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in: Episodes, Supergirl episodes, Season 2 (Supergirl)
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Nevertheless, She Persisted

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"Now see, the thing that make women strong is that we have the guts to be vulnerable. We have the ability to feel the depths of our emotion and we know that we will walk through it to the other side. And by the way, you have accomplished great things this year. Your articles: 'Slaver's Moon', 'Alien Registry', 'Alien Fight Club'. I mean, it's all very powerful. And your prose, your prose is not bad. I mean it's not great, but it's not bad."
"You read them?"
"I did. I did. 2017... and they have Wi-Fi in the Himalayan mountains. But you, my dear, are on a hero's journey. Like Joseph Campbell would say. And, yes, you have hit a bit of an obstacle, but you will soar right over it just like I would. Except, of course, you... won't be wearing Louboutins."
—Cat Grant telling Kara Danvers how far she has come

"Nevertheless, She Persisted" is the twenty-second and final episode of the second season of Supergirl, and the forty-second episode overall. It aired on May 22, 2017.

Synopsis[]

Supergirl challenges Rhea to battle to save National City. Meanwhile, Superman returns and Cat Grant offers Supergirl some sage advice.[src]

Plot[]

Supergirl is forced to battle Superman, as Rhea has infected him with Silver Kryptonite. It causes Superman to hallucinate Supergirl as his greatest enemy, General Zod. The fight between the two Kryptonians destroys several objects/infrastructure and ends up into a fountain in the city, in which Supergirl is eventually able to defeat Superman, although exhausting herself. Kara then finds (dreams) herself in her bed with Mon-El, and they discuss their happy life, until Mon-El tells her to wake up, as this is not real. Kara wakes up to find herself inside Fortress of Solitude, with Alex watching over her and Clark. Alex explains that after the fight Kara took her and Clark and with the last of her strength flew them to the Fortress to recuperate. Clark awakes and is back to normal, though he is perplexed about the Silver Kryptonite. Clark then access the Fortress computer to find out some way to defeat the Daxamite invasion (while also telling Kara she owes him a new robot). They find something.

Kara, Clark and Alex return to the DEO, where Mon-El is relieved to see Kara all right and officially meets Superman for the first time. Clark and Kara explain that they have discovered the rite of Dakkam Ur, a trial by combat, which has been used in the wars between Krypton and Daxam. In Dakkam Ur, champions of both factions fight one-on-one, and the defeated will have to honor the victor by doing what the victor demands. Mon-El immediately says it's a bad idea, but Kara nonetheless is going to challenge Queen Rhea to it. Kara uses DEO's communication array to declare her challenge to Rhea throughout the city. Kara demands that if she wins, Rhea will pull the Daxamite fleet from Earth and leave, and if Rhea wins, Earth is hers. Rhea accepts the challenge. Mon-El tries to suggest that Clark fight instead, but Clark tells him that Kara officially defeated him, thus making her the champion of Earth.

Kara and Clark go to CatCo to speak with Cat Grant, so that she would make sure that no civilians are nearby during the trial. Next, they get a call from Lena, and meet with her at L-Corp as well as Lillian. They have come up with a contingency plan: should Kara fail to defeat Rhea, they will use Lex's atmospherical bomb to line the Earth's atmosphere with lead, just that it will be harmless to humans but toxic to Daxamites. Kara assures it won't come to that. Lena requests that Winn help her with the bomb.

Kara and Clark return to DEO and inform everyone of Lena's and Lillian's plan. Winn wonders if/will the bomb also kill Mon-El. Clark says that he should be able to survive a little longer since he has been exposed to Earth's yellow sun for months, but it would mean that he has to leave Earth. Clark asks Kara what he can do to help. Kara says he can help her train. The two cousins train intensively. Kara then wonders if she can truly defeat Rhea. Clark tells her that every time he fights, he always fights for Lois, inspiring Kara to fight for something she loves.

Kara heads to the battle site with Mon-El as moral support, where Rhea is already waiting. Mon-El encourages Kara to fight to the last. The fight goes according to rules until Rhea dishonors herself by ordering the Daxamite fleet to attack. Mon-El immediately denounces her mother for dishonoring the gods and that she killed Lar Gand, but Rhea claims that gods are only interested in her victory. Kara urges Mon-El to go and fight the Daxamites. Clark, J'onn, Maggie and the DEO also join the fight in the streets. Meanwhile, at L-Corp, Lena and Winn manage to get the bomb working. Lillian immediately attempts to detonate it, but Lena and Winn, having anticipated that, reveal that they gave the real detonator to Kara, so that only Supergirl has the means to detonate it.

As Mon-El, Clark and J'onn fight the Daxamites, they get unexpected help from M'gann M'orzz and her group of reformed White Martians. Daxamites declare Mon-El a traitor, but he manages to defeat them and Clark manages to take out a number of Daxamite ships. Meanwhile. Rhea starts to truly play dirty when she reveals that she has coated her body with Kryptonite, giving her a dishonorable advantage over Kara. Kara finds herself fighting a losing battle as Rhea declares that after she has taken care of National City, she will move to Star City and beyond. This causes Kara to find a strength of will that allows her fight Rhea on equal terms despite her advantage. Mon-El then arrives and Rhea then plays her last trump card: she orders her fleet to target every major civilian target in city: hospitals, schools etc. Kara, Clark, J'onn and Alex all realize they don't have the means to stop the fleet in time. Kara takes the lead bomb detonator, but is unable to use it. Mon-El holds Kara and without saying anything urges her to use it. Kara apologizes to him and presses the detonator. The bomb goes off and the atmosphere is lined with lead particles. All Daxamites immediately start to feel the effects. Ground soldiers fall over and the fleet begins to retreat. Rhea finds herself unable to breathe and collapses; begging Mon-El to save her, but he refuses as she killed his father. Rhea dissolves into dust and Mon-El starts to have symptoms of lead poisoning.

Kara calls Alex what she can do, but Alex says Mon-El only has minutes until the lead-lined atmosphere kills him. Overwhelmed with grief, Kara flies Mon-El to his pod and openly cries as Mon-El is forced to leave Earth. As much as Kara doesn't want him to leave, she has no choice. Kara declares she loves him and Mon-El says the same. Before Mon-El boards the pod, Kara gives him her mother's necklace to always remember her. Mon-El boards the pod and leaves.

The following night Kara watches the night sky as Clark comes to tell her that he probably wouldn't have been able to detonate the bomb, thus claiming that she is stronger than him. He then returns to Metropolis and Kara tells him to say Lois hi for her. Alex comes to talk with her and Kara urges Alex to hold on to things she loves, which inspires Alex to propose to Maggie.

The next day at CatCo, Kara is having an emotional day and when Cat asks her what's wrong, Kara tells her that while Cat was away, she was having a wonderful relationship, but it didn't work out in the end. Cat encourages Kara by giving her advice about women's strength and also tells her that she was rather impressed about all the articles she wrote during that year. A report of an armed robbery is called and Kara leaves, and it is revealed that Cat knows Kara is Supergirl. As Kara flies above the city, she grieves over Mon-El's absence. In outer space, Mon-El is sadly looking at Kara's necklace when a wormhole suddenly opens in front of him. He has no means of avoiding it and disappears into it.

35 years earlier on the day of Krypton's destruction, Kal-El and Kara are sent to Earth. Elsewhere on the planet, a mysterious group places another Kryptonian child into a pod, feeding it a drop of blood to soothe its cries. As the child is sent to the same destination, the group declares that once the child awakens, it will grow strong on Earth and "reign".

Cast[]

Starring[]

Special appearance by[]

Special guest star[]

Guest starring[]

Co-starring[]

Uncredited[]

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Trivia[]

  • This is the last episode of Supergirl to feature Floriana Lima (Maggie Sawyer) as a series regular as she is later downgraded to recurring for Season 3.
  • The title of the episode is a reference to a phrase used by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after silencing objecting Senator Elizabeth Warren during a nomination hearing on February 7, 2017. Sen. McConnell later gave an explanation: "She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted". The phrase "nevertheless, she persisted" went viral, quickly becoming a trending hashtag and feminist rallying cry.
    • Cat Grant makes another topical reference by uttering the term "fake news".
  • Cat likens Guardian to Darth Vader, beating up villains. Kara and Clark correct her mistake, telling her that he beat up the good guys. This is a reference to Guardian's voice-changing technology that makes his voice noticeably deeper, albeit warped.
    • Cat also makes mention of villains slaying Vader with their "lifesavers", soon to be corrected for her mistake.
    • Cat also claims to have never even seen Star Wars, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that her actress' (Calista Flockhart) husband, Harrison Ford, portrayed a central character in the original trilogy. Another/similarly named Harrison Ford was also previously mentioned.
  • Superman makes mention of Warworld, which in the DC comics was an artificial planet on which he was forced to fight in gladiatorial games.
  • Cat mentions having turned down two marriage proposals from Rob Lowe. This may be a reference to Calista Flockhart's time on the television show Brothers & Sisters, where she and Lowe portrayed a married couple.
  • Cat tells Kara that she is on "a hero's journey", noting its use by mythologist and writer Joseph Campbell.
  • Rhea mentions Star City, revealing that it exists on Earth-38.
  • It is confirmed that Cat is aware that Kara is Supergirl.
  • The episode, like other episodes of the Daxamite story arc, again seems to allude to the transition arc between seasons three and four of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, where Superman invokes an ancient trial by combat law as a last resort to deal with Nor.
  • Kara establishes herself as Earth's champion after defeating her cousin Superman in a fight. This references a previous controversy in the comics, where the newly-reintroduced Supergirl was depicted as being stronger than Superman despite their gender differences. The explanation was that Clark, having been raised on Earth since he was an infant, had developed an instinctive and subconscious habit of restraining his powers in combat; Kara, who arrived when she was much older, did not develop this habit to the same degree and was more inclined to use her full physical strength, thereby achieving a physical advantage over her cousin.
  • Mon-El's disappearance into a spatial anomaly (here a wormhole) references either his exile into the Phantom Zone, or his 1000-year leap into the future, both of which occur in his comic book story line.

Goofs[]

  • The destruction of Krypton was mistakenly said to be 35 years prior to this episode. In reality, it would have to be at around 37-38 years prior since Kara slept in the Phantom Zone for 24 years, hid her powers for 12, and has been acting as Supergirl for about a year and a half.

References[]

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