Supergirl didn’t hold back any of its punches in last week’s game-changing episode, “Crossfire.” From revealing that Alex (Chyler Leigh) is going to be exploring her sexual identity as she came out as gay to her new friend/crush Maggie (Floriana Lima) to the shocking twist that Lena Luthor’s (Katie McGrath) own mother (Brenda Strong) is the head of Cadmus to James Olsen’s (Mehcad Brooks) first time saving people as the vigilante Guardian, the episode shook up every character’s life moving forward. And this week’s episode, “Changing,” continues that forward movement in a big way by continuing to explore each and every one of these storylines.

“I mean, should anyone ever trust a Luthor?” series star Melissa Benoist asked us on set in Vancouver while reacting to the Luthor/Cadmus connection. “I think that’s just going to be the looming question overall. Lena and Kara have such an awesome relationship. I love the scenes … but there’s just going to be … It’s inevitable. I don’t think Kara is ever going to be able to truly know if she’s being honest, or if it’s something she shouldn’t be suspicious of. But there is a true friendship there and a mutual respect.”

Someone Kara does not respect — at least as of now — is this new vigilante Guardian popping up at crime scenes, especially since she does not know it’s her friend/ex James under the mask and armor.

“You’ll definitely see how she reacts to him coming onto the scene,” Benoist said. “You might be surprised by the way she does.”

But Brooks promises that the way James handles his secret around Kara will be played for laughs.

“In true form on our series, it’s handled really well but also comically,” Brooks shared. “I’m sticking up for [Guardian], she’s bashing him; I continue to stick up for him, she’s bashing him; Winn [Jeremy Jordan] sticks up for his suit, I look at him like he’s crazy. So we have this multilayered rapport happening between me trying to support the Guardian and her feeling a little superhero jealousy, perhaps. And then later on it gets a little more serious.”

As for how the people of National City react to Guardian, Brooks reveals that will come into play very soon.

“That becomes a point of contention,” Brooks continued. “How the people of National City — You know, opinion polls are like that [snaps fingers]. That does become a point of contention and I think if anybody can win the hearts ad minds of the city, it is characters created on the show.”

And now that Mon-El (Chris Wood) is becoming more and more integrated into the outside world and finding his place in National City, will he come into contact with Guardian? Wood isn’t revealing any spoilers about that dynamic, but he did discuss how Mon-El and James will interact.

“There’s the new kid on the block energy right off the bat, which we see a bit of with Winn and James where James sort of admits he says he’s jealous of him because he’s sort of got this shininess to him … because [Mon-El] is a puppy dog,” Wood said. “I think that relationship starts off — especially when Mon-El is more intimidating — he starts off on the wrong foot, so it takes a second to get back. But James is also smart enough to see that this guy is just sort of clueless right now. So when it comes down to it, once he’s Guardian and if Mon-El is trying to pursue a career in heroism, I think they would see eye-to-eye in terms of what they’re trying to do. But they might have different tactics. So that gets interesting down the line a bit.”

While J’onn J’onnz (David Harewood) won’t be all that thrilled that another vigilante is roaming the streets of National City, his reaction to Winn’s role with Guardian may surprise you.

“Hank isn’t too comfortable with vigilantes, [but] I think he might be quite impressed with Winn,” Harwood shared. “I think he’s already impressed with Winn, anyway. He’s his alien dad. I think it’s nice having Winn in the DEO. I think it gives [him] the chance to play with his expertise more than it did at CatCo.”

But why did James choose Winn to be his Guardian sidekick?

“I think James and Winn are already really good friends,” Brooks said. “There’s a definite bromance going on there. And we find each other at a time in our lives when we need each other, right? I’m helping him accomplish something in his life where he feels his hands are tied in a certain way. You’ll find out this in episode 6. And he’s helping me accomplish something that’s been on my mind and in my heart for years. So yeah, that relationship does become something that’s an odd couple.”

When it comes to Kara and Mon-El, their crackling chemistry couldn’t be denied in last week’s episode as she tried to help him assimilate into the human world, especially when it came to him hooking up with girls in the office (was that jealousy we saw on Kara’s face when she walked in on him with a girl in a supply closet?). But Benoist says the show isn’t exploring that dynamic … at least, not yet.

“What I love that we’ve explored thus far this season is that Kara learned how to be Supergirl last season,” Benoist added. “It was all about her trying to find her comfort zone as a superhero and how she wanted to be. And now she’s learning how to be Kara, personally and professionally. I think it’s so important for her to just feel like she can truly stand on her own. So I love that she’s not pining after anyone right now. But there are things on the horizon. It’s really lovely the way they pan out.”

While Kara isn’t focusing on her love life at the moment, what about Mon-El? Does he even want a relationship?

“From what we’ve seen, he just likes fun and he likes going out and making out and hooking up and just being a dude,” Wood said. “I think it’s not really something he’s had in his life. But he really strikes me as the kind of guy who has just always gotten away with it. So he’s never had to think about settling down or picking one girl to focus on. I don’t think he’s open to it because of that. He’s never met somebody that wowed him like that, so it’ll take a second to wrangle and get him to calm down.”

What are you most excited to see from this week’s episode of Supergirl? Tweet me your thoughts at @SydneyBucksbaum!

Supergirl airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Images: The CW