Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 14 - Magical Thinking

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

Plot

The hunt for the second Totem is on, but Lena doubts she can use her newfound magical powers to help the team. Meanwhile, as William struggles to write a story that will satisfy Andrea's demands for dirt on the Super Friends after being embedded within the team, Kelly is forced to step in when one of her charges faces trouble in her new home.

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

The team discuss the need to keep Lena's connection to the Super Friends a secret from William, but he's later seen interacting with her without issue even before they let him in on the secret and he agrees not to report on it.

J'onn phases his hand through a window to attack a car-jacker, only to break the window pulling the car-jacker through it, causing needless damage to the car.

The NCPD appear to be completely AWOL during the rioting.

It was previously said that the Totems have to be acquired in a certain order. That rule seems to have been abandoned in this episode, with Nxyly looking for the Hope Totem and the Super Friends searching for the Dream Totem.


Performances

Katie McGrath and Melissa Benoist's interactions as Kara and Lena are the episode highlight.


Artistry

The special effects of the Super Friends protecting National City are pretty good.


Technobabble

Dreamer notes the Watchtower can patch into the NCPD's CompStat and track crimes in real-time.

Lena found a spell in her mother's book that can find lost things, which she thinks she can use as a tracking spell to find the Humanity Totem using the discharged energy signature from when Nxyly activated it. 

Lena says the air from within 30 feet of where Nxyly activated the Humanity Totm would be hyper-ionized and she can use that air for her tracking spell.

Lena determines her tracking spell requires fresh Sheep Laurel seeds and must be cast on-site.

Sheep Laurel is a flowering shrub unique to the Limestone Barrens of Newfoundland.

The kitchen in the Watchtower has a coffee maker which Brainiac-5 picked up on Corvon-4.

Lena says that all the Totems radiate the same form of ionized particles and that she can use the sample of one to track the energy signature of another. However, she only has another particles to track one.


Dialogue Triumphs

Dreamer: Patching into the NCPD's CompStat technology, we can track real-time crime incidents represented by the blue dots.
(Everyone just stares at Dreamer. She's not usually the one to use that kind of terminology.)
Dreamer: Well, don't look so surprised. I'm smart too. You guys are just showoffs.

Supergirl: I can't believe you would not help.
Lena: Not if it means losing who we are in the process because then we're no better than she is.
Supergirl: I know that you are still processing the fact that you can use magic, and I know that I've been pushing you out of your comfort zone. But that's only because I believe in you, and... I'm... I'm terrified. She makes me feel powerless. Nyxly's magic is unlike anything I've ever faced. I feel like I don't know how to beat her, and if she gets all seven Totems, I won't be able to. You can do something I can't. I need your help, Lena.
Lena: From everything you've told me about Nyxly, she's more than just her magic. She is cunning and manipulative and cruel. Who does that remind you of?
Supergirl: Lex.
Lena: You've beat him before and you will beat Nyxly too, but not by doing whatever it takes to win. By doing the right thing. My mother hurt people with her magic. Unintentionally, but... She hid the truth of what happened, and that secret destroyed lives. I'm so sorry. Nyxly has caused so much pain. And I don't wanna hurt anybody with my magic or deceit.
Supergirl: You're right. Mmm, you're right. We can't cross lines in darkness, however good the reasons. Secrets are hard to hide in the light of day. But maybe... But maybe the light of day is just what we need.

Nxyly: How can I be expected to get anything done when there's so much suffering on this planet? If only I didn't have this damn cuff, I could snap away poverty, disease, hunger. I could save the snow leopards from extinction. Am I the only one that cares?


Continuity

The Super Friends play Jenga at their latest game night.

As the episode opens, Brainiac-5 is on the Legion ship scanning for Nyxly.

Lena is still going through her mother's spellbook but she's having a hard time grasping how magic works since it is based more on instinct than logic.

Dreamer comments this sounds like her problems with interpreting her dreams and offers to help Lena with her book.

The Super Friends agree to let William Dey observe them in the Watchtower, but within certain parameters.

Kelly says she won't be able to hang around the Watchtower as Guardian, as she needs to spend the next morning checking on Esme, one of the orphans from the same group home as Joey Davis.

Esme, who appeared in 609, was just placed in a new foster home with a couple named Dana and Joe Ford.

Kara starts laughing randomly, as she senses that Nxyly is happy.

Nxyly is happy because Mitch just detected the next Totem in National City.

Esme is doing well in her new home and likes her foster parents because they make pancakes for dinner if she wants them.

J'onn reveals his secret identity to William, as does Alex. They do this after William asks how Kara and Nia developed a close connection to the former Martian head of the DEO.

William learns that J'onn's PI office is the front for the Watchtower.

The conditions of William being allowed to work with the Super Friends are that he can't disclose the location of the Watchtower, identify the Super Friends whose secret identities he knows and he can't try to figure out who the ones that maintain their secret identities (like Supergirl) are. J'onn says that he he tries it, he will wipe his mind. William also has to agree to run any story he writes by them first, in exchange for them not telling him what he writes.

The next Totem is revealed to be at an MMA Festival in National City.

The next Totem is revealed to be necklace, worn by one of the fighters, which is made of the same wood as a tree under which the Buddha meditated to achieve oneness with Humanity.

Nxyly is able to activate the Humanity Totem easily, with a voice telling her to use the Totem wisely after asking her if she is of ready heart and she says that she is.

As Nxyly activates the Humanity Totem, a wave of energy washes over the people at the MMA Festival and they all start fighting.

It is noted that the people who are fighting are depraved, but not cold or unfeeling. They are also described as being gleeful and reveling in theft, destruction and violence. These stand opposite the power of Humanity, which is defined as equating to compassion and empathy. This leads Kara to guess that the Humanity Totem is the one Nxyly just got.

Martian Manhunter, Guardian and Sentinel are said to be fighting the crowds.

It is estimated that Nxyly could have drained the compassion and empathy from 10,000 people but only a few hundred seem to have been infected.

William wants to write about Nxyly, but Supergirl is afraid people knowing about Nxyly might make them panic. She eventually persuades William to go ahead and write about Nxyly, but not to mention Lena or that the team has access to magic.

Esme made Kelly a friendship bracelet as a thank you for everything she did for her.

Andrea threatens to fire William after he refuses to write about what the Super Friends know about the weirdness in National City.

Lena's first attempt at casting her tracking spell leaves Nia unable to tell her right from her left. Lena guesses this effect will wear off after an hour.

Nyxly shows uncharacteristic compassion for Mitch when she notices he's hurt.

Mitch detects the third Totem at the Hague in the Netherlands.

William talks with Lena about her spellbook and says that it reminds him of his father's recipes.  Like William, his father was a baker, and William realized he couldn't follow his father's recipes literally because the ingredients had to be chosen with care, like fresh-picked berries over store-bought. This leads Lena to the revelation that magic has to be approached in the same way.

Esme breathes fire when she and her mother are confronted by one of the berserker fighters. She seems surprised that she had this ability.

J'onn accidentally reveals that the Super Friends have access to spy satellites, which they are using to track Nxyly's ship.

Lena has to retrieve a sample of Sheep Laurel seeds from the Botanical Gardens.

The National City Botanical Gardens are close to the Arena.

Mitch determines that the third Totem (i.e. the Hope Totem) is a sculpture called The Hand of the Flower, which is on display in The Hague. He tells Nyxly how to get to it, but it will require killing one guard silently.

Nxyly finds herself unable to kill the guard, after she suddenly starts thinking about how sad his family and friends will be.

Lena's spell accidentally amplifies the effects of Nxyly's energy wave and makes the berserkers even more angry.

Mitch guesses that the reason the Humanity Totem didn't have a test like the Courage Totem is that the Totem itself is the test and that whoever wields the Humanity Totem has to bear the suffering of everyone around them.

Kara feels Nxyly being overwhelmed by emotion and guesses what Mitch did about the Totem overwhelming her sense of empathy.

Kara suggests Lena keep casting her spell so they can overwhelm Nxyly. Lena refuses, saying she won't let Kara ever do something just because the ends justify the means.

Lena ultimately agrees to Kara's plan, but only if William will honestly report on what they are doing and why.

William agrees to keep Lena's involvement a secret, but insists on writing about Nxyly, the search for the Totems and the role of magic in all the craziness in National City.

The rest of the Super Friends keep the peace in the city, as Kara and Lena try to work the spell again and track down Nxyly.

Esme's foster mother locks her out of their home and tries to force her to fight the berserkers.

Esme is saved by Sentinel and Guardian.

Mitch takes Nxyly back to National City, where she deactivates the Humanity Totem and throws it out of their ship.

Kara recovers the Humanity Totem, but Nxyly and Mitch escape.

Dreamer suggests they use the particles Lena recovered to track the Dream Totem next.

Andrea is pleased by William's article, but demands he write about which Super Friend has magic powers. William refuses and threatens to go to the Daily Planet if Andrea keeps telling him how to do his job. She says fine, but moves him to the desk next to the bathrooms.

Lena and Kara get pot-stickers to celebrate.

The Fords give Esme up and Kelly and Alex both show up to escort Esme back to the group home. It is hinted, however, that the two are thinking of adopting her themselves.

Mitch and Nxyly begin plotting a new plan to get the Hope Totem from the Hague.


Location

The Hague - The Netherlands


Untelevised Adventures

Brainiac-5 is off-camera trying to track Nxyly's ship for the entire episode.


The Kryptonite Factor

Kara is running at less than peak efficiency through the episode and pushing Lena (who is also not at her best) to focus on using her magic.


The Bottom Line

Not the greatest episode of Supergirl, but far better than most of what has come in Season 6 thanks to a high-action quotient and some great dialogues between Kara and Lena. 

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 7 - Fear Knot

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

Plot

As the Super Friends enter the Phantom Zone in search of Kara, each of them is forced to confront their own worst fears, while Kara faces her own crisis of faith.

Influences

Star Trek (the general design of the Watchtower bridge with each team member having an assigned role and console), Harry Potter (the fear powers of the Phantom are based on the Dementors), The Abyss (the effects work for the kelpie) and the "Psirens" episode of Red Dwarf (heroes hallucinate while fighting telepathic creatures).


Goofs

J'onn makes reference to the Phantom Zone being the native dimension of the Phantoms, but it was established in 603 that they were an alien species from the same system as Krypton.

Performances

It's hard to pick out one moment as the ensemble get a lot of great interactions together between characters who don't normally get to talk to each other. Still, the best is probably Lena and Nia bonding over the loss of their mothers, thanks to the way Katie McGrath and Nicole Maines play off each other.


Artistry

David Harewood does a masterful job of playing up the tension of the various nightmare sequences. Indeed, the very first one plays out so smoothly most viewers didn't guess it wasn't real until after the second dream sequence with Lena started.

The special effects work is of cinematic quality, particularly the effects for the kelpie.


Super Trivia

This episode was directed by David Harewood.

Kelpies are monsters from Celtic mythology said to haunt various waterways. Most legends have them taking the forms of horses, but they are shapeshifters who can also take on human shape. Some kelpie stories involve young men and women who were invited to swim by an attractive stranger, only to wind up being drowned and eaten by the kelpie. 


Technobabble

The Phantoms have different powers within the Phantom Zone, attacking people with Fear Visions of their worst nightmares made real.

Kelly teaches the rest of the team some basic grounding techniques that can help a person with anxiety regain control in tense situations. This involves naming things the person knows for certain to be real.

Lena modifies one of the DEO's yellow sun grenades to act as an anti-Phantom weapon.

The shields of the Tower can only withstand the Phantom Zone for two hours.


Dialogue Triumphs

Dreamer: You ever just think how wild it is that you can, like, make a portable sun?
Lena: Says the woman who can see the future and wield dream energy.
Dreamer: (quietly) Yeah, right.
Lena: Your gloves, by the way, are amazing. The way they convert your power into physical form, you know, how do they work?
Dreamer: Um... (chuckles softly) I don't know. Brainy made them. I... Honestly, I should probably know more than I do, but the one person who had answers is gone. Without my mom, all I have are questions.
(Lena stops smiling as Dreamer realizes what she just said.)
Dreamer: I'm sorry. I know you lost your mom, too. I didn't mean to...
Lena: Oh, no, no, no, it's okay, really. I get it. I miss my mom every day, too.
Dreamer: It really sucks, doesn't it?
Lena: Yeah, and it doesn't really get any easier. Especially in light of the family I have left.
(Lena sighs. Dreamer looks up at her and smiles.)
Dreamer: Good thing this is our family now, right?

Brainy: May I just say I'm quite glad to have you aboard this mission. 

Kelly: That's kind of you. I'm just trying to stay out of the way until it's time for me to help Supergirl. Brainy: On the contrary, I've been challenged by my emotions of late. (consider this) Okay, always. And given the imminent risk of a Phantom-induced response, I'd greatly value your expertise.
Kelly: Well, hopefully everything goes according to plan, and you won't need it

(The Tower has just passed through turbulence. Everyone is looking dazed.)
J'onn: Brainy?
Brainy: I'm okay, but it seems like the rest of our team has been compromised. That electromagnetic turbulence. It caused a malfunction in the Phantom's containment unit. Right now, it's just enough for its power to leak out and affect our teammates. But the whole unit's compromised.
J'onn: Why aren't you and I affected?
Brainy: It's possible your Martian physiology and psychic powers have safeguarded you. Your psychic bond with Malefic might have conferred to you some measure of resistance.

J'onn: And your Coluan nature is doing the same for you?
Brainy: Well, sort of. My 12th level intellect allows me to compartmentalize my fear. That and Kelly's coping mechanisms. But I assure you, I'm still.. very much feeling it.
J'onn: You are?
Brainy: For me, this entire room is filled with balloons.
J'onn: (confused) Balloons?
(As he says this, party balloons begin falling from the ceiling.)
Brainy: It's balloons, J'onn. (gesturing to the balloons only he can see) Balloon, balloon, balloon, balloon. Thin sheets of rubber holding in all that pressure, not knowing when to pop, balloon. J'onn! (grabs J'onn's shoulders) They must be stopped!
J'onn: Okay. I don't have time to unpack all that... 

Zor-El: There's always hope. 
Supergirl: Hope is naïve. I was naïve. And arrogant to think that I could ever actually fix anything. And worse... my friends think that they can, too. And they're just going to die because of it.
Zor-El: You can fix things. You did. You fixed me. I cried so many tears here. I cried for you. For your mother. For Krypton, my brother, my entire life... I cried for everyone I ever lost, all the people I loved and would never see again. I cried a river, an ocean of tears, until there was nothing left in me. Until you came and you filled me up with your spirit, your love. And now I won't give up again. Even if your friends never find us, we'll find our way out. I know we can because we're together. And together, nothing can stop us. Do you believe me, Kara? Because I believe in you.

Continuity

The area of the Phantom Zone around the dimensional anchor begins to destabilize, resulting in earth tremors.

Zor-El is still limping from his earlier injuries in 604.

Kara is wounded by a phantom. The attack leaves her fearing that her family will get themselves killed trying to save her.

Brainiac-5 and Dreamer return three days after they left to go back to 2009 Midvale. 

M'Gann has agreed to patrol National City in the absence of the rest of the Super Friends.

J'onn reveals that the Watchtower is also a fully functioning spaceship.

J'onn and Alex argue over which of them should leave the ship to get Kara once they find her.

As the shields fail, the Phantom escapes and begins attacking each member of the team with their worst nightmares made real.

Alex's nightmare involves her need to control everything endangering the team, as she is wounded by the Phantom, locks J'onn up in the brig after he insists that she be quarantined, and Alex trying to flush herself out the airlock after the Phantoms in the Phantom Zone are able to track the ship through her.

Lena's nightmare involves the rest of the team being killed by a Kelpie - a monster that has always terrified her because it drowns people and Lena's mother died while drowning in front of her, when she was a young girl.

Lena's only keepsake of her mother is the book of folklore she read to her when she was young.

Kelly's worst nightmare involves being helpless in a crisis situation and endangering the super-powered and highly trained people around her (especially Alex) because they are too busy worrying about her to do their work.

In the dream, Alex and Kelly recall their first meeting in 415.

Kelly says that Alex likes morning hikes, lavender soap, knock-knock jokes and dumplings.

Dreamer's worst nightmare involves her misinterpreting a dream vision getting Brainiac-5 killed.

In Dreamer's vision, she finds a thimble with an image of a the Tower, cracked and with energy leaking from it, inside an empty containment unit.

Dreamer thinks her vision means the Phantom will escape. She later realizes it was telling her she had to "contain" the problem and protect the Tower by sewing a breach in the hull shut with her powers.

Martians are apparently immune to the effects of the Phantom psychic fear attacks. Coluans are not, but sufficiently intelligent Coluans capable of compartmentalizing their fear can fight through the anxiety attacks.

Brainiac-5 has a fear of balloons. His worst nightmare is being surrounded by them.

J'onn fights the Phantom and contains it, 

In Alex's nightmare, she takes control by shooting out the glass in the airlock and going into the Phantom Zone to face whatever is out there.

In Lena's nightmare, she confronts the kelpie and it reshapes into her mother.

In Kelly's nightmare, she manifests a shield like the one James Olsen used as Guardian.

In Nia's nightmare, she is left screaming as Brainiac-5 is swept into space.

Zor-El is able to drag Kara out of her depression as a mob of Phantoms find them.

The Phantoms are driven off by Lena's sun-bomb, which also gives Kara the power she needs to fly Zor-El and herself to the ship.

The episode ends with the reveal that Nyxlygsptlnz is clinging to the outside of the Tower.


Location

The Phantom Zone


Untelevised Adventures

We are told that three days passed between the end of 604 and Brainiac-5 and Dreamer's return from the events of 606. Lena, Alex, Kelly, J'onn and M'Gann spent that time preparing for the trip into the Phantom Zone.


The Bottom Line

A solid episode where the entire cast gets a chance to shine. Would that we'd gotten something like this opening the first half of the final season instead of ending it! It's going to be a long wait for August and the final 13 episodes.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 4 - Lost Souls

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

Plot

Kara finds a way out of the Phantom Zone, but it is not without risk. Meanwhile, Lena joins the Super Friends in their efforts to stop the phantoms threatening National City and rescue Kara. Unfortunately, when the two missions come into conflict and Lena is forced to choose between the possibility of losing Kara forever or fighting the phantoms, she begins to doubt her place among the heroes.


Influences

Superman: Earth One (mention of the planet Dheron), Supergirl: The Movie (Kara and her father needing to escape the Phantom Zone), Ghostbusters (evoked by Brainiac-5 upon seeing Lena's Prototrap) and Superman:The Movie (the mirror acting as the portal out of the Phantom Zone.)


Goofs

Brainiac-5 talks about the pieces of a soul repelling each other like magnets, but M'Gann reports the opposite effect as she approached the Prime Phantom's lair.

Logically, the chief threat of this episode is completely illogical. The Super Friends sacrifice their best chance of being able to track Kara because they don't want to risk losing M'Gann, even though she should be fine if they successfully destroy the Prime Phantom's chrysalis and M'Gann is not given the chance to make the same noble sacrifice Kara made three episodes earlier.

Nyxlygsptlnz is a textbook example of Stupid Evil. Had she maintained her façade for a few more minutes, she would have been on Earth, all powerful and Kara wouldn't have been able to stop her. Instead, she attacks Zor-El for no reason (despite working to save him last week) and confesses her treachery to Kara, to whom she is utterly dependent on escaping the Phantom Zone!


Performances

Katie McGrath and Chyler Leight's interactions are totally on-point and the best dialogues of the episode involve the two of them playing off one another.


Super Trivia

This episode marks the first one in Season 6 to open with Kara's updated narration. The new narration does not make mention of the DEO.

At one point Braniac-5 mentions the planet Dheron and a Phantom invasion of that world. In the comics, Dheron is the 5th planet of Rao's star system. Krypton is the 4th planet. In the reality of Superman: Earth One, the two planets went to war with one another, due to Krypton having more resources than Dheron. 


Technobabble

Brainiac-5 estmates that M'Gann is currently 18% Phantom, following a soul transfusion.

Phantoms have the ability to sense life force and can hone in on a specific soul signature, even within the Phantom Zone. M'Gann theorizes she can use this ability to track Kara. This power can also be used to track Phantom Prime's lair and where he is holding the souls he has captured since coming to Earth.

Brainiac-5 estimates a 99.999% probability that freeing the captive souls will restore all the people changed into Phantom progeny. 

Lena combines a DEO Protogun and her portal technology to create what she calls the ProtoTrap - a device which traps Phantoms from a safe distance and teleports them directly to a containment pod.

The portal out of the Phantom Zone resembles a mirror, only instead of a reflection it shows the way home. It is programmed so that only a righteous person may activate it.

According to Brainiac-5, the Double Soul Dilemma is a problem caused by a soul being split into two parts. The pieces will act like magnets and repel one another.

When a Phantom reaches maturity, it becomes unstoppable and the souls it captured cannot be restored, due to a chrysalis made by the Phantom hardening to the point that nothing can penetrate it. 

Lena develops a way to replicate a Phantom's soul tracking powers using Q-Waves and nanobots. The nanobots map the brains of the Phantom Progeny. However, this method still requires a DNA sample in order to calibrate the right frequency to track a subject.

The Kryptonian data crystals used to create a holographic simulation of a person contain a core digital record that replicates the person's life force.


Dialogue Triumphs

Kara: (v/o)  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 got 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 and my friends to protect my city from anyone that means to cause it harm. I am Supergirl

Kara: Family isn't about blood or last names. It's about the people who love you for who you are and stand by you no matter what. And just as my sister Alex has always been there for me, so have my friends. They're my family, too. Anything is possible when you have family who love and support you.

(Alex gives Lena the crystal holding Kara's hologram.)

Alex: The core of this crystal contains Kara's digital life force. I would like you to use it for the device.
Lena: What?
Alex: You said you need a piece of my sister to track her in the Phantom Zone.
Lena: Yeah, but if I extract that, you'll lose the recording forever.
Alex: Well, what matters most is that we get back the real Kara. And you said that life force can do that, right?
Lena: Yeah, I mean, I'm hopeful, but there's no guarantee.
Alex: I trust you.
Lena: Thank you. 

(Alex and Lena are arguing about using Lena's scanner to find the Prime Phantom instead of Kara.)
Alex: We'll find another way. There's always another way. She taught us that!
Lena: We have a way now! How can you choose to save anyone else over your own sister?
Alex: Because if I don't, countless lives will be lost. Kara would always choose saving others. That's just who she is. And how do you think she would feel if we rescued her and she found out that we let thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people die, just so we could have her back? Supergirl relies on those that she loves to follow her example. So please don't make this any harder than it already is. Give me the device.
Lena: Alex, I hear what you're saying... but I have to bring Kara back. You see, it's my fault. It was my brother who sent her to the Phantom Zone, it was my experiments that empowered him. It was my war with Supergirl that started all of this. So if this is my only chance to make it right, then I have to do it.
Alex: Okay, Lena, listen to me. Nobody blames you for this. Kara doesn't blame you for this. You two already forgave each other for everything that happened in the past. So it's time for you to forgive yourself. And all that really matters is that you did the right thing today. So, please give me the tracking device.
(Lena hesitates. Alex reaches down and summons the tracer to her hand using her 
Alex: I'm sorry, but I can't take no for an answer. 


Continuity

It is revealed that Nyxlygsptlnz's at the end of 603 did successfully get Kara, Zor-El and Nyxlygsptln within walking distance of the dimension anchor.

As the episode opens, the Super Friends till have five Phantom progeny contained.

M'Gann has a nightmare of being chained down in a cold place.

Nia gives Lena her first official tour of the Watchtower.

M'Gann believes she has become connected to the hivemind connecting the Phantom progeny to the Prime Phantom, through the part of her soul that was captured by the Prime Phantom.

Lena invents a special gun that can trap Phantoms and instantly teleport them into a containment pod.

According to Brainiac-5, the original Ghostbusters is a perfect movie.

The Super Friends are able to track the Prime Phantom to the Noonan's in Grand Central Station.

While fighting the Phantoms, Dreamer has another vision of Alex and Kara as teenagers in Midvale.

M'Gann attempts to track one of the captures souls, but begins to lose herself as she approaches the Prime Phantom's lair.

Kara finds the way out of the Phantom Zone, but the mirror powering the portal is broken.

Kara reasons there must be a spare part for just such an emergency and goes off in search of it among the Fort Rozz supply barracks. 

It is determined that M'Gann cannot get too close to the Prime Phantom's lair or it her soul may be drawn to the piece of her that was captured.

Brainiac-5 realizes that they can save the people turned into Phantoms by destroying the Chrysalis, but doing this will remove M'Gann's ability to track Kara.

Lena offers to find a way to replicate M"Gann's tracking power in case they can't find Kara before they have to stop the Prime Phantom. 

Dreamer tells Brainaic-5 about her dreams of Kara and Alex as teenagers and how the dream has been repeating.

Brainiac-5's favorite comfort food is donuts. He is particularly fond of strawberry glaze with sprinkles and compares it to Kara's fondness for dumplings.

Kara is able to find a replacement mirror after searching 24 storage rooms.

While Kara is gone, Zor-El is attacked by the scar-faced prisoner whom captured him earlier.

Zor-El's ankle is broken in the attack.

Kara and Nyxlygsptln leave Zor-El behind to get the portal fixed, with the intention of coming back for him later.

Alex gives Lena the crystal containing Kara's hologram from 601 to use for her tracker..

Dreamer and M'Gann combine their powers, using Dreamer's astral projection powers in conjunction with M'Gann's bond to try and find the Prime Phantom's chrysalis. 

Dreamer has another vision of Midvale and determines that the chrysalis is almost completely solid.

Brainiac-5 calculates that they have an hour to save the souls trapped in the chrysalis based on this data.

J'onn refuses to risk M'Gann getting too close to the chrysalis and becoming lost.

Alex suggests using Lena's tracker to find the Prime Phantom's database, even though recalibrating it will cause them to lose the one sample of Kara's DNA they have.

Lena objects to this, but Alex takes the tracker from her anyway.

Nyxlygsptln tries to get Kara to abandon her father.

Nyxlygsptln reveals that she took the form of the scarred-prisoner and attacked Zor-El.

Nyxlygsptln couldn't get the portal to work with Kara activating it because she is not righteous. She had planned to go to the 5th Dimension first but now wants to go to Earth and wreck it before reclaiming her throne.

J'onn, Dreamer, Alex and Brainiac-5 go into the sewers to track the Prime Phantom.

J'onn and Brainiac-5 are overpowered on the way to the chrysalis.

Alex is able to destroy the chrysalis, which transforms all the progeny back into humans.

Kara destroys the portal rather than let Nyxlygsptln use it to go to Earth.

Lena says she doesn't belong with the team but Alex says that is nonsense.

According to Alex, Lena is the only other Super Friend with decent taste in scotch.

Dreamer keeps having visions of Kara and Alex as teenagers in Midvale.

The Prime Phantom is captured.

J'onn theorizes they can use the Phantom like a bloodhound to track Kara if they can get a DNA sample. This leads to the idea of time-traveling to a point when Kara had been injured.

In remembering times Kara was injured by Kryptonite poisoning or a solar flare, Alex remembers the fight with Red Tornado (106) and an incident back when they were in high school.

The dimensional anchor in the Phantom Zone is completely destroyed.


Location

The Phantom Zone.


The Kryptonite Factor

Nyxlygsptln suddenly becomes a Stupid Evil villain who confesses her evil nature because she is evil.


The Bottom Line

An idiotic story that is once again salvaged only by some excellent performances. The Phantom Zone storyline has dragged on far too long and it is cold comfort that we're getting a two-part time travel story that will presumably eliminate the need to see Kara not doing much in the Phantom Zone for two weeks.

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 5, Episode 18 - The Missing Link

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



Plot

Rama Khan returns to fight Supergirl and her friends, as Lena and Lex are forced to team up when they're both trapped in the prison housing Lena's experiments and Project Non Nocere fails.

Influences

The JLA Comics of Joe Kelly (Rama Khan and Gamemnae)

Goofs

While it would make sense for Kara to be somewhat apprehensive of Lena's intentions after the last episode, it still seems drastically out of character for Kara to be utterly certain Lena is involved with Leviathan while the usually cynical and paranoid Alex pleads for her to not jump to conclusions.

While this is likely due, in part, to Melissa Beonist's pregnancy limiting what she can do in terms of stunt work and action scenes, it's odd how this episode (and, indeed, most of the second half of season 5) have had Lex Luthor doing more to fight Leviathan than Supergirl and William Dey doing more to investigate Leviathan than Kara.

On that note, it's weird that out of all the people who could help Alex realize how much leaving the DEO has hurt her sense of self, all the heavy lifting is done by a special guest start who figures out what Alex's problem is after knowing her for the span of one afternoon.

It had been previous established that Rama Khan's powers were tied to the Earth and that he couldn't effect alien materials, which is why he could not sense what happened inside the Fortress of Solitude as it was made of Kryptonian crystal. Why then is he able to move Kryptonite around like it was Earth-based mineral? (Perhaps his powers are different in the Post-Crisis reality or the staff allows him to move them indirectly by using the magnetic properties of the Earth?)

Performances

Sean Astin is quite frankly wasted in the role of Pete Andrews.

Katie McGrath slays in this episode and her interactions with Jon Cryer as Lex and Melissa Benoist as Kara in the closing moments of the show are perfect.

Technobabble

Lena determined that the failure of Non Nocere had nothing to do with Myriad being activated. 

The irises of a failed Non Nocere patient become inky. When Lena learns from Steve that the other inmate was hurt by the wild patient before his eyes turned, she theorizes that the natural survival instinct clashed with the programming to do no harm, resulting in his survival instincts kicking into overdrive to adapt to the new program when he sensed danger. When the wild patient turned, he became a predator, triggering the survival instincts in the other inmates, thus sparking the riot.

Protocol 5 is the emergency evacuation plan for DEO Headquarters.

Dialogue Triumphs

Brainiac-5: Okay. I... I know that you've been cozying up to Gemma Cooper for strategic reasons, but there's a distinction between manipulating Leviathan and helping them destroy the world! 

Lex: What kind of operation do you think this is? Mr. Smith Goes to Leviathan? Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to play a little dirty. I cannot get that invitation unless they think I'm on their side and if that means helping them get a weapon or two, so be it. 

Brainiac-5: People could've died. My friends could've died. 

Lex: Three months ago, you said that Leviathan was our biggest threat, that if we didn't defeat them, the global repercussions would be catastrophic. Millions dead, us and the Supers included. And your very words were, "The only way that you could successfully defeat them was by working with me, by trusting me." So, trust me now... because I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that if you can get the location of the Leviathan ship before I get that invitation, you can maybe end this before anyone gets hurt. But that's your anxiety thinking, not logic. I don't want your friends to die either, but sometimes, for the greater good, you have to break a few super-eggs. 

Brainiac-5: And you expect me to just stand back while Leviathan tries to kill my friends?!

Lex: I expect you to trust the process! War is brewing between Leviathan and the Supers and you are not to intervene.

(Supergirl flies off, leaving Dreamer and Brainiac-5 alone. She quickly moves to leave, but he moves after her.)

Brainiac-5: I'm needed here, but I... 

Dreamer: Don't. 

Brainiac-5: Nia... 

Dreamer: No! When you took off your inhibitors, I swore to be there for you no matter what. But, maybe I was wrong. Because I don't know who this Brainy is. But I know I don't like him. And I definitely don't trust him. 

Brainiac-5: Look... I can't explain... 

Dreamer: No more riddles. What the hell were you doing in there with Rama Khan? What was that language? And what did Lex Luthor have to do with it? 

(Brainiac-5 hesitates. He clearly wants to say something but is conflicted.)

Dreamer: Tell me. Right here, right now. 

Brainiac-5:  ... I can't. 

Dreamer: You can't play the game from both sides, Brainy. You can't pretend to be on our side one minute and then push us away the next. If you can't pick a side, I'll choose one for you. 

Lena: Non Nocere is dead. It doesn't work. It can't. It never could. Pain is a necessary part of being human, of life. And I was delusional to think that I could save people, or fix it. (breathes deeply) Humanity will always try to protect itself, to evolve. You can't stop that. You saw Steve, how helpless he was, all because of me.

Lex: I was rooting for you, Lena. But, I have to agree. Humanity can't be fixed. They need to be controlled. Leviathan may be our biggest threat, but they were right about one thing. Humanity needs a firm hand to guide it. To lead it. And not some arrogant alien. It needs to be human.  Lena: You mean, a Luthor. 

Lex: Think of all that we could accomplish together, if we just take our rightful place as humanity's saviors.

Lena: (quietly) Saviors? (starts to laugh softly) Of course. You never change. This was always all about you. Your megalomania. You... knew my plan wouldn't work.That it was doomed. You were counting on it.

Lex: (shouting) How dare you? I gave you the world! Everything! I supported you! I sabotaged nothing! Touched nothing! I set aside my own goals for you! (hissing) Because you needed to see your little project fail with your own eyes. To know the true depravity of humanity. (shouting) To know that my way was the only way!

Lena: (slowly inhaling before speaking deliberately and with purpose) You're a monster. But that doesn't mean I have to be one, too. 

(Brainiac-5 gets into a limo. Lex is sitting opposite him.)

Lex: Eventful day, Director Dox? 

Brainiac-5: I know. I disobeyed your direct order. I interfered with Leviathan and the Supers. I am responsible.(sighs) For everything.

(Lex bursts out laughing.)

Lex: Oh, Dox. Of course, I knew that you'd rush in to help your little friends. You're all gooey hero on the inside. I don't have to be a genius to know that. But don't worry. Everything is right on track. Even the loss of the DEO is a tax write-off. 

Brainiac-5: You wanted Rama Khan to be brought here. To get the Kryptonite. 

Lex: I gave Leviathan a little trinket from the Fortress that, with Kryptonite, will make Supergirl's life miserable. And they were very appreciative. 

Brainiac-5: You got an invite to the ship. 

Lex: I told you, trust the process, save the world. (cheerful) Get some sleep. Big day tomorrow. 

(Kara opens her door. Lena is standing there. They regard each other evenly. Kara turns around and leaves the door open, moving to stand by her dinner table. She turns and regards Lena, who enters the apartment and closes the door. When Kara just keeps staring at her, Lena speaks.)

Lena: I have made a terrible mistake. (takes a deep breath) I was hurt.(voice-cracking, speaking in a rush) I was so hurt. And... I thought I could get rid of the hurt. I thought that I knew better, that I could make the world a better place. But I was wrong. (another deep breath) That hurt, um, took me down a dark, dark path, where I was blind to what I was really doing. To what I'd become. 

(Kara just looks at Lena, saying nothing.)

Lena:You were right. This whole time I became a villain, and then... I'm not looking for forgiveness. I know what I said and I know what I did, but I am... I am really hoping that you will believe me right now. Okay? Lex is working with Leviathan, and they are going to use Obsidian to do something terrible... using the system, that I made with my project. I didn't know I was helping them, but I did. And... now I want to help stop them, so... Please, okay? I want to help stop Lex and Leviathan.

(Kara continues to look at Lena. Arms crossed. Clearly skeptical. Finally, she steps away from the table and pulls out a chair.)

Kara: Sit down.
(Lena nods softly and gulps as she moves to sit.)

Dialogue Disasters

Melissa Benoist's attempt at an Eliza Dolittle voice.

Continuity

The episode opens in flashback, showing what happened at the Luthor-owned prison during the escape of the Sun Eater in 517.

Steve Lomeli is shown to be teaching a yoga class in prison now.

One of the inmates has an anxiety attack and turns violent after getting trapped in an elevator during the Sun Eater rampage.  He is with two other inmates, one of whom is Steve Lomeli.

The action of the episode opens 24 hours after the Sun Eater rampage.

Lex stole something from the Fortress of Solitude, which he intends to give Leviathan to work his way into their good graces so that he can get on board their ship.

Brainiac-5 again asserts that he has a 12th Level Intellect, when he tells Lex that he figured out he was responsible for the Sun Eater escaping.

The previous Leviathan base and elevator with Braniac-5 discovered is no longer there.

Miss Martian is staying on Earth to aid in the battle with Leviathan.

J'onn is busy scanning for signs of Leviathan activity within a 300 mile radius of National City when Dreamer, Miss Martian, Alex and Supergirl hold a tactics meeting.

Supergirl is convinced that Lena is working with Leviathan. Alex says there is no proof of that.

Alex goes to meet with a friend of Kelly's, who is now an archivist with the Library of Congress and an expert in semiotics and iconography. This is later revealed to be Pete Andrews, the former soldier from 503.

Dreamer says she will see if she can foresee some clue as to where Leviathan's base is. 

Lex goes to check on Lena as she's working on fixing Non Nocere.

Steve Lomeli's attitude regarding Lex Luthor has changed in the Post-Crisis reality. He considers it an honor to meet him, as he wasn't in the same cell-block with Lex in this reality, as he was in 418.

Obsidian North announces a Worldwide Unity Festival to celebrate the release of Obsidian Platinum. 

Margot the Leviathan agent's full name is revealed to be Margot Morrison.

Kelly tries to convince Andrea Rojas to delay Obsidian North's launch. She refuses to consider it unless there is definitive proof the software is harmful.

Pete Andrews is a fan of Kara's writing and says her language use suggests a mastery of languages other than English. When he asks if she's traveled extensively, Kara lies and says she was born and raised in Midvale.

Pete Andrews says he's heard whispers of Leviathan's existence, but nothing definite.

Gamenae gives Rama Khan the item Lex Luthor stole from the Fortress of Solitude. The item is later revealed to be the Staff of the Shadow Realm from 508.

Pete says that the symbol of Leviathan appeared in a series of crop circles in Greece in 1752 weeks before a plague of locusts took out the entire region. Similar symbols appeared in 567 A.D in Macedonia and in 1134 A.D, Bavaria just before disasters.

Kara leaves to meet with William Dey after he calls her, saying he found something odd about Margot's manifesto video.

Pete tries to gain access to a special collections room, but his request is denied - he thinks because he specifically asked to research Leviathan. 

A riot breaks out in the prison, as more prisoners have their survival instincts overcome their programming no to harm others.

William determines that "Margot" in the video is someone wearing an image inducer pretending to be Margot.

Kara suggests they check Obsidian North's personnel files, as Margot apparently worked for them.
 

Malefic has begun to broker a peace between the two White Martian factions on Mars, according to Miss Martian.

A growing romance between Miss Martian and J'onn is hinted at as they catch up. 

Dreamer has a vision of Brainiac-5 laughing while playing with a deck of cards, where Rama Khan holding a staff takes the place of all the face cards. She takes this to mean that Brainy is playing games with Rama Khan. The emblem on the back of the cards is the symbol of the Oregon Geological Monitoring Station.

William claims to have gotten a private recipe from Chef Emeril Lagasse.

William discoveres that Margot Morrison spent a lot of time talking to an employee with the badge number 873. 

Kara excuses herself from working with William to go find Alex's missing cat.

William offers to come help, claiming that cats love him. Kara says that the cat gets skittish around tall men with accents.

Brainiac-5 sends DEO agents to back-up the Super Friends while they fight Rama Khan.

Lena, Lex and Steve work their way through the riot to Lena's office, where she can reset everyone with a burst of Q-waves.

Brainiac-5 takes Rama Khan into DEO custody, refusing to let Kara or Dreamer question him first.

Alex and Pete try to sneak into the special collections room during the 5 pm guard shift-change. They are shot at by a mysterious assailant, who chases them into the parking garage.

Dreamer says something about Rama Khan's staff gives her bad vibes.

Brainiac-5 says he will let Supergirl and Dreamer watch his interrogation of Rama Khan, but he has determined that he has an 85% better chance of successfully talking to him without them in the room.

Dreamer tells Supergirl about her vision of Brainiac-5 but how now she thinks it meant that Brainiac-5 was using Rama Khan somehow.

Pete calls his wife to make sure she is okay. He tells Alex that someone is watching their house and that they are going to go off the grid for a bid.

Peter tells Alex that she sounds like a lot of people he knows who still think they are in the military even after leaving and that she had better find a new identity for herself.

Obsidian North employee 873 is revealed to be Eve Teschmacher. The name means nothing to William, but Kelley Olsen knows who she was on Earth-38.

Brainiac-5 knows how to speak Jarhanpurian - the language of the aliens running Leviathan. 

Brainiac-5 tells Rama Khan that he knows about his partnership with Luthor and that he has a similar arrangement. The only thing Supergirl and Dreamer understand of the conversation, however, is the name "Luthor."

Dreamer senses that Rama Khan's staff is scanning the DEO for something, as Rama Khan reveals he allowed himself to be captured.

Rama Khan retrieves his staff and begins causing an tremor that destroys the building, as he summons all the Kryptonite in the DEO to him.

Lena is able to reset Project Non Nocere, but while it knocks out the aggressive inmates, it also causes Steve to lose the sense of peace he had gained.

J'onn and M'Gann arrive in time to save everyone, with M'Gann getting knocked out trying to distract Rama Khan and being phased out along with Kara by J'onn, after he freed Brainiac-5 from under a pile of rubble.  Brainiac-5, in turn, was able to fly to safety while carrying Dreamer.

The DEO Headquarters is destroyed as Rama Khan escapes with the Kryptonite.

Dreamer tells Brainiac-5 she knows he is working with Luthor and that she no longer trusts him.

William and Kelly go to Andrea Rojas with everything they discovered about Eve Tesmacher working under a number of aliases. However, given that Eve was hired on Gemma Cooper's recommendation  and doesn't have a criminal record or so much as a single supervisor complaint, she dismisses their concerns outright and threatens to have them fired if they do anything else that threatens to disrupt the launch of Obsidian Platinum.  

Lena decides that Non Nocere was a bad idea because pain is a necessary part of the human experience.

Lex says that he tried to support Lena and hoped she could find a way to make it work, but he believes that humanity can't be changed - they can only be controlled. And the hand that does the controlling must he a human and, ideally, a Luthor.

Lena cuts ties with Lex again.

J'onn sends Kara home, as she laments that without a Kryptonite-proof suit like what she had on the old Earth, she's useless in a fight against Rama Khan now.

M'Gann kisses J'onn, confirming their romance.

Alex returns home and tells Kelly that Pete has gone into hiding

Alex says that she isn't used to being exposed and she's even more freaked out withe the DEO being gone, even though she quit there months ago.

Kelly tells Alex about Eve Tesmacher working for Obsidian North but that Andrea won't do anything.

Kelly suggests that Alex consider becoming a vigilante in a costume with a mask, saying that is she is going to work with superheroes, she may as well go all the way.

Lex blows up the prison 

Gemma Cooper calls Lex and says she'll send a car for him in the morning so he can meet her friends.

Lex meets with Brainiac-5 and reveals that everything is going according to plan and that he had counted on Brainiac-5 disobeying his orders and helping the Super-Friends. He also tells him that he is finally getting invited into Leviathan's home base. 

William tries to follow Eve Tesmacher, but is jumped following her down an alley.

Lena goes to Kara, tells her that she thinks Lex is working with Leviathan and that she wants to help her stop him.

Location

The Oregon Geological Monitoring Station

The Bottom Line

Largely forgettable despite the major revelation of the DEO HQ being destroyed after four years of being a major set-piece. And yet the final ten minutes do much to redeem the shoddy script and continuity problems. While Kara is awfully out of character, Lena's speeches make up for a lot. 

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 8 - The Wrath of Rama Khan

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



Plot

As Lena and Hope work to launch Project Non Nocere, Supergirl takes the fight to Leviathan and faces Rama Khan again, as he plots to use Acrata and her powers to trigger a super-volcano. Saving the world may require Alex to make an act of trust depending on Malefic to aid them, but can J'onn's brother be trusted?


Influences

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (title) and JLA: The Obsidian Age by Joe Kelly.


Goofs

It was said in 506 that the Medallion of Acrata has no power unto itself and it only awakens the inner darkness of the person who wears it. Yet this episode acts like the power of Acrata can only either be in the medallion or its host, as Rama Khan has to abduct Andrea Rojas to make use of powers to activate the Staff of the Shadow Realm. (Margot was lying to Andrea when she said that, to keep her from thinking she was free of Leviathan.)

How did Alex recognize Malefic in his human form when that form was chosen by Lena after the last time the DEO fought Malefic?


Performances

It's hard to single out a single performer this time around. As in last week's episode, Melissa Beonist and Katie McGrath break your heart with their interactions as Kara and Lena. Chyler Leigh gets some similar moments as Alex, being torn between duty and her desire to believe in Kara's idealism. And brief as they are, Phil LaMarr gets some great moments acting opposite David Harewood.


Super Trivia

Gamemnae mentions another member of Leviathan called Tezumak who has been speaking against Rama Khan in secret. In Joe Kelly's Obsidian Age story, which introduced Rama Khan and Gamemnae, Tezumak was a member of the League of Ancients who had been a monk from a Mesoamerican society which pre-dated the Aztecs. He lead the warrior order founded by Gamemane and wears bronze honor which honors the gods that brought science to his people. He would later sacrifice himself to help the Justice League stop Gamemnae's plans.

The password for Lex Luthor's security system is based on his favorite quote from John Milton's Paradise Lost - "Arise or be forever fallen."

This episode ended with a scene involving Nash Wells from The Flash, setting up Crisis on Infinite Earths. This scene is described in detail in the entry for F608.


Technobabble

Lex Luthor's hideouts are lead-lined, and protected by automatic systems with ion cannons that automatically change into Kryptonte cannons after detecting Kryptonian DNA following a first shot.

Brainiac-5 says that he can beam a hologram into Lena Luthor's hideout by harnessing the Kryptonian cache crystals the DEO has.

Lean determines that she can beat the DEO virus shutting down her system by replicating the virus, reverse-engineering it and overriding the shutoff remotely.

Kara suggests that Malefic could counteract Myriad by deploying all his mental energy against it.

Brainiac-5 says that the ancient super-volcano located under National City hasn't erupted since the Cenozoic Era, and was 10,000 times more powerful than the volcano at Pompeii.

Brainiac-5 calculates a 98% chance Myriad will be neutralized and a . 01% chance Lena will surrender, which makes it a virtual certainty Lena will not survive if Claymore 3 is used to attack Lena. He further calculates that if they use Malefic to neutralize Myriad, there is an 86% chance they will stop Myriad and a 0% chance Lena will be harmed.

The psychic inhibitors in the DEO absorb 6% of Malefic's psychic energy output, or 4,000 terawatts.


Dialogue Triumphs

Lena: We must stay true to our mission. We don't kill people no matter how much they've hurt us.

(Supergirl's hologram appears in Lena's secret lab.)
Kara: Lena.
Lena: (matter-of-factly) Supergirl.
Kara: Please, just hear me out.
Lena: Save your breath. You showed me who you really are, and I believe you.
Kara: You have every right to say that, but don't do this.
Lena: Do what?
Kara: Whatever it is you're planning on doing with Myriad and Malefic's Q-waves.
Lena: Did it ever occur to you that I was gonna do something good for the world?
Kara: With Myriad, people won't understand!
Lena: Of course, you assumed the worst. I'm not the bad guy.
Kara: I know. You spent years trying to be open and trusting, even when everyone expected you to be like your family. Even when everyone in your life let you down. Even when I was weak and lied to you, knowing that all you ever asked for was the truth, you were always better. Lex took advantage of my weakness and he used it to manipulate you. He wanted my mistakes to change you. He wanted you to become him. But you are nothing like him. Nothing. Don't let my mistakes turn you into something you're not.
Lena: I am good. And I always was. Lex didn't change me and you didn't change me either. You just exposed me to the ugliness of humanity. You did me a favor, Kara. I learned what kind of deceitful person you really are, and that's what inspired me to do this.
Kara: Lena...
Lena: Your words mean nothing to me anymore. Spare us both the drama. Leave me alone.

Kara: You know, a part of me always knew that this couldn't be that easy. And I get it. I fully understand why she feels betrayed. It's so hard for her to trust people. But I made her trust me. Over and over again, I made her believe that I was the best friend who would never ever hurt her. And then she finds out in the most horrible way that our entire friendship was based on lies.
Alex: Look, you were damned either way, Kara. Your choice to conceal your identity... it wasn't born out of a place of maliciousness. It was born out of love and compassion. And you were just trying to protect your family. And you were trying to protect Lena from people who could use that information to hurt us. And look, I love Lena, too. I am deeply upset by what is going on. But this... This isn't just two friends that are in a fight. This is someone who has turned a corner.
Kara: No, but this is not her. This is not our Lena.
Alex: Well, who is our Lena? I mean She knew that Lex was out of prison, and she said nothing. She kept Sam Arias locked in a subbasement at L-Corp, knowing that she was Reign, and she said nothing. She knows how to make Kryptonite, and she kept that hidden from us. Lena is leading her own double-life.
Kara: You are making her sound like a Luthor.
Alex: Maybe that's because she is one. We can't put our faith in some distant hope that she's gonna do the right thing when every single action that she has taken up until now points to the contrary. Okay, we have to stop her, Kara. The safety of the world depends on that.
Kara: She is not Lex. I will not treat her like a villain.
Alex: I know you won't. That's why I have to.

Alex: She doesn't understand how hard this is for me. I mean, Lena is my friend, too, and now all of a sudden, I'm supposed to decide whether I should risk everybody's lives just to save hers? And Malefic, he invaded my mind. He threatened Kelly, and now I'm just supposed to trust him? You know what's on the line. You're the one who taught me how to do this job, and you're the one who's had to make really tough decisions so that people don't die.
J'onn: You have every reason to fear my brother. I can't promise you that Malefic has changed for good. People make mistakes and they do terrible things. We have to let them do better, bring them back into the light. Otherwise what's the point in trying to save everyone?

Hope: I can still try a manual override. I can reposition the dishes myself.
Lena: We discussed this. Absolutely not. You could be killed. Both Hope and Eve gone, forever.
Hope: But it would be worth it for both of us because I believe in you. Eve did, too. I have seen the depravity of humans. I have seen the betrayal and the pain. Let me help, so that we can stop them from committing any more of these horrible acts once and for all.
Lena: No. I will not allow it. We will find another way. Your partnership has meant the world to me, Hope. You're the only friend I can count on.
Hope: But, Ms. Luthor, I'm not your friend. I'm something you created to serve a purpose.

(J'onn watches Malefic fly off. Suddenly, he senses a presence behind him and turns around to see a strange man in alien armor.)
The Monitor: Well done, J'onn J'onzz. You passed the test.
J'onn: Test? You released my brother from the Phantom Zone? You brought my brother here?
The Monitor: When I saw you fight in Elseworlds, I could see that you were a great warrior, but one plagued by his past, and that made you vulnerable. You believed it was because you had left Mars, but it was something far, far greater, J'onn. Your brother. But now that you have faced those demons, you have come to learn your vulnerabilities and your strengths. And now you are ready.
J'onn: Ready for what?
The Monitor: A Crisis.

(We see the Monitor's celestial platform from Elseworlds. Lex Luthor is sitting regarding a crystal chessboard. He moves a piece and sighs in boredom.)
Lex Luthor: Checkmate. Again.
(There is a wooshing noise as The Monitor appears and walks over to Lex.)
Lex Luthor: Finally, you've returned. I don't know if anybody's told you this, but the feng shui of this place is a bit stale.
The Monitor: I brought you back because the universe will need a mind like yours.
Lex Luthor: Someone who can checkmate anyone?
The Monitor: The time has come for you to fulfill your destiny, Lex Luthor. You can now become the hero that you have longed to be.
Lex Luthor: I've always been the hero.
(The Monitor regards Lex stoically and without comment.)
Lex Luthor: (chuckle) Happy to help. But first, we have to discuss my sister.


Continuity

Alex and Brainiac-5 save Kara from the Fortress defenses.

Brainiac-5 tracked Rama Khan's energy to the Fortress.

Kara tells Alex and Brainiac-5 that Lena already knew her secret identity and that Lex Luthor had told her.

Brainiac-5 tracks Lena to Mount Norquay - the site of one of Lex Luthor's old hideouts.

Lena stops the automatic defenses from killing Kara because she is still committed to a non-violent solution.

Leviathan is led by an Elder, whom Gamemnae refers to as a "her."

Tezumak is a member of Leviathan who is even more violent and warlike than Rama Khan, whom Rama Khan fears would burn down the Earth if he were put in charge of running things.

Rama Khan has been running Leviathan for two million years.

Gamemnae speaks of a cosmic alignment that comes once every 2000 years which is almost upon them. During the last such alignment, Rama Khan caused the eruption of the volcano at Pompei.

The Staff of the Shadow World is an artifact that Rama Khan can use to supplement his own powers. Brainiac-5 says the last time it was seen was at Pompei, but there are references to it in the writings of the Ancient Mesopotamians and Herculaneum. However, it requires the power of Acrata to function - either the person wielding the power of shadow or the Medallion of Acrata itself.

Kara tells Alex and Brainiac-5 about how Lena killed Lex and how he told her about how they lied to her with his dying breath.

Kara says she thinks she can still get through to Lena, based on the fact that Lena did save her from Rama Khan and deactivated the Kryptonite weapons at Mount Norquay.

J'onn and Malefic arrive and Malefic tells everyone about Project Non Nocere and Lena's plan to force everyone on Earth to act in what Lena considers to be a socially acceptable manner.

J'onn says Malefic can be trusted following their mind-meld, but Alex refuses to allow the DEO agents to turn off their psychic inhibitors and has armed guards watching Malefic at all times even after he agrees to help them fight Lena.

Rama Khan abducts Andrea Rojas and takes her with him.

Kara fails to reach Lena once her message goes through.

Alex points out that Lena had kept secrets from them just as much as Kara had kept secrets from Lena, specifically mentioning how Lena learned how to synthesize Kryptonite, how she knew Reign's secret identity and how she said nothing about Lex sneaking out of prison.

The DEO secretly used Kara's hologram broadcast to send a virus to shut down the defense systems of Lena's secret base. If that doesn't work before Myriad activates, Alex has positioned the Claymore 3 satellite over Mount Norquay to destroy the mountain outright.

The DEO virus successfully prevents Myriad from activating by locking the satellite arrays in Lena's base. The arrays could be unlocked and aimed manually, but that might risk activating the failsafes Lex Luthor installed that Lena doesn't know how to deactivate.

Hope offers to sacrifice herself to unlock the arrays but Lena refuses to allow her to do it, calling it suicidal. When Hope points out that she is programmed to do whatever it takes to see Project Non Nocere completed, Lena finally says her by saying it would be short-sighted to let her self-terminate now when there is another way to win. In truth, Lena seems to have come to regard Hope as a friend.

Kara suggests that Malefic could counteract Myriad by deploying all his mental energy against it. Malefic is agreeable to trying, though J'onn says the energy required could kill him.

Arcata is able to briefly teleport inside the DEO to warn them what Rama Khan is trying to do.  This results in her being entombed with the Staff of the Shadow World in the basement of the National City Tar Pits Study Center while Rama Khan tries to trigger a super volcano under National City.

Rama Khan triggers a 5.4 magnitude earthquake with his opening salvo. This renders Lena unable to do any further work on reverse-engineering the virus.

Alex ultimately decides to let Malefic try to neutralize Myriad telepathically.

J'onn tries to free Acrata from Rama Khan's grip as Kara fights Rama Khan directly.

Alex orders the DEO agents to shut off their inhibitors to grant Malefic more power. This allows him to neutralize Myriad.

Rama Khan is defated and Gamemnae takes over his position as the leader of Leviathan, the Elder having lost confidence in him after he lost to Supergirl twice.

Hope pretends to be Eve Teschmacher and takes the blame for what Lena was doing with Myriad, claiming she was forcing her to act against her will.  Neither Kara or Alex believe this for a moment, but there's nothing they can do to prove Lena is pulling a fast one as nobody but Lena knew about Hope's existence or her taking up residence in Eve's body.

Andrea Rojas returns home, satisfied to be free of Leviathan, for now.

Andrea's happy place in her virtual network is revealed to be a montage of her happiest moments with Russell Rogers.

Malefic returns to Mars, in J'onn's spaceship, to join with the White Martian resistance.

The Monitor reveals himself to J'onn and congratulates him on passing his test, saying that he freed Malefic from the Phantom Zone to allow J'onn a chance to reconcile with his brother and rid himself of the guilt that was holding him back.  He says that J'onn is now ready to help him fight in the coming Crisis.

It is revealed that Lex Luthor is alive and was resurrected by the Monitor because his mind will be needed to help save the multiverse during the coming Crisis. Lex agrees to help but says they have to discuss his sister first.


Location

Fortress of Solitude.
Mount Norquay


The Bottom Line

A wonderful episode which would be better without the Leviathan subplot that is seemingly tacked onto it and serves no purpose other than giving us some more intense action scenes than Phil LaMarr staring at a screen and grunting. Presumably the set-up for Gamename will pay off later this season but right now Leviathan is too vaguely defined to be nearly as interesting as Lena going evil and not nearly as threatening.

Blame whoever decided to make the season's big-bad be an ill-defined Brian Michael Bendis concept that has nothing to do with that the Supergirl writers ultimately decided to do with the name.  I'll give them this though - turning Joe Kelly's League of Ancients into evil Kryptonians secretly ruling the Earth is way more interesting than what Leviathan turned out to be in the current Superman comics. But that's a whole other rant.

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.