Homecoming (''Supergirl'')

"Homecoming" is the fourteenth episode of the second season from the The CW television series Supergirl, which aired on February 27, 2017.

Plot

As Mon-El wakes up in Kara's apartment, he discovers that she bought back flowers and coffee, but she informs him the DEO wants to see them, and warns him not to say anything about them dating. However, when they arrive at the DEO, Mon-El spills the beans and J'onn informs him that he'll have to let HR know due to workplace rules. After Winn receives an alarm about a convoy coming from Cadmus, Kara and J'onn track it down. Kara notices a chained Jeremiah inside the vehicle and they rescue him.

Jeremiah returns to the DEO to a hero's welcome, and is reunited with Alex for the first time since his disappearance. He claims that Cadmus has created a fusion bomb from Kara's heat vision to use on National City, then pin the blame on aliens. Mon-El doesn't think this adds up and as he tells Kara about his suspicions, Kara invites him to dinner to celebrate. At the apartment, Eliza is hoping to make up for lost time with Jeremiah. In turn, Jeremiah seems to hit it off with Maggie. Jeremiah persuades J'onn to reinstate him back at the DEO, which has Mon-El more suspicious about the request, but Kara doesn't believe him and tells him to leave. Jeremiah gives Mon-El an awkward warning after he leaves. When Mon-El visits the bar to see Winn, he convinces him to find out what Jeremiah is up to. Winn is doing this as a favor on the condition that Mon-El treats Kara nice.

The next day, J'onn assigns Jeremiah to oversee the medical bay. After J'onn leaves, Jeremiah attempts to access information from the DEO database, unaware that Winn is watching him. Winn lets Kara and Mon-El know, but when they confront Jeremiah, he claims it was to check information prior to his disappearance. This doesn't sit well with Kara, and it puts her at odds with Alex. Later on at the bar, Mon-El continues to get romantic advice from Winn when he receives information that they have found the fusion bomb. When Kara, Alex, and Mon-El arrive at the site, they suspect something isn't right.

Meanwhile, back at DEO, Jeremiah abruptly heads for the ground floor, and J'onn notices that he can't read Jeremiah's mind. When J'onn confronts Jeremiah, he discovers Jeremiah's previously disabled arm has been cybernetically enhanced--revealing that Jeremiah has joined Cadmus. Jeremiah attacks J'onn and Winn, downloads the mainframe onto a device before destroying it with a machine gun, and escapes the DEO. When Kara, Alex and Mon-El return, J'onn tells them what happened, but Winn informs them that he slipped a tracking device on Jeremiah. Moments later, Kara and Alex find Jeremiah with Lillian and Hank. Hank distracts Kara by blowing up a railroad crossing, leaving Alex to go after Lillian and Jeremiah. When Alex catches up with her father, he expresses regret for betraying their family and the DEO. Alex tells him he is under arrest, but Jeremiah tells Alex he won't go alive. Alex can't bring herself to shoot him, and Jeremiah escapes.

As Alex returned to the DEO, she tells Eliza about Jeremiah's betrayal, then returns to her apartment and begins drinking before Maggie comes by to console her. Mon-El stops by to see Kara, who wants him to be there for her. Afterwards, Kara receives a phone call from Winn that the information Jeremiah downloaded came from the National Alien Registry, indicating that Cadmus is attempting to gather a database of aliens living on Earth. At Cadmus, it is revealed that Jeremiah and Lillian have a deal that is tied to the database, with Lillian showing Jeremiah a flying craft that would be integral to CADMUS' anti-alien agenda.

Production Notes

Mehcad Brooks is credited but does not appear in this episode.

Reception

This episode received positive reviews. Cliff Wheatley of IGN gave the episode a 8.7/10, stating "Supergirl is a show perpetually in need of stronger, more nuanced villains, so leave it to Dean Cain of all people to give the show a boost. The return of Jeremiah Danvers resulted in plenty of feel-good moments before predictably turning sour and causing a new wave of emotional turmoil for Team Supergirl. The result was a winning blend of light and dark elements. With the Cadmus conflict heating up and Mon-El's character arc hitting new bumps, there's plenty of reason to be excited for what's coming."^[1]

Caroline Siede of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+, and while she praised the emotional scenes in the episode caused by Jeremiah's return, particularly the ones between Kara and Alex, she stated that "the reveal of Jeremiah's true allegiance doesn't work as a twist" and thought that J'onn J'onzz' character's reaction to it wasn't believable. She also pointed out the writers' decision to focus more on the character of Mon-El in the second season and how "Supergirl has lost the original female-centric narrative it began with".^[2]

References