.
Cat tells Kara that Lucy has quit and Kara goes to see James about it. Kara thought that James telling Lucy she was Supergirl, because Kara had finally agreed to him doing so, was the reason why, but James tells her he never got a chance, as Lucy broke up with him. James insists that the breakup wasn’t because of Kara, or Supergirl. Which actually isn’t true. James had told Kara something that he had never told Lucy in all the years they had been together. She broke up with James because she realised he loved Kara, and vice versa.
At the DEO, Alex says if it wasn’t Kara’s fault, she shouldn’t feel guilty, she should feel hope. Kara replies that she doesn’t want to be the rebound girl. Alex insists that rebound relationships can work. Kara tells her to name one. Alex responds Kim and Kanye. Kara replies she’s embarrassed that Alex knows that.
Senator Crane, whose life Supergirl saved in “Strange Visitor from Another Planet”, is at the DEO. She is getting more money and resources for the DEO, and wanted to personally thank Hank for what he’s done to help keep the nation, the planet, safe. Hank insists it’s a team effort. The senator says that the DEO doesn’t have the same oversight as other organisations, and often essentially has to make stuff up as it goes along, so she’s glad that it has a person she knows and can trust at the top. And takes Hank’s hand, leading Kara to mouth ‘Wow!’ at Alex.
A report comes in about a fire in National City, and a fireman trapped on the roof. So Supergirl goes there and releases the fireman. As she walks away, she staggers slightly and some of her veins glow red. As she flies off, a strange red glowing rock is hidden under some of the wreckage. Strange, glowing and red? That can’t be good.
The next day, when Kara is woken up by the alarm she smashes it. Then arrives at CatCo looking rather more stylish than normal. She also beats Siobhan at doing a job. Kara is definitely acting differently, a fact that is only highlighted at the DEO. Hank is briefing them on some armoured car robberies. The guards have been taken out every time, because the robbers have a K’hund, a very strong alien, helping them. Supergirl definitely seems a bit off. At the next armoured car heist, Supergirl takes down the K’hund, but says he isn’t worth her time and he should leave. Before she changes her mind. Then tells Alex that the alien got away. Back at the DEO, Kara is definitely off, and her veins glow red again.
At work, Kara uses Cat’s private lift – to ensure that her latte remains hot. Siobhan tells cat she has a scoop; she has a video of Supergirl letting the K’hund go. Cat wants to keep the matter quiet until what is really going on is discovered. Siobhan tries shopping her scoop to the Daily Planet, and Kara gets her fired for doing so.
At a club with Winn and James that night, James realises that something is definitely off with Kara. Cat also wants to see Supergirl, and when Supergirl arrives, she tells Cat that everyone has a dark side. Cat replies that she’s a superhero, so she doesn’t get to show it. Supergirl replies that she quits. And nearly kills Cat,
Winn and James arrive at the DEO and tell them something is definitely wrong with Kara. Alex and Hank have already realised this, but they don’t know what. They analyse the fire Supergirl went to, and discover a radiation source that appears similar to Kryptonite, but isn’t. Winn says it’s synthetic, and asks who would create it. In “Truth, Justice and the American Way”, Maxwell Lord had been released, after Supergirl met the Master Jailer and saw what happened when people will do anything to keep the world safe. Max shows up at this point and says he can explain. Once he heard of Kryptonite, Maxwell tried to synthesise it, but didn’t quite succeed. It was meant to be for Non, and the other Kryptonians, when they showed up, but things didn’t work out quite right. This Red Kryptonite has seriously, and badly, affected Kara. Who is getting more out of control and more dangerous as her dark side bubbles to the top. Even if she is stopped, it will probably take some time to deal with all the fallout.