After a long mid-season break Supergirl is back and with a little heart added to its action mix. The episode starts by getting us up to speed, the Guardian is still guarding National City and handing out a** whoopings like Halloween candy, Supergirl is still faster ( and stronger) than a speeding ground missile, Maggie and  Alex are still going strong, Mon-El is now a bartender and Roulette is back.

Supergirl is on the hunt for a missing teenage girl and Winn finds a link to her and some other missing teens through a clinic. Bringing Mom-El along for backup, Supergirl decides to follow the lead and ends up following a creepy (alien) doctor to a back room where he keeps a portal to a planet with a red sun. Unfortunately, Supergirl doesn’t realize this until she follows him through the tunnel, Mom-El shows up with an assist causing the doctor to run off but, the portal back to earth closes before they can escape.

Alex walks in on Winn and Jimmy in the middle of their ” I don’t wanna be a hero” argument and they realize Kara is missing. With the help of J’onn J’onzz they head out to the clinic and realize she’s been transported to another planet. While they prepare to suit up and roll out, Mom-El manages to get caught in a trap and a sniper has the in his cross hairs. Lucky for them the sniper is a helpful, non-biped eating alien named Joe, Mon-El and Supergirl discover that they are on Maldoria, a slave trading planet. Kara not ready to give up turns herself into the alien slavers along with Mon-El to find the missing teens.

While trying to formulate a plan they discover their best weapon is useless because J’onn can’t join the fight because the air is toxic to Martians. Alex pushes Maggie away because she thinks her happiness is the reason that Kara was taken. Kara’s time is running out as the team rolls out to save her because Kara and all the teens have been sold in bulk to an evil Groot looking alien. Alex tries to convince Winn to get over his fear after he comes clean and being Winn he does the right thing and joins the team. Meanwhile, inside Murder Castle, Kara is being her usual inspirational self and sacrifices her body to save the teens.

Mon-El uses his talents as a former royal guard to bring the pain and with the help of the teens, they try and escape the fortress just as the cavalry is arriving. Luckily Winn did come with and he’s working on the dial in the team back home. We also get a glimpse into something wicked coming with Mon-El when the Groot-esque alien order his minion not to harm him and bows before him! The escape does not go off without a hitch after that , Winn kicks an aliens a** when he tries to stop him from phoning home, Alex throws a sun grenade to help Kara save a teen that the aliens tried to take with them and our fave non-biped eating alien Joe asks if he can come with.

Safely back home with minimal bruising, after a tearful reunion between mother and daughter, Kara turns in her latest article to her unimpressed editor. Jimmy and Winn make up as agree to continue fighting crime because lets face it if you can beat down an alien you can take a regular human. Alex and Maggie make up after a heartfelt talk that seemed like a real relationship talk that wasn’t cliched or LGBT-specific but, did end with an ” I know your sister is Supergirl ” reveal from Maggie. Mon-El decides to join the superhero fight after being inspired by Kara and her bravery without her powers.

We also discover that Mon-El has some aliens after him and they’re out to kill which should add some excitement and a nice extra side story to this half of the season.

Overall this was a well-written episode. It was a darker episode than usual, super heavy but, inspirational and hopeful. The writers found the perfect mix between heartwarming and serious, hitting the mark perfectly. I also love the way the show handles Alex and Maggie’s relationship, extra points for not making it a big deal because it’s not, they take special care to not sensationalize it or make it other.  If this is where the back half of season is headed I’m more than happy to get on board.