National City Gaylien Bar. The gang’s all here! They’re chatting about Guardian, James and Winn puffing out their chests and trying their hardest to not take credit for the adventures of the helmeted hero. Kara and Alex roll their eyes and scoff at this wannabe and are interrupted by a sharp, “Danvers!” Maggie Sawyer is there, confused as to why Alex is standing around chit-chatting instead of answering her many texts and calls.

But before she confronts her about it, Alex stammers a bit and introduces her to everyone, including Kara, the sister she’s heard so much about.

Kara smiles her most charming smile and says, with no bite to her tone at all, “And I’ve heard all about you.”

There’s no need to make threats when you know your sneeze could knock the girl halfway to Mars.

Maggie pulls Alex aside and now is when she asks what’s up with the radio silence, and if they’re okay after their last interaction. Alex is playing it cool but is a little on the chilly side. Until Maggie tilts her head and smiles and asks if they’re still friends.

Alex musters up every bit of energy she can manage and smiles back. She can’t not. “Of course,” she promises. Friends.

Though I think if she had really meant it, she would have invited Maggie to join them. Instead, Maggie leaves, and Alex goes back to her sister. Kara asks if she’s okay in that totally casual way you do when you need to know but you don’t need anyone else at the table needs to know. But she’s good. Alex quickly changes the subject to Mon-El, who they assume is gallivanting around with some lady-friends, though he’s actually in a Cadmus cell.

J’onn is starting to hallucinate his family, so he’s doing tai chi to center himself. Kara comes and he blessedly confesses what’s wrong instead of hiding it like some kind of Caitlin Snow. She thinks he’s just freaking out because of Megan, and tells him that just because he has found family now doesn’t take away from his lost family. There’s room in your heart for both, her adoptive mama told her so.

Meanwhile, there’s trouble right here in National City, because someone is finding the Guardian’s take-downs and finishing the job for him, so everyone thinks Guardian is a murderer. Supergirl is on her way to check it out when she gets a transmission from Cadmus. She has to come see Mrs. Cadmus without telling anyone or Mon-El dies.

Supergirl flies into Cadmus HQ and is greeted with someone who looks like J’onn but who Kara knows is not on account of him punching her. She realizes quickly that it’s the real Hank Henshaw, but what she doesn’t surmise until she head-visions his face is that he’s part cyborg. (And calls himself Cyborg Superman.)

Back at the DEO, Winn is freaking out because Maggie was on the news calling for Guardian’s arrest. Winn begs Alex to get her friend to back off, please tell her friend Guardian is not a murder, so if she could get her friend to—

Finally Alex has heard enough of this fucking F word and pins Winn against the wall, threatening to torture him out of his mind of he doesn’t stop yammering and just tell her what he knows.

Alex is just at the beginning of her threat spree but Winn has heard enough and squeaks out that Guardian is James. Alex is PISSED and reluctantly agrees to both not tell Kara and talk to Maggie, and rewards him for cooperation with a smack to the head.

Alex finds Maggie and tells her to back off Guardian but won’t tell her why. A little stung by Alex pulling the old classified line, Maggie uses the dreaded “friend” again and Alex has had enough from her, too. So she says, no. They’re not friends.

Then Alex lets it all out. Every thought that has been consuming her since that kiss. Every feeling that has been ricocheting around in her chest since Maggie pulled away. She realizes now that it wasn’t all in her head. (I think she read your comments on my last recap.) Maggie knew she was hitting on her, Maggie encouraged her to come out, Maggie told her that her feelings were real. It wasn’t out of nowhere that Alex thought Maggie liked her back, and what should be an exciting time in her life, coming out, realizing who she is, instead is rife with pain.

Then something important happens. Alex says she’s in pain because she was wrong, because Maggie doesn’t like her. And then Maggie says, “That’s not why.” That’s not why! Which means she does like her. But Alex won’t let her finish her thought, she’s probably dizzy with truth telling. Maggie is so sad to have hurt Alex.

And Alex storms away.

Across town, Kara wakes up in a cell next to Mon-El. Lady Cadmus comes to see her and Kara realizes she’s Lillian Luthor. Then Lillian literally asks her what her intentions are with her daughter. I… don’t even know how to interpret her questions as not assuming Kara and Lena are romantically involved. I’m sorry, I tried.

Lillian is on the warpath; she hates Superman and blames him for what happened to Lex, so therefore she must destroy all alien life. In order to do so, she needs Kara to drain herself, and after she threatens Mon-El, Kara reluctantly agrees.

She heat-visions into a special helmet until she’s weak, and they haul her away to take some of her blood. Kara agrees.

Back at the DEO, J’onn isn’t getting better despite Kara’s pep talk, and after Alex spots something shady in his blood, he confronts Megan about it. Megan confesses to being a White Martian, but says she’s the good one from her story. He’s pissed and wants to fight her, Martian to Martian. He eventually decides to lock her up instead of killing her, which is good because then she gets to tell him: he’s going to turn into a White Martian now that her blood is in him.

Supergirl is thrown back in her Cadmus cage, and she’s in the middle of giving Mon-El a message for Alex and admitting she’s scared…

…when someone comes to save them. And that someone? Daddy Danvers!

Kara wants him to escape with them because Alex will be so happy but he has to stay for now. She tells him she loves him and escapes with an injured Mon-El on her arm.

In an abandoned factory, the Guardian fights the new vigilante and eventually Maggie and Alex bust it up. In a moment that goes by very quickly but is very meaningful, Alex looks to Maggie and says the sirens are getting closer. She has two choices. Maggie can bring Guardian in, or she can trust Alex and just let him go.

Even after everything Alex said — or maybe because of it — Maggie says she’ll let him go.

Alex gets word that Kara and Mon-El are back from Cadmus and RUNS back to the DEO. She feels awful for not knowing Kara was kidnapped even though the first thing she did every time the camera cut to her was ask after Kara and every time someone reassured her that she was probably fine. And no one worried about Mon-El at all.

But Kara interrupts her— she’s fine, it’s fine, what’s important is her news: Jeremiah saved her.

They run to where Cadmus HQ just was but it has been totally cleared out.

The gang goes back to Kara’s apartment for pizza and potstickers, where Kara finally admits that maybe this mysterious Guardian fella isn’t so bad after all, and Alex says pointedly that maybe he’ll even reveal his identity.

In a moment that’s almost cute, Kara comments that Mon-El was brave, and he says he learned it from watching her. But then he ruins it by asking James and Winn if she has a mate yet.

I do have to admit, as a side note, now that James is full Guardian and loving life, he’s back to being a charming goofball and if he continues in this vein he can re-earn his place in my heart.

The party is interrupted by a knock at the door, and Alex is surprised to see Maggie on the other side.

Maggie says she’s here to talk. She understands where Alex was coming from the other day, truly. And after she says what she came here to say, if Alex wants to send her away for good, Maggie will leave.

The thing is, Maggie might be all smiles for Alex, but she doesn’t meet people she cares about as easily as some. There’s a reason she’s always playing pool alone. But she cares about Alex. A lot.

And she understands Alex might need time, but Maggie does still want to be friends someday. She says, “I don’t want to imagine my life without you in it.”

And I mean damn. Tracking her down at her sister’s place was commitment enough. That line? Who could resist?? And what better way to show Alex that she never meant to hurt her. She wasn’t toying with Alex’s emotions on purpose. So before going back inside, Alex invites her to play pool tomorrow night. Relief washes over Maggie; she wouldn’t miss it.

Kara (who had obviously peeped to see who her sister was talking to, for safety reasons) asks Alex how that went, and Alex says the word she’s been fighting the whole episode without the anger or bitterness of before: They’re going to be friends.

And maybe this is a controversial opinion, but I’m so glad Maggie didn’t storm up and kiss Alex. It would have felt forced, like she was just doing because she felt like Alex was giving her an all or nothing ultimatum. Instead she gets what she needs: time.

Kara accepts this answer, and assures her that they’re going to get her father back, too. And speaking of friends who probably want to be more, Kara wonders if Lena knows about Cadmus, and what Cadmus is doing with her blood.

And what they’re doing is accessing the Fortress of Solitude.

Dear friends, a lot of you are heading home this weekend to be with families who voted for someone who is making the world a really scary place for you right now. I want you to remember there are people banding together with you to make a stand. You are not alone. And there might be people who threaten us or hate us but one thing I know for sure: Some people love us. Including these two nerds.

Stay safe and I’ll see you back here next week!