Spoilers below for the most recent episode of Supergirl, so be sure to catch up before reading on.
On Sunday night, Supergirl paid off on fans' Season 4 expectations in spades, not only by explaining just how wide and far-ranging Lex Luthor's influence has been in National City and beyond, but also by truly kicking off the show's big Red Daughter storyline, which was first hinted at in Season 3's finale. Lots of reveals were made throughout, but one of the most exciting ones came in the final minutes, when Red Daughter's super suit made its live-action debut. Check it out!
Quick recap: for the final sequence in "The House of L," Jon Cryer's Lex Luthor went to Kaznia in the present day to bring Red Daughter back to health thanks in part to the Harun-El assistance he'd gotten from Lena in last week's episode. Red Daughter was grateful for Lex's help, but unfortunately for National City and the rest of the world, she then reneged on her initial kindhearted opinions about Kara Danvers and expressed her desire to follow Lex and destroy Supergirl.
But hey, at least Red Daughter will look snazzy while she's giving Kara hell. The suit itself looks like a more complicated take on Kara's traditional Supergirl duds, at least in terms of general style. There are obviously some big differences in terms of color and central insignia.
As opposed to the signature red and blue color pattern that Kryptonian's megaheroes are known for, Red Daughter will be rocking more grays and darker shades. There is red to be found in there for the linings and the cape, naturally, though the shade is deeper than the one in Kara's suit. Plus, instead of the recognizable "S" symbol, Red Daughter's suit features a more Soviet Union-esque hammer-without-a-sickle icon.
While the suit could be seen best in the container that Lex Luthor had it in, the Supergirl episode doesn't end without giving fans a peek at Melissa Benoist flying around in it.
I'm not going to lie. I kind of like the fact that Red Daughter's suit looks like a turtleneck sweater up top. It adds even more distinction between this character and her U.S. lookalike, in any case.
Interestingly, Supergirl closed out the episode not with the hopeful symbol of its title character, but rather with the red hammer of its all-powerful new big bad.
"The House of L" was about as revealing as Supergirl episodes get, and it cleared up a lot of questions that fans have had throughout Season 4, and adds further subtext to Ben Lockwood and the Children of Liberty's rise to infamy in the U.S. It turns out Lex Luthor has been behind a ton of this show's big arcs.
Yes, the episode even cleared up Red Daughter's pierced-ears "plot hole" that some fans picked up on. Remember when there was all that kryptonite released into the atmosphere in Episode 2? That reaches Red Daughter and poisons her, at which point Lex makes the quick decision to pierce her ears. His reasoning is that she may have to pose as Kara at some point in the future, which means fans should get ready for that to happen almost immediately.
In fact, the trailer for next week's episode, "All About Eve," is already showcasing Red Daughter causing some major havoc while posing as Supergirl, and the government is apparently already turning its back on the heroine.
This looks like a job for...whoever is able to stop Red Daughter, really. I don't think anyone in National City or Washington D.C. or anywhere else would be all that picky about who's doing the hero work.
Find out what will happen next on Supergirl as it continues adding excitement to the midseason TV schedule every Sunday night on The CW at 8:00 p.m. ET.
