Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 13 - The Gauntlet

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

Plot

As Lena tries to master the newfound gift she inherited from her mother, Supergirl competes with Nyxly to gain control of the Totem of Courage. 

Influences

Harry Potter (the magic connection between Kara and Nxyly resembles that between Harry and Voldemort), Marvel's Infinity War (the hunt for the Totems mirrors the search for the Infinity Stones) and Dragonball (the idea of magic artifacts that can alter reality that exist on each planet sounds a lot like the Dragonballs)


Goofs

Lena is shown to still have her portal bracelet when she travels to the Fortress of Solitude with Kara. This raises the question of why she had to borrow Andrea's private jet for the past few episodes to travel to Newfoundland.

The Totem of Courage was contained within the slingshot used by David to kill Goliath. However, the slingshot depicted in the episode is a forked stick with a cord rather than the pouch fastened between two cords that would have been called a slingshot in Biblical times.

Brainiac-5 says that the super strikes generated by Project Bolt could over 1,000 megajoules, which is 50 times stronger than an average lighting strike. In truth, an average lighting bolt can contain up to 5,000 megajoules. (It's possible Brainiac-5 got his math wrong given the effects of the Courage Totem.)


Performances

Jesse Rath is quite amusing playing the witch Vita in Brainiac-5' body.


Artistry

The special effects for the lightning storm are well executed.


Super Trivia

The doctor whose experimental lightning harvester nearly destroys the city is named Beatrice Lahr. Despite the spelling of the last name being different, this could be a nod to the classic Supergirl villain Lesla-Lar, who was an evil Kryptonian scientist.


Technobabble

Vita says that there are a few rules that must be followed in questing for the Totems.

1. There is a prescribed order for claiming the totems and the Totem of Courage is first.
2. The totems have taken the form of various artifacts, hidden over time.
3. The totem must be activated with the magic word "Cgyrzyx" before it can be wielded.
4. To take control of the totem fully, one must pass a taxing test of character.

It is later revealed that each test must also be completed alone.

Brainiac-5's algorithm to locate Earth's Totem of Courage determines 64,427 possible artifacts might be considered a symbol of courage.

Even with Supergirl's top speed, it would take 32 days, two hours and 38 minutes to examine each potential artifact.

The facial recognition software in the Watchtower detects Nxyly at the Museum of Science and Technology.

The Totems radiate intense levels of 5th Dimensional energy (i.e. magic.)

Breaking a Totem releases a blast of raw, unfiltered emotion tied to that particular totem. In the case of the Totem of Courage, this could lead to erratic, even violent behavior.

Vita says the only way to cleanse those infected by a broken totem is for someone to gain control of it. This action heals the totem and will bring the pieces together if they were separated. 

Project Bolt makes use of a plasma ionizer to harvest lightning.

Brainiac-5 detects 13 ground lightning strikes within the six minutes following Project Bolt's activation. This could lead to a single discharge of over 1,000 megajoules. This is said to be 50 times the strength of a standard lightning bolt.

Brainiac-5 is able to determine one of the two scientists he overheard was Dr. Lahr, thanks to his facial recognition program.

Dr. Lahr says a negative ionizer could stop the storm generated by Project Bolt from getting bigger.

The Hand of the Soldier is able to replicate the functions of a negative ionizer.

Brainiac-5 calculates there is an 87.6% chance Supergirl can create an inverse function to disperse the super-storm by circling the cloud cluster at Mach 4. The odds increase if he and Martian Manhunter join her in doing this.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Alex, J'onn and Kara see a dragon in the museum.)
Alex: This one's mine.
Kara: Alex, wait!
J'onn: (shouting encouragingly) Go get him, Alex!
Kara: That dragon is gonna barbecue her unless we stop it. Can you calm it psychically?
J'onn: I admire your concern for your sister, Supergirl. And can I just say how proud I am to have watched you both grow into the strong women you are today? 

(Kara tries to convince the rest of the team they're acting out of character because of the Courage Totem, starting with Alex's suicidal bravery.)
J'onn: I'm just so impressed by her initiative. I have to say, I'm impressed by all of you. You're inspirations, each and every one of you. How you handled yourselves, you make me feel...
(J'onn's voice trails off as he realizes he is far too open and cheerful and it is scaring everyone else.)
J'onn: Oh. I see. 

Kara: Do you really not believe in magic?
Lena: I believe in you. And in all of us. We'll defeat this, no matter what it's called. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go interrogate a Kryptonian witch.

Brainiac-5: I've also dialed in on the epicenter of the storm. It's right above the Tower.
Lena: No, Brainy, it's not. It's not even close! That's your fourth miscalculation today. 
J'onn: (cheerfully, slapping Brainiac-5 on the back) Brainy! You give us flawless calculations every day. You're allowed to make mistakes from time to time.
Kara: No, he's not. You've been affected by the Totem.
Brainiac-5: That's ridiculous.
Kara: What's the one thing a Coluan doesn't have the courage to do?
Brainiac-5: Be wrong in his calculations. (pauses in realization) Oh... Have I just spent all day guesstimating?! 

Continuity

Lena checks in at the Watchtower, but asks to get to work rather than talk about what she found about her mother.

Lena makes reference to the giant cat from 611.

Kara reveals that she kept a Kryptonian memory crystal with the imprint of Vita, one of the trio of Kryptonian witches who created Reign, in the Fortress of Solitude. (Vita was named in 322.)

Lena still has her teleport watch and uses it to take herself and Kara to the Fortress of Solitude.

Vita's cult apparently sought out the Totems of Krypton, but most of them went mad in the attempt and died.

On Krypton, the Totems had an effect on the cultures that grew up around them.

Dr. Beatrice Lahr is a scientist attached to the Museum of Science and Technology in National City, who is upset that her pet project, Project Bolt, has been shut down thanks to a colleague, Dr. Frank Gale, who told the grants committee that harvesting lightning with lasers was too dangerous.

Mitch sneaks into the museum by posing as a janitor.

Mitch confirms that the Totem of Courage is on display in the museum, as part of an exhibit of Ancient Technology. 

Mitch comes up with a plan for Nyxly to steal the Totem within an eight minute gap when the security shifts change at 12:52 pm.

Kelly reports that she is sleeping better than she had recently in the wake of becoming Guardian.

Orlando Davis has apparently come up with a plan to help all the people in The Heights who lost their homes.

Kelly says Guardian will be busy helping Orlando with that, but tells Alex she can go ahead and go to the Watchtower to search for the Totem when she offers to help her as Sentinel.

Andrea once again lays into William for not generating enough content regarding the Super Friends.

Before coming to National City, William went undercover with drug lords in Colombia and embedded himself within a rebel group in Kaznia.

William is having PTSD flashbacks of Eve Tescmacher. shooting him in 519. This is why he has been reluctant to go out into the field doing undercover work.

The Super Friends guess that the Totem of Courage is the slingshot David used to kill Goliath, which is currently on display in the National City Museum of Science and Technology.

Nia calls William and tips him off to the Super Friends heading to the Museum of Science and Technology.

Kara attempts to stop Nxyly from activating the Totem of Courage with a blast of heat vision. This cuts the Totem into two pieces, but also releases a wave of energy that engulfs the Super Friends, the museum staff (including Dr. Lahr) and William.

When Nyxly activates the Totem of Courage, she has a vision of an attractive young man, who tells her the rest of their troops are in the armory. This is later revealed to be her younger brother.

Vita possesses Brainiac-5's body and tells Kara that she must pass the test of the Totem of Courage to heal it and claim its power.

Kara's test takes her back to the events of the Pilot episode and her first night using her powers to help people as Supergirl. She is told that she must face a moment she lacked true courage.

Kara saves the plane containing Alex and recalls how she heard a man screaming for help but ignored it so she could focus on hiding. This time, she saves the man from a mugger. However, she is still told that she failed the test.

Dr. Lahr attacks Dr. Gale in the museum coffee shop.

Nyxly's test takes her back to the day she and her brother were caught rebelling against their father and she was sentenced to be sent to the Phantom Zone while her brother was applauded for his courage. This time, Nxyly tries to stab her father to death. She fails the test.

One of the museum staff has a shape-shifting alien dragon pet, like Spike from 406, who goes on a rampage thanks to the courage energy making it temperamental.

Alex, thanks to the courage energy, becomes uncharacteristically reckless and charges in to fight the dragon without a plan.

The courage energy makes J'onn less reserved and more willing to discuss his emotions.

Nia has lapsed into a deeper dream state than she ever has before. Brainiac-5 believes this is because she now has the courage to try doing something so risky.

Mitch suggests maybe Nxyly should try killing her brother, on the grounds that maybe the test of Courage is to see if you can kill the thing you love most rather than stand against that which you hate or fear. This doesn't work either.

Kara and Lena talk about the test, but neither can begin to guess why Kara keeps failing. She keeps attempting to save different people during the test, but to no avail.

Dr. Lahr powers up her Project Bolt device without running any tests firsts. This creates a giant storm over National City.

Vita says that she can sense the magic within Lena, even as a memory. She also says that even when she was alive she couldn't command 5th Dimensional energy, but that a powerful witch could do so. She says Lena is such a witch.

Brainiac-5 determines the storm forming over National City might be tied to Project Bolt, which he overheard Dr. Gale and Dr. Lahr arguing over during the fight at the museum coffee shop.

Nxyly passes the test after she breaks down and tells her brother about how hurt she was by his betrayal.

The Test of Courage is revealed to be about proving the courage to be vulnerable.

The Super Friends try to use a box to contain their half of the Totem of Courage, as it tries to return to Nyxly.

Alex charges off to deal with Dr. Lahr on her own.

Kara breaks the Project Bolt device in a bid to stop the storm and get Dr. Lahr to listen to reason. it doesn't work/

Kara asks Lena to release their half of the totem, since getting the team back to normal is more important than her passing the Test of Courage.

Everyone is restored to normal once Nyxly has the complete Totem of Courage.

Guardian shows up to help deal with crowd control as the storm rages.

Kara passes out and has a vision of Nyxly after she disperses the storm. At the same time, Nxyly has a vision of Kara.

Kara is able to feel Nyxly's emotions through their connection from the Totem of Courage. She says she feels triumphant yet vengeful and she senses she was more determined than ever to get the next Totem.

J'onn says he can't find anything wrong with Kara psychically and Alex determines her vitals are normal, despite Kara passing out. She thinks Nxyly may also be able to feel her emotions.

Nia checks on William and he admits that he was traumatized after his confrontation with Eve Teschmacher, but he thinks he has the courage to go into the field again thanks to the close enconter with the Totem of Courage.

William tells Nia that he's going to ask the Super Friends if he can be embedded with them.

Kelly and Alex decide to be partners as crimefighters; not just romantic partners.

Lena tells Kara about her mother being a witch and how supposedly she has the same gift.

Lena offers to try and use her magic to break the connection between Kara and Nxyly, but Kara says she thinks they can use the connection to figure out what she is planning.

Kara senses that Nxyly is angry.

Nyxly is confirmed to be feeling Kara's emotions. Her anger is due to her sensing that Kara is hopeful and happy despite undergoing the same trials that brought Nxly nothing but pain.

Mitch suggests that Nxyly suffered more because she passed the test. Nxyly agrees that the pain was the price of the power she earned.


The Bottom Line

One of the best episodes of the season, primarily because it's focused on actual superheroics, even though there's surprisingly little action.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 8 - Welcome Back, Kara!

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

Plot

Kara returns to work at CatCo and as Supergirl and tries to introduce her father to life on Earth. Unfortunately, Zor-El's overzealous efforts to join her in protecting the Earth lead to a new threat, as Kara tries to deal with the trauma of her time in the Phantom Zone; a task that isn't made any easier by her latest assignment to interview the survivors of the Phantom attacks on National City.

Influences

Captain Planet (the environmental message) and Independence Day (alien technology defeated with a virus)


Goofs

In her presentation on major media platforms that are doing better than CatCo, Andrea Rojas mentions The Daily Planet (#1) and The Central City Citizen (#4). This doesn't make much sense, given that layoffs at The Daily Planet due to decreased sales were why Clark Kent lost his job in the first episode of Superman and Lois and Iris West-Allen said her paper lost 73% of their readers during the time she was trapped in the Mirror World in The Flash. While it was unclear at the time it aired just when Superman and Lois was set in relation to the other Arrowverse series that year, Kara later makes reference to a story that Iris West-Allen wrote in the same episode where she referenced her drop in readership.

While it's believable Lex Luthor wouldn't have issues with dumping garbage in the ocean, it's a little hard to believe he wouldn't try to recover all the Kryptonite that was apparently dropped into the trash island, given how rare it is supposed to be on Earth-Prime.

Granting that Andrea has always been portrayed as publicity minded, it's still a bit of a jump for her to go from being obsessed with bringing down Lex Luthor to being obsessed with learning all about the Super Friends, based purely upon seeing some files on Lex Luthor's desk. (Shouldn't she be more interested in why Luthor is targeting the heroes?)


Performances

The highlight of the episode is Jesse Rath's insulting Oscar and his cry of "I regret nothing!" as he is being pulled into a giant garbage monster.


Artistry

It's a minor thing, but after every time Barry Allen managed to disappear without consequences for months at a time in The Flash, it's gratifying that the script for this episode shows Kara dealing with the fact that her absence was noticed and that her friends lied to cover for her at her job.

The CGI for Oscar the Robot is well-executed.


Super Trivia

The episode title is a play on the classic sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter. 

J'onn determines that Oscar bonded with a Teallian, which he describes as a parasitic creature that can inhabit and animate inanimate objects. In the comics, the Legion of Superheroes member Quislet was a Teallian, who rejected his species hive-mind and went off in search of adventure far from their home planet of Teall.

Oscar the Garbage Monster also seems remarkably similar to the DC Comics villain Chemo. Originally created as an enemy of the Metal Men in Showcase #39, Chemo was a living being made of chemicals discarded by scientist Ramsey Norton, who grew into a giant, toxic monster. 


Technobabble

Zor-El analyzes Earth's oceans and determines they are dying in the same way Krypton's did.

J'onn determines the fire on the trash island was the result of a fuel leak from a Dominator Warp Drive.

Zor-El plans to save Earth's oceans by modifying the Kelex robot in the Fortress to shrink trash and convert it to energy safely. It does this through a new Coluan energy core. He dubs the new robot Oscar, named in honor of Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street.

Lena says he did something similar with a high-pressure energy compactor. 

Oscar's absorbs Daxamite technology that also gives him cloaking abilities, a force-field and a Teallian proto-ray that penetrates Supergirl's armored suit.

Lena says she can decloak Oscar with a signal wave blast.

Brainiac-5 creates a drone-delivered virus that can shut Oscar down.

Dialogue Triumphs

Kara: I don't think I ever wanna hear the word "Phantom" ever again. Not in an opera, not in a Star Wars prequel. Especially not in a Star Wars prequel. I don't even think I could handle an episode of Scooby-Doo right now!

Brainiac-5: You sorry excuse for a Roomba!


Continuity

This episode takes place one day after 607.

Brainiac-5 picks up a special cake for a party to welcome Kara back to Earth.

Kara power naps under a yellow sun lamp to recover the energy she spent flying herself and Zor-El to J'onn's ship.

Kara is having nightmares of the Phantom Zone as she sleeps.

Kelly Olsen misses the party, as she's undergoing orientation at her new job with Social Services.

Zor-El says the technology of the Watchtower dwarfs that of Krypton. J'onn thanks him but notes that Watchtower draws upon the technology of many worlds.

Zor-El says that he intends to go to Argo City to reunite with his wife, but first he wants to see the life Kara has built for herself on Earth.

Zor-El poses as Kara's Uncle Archie.

Nia explains to Kara about how she covered her absence by telling Andrea Rojas that she was in deep cover interviewing Darien resistance leader Miguel de Miranda at Cat Grant's request. Nia originally made this excuse in 601.

Andrea is annoyed when Kara says there is no story, resulting in her having the assignment to cover Supergirl's defeat of the Phantom dropped on her.

Andrea threatens to fire the whole writing staff of CatCo if they are not the #1 news outlet within a month's time. They are currently #8 thanks to the public turning on them after Lex Luthor's acquittal in 602.

Nobody had told Kara about Phantoms attacking National City while she was gone because they didn't want to worry her.

William tells Kara that he started dating a pediatrician named Mary while she was gone and it is getting serious.

Kara and her father team to stop a falling satellite. 

Kara and Zor-El discover a garbage island made of cast-off material from Luthor Corp and the DEO 1000 miles off the coast of National City that is full of toxic chemicals.

Kara tries to sell the story of the island to Andrea, but she is uninterested until she finds out Lex Luthor was responsible for the dumping. However, she assigns the article to William and tells Kara to get her an interview with Supergirl.

Lena and Nia have a talk about their nightmares from the Phantom Zone and how Nia is missing her mother even as Kara is reuniting with her father.

Zor-El confirms that Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van designed the Fortress of Solitude. 

Kara has a PTSD flashback of Lex Luthor blasting her with the Phantom Zone projector as they look around the Fortress of Solitude.

William determines that the trash island was made by a third-party hired by LuthorCorp and it all, sadly, was completely legal. Andrea still asks him to find a way to blame Lex for it.

Zor-El binge-watched Sesame Street to learn about Earth culture while Kara was recovering under the sun lamps.

Andrea uses her teleportation powers to break into Luthor Manor in search of proof he's responsible for the trash island. Instead, she finds several files profiling the Super-Friends.

Oscar goes haywire after bonding with a Teallian and becomes impossible to track after absorbing Daxamite cloaking tech. He also acquires a force-field.

Brainiac-5 enters into Oscar's trash pile in order to manually release the virus.

Zor-El admits he is afraid to face his wife again given his failure to save Krypton, even if he did save his family and many lives.

It has been nearly 40 years since Zor-El became trapped in the Phantom Zone.

Andrea published William's article on the trash fires without the Luthor angle.

Andrea says CatCo needs to write more articles on the local superheroes and they can make CatCo big again, like Cat Grant did with Supergirl.

Lena tells Nia that she's going to go visit the village where she was born and try to build a connection with her birth mother. 

Kara tells Alex about how bad the Phantom Zone was.

Alex tells Kara about her nightmares of losing Kara forever.

Kara references a piece Iris West-Allen wrote in F704 about how Central City rallied after the fight with the Mirror Monarch and how she needs to write something similar about National City moving on from the Phantom attacks.

The episode ends with a thunder storm raging and Nia waking up from a dream and saying the name "Nyxly."


Location

A trash island 1000 miles off the coast of National City
Fortress of Solitude


Untelevised Adventures

Brainiac-5 takes Zor-El to Argo City at the end of the episode.


The Bottom Line

A serviceable yet largely flawed episode. While individual parts are groanworthy, the cast makes them work even as the technobabble starts flying and Oscar becomes increasingly implausible.  Andrea is still the show's weak link and it would have been much better if she'd been allowed to gracefully fade into the background at the end of Season 5. At least the romance (muted as it was) between Kara and William has finally come to an end.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 6 - Prom Again!

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

Plot

The mission to recover a sample of Kara's DNA becomes more complicated when Nia and Brainy are captured by aliens looking for rare species for their zoo. Unfortunately, even if they can win free and not disrupt the timeline and Kara's senior prom, a young Cat Grant could still spoil the whole thing.

Influences

Back To The Future (the time-travel theme and the school dance in a small town setting), the show Riverdale (Kara and Kenny solving mysteries in a small town setting), the Guardians of the Galaxy movies (Naxim Tork appears to be somewhat modeled on Michael Rooker's Yondu) and the Superman: The Animated Series episode "The Main Man." (Storyline involves an alien zookeeper hunting for a Kryptonian.)


Goofs

During the scene where Kara and Kenny exchange corsages, the song "Bulletproof" by La Roux plays in the background. The song was released on June 21, 2009 but Kara and Kenny's prom takes place on May 26, 2009. (Perhaps the release date is different in the Arrowverse?)  

Logically, there should be an extra Kara now running around the timeline one-hour before the meteor strike after Brainy, Nia and Kara return from earlier that afternoon.(Maybe the extra Kara was erased from the timeline after she was done saving Nia and Brainy?)

Performances

Again, Isabela Vidovic is so stunning as a teenage Kara you almost can't believe she isn't Melissa Benoist brought back in time.

The chemistry between Jesse Rath and Nicole Maines sizzles.


Super Trivia

This episode marks Chyler Leigh's debut as a director.


Technobabble

The force-field which Naxim Tork uses is a power-dampener that inhibits alien powers. However, a blast of Kryptonian heat vision from outside the field is enough to disrupt it.

Naltorians can experience dream echoes of visions they'd had previously when exposed to the energy of a Bismolian ship. 

Bismolian energy is trackable for half a light year. 

Nia can use her powers to put a person to sleep.

A bridging connector in the right place can blow the fuse in an energizer. 


Dialogue Triumphs

(Kenny is rather depressed over his ability to be useful in an alien prison.)
Kenny: The question is, how'd I get in here. Oh, that's right. I tried to take on the big dogs and be a hero for my girlfriend. Except I forgot that you can't take on the big dogs when you're just a dumb, human squeaky toy.
Cat: Stop that. And you listen to me, Kendall Li!
Kenny: It's Kenny
Cat: First things first. Cut the self-deprecating drivel. You're not a dumb, squeaky toy.
Kenny: You don't even know me!
Cat: I am a journalist, trained in the art of observation. In two minutes flat, I could see that you are preternaturally intelligent and deeply courageous. How many men would sacrifice themselves to hostile aliens to save their girlfriend? Damn few. And how many of them would know that a bridge connector could hack spaceship technology? None. You've got the makings of a hero, Kendall. Own it. 

Nia: How's it looking? 

Brainy: Ah, not bad. In almost every scenario I can devise, we have a success rate of nearly 20%. 

Nia: That's a failure rate of 80 %. 

Brainy: (forced cheer) Oh, yes It's terrible. 

Brainy: We have irrevocably changed space and time.
Nia: You say that a lot.
Brainy: Yes, but this time it's true!

Kara: It was awful. Under those police-issued flashlights, with the reporter asking me questions and... and the cops coming in. In that moment, I saw my future, and I'm only 17! I don't know anything. I... I don't have a driving permit. Eliza's only let me do the laundry once... and I'm not even sure I know how to make rice. I don't know what I want my future to look like, but that wasn't it. So, please, let me help you find the reporter and change things back. 

(Brainy has just been asked by a young Alex what is going on.)
Brainy: It is a wild story. It involves alien hunters, large explosions... and, well, an excess of formal wear. So, at times, it may seem improbable. 

(Nia is trying to cover while talking to Cat.)
Nia: I'm just a journalism major at a local college.
Cat: (eying Nia's gown) It's a bit formal for college.
Nia: I'm minoring in performance art. 

Brainy: You were great today.
(Nia looks down, embarrassed. Brainy sits down next to her, looking her in the eyes.)
Brainy: No. Hey, Nia. You were. You conjured the dream world into reality... and you interpreted your dream about Cat, and used that information to save the space-time continuum.
Nia: I was only able to interpret my dream because I've lived through Cat Grant.
(Brainy leans in and kisses Nia, cutting her off. She's stunned. He looks at her, love in his eyes, as he continues.)
Brainy: You saved us. And when we save Supergirl from the Phantom Zone, it will be because of you.
(Nia smiles and meets his gaze. Tears are welling up in his eyes.)
Nia: Brainy, are you crying? 

Brainy: (chuckles and rubs his eyes) It's just... (deep breath) I've been so consumed with negative emotions lately, I... I forgot how the good ones felt. Maybe that's the lesson of high school. You're not meant to suppress the bad emotions, you're simply meant to endure them. So you can appreciate the good ones when they come.
Nia: Mmm. What are you feeling now?
(Brainy hits the ignition of the ship, sending them back to the future.)
Brainy: Hopeful. 


Continuity

Kara overhears Brainy and Nia being captured by Naxim Tork while at the barn with Kenny.

Kara flies to them while Kenny runs through the woods.

Kenny runs into Alex, who was called by Nia, on his way through the forest.

One of Kenny and Kara's maneuvers is Speed Racer, where Kara moves past a target at super-speed to distract them. She does this to Naxim Tork.

Cat Grant films the fight between Kara and Naxim Tork with a drone.

Alex, Nia and Brainy get to see Kenny's barn lair as well.

Brainy lies and says that he's contacted the proper intergalactic authorities to make sure Naxim Tork is imprisoned. In truth, he has them imprisoned inside their ship, cloaked it, and plans to send them to Uruguay where they can be captured in three days by the DEO, per the original timeline.

Nia has another dream vision of the cage. This time it is empty and she doesn't hear the pink cougar behind her until it is too late.

Alex apologizes to Kara for pushing her to make a choice about Kenny and college. She says she was afraid she'd have to put her life on hold to look after Kara, but she thinks Kara can handle anything that comes her way now.

Kara says she's made a choice but hopes it is the right one.

Alex goes to watch the meteor shower while Kara goes to meet Kenny.

Kara decides to go to the prom without a mask, despite it being a masquerade ball.

Brainy and Nia share a dance on-board the Legion ship after changing into new formal attire.

Cat Grant is able to uncloak Naxim Tork's ship by throwing rocks at it. She then somehow manages to open it up by randomly pushing buttons.

Naxim Tork takes Cat Grant prisoner.

Cat Grant was still using a Blackberry phone in 2009.

Kara tells Kenny that she loves him and wants to stay in Midvale with him.

Somehow, things are different when Kara hits the meteor this time. She still crashes through the roof of the Midvale High gym, but it fragments in a way that the piece with her blood on it doesn't wind up on the baseball field, as Brainy predicted.

Kara survives the Kryptonite exposure, but is left powerless as Maxim Tork shows up, demanding the Kryptonian surrender themself.

Kenny turns himself over to Tork.

Alex does not know what Kryptonite is at this point in time and neither does Kara.

Nia and Brainy tell Kara that they will rescue Kenny and knock her out with Nia's powers to prevent her from turning herself in to Tork to get Kenny freed. They also lock her and Alex in a closet.

Alex learned how to pick locks in college.

Kara gets a second wind after stepping into direct moonlight.

Nia has another dream vision of the empty cage and the cougar behind her. This time, she manages to catch the cougar with her powers and sees two initials - PW - engraved on the cage.

Nia manifests another new power - the ability to bring objects from her dream into the real world. Brainy refers to this as lucid dreaming. She sets the pink cougar loose on Naxim Tork and Mitch.

Upon finding out Cat Grant has been captured along with Kenny Li, Nia realizes what her dream meant. The pink cougar was symbolic of Cat Grant and her being the real threat to Kara's future.

Kara attacks Naxim Tork and Mitch on their ship. She accidentally punches them into a control panel which releases all the creatures on the lower level of the ship. This includes a nest of Plutonian land sharks.

Naxim Tork and Mitch use an escape pod to flee the scene of the fight.

The Midvale police show up and surround the alien ship, arresting Alex, Kenny and Cat as they try to leave and Alex as she tries to run to Kara.

Nia points out that they can travel back in time to a few hours earlier and focus on keeping Cat Grant from getting involved to prevent all this from happening.

Kara breaks her handcuffs and follows after Brainy and Nia, stowing away on their ship.

Brainy reluctantly agrees to let Kara help them change things, but only if she stays close.

Brainy and Kara run into Alex and Kenny in the woods. 

Nia shoots down Cat's drone.

Hearing Cat complain about Perry White leads Nia to realize what the PW on the cage from her dream meant.

Nia talks to Cat and convinces her that she's too good to keep working for Perry White and that she doesn't need to prove anything to him. This inspires Cat to quit working for the Daily Planet and to start building CatCo Worldwide Media.

Kara and Brainy are able to get Alex and Kenny to go back to where they need to be going, without any questions being asked about why Kara is already in her formal wear.

Brainy, Kara and Nia are taken back to one hour before the meteor almost hit the school.

Cat Grant quits her job with the Daily Planet and tells Perry White to stop calling her CJ.

Brainy launches Naxim Tork's ship and sends it off to be retrieved by the DEO.

Kara stops the meteor, as before, but this time it breaks properly, allowing Brainy and Nia to get the piece with her blood on it.

Kara changes her mind about staying in Midvale and tells Kenny that she got accepted to National City University 

Kara asks Kenny to come with her to NCU but he tells Kara that he needs to figure out how to save himself and find a life outside of being her sidekick.

Kara and Kenny abandon the prom for a night of star-gazing and Monty Python.

Nia and Brainy return to the present with Kara's DNA intact. 


Location

Midvale - May 26, 2009


The Bottom Line

While not as strong as the first part, this is still an enjoyable episode thanks to some stellar performances and witty dialogue. This episode makes the case for both a Midvale prequel series and a spin-off for Brainy and Dreamer once Supergirl comes to a close.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 5 - Prom Night!

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

Plot

Requiring a sample of Kara's DNA to track her in the Phantom Zone, Brainiac-5 and Dreamer travel back in time to the night of Kara's senior prom; one of the few occasions Alex can recall Kara being injured enough to bleed. Unfortunately, when they arrive a day early and their ship breaks down, they start accidentally altering the past, as a young Cat Grant comes to Midvale chasing a story and two alien poachers start hunting for one of the last Kryptonians. 


Influences

Back To The Future (the time-travel theme and the school dance in a small town setting, specifically evoked by Brainiac-5 as the best example of why you should not visit your own past) Beverly Hills 90210 (Nia and Brainy-5 use the aliases Brenda and Brandon while in the past), the whole "young kid in adult body" film genre, ala 13 Going On 30, Big, etc. (Brainy's going native after a day attending high-school), the show Riverdale (Kara and Kenny solving mysteries in a small town setting), the Guardians of the Galaxy movies (Naxim Tork appears to be somewhat modeled on Michael Rooker's Yondu) and the Superman: The Animated Series episode "The Main Man." (Storyline involves an alien zookeeper hunting for a Kryptonian.)


Goofs

Kara's prom was said to be on May 26, 2009. This was a Tuesday night. Typically proms in the United States are held on Friday or Saturday evening and Kenny specifically says that the night of the dance is a Friday. (The calendar may be different in the Arrowverse.) 

The posters promoting Naxim Tork's Menagerie hung up in his ship are printed in English.

No matter how talented he was, it's highly unlikely Brainiac-5 would be recruited into multiple clubs at the end of the semester.

When Brainy and Nia are looking at the DEO database after Naxim Tork's status changes from Captured to Wanted, the names of their species, "Naltorian" and "Coluan" are misspelled as "Noltorian" and "Caluan".  

If the timeline is changed so that Nia, Brainy and Kara are abducted by Naim Tork, how would the DEO know Nia and Brainy's species? (Perhaps they were able to get DNA traces from the scene?)


Performances

The chemistry between Nicole Maines and Jesse Rath sells this episode.

Izabela Vidovic and Olivia Nikkanen, once again, are picture perfect as the young Kara and Alex.


Artistry

The scene in which teen Kara and Dreamer bond using their powers together is beautiful, from the performances to the effects work to the writing.


Super Trivia

This is the first episode of Supergirl not to feature Melissa Benoist.

As part of the running gag that Brainiac-5 continually gets his research into the past wrong, he says that "wassup" is a common greeting among teenagers in 2009. This is a reference to a Budweiser commercial from 1999, which ran until 2003. 

Brainiac-5 and Nia wear glasses as part of their disguises, in a nod to how Supergirl and Superman hide their secret identities with nothing but a pair of glasses.

Brainiac-5 notes that the ship piloted by Mitch and Tork had a Bismolian energy signature. In the comics, the planet Bismol is the home of a species of metahumans who all developed the ability to eat anything, organic or inorganic, after a microbe rendered most of their organic food supplies toxic. One of the native Bismolians of the 31st Century, Tenzil Kem, went on to join the Legion of Super-Heroes as Matter-Eater Lad.

Brainiac also mentions a planet called Lasma. In the comics, the Lasma were an alien species, also known as the Ayrie, who were plant-based and peaceful. They appeared in The Flash #238 (December 1975).  The Arrowverse version of the Lasma are said to be pacifists and vegetarians. 


Technobabble

Brainy determines where they can get a sample of Kara's DNA without coming into contact with her, based on a survey of satellite imagery on the night of her senior prom. Based on the trajectory of the meteor, he predicts Kara's point of contact. After running those figures through 3D modeling, he produces a rendering of the debris field, and by overlaying that with geologic radiation emissions of that same night, plus, Kara's own biologic markers, he was able to pinpoint the exact location of Kara's DNA  among the debris- center field of Midvale High School's baseball field.

Brainiac-5's primer on 2009 teen slang is somewhat out of date, as he believes the words"chillax," "flossy," "totes" and "wassup!" are in wide use.

To fix his ship, Brainiac-5 needs to fix one component and replace the missing dysprosium.

Described as a rare-earth mineral, dysprosium does not occur naturally on its own on Earth. It is atomic number 66 on the Periodic table and is a soft, silver-whiteish metal with a reflective sheen. It is primarily used in the manufacture of lasers, commercial lighting and nuclear reactor control rods.

"Groundhog Day" is a maneuver Kenny and Kara came up with to hide objects by burying them. They use this to hide Brainy's ship, with Kara cutting into the earth with her heat vision, Dreamer pulling it aside with her powers and Brainac-5 moving the ship using his Legion Flight Ring to levitate it.

Kenny Li says they can build a makeshift 3D-printer using an inkjer engine and ABS plastic - both of which are available in the STEM lab at Midvale High.

Naxim Tork's ship has scanners that can distinguish alien species from a distance. He is able to identify Kara, Nia and Brainy as a Kryptonian, a Naltorian and a Coluan respectively. 


Dialogue Triumphs

(Brainiac-5 and Dreamer have excused themselves to have a word in private.)
Brainy: So, these are the exact people we are not supposed to be dealing with.
Nia: Yeah, um, but now, we are dealing with them, so, we have to figure out how to manage the situation.
Brainy: Okay. So, the only management we need is to get them out of here!
(Meanwhile, Alex and Kara have their own argument over what to do.)
Alex: We need to get out of here.
Kara: What?! What are you talking about? We have to help them!
Alex: You just promised you'd stop drawing attention to yourself!
Kara: If their ship is broken, the least we can do is help fix it.
Alex: Even if it means endangering everyone around you?
Kenny: To be fair, they don't seem hostile. I mean, look at how they're dressed.

Young Kara: Alex can be a control freak, but you get used to it. 

Nia: I'm sure I will.

Brainy: There's nothing women like more than physics well applied. That and a modicum of emotional vulnerability.

(Kenny finds Brainiac-5 on the baseball field, in uniform, about to go to bat.)
Kenny: Where have you been? I have been searching for you. I thought we were keeping a low profile.
Brainy: Key events sidelined that goal. I left our STEM lab in search of sustenance and immediately got conscripted by a Glee Club Spartan chief. Needing to preserve my student cover, I agreed. But that led me to getting recruited by your math league, drama guild and Coach Kripkey, who's desperately in need of someone who can switch hit.
Kenny: Wow, that is a lot of exposure.
Brainy: Yes and, given my status, a risky venture, but necessary in order to avoid unwanted attention, or worse, a.m. detention with Mrs. Gormley. But still, I have to say, it has been a revelation. Are you familiar with the emotion of stress?
Kenny: I'm... I'm kind of feeling it right now.
Brainy: Well, I have been struggling with the emotion, and yet, I have been under the impression that my only options were to stress eat or not to stress eat. But now, thanks to your school, I see a cornucopia of approaches. Math leaguers factor, drama clubbers soliloquize, and baseballers hit.
Kenny: Dude, that is fantastic. But now that you've seen all that, do you, uh... do you maybe want to get out of here? Because if Alex finds out, she's going to flip.
Brainy: True. Okay. But how do I exfiltrate? I am a vassal of Coach Kripkey.
Kenny: You just say you're not feeling well and you got to go to the nurse.
Brainy: Oh. Okay, yes. Another method of coping chicanery. Yes, I love it! 

Kara: Alex, wait, please. You can't tell Eliza. I can fix this. I swear!
Alex: Fix this? In less than 24 hours, we have had two alien encounters, one of which was the impetus for a break-in at our mother's place of work, which, if we get found out, will likely be her ex-place of work! Oh, oh, and let's not forget about the reporter who is determined to expose the luckiest town in America as home of the newest alien superhero! So, tell me, Kara, how will you fix this?
Kara: (weakly) Well... who reads the newspaper anymore?
Alex: This is too much for us to handle on our own. We need help and weapons. Lots of them.

Kara: (To Alex) I have seen more solar systems that you have dates, so don't even.

(Cat is in a bar, annoyed because her pictures of Nia did not turn out. A bartender freshens her drink without speaking to her. She sips it and is stunned. She also notices the bartender is cute.)
Cat: Mm. This is palatable.
Bartender: I feel like that might be a compliment, coming from you.
(Cat hmms, not displeased by the attention.)
Bartender: You're a photographer?
Cat: (purring a bit) No. But I do love a dark room.
(They both laugh.)
Cat: I'm a journalist, actually. Here on a big story. You may know my work from the Daily Planet? I am... 

Bartender: Lois Lane!

(There is a long pause as Cat grabs her drink and downs most of it with one gulp. She is clearly NOT pleased with the thought.)
Cat: (icily) Thirsty. 


Dialogue Disasters

Nia: Alex was right. It's freezing.
Brainy: That means that climate change wasn't real then.


Continuity

The night of Kara's senior prom coincided with the Aquanid meteor shower.

Alex recalled that she was back from Stanford on summer break from college.

Alex also recalls it was oddly cold that night and that she dropped Kara off at the dance, which was being held in the Midvale High School Assembly Hall.

A meteor containing a Kryptonite pocket threatened the school, so Kara flew up and punched it. She destroyed the meteor but fell to earth through the roof of the school's new gym, which was still under construction.

Alex recalls that Kara's hand was all cut up and that it was the first time she saw Kara bleed or that Kara had encountered Kryptonite.

Midvale was declared "the luckiest town in America" when Kara was a senior, owing to her and her boyfriend Kenny Li acting to avert a number of disasters using Kara's powers.

J'onn recalls the events of 306 and how Kenny Li died because of a corrupt sheriff running a drug ring in Midvale.

Alex says that changed after the Crisis on Infinite Earths. While Kenny Li died in the history of Earth-38, he lived in Earth-Prime and became Kara's high-school sweetheart. 

Brainiac-5 says that only he and Nia can safely travel to the Midvale of the past, given the problems caused by meeting yourself in another time period. These problems were fully explained in Legends of Tomorrow in L217.

Nia's mother made her and her sister write an essay about the etymology of the phrase "wassup" to show how ridiculous it was.

Brainy is still stress eating, perhaps remembering how badly he maculated the last time he time-traveled and wound up hibernating for thousands of years.

Alex is putting off taking a trip to Europe, which she had planned to do while in college. She has not told Kara why.

Kara has been accepted to National City University, but hasn't told Kenny, who thinks they are going to Midvale College together in the fall of 2009. She's still uncertain if she'll go to her dream college or stay with Kenny in Midvale.

Cat Grant came to Midvale in 2009 to investigate just why it was so lucky, theorizing it had a secret superhero.

Metropolis is a three hour drive away from Midvale.

Brainy and Nia crash in Midvale High School's baseball field on the evening of May 25, 2009. Kara hears their ship coming and goes to investigate with Alex and Kenny.

Brainy and Nia claim to be psychic aliens from the planet Psycon to explain their knowing English and knowing Kara's name. They also explain away their being dressed for prom by saying it is their custom to dress formally when visiting another planet.

Kara and Kenny offer to help Brain and Nia fix their ship, despite Alex's reservations.

Nia lies and says that she and Brainy are fleeing a dying planet, like Kara fled Krypton.

Kara also reveals her Kryptonian heritage to Nia and Brainy.

Alex says they may be able to get a dysprosium geode from the Rare Earth exhibit at the museum attached to her mother's lab at Midvale College. 

Nia agrees to sleep over with Kara for the night while Brainac-5 stays with Kenny.

Professor Naxim Tork manages a zoo, Naxim Tork's Menagerie, which collects rare species. He and his assistant Mitch have traveled to Earth seeking a Kryptonian for his collection.

Kenny Li sometimes helps his mother by doing the books for her shop.

To rebuild the broken part for his ship, Brainiac-5 needs a 3-D printer. However, it completely escapes his mind that 3-D printers were not widely available in 2009.

When Kara asks Nia about her family, she tells the truth: her mother is passed away, her father is still alive and she has a sister whom she doesn't really talk to at all anymore.

Kara shows Nia the necklace that belonged to her mom.

Nia tells Kara that her powers (apart from being psychic and moving the earth with her mind) including making bubbles that are as strong as anything.

Alex agrees to help Nia and Kara sneak into Midvale college using her mother's ID to get to the Rare Earth minerals exhibit.

Nia has a dream vision of a pink panther in a cage. 

Brainiac-5 briefly mentions a planet called Neuron, which orbits a black hole and is shrouded in near total darkness. He once had to assemble a broken part under those conditions, so having to work in a school lab with the lights out doesn't concern him.

Kenny has plans to continue having adventures with Kara and dreams of going to space someday.

Kenny reveals to Brainac-5 that he made a secret base for himself and Kara to work out of, having heard rumors of Superman's Fortress of Solitude.

Kenny and Brain are able to get the printer set up to work, but it will take several hours to make the replacement part.

Cat Grant writes professional under the name C.J. Grant. She writes a gossip column for The Daily Planet, but wants to get into writing hard news exposés like Lois Lane.

Cat lies to Perry White on the phone about having an interview lined up.

Cat Grant sees Alex, mistaking her for her mom, and asks to interview her about one of the miracles that occurred at Midvale College - a support column becoming dislodged during construction and somehow being moved back into place before it could crush a nearby group of students.

Alex dismisses the story of the miracle as just a story, displeasing Cat.

Brainiac-5 leaves the STEM lab to get a snack and winds up shouting at a vending machine that eats his dollar. His projection gets the attention of a choir teacher, who recruits him as a tenor for the Glee Club.

Kara and Nia are able to retrieve the dysprosium geode with no problems.

Kenny finds Brainy on the baseball field, having been recruited to the team, which needed a switch-hitter.

Brainy was also, having been forced to pose as a student, recruited into the Math League and the Drama Guild. He went along with it because the activity was a great way of relieving his stress beyond stress-eating.

Alex, Kara and Nia are almost hit by an out of control gas tanker.

Nia has a vision which reveals that the tanker doesn't have a driver.

Mitch and Naxim Tork apparently set up the tanker hoping to get the attention of their Kryptonian, based on the logic that these disasters always get a Kryptonian to show up.

Cat Grant sees the out-of-control tanker and tries to take a picture of it, spitting Nia entering the truck and catching a glimpse of her blue energy whip.

Kara is able to stop the tanker, using her ice breath on the wheels of the tanker.

Naxim Tork is unable to capture Kara, due to Brainiac-5 arriving with a scanner that his ship detects. He and Mitch flee rather than risk being identified.

Nia once again has the vision of a pink panther or cougar in a cage.

Nia tries calling her mother and gets her answering machine.

Alex and Kara get into a fight about what to do next. Alex wants to call her mother and get someone from the DEO to deal with Nia and Brainy. Kara wants to try and fix it herself

Alex reveals that the reason she didn't take her trip to Europe was because Eliza was worried about Kara.

Brainy figures out that whoever was watching them had an encounter with the DEO, so he hacks the  DEO Database to try and figure out who they are dealing with.

According to the DEO records, there are two aliens known to be using Bismolian ships. One is an herbalist named Saphrex Col from Lasma. They are 200 years old and wanted for theft of the Bismolian ship, gathering plants considered to be contraband and the illegal manufacture of drugs made from said plants.

The other alien the DEO knows to be using a Bismolian ship is Naxim Tork, home world unknown, who runs a cosmic menagerie. Tork is 400 years old and is wanted in connection with a number of trafficking schemes. He has previously been convicted of killing various endangered species and wearing tacky sequined shirts. (It is not noted where this is a crime.)

Tork's aliases include Mr. T, the Alien King and The Ringmaster.

Nia concludes her dreams were trying to warn her about Tork.

The original DEO record indicated that Tork was captured in Uruguay on May 29, 2009. However, the record changes, indicating a change to the timeline, 

In the new record, Tork is not captured and is now wanted in connection with the kidnapping of a Kryptonian, a Coluan and a Naltorian. 

Nia's dream energy is revealed not to show up on film, making Cat's pictures worthless.

Kenny shows Kara the lair he made for them in Old Man Watson's old barn.

Nia tells Brainy that she called her mom, hoping hearing her voice might inspire her.

Nia was not part of a clique when she was in high school. She mostly tried to keep to herself.

Nia copes with stress by singing her favorite song, "Nine to Five" by Dolly Parton.

The lair Kenny made contains the log where he and Kara shared their first kiss and carved their initials into the bark.

Nia and Brainy are ambushed after tracking Naxim Tork's ship.


Location

Midvale - May 26, 2009.

Untelevised Adventures

Kara and Kenny Li became a couple in the Post-Crisis timeline and had many adventures helping people in Midvale using Kara's powers discretely. 

Professor Naxim Tork and Mitch attempted to capture Superman at one point and it did not go well for them, though they did manage to escape.


The Bottom Line

An entertaining episode and easily the best of the season so far, largely because of the streamlined cast. It does still feel somewhat overstuffed, with both Cat Grant and Naxim Tork set up as villains but neither one really given a chance to do much. It's worth it to see the young Alex and Kara again, however, and more of Nia and Brainy is always welcome.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 3 - Phantom Menaces

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

Plot

Kara finds another unlikely ally in the Phantom Zone after her father is abducted. Meanwhile, back on Earth-Prime, Lena wages a shadow war with Lex over control of LuthorCorp, as the rest of the Super Friends face a more dangerous challenge as one of the Phantoms runs loose in National City.


Influences

Supergirl: The Movie (Supergirl escaping from the Phantom-Zone with her father), Harry Potter (The Phantoms are rip-offs of the Dementors) and Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (Brainac-5 refers to this when attempting a soul transfusion.)


Goofs

Why would Lex need to buy experimental weapons from Kasnia? Wouldn't it be more in character for him to be selling them weapons like in Season 4?


Performances

Katie McGrath and Jesse Rath play off of each other perfectly in the scene where Lena and Brainy discuss killing Lex.


Super Trivia

The episode title is a play upon the name of Star Wars: Episode 1.

Mention is made of a Phantom Zone prisoner named Az-Rel. Az-Rel was the name of a Kryptonian criminal with pyrokinetic powers who was part of a group of criminals (including General Zod) who tried to arrange a mass escape from the Phantom Zone.

Nyxlygsptlnz was the name given to Mr. Mxyzptlk's wife in the New 52 reality of DC Comics. She spent some time on Earth in secret, living as a woman named Mrs. Nyxly, who was Clark Kent's landlady when he first moved to Metropolis.

The Arrowverse version of Nyxlygsptlnz is the princess of the 5th Dimension.

Nyxlygsptlnz says that her father's name was King Brpzx. In the DC Comics' reality, Brpzx is a location within the Fifth Dimension, which Nyxlygsptlnz's father ruled.


Technobabble

It is possible to suffer physical injuries on the Phantom Zone, but natural healing does not occur. 

The computer systems at LuthorCorp require a password and a bio-scan.

Brainiac-5 identifies the Phantoms of the Phantom Zone as Zulian Melatarians. Originally from a dark planet on the outskirts of the Rao system, they were forced to flea and seek a new home planet. Unfortunately, their method of reproduction requires they infect other species, transforming them into soulless, hive-minded minions. They ran wild until the Kryptonians trapped them all in the Phantom Zone.

Within the Phantom Zone, the powers of the Zulian Melatarians are diluted and they cannot infect other species or reproduce. They still have the ability to cause psychic distress, making them ideal prison guards.

Individual Zulian Melatarians on the material plain gain power the more they reproduce.

Brainiac-5 believes the Phantoms only possess people as a means of evasion.

The Zulian Melatarians attack their enemies psychically at first, paralyzing their prey with misery and then attacking them physically with poisonous talons. After a brief incubation, the life force of the victim leaves their body and migrates to the Phantom's nest. The body then transforms into a new Phantom.

According to Brainiac-5, 31st scientists discovered a formula to quantify the intangible substance that makes sentient life unique - what less science-minded beings call the soul, but he calls life-force.

The physical attack of a Phantom causes the body of its victim to lose heat and Phantoms give off a distinctive cold energy signature that can be detected from a distance.

Brainiac-5 says a remote-activated kinetic inhibitor can be used to attack the Phantoms from a mile away so they can be safely captured.

M'Gann suggests that energy field discs could be used to neutralize the Phantoms, but they require a close proximity to work and J'onn is unwilling to take the chance.

Phantoms seem to be drawn to one another and can sense the presence of their own kind. This is discovered when the Phantom who was Silas keeps trying to push through the south wall of his cell shortly before the team get reports of a warehouse two miles to the south being attacked by Phantoms.

Martians are more vulnerable to the attacks of a Phantom due to their telepathic nature. 

A blood transfusion can slow the Phantom transformation process in Martians.

Large concentrations of Phantoms in an area can short out electronics. In order to contain them, Brainiac requires multiple Luthor Electro-Cores.

Using the Obsidian Neuro-Imager and a sacred U'ra'er'run (an object used in Martian spiritual rituals), Brainiac-5 attempts a soul transfusion on M'Gann.

Lena uses her portal watch to transport the Phantoms to a sub-containment unit.


Dialogue Triumphs

Kara: Just because neither have us have our powers here doesn't mean we can't believe in ourselves. And each other. 

(Brainiac-5 and Lena have just seen the news report about the National City Children's Hospital burning down and realized Lex did it just to spite them.)
Lena: (rambling) He's a maniac. This is just sport to him. It's just another way to beat me. I hate him. So much. I hate his face. I hate his voice. I hate his suits, I hate his never-ending games of depravity. I wish he would just die. I wish we could kill him.
Brainiac-5: We should kill him. We can craft the perfect murder. First, with just the tiniest re-wiring of his home, we can deliver a near-fatal electric blow. He'll be paralyzed but he'll still be aware of what's happening to him. From there, we'll finish him. You choose the method, he's your brother. (chuckles) But just make it slow, okay? After that we'll dismember the body and scatter the pieces across the universe. I know exactly which planets have atmospheres with pressures high enough to decompose carbon in an instant! This time there will be no Lex resurrection!
Lena: (softly) Brainy, stop. Okay? We can't kill Lex.
Brainiac-5: Why not? You just suggested it. Lena, you've already done it.
Lena: Brainy, it turned me into the darkest version of myself. I know it's hard, but you can't go down this dark path, okay? You're a good person.
Brainiac-5: Then what do we do? What do we do? What am I supposed to do? Ever since I removed my personality inhibitors, I... I have been overwhelmed by the depth of my emotions. The rage? It's always there. Seeping out, burning me like acid and... All I want to do is help you destroy him, Lena. I need to destroy him. And if I can't do that, then... how do I make these feelings go away?
Lena: Brainy, we were wrong. You can't put your emotions into little boxes, they'll eat away at you until there's nothing left. And I know it's hard, but you have to embrace that. It's okay to feel rage. You just gotta let it out and then let it go. 

(Lena has just told Lex that she's quitting LuthorCopr.)
Lex: You can't just walk away. You hate me too much. 

Lena: I do hate you. I just love me more.

Butler: I see you won your war with Ms.Luthor. So, what's next for the Man Who Has Everything?
Lex: I go get more. 


Continuity

Silas tells J'onn that one of the phantoms hid inside his body and attacked him.

Kara and Zor-El attempt to follow a Phantom through one of their portals. They wind up falling to the ground elsewhere in the Phantom Zone and Kara breaks her leg.

Zor-El is captured by a group of prisoners. They're about to take Kara when a woman warns them of the approach of a group of phantoms. She claims they already got someone named Az-Rel and shows them a lighter she claims was all that was left behind of him.

Silas had three roommates, whose fate he is uncertain of. 

Brainiac-5 has a rage fit after seeing Lex Luthor on the news.

Nia is away attending a Catco investor's retreat. She tried to get out of it, but Andrea said one of their big reporters needed to go since Kara was on assignment.

J'onn is in full-on soldier mode, convinced that giving into his emotions after Kara's abduction is shat caused the current crisis with the Phantom.

Alex is in a depressive funk, watching the hologram Kara made in 601.

Kelly suggests maybe Alex can find meaning in helping others, the same way Kelly found meaning in helping Silas.

Lena locked Lex out of all the LuthorCorp computers.

The District Attorney of National City was fired for losing the case against Lex Luthor.

Lex has befriended the new DA, a man named Matthews, who has issued a court order against Lena to restore Lex's computer access.

DA Matthews is also launching an investigation into Lena and what laws Project Non Ncere might have violated. 

Silas takes a turn for the worst, during which Alex freezes up.

J'onn tells Alex she needs to be a good soldier right now.

Kara's new ally tells her that the men who captured Zor-El intend to sacrifice him to a monster that lives in what the locals call Shadow Lake, but it won't feed until it swims 11 laps around the lake.

Kara's new ally has a crystal ball that allows her to check on Zor-El and confirm he is fine.

Kara guesses her new ally is a 5th Dimensional Imp, based on her carrying a magic artifact and her mentioning having powers in her home dimension.

Kara's new ally knows Mxyzptlk, describing him as a real wild card.

M'Gann wants to attack the Phantoms directly, but J'onn refuses to listen to her plan.

Brainiac-5 meets with Lena through a holographic projection.

Brainiac-5 hacks the accounts of The Luthor Foundation, which exists only as a front to buy experimental weapons from Kaznia, and transfers the money to the Luthor Wing of the National City Children's Hospital.

M'Gann is attacked by Phantoms at a warehouse two miles south of The Watchtower. The team is able to capture all the Phantoms, but M'Gann is left in bad shape .

Kara's new ally finally introduces herself as Princess Nyxlygsptlnz. Her father, was the Mad King Brpxz'.

Nyxlygsptlnz.was banished to the Phantom Zone by her father, whom she describes as a paranoid narcissist, who killed her older brother who was kind and popular.

Nyxlygsptlnz was apparently not worth killing, but her father did bind her with a shackle that limited her magical powers.

Lex learns about Lena's hack after he's called by the Galaxy Gazette for a statement regarding the donation he just made to the National City Children's Hospital.

Lex sends Otis Graves to set the Luthor wing of the National City Children's Hospital on fire and issues a statement blaming the fire, caused by faulty wiring, on the upgrades overseen by his sister.

Nyxlygsptlnz breaks the cuff using her crystal ball and is able to restore her magic powers.

Nyxlygsptlnz uses her magic to heal Kara.

Nyxlygsptlnz says that ever since the Phantom Zone fractured she's had flashes of fake memories - things she thinks didn't happen but which felt real. As a result, she's not really sure who she was before coming to the Phantom Zone anymore.

Kara says that she's been having the same sensation since coming to the Phantom Zone.

Lena and Brainy vent to each other about their anger over Luthor.

Lena refers to the conversation she and Brainy had in 504 about keeping their emotions in little boxes.

Alex suggests that maybe J'onn can use his soul-bond with M'Gann to save her.

J'onn and Brainiac-5 figure out a way to stop M'Gann from transforming into a Phantom using J'onn's piece of her soul from when they bonded in 601, a Martian spiritual artifact and an Obsidian Neuro-Imager.

The Superfriends are able to capture Silas, his roomates, and the other Phantoms, but the Prime Phantom is able to escape through a portal.
 
Lena makes a deal with DA Matthews: he'll stop all the investigations into her if she'll leave LuthorCorp.

J'onn tells M'Gann that he made a mistake not sharing his fears with her and promises to be honest in the future.

Alex asks Kelly to move in with her.

Kara and Nyxlygsptlnz rescue Zor-El.

The episode ends as Nyxlygsptlnz snaps her fingers and tries to use her magic to take them to anchor point.


Location

The Phantom Zone


The Fridge Factor

M'Gann loses 50 IQ points and needlessly places herself in peril only to give J'onn angst about going too far in his efforts to be a good soldier.


The Bottom Line

A repetitive mess of an episode which feels like it is largely treading water and leaves the heroes looking largely incompetent. At least Kara is given more to do this week and the Lena/Brainy interactions are great. But J'onn going to the opposite extreme he took last week and Alex being too depressed to go on don't really ring true.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 10 - Suspicious Minds

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



Plot

When Supergirl steps in to answer a distress call from a US Navy ship that is attacked by aliens and refuses to back-down when Colonel Haley tries to pull rank, the new head of the DEO redoubles her efforts to discover Supergirl's secret identity, starting with an intensive interrogation of all DEO personnel... including Alex! Meanwhile, Brainiac-5 attempts to get Nia Nul to embrace her powers, but she completely misinterprets his motives.


Influences

The Predator films (the stealth abilities of the Morae are like those of the Predators)


Goofs

Neither Supergirl nor the soldier she caught who is knocked overboard are wet when Kara drops her back on the dexk, despite the soldier having landed in the water and Kara being seen diving in after her.

None of the actors can agree on whether or not Morea is prounced as "More-a", as in moray eel or "More-aye."

Why does Kara try to punch the Morae before trying to talk to them peacefully, only trying to talk sense into the one who remains after Alex killed the other one?  (Kinda hard to sell the "We don't want to hurt you" line that way...)

The combat scenes with the Morae are awkward due to the inherent problems with stunt actors having to act like they've been hit by something they can't see and how incredibly low budget it looks for them to be struggling with open air.

If the DEO had access to a creature like a Truth Seeker, why didn't Col. Haley start using it from the beginning instead of waiting until after the attack by the Morae?


Performances

As much as I want to hate the fact that Brainiac-5 is reduced to not knowing the word "restaurant" when he's trying to talk to Nia, Jesse Rath does a fantastic job of selling his overblown awkwardness.

Contrived as most of this episode is, I defy you to not feel misty-eyed at the ending as Alex volunteers to be mind-wiped to save Kara. Good show Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh.


Artistry

The opening scene with the Kaznian Supergirl training has good effects work.


Super Trivia

This episode opens with a slightly modified version of the original Season Four introduction.  Now, Kara says that she works with her adopted sister to protect the Earth, with no mention of the DEO.

Brainiac-5 makes reference to once having spent 18 days on the planet Venegar being tortured. In the classic Legion of Super Heroes comics, Venegar was the homeworld of the villain known as The Emerald Empress.

When telling Nia that he thinks she should team up with Supergirl to help her fight crime, Brainiac-5 says she could be her Super-friend. This is a nod to the classic DC Comics themed cartoon series which ran from 1973-1986.

Col. Haley says that Alex has violated Article 90 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. This article concerns Assaulting or Willfully Disobeying A Superior Officer.


Technobabble

One DEO agent makes reference to using RTI (Resistance To Interrogation) training to avoid cracking under questioning from Col. Haley regarding Supergirl's secret identity.

Brainiac-5 claims to have reorganized his neural network to form many small compartments for storing sensitive information. He claims this makes him immune to standard interrogation tactics, as he can shut down access to these compartments at will, literally willing himself to forget. This information can be set on a time so he can recall it later.

The Morae are a race of aliens with a natural cloaking power. They are said to be completely invisible but Kara is able to perceive a slight translucent shimmer. J'onn believes this may be a byproduct of her X-Rays vision and ability to perceive other wavelengths outside the visible spectrum. They are apparently able to control which spectrums they are visible in, as they are able to become invisible to Supergirl once they realize she can see them.

Lena said that she had a Penicillin moment while working on the problem of curing all human disease, using a biolistic delivery system to rewrite DNA. She realized she could use this system to give humans superpowers.

Brainiac-5 says the Morae's natural cloaking ability does not interact with light. In order to help the human DEO agents to perceive them, he intends to flood the HQ hallways with mist along with activate a grid of light amplification by simulated emissions of radiation (i.e. a laser grid.) Once that is triggered, he will attack the Morae with a paintball gun loaded with phosphorescent pellets. This will cause them to glow in spite of their stealth powers, making them easy targets.

Level 4 of a standard DEO stun gun releases enough power to disrupt a Morae's cloaking ability without harming them.

A Vertullarian is an alien creature that is commonly known as a Truth Seeker. Brainiac-5 recognizes them from the future, but says he didn't know there were any on Earth in the DEO's inventory. J'onn says there is no way to deceive one.


Dialogue Triumphs

(To J'onn, regarding his new detective agency.)
Brainiac-5: Some would say launching a PI shingle is a bit old-fashioned. But then again, you are very old.

(Nia is sitting at her desk at CatCo. Her phone rings and she answers it.)
Nia Nul: Nia Nul?
Brainiac-5: Nia Nul.
Nia Nul: Brainy?
Brainiac-5: None other.
Nia Nul: This is a nice surprise. How are you?
Brainiac-5: I am calling to find out about food and your interest in it.
Nia Nul: Uh - I am definitely interested in food.
Brainiac-5: Would you like to eat some?
Nia Nul: Now? Like, on the phone with you?
Brainiac-5: (confused) What? No. In person. And I am thinking at a public place where food is served to other people who also appreciate it.
Nia Nul: (chuckling) You mean a restaurant. (pauses) Brainy, are you asking me out?
Brainiac-5: ... yes.
Nia Nul: The answer is yes.
Brainiac-5: Excellent. See you soon.
(Brainiac-5 hangs up. In her cubicle, Nia looks confused and hits the call button. Back at his desk at the DEO, Brainiac-5's phone rings and he picks it up. )
Brainiac-5: (confused) Hello?
Nia Nul: You hung up before we could male a plan. (amused) Don't you think we should pick a time and place?
Brainiac-5: (deadpan) Yes, of course.

Brainiac-5: Let me get right to the purpose of this meeting.
Nia Nul:  (quirking an eyebrow) A meeting? I thought we were on a date.
Brainiac-5: (stammering ) A-A-date? This isn't a date. If it were a date we'd be doing something fun, like paintball. Or an escape room.
Nia Nul: Well, uh... now I feel like an idiot.
Brainiac-5: I- I'm just confused. I-I-I never thought someone as beautiful as you would be interested in someone like me.
Nia Nul: Ah. Well, I'm not sure that I am interested in you.
Brainac-5: Clearly I've made a mess of things. (beat) Not my intention!

Alex: I would give my life to save this country. You know that. But.. I can not be part of a DEO that has someone like Haley in charge. She has no morality. There's no line in the sand.

(Kara is protesting Alex having her mind wiped of the knowledge that she is Supergirl.)
Alex: There's no other way.
Kara: There is! You could quit! Just leave! Get out of there!
Alex: Kara...
Kara: Haley's not a danger to you when you don't work there!
Alex: I can't quit. You said it before. I have to stay and I have to fight this from within.
(Kara bites her lip and sits down. She is quiet before finally looking up at Alex.)
Kara: Who am I without? The whole reason I became Supergirl was... it was to save you!
Alex: And I'm still going to be the reason. I'm still going to be me. And you're still going to be Kara. I just... I won't know that you're Supergirl.
Kara: I''ll have to lie to you every day.
Alex: It's not a lie. It's... it's keeping a secret.
(Kara scoffs)
Alex: And I'm giving you permission. (pauses) Let me save you this time.
(Kara sobs as Alex hugs her tighter.)


Continuity

We see the Kaznian Supergirl training. The military personnel watching her discuss whether or not she can be controlled. It is said that a friend is working on that problem and that they do not intend for her to fight tanks.

Kara and Lena are taking a fitness class together. Lena says it has been too long since they hung out.

Lena says she and James have not really talked since their falling out at Thanksgiving.

Supergirl answers a distress call from a Col. McAllister, who is in command of a Navy SEAL squad. By the time she gets to the ship, most of the SEALs are dead and Col. McAllister's body is dragged overboard. Supergirl also stops a bomb from blowing up the boat.

The creature that killed the Navy SEALs was capable of camouflaging itself, appearing as only a slight shimmer even to Supergirl's enhanced senses.

J'onn is shown to have earned his private investigator license and has set up an office.

Brainiac-5 tries to pay J'onn to watch Supergirl's back.  J'onn refuses to take the money, but promises to tell Kara he's available to be her back-up if she needs help.

Alex says that she's never heard of an alien like the one Supergirl described.

Alex is placed in charge of the investigation into the creature that killed the Navy SEALs.

Five DEO agents besides Alex and Brainiac-5 know Kara Danvers is Supergirl. All five agree to protect Supergirl's secret identity if questioned.

The Coast Guard had no record of the cargo ship that Supergirl saved from being blown up.

The Navy SEAL Supergirl saved was taken out of DEO custody and disappeared.

Brainiac-5 also could not find a record of any Colonel McAllister in the open records of the US Navy or any of the secret Black Ops files the DEO could access.

James refers to the events of 407 and how he almost blew up Shelley Island to save someone's life and how this made him realize why Lena made the choice she did to save him from being arrested in 401.

James and Lena reconcile after James apologizes for rushing to condemn Lena, saying he's realized that sometimes the ends can justify the means.

J'onn has not encountered an alien like the one Kara described but he has kept copies of all his records from his time as Director of the DEO.

Alex had a lot of parking tickets before she joined the DEO that showed up on her pre-employment background check.

Kara finds a transfer form for aliens of unknown origin called The Morae. They have a natural cloaking power that makes them invisible to most forms of light. The requisition was made by a General Alfonso Tan.

Kara remembers the name General Alfonso Tan from a different report, where he was named as the Chief Commanding Officer of something called Project Morae. Control of the project was handed over to Col. Randall McAllister in 2012. Col. Haley was also a part of the project.

General Tan reveals that the US Government found four Morae as children and raised them as assassins. They had a 100% success rate.

After Supergirl was dismissed from the DEO, President Baker issued an order that all ties with alien personnel were to be cut immediately. Col. McAllister was given the order to kill the Morae agents with an ambush, but they saw it coming and killed the SEAL team meant to terminate them.

General Tan is killed by the Morae.

Alex shoots one of the Morae that came after Tan to death.

The second Morae kills itself rather than go back to the DEO.

Col. Haley denied having anything to do with Project Morae for years or knowing who Col. McAllister is until Alex confronts her over the fact that General Tan is dead and the Morae killed him.

According to Col. Haley, the standard protocol for government treatment of  tender-age aliens is to use trauma as a method of discipline and obedience. The logic was that if the aliens feared their human handlers, they would obey them. In the case of the Morae, it worked up until General Tan gave the order to kill them.

Nia thought Brainiac-5 was asking her out. He was actually wanting to talk to her about partnering with Supergirl as a crime-fighter.

Brainiac-5's idea of a fun date involves paintball or an escape room.

Brainiac-5 says that he once walked a dark path and was arrested. He was then given the option of using his intelligence to serve society as a superhero. He claims to now relish the responsibility and burdens of being a superhero and doesn't regret his decision.

Brainiac-5 gives Nia a binder full of costume ideas and potential code names.

James was part of the Kappa-Pi-Tau fratority in college and won a bake-off contest they held.

Lena tells James that she is close to being able to give people superpowers.

She asks James to be the angel on her shoulder as she figures out what to do with this. He agrees.

The use of lethal force is against official DEO policy. Col. Haley overrides Alex's orders on this in regards to fighting the Morae, authorizing the use of real guns rather than stun guns.

One of the DEO agents breaks and tells Col. Haley that Kara is Supergirl.

One of the Morae is killed. Supergirl is able to force the last one into a cell at the DEO.

Alex knocks-out Col. Haley as she begins talking about how she is going to recommend to President Baker that Supergirl be forcibly conscripted into working for the DEO immediately and that her life as Kara Danvers is over.

J'onn uses his telepathy to wipe Col. Haley's mind of all knowledge of who Supergirl is, despite his seeing it as a form of the violence he forswore

Col. Haley intends to employ an alien known as a Truth Seeker while questioning the DEO agents as to who Supergirl is.

Everyone who knows Kara is Supergirl who works at the DEO agrees to have their minds wiped - including Alex.

Kara refers to the events of 409 and how she the Alex Danvers of Earth-1 had no idea who she was.

Nia Nul has a sister named Maeve.


Location

Somewhere in Kaznia.


Untelevised Adventures

Brainiac-5 was once interrogated for 18 straight days on the planet Venegar by a ten-eyed being known as Ik'Lorfrai'iork - The Emerald Blood-Eater. He says Col. Haley is a far more ruthless inquisitor.


The Bottom Line

A weak episode full of contrivances up until the last five minutes. It's almost comical how evil the DEO and the federal government have become at this point and it speaks volumes that the comically stupid scenes of Brainiac-5 being socially awkward - which were more sad than funny in the first half of Season 4 - prove a welcome relief from more scenes of various military people insisting that alien lives don't matter and there's nothing wrong with turning alien children into soldiers. That being said, it's all worth it for the final scene of Kara and Alex together and the knowledge that we're getting J'onn J'onzz as an honest to goodness detective.