For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.
Plot
Familiar faces return to National City to help stop Lex and Nyxly for good, as Alex and Kelly prepare to walk down the aisle. Meanwhile, Kara wonders what to do with her life now that she's left CatCo to focus on protecting the planet as Supergirl.
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)
Goofs
The headlines on the TV showing that Supergirl just restored humanity's hope appear seconds after it happened.
It isn't explained just why Lex's portal to the Phantom Zone closes when he says it can't be closed.
Performances
Melissa Benoist and Jeremey Jordan get a great duet together at the wedding.
Honestly, the entire ensemble nail it in the show's final hour.
Artistry
The use of music in this episode is perfect.
Super Trivia
The episode makes a blatant reference to the 1984 Supergirl movie, with Helen Slater, who played Kara Zor-El in the original film and plays Dr. Eliza Danvers in the Arrowverse, commenting that you'd think she was a Kryptonian in another life as she joins in the fight against Lex Luthor and Nyxly.
Technobabble
Brainiac-5's Legion crown allows him to psychically communicate anything he sees and hears with as many people as necessary. However, he can only use this to share the message. He cannot use it to make them take in the message.
Lena has a spell that can enable people to hear a message with an open heart, but it doesn't last long.
Lena casts a spell to trap and unmake the garbage monster.
Dialogue Triumphs
Supergirl: I've been driven by this idea that people need to be rescued. That it was my job, my mission... to save them. I've believed it was my calling to be... Earth's hero. It's just so clear to me now. We don't need to be heroes. We need to be partners. And we need to actively empower every single person to be the hero of their own life.
Supergirl: At this moment, villains are tapping into your collective life force. They're trying to siphon your truth, hope, courage, dreams, your humanity. They're trying to vanquish your destiny. They think that you're helpless. What they don't realize is that your power is innate. It's always been within you. I know there are so many factors that can cause people to not feel their power but I'm here to remind you that none of those things hold a candle... to the power every single one of you possesses within. I thought I was supposed to save everyone. But I see now, there's only one way for this world to heal and flourish: By all of us working together as a team. When each of us contributes our unique gifts to the world with a full heart, together, we will shine. The power of one individual is enough to move mountains. If we can all tap into the deepest truths of our soul, and own our magnificence, together, we will defeat the powers of darkness. Together... we will be unstoppable. Together... we will create a better world.
Supergirl: People all over the world were inspired to empower themselves and each other. But that wasn't an all-purpose cure for the problems on this planet. Good feelings don't last forever. So we have to do the work every day. We can't let this recent victory go to waste. But if we do keep the fight up, we can accomplish the best in all of us. Not as vigilantes... but as civil servants. Not as superheroes... but as friends.
Brainiac-5: You'll be in my dreams, Nia. You've always been the girl of my dreams. I love you, Nia Nal.
Nia: I love you, too.
(Kara tells Alex about her job offer from Cat Grant.)
Alex: Kara, that's your dream job. I mean, I'm so excited for you.
Kara: I'm not gonna take it. I'm not taking it.
Alex: Wait, wait, wait, wait. What? What? What am I missing here?
Kara: Ever since we defeated Lex and Nyxly and started the work of empowering people, I've been amazed at how you and all of our friends are flourishing. You guys are living your dreams. Somehow I feel... deflated.
Alex: Accept Cat's offer. Maybe that'll give you a sense of purpose.
Kara: Alex, I quit CatCo because my attention was split. I was never able to really do my best because I was always sneaking off to be Supergirl, and that hasn't changed. If anything, it's gonna be worse because I will have much more responsibility now.
Alex: Your responsibilities as Supergirl have changed because you're no longer shouldering that burden of protecting the planet on your own. Maybe there's a world where you can do both.
Kara: Doing both will always require me to lie about who I am and where I'm going. Who am I now? Everybody is so empowered. And I feel less powerful than ever.
Alex: Well, I wish that I could give you all the answers, but unfortunately, you are the only one that can figure this out. But I, for one, I'm not worried. Because you are amazing. And every time you've come to a crossroad you have always chosen the right path.
Kara: What would I do without you?
(Nia is looking sad. Suddenly, a familiar voice calls out from behind her.)
Brainiac-5: Excuse me, miss? You don't happen to have a plus-one to this event, do you?
(Nia turns around. Brainiac-5 is there in a suit.)
Nia: What are you doing here? What about the...
Brainiac-5: Space-time continuum? The Big Brain? Yes, yes, these are valid concerns. Logical concerns. Sprock logic. I love you, Nia. I love you more than I've ever loved anything. I've devoted my entire life to the pursuit of protecting people, but when I returned to the future, I realized that the pursuit felt hollow. The most important thing to me is devoting myself to you.
Nia: But what about the future? What if us being together does destroy the future?
Brainiac-5: That's the thing about the future. It hasn't been written yet.
(Cat Grant has called to ask why Kara hasn't taken her job offer.)
Kara: Actually, I'm at my sister's wedding right now, and her life is just blossoming. She's fully at home with who she is, and what she stands for, and it's amazing. You can feel it. - I just feel...
Cat: Bifurcated?
Kara: Yes.
Cat: Inauthentic?
Kara: Well, yeah.
Cat: You know, it reminds me of a quote from an old English lord. "Secrecy is the badge of fraud." And he should know, by the way, because he used to feed his hunting dogs these little baby foxes for lunch. He was a monster. But nevertheless, there is no mystery here.
Kara: What do you mean?
Cat: That it doesn't take Freud to see that you have a secret and it's obstructing your life. And it's not serving you anymore, so screw it.
Kara: Not that simple, Ms. Grant. You can't understand. I don't...
Cat: Oh. You're Supergirl. La-di-da.
(Kara's jaw drops.)
Kara: You... You knew?
Cat: Please, those spectacles disguised you as much as a pair of Groucho Marx glasses, and you should have just added the bushy eyebrows and the moustache. Well, I heard your speech here, in Colombia. Well... "Supergirl's" speech. And "Supergirl" told the people that they should become empowered and that they should take care of themselves. And I'm wondering why that message doesn't apply to you?
Kara: You have a good point.
Cat: Oh, Ker-rah, I always have a point. Now, let's take a look at everything that Supergirl and Kara Danvers have accomplished separately. And then let's imagine what you could do if you became one integrated, authentic being.
Kara: I don't know if I'm ready.
Cat: Ker-rah, you need to stop making excuses, and you need to decide what your course will be. Now, there is important work to be done, and I hope you'll join me. But more than that, I hope that you will choose to become your full self, because that would really be something to see. And it would be interesting because this is boring.
Kara: (breathes deeply) Thank you, Ms. Grant. I really needed to hear that.
Cat: I believe in you, I always have.
Lena: Hey, what's wrong?
Kara: I'm supposed to be the strongest person on earth, but I think I'm actually the weakest.
Lena: What are you talking about?
Kara: Ms. Grant... My glasses... I give speeches inspiring people to live their best lives. But she's right. I am too afraid to live my own.
Lena: No, that's not true, Kara.
Kara: It is. My entire life, I've hid behind these glasses. It's gotten in the way of every job I've ever had, everything I've ever wanted to do, every relationship, every friendship.
Lena: Maybe we did have a bit of a bumpy road.
Kara: I think hiding who I am is the reason I couldn't pass the courage Gauntlet. I created Supergirl that night because the thought of saving my sister as myself was too terrifying.
Lena: Look, you've had your entire life, people telling you who you're supposed to be and that if you didn't hide your true self then the people would get hurt. I mean, it's tough to move beyond those type of core wounds. When Lillian told me she basically programmed the magic out of me as a child, I felt devastated. But I was devastated because I realized I didn't have a chance to grow up to be the person I was supposed to be. And I think it's the same for you. For me, it was always about protecting the Luthor name. You know, I went from trying to make that name stand for something good to try to be my true mother's daughter. My life was always framed by someone else. It wasn't until Lillian told me the truth that I realized I haven't been living my own life. And finally, now I am. And it feels amazing.
Kara: I don't even know what that would feel like for me. Connecting with someone as my whole self. To not be afraid to just be who I am.
Lena: It sounds like it could be empowering.
Kara: But what if I let myself just be who I am and someone gets hurt?
Lena: You can't always be our savior, Kara. You shine your light and inspire others to shine theirs. Your words, not mine. If somebody does come, if they try to mess with this family, then we will take them on together. El mayarah.
(Kara begins sobbing.)
Lena: Hey, hey. It's okay.
Kara: Of all the friends I have ever had, you have pushed me the most. Challenged me the most.
(Kara hugs Lena tightly. Lena begins crying too.)
Lena: You've made me a better person. Thank you.
Cat Grant: Hello, National City. You know her as Kara Danvers. CatCo's ace reporter and new editor-in-chief. But tonight, it is my great honor to introduce to you... Supergirl.
(The camera cuts to reveal Kara. She is not wearing her glasses. She smiles wide, whole and happy.)
Dialogue Disasters
Eliza: You'd think in another life I was a Kryptonian.
Alex: Only in the movies.
Continuity
As the episode opens, the color leaching from hopeless people problem is growing worse around the world.
Lex and Nyxly have not been identified as the two titans battling in National City.
Lillian says she is dying but she's at peace with that, but first she has to tell Lena that she knew what Lena and her mother were and that she pushed Lena towards science and had talismans put in the Luthor home that would blunt her natural powers. At the time she thought she was helping Lena.
Lilian says she wants to set Lena free and that she needs to fully own her power and forget about her and Lex and live her life the way she wants to.
Kara says she was driven by the idea that people needed to be rescued but now she sees they need to be partners. She says they need to empower people to help themselves - not wait for heroes to rescue them.
J'onn suggests that causing people to feel empowered may drain the power from the AllStone fragments Lex and Nxyly are wielding.
Kara says she'll make a speech to inspire people, but Brainiac-5 says they'll need to reach every person in the world at once for that to work.
Kelly points out that many traumatized people won't be able to work through their issues to
Lena says that Lillian is dead and that she found closure with her before she passed.
Lex and Nyxly crash into National City Terminal. J'onn says this is an ideal place to contain them while Lena works her spell with Kara and Brainy.
Andrea, Secretary Brown, Mitch and Al are among the people shown hearing Supergirl's message.
Kara's speech causes the power of her AllStone fragment to drop to 20%
The SuperFriends confront Nyxly and Lex.
Nyxly summons a dragon (613) and the garbage monster from 608.
Lex summons the Parasite (206), Red Tornado (106), Ubergirl (last seen in L308) and Metallo (212).
Mon-El shows up and shields Kara from an energy-blast. He tells her that her speech made the history books.
Winn shows up in a Legion ship and defeats the dragon.
James Olsen shows up in his Guardian armor and helps Kelly fight Metallo.
Andrea uses her shadow powers to save Lena from Lex.
Brainiac-5 and Sentinel team to stop the Red Tornado and Parasite.
Nyxly summons a swarm of owls to fight Dreamer, but Eliza Danvers destroys them with a shotgun.
Mitch shows up with an alien gun... on the side of the heroes.
Kara takes out the Ubergirl.
Lex opens a portal to the Phantom Zone - one he says he can't be closed.
Orlando leads a mob of people to confront Lex. This causes the All-Stone fragments to lose even more power.
Lex sends the phantoms into the crowd, but they are attracted to Lex and Nyxly as they are the most afraid of everyone there. They are dragged into the Phantom Zone and the portal closes.
Brainiac-5, Dreamer, Kara, Andrea, Alex, Lena, Winn, J'onn, Kelly, Jimmy, and Mon-El attend William Dey's funeral.
Jimmy is shown to have grown a goatee.
Andrea says she's going to set up a journalism award in William's name. She is later shown having established a journalism school named in his honor.
J'onn says he got a call from the President and Secretary Brown and that they've been given permission to reimagine the DEO as they see fit, with a focus on Extra-Normal rather than Extra-Terrestrial.
Alex and Lena are worried about the bureaucracy the DEO involved, but Kara says it's a good idea.
Lena is shown establishing a new Lena Luthor Foundation.
Alex, Supergirl and J'onn are shown with Secretary Brown at the announcement of a new DEO.
Dreamer is shown opening an LGBTQ youth center with Orlando and Kelly.
Winn promises to return for Alex and Kelly's wedding.
Mon-El says he won't be able to make it back due to the Legion having a lot on their plates due to the Big Brain situation. In fact, he says he doesn't think he'll ever return to the past again.
Mon-El says that Kara's speech changed the future inspiring people to be their own heroes.
Brainiac-5 says he can't stay for the wedding either, but tells Nia she will be in his dreams.
Three weeks after Winn, Mon-El and Brainiac-5 return to the future, Kara is shown preparing flowers for Alex and Kelly's wedding, which is said to be tomorrow.
Kara is ready to act to save a cat stuck in National City's oldest tree which is reported on the news but the situation is under control according to the reporter on the scene almost before Kara can take off her glasses.
Cat Grant calls Kara to rant about how selfish people are and how sunscreen is destroying the coral reefs. She still mispronounces Kara's name as Care-ah rather than Car-ah.
Cat is on a Colombia beach saving sea turtles from garbage.
Cat called Kara to tell her that she just bought CatCo back from Andrea and that she's making Kara her new editor-in-chief. She says she'll be back to National City in two weeks and they will only be working on hard news from now on.
Alex says her caterer broke her arm and they just had to get a replacement at the last minute.
Kara says she doesn't want to take the job because she has to focus on being Supergirl and she was never able to do her best work as a writer because of her split focus.
Alex suggests that maybe there is a way Kara can do both and she believes in her.
Eliza says that Alex has already proven herself a wiser mother than she ever was.
James gives Kelly an upgraded signal watch with teleportal powers so they can watch each others backs if they have to. He asks her not to tell their mom, however, because otherwise she'll want family dinners every night.
Brainiac-5 shows up for the wedding. He decides to come back because his love for Nia is more important than logic and the future isn't written yet.
Winn and Kara sing We Belong by Pat Benatar at the wedding.
J'onn gives away Alex.
Esme is the flower girl.
James gives Kelly away at the wedding.
J'onn also officiates the wedding.
Kelly says in her vows that she knew Alex was the one after 612 because Alex just supported her and didn't try to fix her.
Kara and Esme worked together on making bird houses as gifts for the wedding.
Winn says the new DEO will be a place of peace, at least according to M'Gann and J'onn's son.
James gives Esme the camera his father gave him.
Kelly and Alex ask Lena to be Esme's godmother.
Mr. Mxyzptlk sends his regards through Winn, who says he still shows up around Legion HQ in the future. He also promises the brides one free wish, worth $40 or less.
Winn, James and Kara talk about the private room they had hidden at CatCo back when they first got started. They also make reference to the events of 118 and meeting Barry Allen before the universes merged.
Cat Grant calls Kara again asking why she hasn't signed her contract yet. Kara says she never really felt whole and has different sides to herself and the two parts don't go together.
Cat quotes an old English Lord - "Secrecy is the badge of fraud." (The lord in question is Sir John Chadwick.) She says it is clear Kara has a secret and it isn't serving her so she should get rid of it.
Cat tells Kara she knows she is Supergirl. She also tells her that her message about people needing to be their own heroes applies to her too.
Nia catches the bouquet when Kelly tosses it. Brainy says there is a 100% chance he will marry her.
Lena sees Kara looking depressed and asks her what is wrong. Kara says Cat has a point about her hiding behind her glasses and how she needs to give up her secret identity. She also says the reason she failed the Courage gauntlet because she was afraid of revealing herself to the world.
Lena says she is being true to herself now after her talk with Lillian and is happier and she wants to see Kara be as happy.
Kara says Lena has challenged her the most out of all her friends. Lena thanks her, in turn, for making her a better person.
Kara takes her glasses off and leaves them behind as Alex and Kelly leave for their honeymoon in J'onn's car.
The Super Friends are shown enjoying a game night together sometime later.
Cat Grant does an interview revealing Supergirl is Kara Danvers to the world and finally pronounces her first name correctly.
Location
Nuqui, Colombia.
Untelevised Adventures
Lillian Luthor dies off-camera.
The Bottom Line
A fitting capstone for the series. The fight with Lex and Nyxly is rushed, true. Not everything is logical, but as Brainy says, "Sprock logic." The final half hour hits all the emotional high-notes and the ending leaves you wanting more. The cruel irony is that seeing Kara trying to live her life with an open identity is a far more daring and interesting idea than anything we've seen this season. Still... if it must end, it ended well.
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