Supergirl - 'Falling'

So adorable. So a set up for heartbreak.

National City loves Supergirl in a big way. Cat goes on a talk show to talk about how awesome and kind she is, and to prove it Kara drops out of the sky to help a fan out against bullies. They're laying this on with a trowel and everything else is peachy - Siobhan is boinking Winn so he's less mopey and she's less of a bitch, Lucy Lane has quit and left, opening up a possibility for James and Kara, and Hank is this close to making first base with Senator Usedtohatealiens, so clearly some shit is about to go down.

And lo, while rescuing a fireman trapped under heavy debris, Kara is exposed to red Kryptonite. Cue the evil.

Okay, seriously; even if she super-speed stole the dress, where did she get the
time and money for that hairdo?

Of course, I say evil, but it starts with snarky assertiveness and uncharacteristically sexy threads, before escalating to letting criminals go, getting Siobhan fired and trying to mount James on a nightclub dancefloor while simultaneously badmouthing his ex. From there it's just a long, downhill slide to accusing Alex of killing Astra from jealousy of Kara's real family, throwing Cat off a balcony for shiggles and deciding that she's through with this hero bullshit. This prompts Cat to go on air and announce that Supergirl is no longer safe, leading to the heart-rending scene of the little girl from the intro binning her Supergirl costume.

Hank and Alex identify the source of the problem and Max Lord fesses up to creating the stuff to use on Non. He seems genuinely repentant that it has affected Supergirl, and volunteers to create an antidote, while the Senator pushes for Hank to get mediaeval on Supergirl's ass.

Seriously; did she make this one? Does red Kryptonite make you evil and
craftsy?

Dressed in a sassy new super suit with more than a touch of Astra's style about it, Supergirl smacks around the DEO troops. When she goes after Alex, J'onn steps in, morphing into his true form and going toe-to-toe with Kara until Alex is able to zap her sister with Lord's antidote gun. With Supergirl contained, J'onn morphs back into Hank and lets himself be taken into custody. Senator Hatesaliensagain is well disappointed.

Kara makes what apologies she can, but is haunted by the knowledge that whatever changes were made to her brain, the dark thoughts were in there. James takes a leave of absence, Alex is preoccupied with Hank's predicament and Winn is trying to get in touch with Siobhan, so unexpectedly it is Cat who provides a sort of comfort, telling her (as Supergirl) that it won't be easy to win back the city, but if anyone can, it's Supergirl, and that it's okay to fail as long as you get up again and don't let failure be your life.

Now, full disclosure, I fucking hate red Kryptonite episodes and I can't stand the middle third of Spiderman 3 for that reason (the rest of the movie I hate for different reasons,) but 'Falling' was done surprisingly well. No-one who should know better was ever significantly drawn to evil Kara, and while recognising her as a threat, no-one wanted to instantly write her off either (well, apart from Siobhan, but she's full of hate and ambition.) Sadly, the deactivation of Hank means we're likely to see Sam Lane large and in charge, which is always pretty depressing, but here's hoping that won't last too long.