Kara finds herself drained of her powers as an earthquake rocks the city on Supergirl Season 1 Episode 7.

How does she handle it?

Below, TV Fanatics Jim Garner, Kathleen Wiedel, Christine Orlando and Stacy Glanzman discuss a powerless Supergirl, a jealous Winn, and Hank's big reveal.

Do you think Kara handled her loss of powers well?

Jim: I think she handled it about as well as she could be expected to. Hopefully they can figure out a way to make her a "Kryptonian adrenaline injection" that she can use instead of James falling down an elevator shaft to jump-start her powers coming back if it happens again.

Kathleen: Something that everyone seems to be forgetting (including Kara, oddly) is that Kara didn't even have superpowers during her life on Krypton. She didn't gain bullet-proofing and flight and all that until she came to Earth and absorbed the yellow-sun radiation. This is something that should have been pointed out in the episode, yet wasn't. Associating her lack of powers with her memories of being a child unable to save her family or planet would also connect with her feelings of anger regarding that situation, as seen in the immediate previous episode.

Christine: I thought she did an admirable job, especially when she had to watch someone die whom she could have saved if she’d had her powers. I think that drove home how powerless she felt as a mere mortal.

Stacy: I also thought she handled it well, and I liked that it helped her realize it wasn't her powers that made her a hero. She is one with or without them.

Will Alex keep Hank's secret from Kara?

Jim: I give it three episodes (max) into the spring season before Kara knows. Either Alex will blab or Jon will have to reveal himself to help Kara.

Kathleen: David Harewood, who plays J'onn/Hank, gave some oddly potentially spoilery bits on this topic in an interview with TV Guide. For my own part, I fully expect that this is one secret that will get revealed to Kara sooner rather than later. Alex will have to explain somehow her reasons for 180 on Hank Henshaw, and that would be practically impossible with Kara without explaining the whole story. She's really between a rock and a hard place with this one.

Christine: I think the truth will come out, but it won’t be Alex who tells Kara…and then their relationship will be tested over this huge secret as Kara wonders what else her sister might be keeping from her.

Stacy: I like Christine's theory, but my guess is that Kara will figure out something is up and Alex will tell her. Like Kathleen said, it would be hard for Alex to explain why she all of a sudden wants to drop her investigation into Hank and trusts him again.

Watch Supergirl Season 1 Episode 7 Online

Was Winn right when he told Kara she can never have a normal relationship?

Jim: This is the one story element that turns up in every version of Superman or Supergirl. We saw it on Smallville, we saw it in Superman 2, We even saw it in Superman Returns. Kryptonians and Earthling look alike, but they are biologically and emotionally different. Winn was mostly right, that her and James would never be able to have a "normal" relationship. However he was wrong to say they could not (would not?) ever have a relationship at all. After all, love is one of the greatest things worth fighting for.

Kathleen: The relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane pretty much *defined* the whole premise of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman from the '90s. So, could Kara never have a normal relationship? Maybe not, but that shouldn't stop her from trying, and I think Winn was speaking out of hurt and jealousy. It came across as a downright cruddy thing for him to say at that moment.

Christine: I agree with Kathleen. Winn was lashing out because he was hurt and jealous, and he was trying to hurt Kara back. No, she’ll never have a “normal” relationship because Kara isn’t normal, but that doesn’t mean she has no romantic future or possibilities. I think Winn would be more than willing to take a chance on love with Kara if he were the one she’d been hugging.

Stacy: I agree with everything said above. Winn is coming from a place of jealousy and was being hurtful. Chances are if he were the one Kara was hugging, he would have a different view. Maybe Kara can't have a "normal" relationship, but she also can't help how she feels.

Were you surprised to see Astra back so soon? What is she up to?

Jim: It was about the right time for her to return. She's been too quiet and after a major disaster, it seems like the perfect time for Astra to show up. Too bad Red Tornado failed so horribly, huh?

Kathleen: Well, she was definitely smarting from her smackdown at the hands of J'onn/Hank, so she needed time to recover from that, and to come up with a new strategy for going after Kara. In terms of the series, it was a good time to bring her back; otherwise, audiences might start to forget about the threat she poses.

Christine: We’re coming up on the holiday hiatus so it actually feels like the perfect time for Astra to reappear and being back some more drama. I have no idea what she’s been up to, but we’ll find out soon enough.

Stacy: Again I agree that it feels like the right time for Astra to return, bringing havoc with her. She's had time to come up with a plan, and I am excited to find out what it is.

What was your favorite quote or scene?

Jim: Loved, loved, loved Jon's reveal to Alex. I especially love that there is a budding father/daughter relationship growing there given he lost his family and Alex lost her father. I still hope that Alex's father is alive somehow, but at least she has some closure on what happened.

Kathleen: David Harewood was absolutely fantastic in that scene, wasn't he? He gave J'onn such a distinct characterization: still full of grief for all that he had lost, but still determined to fulfill his oath to keep another man's daughter safe, coupled with a perhaps unexpected relief at finally revealing his true nature to her.

Christine: I loved Cat’s speech about not giving into fear playing parallel to Kara in her Supergirl outfit but sans powers trying to get the guy with the gun to find his humanity. The two scenes played well off of one another, and I loved that it made us look for the good in people even in the worst of times.

Stacy: I agree with Christine that the parallel scenes were my favorite, but I also really liked James' story about his father giving him his first camera. I loved his speech about capturing the truth of the moment in a picture.

Don't forget to watch Supergirl Season 1 Episode 8, "Hostile Takeover," on Monday, Dec. 14!

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Stacy Glanzman was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in March, 2019.