Supergirl Season 4, Episode 12 recap: The 5 biggest moments

Supergirl returns for a Valentine’s themed episode that includes big life decisions for many characters.

Supergirl’s return brought us an episode centered on the day of love and it included some big changes for several characters. Let’s break down the 5 biggest moments.

Kara and Alex Team Up

With Alex’s mind being wiped of the memory that Kara is Supergirl it’s been hard for Kara to find a way to work with her sister again and she clearly misses it. When an opportunity presents itself for Kara (as a journalist) and J’onn to team up with Alex on a mission Kara jumps at the chance, though Alex is less enthusiastic.

When the alien symbiote they’re hunting bites Kara she’s essentially unharmed, except for her poor jacket, but Alex freaks out and sends her home. Nothing terrifies Alex more than her sister getting harmed and it makes Kara wonder if she’s the one holding Alex back. Alex has paused everything in her personal life, she’s stopped dating again and put a hold on her adoption plans, and Kara thinks it’s her fault because Alex is so focused on protecting her.

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In the end Alex and Kara have another Danvers heart to heart on the couch and Alex reveals she’s ready to move forward with her life. She’s ready to trust that people can protect themselves. Kara is supportive, of course, and they munch on lots of Valentine’s Day candy. Kara has resigned herself to no longer being able to work with Alex, but in typical Kara fashion she’s happy to just have Alex as a sister if that’s what it takes to let her sister move on with her life.

Nia Suits Up

Nia is still reeling from her mother’s death and her fallout with her sister. Her roommate plans to throw her a Valentine’s Day party to cheer her up but it doesn’t seem to be doing the job. When Brainy approaches Nia about training to become a superhero she told him she wasn’t ready yet (though she did invite him to the party and adorably confuse Brainy by calling it a date).

Kara finds Nia alone in her room during the party and the two discuss their sister problems as well as their heroic destinies. Kara says Nia is part of her family now and she thinks Nia could do a lot of good out there. She tells Nia to do whatever she thinks her mother would want for her, to honor her, and Nia realizes that her mother would want her to train.

Nia makes her choice and when Supergirl is about to be bested by the alien symbiote she’s fighting Nia swoops in just in time. Thanks to her dream powers she was able to save Kara when she needed it and she even shows up wearing her mother’s suit. She later asks Brainy to help her train, so there’s no going back for her now. It seems Dreamer has officially risen!

The Children of Liberty Make A Move

Ben Lockwood may be behind bars but that doesn’t mean he’s out of the game. Through his son he’s still managing to give out instructions and lead the Children of Liberty. On his orders his son makes a video to publicly call on the Children of Liberty to kill the same alien that Supergirl is hunting. After Kara and Nia have weakened the alien the Children of Liberty show up and Ben Lockwood’s son publicly kills the alien.

This ties into the riots that have been happening since Lockwood’s arrest and they use this heroic kill of an alien to push for his release. The President isn’t happy with the unrest that has happened since Lockwood was locked up and they find a loophole in the Patriot Act (it only protects humans apparently) and they use it to release Ben. So he’s back out on the loose and undoubtedly going to cause more trouble.

Lena is Offered a Government Contract

Lena’s experiments to give humans super abilities haven’t escaped the notice of the government and Colonel Haley approaches her with an offer of a government contract for her research. Lena and James plan to run off to Paris for Valentine’s Day but when she tells him about the government offer James isn’t exactly on board.

Lena is clearly hurt that James doesn’t support this and her natural protective instincts kick in and she decides to end it with James and tells him she thinks he should leave. So James has the limo pull over and gets out. Is this the end of their relationship for good? Who can tell. But it’s clear Lena is walking a fine line as she takes a phone call at the end, presumably to Colonel Haley, and says  that she’s in.

It was also curious that Lena looked visibly upset when James showed up at her office and she suddenly suggested they run off to Paris (unusual for Lena). Was she upset about the government or could it perhaps have something to do with her brother Lex Luthor who is due to show up in about 3 episodes? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Manchester Black Reaches Out

The government believes that the alien symbiote is dead after the fight with Supergirl and the Children of Liberty, and that the host is now human again and no longer a threat. So they decide to place her in a regular prison rather than some secret dark site.

However, at the close of the episode we see her in her prison cell and not only is the alien clearly still inside her given the weird shifting in her neck, but she also receives mail from an unexpected source.

The letter is from none other than Manchester Black. The very same one who is out to destroy the Children of Liberty at any cost and even betrayed Kara to do so. So it seems we’ll be seeing his return before too long and the trailer for next week’s episode confirms that as we see him alongside his new team, The Elite.

Should Alex regain her memories or Kara as Supergirl or is she really better off not knowing? Do you think Lena will end up going down a dark path or will she stay in a grey area? Let us know your thoughts!

Supergirl airs Sundays at 8pm EST on the CW.