James is blackmailed by the Sons of Liberty. Manchester comes to Kara with an offer she can’t refuse. The Sons of Liberty step up their campaign. Lena has serious misgivings about her project.

Here comes the gear shift. By the end of this episode Kara has gained a new enemy, J’onn has come to terms with his failure, Manchester has some of the information he’s looking for and the Sons of Liberty are finally, explicitly a terrorist organisation. Phase 1 of this arc is very much complete.

It’s also endlessly impressive, building on James and Lena’s incredible empathy for everyone other than themselves in some clever ways. Lena’s conversations with her test subjects are raw and open while James’ collision with the Sons gives him the serenity he’s been missing. In her case, she finds a kindred spirit prepared to sacrifice himself for the project. In his case, it’s the realisation that the Sons are a terror organisation and the serenity of finally having someone to oppose. These two arcs, while neither are primary, power the episode and it’s going to be fascinating to watch these two re-connect in a few episodes’ time.

Elsewhere the episode also impresses. There’s a nicely handled sequence where Kara is de-powered and must improvise which gives the third act some real jeopardy. There’s also a real step up in Manchester Black’s arsenal and he takes centre stage this week. His calmly brutal, John Wick style of fighting marks him out as both very different and incredibly dangerous. David Ajala’s friendly, genuine delivery helps sell every non combat scene too and the confrontation between Manchester and J’onn at the end of the episode is a season highlight. Manchester knows exactly what he is. He knows he’s damned. He knows there’s nothing he’d rather be. He’d get on very well with Matt Ryan’s John Constantine and all joking aside, if he makes it out of this season I’d really like to see him on the Waverider.

All of these plots culminate at a former alien immigration port and in one of the show’s best handled action sequences to date. Betrayed by Manchester, Kara frantically tries to get James’ attention as her powers slowly return and he prepares to blow up the building he doesn’t realise she’s in. It all builds to a cathartic beat that hands the Sons their first real loss so far this season and raises the stakes for everyone from here on out. Manchester’s true nature is revealed, J’onn can see he’s failed, Alex is still under overwatch and Kara and James have to cope with the fact that now the Sons are emboldened and need a victory.

Verdict: Ambitious, successful and political this is another standout episode in a standout season. Recommended. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart