Nine months ago, the Kaznians found an amnesiac clone of Supergirl. Five months ago they told Lex Luthor. That was their last mistake and this is their story.

This entire episode is an excuse for two things: Jon Cryer to really cut loose and Melissa Benoist to have some fun. Red Daughter is serious, naïve and acutely aware of both those things. She knows something is up but she also knows she wants to belong and Benoist plays the conflict between the two perfectly. Plus, whoever came up with the ‘Alex/Lex’ imprint hits, squarely, what the ‘Martha/Martha’ moment in Batman vs Superman does not.

The genuinely brilliant thing about the episode though is how much of an arc there is. We see Lex construct his plan with the same meticulousness and charm that the best versions of the character always have. We also see Red Daughter journey from a willing force multiplier to someone who instinctively trusts her ‘other’ self. What Lex does to tip her over the edge is truly, genuinely evil. What Otis does to deal with it is one of the season’s genuinely pleasant surprises.

Here, the show and Lex are one and the same; a mastermind putting every card down in perfect order. The season really has all been building up to this and the end result is an endlessly impressive, and darkly humorous, side step that helps the overall season immensely.

Verdict: Wildly eccentric and brilliant fun. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart