Kara Wakes Up In The Phantom Zone On The Next ‘Supergirl’

Now that then Leviathan story s over, Kara (Melissa Benoist) finds herself in the Phantom Zone. And while that could be bad — what with with Zone denizens looking like refugees from Dark City — there may yet be hope for Kara to learn something important while imprisoned there. Meanwhile, the rest of the Superfriends look for a way to retrieve Supergirl from that netherrealm. Will they do it quickly or will Kara be trapped for the length of Benoist’s maternity leave?

Seeing the show again after nearly a year, it is interesting to note how much of the Leviathan story we recalled. As it happens, we forgot Brainy managed to trap them and Lex (Jon Cryer) double crossed him to collect their powers. But, perhaps, that reveals just how little we cared about Leviathan. And it seems the show finally sensed the apathy as Cara Buono‘s character was undone by Anti-Life Equation(!) early in the episode.

We hope the fact Brainy can just employ the Equation like that means it will be part of his story going forward. Maybe he can use it to defeat Brainiac back in the future at some point. Although, that would mean the end of his relationship with Dreamer (Nicole Maines), which we want to see more of now that his mission is over. In fact, Dreamer’s worry about him being overprotective is a good place to start from. And with Kara gone for the moment, it will be interesting to see Nia rises up in the Catco ranks — even if that means Andrea Rojas (Julie Gonzalo) remains part of the show.

Don’t get us wrong, we like Gonzalo and Andrea has been an occasionally interesting character, but the way her story pivoted last night reveals how much work the show will need to put in to make her feel alive and vital. And it just doesn’t have the time to do that unless, perhaps, they double-down on her powers and make her choose a path between hero and baddie.

Other things we liked seeing again: any time Brainy and Lena (Katie McGrath) get to talk. They are kindred in a unique way and the shared moments in which they try to understand human emotions are always a treat. See also Alex (Chyler Leigh) and J’onn (David Harewood) — their father/daughter bond has always been a secret weapon of the program, so it makes sense he would have a superhero name for her to adopt. That said, it is interesting the show chose to use the name Alan Scott takes on whenever DC Comics is unsure of naming him Green Lantern. Based on her costume, we were totally expecting some play on Rose and Thorn.

In fact, isn’t it strange that Rose and Thorn never made their way to National City?

But as we’ve said before, intimate two-hander scenes like the ones in last night’s premiere are the real reason to watch Supergirl. The superhero antics just offer a structure. With that said again, it will be interesting to see how the program handles keeping Kara in the Phantom Zone and what sort of pairings we’ll get while she’s gone. Have we seen Brainy and Kelly (Azie Tesfai) work together before?

Supergirl airs Tuesdays on The CW.