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After being separated for the better part of a year, Kara and Mon-El will reunite during Monday’s episode of Supergirl — but fans shouldn’t necessarily expect a warm reunion.

As hinted in prior episodes, there’s been an alien ship lying in wait in the depths of National City, which — based on the promo for the hour — seems to house members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, as well as Kara’s (Melissa Benoist) lost love Mon-El (Chris Wood).

The Daxamite prince was forced to leave Earth in the season 2 finale after the lead-dispersal device was set off, and he was subsequently sucked into a wormhole that many suspected meant he was fulfilling his comic book destiny of joining the Legion. Pair that with the recent castings of Saturn Girl (Amy Jackson), who will appear in Monday’s hour, and Brainiac 5 (Jesse Rath), who will debut in an episode called “Legion of Super-Heroes,” and, well, you have your answer. But the question remains how Kara will handle Mon-El’s return.

“It’s going to be weird and difficult,” Benoist tells EW. “You watch Castaway, and Tom Hanks returns and Helen Hunt doesn’t know what to do.”

It’s also hard not to be skeptical about Mon-El’s appearance considering he shouldn’t be able to survive on Earth. Plus, Kara has faced her fair share of trickery in the past — last week’s episode even had J’onn (David Harewood) appearing as an agent who was a dead ringer for Alura (Erica Durance) to keep a young Kara in line. And even if this really is Mon-El, Benoist points out it would be difficult for these two to pick up where they left off after what she’s suffered in his absence.

“He was the first love that she’s ever had,” Benoist says. “I know they had their differences up until the end, but toward the end, they really saw each other on an even playing field. They were peers. She said, ‘Go be a hero, you’re ready.’ They believed in each other, so losing that confidante, that support, that love was devastating to her. I feel like, for the first time, especially since we’ve started the show, she really felt like she had it balanced — she had a happy life with her partner, she had work going for her and was working her way up in the premiere, and she was loving being Supergirl and saving the world, so a giant part of her identity was wrenched from her.”

Supergirl airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.