Monday, January 22, 2018

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 11 - Fort Rozz

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.



Plot

With Reign still on the loose, Kara and Irma recruit Livewire and Psi for a mission to infiltrate the Kryptonian prison Fort Rozz in search of someone who might know something of how to stop her. Meanwhile, Alex babysits Ruby and gets an unexpected message from Maggie.


Influences

Star Trek
(mention of Omicron Radiation, the general appearance of The Legion of Super Hero's ship bridge), Suicide Squad (base idea of having super-villains work with the heroes to accomplish a mission under strict controls.) the film Mean Girls (Livewire makes a reference to Psi being like Regina George - the lead mean girl), the book Matilda by Roald Dahl (Livewire and Psi call Saturn Girl this as a nickname, referring to the little girl with the same powers) and the Michael Green/Mike Johnson run on Supergirl (character of Reign and concept of Worldkillers)


Goofs

Again, it should be noted that Ruby looks a bit old to require a babysitter.

Radiation does not discriminate based on gender.


Performances

Sara Douglas is suitably creepy as Jindah Kol Rozz.


Artistry

Good effects work on the Livewire/Reign fight.


Super Trivia

Sara Douglas plays the role of Jindah Kol Rozz. Douglas is instantly recognizable to most Superman fans as Ursa - General Zod's right-hand in Superman: The Movie and Superman II.

Kara says that she is powerless under the light of a blue star like AZ336XB12. This is the complete opposite of how things are in the mainstream DC Comics Universe, where the light of blue stars makes Kryptonians and Daxamites even more powerful than they are under the light of a yellow sun.

Saturn Girl makes mention of omicron radiation - a particular form of radiation emitted by blue stars that is lethal to anything with a Y-chromosone. The term "omicron radiation" seems to have been lifted from Star Trek, where it is a unique form of radiation that is formed by certain rare interactions of matter and anti-matter that is toxic only to certain humanoid species.

Though not identified by name in the episode, the alien who attacks Supergirl when she first enters Fort Rozz is identified on IMDB as a Tormock.  In the DC Comics universe, The Tormocks are a sadistic, vicious alien race known for their fascist governments. They delighted in emotionally torturing the races they enslaved as well as physically tormenting them. The Tormocks were first introduced in Guy Gardner: Warrior #0 (October 1994) and were created by Beau Smith and Mitch Byrd. They were the sworn enemies of The Vuldarians - a race who acted as the protectors of the universe before The Green Lantern Corps.

The Zip Code for Maggie's new address in National City is given as 44333. In our world, the 44333 Zip Code is reserved for Summit County, Ohio, outside the city of Akron.

Mention is made of the other "Worldkillers" besides Reign. In the Supergirl comics, The Worldkillers were a group of five genetically engineered creatures designed by Kryptonian scientists using embryos from other species to create living biological weapons capable of destroying a planet. Reign was one of the Worldkillers and the first that Supergirl encountered. She would later confront four of them. It was implied that the monster Doomsday was the fifth and final Worldkiller.


Technobabble

The name of the star which Fort Rozz is now orbiting - AZ336XB12 - does not conform to any astronomical naming convention on our Earth.

Blue star light weakens Kryptonians in the same manner as red star light.

Blue stars also emit omicron radiation, which is fatal for any life-form with a Y-chromosome.

The docking of The Legion ship at Fort Rozz alters its orbital path by .003 AUs.

Brainiac-5 asks about utilizing a cold fusion optical transreceiver at one point, only to be informed that the 21st century does not have cold fusion.

Winn uses the Voyager 2 satellite to send a signal to The Legion ship when their traditional broadcast channels fail.


Dialogue Triumphs

Ruby: C'mon, Mom! Let me stay with Alex! At the Christmas party, she promised to teach me how to punch without breaking my thumb!
(Samanatha smirks at Alex.)
Alex: Full disclosure. I am not a good babysitter.
Kara: Yeah. You should listen to her, 'cause one time she made me watch 'The Shining' and I had nightmares for weeks!
Alex: Umm, okay. She was 15!
Kara: So?!
Alex: Soooo...  you were the one who wanted to watch it!

(Psi is escorted into the DEO Situation Room by two armed guards.)
Supergirl: Thanks for agreeing to join us.
Psi: Reign is going after people like me. I don't want to get killed by that psycho when I finally break out of this place.
(Psi looks at Livewire.)
Psi:
Do you have a problem?
Livewire: 99, but you ain't one.

Livewire: Nice tiara.
Psi: Why don't you zap it off me and I'll show you what I can do? It would be such a delicious pleasure to bring you to your knees and watch you writhe in pain.
Livewire (laughing) Do you always talk like that?
Psi: At least I don't sound like an illiterate mean girl.
Livewire: Okay, Regina George.

Livewire: You think you're going to get through to Reign?
Supergirl: I got through to you. There must be something good in you that I could trust to come with me.
Livewire: I came with you because there's a maniac on the loose and I want to take her down! If you think I wouldn't fry you right now-
Supergirl: So do it.
(Supergirl just stares Livewire down, as Livewire seems to consider it but then sighs.)

Jindah Kol Rozz:
Kara Zor-El. Daughter of Alura.
Supergirl: Jindah Kol Rozz?
Jindah Kol Rozz: You know I am and yet you ask. Uncertainty will be your doom - not green stone.
Supergirl: I came to ask-
Jindah Kol Rozz: I know why you came. The Phantom Zone dampened my powers but not The Sight. Misery of your mother's design. But you'll be with her soon.
Supergirl: Can you tell me about Reign?
Jindah Kol Rozz: She will destroy you.
Supergirl: I've heard otherwise.
Jindah Kol Rozz: You know nothing of the nature of destruction. You are a child living in light. But there is darkness in all things. In every soul you know. Who will it take?
Supergirl: No one. If I have anything to say about it.
Jindah Kol Rozz: Oh.... you fly too close to the sun. I have languished in pain for time beyond reason because of you, The Children of Light. But your pretty skin will soon be brittle scales in Hellfire when the others awake and unite beneath the standard of Reign!

Mon-El: You might not have gotten through to Reign, but Livewire? She was as bad as they come. And you got through to her. You gave her something to fight for. To sacrifice for. You changed her heart for the better, and that's, I mean - that's amazing. And you did that without the yellow sun. That was all you.


Continuity

Jindah Kol Rozz is a Kryptonian priestess whose house symbol is the same as that worn by Reign.

Fort Rozz was named after Jindah Kol Rozz, who was also incarcerated there.

Jindah Kol Rozz never left Fort Rozz during the time it was crashed on Earth and was on-board  when Kara threw the fortress into space in 120, 

Fort Rozz came to orbit a star named AZ336XB12. It is a blue star that emits omicron radiation.

Saturn Girl uses the British pronunciation of the letter Z - "Zed".

Livewire was last seen in 210. She began working as a waitress under the alias Roseanne after Reign started killing criminals.

Psi was last seen in 302. Kara refers to the events of the episode and how she beat J'onn in a psychic duel.

Livewire has no memory of Winn from their time working togehter at CatCo. She does, however, remember Mon-El (aka Cosplay) saving her life in 210.

Maggie sends Alex a text asking her to send her passport, which she left in their old apartment.

Maggie's new mailing address is 709 Haiston St., National City, 44333.

Ruby was cyber-bullied by a girl named Erika Morrison for not letting her copy off her homework. Alex puts the fear of God (or the FBI) into her.

Jindah Kol Rozz was apparently a psychic on Krypton, but being trapped in The Phantom Zone weakened her powers save for her ability to see the future. She is able to manifest a black fog that inspires visions of terror.

Jindah Kol Rozz describes The Worldkillers as Power, Pestilence and Purity.

Reign reveals that unlike most Kryptonians her powers are not dependent on a yellow sun.

Livewire takes a heat-vision blast for Supergirl and dies.

Psi attacks Reign with a vision of her worst fear. It turns out to be Ruby, falling into darkness, screaming that someone is taking her away from her mom. The attack momentarily causes Samantha to take control again, long enough to look panicked and recognize Supergirl before changing back into Reign.

Psi is given a better room with a window as a reward for her help.

Sam has no memory of having said she had to take a trip for work when she left Ruby with Alex. Based on her phone, she realizes that she has lost time. She tells Alex this has happened several times and she thinks something is wrong with her.

Mon-El says that he has had to lead people into battle and lost them during his time in The Legion.

The episode ends with a woman named Julia being crushed between two cars and surviving. Apparently she is the second Worldkiller.


Location

Fort Rozz, currently in orbit around AZ336XB12.


Untelevised Adventures

Livewire apparently worked with a number of criminals over the past year since her escape, including some of the criminals killed by Reign.

Mon-El led several Legion missions where people died.


The Fridge Factor

Averted hard, as an all-women team is sent to save the day.


The Kryptonite Factor

Brainiac-5 is nerfed by his lack of knowledge regarding the 21st century so that Winn can be built up as useful.


The Bottom Line

A decent enough episode, though the death of Livewire seems to serve no real purpose and the Alex/Ruby bonding subplot, cute as it is, seems like filler. Still, there does seem to be some effort and shifting Psi into the more friendly character she was in the original comics and while this episode may be filler it isn't as painful to watch as some of Supergirl's other slower episodes.

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