The alien cat is out of the bag.
After Kara (Melissa Benoist) was exposed to red Kryptonite during Monday’s episode of Supergirl, the Maiden of Might went on an inhibition-free rampage, which included getting Siobhan Smythe (Italia Ricci) fired from CatCo (more on that here) and throwing Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) off a building.
Ultimately, Kara confronted Alex (Chyler Leigh) over the death of Astra (Laura Benanti). With Supergirl seconds away from killing Alex, Hank (David Harewood) was forced to shapeshift into the Martian Manhunter in public, revealing that the head of an alien-hunting organization is actually an alien… well, he probably doesn’t have that job anymore.
“It will jeopardize his relationship with the DEO,” executive producer Greg Berlanti tells EW. “Even though so much of this show is also about coming out and coming into your own, that’s obviously something that’s been weighing heavily on him. The interesting question is: Will he be a better hero after this?”
Forcing Hank out of the proverbial closet will cause Kara to suffer a deep regret over what she did. “Her decision to come out to the world as Supergirl, that was a very personal and brave thing to do that should be only that person’s decision,” Benoist says. “We talked a lot about, on set, how it is applicable to someone coming out as gay or whatever their preference is. It’s not fair to do that for someone else. She doesn’t mean to, but it’s this father figure, and she’s so close with him, so there’s a lot of guilt that comes with that.”
Instead of going on the run, however, Hank allowed himself to be arrested because it means keeping his promise to Alex and Kara’s father, Jeremiah (Dean Cain). “He has this duty to save these girls,” EP Ali Adler says. “He made that promise to their father many years ago. He takes that very seriously, enough to jeopardize his own safety as the head of the DEO. Next week’s episode, we’ll learn the etymology of that story. It’s very exciting.”
While the alien known as J’onn J’onzz is in custody now, there could be something worse in store for Hank that he’ll need rescuing from. “He becomes the hunted,” Harewood says. “The episode after this, he’s uncomfortable because somebody has worked out a way to stop him shapeshifting. Even when he’s been hunted for 350 years, it’s nothing new, but now that his secret identity has been blown, it’s new territory for him.”
Fortunately for the Martian Manhunter, he’s got the Girl of Steel on his side. “She comes to rescue him, and thank goodness for that,” Harewood teases. “She’s not the only one who rescues me. She goes out of her way to save me, and then we have to go and take on the big bad of the whole show, which is Non and this whole Myriad thing. The finale is great.”
