Crossfire (Supergirl)

Plot

Kara helps Mon-El get ready for his first day working at CatCo; as Mike Matthews, he makes an impression on James and Eve Teschmacher, but seems confused about acting human. Maggie and Alex bond over drinks at the bar. Kara and James get coffee when a trio of bank robbers arrive. The leader, Chet Miner, stops Supergirl with an alien weapon that sends her hurling towards a building. James fights one of them, but his camera gets run over in the robbers' getaway. Kara recognizes the weapon as alien, but Winn determines the robbers were human. Cadmus broadcasts to place blame for the robbery on aliens and claim that not locking them up will cause more chaos.

At CatCo, James admits he doesn't know how to help Kara with Cadmus. Lena stops by CatCo to invite Kara and Mon-El to an L-Corp gala. Winn tracks Miner's group to another robbery and Supergirl gets caught off guard by another alien weapon, which sends a cop car flying into orbit; Supergirl saves the cop inside. Afterwards, Miner's group meets with Cadmus' leader, who explains that she gave him the weapons to sow fear and discontent toward the aliens and gives him a newer weapon. At the crime scene, Alex tempts Maggie to hang out with her, leading Maggie to believe that Alex is hitting on her; Alex becomes flustered, tells her that she's not gay and quickly leaves. The robberies have National City residents ready to repeal the Alien Amnesty Act.

James visits Winn at the DEO, inquiring about the robbers. Winn mentions the Federal Reserve is a possible target and James checks out the location that night, where he sees the robbers breaking in. James uses a baseball bat against two of them, but Miner gets the upper hand before escaping by sending a building down on James using a blast. James manages to get all the occupants out in time and leaves before police arrive. Winn confronts him after finding surveillance footage. James admits to being tired of being a sidekick while his best friends are heroes. James asks Winn to team up with him by making him a superhero suit, but Winn refuses, reminding James that he lacks powers and could hurt himself. At Kara's apartment, Alex suggests Kara needs to let Mon-El find himself, just as Kara had with the Danvers family. Lena stops by to ask Kara about getting in contact with Supergirl. After Supergirl arrives, Lena asks her to attend the party as well; despite mixed feelings, Supergirl accepts the invitation.

Miner asks for more weapons to attack Lena's gala but they're on their own. At the gala, Kara brings Winn and Mon-El with her, where she keeps Lena company as both Kara and Supergirl. Miner and his men show up and Supergirl is ready for them. Winn runs under a table and discovers Lena attempting to turn on a device that will disable the weapons, revealing the event was meant as a trap for Miner's men. While Winn helps Lena get the device working, James tries to fight one of the robbers and is saved by Supergirl. Miner's group combine their weapons to attack Supergirl, but Lena's device activates and disarms the weapons.

Miner and his men are escorted to a prison transport; as Miner attempts to reveal their source to Maggie, Cadmus' leader uses a device implanted in their ear to kill them. At CatCo, Winn agrees to make James' suit, and James tells him he already has a superhero name in mind. Kara tells Mon-El he was fired from CatCo, and gives him a map of the city to find his own path. At the bar, Alex admits to Maggie that she may be gay, before getting flustered again and leaving. Supergirl visits Lena to thank her, when Cadmus' leader arrives to meet Lena. Supergirl leaves the two alone, but Lena is unhappy to see the woman, revealed to be her mother Lillian Luthor.

Reception

This episode received good reviews.

Cliff Wheatley of IGN gave the episode a 6.3/10, stating "This week's Supergirl marked a low point for Season 2 so far. The Cadmus storyline continues to suffer from a main villain who isn't nearly as compelling and fleshed out as she needs to be (though hopefully that will soon change). And James' evolution into a superhero only further reinforces the notion that the character sticks out like a sore thumb this season. But between the Kara/Mon-El dynamic and Alex's relationship drama, there were still some bright spots this week."

Caroline Siede of The AV Club gave the episode a B.