Supergirl: Breaking Down the fight between Kara and Red Daughter in “Red Dawn”

Tonight on Supergirl, fans of The CW series finally got the long-awaited showdown between the titular heroine and her Kasnian copy, Red Daughter. But with both women having the same power set — and one of them having been manipulated by Lex Luthor — how did the battle go down and what does it mean for next week’s season finale?

Spoilers below for tonight’s episode of Supergirl, “Red Daughter”.

At the end of last week’s episode, Kara is essentially kidnapped by the president and handed over to Red Daughter. Red Daughter attempts to use Kryptonite to weaken Kara so she can shoot and kill her, but Kara escapes. The escape allows Kara — as Supergirl — to get to the DEO and work with Alex and Colonel Haley to try to stop her and Lex. Ultimately this takes Supergirl home to Midvale where Red Daughter is impersonating her with Liza and that ultimately ends up in a confrontation between the two Kryptonians.

But don’t think for a moment that this is an equal fight. While the pair do have the same basic power set, Red Daughter has a fancy suit as well as some upgraded powers that Supergirl simply is no match for. Supergirl gets her butt soundly kicked by Red Daughter before the Kasnian copy gets in a killing blow. You read that correctly: Supergirl dies in tonight’s episode, but don’t start grieving just yet. Things admittedly look bad for the heroine, but Alex — who gets her memories back at that moment — starts ranting that while it is dark out there is sunlight in everything. She puts grass in Supergirl’s hands and in short order, Supergirl is drawing the light from everything around her. She survives just as Red Daughter flies off, something troubling having caught her attention.

You see, Lex’s master plan this whole time has been to have Kaznia attack the United States and that happens tonight — with a twist. The rogue nation attacks the U.S., but Lex shows up in his superpowered Lexosuit. He single-handedly stops the attack on the nation but also outright kills Red Daughter. The president goes on live television to announce that the Kasnian attack has been handled and the “terrorist” Supergirl killed by America’s new hero, Lex Luthor.

As the episode closes out Supergirl and those who know the truth look at the television in horror at the realization that Lex has now become a big, huge American hero and has likely just placed himself in a position for even more power. It’s a terrifying prospect, but it’s one that sets up Supergirl for a season finale battle against the villain in next week’s “The Quest For Peace”.

Supergirl airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

What did you think about the battle between Red Daughter and Supergirl? Let us know in the comments below.

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