The penultimate episode of Supergirl's second season left National City in danger from the Daxamite invasion. Though I was never really worried Kara would fail at protecting her city in the finale, "Nevertheless, She Persisted," it was a close call. The DEO and Kara had to make a hard decision to win the day, and while I don't have a better option in mind for eliminating the Daxamite threat, I'm not positive I agree with their actions.

Allow me to back up a little and discuss how much I admire Kara's initial tactics. Once she got Clark back on the anti-Daxam team, they found a Daxamite combat challenge—a Daxamite rite, you could say—to use against Rhea. Kara threw the challenge down as a last-ditch attempt to stop the queen. The plan had the possibility of working to end the attack against National City and Earth altogether, but at the very least, it was a way to delay the fight and give the DEO time to come up with another way to stop the invasion.

The challenge was driven by a healthy dose of desperation, but it illustrated Kara's willingness to put her life on the line and do whatever it takes to save humans. It's a quality Kara's displayed again and again. Of course, Rhea doesn't play fair. She would get along stupendously with Lillian Luthor.

Speaking of, Lillian brought a solution to the problem right to Lena's door. She took time in an urgent situation to scold Lena for being naïve and allowing Rhea to bring her fleet to Earth, but that's typical Lillian. The solution in question was a device from Lex's vault that was configured to get rid of Superman. Given Lena's high level of intelligence, she was able to modify it to put lead in the atmosphere and harm the Daxamites... which included Mon-El.

At first, I thought this was the ideal solution. Pump some lead into the atmosphere with Luthors' air freshener-esque device, ship Mon-El off-planet temporarily, shoo the Daxamites away, and go celebrate with pizza and ice cream or something.

If only the device was so simple.

The effects of the lead-emitting device turned out to be permanent. Not only would it kill any Daxamite who tried to stay in the short term, it would prevent them from ever returning to Earth because the atmosphere would be akin to breathing poison. So, Mon-El had to leave. I'm not completely against Kara having a life free of romantic entanglements, but like him or not, Mon-El made Kara happy—after he got it together and matured. No one is required to have a career and a love life to be fulfilled. Not even close. But it's been a balance Kara has struggled with since she started wearing the cape, and it finally clicked into place for her.

And is the right resolution really trying to kill many members of a dwindling race? I realize the Daxamites were being careless with human lives with their whole invasion thing, but the response lacked the sort of compassion I've come to expect from Kara. I don't want to be a backseat flier because, like I mentioned, I don't have another answer. They had to make a decision under fire and for the greater good, and Rhea wasn't open to any sort of negotiations. Still, I can't help but wonder if there could have been another way. A better way.

With my apologies to James Olsen, I was giddy at seeing Cat Grant back in her office at CatCo. There's no other force of nature like her in Supergirl. Sure, J'onn is a mentor for Kara, and Alex and Lena are sounding boards, but Cat? She's special. She has no patience for fake news—she recognizes Lillian claiming responsibility for stopping the Daxamites as baloney—and she states her mind in the most eloquent ways. No one teaches Kara as much as Cat. And she made a killer point when consoling Kara about losing Mon-El. She told Kara about what makes women strong: "We have the guts to be vulnerable."

Let's travel over to #DCTV Secrets neighborhood. Queen Rhea exposed Superman to silver kryptonite. The material's popped up in the Smallville television series, as well as the SUPERMAN/BATMAN comic. It caused the Man of Steel to experience hallucinations. For example, in Smallville, Clark thought his family was conspiring against him. In Supergirl, he hallucinated in a more extreme fashion and saw Kara as Zod. The case of mistaken identity led to an intense battle between the two Kryptonians.

Oh hey, speaking of General Zod, this was the character's first appearance on Supergirl. First appearing in 1961's ADVENTURE COMICS #283, Zod is a longtime enemy of Superman and Earth in general, for that matter.

What did you think of the Season 2 finale of Supergirl? What are your theories and thoughts about the ending? Will you miss Mon-El? Dish about these topics and more in the comments below.

Wait! I have a post-credits scene. Since we're at the end of Season 2 of Supergirl, it's the right time for me to thank each and every one of you for joining me for #DCTV Couch Club each week. Breaking down the episodes is cathartic for me, and I hope you've enjoyed the ride. Here's to meeting again next fall.
 

Amy Ratcliffe covers Supergirl as a part of the #DCTV Couch Club. Look for Amy on Twitter at @amy_geek. Supergirl airs Mondays at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CST) on The CW.