BWW Recap: SUPERGIRL Proves She's More than Superman's Cousin

In this week's episode of SUPERGIRL, Kara takes on a villain not even Superman could defeat: Reactron. But does she need the Man of Steel's help...or just to prove to everyone that she is worthy of the task?

The episode opens where last week's episode left off: Supergirl's rooftop interview with Cat Grant. While Kara tries to act the part of the superhero, Cat goads her into admitting that Superman is her cousin. I laughed out loud when Cat asked, "Any plans to start a family?" and Kara pointed out that Superman doesn't get asked that question. Way to call out the way the media treats women!

Cat Grant announces that she will write the magazine piece on SUPERGIRL herself and calls for a special issue and a launch party. Kara is tasked with party planning...and defending her decision to do the interview to her sister Alex and Director Henshaw. "What's next? A book deal? A reality show? Keeping up with the Kryptonians?" Henshaw asks her in his normal annoyed tone. Is there anyone else who would definitely love to watch Keeping up with the Kryptonians?

When Kara goes to save a driver trapped in a car crash, she meets a new villain who declares, "I want the Man of Steel to suffer. I want him to kow what it feels like to lose everything...starting with you." Looks like the news that SUPERGIRL is Superman's cousin is causing Kara some problems. Kara is clearly more confident in her fighting abilities by now, but she has trouble deflecting Reactron's strange fire balls before she breaks his suit.

Back at DEO headquarters, Henshaw tells her that Reactron is human and his powers are the result of advanced biotech; therefore, he's out of the jurisdiction of the DEO. "Call your cousin," he suggests.

Meanwhile, Winn has secured an office for the Superfriends (to use Jeremy Jordan's term) to do their secret work in and decked it out with fancy technology. When Kara said, "Winn, I can't believe you did all this for me," Jeremy Jordan's expression melted my heart. Anyone else completely head over heels for Winn?

James and Winn explain that Reactron shoots bursts of nuclear energy. Winn wrote an algorithm to find him, so that Kara can go "all SUPERGIRL on him." But James isn't sure Kara is up to the task and suggests calling in Superman's help. "I'm not Superman's cousin. I'm Supergirl," Kara insists.

Kara is concerned that the tone of Cat's article on SUPERGIRL is "a little nasty." Cat insists that SUPERGIRL is like all other millennials who will go running for help as soon as something goes wrong. Kara bristles at not being able to defend SUPERGIRL more strongly without causing suspicion...I wanted to defend her too!

Maxwell Lord--owner of Lord Technologies, Winn's hero, and the guy who insulted SUPERGIRL on television in the last episode--is working on a new train when Reactron shows up and demands a worker to fix his suit. Maxwell offers himself up instead of his employee.

Kara, Alex, James, and Winn band together to try to rescue Maxwell. Reactron is actually Ben Krull, a man who was severly injured and whose wife died in a flooding of radition while Superman was saving a nuclear plant. Kara tells them that she wants to try to talk to Krull, but James is concerned. When asked what she'll do if he doesn't want to talk, Kara responds, "Then I'll punch him real hard until he falls down. That always seems to work." Somehow Melissa Benoist always delivers Kara's one-liners absolutely perfectly.

Kara goes to a junkyard that Winn located where she frees Maxwell Lord from captivity. Reactron emerges in his fixed suit and the two fight. Just when it looks like Reactron might actually succeed in killing Kara, Superman swoops in to save the day.

Kara wakes hours later in her apartment to the news that Maxwell is telling the press that Superman saved him. James admits that he called Superman on his Superman-calling-watch because he was worried that Kara would get hurt. She's uninterested in his reasoning and kicks him out of the apartment. "I was supposed to be the one saving him, not the other way around," Kara explains to Alex.

Kara shows up to Cat's magazine launch in a stunning green dress Alex got her from the DEO closet. (Um, why does the DEO closet have a stunning cocktail dress on hand?) Winn steps in and saves Kara from Cat Grant's wrath at her being late and dazed and the two dance. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite so adorable.

Elsewhere at the party, Cat Grant and Maxwell Lord are dancing. It's clear there's some history between the two, maybe even a past relationship...it seems we might be seeing him again.

When James asks a giggly Kara and Winn if he can cut in on their dance, Winn is clearly displeased. However, James wins Kara back over by admitting that he's always called Superman when he got scared about something and that he was afraid of losing her. "You have to care enough to let me fly my own path," she tells him.

Reactron breaks the moment by (literally) crashing the party. Kara rescues Maxwell from him again, before catching a column about to crush Winn. (Just when I thought Winn couldn't be any more in love with her, she saves his life. Poor guy.) James tells Reactron that if he really wants to hurt Superman, he should kill him since he's "the closest thing he has to a best friend."

Alex and Henshaw, who has finally agreed to help, tell Kara that the way to defeat Reactron is by encasing the core of his suit in lead and ripping it out. Kara and Reactron fight, but she quickly wins. When she confronts James about putting himself in danger, he responds, "I knew you'd save the day." It's good to see that he finally has faith in her abilities.

Kara goes to find James at the office the next day, but he's with Lucy Lane, Lois Lane's little sister. He blows Kara off (not cool) and Kara overhears that Lucy is trying to get back together with James. It appears that our Winn-Kara-James love triangle has turned into a love rhombus.

The episode ends on two cute family moments. Clark Kent messages Kara to congratulate her and promise that he won't interfere again. Kara's clearly overjoyed at her cousin's praise and that he's willing to talk to her. Then, we get an adorable scene of Danver sister bonding over Chinese food and fighting over potstickers. Alex tells Kara, "You're doing things that Superman couldn't even do." One thing I love about SUPERGIRL is its emphasis on the importance of family and believing in the people you love.

Will James get back together with Lucy? What is the story with Cat and Maxwell? Will Laura Benanti be back in next week's episode? (I missed her, okay.)

Let me know your thoughts on Twitter at @nicoleackman16 and don't forget to return next week for another recap.

Photo Credit: CBS