This week’s “Supergirl” brings TV’s first trans super heroine to the forefront in a surprisingly dark fashion in “Reality Bytes,” which tackles some heavy subjects for any show, much less a superhero show.
When her roommate comes under attack from an anti-trans hate group, Nia takes it very seriously and almost crosses the line while trying to bring the culprit to justice. Alex ventures into the virtual world to find a missing person and shocking news hits home.
Cyber Stalked | After taking down a rogue alien as Dreamer, Nia goes for a night on the town with her roommate, Yvette, only for Yvette to be attacked by her online date, a guy named Gregory Bower, who leaves a hateful message for Dreamer telling her to give up being a superhero simply because she’s trans.
Nia is naturally infuriated, even more so when the cops don’t have any leads. Despite Kara’s hopeful encouragement, Nia is pissed off and vows to take down Bower on her own terms i.e. murder.
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Virtual Vegas | Alex and J’onn are approached by Al, who wants them to find his missing brother, Trevor. He was last seen using Obsidian’s VR lenses, so Alex talks Kelly into using the lenses to go to the virtual world to find him, while J’onn tracks down the wife of Richard Bates, a former Obsidian employee who has ties to Trevor.
Alex eventually finds Trevor locked in a room and forced to spontaneously explode every few minutes, while J’onn finds out that Bates’s wife was virtually cheating on him with Trevor and Bates found out about it. Alex is attacked by Bates, but knocks him awake in a hotel room, where J’onn finds him in a coma. Alex wakes Trevor out of the virtual world and she and Kelly agree that VR has its issues.
Protecting the Community | Nia lures Bower out to strike again and suits up to face him. He throws Transphobia 101 at her, enraging her to the point where she nearly chokes him to death with a dream slinky. Supergirl arrives and talks her into turning Bower over to the police instead, but Nia is still shaken from the fact that her community has been attacked. When she goes home, Yvette is ready to delete her social media, but Nia talks her out of it, saying that trans people won’t and shouldn’t be erased.
As Brainy gives evidence on Bower’s anti-trans violence to the cops, Bates’s comatose body is taken by Margo, Leviathan’s spokeswoman. And then, in a very surprising turn, Alex gets a call from her mom: Jeremiah Danvers was found dead. Yeah, “Supergirl” didn’t forget about that plot thread!
“Supergirl” airs Sundays on The CW.