SUPERGIRL 4.04 Review “Ahimsa”

This post contains spoilers for Supergirl.
Check out our previous review here.

In a world full of conflicts that are constantly escalating, it’s difficult not to get lost in the rage. While it can be a powerful tool, rage can lead to some pretty stupid responses whether they be physical, verbal, or otherwise. “Ahimsa” takes a look at political action through a pacifist lens, or it at least starts to. With Kara down for the count and Alex struggling to keep her head above water at the DEO, J’onn begins to doubt his decision to follow in his father’s footsteps. He so badly wants to do good, but he feels like he is letting his family down by choosing the path of peace.

“Ahimsa” also welcomes Manchester Black (David Ajala), and man oh man is he every bit the charmer he’s meant to be. We don’t have confirmation on whether Black will be the antihero or the supervillain iteration of his character, but we’re super into his Blade situation right now. So, whichever direction they end up going, the ride looks like it’ll be fun. Manchester just so happens to be the fiancé of J’onn’s friend Fiona, leading to the two men joining forces in order to find her.

While the hunt for Fiona continues, Alex is having a no good, very bad day. Her sister’s dying, people are defecting from and/or betraying the DEO every time she turns around, dangerous tech keeps getting stolen, and aliens keep getting busted out of her facilities. The eldest Danvers sister is doing what she can to keep morale up, but things really aren’t going her way. To make matters worse, the President of the United States is kind of a dick now. He has some choice words for the current Director of the DEO, mostly revolving around Supergirl almost dying in front of a crowd of people, exo-suit be damned. His little tirade is cut short by some whispers in his ear, so look out for the inevitable “the President’s just a puppet” arc.

If you’re familiar with the Supergirl comics, you know that Kara Danvers and Brainiac 5 have quite the thing. For now, that “thing” is just an inexplicable bond between the two aliens, but “Ahimsa” takes the first steps toward hinting that it may become something more. While Lena and Brainy are trying to figure out how to get the kryptonite out of the air, our little blue Legionnaire gets a little misty! And by “misty” I mean he full on starts crying, and it’s adorable. Almost as adorable as Lena teaching him how to compartmentalize so they can get their damn jobs done. 

The Graves siblings meet their end after their parasite plan goes awry but, unfortunately, Fiona follows shortly after. Manchester and J’onn are able to find her before her death, giving the two a moment of goodbye, but her dying wish that her fiancé not give into the rage seems as if it will go unfulfilled. Black is seen shortly after with an arms dealer, and it seems unlikely that big ol’ gun is for target practice.

With Supergirl down for the count and the DEO facing so many issues, James decides to dust off his helmet. Though he was warned that there would be consequences should Guardian ever show his vigilante face in National City again, his return to the fray is met with enthusiastic applause. But they’re not from the team that he’s playing for.

The DEO, Guardian, and Supergirl were all trying to stop aliens that were terrorizing a carnival, but social media decides to spin things another way. The Guardian is made out to be some alt-right protector, trying to rid the carnival of the “cockroaches” that were after the human children. James might have a pissed off Lena on his hands, but that immediately takes a backburner to the troubling news that he’s become a beacon of hope for those he’s trying to fight.

We haven’t seen much of her, but we do get another glance of Soviet Supergirl this week. Right now that arc is worth mentioning solely because of its Red Son ties. Since the Red Son story was an Elseworlds print, we should see her involvement start to increase as we got closer to the crossover event. But that’s just as well, considering how much is going on in the main arc with Agent Liberty and his merry band of domestic terrorists.

Next week we’ll see things continue to escalate on that front. Agent Liberty puts the parasite in Agent Jensen in hopes of creating a new weapon to face the Girl of Steel. How does he know that will happen? Who knows! All the same, it works out in his favor and he got exactly what he was after. With the help of their special, buggy friend, Jensen now has the power to steal powers and use them against his opponent, and this includes the powers of a Kryptonian.

If you had thoughts on this week’s episode, you know what to do!