“Strange Visitor from Another Planet” is episode eleven of season one of Supergirl.
The episode opens with Kara narrating what sounds like a letter and Supergirl is flying through the air. She is saying that her biggest regret is not being there for the recipient, and that she wants to make things right between them. Below is a forest fire and an RV is stuck in the middle of it. As Kara flies the RV out of danger, she continues narrating and says that family is the most important thing. Then ends the letter, ‘All my love, Mom.’ Okay, really doesn’t sound like the letter is from Kara, even if she is the one narrating it.
Alex and Kara are heading to get their coffees, as well as Cat’s, and Kara is saying she misses Winn. Who tried to kiss her and finally admitted he loved her. Which came as no surprise to Alex, as she’s a highly trained operative with the DEO. And human, with eyes. Kara tells Alex she misses her best friend and Alex tells her to give Winn space and time. Kara says she hates space and time.
As Kara gets Cat’s coffee, a man says that he’s sorry she has to work for Cat Grant, as she must be horrible to work for. Kara agrees that Cat has a terrible reputation, one that she actually fosters, but tells him that Cat is actually wonderful. Underneath it all. And no, Kara wasn’t paid to say that. She tells the man that maybe he will meet Cat one day and form his own opinion. Afterwards, Alex asks Kara if she realises the man was flirting with her. Short answer: no. Alex thinks she’s hopeless. On the news there is an article about Senator Miranda Crane who is in town for her anti-alien rally. Duty for Alex.
At CatCo, Winn still isn’t really talking to Kara. Well, he’s not talking at all. And doesn’t appear much in this episode either. At a staff meeting, Cat says that Miranda Crane is a lightning rod for bigots, hippies and aliens, and that is the order in which she detests them. Their top reporter jumped ship for Vanity Fair – and Cat expects him to be hit with a lawsuit by the end of the day, even though Lucy, who has accepted the job of chief counsel, tells her that’s not how it works. So Cat needs someone to cover the story.
James volunteers and says he’ll do it, as he realised that he isn’t really into office work yet. He tells Cat that he’s their most experienced photojournalist and, with his well known connection to a well known alien, who may well be able to get a quote from the senator. Cat wants a quote that everyone will hate.
Kara asks Cat why, if she hates bigots, she’s covering the story. Cat tells her that, as much as she detests bigots, they are clickbait. And that the more you let them talk the more they will do to sabotage themselves. When the two arrive at Cat’s office, there’s a man waiting inside. Kara is going to call security but Cat recognises the young man. As does Kara, given that she just spoke to him. The person is Adam, the son Cat revealed she had in “Hostile Takeover”. Adam tells his mother he’s here because he got her letter. Cat looks nonplussed, then looks at Kara. Who looks guilty.
After Adam leaves, and Cat suggested meeting him for dinner, Cat looks to Kara for an explanation. Kara says that Cat has been writing a lot of letters recently and she took one Cat threw, sort of at her head, and, well, finished it. Then posted it. Cat is not happy and tells Kara to get out and she’s fired. Kara doesn’t immediately leave and tells Cat that her mother died and she never got a second chance with her, and she doesn’t want that to happen to Cat and Adam. Cat does reconsider, so Kara is un-fired. Although Cat promises to make her life hell.
At her rally, Senator Crane is saying that aliens are a threat to everyone. That it’s time to take a stand, to find out where they live, what they do and who they eat. Hank and Alex are watching and James is taking a photograph when something blurs past his camera’s lens. Crane is telling the crowd that if it takes a dome, why they’ll build a dome to keep the aliens out (now, who could that be aimed at?) The senator tells the crowd that monster are coming for them and their families. And a monster promptly appears.
Something very big and very fast is running through the crowd throwing people around. James calls for Supergirl using his watch and Hank recognises whatever the creature is, has a flashback to Mars and freezes. The monster abducts the senator but Kara arrives and finds the senator although the creature is gone. Alex asks Hank what the alien did to him, but he insists he’s fine. He clearly isn’t.
At the DEO, Senator Crane says that aliens are all the same, disgusting insects from diseased backwater planets come to Earth to suck it dry of resources. Well, that’s not very nice. Kara says to Hank and Alex, after they leave the charming senator, that she should have let the alien eat her. Hank says it would have and still might.
Hank did recognise the creature – it’s a White Martian. Alex says that it’s like him then, but Hank replies angrily that the White Martian is nothing like him. Its kind slaughtered all the Green Martians – J’onn J’onzz’s people – attacking from beneath the surface and bringing fire that burned all the Green Martians. Hank tells Kara and Alex that the White Martians are devoted to the mission of killing him and his. And he is the last one left.
The Green and White Martians have similar powers and can sense when they are used. So when Hank used his powers to gain access to Maxwell Lord’s secret lab in the previous episode, “Childish Things”, the White Martian detected him, and has come to kill him. He tells Kara that he should face the White Martian himself, but if he does so that would be the end of Hank Henshaw and General Lane would take control of the DEO. Which would be bad. Supergirl says that she will face the White Martian for him.
At CatCo, James and Kara are going through all the pictures James shot of the White Martian’s attack on the rally. Then James notices that the White Martian’s eyes are glowing – and, after her ‘rescue,’ so were the senator’s. Kara realises what this means. At the DEO, Senator Crane is telling Hank there is another alien inside. When she mentions the attack by the White Martian, Hank realises what she is as well, because he never said what attacked her. The White Martian causes a lot of damage to the DEO before it leaves when Supergirl arrives, killing several agents.
Hank is very troubled about his past, and has had enough. He also dearly wants to kill the White Martian. Kara, who has some similar personal experiences – losing all her family, race and planet – talks to Hank, trying to convince him that not everything is lost.
Meanwhile, Cat has her dinner with Adam. It does not go well. Even though Kara tried to give her some advice first. Kara does try to fix things and this time Cat listens.
At the end of the episode, Kara gets a bit of a shock leading into the next episode, “Bizarro”.