Blood Bonds

"Blood Bonds" is the ninth episode in the first season of the CBS television series Supergirl, which aired on January 4, 2016. It was written by Ted Sullivan and Derek Simon, and directed by Steve Shill.

The episode centers on Kara's attempt to rescue Hank from Non after she captures Aunt Astra that leads to a tradeoff and a question of who they can trust, while Cat Grant attempts to refute Kara's claim that she is not Supergirl.

Plot
Hank intervenes when Non attacks Kara, but Non abducts him. Maxwell dismisses the DEO and refuses to answer questions. Alex is Hank's designated successor. Astra refuses to reveal Hank's location, and emphasizes that Kara opposes her. Non offers to trade Hank for Astra; Alex agrees, but General Lane, whom the president has put in charge of the DEO, refuses. Non's associate fails to read Hank's mind. Lane interrogates Astra by torturing her with kryptonite, over Kara's objections. Astra reveals Hank's supposed location, but it's a trap; Kara saves Alex and a soldier from an explosion.

Maxwell obstructs James' investigation of the damage at Lord Technologies. James tells Kara that he has no leads, but confides his suspicions to Winn. Winn helps James infiltrate Lord Technologies, but James is stopped by a biometric lock and then caught by Maxwell, whose security force beats up and ejects James. Kara declares she will go after Maxwell for injuring James. Winn compares her to Astra, and says she instead needs to let him and James expose Maxwell.

Astra reveals to Kara that Alura believed Astra's claims about the planetary crisis, and sentenced Astra for her crimes without losing faith in her. Astra favorably likens Kara to Alura, and tells her that the prisoner exchange is the only way to rescue Hank. Kara agrees; General Lane threatens to stop her by force, but the soldier whom Supergirl rescued refuses to act against her, as do his comrades. After the exchange, Non springs an ambush but withdraws on Astra's orders.

Cat decides that Supergirl is wasting her energies; if Kara can't prove she isn't Supergirl, Cat will fire her. Kara resigns because Cat's suspicions make her job impossible, but Hank later impersonates Supergirl beside Kara, whom Cat rehires. Hank also offers Kara a full-time job at the DEO, but she declines because her relationships at CatCo are what humanizes her. She chats online with a supportive Superman. He reiterates a Kryptonian proverb referenced throughout the episode: "Blood bonds us all," referring to all Kryptonians but by extension all sapient life. James, Winn, and Kara commit to stopping Maxwell.

In the secure Lord Technologies facility, Maxwell checks on a test subject, a young blonde woman who died from brain trauma. She opens her entirely black eyes.

Ratings
The episode attracted 692,000 viewers for its British premiere, making it the 8th most watched programme on Sky One for the week.

Critical response
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly noted: "What separates us from them? Who’s the us, and who is the them? Are we more alike than it seems at first? These are some of the questions that Supergirl touches on in tonight’s episode, which finds Kara incredibly stressed out in the face of all of these mounting odds. All of this pressure tests Kara’s resolve to continue embodying “the best of us.” "

Cliff Wheatley of IGN gave the episode a 5.2, saying “Blood Bonds” tackles some of the more interesting subject matter of the series thus far, forcing Kara to confront her ties to her only remaining family with her sense of justice, but ultimately it’s a scattershot episode that peters out pretty quickly. The villains lack dimension and reversing the decision on Cat’s discovery feels like a step backward rather than an interesting story choice. While there was still some charm to be had from the CatCo crew, this episode was a definite dud.

Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.0 out of 5 stars.