Sunday, October 31, 2021

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 17 - I Believe In A Thing Called Love

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

Plot

With Lex Luthor and Nyxly joining forces, the Super Friends must face their two greatest enemies together as the hunt for the Love Totem begins. Meanwhile, Alex tries to plan the perfect proposal to Kelly, but work keeps getting in the way.

Influences

Marvel's Infinity War (the hunt for the Totems mirrors the search for the Infinity Stones, Nxyly now has a gauntlet to hold the totems)

Performances

The interactions between Peta Sergeant and Jon Cryer are easily the highlight of the episode.


Artistry

The effects work is generally good.


Super Trivia

The episode title comes from a 2003 song by The Darkness.


Technobabble

The Nyxly AI is revealed to have been made from a future variant of Nyxly whom fell in love with Lex Luthor. 

Lena uses her magic to create a fake Love Totem by replicating the energy signature of the totems the Super Friends control. 

According to Lena, magic is heavily influenced by the caster's emotions so if she tries to cast a spell while angry, the magic will reflect that, assuming she is able to maintain the focus to complete the spell at all.

Brainiac-5 identifies the weapons Lex used to save Nysly as 31st century technology.

Reversing the Totem energy signatures can theoretically create a baseline for protecting against the Dream Totem.

Lena claims that the Totems are most effective when used as weapons and that while they can be used defensively, there's no way one Totem can protect against the power of two Totems used offensively. This also makes it impossible for her to create a defense based on using the Totem energy against one another. 

Despite this limit, Lena does come up with a way to protect Kara from the effects of the Humanity Totem.

Lex is able to fix Nyxly's crystal ball without magic, thanks to his studies of magic and science being melded together in the 31st century.

Lex claims that while the Totems' physical forms can be destroyed temporarily, the power inside them will flow into something else. This means that the destroyed Hope Totem was bound to be reborn, allowing him to claim the Hope Totem.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Lex is trying to convince Nyxly they are fated to be allies. Suddenly, Mitch enters the room.)
Mitch:
Sorry I'm late. What is Lex Luthor doing here?
Nyxly: You're Lex Luthor, the madman who sent Supergirl to the Phantom Zone.
Lex: That was some of my best work.
Nyxly: Do you know what I really, really loathe? Men who send women to Phantom Zone!

Otis: Oh, I missed you, boss!
(Otis tries to hug Lex, who deftly ducks under his arm and keeps walking down the hall.)
Lex:
Now, why couldn't Nyxly have given me that kind of reception?
Otis: So what if she rejected you? You're Lex Luthor! And your timing couldn't be better. Luthor Corp's returns are through the roof this quarter! Your mom gave me a board seat! 
(Lex freezes up. His face remains neutral but his eyes betray his shock and horror at this.)
Otis: And the way you left everything covered, I think I'm the only one who noticed you were gone. My point is, you don't need that imp.
Lex: See, the thing about that imp is she's the only thing I want. Nyxly is the love of my life.
Otis: I'm sorry, what?
Lex: I know. Me? In love? (scoffs) I've always shouldered this world alone. I've never known what it meant to have a true partner. Who could possibly match my wit, my flair, my unfiltered genius? But when I met Nyxly, I knew. She was the one. This was supposed to be so easy. Come to this time, help Nyxly get the Love Totem before the Super Friends find it, and then return to the future where my Nyxly would still be alive. I can't save her if she doesn't trust me. And she won't trust me if she doesn't even like me. And if she doesn't like me now, how will she love me in the future?
Otis: I did not understand a word of that. But if she loved you before, why don't you just do that again?
(Lex spins on Otis. Otis cringes, expecting to be hit or yelled at. Instead, Lex grins manically.) 
Lex: You big, beautiful idiot. That's exactly what I should do!

Nyxly: How did you know where I was? (sees the small drone hovering above her) What is that? Is that a surveillance drone? Are you stalking me? Creep!
Lex: I was protecting you. If I hadn't shown up when I did, you would be powerless in a prison right now.
Nyxly:You claim to be on my side. But I am no closer to finding my Totems. So get out!
Lex: Uh, this is my home.
(There is a brief pause as Nyxly realizes this.)
Nyxly: Fine!

(Otis suggests Lex brainwash Nyxly into loving him.)
Lex: Otis, my good man, forcing women into loving you is the underpinning of a toxic relationship.
Otis: But you love toxic relationships?
Lex: Not as much as I love Nyxly.

(Lex regards a tied-up Mitch.)
Lex:
 (mock cheerful) Hello, courier minion.

Kara: I'm not afraid to become that phantom. I've been letting Nyxly convince me that if I stoop to her level, I'd become a monster just like her. But you know what? I have something she doesn't. This team, this family. And no matter what happens, I know you all will pull me back from the edge, which is why I need your help now.
Lena: If I use my magic, I could end up hurting you.
Kara: You've been afraid to become the worst version of yourself because for so long, Lex was the only family you had. He wanted you to be a monster, and there was no one around to pull you back when you went too far. But he's not your family anymore. We are. Focus on the good. On your real family. Use that to fuel your magic... and you won't lose control. 

Nyxly: You had a clean shot at the Love Totem. And you abandoned it to save me. Why?
Lex: Did I? I must not have seen it.
Nyxly: Tell me the truth. What do you want from me?
Lex: You want the truth? The truth is I love you. I love you so much that when you... died, part of me died too. And you don't understand. I don't love anybody. In fact, I hate everyone. From a very young age, I knew I would move through this world alone, riding that solitary high-speed train towards progress and greatness all by myself. But there you were. This radiant, powerful being, vibrating with your own brilliant madness. I never thought anyone could match my ambition, my genius, but... Then I met you. In all the timelines, in all the dimensions, in all the universes, you... were the only one that could match me. But of course, you don't know any of this, 'cause you weren't there. Yet. You haven't met me yet, and I sound insane.
Nyxly: No one has ever selflessly sacrificed something for me like you did tonight. So, no, I wasn't there. But... If what you say is true and you really are here to help me succeed... Well, I don't see why we can't be friends.


Continuity

Lex explains that the AI in the suit he gave Nyxly in 615 was based on her future self and that it used the Dream Totem to manifest him in the current time.

Lex claims that, in the future, he and Nyxly became allies after she assembled the All-Stone, but the All-Stone eventually killed her because she didn't assemble it the right way. Thankfully, he was able to preserve her mind as an artificial intelligence and send her back in time to try and do it right.

Nyxly is not impressed and tells Luthor she will never work with him.

Kara works with J'onn to come up with a strategy to disarm Nyxly once they draw her out.

Nia, Lena and Kelly head to the Watchtower lab to work on the scientific aspects of their plan.

Alex just got the ring she plans to use to propose to Kelly. She wants to do it on the next evening, which is the anniversary of the night she realized she truly loved Kelly. This occurred when the Super Friends were at Al's Bar arguing about what was the best movie ever and they both said Die Hard.

Alex takes Esme with her to set things up at Al's Bar, but Al informs her that they booked the bar for a private event the next evening. Shockingly, Alex didn't think to ask Al if he did private bookings.

According to Otis, LuthorCorp returns for the past quarter have gone through the roof and Lillian Luthor gave him a chair on the Board of Directors.

Otis suggests that Lex do what he did to make Nyxly fall for him in this time so the present day Nyxly will trust him.

William agrees not to publish any new Super Friends stories until their next plan succeeds. 

The Super Friends conferred with the witch hologram to determine the next totem Nxyly needs is the Love Totem.

The Super Friends plan to use a fake Love Totem to lure Nyxly into a secure location where they can ambush her.

Ironically, the location they choose is on Lover's Lane Road.

Lena loses control of her magic when she sees Lex, who shows up to save Nyxly and helps her escape.

Kara is knocked out for several hours thanks to the Kryptonite energy of Lex's weapons. When she wakes up, Lena informs her that she'd rather not try and use her magic until she's sure she's able to do so without Lex interfering with her emotional state. 

Andrea pushes William to write a full expose on Lex Luthor working with Nxyly and refuses to listen to William's reminder how badly going after Lex worked for CatCo, even when they had evidence of Lex's wrong-doing, back in 602.

Andrea gives William until the end of the day to find proof of Lex's wrong-doing or she'll run a story about him anyway.

The Super Friends decide to use the Courage and Humanity Totems as shields from the Totems Nyxly controls, rather than trying to weaponize them.

It is suggested that Brainiac-5 contact the Legion of Superheroes to see if they know what Lex was doing in their time, but Brainiac-5 is reluctant to do so given that the last time he acted on future knowledge it led to his working with Lex Luthor behind his friends' backs.

Lena tries to create a shield against the Dream Totem.

Dreamer tries to forsee where the Love Totem is.

J'onn undertakes the gauntlet of the Courage Totem and is forced to relive the moment he was separated from his children in the concentration camps on Mars. 

J'onn is able to claim the power of the Courage Totem after fighting back against the White Martians to try and save his daughters.

Lex claims that in the future he and Nyxly had matching surveillance drones so they could track each other at all times.

Lex dismisses the idea of mind-controlling Nyxly as creepy. Instead, he kidnaps Mitch and gives him the location of the Love Totem one hour before the Super Friends found it in the original timeline.

Lex also says he can't just tell Nyxly they fall in love, as he believes admitting your feelings to a woman will only scare them off.

Mitch lies to Nyxly, claiming he found the Love Totem in a book, Tale Of An Object Infused with Love, which described Ines De Castro, the Corpse Bride of Portugal and a famous tomb belonging to a pair of lost lovers.

Dreamer also divines the Love Totem as being located in Lisbon, Portugal.

Nyxly is able to keep Supergirl at bay with a waking nightmare that causes her to hallucinate being attacked by Phantom Zone Phantoms and then being turned into a Phantom herself.

The Love Totem vanishes before Nyxly can take it. She also makes her escape.

Legends of the Love Totem say that, unlike the other totems, it has disappeared and reappeared repeatedly throughout history and that it gravitates to people in love or locations associated with love. It is likewise repelled by people who are hateful.

It is theorized the Love Totem teleported itself away when Nyxly got too close to it, as her reasons for seeking the All-Stone are hateful.

Nyxly goes to Lex and asks for his help, but insists that it is strictly business and they will never be friends.

J'onn apologized to Kara for not being able to shield her effectively, blaming the fact that his courage faltered when he saw Kara get hurt by Nyxly's Dream Totem attack.

Kara talks Lena into trying to use her magic to protect Kara from the side-effects of the Humanity Totem, so she can use it against Nyxly.

Alex talks with William about how Kelly was engaged once before and how Alex's attempt to propose to Maggie Sawyer ended badly. (Alex proposed to Maggie in 222, but they broke up in 305.)

William advises Alex to go ahead and propose to Kelly because there's no guarantee they could be alive tomorrow with Lex Luthor on the loose.

Lex tells Nyxly about how they learned to work her magic and his technology together to create "beautiful things." He also says that she glowed whenever she talked about acquiring the All-Stone and how she did ultimately get the revenge she sought. Lex guesses this is why the future her was more receptive to a friend like him.

It turns out that Kelly was the one who booked Al's Bar because she had the same idea as Alex. She sets up a surprise engagement party with the help of Esme, William and Al, who were all in on the plan.

Alex reaches for the ring in her pocket but finds the Love Totem there instead, just as Lex and Nyxly show up to steal it.

Kara is able to use the Humanity Totem to incapacitate Nyxly while Lena's magic keeps her from losing her own humanity.

Lex deflects the blast of the Courage Totem into the Love Totem, seemingly destroying it as he moves to teleport himself and Nyxly away.

Alex says that it doesn't matter if the Love Totem was destroyed because she still feels the love for her friends and family that she did before. In fact, after what Kelly did, she feels more loved than ever.

Lex tells Nyxly the truth about why he is helping her. While she is still cynical about him loving her, she does admit that his saving her is the first time anyone did something selfless for her and she thinks they can be friends now.

Dreamer suggests that they should all chip in and get Kelly and Alex matching motorcycles as an wedding gift.

Brainiac-5 thinks there's something odd about Lex's behavior, having noticed that he risked everything to save Nyxly rather than grab the Love Totem for himself.

Dreamer tells Brainiac-5 to all the Legion and see what they know about Lex in their time.

Lena thanks Kara for pushing her, because she is now sure that she is free of Lex's influence.

William has a secret meeting with Otis Graves in a dark alley.

Andrea uses her Acrata powers to break into Luthor Manor and sneaks a peak at Lex Luthor's diary. It is full of love poetry about Nyxly. 

Lex gives Nyxly the Hope Totem, which he was able to recover after it recontituted itself. He says they can do the same with the Love Totem.


Location

Luthor Manor
Lisbon, Portugal.


Untelevised Adventures

Lex Luthor traveled to the future and fell in love with a future version of Nyxly. It was working with her that allowed Lex to learn how to blend magic and technology together. 

Lex must also have done something to inspire great hope somewhere to acquire the Hope Totem.


The Fridge Factor

Andrea continues to be stupid and journalistically amoral  for the sake of pushing artificial drama.


The Bottom Line

Surprisingly solid, as the series enters the home stretch before its finale. More of Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor is always welcome, and his interactions with Otis are the comedic highlight of the episode, but Cryer also proves to have considerable chemistry with Peta Sergeant and there's just enough of the sly, sinister Lex to make his sudden change of heart believable. It's just a shame that all the other subplots and emotional moments (particularly J'onn confronting his daughter's deaths) don't get as much time. . 

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