Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 7 - Tremors

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

Plot

Kara and Lena have both learned about Leviathan's existence, but will a new common enemy be enough to convince Lena to abandon her plans for revenge? Meanwhile, J'onn has a startling revelation regarding his brother Malefic.


Influences

JLA: The Obsidian Age by Joe Kelly.


Performances

As always, Carl Lumbly is a delight as M'yrnn.

The scene of Lena revealing all her secrets to Kara is heartbreaking on multiple levels and Melissa Benoist and Katie McGrath sell every second of it.


Artistry

The scene of J'onn and Kara sparring is well-shot and well-blocked, making effective use of some simple special effects.


Super Trivia

The characters of Rama Khan and Gamemnae originally came from a JLA storyline called The Obsidian Age. Both characters were powerful magicians and part of an order called The League of Ancients, made up of powerful mages from around the world, united in the common cause of protecting the Earth.

Rama Khan was the defender of the nation of Jarhanpur and drew strength from the soil of his nation. He was able to manipulate it, transforming the soil into fire, hard rock or wine. He commanded other magics as well, had a modicum of super strength and was immortal.

Gamemnae was an Atlantean from the days shortly after the magical island had sunk. Banished for having blonde hair, Gamemnae traveled the Earth and learned magics, returning home to raise the island once more and transform the water-breathing Atlanteans into air-breathers again. She went on to found the League of Ancients as a counter to the Justice League, whom she foresaw coming back in time to undo her actions, which were destined to fail.

The Arrowverse versions of Rama Khan and Gamenae are depicted as aliens from the planet Jarhanpur - a sister world of Krypton. They and three other people from their planet were said to have come to Earth thousands of years ago, with their spaceship being the "meteor" that killed the dinosaurs. Their powers are depicted as being alien rather than magical.

The Arrowverse version of Rama Khan is an Earth-Bender who can travel through the earth, change himself into a living dust devil and control the earth around him. He can also sense the presence of any person on Earth.

It is unclear what powers the Arrowverse version of Gamenae has, but she asks Rama Kham to let her use her technology to deal with Lena Luthor rather than making a big show of his powers.

The Leviathan organization in the original comics was recently revealed to have been created by the vigilante Manhunter (aka Mark Shaw). The details of this have yet to be adequately explained.

The security system for the Fortress of Solitude, upon detecting Lena Luthor, plays a prerecorded message warning Lex Luthor to give up his Kryptonite ring and transportal watch. This is a nod to a classic item Lex Luthor had in the post-Crisis era - a ring made of Kryptonite to keep Superman at bay. Ironically, the ring wound up giving Lex Luthor inoperable cancer in the comics, as it turned out Kryptonite radiation was deadly to humans - just not as fast acting as with Kryptonians..

As Brainiac-5's inhibitor fails, he unleashes a string of technobabble regarding the Psions affecting the Czarnians' evolutionary process. In the DC Comics universe, the Psions are a race of reptilian beings from the planet Maltus, who are among the most scientifically advanced beings in existence. The Czarnians are a nearly extinct species, with the bounty hunter Lobo being the last of the Czarnians.

Brainiac-5 also says something about hydrogen molecules being synonymous with Thanagarian atoms. The Thanagarians are a race of war-like bird-people. Some versions of Hawkman and Hawkwoman are Thanagarian.


Technobabble

The word "Leviathan" occurs six times in the Hebrew Bible, according to Brainiac-5 but not once does it appear in any historical scientific literature.

Brainiac-5 attempts to track Rama Khan by his seismic wave signature.

The archive computer for the Fortress of Solitude is powered by a polyphasic quantum processor.

The Fortress of Solitude contains a sonic cannon which sends concentrated blasts of high-frequency ultrasonic waves at whatever it is aimed at.

There is a particular coffee shop in National City which Brainiac-5 frequents because it is close to National City's tar pits, which emit an energy that enhances his brain functionality. He believes Leviathan have a base close by for the same reason.

The dust from the tar pits emits Veridian radiation. Brainiac-5 is able to use this to thwart the cloaking technology inside the elevator to Leviathan's headquarters and reveal the button to make the elevator work.


Dialogue Triumphs

J'onn: Father, I need your counsel. Malefic came after my family, and history repeated itself. To protect them, I had to send Mal back to the Phantom Zone. I have tried to move on, but it's like I can feel him nearby.
M'yrnn: That's because he is nearby.
J'onn: What?
M'yrnn: Your brother is here.
J'onn: You mean here in my mind?
M'yrnn: No. I mean, he's across town.

M'yrnn: The only chance of saving your brother is to let down your psychic shield entirely. Open your mind to him like a flower. Complete vulnerability. Allow him access to your memories and innermost thoughts, so he can see your truth.
J'onn: If I bond with Malefic... he can choose to poison my mind. How can I make that choice knowing that he will most likely murder me and kill everyone I love?
M'yrnn: Then retrieve the Phantom Zone projector, send him back to isolation.
J'onn: And punish him again?
M'yrnn: I'm sorry, my son. In my lifetime, I faced this test. Should I attempt to reach Malefic and risk the utter decimation of my people, my family, and myself by his destructive power? Or should I lock him away where he cannot harm others? I made my impossible choice. There is no such thing as right or wrong. There is only peace in one's heart, something I never found. The sins of the father are visited on the son. You must make your own choice, J'onn. Then ask H'ronmeer to guide you to your brother. No matter what you decide, I will love you for it. Just as I loved both you and Malefic long ago.

Rama Khan: (speaking as he shapes a giant bolder from the earth under him) You thought you could hide her from me? I am ancient. I am the earth. What are you?!
(He throws the rock at Supergirl, who punches it into dust easily.)
Supergirl: Me? I'm just peeved you didn't knock.

Kara: Lena, you have to believe me, I never meant to humiliate you.
Lena: No. When I came to this city, I promised myself that I would never trust anyone again... And then I met you. You chipped away at my armor with your warmth and your earnestness, and you convinced me to trust in people and friendship again. And against my better judgment, I did!  All the while telling you about my Achilles heel - betrayal. (sobbing) I confided in you that everyone in my past had betrayed me. About how much it hurt to have someone you love lie to you and betray you. I spelled it out to you over and over again, essentially begging you not to violate my trust, begging you not to prove that, once again, I was a fool! You reassured me ad nauseam that you would never lie to me, that you'd never hurt me. And all the while, there wasn't a single honest moment in our friendship.
Kara: No! No, that is not true
Lena: No! I killed my brother for you, for our friends! Don't you understand what you've done?!
(Kara starts crying)
Kara: When you found out, why didn't you come to me right away, so I could explain?
Lena: "Explain"?
Kara: Yeah? If you hate me so much, why... Why not out me at the Pulitzer party? Why pretend to still be my friend this long?
Lena: Because I wanted you to experience what you did to me. Feel what I felt
Kara:.(sighs) I understand your pain and your fury and... And you're right. I made a big mistake, maybe the biggest mistake of my life, but please Lena, please don't leave the Fortress with Myriad. Please don't let my mistake push you to do something terrible.You are a good person-
Lena: No! No, you don't ever get to tell me who or what I am again!
Securty Drone: Intruder alert! Intruder alert!
(The binding crystals instantly form over Kara's body.)
Kara: Did you reprogram the Fortress defenses to attack me?
Lena: Yes. And I rigged it to answer to this little button I have in my hand.
Kara: Are you going to try to kill me?
Lena: (scoffs) No. Supergirl, I'm not gonna kill you. I'm not a villain. (pauses as she activates her transportal watch) You shouldn't have treated me like one.


Continuity

This episode opens one day after the events of 506.

The old woman from Leviathan tries to kill Lena in her home.

Lena's apartment has the most sophisticated security system in the world, according to Lena.

Lex Luthor once theorized that Superman had a fortress where he kept all the advanced or alien weaponry used against him. Lena believes he was right and that this fortress has the dispersal system she needs for Project Non Nocere.

J'onn has been having visions of Malefic as if he were nearby for two days. He thinks they are guilt pangs over how he treated his brother in the past.

The old woman from Leviathan is revealed to be a woman named Margot. She is also a servant of Leviathan, albeit one in contact with its leaders.

Leviathan is said to have been on Earth since the dinosaurs were wiped out and they have been keeping humanity from destroying the planet ever since.

Two of the leaders of Leviathan are Rama Khan and Gamemnae.

Rama Khan was placed in charge of the Earth by an Elder of some sort.

Kara saves Lena from an assassination attempt by Rama Khan.

According to Brainiac-5, Rama Khan was said to have been responsible for the Antioch Earthquake of 526 AD (the 8th largest natural disaster in recorded history), the volcanic explosion of {ompeii, the Yellow River flood of 1887, the Bhola Cyclone and the Biblical flood.

J'onn communes with the spirit of his father seeking guidance. The projection of M'yrnn tells him that Malefic is being held prisoner in National City rather than the Phantom Zone.

Lena suggests that one of Lex's weapons might be able to neutralize Rama Khan, but says Superman destroyed all the really bad ones. This leads Kara to confirm the existence of the Fortress of Solitude to Lena and suggest maybe they can find an appropriate weapon there.

Alex and Brainiac-5 are caught in an explosion when they investigate Rip Roar's booby-trapped body. One of Brainiac-5's inhibitors is damaged in the blast. Alex develops a mild concussion.

Rip Roar's armor is intact after the explosion.

Superman programmed the Fortress of Solitude to react violently if Luthor family DNA was detected. This is known as the L-Protocol.

M'yrnn tells J'onn he must decide if he will truly banish Malefic for good or try once again to save his soul. The only way to do this is to drop all his psychic defenses and open himself up to Malefic completely.

Lena makes reference to the events of 420 and how she and Kara traveled to Kaznia together.

Rama Khan determines that Lena must be in the Fortress of Solitude since he cannot sense her on Earth. Apparently the Fortress is the one place on Earth that is not of Earth.

According to the Fortress computer, five aliens from a sister planet of Krypton, Jarhanpur, came to Earth to escape years of civil wars, which eventually destroyed their planet. One of them, Rama Khan, had the extraordinary power to bend the earth to his will.

Lex Luthor designed a number of tiny but powerful guns that could be hidden under a wig, back when he was still trying to hide his baldness.

According to Lena, Lex only wore real human hair wigs.

The Fortress armory holds Myraid - the device used by Astra to turn the people of Earth into obedient drones in Supergirl's first season.

Brainiac-5 discovers a symbol in Rip Roar's technology which he traces to numerous disasters throughout history. This knowledge leads him to what he thinks is an entrance to Leviathan's secret hideout.

Kelly dumps Alex, saying can't cope being with someone who risks her life on a daily basis.

Rama Khan attacks Kara in the Fortress of Solitude.

Gamemnae's security measures take Braniac-5 and Alex into a strange cavern underground rather than Leviathan's headquarters in National City.

Kara uses the same acrobatic flip maneuver she used while fighting J'onn earlier in the episode to beat Rama Khan.

Kara discovers Lena taking Myriad.

Lena tells Kara about how she killed Lex in 422 and that Lex's last action was to reveal how all her friends had been lying to her about Kara being Supergirl.

Lena turns the Fortress security measures against Kara and makes her escape.

J'onn finds Malefic in Lena's secret lab and opens his mind and heart to Malefic.  This changes Malefic's mind and destroys his hatred of J'onn.

Alex goes to Kelly and promises to help her work through her grief over her fiancee.


Location

The Fortress of Solitude


The Bottom Line

Enrapturing, despite its flaws. The biggest issue is that Leviathan, built up as this big deal all season, appears to be just two aliens sitting in a bar underground arguing with each other. (Depressingly, this is STILL a better use of the concept than what Leviathan turned out to be in the comics, but I digress.) Leviathan should be epic but its utterly goofy and far too much time is spent on the Alex/Kelly romance which was rushed to completion and is nowhere near as interesting as the writers seem to think it is.

That being said, the scenes with Lena and Kara are some of the best acting we've ever seen from Katie McGrath and Melissa Benoist and the real emotional resonance of the season is there. Ditto the scenes involving the J'onzz family and Malefic and J'onn finally coming to an accord, though part of me wonders how much of that may have been prompted by Lena's control of Malefic. Time will tell, I suppose, but all in all this is the best episode of the season.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 22 - Make It Reign

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



Plot

With Selena's plans for Earth revealed, Kara, Mon-El and Alura must find a way to escape Argo City. At the same time, J'onn prepares to say goodbye to his father, M'yrnn.


Influences

Supergirl: The Movie (Villain named Selena trying to take over Earth, while Supergirl is trapped elsewhere), Superman 2 (three evil Kryptonians menace the Earth) and the film Man of Steel (Kryptonian invasion of Earth meant to terraform the planet into a new Krypton)


Goofs

Why do the Daughters of Juru need to terraform Earth? Isn't Kara proof that Kryptonians can survive (and indeed thrive) in Earth's atmosphere? (You can't argue with religious fanatics and they're sort of committed to their prophecy demanding they conquer Earth and change it... even if they do have super powers as it is now.)

Kara and Mon-El are strangely unphased by the explosion in Selena's secret room and their white clothes are surprisingly unsullied by the fire and dust kicked up by the collapsing ceiling.

If Reign's whole purpose was to ultimately terraform Earth into a new Krypton, what was the point of her going around enforcing a more lethal form of justice when she first awoke?

The death of Agent Demos is played up as being far more significant than it should be. While the character is one of the few named DEO background agents, he's hardly had enough screen time for his death to have much resonance.

The heat-vision blasts in this episode act more like concussive beams than heat-rays, knocking people back rather than setting things on fire.

James Olsen has nothing to do in this episode but come in and try and give Winn a pep-talk.

Honestly, a lot of the emotional moments in this episode seem to misfire or are played off far faster than they should be, such as Alex and Alura meeting face to face for the first time.


Performances

Carl Lumbly has stolen virtually every episode he's appeared in this season. This episode is no exception, though the interactions between him and David Harewood are easily the high-point of this episode and - speaking as someone who is losing his father to Alzheimer's - all too realistically portrayed.

Chris Wood has prove far better at underplaying Mon-El this year than he was in overplaying the cocky frat-boy in Season Two.  The moment in which he says everything while saying nothing while talking to Winn is a quantum leap forward in what we've seen him do with the character.


Super Trivia

The base idea of this episode bears some slight resemblance to the plot of the 1984 Supergirl movie, which briefly saw Supergirl trapped in The Phantom Zone and helpless to do anything about the villain - a witch named Selena. This episode sees Kara briefly trapped on Argo City with no way back to Earth, as it is threatened by a Kryptonian priestess with dark magical powers named Selena.

There's also some superficial resemblance to Superman 2, with three evil black-clad Kryptonians menacing the Earth with the assistance of a human stooge. (Lex Luthor in the movie. Thomas Coville here.)

The ultimate goal of The Daughters of Juru is revealed to be that of General Zod in the movie Man of Steel - terraforming Earth into a New Krypton.

A new version of Selena was introduced into the reality of DC Comics Rebirth in Supergirl #10 (August 2017). This Selena was a powerful sorceress, described as Heir to Ataxia. She was convinced to join the villain team The Fatal Five, which was being led by Emerald Empress against Supergirl. She abandoned the team in mid-mission, however, wishing to avoid a losing battle and having no real grudge against Supergirl or loyalty to her new comrades.

The two Daughters of Juru besides Selena are named Vita and Ayala. This is in honor of writer Vita Ayala, who co-wrote some issues of the DC Rebirth Supergirl series with Steve Orlando.

At one point, Selena muses that Supergirl "actually cares for these humans." This line is a paraphrase of one of General Zod's lines from Superman 2 -  "He actually cares for these Earth people."

M'yrnn proposes merging himself with the planet Earth in order to stabilize it in the face of Reign's attacks. This is what J'onn J'onzz eventually did with the planet Mars in the reality of DC One Million.


Technobabble

Harun-El is made toxic to Kryptonians by Earth's atmosphere.

M'yrnn says that The Reach will allow him to live forever within his son's mind.

Lena determines that Sam's body cells are reverting back to their natural state (i.e. Kryptonian) but her blood cells are oxygen deprived and shrinking, with some of them having become dormant. At Ruby's suggestion, Alex decides to try exposing Sam to the intense yellow sun lamps the DEO used for speeding Supergirl's healing.

Winn develops an omni-directional self-maintaining sub-atomic personal shield - i.e. a belt-mounted force-field. It is based around a frequency conversion of some sort and is the cornerstone of the new non-lethal tech that Winn is building for the DEO. The dumbed-down explanation is that it is like a magnet for atoms.

Zor-El had been working on a transmat portral - a teleportation device that could work across interstellar distances to send the people of Krypton to another planet.

Lena uses her refractive scatterfield to test Sam's eyesight. Since Sam is able to see through the field and see Lena waving at her, we know that her body is not reacting like a Kryptonian's should. If Sam were a healthy Kryptonian, she would have hurt her eyes just trying to look at Lena through the field.

Lena says that environmental factors can influence gene expression, turning it on and off. She theorizes she can use Harun-El to rejuvenate Sam's blood cells.

Kara is able to use the cache crystals as a sort of impromptu radio, allowing her to talk through the hologram of Alura in the DEO headquarters.

A multi-phase descrambler which links to a power source is part of the transmat mechanics. The insulator or Zor-El's transmat is cracked, meaning it will only be good for one trip.

Alex's new gun fires ammunition that generates an electrical net capable of briefly restraining three Kryptonians. It works until the net is blasted by heat vision. She also has Kryptonite bullets and the glove of her costume can generate a Kryptonite energy field.

Winn's personal force-field is shown to be strong enough to protect him from a Kryptonian heat-vision blast. It also keeps him from being killed when he is thrown against the wall by a Dark Kryptonian, though the concussive force is enough to knock him unconscious. The focused energy of three Kryptonians' heat vision, however, is too much for it, as Agent Demos tragically discovers.

Eve Teschmacher reworks the Harun-El to try and jump-start Sam's blood cells. It does not work. Lena thinks perhaps she can make it work by adjusting the ratio of the solution she used before and reinject Sam with it.

Lena determines that Sam and Reign are still connected by a symbiotic non-local entanglement. This means that Sam is getting weaker as Reign is getting stronger, despite Reign no longer being contained within Sam.

M'yrnn and J'onn interrupt The Reach to help evacuate National City.

Mon-El speaks of a world called Zune, who terraformed their world by digging to the planet's core, creating a Genesis event. The process took hours.

M'yrnn says that is he uses his shape-shifting and phasing powers to merge with the nexus point of Reign's attack, he can help to stabilize the Earth by merging with it.


Dialogue Triumphs

M'yrnn: Home is not a place. It is living among those who love and honor you. I can depart this world with peace because I know my son is home.

M'yrnn: These are happy memories. They should make you happy.
J'onn: And they do, Father. But they also remind me how much I'm going to miss you. Every memory that passes between us brings us closer to that eventuality.
M'yrnn: By the end of this, you will not feel loss, J'onn. You will feel complete. I promise.
J'onn: How do you know?
M'yrnn: Because I know the hole that comes with not knowing this. The way I felt when your mother was taken from me. When you were taken from me. Be patient, my son. Let the memories fill you up as you have filled me up.

(Winn is asking Mon-El why he hasn't returned to the future.)
Mon-El: Uh-yeah. Yeah, I was but then the time beacon broke and... Kara ran into some trouble, so I uh, I decided to stay back to...
Winn: (unconvinced) Uh-huh. Always the hero.
Mon-El: Yeah.
(Mon-El pauses, before speaking in a more quiet tone.)
Mon-El: I lost her once, man. I'm not sure I can do it again.
(Comprehension dawns on Winn's face, as he glances to where Alex is working.)
Winn: Wow, really?  Dude.  Dude, forget Reign! You need to get back here fast so we can get a drink!
(Mon-El chuckles.)

Selena: Give me the blood.
Kara: You want the blood? You can have it.
(Kara throws the blood vials into the air toward Selena. Her heat vision catches it in mid-flight as Selena catches it, wincing as it begins to burn and melt in her hand.)

M'yrnn: This planet is my son's home. I intend to save it with him!


Dialogue Disasters

Eve: More bad news?
Lena: Yeah. Sam's no better. And now three people in National City with the same powers of Supergirl have just murdered somebody.
Eve: Oh. That is not good.


Continuity

The Daughters of Juru had a prophecy which foretold of three of them standing on Earth in order to bring about the rise of Reign.

The three members of The Daughters of Juru are revealed as Selena, Vita and Ayala.

Harun-El is made toxic to Kryptonians by Earth's atmosphere.

Selena had an atlas of Earth in her secret quarters.

Kara identifies some of the writings on the atlas as being identical to those in Coville's journal. She recognizes them as the instructions to create a Worldkiller from 319.

Sam is not feeling well but has not transformed into Reign again.

M'yrnn comes by the DEO to say goodbye to Alex.

The Reach ceremony requires a Martian artifact called The Staff of Kh'ollar.

Alex is left in charge of the DEO while J'onn is away performing The Reach.

Among the items on Selena's secret room, Kara finds a scabbard which has "Whoever wields this sword shall bathe in the blood of the old worlds and reign with might over the new." written upon it. Alura identifies this as The Scabbard of Juru and the line as a quote from an ancient Kryptonian religious text.

Selena leaves behind a hologram of herself that speaks to Alura along with a fire-bomb trap that wounds Thara.

Selena explains that she gave Kara the Harun-El because it was necessary for Sam and Reign to be separated in order to enact the final stage of her plan and helping Kara saved her the trouble of doing it herself.

Sam says that she was feeling totally normal but now feels so weak she can barely hold her head up and that her insides are melting away.

Agent Demos has some kind of grudge against Winn.

The gravity manipulator Mon-El purchased in 321 is destroyed by Selena's trap. This means he cannot use it to contact The Legion and have them come to help get him and Kara to Earth.

Kara spent many afternoons watching her father work in his lab. He often used her as a sounding board for his ideas. She remembers him always talking to her as if she were another scientist.

The ritual to bring back Reign fails because they do not have the blood of Purity and Pestilence. Luckily, Thomas Coville knows that blood samples can be found at the DEO.

Lena uses her refractive scatter field from 319 to test Sam's vision.

Selena was able to get Zor-El's transmat mostly-functional. The problem is that it would require another transmat portal at their destination in order to function.

The DEO has a transmat portal, which Winn recovered in 209.

The DEO also has Kryptonian cache crystals, like the ones in Zor-El's lab.

Kara is able to use the cache crystals as a sort of impromptu radio, allowing her to talk through the hologram of Alura in the DEO headquarters.

There are 500 million potential moves on an Ok'Rock'Tock board.

Alura comes to Earth with Mon-El and Kara.

Agent Demos dies after being hit by the heat vision of all three of the Daughters of Juru. This turns out to be too much for Winn's new force-field belt to cope with.

Eve Teschmacher is still working in Lena's lab, helping her with trying to save Sam.

Enough of the dried blood of Purity and Pestilence remains on Serena's hand after Kara's heat-vision blast for her to sprinkle the ashes of it into the fire being used to reform Reign.

The Fountains of Lillith are two fountains from ancient Kryptonian mythology said to be in The Valley of Juru. Alura learned of them from Jindah Kol Rozz, who ranted about them at her sentencing. One fountain gave infinite strength. The other gave weakness. Rozz spoke of a woman born of the fountain, who had the power of destruction - i.e. Reign. Kara theorizes that this may be the source of Reign's power rather than Earth's yellow sun.

Sam asks for Lena to help her return to The Valley of the Juru (where she went in 317) so she can use the fountain to indirectly weaken Reign.

Reign's awakening triggers an 8.0 earthquake in National City, super-storms and tornadoes in Madagascar and a tsunami warning.

M'yrnn declares his intention to merge with the nexus point of the disaster, allowing him to stabilize it.


Location

The new Fortress of Sanctuary


The Bottom Line

On the one hand, the plotting of this episode is utterly nonsensical, with the reasons for Reign's existence having completely changed amid a host of minor things that don't make sense like concussive heat vision and the expectation that we're supposed to be deeply moved by the death of Agent Demos while undercutting emotional moments that should be more powerful, like Alex and Alura meeting.

And yet... for everything this episode borrows from earlier Superman and Supergirl stories, the execution here is far stronger than in those earlier stories. By making the Kryptonians trying to destroy the Earth to create a New Krypton into religious fanatics rather than soldiers adhering to some elitist eugenics program, Supergirl Season 3 has corrected the biggest flaw with the plot of Man of Steel. For all its flaws, this episode largely works in spite of itself.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 19 - The Fanatical

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




Plot

A former disciple of The Cult of Rao named Tanya escapes from what remains of the fanatical group, with a journal that may hold the key to freeing Sam from Reign's influence.As Kara and Mon-El start to investigate the cult, James tries to protect Tanya, only to have his identity as The Guardian exposed. Meanwhile, Alex and J'onn try to get Ruby and M'yrnn out of their respective shells with a day out.


Influences

The movie Ransom (Winn refers to the plot in discussing James' plan to out himself before The Cult of Rao does.)


Goofs

Kara's hypocrisy about being upset that James would chose to not lie to his girlfriend over indulging her paranoia is horribly out of character. Her justification that she's protecting Lena by denying her that knowledge doesn't hold water either, given how Lena is already at risk as the outspoken leader of a major company and scion of a family of famous criminals. Mon-El somehow manages to top this with his line (which Chris Wood doesn't sound like he believes either) about how lying to Lena is noble because it is meant to protect her.

It defies all the laws of ballistics for Olivia to shoot The Guardian in the face and to have his helmet just open up and bounce off his head in the manner we see.

James' justification for revealing himself to the world is nearly as nonsensical as Kara's reason for hiding who she is from Lena. Granting that representation is important, James would be put in a lot more danger by revealing his secret identity than Kara would. And the idea that Kara is somehow protecting her friends doesn't really wash given that all her friends are, with the exception of James and Lena, government agents who are continually risking their lives and at risk from their association with Supergirl anyway.


Performances

While the Guardian subplot of this episode feels entirely tacked-on and far too preachy, Mehcad Brooks still does a fantastic job delivering his speeches.

While it's totally unbelievable that Ruby just accepts M'yrnn's talk about what Mars is like with no cynicism at all, Carl Lumbly does a fantastic job with the dialogue.


Super Trivia

The two books on child psychology that Alex is reading in an effort to relate to Ruby are Kids & Trauma by Emmet Falconer and Coping With Emotional Childhood Trauma by Agnes Debinska. These are not real books, but they are clever nods to two members of the Supergirl production team. Emmet Falconer is a boom microphone operator on both Supergirl. Agnes Debinska is a set designer on Supergirl.


Technobabble

Lena's latest plan to cure Sam utilizes a biolistic delivery system, usually used for overwriting genes in crops.

Kryptonian cels are closer to plant cells than one might think, due to how they process sunlight.

Lena's process takes particles of heavy metals, coats them in DNA, and then uses that to overwrite the Reign DNA with Sam's. It doesn't work, but Lena insists it should with the right metals and the right vectors.

The cell Lena put Reign in has a refractive scatter field. This prevents anyone from seeing into the cell or being able to see out of it, even with X-Ray vision. The wavelength interference of the force-field hurts any Kryptonian who looks at it.

The ashes and wall-markings Mon-El finds in the Cult of Rao hide-out resemble the remains of a body caught in a nuclear bomb. As Kara notes, there is nothing on Earth that could destroy a body in that manner without also destroying the building around it.

Tanya's father and brothers were all shot by the police.

J'onn says that the brain of a Martian wearing a psychic inhibitor is basically identical to that of an ordinary human.

J'onn says he read about a study which said that playing three-dimensional video games can reverse the decline of dementia.

As M'yrnn points out, the word Arcade originally referred to a series of arches carried by columns or piers, a passageway between arches and a solid wall, or a covered walkway that provides access to adjacent shops in Ancient Rome.

The woman whose ashes Mon-El found was not killed by a nuclear bomb. After Lena identifies the reside, she determines that it was generated by a heavy metal reaction. The heavy metal in question is not one found on Earth.

Kara recognizes the formula for the otherworldly metal from Coville's Journal. It is the chemical composition for the stone used to make The Rock of Yuda Kal.

Kara guesses that The Cult of Rao was using The Rock of Yuda Kal to make a new Worldkiller.

The Cult of Rao van has some kind of scrambler on it that keeps it from being tracked by The DEO.

The recipe for making a Worldkilelr includes one oronc of Sedenach dust and seven lak-mar of nitrogen.

Mon-El is able to generate a frequency only Kara can hear using a Kryptonian Sunstone.

The Rock of Yuda Kal was drained of all its power. Luckily, Lena and Winn copied its charged radiation signature and found a sample of the same rock five light years away from Earth.

Reign's Pestilence powers act like an anti-virus scanner to Kryptonite, slowly allowing Reign to develop an immunity to it.


Dialogue Triumphs

Supergirl: I don't - I don't like this tension between us, Lena. And I know it's my fault. I know James told you what I asked him to do and... look, I feel terrible about it. I made a huge mistake. And I'm sorry.
Lena: (cooly) Well, it's easy to admit your mistake when you've been exposed.
Supergirl: (quietly, taken aback) That's fair. (pauses) I just don't want one mistake to ruin our friendship, that's all.
Lena: It won't.
Supergirl: (smiling in relief) Good.
Lena: We don't have a friendship, Supergirl.
(Supergirl's face drops.)
Lena: All this time we've been working together, it's been about work. We have a mission to complete. And I'm not about to let any tension between you and I get in the way of that. Are you?
Supergirl: Of course not.
(Lena moves past Supergirl, who bites her lips and turns to follow her.)
Supergirl: I - I - I just hope, um, when we solve this, we can work to rebuild our trust.
Lena: Why is it so important to you that we're friends? I have friends, Supergirl. Friends that don't scheme behind my back or lie. Given my family history, they know how painful that would be. They also know I would never enter into a friendship with anyone who's already breached that trust.
Supergirl: ... understood.

(The cultist puts handcuffs on Mon-El.)
Mon-El: Owie.
Cultist: We'll deal with you after the ceremony's done.
(The cultist turns his back on Mon-El.)
Mon-El: Just one question.
(There is a noise of handcuffs clanking. The cultist turns around to see Mon-El standing there, now in his costume.)
Mon-El: Do you, by chance, know where I can find the Rock of Yuda Kal?
(The cultist draws his gun. Mon-El snags the man's gun hand with his cape and pulls the man close, placing him in a sleeper hold.)
Mon-El: Soooo... no?


Dialogue Disasters

Kara: I'm supposed to stand for Truth! How am I supposed to be truthful? Really truthful? 
Mon-El: Well, if you tell Lena the truth, you'd be doing it to make yourself feel better, not her. So maybe, in this case, it's uh...not telling her the truth that is the noble thing. It's a sacrifice you're making to protect her.


Continuity

Kara refers to what Lillian Luthor said in 221 about how Lena would never forgive Kara for lying to her if she ever found out Kara was Supergirl.

Tanya, a former member of the Cult of Rao, steals Thomas Coville's journal, and takes it to James Olsen. She says that she thinks The Cult is using it to build another bomb, like in 304.

Tanya was a linguistics and semiotics teacher, who helped Thomas Coville to learn Kryptonian. She was the only person who knew how to read Kryptonian besides him in The Cult of Rao.

Tanya says that Thomas Coville just disappeared and it was believed that he died serving Reign. Coville was last seen in The Fortress of Sanctuary in 312.

In his last communication with The Cult of Rao, Thomas Coville said that they had been worshipping the wrong god and that Reign, not Supergirl, would be their salvation.

Alex buys a 1962 Item - a vintage bike she always wanted.

Sam is allergic to cats.

Mon-El finds evidence of The Cult of Rao building an advanced nuclear weapon that destroys bodies but leaves inanimate objects intact.

Olivia - one of the cultists from 304 - is seen again as she leads the raid on CatCo to recapture Tanya. She apparently took over the cult after Thomas Coville disappeared.

James had Cat Grant's private elevator altered to hide a storage space for his Guardian armor.

James's face is revealed when The Cult of Rao break his helmet and the police show up.

Tanya recognizes the jewelry Mon-El found in the ashes as belonging to a woman named Liza who was her friend. 

M'yrnn has a PTSD panic attack watching a video game that involves shooting aliens.

The Rock of Yuda Kal is a statue of the ancient Kryptonian goddess of life, which Coville found in Addis Ababa.

Lena says the Kryptonian mineral used to make The Rock of Yuda Kal is what she needs to cure Sam.'

James says he was seven years old the first time he was put in handcuffs. He and his cousins were arrested at a resort while playing hide and seek. James was the youngest at 7. The oldest cousin was 11.

There are no cork trees on Mars.

Mon-El goes with Tanya when she turns herself into The Cult Of Rao, pretending to be some random guy who thought their van was an ride-share vehicle.

One of the ingredients to make a Worldkiller is Sedenach dust. The planet Sedenach was mentioned in 209 as home of The Bismuth Mountains - a place of great beauty with natural crystal staircases.

Olivia transforms herself into a new Worldkiller.

When Supergirl touches The Rock of Yuda Kal, it causes her to lose control of her powers, as her heat vision turns on and she cannot shut it off. Mon-El is able to handle it just fine.

Supergirl is able to remove The Rock of Yudal Kal from Olivia's hand with a focused heat vision blast.

James tells Kara that he intends to reveal his identity as The Guardian to the world someday, on his terms.

Ruby dyes her hair with blue tips.

Reign is becoming immune to Kryponite. Lena guesses that she can only keep her contained for a few more days at most.

Mon-El tells J'onn that he wants to admit that he still has feelings for Kara, but that telling her will only serve to make him feel better. J'onn agrees it is best to keep it quiet.

Kara and Mon-El borrow J'onn's spaceship to retrieve the charged Rock of Yuda Kal.

The end of the episode reveals that Thomas Coville is still alive, as he arrives at the site of the ritual to turn Olivia into a Worldkiller.


The Kryptonite Factor

Why can't Kara reveal her secret identity to Lena? Well, because that would solve all her problems immediately. And her justification that confessing the truth now would cause Lena to abandon her completely does not excuse the original lie.


The Bottom Line

A series of poorly written scenes are saved by some fantastic acting. I know it's a running gag about how the heroes of The Arrowverse never seem to remember the lessons about how much trouble keeping secrets from the team causes in the long run, but it is taken to truly ludicrous extremes in this episode as everyone justifies everyone else's lies with some incredibly flimsy logic.

The most vexing thing is that every moment of this episode feels like filler, even the bits that nominally tie into the main plot! The revelation that more Worldkillers can be made is never treated with the gravity it deserves and the grand irony is that the best performances involve the least necessary parts of the story (i.e. Carl Lumby's speech about Mars, James' talk about how rough is is for black superheroes, etc.).

The main problem in all of this is that James' story as Guardian has been so deeply buried by the events of Season 3 and the Cult of Rao hasn't been referred to in so long that there's no sense of urgency like there is with Ruby's life being threatened and Sam slowly becoming more and more like Reign. At least Kara finally realized the hypocrisy of her refusal to share her secret identity with Lena but it's likely too late to do anything but be another source of drama as we wait for the day Lena inevitably goes "full Luthor" in response to Kara's betrayal of her trust.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 15 - In Search Of Lost Time

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


Plot

As Lena continues to work with Sam to discover what is causing her to lose track of her life, Kara begins learning the fighting techniques developed to fight Worldkillers in the future. The training will be put on hold, however, when Kara must help J'onn contain the chaos caused by M'yrnn's increasingly erratic mental state.


Influences

Superman: The Movie (The theme of parents raising children and the children coming to care for the parents.)


Goofs

Katie McGrath's Irish accent slips into Lena's angry speech to Sam at a few points.

The CGI of J'onn fighting the White Martian is a big too fluid.


Performances

As always, the chemistry between Chris Wood and Melissa Benoist is a highlight of the episode, despite their subplot being the weakest and not having any great dialogue.

That might be the best part of the episode, were it not for the pathos inspired by Carl Lumbly's performance as M'yrnn.


Artistry

There's a lot of arty slow-motion shots as Kara and Mon-El train and during the battles in the DEO that work surprisingly well.


Super Trivia

M'yrnn makes reference to J'onn having an imaginary friend named Zook. In the Silver Age Martian Manhunter comics, Zook was the name of an alien being who acted as a pet/sidekick to J'onn J'onzz. Zook was a creature that resembled a cartoonish dog, who had the powers of temperature manipulation (he could freeze or super-heat objects he touched), limited shape-shifting abilities and he could track anyone whom he had met before, no matter how they had disguised themselves.

In the 1998 Martian Manhunter comic series, Zook was the name of a Martian plant that could be fashioned into clothing that could shapeshift in tandem with a Martian.

M'yrnn says that J'onn's imaginary friend Zook was a 5th dimensional being, who caused mischief like moving around the pieces on the O'kk Rotokk board. In the classic DC Comics, there are several 5th dimensional imps who do cause trouble for various heroes. These include Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite and Qwsp.

The alien who Kara fights at the alien bar in the pre-credits sequence is described as a Kalanorian. In the original DC Comics, Kalanor is the home-world of the Justice League villain Despero.

Mon-El's caped costume is based upon his classic costume from the original comics.

The cloak which M'yrnn wears has two rounded metal clasps with a chain that resemble the clasps on the classic Martian Manhunter costume from the comics.

Kara quotes something that her uncle Jor-El used to say when agreeing with Alex that it is time for J'onn to become a parent and guardian to M'yrnn - "The son becomes the father and the father the son." This is, of course, a line Jor-El famously said in Superman: The Movie.


Technobabble

Lena's preliminary studies of Sam find a karyokinetic anomaly, confirming that she has been transforming - mutating into something else.

Kalanorians are psychically sensitive empaths, prone to outbursts during astronomical events. Their physiology can be manipulated by complex luminal and gravatic shifts.

Most of Sam's blood tests seem normal, so Lena studied her salt replication process. Lena determined that Sam's cells have undergone a mitotital mutation that Lena had only ever seen occur in insects. This indicates that when Sam blacks out, her body undergoes a literal metamorphosis and changes on a cellular level, transforming her into Reign.

Brainiac 5 was able to use 31st century technology to scan every security camera, satellite image and cellphone video he could find to construct a realistic three-dimensional hologram of Kara's fights with Reign.

The Ta'ar Ka'riq is a Martian meditation technique that can slow the deterioration of a Martian's mind by moving their memories from the decaying parts of the brain into fresh cells. Unfortunately, it can cause discomfort in nearby psychic races like Kalanorians. At close range, it can even effect non-psychics like Earthlings and Kryptonians.

The cape of Mon-El's costume is modeled on Kara's. It is made of a Krytponian meta-material - Smartcloth.

The Legion Flight Rings also act as a psychic shield. This is why Mon-El was not effected by M'yrnn's psychic attack.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Alex has just gotten a trouble alert on her phone.)
Kara: Well, time to get back to the salt mine.
(Everyone looks up as Kara... slowly unbuttons her shirt rather than just ripping it open to reveal her costume.)
Kara: What?! I like this shirt!

(Winn steps into the room and stands proudly.)
Winn: I have done something amazing!
Kara: You found Pestilence.
Winn: (pauses) I have done something okay.

M'yrnn: Play a match with me. I never tire of beating you.
J'onn: I've got to get back to work. Why don't you bring the game to the DEO and we can play later?
M'yrnn: (nodding) As soon as I finish my game against... Zook.
(M'yrnn glances around.)
M'yrnn: (concerned) He was right here...
(J'onn looks at his father and freezes up.)
M'yrnn: (worried) Where is he?
J'onn: (worried) Dad?
(M'yrnn looks up at J'onn... and winks before grinning widely.)
M'yrnn: A joke.
J'onn: (exasperated) Not funny, Dad.
M'yrnn: Only because you did not see your face.

James: No matter how bad you want to help somebody, all you can really do is hold up a mirror.

M'yrnn: I am sorry. For the pain I caused. I hurt you. All of you. I was so fearful of losing control of what's left of my life, I refused to accept what was happening. And it nearly cost me everything I hold dear!
J'onn: I'd hoped I would've been able to protect you all better.
Alex: You protect us all the time, J'onn.
Kara: Tonight was our turn.

Kara: I thought I had dealt with my feelings about us. But M'yrnn's... episode made me realize that... our relationship was not perfect. You know, maybe I knew that, deep down... But especially when you were gone, I was so busy missing you and romanticizing us... (sighs) I do feel... a big weight off my shoulders. So, in a way, I'm grateful that it happened. And I'm really sorry that it took a Martian attack (chuckles) to make it come out. And I'm sorry it was so brutal.
Mon-El: Yeah, well, the truth can be brutal. (pauses) It's not news to me that I used to be a jerk. And I'm sorry... I'm sorry. For all of it. I didn't really grasp your perspective back then.
Kara: Yeah, but still, I ... I shouldn't have hit you and I'm sorry for that. And I'm sorry for... (sighs) I'm just sorry.
Mon-El: Can we make an agreement?
Kara: Yeah.
Mon-El: (offers her a hand) No more apologies.
(Kara takes the hand and shakes it. She smiles.)
Kara: Do you want to go be heroes?
(We cut to the skies over National City, as the two of them fly next to each other in full costume.)


Continuity

As the episode opens, Lena has been working with Sam for three days.

J'onn had an imaginary friend as a child - a 5th dimensional imp named Zook.

The DEO Profile of the alien Kara fought at the alien bar gives her name as Finhead.

Finhead was a Kalanorian with no criminal record.

The Kalanorians are said to be psychically sensitive empaths, prone to outbursts during astronomical events.

The sensors on the Legion ship are unable to detect Purity or Reign.

Mon-El says that of all the Worldkillers, Pestilence should be the easiest to see coming as her presence causes plagues and diseases of all kinds.

Lena is able to pair up Sam's blackouts to Reign's appearances. The timeline matches perfectly.

Watching the hologram of Kara and Reign's first fight, Kara and Mon-El determine that Reign was toying with Kara. Her fighting style is all power and aggression, She is stronger than Kara, but she doesn't bother with footwork and places all her strength on one foot when she attacks.

Winn fixes Mon-El's costume.

We finally get to see an O'kk Rotokk board. M'yrnn first mentioned the Martian strategy game in 307. It resembles Chinese checkers, but the pieces are rolled telekinetically.

James had a roommate in college who had a drug abuse problem. James tried to help him but ultimately all he could do was clean up the messes he made.

When M'yrnn prays, he causes Winn, Agent Demos, Alex and Kara to become more aggressive.

J'onn has Winn recalibrate the mental inhibitors used against Psi in 302.

Mandrax - the alien art-smuggler from 216 - is seen in the DEO cell-block as Kara and Alex check on Finhead.

Lena attempts to provoke a reaction in Sam to awaken Reign. She is successful.

Sam learns the truth of her secret identity after Lena shows her video of her transformation.

J'onn tells Kara and Alex the truth about M'yrnn being responsible for the psychic attack on the DEO.

J'onn can use the DEO power inhibiting technology to stop M'yrnn from being a threat, but he is reluctant to do so given what the loss of telepathy means to a Martian.

Alex recalls how her grandmother began to lose her ability to drive herself and how one of the most difficult things her mother had to do was take away her car keys.

Kara refers to how Mon-El skipped out in training at the DEO (206) and how she tried to get him a job at CatCo (207).

There is a woman named Pam in the DEO's HR department. For some reason, she seeks out Winn to fight him as everyone in the DEO goes crazy during M'yrnn's second psychic attack on the building.

J'onn eventually locks a power-inhibiting bracelet on M'yrnn.

Lena promises to keep Ruby away from Sam until they find a way to stop Reign.

James brings Lena dinner, saying he has a lot of friends who forget to eat when they're busy saving the world.

Lena tells James that she will not be able to tell them everything going on in her work in their relationship. James accepts this.

The episode ends with dead birds falling out of the sky - a sign of the coming of Pestilence.


The Bottom Line

Not strongly written, but strongly plotted and very strongly acted. There's not a false note in the whole hour. Even James' cameo in Lena's office proves necessary to the overall theme and every character gets one moment to shine, which is something of a miracle given the size of the ensemble at this point.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 14 - Schott Through The Heart

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



Plot

In the wake of his father's death, Winn Schott must work with his estranged mother to thwart the plans of a copycat Toyman. Meanwhile, Alex accidentally discovered a stunning secret about J'onn's father.


Influences

The 1939 film The Wizard of Oz (The "Surrender Mary" sky-writing and robot flying monkeys), The Flash comics of The Silver Age (mention of Wiggins Toys) and multiple classic Superman comics involving The Legion of Superheroes and Toyman.


Goofs

How does James not break his hand punching the metal flying monkey?

Granting that an army of flying robot monkeys is not the sort of thing one can easily prepare for, one would think The DEO would have some kind of defenses to stop something from just flying in through their front door.  Or, at least, that once something had flown in through the front door, that they might have trained agents with weapons at the ready to deal with said thing that had flown in through the window.

The conversation about why J'onn continues to live the life of a black man in America when he could shapeshift into anyone, while well-written, is incredibly awkward in its placement and grinds the pace of the episode to a halt.

While The DEO may not have armed guards ready to spring into action at a moment's notice, they do have extensive armories that are not locked and do not require a passkey, retinal scan or any sort of technology that would prevent someone from just walking in and picking up a gun, as Mary Schott does.


Performances

Mehcad Brooks and Jeremy Jordan don't always get a chance to shine in this series, much less get a chance to play an understated scene. Yet the scene in which James refuses to leave Winn alone after he leaves the bar after seeing the news report about his father's death as well as the scene in which James opens up about his own mommy issues shows that both actors can play a quiet scene just as well as they can play the action hero and the comic relief respectively.

While Carl Lumbly does not get much time to play the increasingly demented M'yrnn, he does so convincingly and his sudden mood swing when Alex approaches him about seeking help is true to life, as is M'yrnn's denial of his condition because he does not wish to burden his family.


Artistry

Though the CGI for the robot dinosaur is hardly fantastic, the fight sequence between it and Mon-El is amazing.


Super Trivia

The title of this episode is a pun on the title of a 1986 Bon Jovi song - "Shot Through The Heart".

The song Kara sings at Karaoke is Beastie Boys' song "Intergalactic Planetary" - appropriate enough for an alien with a goofy personality.

The song James sings is "Tears Away" - the debut single of James Olsen actor Mehcad Brooks. You can listen to it here.

The song Alex sings is "I Drove All Night" by Celine Dion. An appropriate choice given Alex's recent heartache, given that the song is about wanting to be with someone despite the distance - physical and emotional - between you and them.

The song J'onn sings is "So Emotional" by Whitney Houston. Given J'onn's recent attempts to open up more in the wake of his father's arrival on Earth, this too seems fitting.

The song M'yrnn sings is "Suspicion Minds" by Elvis Presley - a fitting choice given that it's about love and paranoia, which describes M'yrnn's state of mind after centuries of torture at the hands of White Martians only to be saved by the son he thought was dead. It also neatly foreshadows his paranoia at having his dementia discovered.

Mon-El confirms that the DCTVU version of Saturn Girl is only telekinetic, not telepathic. In the original comics, Imra was primarily a telepath who later gained the ability to move things with her mind.

The song Winn is planning to sing is a-ha's "Take On Me". A bouncy, happy song about wanting to be hugged before someone leaves you.Definitely fits Winn's personality and, fittingly, he sings it with his mom at the episode's end.

It is revealed that Mary and Winslow Schott were both students in Ivy Town. This is a nod to Ivy Town - a fictional college town in the DC Comics Universe, where Ray Palmer was a professor at Ivy University.

The parts used to make the flying monkeys that attack Mary and Winn are eventually traced to the Willard Walter Wiggins Game Company. In the original DC Comics, Wiggins Toys was the name of a toy and game company, run by Willard Walter Wiggins, which employed George "Digger" Harkness as a mascot for their line of boomerang toys. They billed Harkness as Captain Boomerang before Harkness turned to a life of crime and began fighting The Flash.

Mary refers to her captor as Buffalo Bill - a reference to the serial killer from The Silence of The Lambs. This is a double reference as the actress playing Toyman's apprentice - Brooke Smith - was one of Buffalo Bill's kidnapping victims in the movie.

The RC cars carrying explosives seem to be a nod to the "Beware The Grey Ghost" episode of Batman: The Animated Series which was based around a villain, similar to The Toyman, who used toys as a delivery system for explosives.

Though not identified by name in the episode, the episode credits name Toyman's apprentice as Jacqueline Nimball. This is a nod to Jack Nimball - the second Toyman in the classic Superman comics - who took up Winslow Schott's name and gimmicks when the original Toyman had reformed. Kimball would eventually be brought to justice when Schott and Superman joined forces, only to be murdered by Winslow Schott when he returned to a life of crime.

Mon-El sings "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas - a song about a man searching for meaning in his life after realizing how little he knows and how much time he wasted pretending to be something he isn't. Again, a fitting choice for Mon-El.

A passing reference is made to the planet Rimbor, when Mon-El says his regular Legion costume was damaged there. In the original comics, Rimbor was part of the United Planets in the Legion of Super Heroes books. Rimbor had a reputation as a lawless world where crime and corruption were commonplace. It was the homeworld of LoSH member Ultra Boy and was populated by several different species, including humans.


Technobabble

J'onn suggests running a full mass-spectrometry on the explosive residue from Toyman's exploding coffin.

Za-alet is a Martian condition similar to dementia in humans. It translates literally into English as "decay of memory." It causes a person to slowly forget words, why they walked into a room and eventually people.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Kara stares down a line of people including James, Alex, J'onn, M'yrnn and Winn. She walks down them like a drill sergeant, her tone serious.)
Kara: I know some of you are scared. I know some of you have never done this before. I know some of you are ready to get out there and prove yourselves. But just remember why we do this. We do this for the people!
(Winn smiles and holds up a microphone, which Kara takes as she returns the smile.)
(Cut to: A Karaoke Bar. Kara is on stage singing Beastie Boys' "Intergalactic Planetary.")

M'yrnn: Karaoke is not for the weak. It requires either great courage or a complete lack of shame! But I like it!

Winn: Let me set the scene for you. It's the night Dad finally snapped and I'm sitting in the police station, freezing cold, because I'm in my pajamas. When the police came to pick me up from home, I was asleep. Remember? In bed. Alone. And the nice officer, he drapes the coat over my shoulders. I feel a little better. So I'm sitting there, in the cold, little feet are dangling in the air and I'm waiting. I'm waiting for my mom to pick me up. 'Cause they said that they called you. Yeah. Yeah, they said that it was just going to be like, an hour. And then they'd explain everything. And then it was two hours. And then it was the next morning. (grits his teeth) When I lie in bed at night at night, staring up at the ceiling unable to sleep? I'm not wondering why Dad finally, suddenly snapped. No, that doesn't haunt me. What haunts me is you. You, who left me. When I needed you the most, with no explanation. No goodbye.
Mary: I'm so sorry!
Winn:  I don't care anymore
Mary: Winn...
Winn: I don't need your excuses. You want to keep me safe? Great.
(Winn walks to the door and holds it open.)
Winn: You know what you should do? Leave. Again.

Mary: I always knew he was brilliant and capable but I worried when I left that he'd go the same way his dad did.
Supergirl: He worried about that too.
Mary: I should have been here to tell him that he and his father were worlds apart. (pauses) Did his friends tell him?
Supergirl: We did.
Mary: Thank you for that.
Supergirl: Well, it was easy. He doesn't always get the credit, but he keeps us going around here. He's always the one with some crazy idea that no one else would possibly dream of.
Mary: (chuckling, shaking her head) My son works with Supergirl. It's just such a relief. He saves lives. I just wish he'd let me tell me how proud I am of him.
Supergirl: I think he will. Eventually.


Continuity

James tells Mon-El that he is interested in someone (Lena Luthor) but they haven't figured out where their relationship stands yet.

Alex has not seen J'onn and M'yrnn's new apartment yet.

It has been three months since J'on and M'yrnn moved in together.

Winn has not seen his mother, Mary Schott, in 20 years.

Mon-El apologies to Kara for every time he ever lied to her while they were dating.

Mon-El then confesses to Kara that Saturn Girl and Brainiac 5 lied to him about some big Legion business and that he wants to discuss it with Kara later, over drinks, once everything with Winn and his father is settled.

Mon-El says that Brainiac 5 is his best friend.

Mary Schott claims that she left her husband because he threatened to kill Winn if she ever made contact with him or came near him.

Winn claims that he was far more traumatized by his mother failing to come for him following his father's arrest than by his father's crimes.

James has a sister.

James says that he had a falling out with his mother after his father's death, but he eventually reconciled with her.

Alex's grandmother was a music lover who suffered from dementia.

M'yrnn is starting to show signs of dementia. Over the course of the episode, he forgets that he had two granddaughters on Mars, orders a pizza on the night Alex and J'onn are having a dinner party and forgets the word "wine" while in the middle of dinner.

M'yrnn refuses to burden J'onn with the knowledge that he is starting to go senile, despite Alex saying J'onn should know.

Mary Schott helped her husband with building his toys early on, acting as his apprentice.

Mary and Winslow Schott were both students in Ivy Town but they met at a toy store. Mary was the bookeeper and Winslow a stocker.

Mary Schott recalls an incident where she planned to take a nine-year-old Winn to Disneyland. In truth, she was trying to make a break for a women's shelter. She was run off the road by Winslow Schott, who stole a car, ran her off the road (resulting in Winn getting a concussion) and that was when he threatened to kill Winn if she didn't leave.

Lena is not answering James' phone calls or messages and hasn't shown up to work in several days according to her assistant. This suggests that Lena has gone into hiding to help Sam in the wake of Lena discovering that Sam is Reign in 313.

The culprit behind the flying monkeys and exploding casket is revealed to be a maintenance woman at the prison where Winslow Schott was held. He taught her everything he knew and charged her with getting revenge on Schott's wife and son after his death.

This episode confirms that Kara needs to breath like an ordinary human, as she begins to suffocate after being sealed inside a giant plastic toy box.

Mon-El has trained in the art of cape-fighting. His Legion costume in the future has a cape. He offers to teach the art to Kara.

Mon-El cannot sing.

Winn reconciles with his mother.

Kara says that she can't talk about Mon-El's feelings of betrayal being lied to by Saturn Girl given their history.  Mon-El understands, but explains that was not why he wanted to talk to her privately about his being lied to.

Mon-El reveals to Kara that The Legion's real mission was to go back in time and kill the third Worldkiller - Pestilence - before she evolves into The Blight (first mentioned in 310) in 1000 years time.

Mon-El says his old costume was damaged om Rimbor.

M'yrnn's favorite food on Earth is ghost pepper macaroni and cheese with a side of jalapeno peppers.

M'yrnn reveals the truth about his dementia to J'onn.

Lena calls James from a lab, saying that she and Sam have been busy working. The episode ends as we see Sam in a hospital bed in Lena's lab.


The Kryptonite Factor

Security at the DEO is made to look really lax, with the flying monkey robots able to get into the building no problem and Mary Schott having no trouble in stealing a gun from the armory so she can go confront Jacqueline Nimball alone.


The Bottom Line

An odd episode to come back to after the show was on hiatus for the better part of two months. Still, the performances manage to sell some dopey dialogue, though it's odd that Laurie Metcalf has the least amount of chemistry with Jeremy Jordan out of all the cast she interacts with. The plot with the new Toywoman is the weakest link in the story.

Thankfully, the writers seem to be aware of this and use all the other subplots to distract away from that, even though there's a lot of logic problems involving the lax security at the DEO and why J'onn throws a dinner party with only Alex being invited. Still, it's an enjoyable bit of filler... probably because this episode is almost entirely free of the nonsense involving The Worldkillers.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 3 - Far From The Tree

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



Plot

Eliza throws Alex and Maggie a wedding shower and Alex encourages Maggie to reach out to her estranged father. Meanwhile, Kara joins J'onn on a journey to Mars where M'gann reveals a shocking discovery.


Influences

The 1998 Martian Manhunter series (presence of M'yrnn J'onzz) and 2006 Martian Manhunter series (presence of Till'all). Kara's speech about how the Green Martians can save the White Martians who wish to atone for their race's sins is reminiscent of a similar speech from the Babylon 5 episode Dust To Dust - "If we are a dying people, then let us die with honor, by helping the others as no one else can..."


Goofs

It's a hell of a coincidence that the Martian mythology and ancient Greek mythology both feature two characters named Deimos and Phobos, though the characters seem completely different!

Kara is incredibly non-nonchalant about using the Staff of Kolar to vaporize White Martians. What happened to that whole "not-killing" code of ethics?

Does anyone else find it disturbing that the White Martian resistance all take the form of black humans and that they are only saved by the blonde-haired, pale-skinned Aryan idea that is Supergirl?


Performances

Carl Lumbly gives a powerful performance as M'yrnn J'onzz.


Artistry

The effects work as J'onn's memory projects over the ruined Martian temple is well executed.


Super Trivia

This episode was the first to open with a new introduction for Season Three. It's largely the same as the Season Two intro, save that it starts with a line where Supergirl introduces herself as Kara Zor-El rather than Kara Danvers and emphasizes her status as an alien. Melissa Benoist also delivers the lines in a more serious tone.

Till'All first appeared in Martian Manunter #2 (Volume 3) (November 2006). One of ten White Martian refugees to come to Earth who had been brainwashed to believe they were Green Martians, Till'All was the least effected by their various trials and tribulations. He was saved by J'onn J'onzz but left in the care of the Justice League while J'onn investigated who was responsible for the death of Till'All's father.

The DCTVU version of Till'All is one of the greatest fighters among the White Martians who are fighting to curb the more violent and racist aspects of their society.

M'yrnn J'onzz was created by John Ostrander and Eduardo Barreto and first appeared in Martian Manhunter #33 (Volume 2) (August 2001). A singer by trade, his first appearance was largely a cameo in a flashback detailing the destruction of the Green Martian race.

Carl Lumbly plays the part of M'yrnn J'onzz, father of J'onn J'onzz. Carl Lumbly previously voiced J'onn J'onzz in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series. He also starred in the cult-hit superhero series M.A.N.T.I.S. where he played the role of a paralyzed scientist who used an mechanized exoskeleton of his own design to fight crime.

The DCTVU vesion of M'yrnn is the highest ranking religious leader of The Green Martians. He was spared because, according to M'gann, not even the most vicious of The White Martians would kill the prime servant of H'ronmeer.

H'ronmeer is one of the more powerful gods of the Martian pantheon in the DC Universe. Opinion seems divided, however as to H'ronmeer's true nature. He has been referred to as both the god of fire, art and death as well as the god of light and life. H'ronmeer is not malevolent, despite his dark nature. There are some theories that H'ronmeer may be a masculine aspect of Death of The Endless, much as her brother Dream is identified by the Martians as L'Zoril - lord of Dreams. H'ronmeer is also worshiped by the Red Saturnians, though they call him Hiromeer.

M'yrnn recalls a Martian fable regarding H'ronmeer and his two sons, Phobos and Deimos. In classical Greek Mythology, Phobos and Deimos were the twin sons of Ares (god of war) and Aphrodite (goddess of love). Phobos became the god of fear and Deimos the god of terror. In astrology, the two moons of the planet Mars are named Phobos and Deimos.


Technobabble

While it is possible to use a single transmat gate to travel if you have the exact coordinates of the point you are trying to reach (like when Winn sent Kara to the Daxamite mothership in 217), transmats can only be used to travel between planets if there is a second gate for the first gate to home in on. This is why Kara and J'onn must travel to Mars by ship.

Martian techonology is capable of shape-shifting. J'onn has a space-ship that he keeps disguised as a vintage convertible on Earth.

The Rite Of Tyagar is a Martian technique that allows one telepath to force their way through another telepath's mental blocks. This can allow them to read their mind unimpeded but it can cause great damage to the one whose blocks are broken.

It is a Green Martian custom to assume the forms of other species when making peaceful contact, in order to insure the comfort of their guests. This is why The White Martians assume human forms when greeting J'onn J'onzz, know his distaste for White Martians. It is also why M'yrnn assumes a human form when addressing J'onn when he appears in his human form. (It also helps to keep the SFX budget low!)


Dialogue Triumphs

Kara: My name is Kara Zor-El. I'm from Krypton. I'm a refugee on this planet. I was sent to Earth to protect my cousin, but my pod was knocked off-course and by the time I got here my cousin had already grown up and become Superman. I hid who I really was, until one day when an accident forced me to reveal myself to the world. To most people, I'm a reporter at CatCo Worldwide Media, but in secret, I work with my adopted sister for the DEO to protect my city from alien life and anyone else that means to cause it harm. I am Supergirl.

(J'onn opens the garage where he keeps his spaceship. It holds an old convertible.)
Kara: Cool car. So, is this like an elevator to a secret hanger that will-
J'onn: No, it isn't.
(J'onn goes to the driver's seat and gets into the car.)
Kara: This is your ship?
J'onn: Yep.
Kara: We're taking this to Mars?
J'onn: Yes, we are.
Kara: Okay.
(J'onn adjusts the radio as Kara opens the passenger front door and flounces into the chair, shaking the car. J'onn looks up at her, slightly annoyed.)
J'onn: Careful with the leather there, Supergirl.
(Kara winces and raises her hands.)
Kara: Sorry.
(Rock music begins to play on the radio as Kara looks around.)
Kara: There's no seat belt.
J'onn: It's from a different era.
Kara: And a different planet!
J'onn: I come from a race of shapeshifters, Kara. Why shouldn't our technology shape-shift too?
Kara: Fair enough.
(J'onn pulls out of the garage as the car changes into a space-ship and flies upward into the sky.)

(J'onn enters the cell where his father is being kept.)
M'yrnn: I'm praying! Leave me be!
J'onn: I think, at this time, H'ronmeer will allow you a moment of personal indulgence.
(J'onn walks around to stand before his father.)
J'onn: It's me, Father! It's J'onn!
(M'yrnn does not respond.)
J'onn: You are angry with me. For abandoning you. As you should be. I know how you must have felt. Alone all these years... thinking you'd never see another Green Martian. Thinking our entire family had been destroyed...
(There is a long silence. Suddenly, M'yrnn speaks as J'onn looks at his father.)
M'yrnn: You really thought such a trick would work on me?!
J'onn: Father?!
M'yrnn: (angrily) I survived two centuries of imprisonment and torture.. alone! So if you think exploiting the form of my dead son will break me, you are a fool! I will never tell you where The Staff of Kolar is!
J'onn: Father, it's me! J'onn! I fled to Earth! I survived!
M'yrnn: (laughs) You give yourself away, White! My son would never have fled!
(Despondent, J'onn turns and leaves the room at a hurried pace.)

J'onn: You ever wonder, Kara, what your parents would say to you if they could see you now? After all this time? What they'd think of the person you've become?
Kara: Every day. (pauses) They'd be proud of me.
J'onn: Yeah. I thought that too. Then I actually got the chance to ask. My father thinks I'm a coward.
Kara: Then he doesn't know you. Because the man I know dedicated his entire life to making sure that what happened on Mars never happens anywhere else. You go in there, J'onn... and show your father who his son really is.


Dialogue Disasters

Kara: J'onn, if Krypton still existed and I had to go back to where my parents were buried, under rubble, I know you wouldn't let me do it alone.

Maggie's Father: Do you know I was the only Mexicano working alongside a bunch of white boys? Do you know that they would wait for me at night, by the road, and laugh at me and call me wetback and kick me until my ribs were broken?!
Maggie: Dad, what does this have to do-
Maggie's Father: -with you being a lesbian?! I worked! To win respect! Those same boys when they grew up elected me their sheriff. I endured, for my children, so that you would never have to face that kind of hatred! So that you would belong!
Maggie: I'm respected for who I am. The world is different now.
Maggie's Father: Ha! They're building a wall to keep us out because in their minds we're nothing but rapists and murderers! The only thing they hate more than a Mexicano is a homosexual!


Continuity

J'onn refers to the events of 217 in explaining why he and Kara can't just use a transmat to teleport to Mars.

Martian spaceships are capable of shape-shifting.

Eliza Danvers' lasagna is her daughter's favorite food.

Maggie hasn't spoken to her parents since she was 14. Her father's last words to her before he dropped her off at an aunt's house were "You shamed me." Her aunt later told her that her parents removed all the photos of Maggie from the family photo album.

The Staff of Kolar is an ancient Martian weapon which is said to have been forged by H'ronmeer. It's a psychic weapon that could potentially be used to track down every member of the White Martian resistance and kill them instantly.

M'yrnn was tortured by the White Martians for over 200 years.

Maggie's full name is Margarita Sawyer

Maggie's father is a sheriff who read up on his daughter's case histories after she called him. He taught her everything he knew about being a detective.

In the myths of Mars, H'ronmeer had two sons - Phobos and Deimos. In order to test his sons, H'ronmeer created two artifacts - a book of sacred symbols, which taught the morals that govern Martian life and a weapon - The Staff of Kolar. The symbols could be shared but only one could wield the staff. To H'ronmeer's disappointment, Phobos chose the staff while Deimos chose the book. Phobos became the first White Martian and was banished to the underworld. His descendants clawed their way back to the surface and eventually overtook the Green Martian race sired by Deimos. H'ronmeer then buried the staff to keep it hidden.

Alex's favorite color is blue. Her favorite animal is dogs. Her favorite ice cream is Rocky Road.

Maggie loves Merlot.

Maggie's father gives her a picture of herself as a child that he's kept in his wallet for years.

M'yrnn had previous exposure to a Kryptonian at some point in his past.

J'onn's happiest memory is of a birthday where his father left worship early to surprise him and his daughters spoiled the surprise because they were so happy to be in on the secret that they couldn't stop dancing.

Maggie again tells Alex that she does not want kids.

J'onn brings The Staff of Kolar and his father to Earth.


Location

Mars.


The Bottom Line

Quite probably the weakest episode of the series to date. The script tries to mirror its subplots, with both J'onn and Maggie seeking the approval of their fathers, though J'onn feels he abandoned his father in his lowest moment and Maggie was abandoned by her father in hers. The problem is that Maggie has been such a non-entity on the show that she can't support her own subplot and her father is written as a melodramatic gay-hating cliche who seems far too articulate for a small-town sheriff.

The subplot with J'onn and his father fares somewhat better, though some of David Harewood's exclamations come off as more comical than was intended. Still, Carl Lumbly gives the whole thing a sense of gravitas that it doesn't deserve and the whole Resistance battle is problematic with Kara killing a mob of White Martians without reservations. And that's ignoring the problems with a blonde-haired, white-skinned woman being the savior of a bunch of aliens who all take on the forms of African American humans.