Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 20 - Better Angels

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



Plot

Non has revealed his secret weapon - a mind-controlled Alex Danvers, empowered by Kryptonite-powrered armor and the sword that killed Astra. Even if Kara can defeat her sister without killing her, can she still save the world from her uncle's invasion?


Influences

Grant Morrison's JLA: New World Order (Superman gives an inspiring speech to break the control of alien invaders) and Superman: New Krypton (the central plot of evil Kryptonians attempting to take over then destroy Earth), Superman 2 (The Champagne Trick), Supergirl: The Movie (reference is made to The Omegahedron) and William Shakespeare's Macbeth (Indigo's relationship to Non mirrors that of Lady Macbeth to her husband.)


Goofs

Apart from giving Helen Slater a chance to be the hero talking Alex down from killing Kara, is there any logical reason a dying J'onn would fly to Midvale to retrieve Dr. Danvers and fly back to National City, shielding her mind, rather than using his dwindling time and powers to break through the control on Alex's mind directly?

For that matter, how the heck did J'onn know Non was going to pit Kara and Alex against each other so that he could go get Dr. Danvers in the first place?

How can General Lane order J'onn to be arrested over Lucy's objections? Previous episodes established the US Army has no authority over the DEO - hence why Lane had to take it over through an executive order.

Why isn't Alex arrested along with J'onn? Isn't she still facing whatever charges were going to see her sent to Cadmus along with J'onn?

Shouldn't somebody besides Maxwell Lord have thought to keep monitoring the same broadcast bands used by Myriad after the fact?  Maybe a certain paranoid general whose equally paranoid daughter is now running the DEO?

Non isn't much better than General Lane, having his entire army of super-powered aliens put themselves into their sleeping pods. Granting he's an arrogant ass, you'd think he'd have a few more minions on-hand so he and Indigo aren't doing all the work launching Fort Rozz back into orbit. But then we wouldn't have had a marginally more fair two-on-two fight between Non and Indigo vs. J'onn and Kara.

The scenes of people suffering from the insane headaches generated by Myriad are painfully hammy.

The CGI for the fight between J'onn/Indigo and Non/Kara is not up to the usual standard.


Performances

I defy you to watch  Melissa Benoist's speech tot he people of National City and not be inspired. That is Supergirl, in one scene. Actually, all of Benoist's scenes as she says her goodbyes to the rest of the cast are great moments for her as an actress. But that opening speech says everything that needs to be said.


Artistry

The montage of people waking up as Supergirl gives her speech is well edited and directed.


Super Trivia

At one point, Maxwell Lord says that he usually loves a good Countdown "but this is bad."  This may be a nod to Countdown To Infinite Crisis - the story-line in the comics which turned Maxwell Lord into a card-carrying villain. It is not well regarded by most fans of the character.

Kara identifies the device being used to power The Myriad Wave as an Omegahedron. She says they were used as power sources on Krypton. Just one is capable of providing the energy to run an entire city.

The idea of Omegahedrons and Alphahedrons were first introduced in Supergirl: The Movie, where the Omegahedron was the Macguffin that Kara Zor-El traveled to Earth to recover.

Writer Sterling Gates introduced Alphahedron power sources into the comic-book lore during his run on the Supergirl comic.

The question of whether or not Kryptonians can survive in space is an open one.  Before Crisis On Infinite Earths, they could.  Afterward, they could manage short trips between planets but still had to make arrangements for breathing. At one point Superman learned a technique of recycling the air inside of his body from another alien, and from that point on he was able to survive indefinitely in a vacuum, so long as he remained conscious.

The general consensus in the modern age is that Kryptonians can survive the cold and pressure of a vacuum just fine but are unable to breathe. This is why you'll see Superman wearing a breathing mask without a space-suit or see Supergirl take a deep breath before flying into space.

It appears that, in the DCTVU reality, Kryptonians have no special protection from the dangers of outer space.


Technobabble

Myriad works by shutting down the connection between the amygdala and rostral anterior cingulate cortex - the parts of the brain that give rise to optimism and hope.

The frequency of Myriad penetrates neural tissue.

With the Kryptonian mind-control plot thwarted, the Myriad Wave is amplified ten-fold and is increasing exponentially by "terahertz jumps". Once the wave reaches its full potential after the frequency is increased, the electromagnetic energy will create enough pressure to make the heads of every person on Earth explode. Max Lord likens this to using an Uzi to kill a mosquito.

 The Omegahedron is a Kryptonian power source, capable of producing the energy to power a whole city.


Dialogue Triumphs

Supergirl: People of National City. This is Supergirl, and uh - I hope you can hear me. We have been attacked. Mothers and fathers, friends and neighbors, children, everyone. Suddenly stopped by a force of evil as great as this world has ever known. Your attacker has sought to take your free will. Your individuality. Your spirit. Everything that makes you who you are. When facing an attack like this, it's easy to feel hopeless. We retreat. We lose our strength. We lose ourselves. I know. I lost... everything when I was young. When I first landed on this planet, I was sad and alone. But I found out... that there is so much love in this world, out there for taking. And you - the people of National City - you helped me. You let me be who I'm mean to be.
(Cut to Winn, at the CatCo offices, who snaps awake as he has visions of helping Kara become Supergirl. He gets up and begins walking to James' office.)
Supergirl: You gave me back to myself. You made me stronger than I ever thought possible. And I love you for that.
(Cut to James, in his office, as he begins to wake up and remember his being with Kara. He looks up and sees Winn standing in his doorway.)
Supergirl: Now, in each and every one of you, there is a light - a spirit - that can't be snuffed out. That won't give up!
(Cut to Lucy Lane at the DEO HQ, just starting to wake up.)
Supergirl: I need your help again. I need you... to hope. Hope. That you can remember that you can all be heroes. Hope. That when faced with an enemy determined to destroy your spirit, you will fight back and thrive! Hope. That those who once may have shunned you will, in a moment of crisis, come to your aid. Hope. That you will see again the faces of those you love. And perhaps even those you have lost.
(Supergirl thinks of her mother and the necklace she was given the last time she saw her.)

Max Lord: Finding them will be the easy part. Defeating them with only you? That's our problem.
Supergirl: And to think I'd thought you'd learned by now - I can handle anything!
Max Lord: I'm not trying to be an ass. I know you can handle anything. But I'm actually worried. And if the others were thinking straight, they'd be worried too. You have no back-up. Your sidekick, J'onn J'onzz, is injured. The DEO's resources have been depleted from the prison break.And even if they weren't, no human can go out there! Their heads would explode if they got too close to the source. If you go out there and fight, you might win. But chances are this is a suicide mission.
Supergirl: You know I'll never stop trying.
Max Lord: Believe me - no one's rooting for you more than I am. I just want you to know what you're facing. So that you're prepared.
Supergirl: I WILL stop Non and Indigo.
Max Lord: Good.

J'onn: If there's one thing I've learned in my lifetimes, it's that leaders are stronger working together. From now on we're all on the same team. No more secrets.
(Cut to General Lane giving a briefcase to Maxwell Lord. Lord opens it to find The Omegahedron.)
J'onn: Secrets protect no one. They only undermine what we're striving to accomplish. Peace. And even though we have defeated Non and Myriad, evil still persists.And there are ever more dangers that we face. Our enemies remain at home, abroad and in the skies beyond our world.


Continuity

The montage of Winn helping Kara shows numerous scenes from The Pilot.

James refers to his and Kara kissing back in 118.

Fort Rozz crashed some 500 miles northeast of National City in the Nevada desert. This would place National City somewhere in southern California, approximately where Los Angeles is in our world. The US Army concealed it from the world using the space-station's own stealth technology.

J'onn rips Indigo in half. This seems to kill her, but not before she locks Fort Rozz's computers so it cannot be made to fly nor can The Myriad Wave be shut off.

Kara seems to blind Non with her heat-vision.

Kara tells Alex to tell Jeremiah that she never stopped wearing the glasses, in reference to 117.

Kara is able to lift Fort Rozz away from Earth. Alex is able to save her using her pod.

J'onn is given a full pardon by The President and made head of the DEO.  He decides to share the duties of running the DEO with Lucy Lane.

General Lane is seen giving the burned-out Omegahedron to Max Lord.

Cat Grant promotes Kara to a position to be named later, with a private office.

Kara and James kiss again, romance apparently on the table between them again.

Kara and J'onn find a crashing space-vehicle exactly like Kara's pod. The episode ends as Kara opens the pod and looks inside, astonished at what she sees.


Location

Fort Rozz - Somewhere in the Nevada desert.


The Kryptonite Factor

Granting that the show has played fast and loose with J'onn J'onzz's power levels on this show relative to what he's capable of in the comics (despite Superman apparently saying that J'onn is the most powerful being on the planet!), J'onn seems severely nerfed in this episode... even granting that he's walking-wounded and not at his best helping Kara fight Non and Indigo.

Again, Kara being unable to survive outside of Earth's atmosphere seems a rather drastic cut in her power levels, given what Kryptonians are normally capable of surviving in 95% of their portrayals across most media.


The Bottom Line

A pretty sad conclusion to the season, all things considered. You can tell the special effects budget ran out during the final fight. The script is full of logic holes and redundancies (Max Lord has to explain how their heads are going to blow up twice!) and most of the supporting cast has nothing to d for most of the episode. The only reason any of it works at all is because of the charisma of Melissa Benoist, who - like Supergirl carrying Fort Rozz - carries the episode single-handed.  Here's hoping we see a second season and that things get better from here.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 19 - Myriad

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


Plot

Myriad has been revealed and activated. With the assistance of Indigo, Non has telepathically taken control of the people of National City. With J'onn and Alex missing and the DEO and Superman under Non's control, Kara will have to form an uneasy alliance with Cat Grant and Maxwell Lord to save the world!


Influences

The Superman comics of Roger Stern (presence of Maxima), Superman 2 (Non makes reference to the infamous "Kneel before me, son of Jor-El" line), Hamlet (Like Hamlet, Kara is torn between indecision regarding action and inaction), Macbeth (Indigo plays Lady Macbeth to Non's Macbeth, encouraging his ambition and pushing him to greater depravity), the Doctor Who episode School Reunion (aliens using humans linked together through an electronic hive-mind to calculate solutions to major problems) and numerous Superman stories where a telepathic villain uses the masses to limit the hero's ability to act directly.


Goofs

Given that Myriad is dependent on a global satellite system for operation, why is it limited to affecting National City when it was originally designed to act on a global level - apart from Non/Indigo wanting to make Kara suffer?

For that matter, since Myriad was originally designed to work on Kryptonians, why does it only affect humans now?

Apart from the need for an early action sequence to make up for all the talkie-bits in this episode, why is Maxima released from her cell manually by Lucy and the other DEO Agents two minutes before all of them will be released at once?

So smashing a console in the DEO command center automatically cancels the "release all prisoners" command. Good to know!

Has The Fortress of Solitude had a hologram of Allura all this time?

Kara reaches for her phone before we hear the sound effect that she got a text. She also changes positions between her reaching for her phone and the cut where we see her holding it.

For that matter, where does Kara keep her phone in her Supergirl costume? It doesn't have pockets!

The sacrifice of Kelly really doesn't work too well, since I'm almost certain we've never seen the redhead office employee before this episode (Actually, a check if IMDB confirms we've seen the actress as "Editor", "Woman" and "Employee #1", so we may have seen her in the background even if she was never named.) Even so, her death is nowhere near as traumatic as Winn or James dying would have been.

It's been a major part of Maxwell Lord's character that he doesn't trust the government. So why doe she contact General Lane to get permission to try and use his Kryptonite bomb?  This is particularly vexing since Max says, not two minutes later, that he does what he does the way he does so that he can help people without having to ask permission!


Performances

Former WWE Diva Eve Torres has a brief role as Maxima but she brings the character from the comics to life effectively. A shame the DCTVU version seems to be an outright villain rather than a misguided but noble warrior. What we see here offers hope that Torres might play the character well as an ally of Supergirl, akin to the relationship between the two in the New 52 Supergirl series.

Helen Slater and David Harewood have a touching scene together, as Eliza Danvers first tries to learn of her husband's death from the one other person who was there... and then the scientist in her begins asking questions about Martian physiology.

As utterly campy as Laura Vandervoort is as Indigo, it fits the larger-than-life tone this story should have. At the very least, her scenery-chewing is more entertaining than Chris Vance's understated performance as Non.

The same goes for Peter Facinelli, as Maxwell Lord opposite Calista Flochart's cool facade Cat Grant. Facinelli's animated performance distracts away from the fact that most of this episode is people standing around talking yet he still manages some honest pathos when Max talks about tragic past.

The bit in which Cat describes how Supergirl changed her is perhaps the best bit of acting Calista Flockhart has ever done in anything.


Artistry

The fight scene with Maxima is well-staged.


Super Trivia

The name Myriad has been used in connection to the Superman mythos before. Superman Annual #5 introduced a new character called Myriad. The annual was part of the Bloodlines event, which was meant to introduce several new heroes in the DC Comics Universe. It was something of a flop and most of the characters introduced never appeared again. Myriad was no exception to this.

Myriad was a woman named Sasha Green, who had been employed as Lex Luthor's physical trainer. He had her killed after she "showed him up" in public and her body was hidden in a garbage dump. It was found years later by an alien parasite, whose bite brought Green back to life and activated her metagene.

Myriad had the powers of shape-shifting and telepathy, able to read minds, control them and even absorb them into herself. This gave her the ability to become anyone she touched and retain their skills, becoming a "myriad" of people. When she did this, however, it caused great pain which could only be eased by telepathically ordering the person she connected to to kill themselves. She also gained amnesia every time she killed someone in this way.

The only connection between the DC Comics Myriad and the Myriad of the DCTVU seem to be the mind-control aspect. There is no single person known as Myriad.

In the original DC Comics, Maxima was the warrior queen of the planet Almerac. She came to Earth seeking Superman as a consort, needing a worthy male to produce an heir to her throne. She would become both friend and foe to Superman, occasionally turning upon him when he rebuffed her advances but also acting as a noble ally against Brainiac and Doomsday. She even joined The Justice League for a time and sacrificed herself to save Earth during The Imperix Invasion.

In the comics, Maxima was not quite as powerful as Superman though she had a wider variety of super powers. In addition to super-strength, super-speed, invulnerability and flight, she had telepathic and telekinetic abilities that allowed her to control minds and generate force-fields.

The DCTVU version of Maxima apparently never gained the chance at redemption that the comics version did, being a prisoner of the DEO. Unlike the other DEO prisoners we've seen so far, Maxima is not a Fort Rozz escapee and was apparently imprisoned by Superman following her violent attempts to woo him.

The disguised Alex and J'onn are stopped 30 miles outside of Midvale. In the DC Comics Universe, Midvale is a small suburb just outside of Metropolis. In the Silver Age, Midvale was the town Kara Zor-El settled in upon her arrival on Earth, where she lived in the Midvale Orphanage until she was adopted by The Danvers.  Most of the Supergirl movie was set in Midvale as well, where Kara Zor-El attended the Midvale Boarding School.

Cat Grant makes reference to getting a call from Harrison Ford, asking Kara to tell him that she doesn't date older men - particularly ones that are married.  Calista Flockhart, who plays Cat Grant, has been married to Harrison Ford since 2010 and is somewhat younger than him.

At one point, Max sarcastically mocks the idea of mind control being the solution to global warming. This is a bit of a riff on the comics, where Maxwell Lord did have mind control powers and did attempt to use them to bring about a more organized world.

Non name-drops Metropolis, Opal City and Central City as his next targets. In the comics, these are the homes of Superman, Starman and The Flash respectively. Of course we know there's no Flash on whatever Earth Supergirl is set on.

J'onn is showing phasing through Indigo to attack her from behind. Intangibility is another power Martians have in the comics.


Technobabble

Maxwell Lord is able to protect himself and Cat Grant from Myriad through the use of ion blockers. In Max's case, he installed it into a Bluetooth headset. In Cat's case, Max worked the ion blockers into the diamonds in a set of earrings he sent her as a gift.

Non is using Lord Technologies' LTE interface system and satellites to power Myriad, using the satellites to send neural signals directly into the minds of everyone in National City.

Max theorizes that the reason Myriad works on Superman but not Supergirl comes down to nature versus nurture. Having been raised by humans, Superman thinks more like a human and thus is susceptible to Myriad's influence.

Eliza Danvers asks J'onn if his shape-shifting is due to an enzyme or some other chemical catalyst his body secrets in order to reorganize his DNA. She also asks how he adjusts for the change in body density and how his respiratory system is able to process the increased oxygen and nitrogen present in Earth's atmosphere.

Max devises a Kryptonite dust bomb that will kill every Kryptonian in National City as well as 8% of the 4 million humans living in the city, due to the concussive force needed to scatter the dust. This will also make the city uninhabitable to Superman and Supergirl for fifty years.

Maxwell Lord figures that they cannot stop Myriad's signal but they can piggyback off of it.  Using the broadcast technology at an old UHF station Cat Grant owns, they can transmit a signal that calibrates with the frequency of Myriad without leaving any on-line fingerprints since the signal is analog rather than digital. Their signal will ride the wave without leaving anything that can be tracked by Indigo.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Having just been told by Kelex that he's forbidden to speak of Myriad)
Kara: You were designed to obey the members of the honorable House of El. And to preserve the memory of Krypton wherever it went. If you don't override your orders, Myriad will destroy the House of El! And the memory of Krypton will be lost forever! You will have failed in your prime directive! Please!
(Kelex flies off, his head dipped in apparent sadness.)
Kara: Please! (turning around and shouting to the ceiling) I just need someone to help me!
Voice: Hello, Kara.
(Kara turns around to see a hologram of Alura - her mother.)

(Cat Grant walks into work, seemingly unaffected by Myriad.)
Supergirl: You're not a mindless drone!
Cat: Uh, no. I learned that lesson when Demi Moore and I wore the same dress to the premiere of Ghosts. Never again.
Supergirl: Miss Grant, listen to me. Everyone in the city is affected by this alien signal. They're acting like automatons. Haven't you noticed?!
Cat: (looking up from her phone for the first time since entering the room) Hmm. Well, yes, they ARE a bit more quiet than usual. Maybe my reign of terror has finally reached its peaked effectiveness?
(There is a soft ting noise as Kara reaches for her phone.)
Cat: Ah. You do have a cell phone. Can I get that number, please?
Supergirl: It's Superman!
Cat: Oh? Can I get his number as well?

(Indigo walks in on Non admiring a hologram of National City)
Indigo: When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer. (pauses) Need a tissue?

Non: The human race finally has a chance to live. Or it would suffer the same fate as Krypton. And the same thing is happening on Earth, with a populace more interested in reality stars and political circuses than working together to solve the world problems.
Max: So mind-control is the answer to global warming? (clicking his tongue) Why didn't I think of that?!

Eliza: So... Mars. I have to ask. Underneath it all are you a little green man?
J'onn: (chuckling) I'm a big green man, actually.

General Sam Lane: May God have mercy on our souls.
Max: If there was a god, General, I'm sure she wouldn't have put us in this mess in the first place.

(Max has just told Supergirl about his parent's death and how it inspired him.)
Max: I swore from that moment on that if I could protect people, if I could save them, I wouldn't wait for permission. I would act. Just like you do every time you jump out a window and save the day. We act, you and I. We're more alike than you think.
Supergirl: I hope not.

Non: I am the Lord of Earth.
Indigo: You could be the Lord of the Universe! Don't you realize what you have? You've created a force that could take over the galaxy! A vast army that exists only to do your bidding! You want to take one planet and turn it into your fiefdom, when you have an entire universe crying out to be ruled by you! To worship you as I do.

Supergirl: My mother was faced with this decision on Krypton. To act or do nothing. And she chose wrong. I love her but she didn't save Krypton like she promised. And my planet died. My culture. My home. My parents. Everything was just wiped from the stars. How can I let that happen again?

Cat: I know you're scared. I am too. But so is Max. And so is Non, for that matter. All of you are letting your fear guide you but somebody has to find the courage to stand up even though they're afraid. You know the worst decisions I've ever made in my life were based on fear? But you showed me that there was another way to be strong. By having faith in people. By believing that goodness will prevail. And because of you, I started letting people in. (laughs) I even opened myself up to my assistant Kiera, who helped me to have a relationship with my son again. Now, I can't tell you what to do Supergirl, but if you have taught me anything, you have taught me that hope is stronger than fear. (laughs) And that is what I think of every time I look at that (points to the House of El symbol on Supergirl's chest)  You changed me. And I am not easy to change. And I believe that you can change everyone out there. Not with violence. Not with fear. Just be Supergirl. That's all anyone's ever needed from you.

Indigo: There was only a 25.6% chance that you would turn up. Once again defying the odds! Just like that time your people perished and you alone survived. Impressive. But the humans might call that lucky.
(Suddenly, J'onn phases through Indigo and punches her in the back, knocking her to the ground.)
J'onn: It has nothing to do with luck!

(Supergirl and Cat confront Max as he finished up his Kryptonite bomb)
Supergirl You hated me for months because you thought I'd use my power indiscriminately, kill people with no regard for their lives. That is exactly the choice you're making with this bomb.
Cat: Please tell me you've had enough analysis to know that she's right?  
Supergirl: You were afraid of me. Then afraid of Non. I understand that fear but we cannot let it drive our actions. Make another choice that honors your parents. And mine.
Max: (sighs) I'm listening.

Cat: I have one question for you, Max.
Max: Shoot.
Cat: The earrings. How did you know that I would wear them?
Max: I didn't. (he pauses and smiles) I guess... I just had hope.


Dialogue Disasters

Max: Didn't seem right for the world to lose Cat Grant's mind.

Non: The son of Jor-El has already knelt before me. Soon you will too.


Continuity

The Khund bank-robber from 116 is seen among the alien prisoners in the DEO base.

The Fortress of Solitude is seen for the first time since 115, as is Indigo.

Myriad was designed by Astra Zor-El in response to the inaction of Kryptonian politicians regarding the imminent destruction of Krypton. It's purpose was to force everyone to her way of thinking through the use of advanced technology.

Astra's attempt to activate it was what resulted in her and Non being sentenced to exile in The Phantom Zone. This was because Myriad, once activated, could not be stopped and The High Council feared what might happen if knowledge of such technology existing were made available to the galaxy at large. This is revealed through a flashback to the flashback showing the conversation between Astra and Allura from 109.

General Sam Lane is seen for the first time since 109.

Maxwell Lord refers to the Kryptonians burglarizing his lab in 108.

Max Lord is an atheist.

Kara refers to Maxwell Lord telling Alex about how his parents died in 105. He further reveals that he tried to warn his parents and the CDC about the faulty HAZMAT suits that killed them but that they didn't believe him. This spurred Maxwell Lord to try and use his fortune to help people independently as well as his distrust of people in general and the government in particular.

J'onn is able to use his telepathy to protect Alex from Myriad.

J'onn is seemingly killed by Indigo.

The episode ends with Alex, decked out in Kryptonite power armor and wielding the same Kryponite sword that killed Astra, fully under Myriad's control and ready to kill Supergirl.


Location

The Fortress of Solitude.
30 miles outside of Midvale.
The Danvers house in Midvale


The Bottom Line

It's cheesy as all get out, the plot makes no logical sense and the overacting and underacting war with each other in a way not seen since Thora Birch acted opposite Jeremy Irons in the Dungeons and Dragons movie. And yet, somehow, this episode works in spite of it all.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 16 - Falling

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




Plot

Exposure to a piece of Red Kryptonite makes Kara into a more aggressive person and nothing will ever be the same again.


Influences

Countless Silver Age stories involving Red Kryptonite, Mark Waid's run on JLA (the idea of Red Kryptonite being a synthetic element created by Earth science), Spider-Man 3 (Kara's descent into evil is reminiscent of Peter Parker being influenced by The Symbiote) and the Legacy episode of Superman: The Animated Series (the theme of a brainwashed Kryptonian hero going on a rampage and then having to win back the public's trust).


Goofs

Again, Cat is flip-flopping on the importance of reporting the truth no matter what.

For all of Cat's talk in this episode about only employing people she trusts, she doesn't seem to put much stock in James' assurance that what's happening to Supergirl is temporary and a cure is almost ready when he's trying to talk her into delaying her speech to National City about how Supergirl i snow a villain.

For that matter, you'd think Cat would think twice about endangering all of her employees and the public at large with any action that would further annoy a psychotic Supergirl.

While we're used to Superman not getting involved in Kara's business by now, you'd think if ever there was a time for Clark to come and help his cousin this would be it!

How exactly is J'onn's decision to turn himself in to the DEO keeping Kara and Alex safe?

The speed with which the whole world turns against Kara seems more appropriate to a Spider-Man comic than Supergirl.


Performances

Melissa Benoist has a strong performance here, playing the more aggressive Kara. She gets a little too hammy when she's doing her "BWAHAHAHA! I am evil now!" speech to Alex but her pained reaction upon waking up more than makes up for it.

For once, Calista Flockhart finds the perfect note to play Cat Grant for the whole episode - not just one fleeting moment. For the first time, Cat really does seem to care about Supergirl as something beyond a meal ticket and the final scene between the two is pure magic.


Artistry

There are some very good speeches in this episode and a meta textual analysis of paragon superheroes like Supergirl not being allowed to be written as real people who have negative traits. These moments are so good, in fact, that you almost forget how stupid the overall plot-line is.

The scene with Supergirl saving one of her fans from a group of mean girls, however, is pitch perfect.


Super Trivia

The red-tinted form of Kryptonite has a variety of different effects, with each individual piece inspiring a different condition in Kryptonians exposed to it. The effects are temporary, only lasting 24-72 hours.

The changes Red Kryptonite has caused in the comics include transforming Kryptonians into dragons, creating an evil clone, growing extra limbs, losing all sense of balance and coordination, causing mental transference, making them evil, causing them to shrink, granting them telepathy, causing blindness, driving them temporarily insane, causing rapid hair growth, turning them into a giant with no superpowers, causing color-blindness to the color green, depowering them, causing rapid aging, transforming their head into that of a giant ant, causing them to be unable to speak or read any language other than Kryptonese, losing invulnerability along the left side of the body, developing total amnesia and making their skin transparent, which has the side-effect of making their powers uncontrollable as they absorb solar radiation much faster.

In the DCTVU, Red Kryptonite was created by Max Lord in a failed attempt to create a synthetic form of the common Green Kryptonite used by the DEO.  In the post-Crisis DC Comics Universe, Red Kryptonite was created by Batman during an experiment where he was trying to create a less-lethal version of Kryptonite that he could use to temporarily disable Superman without running the risk of killing him as with Green Kryptonite. His Red Kryptonite samples were stolen by the League of Assassins and used on Superman during one of Ra's al Ghul's attempts to take over the world.

The base plot of a Kryptonian hero losing control and needing to regain the world's trust once they regain control of themselves mirrors the base plot of Legacy - the final episode of Superman: The Animated Series. In that story, Superman was brainwashed by Darkseid into believing that he was Darkseid's son and led an invading Apokolyptian army on Earth.

Cat sarcastically suggests that Supergirl needs to go on Lexapro. While this is a real-world medication used to treat anxiety and depression, it probably isn't a coincidence that the writers chose to mention a drug that sounds like the creation of perennial Superman villain Lex Luthor.

The alien bank robber whom Supergirl lets go is identified as a K'hund. In the DC Comics Universe, the Khund (no apostrophe in the name) are an alien race best known as enemies of the Legion of Superheroes in the 30th century. The Khunds are a war-like humanoid race with pale magenta skin from a world with much stronger gravity than Earth. This makes the Khunds stronger and more durable than humans, despite being of similar size and shape. In the 21st Century, the Khunds are known to the Green Lantern Corps and were part of the alien alliance that attacked earth in the storyline Invasion!

Apart from the slightly different name spelling, the K'hund of the DCTVU seem to be just like the Khund of the DC Comics Universe.

Siobhan attempts to send her scoop to Perry White. Perry White is the Editor In Chief of The Daily Planet - the newspaper that employs Lois Lane and Clark Kent in the comics and in the reality of the DCTVU.


Technobabble

Cat suggests that Supergirl needs to go on Lexapro - a real world drug used to treat anxiety and depression.

The DEO is able to detect the Red Kryptonite at the scene of the fire with a thermodynamic scan and comparing the radiation signature to that of Green Kryptonite.

Red Kryptonite does not damage Kryptonians on a cellular level but can apparently alter their body chemistry like a drug. causing erratic behavior.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Kara is flying when she overhears her name at a nearby school. A group of mean girls is laughing at another girl in a home-made Supergirl costume.)
Mean Girl: So, you think you're Supergirl? If I shoved you, could you fly? You look so stupid.
Fan Girl: No I don't!
Mean Girl: Everybody thinks so. That's why you don't have any friends.
(Supergirl lands behind the Mean Girls.)
Supergirl: I wouldn't say that.(moves to stand next to the fan girl) I actually think you look pretty awesome...
Fan Girl: Thanks!
(Supergirl uses her X-Ray vision and peeks a look at the Fan Girl's homework in her backpack, to find out her name is Laura.)
Supergirl ... Laura.
Mean Girl: You know Supergirl?!
Supergirl: Yeah! I'm friends with all the nice girls. (pats Laura on the shoulder) See you later!

(J'onn, Alex, Supergirl and Senator Crane are talking when an emergency report regarding a fire-fighter trapped under rubble at the scene of a fire comes up on The Big Board.)
Senator Crane: Supergirl, can you get there in time?
(They all turn around to see Supergirl is already gone.)
Alex: (smiling) Yeah. She can.

Cat: I know you see yourself as a plucky heroine who broke a story as big as Watergate and then gave it to my biggest competitor. And I know that you think once The Daily Planet runs the story that you will have a fancy job there. And I know that you believe in the end that I will admire your gumption for scooping me and I will beg you to come back.
Siobhan:  Won't you?
Cat: No. I admire loyalty, integrity and employees that I can trust - not back-stabbing, opportunistic little... imps. Clean out your desk.
(Siobhan blinks and seems like she's about to speak but Cat cuts her off.)
Cat: I''m sorry? Was I using my inside voice? (deliberately, raising her voice on the last word) You. Are. FIRED!

(Supergirl lands on Cat Grant's balcony)
Supergirl: What do you want?
Cat: I want to know if Ashton Kutcher and his camera crew are hiding underneath your cape. Supergirl would never release an evil alien caught in the act of armed robbery, so I assume I am being "punked".
Supergirl: I wouldn't assume anything from now on, Cat.
Cat: Did you just call me Cat?
Supergirl: You branded me in the media as a Girl Scout. "Supergirl is brave, kind and strong."
Cat: Mmm-hmmm?
Supergirl: Isn't that kind of a stock characterization? Very two-dimensional. Everyone knows real people have a dark side.
Cat: Yes, but you don't get to be a real person. You'er a superhero. You get to represent all the goodness in the world.
Supergirl: Yeah, well I'm sick of it. And you know what else I'm sick of? Enabling all of you in your victimhood. (mocking sing-song voice) "Oh well, my building's burning down, la-di-ah. Supergirl will just swoop in and save the day." Well, get used to the flames, people, because I quit!
Cat: Supergirl? I fear that you are having some sort of a mental breakdown. Don't worry. It happens to the best of us. And I'm happy to take you to Dr. Schuman for emergency Lexapro. That is, if your alien brain will respond to the SSRIs...but, in the meantime I would lay low. This haughty attitude is highly unsuitable.
Supergirl: Well, I learned it from the best - Cat Grant! You are the most arrogant, self-serving, mean-spirited person I know!
Cat: Now you listen to me. I made you! And you are not going to let me down!
Supergirl: Or what?
Cat: Or what?
Supergirl: (mock horror) Wait! I forgot! You're the most powerful person in National City. At least, that's what they say on TV.
(Supergirl takes a step closer to Cat.)
Supergirl: You want to see what powerful really looks like? Watch.
(Supergirl picks Cat up with one arm and throws her over the balcony ledge. Cat screams as she falls forty stories, only being caught by Supergirl in front of a crowd seconds before hitting the ground.)
Supergirl: True power, Cat, is deciding who will live and who will die. And don't ever call me again.
(Supergirl flies off, leaving a truly horrified Cat Grant kneeling on the pavement.)

(Cat Grant steps out on her balcony with a glass of wine, only to find Supergirl sitting there.)
Supergirl: I love this city. (exhales deeply) The lights. All the windows. I love that behind every window there's a story. Someone's eating take-out with their boyfriend. Someone's playing board games with their kids. (exhales) To me, every person in the city is a light. And every time I've helped one of them, a little bit of their light has become a part of me. I've never been happier than when I've been Supergirl... I know what happened wasn't exactly my fault. My... brain was altered. But it brought something inside of me out... that was mean and horrible. What I did to you, Miss Grant, I-
Cat: (dismissive) Oh, please. I've base jumped Mount Kilimanjaro. Do you really think you scared me? (thinks a moment) Well, okay, yes, you DID scare me.
Supergirl: I know...I scared the whole city. And now I'm so afraid that I'm never gonna win them back.
Cat: Well... if you came here for me to tell you that everything is going to be okay, I can't do that. It's not that easy.
Supergirl: (sighing) I know.
Cat: Now, I said that it's not going to be easy but I didn't say it would be impossible. Personally, I don't believe in failure. Not if you get back up and face the music. It takes time. But if anybody can win this city back... it's you.
Supergirl: (softly) Can I just sit here a little while?
Cat: Of course.
(Cat leans against the balcony railing and looks at the city lights along with Supergirl.)


Continuity

Kara finds out about Winn and Siobhan's "relationship".

Lucy Lane resigned her position with CatCo.

Senator Crane, first seen in 111, makes an appearance, saying that she's trying to get the funding for the DEO increased.  By the end of the episode, she has returned to her alien-hating ways.

Siobhan is fired from her position as Cat Grant's assistant.

When fighting the K'hund, Supergirl refers to defeating White Martians (111), Coluans (115) and Kryptonians (113) and says he's nowhere near as tough as them.

Max Lord created Red Kryptonite as part of a trap for Non and the other Kryptonians attacking his satellite labs. He claims that the fire was a true accident and that he never intended for any firefighters or Supergirl to be harmed by it. To make up for what he did, Lord creates an energy weapon that purges the Red Kryptonite radiation from Supergirl's body.

J'onn exposes himself to the world in order to stop Supergirl from killing Alex. He then allows himself to be arrested by the DEO.

J'onn also confirms, by saying nothing when accused of the murder, that he killed the original Hank Henshaw.


The Bottom Line

This episode does for Supergirl what Spider-Man 3 did to the Raimi-directed Spider-Man films. There's some fine performances but the episode tries to do too much, too quickly to create the darkness before the dawn, with Kara having alienated most of her allies and the world at large.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 13 - For The Girl Who Has Everything

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





Plot

Alex, J'onn and the DEO must fend off an attack by the hostile Kryptonians alone when Kara falls victim to a psychic attack by an alien parasite. Meanwhile, Kara dreams of a perfect life on a Krypton that was never destroyed
.

Influences

Alan Moore's "For the Man Who Has Everything" (title and basic plot), J.M. Dematteis' adaptation of For The Man Who Has Everything for Justice League Unlimited (Alex's speech to wake Kara up mirrors one Batman gives to Superman, Krypton experiencing earthquakes as Kara begins to doubt the vision) and John Byrne's Man of Steel.


Goofs

Nobody seems at all concerned about stopping the alien parasite as it crawls off of Kara's body and heads for the lab exit...


Performances

Melissa Benoist gives two great performances here - one as Kara fighting her perfect world and another as J'onn trying to pass himself off as Kara.

Laura Benanti also has a nice double role as Allura and Astra. It is her turn as Astra, however, which bares the most attention, as we see a different side of the Kryptonian general and how despite everything she still cares more for her family than her plans for Earth.

Mehcad Brooks doesn't get a lot to do in this episode, but his speech standing up to Hank Henshaw is well played and shows James' natural sense of compassion, that he can see through Henshaw's mask to see how he has come to view Kara and Alex as his own daughters.

Chyler Leigh has had perhaps the most thankless role on the show as Alex Danvers. That changed with this episode, which seems to have given her more heavy-lifting to do as an actor than all of her scenes in every episode up until this point. Alex has always been defined by her relationship to Kara but this was the first time that was used to develop Alex as something beyond being the dutiful big sister.


Artistry

The special effects used to bring Kelex to life are good.

The direction on the final segment, switching as it does between the two fight scenes, is effectively handled.

The script for this episode is a wonderful one finding just the right line between the comedic and dramatic moments. And it manages to pay tribute to "For The Man Who Has Everything" without ripping it off wholesale.


Super Trivia

The title and basic plot of this episode come from a Superman story - originally told in Superman Annual #11 - titled "For The Man Who Has Everything." Written by the legendary Alan Moore, it is widely considered to be one of the greatest Superman stories of all time and was adapted into an episode of the Justice League Unlimited animated series by writer J.M. Dematteis. This adaptation stayed fairly close to the original text, though it did add a few novel touches - such as Krypton experiencing earthquakes whenever Superman began to doubt the reality around him.

The Black Mercy is a telepathic parasitic plant that establishes a connection with a host and feeds them visions of a perfect life as it saps their life force. It cannot be forcibly removed without killing the host. The only way to safely remove the Black Mercy is for the host to reject their hallucinations. This does not happen often and rarely without outside intervention.

The DCTVU verison of The Black Mercy appears to be unable to instantly create a connection with its host, as opposed to the comic version which immediately absorbs the host into a fantasy. Here, we see Kara resisting the vision of a perfect Krypton before accepting it.

Superman, Batman the Green Lantern Hal Jordan, and Green Arrow have all fallen victim to a Black Mercy at some point in the comics.

The robot tending to Kara when she "wakes up" on Krypton is named Kelex. This was the name of a service droid who served Jor-El in John Byrne';s Man of Steel comic. In later comics, a different robot with the same design - also called Kelex - acted as chief caretaker of The Fortress of Solitude.

The dream Allura claims that Kara has been suffering from Argo Fever.  Although no disease called Argo Fever was ever mentioned in the comics, Argo is a frequent prefix added onto various things to make them sound Kryptonian.


Technobabble

The Black Mercy grips the victim's torso with a force of 100 pounds. As in the comics, it cannot be forcibly removed from the victim without killing them.

The DEO uses a special Titanium alloy claw to remove The Black Mercy from Kara.

The DEO can modify their virtual reality technology to allow Alex to enter into Kara's dream and help her to reject the Black Mercy.

Winn discovers a hidden Kryptonian broadcast in the C-band spectrum. This is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum which includes microwaves used for long-distance radio communication.


Dialogue Triumphs

(J'onn enters the lab where Kara is being examined and sees Winn and James standing there.)
J'onn: What the hell are these guys doing here?
James: Where Supergirl goes, we go.
J'onn: This is a top secret facility, Mr. Olsen! You think I'm gonna let the media waltz right through here?
Winn: (holding hands up) Act-actually I'm in I.T. so.... definitely not worth shooting.

J'onn: (on dealing with Cat Grant) That woman makes me miss my alien prison.

Alex: (To the Allura hologram) Damn it, Kara is relying on me! She has always relied on me! Ever since you sent her here.  I'm sure you had hoped that she would find people that would take care of her. Who would love her like she was their own. I... I only wish I had been a better sister to her when she first got here. I can't... I can't even imagine it now.  I used to resent her. For coming into my home. For following me around ar  school. Some strange girl who didn't know how to fit in. For embarrassing me in front of my friends. But all Kara waned was a family. And that's what she is to me. She is my sister!  And she needs me now more than ever!

(Alex sees Astra and start firing at her. Astra steps forward and grabs Alex by the throat.)
Astra: I came here to help Kara. Not fight.
(Astra releases Alex who gasps for breath but still stands as if ready for a fight.)
Alex: You tried to kill her before. Why should I trust you now?
Astra: Kara saved me from a death without honor. As a fellow soldier, I expect you understand the meaning of that.
(Alex says nothing but seems to regard Astra as if to say 'get to the point.')
Astra: Kara has been attacked by a telepathic parasite known as The Black Mercy.
Alex: It has her in some kind of coma. Her brain waves are still active. It's like as if she's awake.
Astra: The Black Mercy has her trapped in lifelike hallucinations. Her perfect fantasy life.  One that grows more and more real with each passing moment.
Alex: How do I wake her out of it?
Astra: Kara must reject the fantasy herself.
Alex: But if she doesn't know that it isn't real, how can she reject it?
Astra: I can tell you how to help her. But you have to trust me.
Alex: The last time I trusted you, six soldiers died.
(Astra looks over Alex's shoulder and sees a picture of teenage Kara and Alex together)
Astra: I knew there was more to you and my niece.
Alex: She's my sister.
Astra: If she is your sister and I am her aunt, what does that make us?
Alex: (cooly) Nothing.
Astra: Do not allow your hatred for me to blind you now.  Are you ready to listen or not?

(As J'onn moves to unplug Alex from Kara) 
James: She asked me to stop you!
J'onn: What?
James: She knew that you would react this way if things went bad. So she came to me because she wants to save Kara.
J'onn: You think I don't want that?! I want them both back! More than anything...
James: I know you do. And I can also see that Alex is more than one of your agents. She's family. And you want to protect her at all costs. I get that! But if you pull her out before she has a chance to save her sister, she will never look at you the same way again. You know that!
J'onn: I can't lose her.
James: And you won't. Because Alex is a lot like Supergirl. She always finds a way. And you just have to trust her.

Kara: I want so much for all of this to be true. To stay here with you. But this isn't real! (to Allura) You taught me to be so strong. And I am. Thank you. Krypton will be in my heart forever. But Alex is right... my sister... is right. I have to go. I love you!

Kara: (as she punches the ever loving snot out of Non) Do you have any idea what you did to me?! You made me lose them again! My parents! My whole world! And you think that I'm going to let you take this world away from me too?! You think I'm going to let you hurt them like you hurt me?! Never!

Alex: I don't want to fight you, Astra.
Astra: I helped save my niece out of a sense of duty. Which does not extend to you.
Alex: That's not why you helped her. You love her. That's how I know your heart isn't in this war anymore.
(Astra rushes forward and bends Alex backward over a guard rail.)
Astra: You know nothing of me!
Alex: I know that you've had plenty of chances to kill me. Or to kill Kara. But you haven't. Because you don't want to (panting) Give it up, Astra. Help us.
(A figure flies by at superspeed, knocking Astra away from Alex. Astra picks herself up and looks up.)
Astra: Kara?
(We see J'onn, in his true form, standing on the roof, regarding Astra.)
Astra: I thought all of your kind were dead.
J'onn: I am the last. Earth is my home now! And I will not let you take it from me!

Astra: (gasping) Hello little one. I'm so happy to see your sister was able to bring you back.
Kara: Astra, I have to tell you... when I was under the Black Mercy, you were there.
Astra: As your enemy?
Kara: (sobbing) As my family.

J'onn: This isn't your fault, Alex. Astra was a righteous kill.
Alex: That doesn't make this any easier.
J'onn: You made the hard choice. It's what soldiers do. How's your sister holding up?
Alex: Astra may have been Kara's enemy on the battlefield but she was also family. She's taking it hard.
J'onn: I knew she would. She never stopped believing Astra could be saved. That's the difference between soldiers and heroes.
Alex: Sir? Why did you lie to Kara?
J'onn: Because you're Supergirl's hero. And I didn't want her to see you as anything other than that.


Dialogue Disasters

Alex: Oh my God. I'm on Krypton.

Non: Humanity is a disease. Myriad is the cure!


Continuity

Cat refers to the events of 112 and Kara dumping her son.

The Kryptonian criminals plans are based around something called Myriad, which requires hacking Earth's satellite grid using Maxwell Lord's servers.

The Black Mercy was not a Fort Rozz prisoner.

The DEO does not have any records on what a Black Mercy is or how to fight it.

James and Winn now know (or at least suspect) that Hank Henshaw is a shape-shifter, though they do not know exactly what he is.

Winn is allowed to work with the DEO's tech team to investigate the possibility that Non's men are making use of a solar storm to mask their turning Earth's technology against it's people.

J'onn lies about being the one to kill Astra.


Location

Kara's dream takes place on Krypton.


The Bottom Line

The first 40 minutes or so are a serviceable adaption of a classic Superman story into a decent Supergirl story. The final 10 minutes are some of the best this series has ever seen. Oddly enough, we see very little of Krypton beyond the Zor-El family living room and most of this episode is focused on Alex. And yet, it works wonderfully because Alex - more than any character except perhaps Winn - has not received much development as a character. While that's still a problem here to some degree (doesn't Alex have any interests besides protecting her sister and her work?), at least Alex is turned into an engaging protagonist in her own right rather than being someone for Kara to save.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 12 - Bizarro

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


Plot

Kara's nervous about her first date with Adam Foster. But her real test of courage this week will come in the form of a mysterious evil twin, who challenges Supergirl's reputation as a champion of good as she begins causing trouble around National City. Meanwhile, J'onn must deal with the consequences of his White Martian prisoner and ponder the threat of their invading the Earth.


Influences

The Bizarrogirl arc of Sterling Gates' run on Supergirl and the Terror Incognita arc of Mark Waid's run on JLA.


Goofs

We're told Maxwell Lord began abducting Jane Does two years ago. Granting that Lord is the kind of sleaze who would do that sort of thing for all manner of experiments, how could he have been abducting women the same size and hair-color as Kara for the past two years when she has only been Supergirl for a few months?

Why did Maxwell Lord give Bizarro Girl a new costume with darker colors and a backward-S after she's changed by the exposure to Kryptonite? It's stylish, sure, but what's the point?

How the heck did James survive Bizarro's flame breath after trying to kick-activate his signal watch?


Performances

While his performance is hardly subtle, Peter Facinelli does a fine job of making Maxwell Lord the kind of smug. creepy villain you love to hate in this episode.

It;s a quick moment, but the scene between Winn and James discussing their problems is a nice bit of work from both Mehcad Brooks and Jeremy Jordan. We haven't gotten much interaction between James and Winn except as adversaries so it's gratifying to get a scene of the two as equals.

The scene between Kara and Bizarro at the end is deeply moving.


Artistry

The fight sequences between the two Supergirls are handled well and the direction does a good job of disguising the stunt doubles needed for Melissa Benoist to fight herself.

The script does a fine job of suggesting it will be Alex, not James, who will wind up being the target of a revenge-crazed Bizarro. So it's all the more surprising when Bizarro kidnaps James.


Super Trivia

The concept of the Bizarro duplicates first appeared in Superboy #68. In this story, a scientist developed a duplication ray which accidentally created an impure clone of Superboy. The clone was as noble as Superboy, but shunned by all the people of Smallville due to his ugly appearance, except for one blind girl. The story was intended as a tribute to Frankenstein.

Years later, Lex Luthor - having learned of this incident - rebuilt the duplication ray to create a clone of Superman he could manipulate. It turned out the Bizarro clone was as noble as Superman, but his efforts to do good often caused harm instead. Eventually, Bizarro left Earth along with a Bizarro clone of Lois Lane, and used the raygun to create a Bizarro world on which they could live.

In most modern retellings of the Superman legend (post-Crisis and Superman: The Animated Series, in particular) Bizarro clones are the result of Lex Luthor's failed attempts to clone Superman. The clones have varied in temperament, with most fitting the earlier mold of easily manipulated but basically noble monster.

The Bizzaro Supergirl in this episode fits the same mold, being a creation of Maxwell Lord's super-science who is manipulated into fighting Supergirl.

In the post-Crisis DC Universe, one Bizarro traveled into space and built a cube-shaped world near a blue sun. The blue sun gave him the power of Bizarro-Vision, which allowed him to create new Bizarros.  One of the Bizarros he created was a Bizarro Supergirl, whom he later sent to Earth in a rocket to keep her safe.  This led to the Bizaro Supergirl running amok on Earth, as seen in Sterling Gates run on Supergirl.

The Bizarro duplicates in the comics have the equivalent yet opposite powers of their regular Kryptonian counterparts, such as Flame Breath instead of Ice Breath or Freeze Vision instead of Heat Vision. This is also true of the DCTVU version of Bizarro.

Bizarros also react differently to Kryptonite than regular Kryptonians, with the common Green Kryptonite isotope making Bizarros stronger rather than weakening then. Bizzaros are made weak in the presence of Blue Kryptonite, which is harmless to regular Kryptonians.

Though never named as such, the reversed-Kryptonite J'onn devises in this episode glows blue, in reference to the Blue Kryptonite of the comics.


Technobabble

J'onn says the Jane Done he examined at Lord Technologies was comatose and her cerebral cortex function was practically non-existent.

Alex says the evil Supergirl can't be the result of cloning because even if someone had gotten a hold of her DNA, the clone would still be an embryo. This suggests there is no scientific way to accelerate a clone's growth in the DCTVU - at least not with the technology known to the DEO.

Maxwell Lord used an elementary genetic synthesis to create Bizarro. He isolated Supergirl's genome and then flooded the Jane Doe with a concentrated infusion of DNA. He got Supergirl's DNA from the arm of the Red Tornado, which Alex gave him in 106.

J'onn suggests that they can reverse engineer the chemical compound of the DEO's synthetic Kryptonite, theorizing that if regular Kryptonite makes Bizarro stronger,reversing its ionic charge should have an oppositional effect.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Watching footage of the evil Supergirl in action)
J'onn: (To Kara) Not exactly one for your "greatest hits" reel.
Alex: I sent a team to scan the area. No signs of extra-terrestrial activity, so we can probably rule out an alien shape-shifter. (looking at J'onn) Unless there's something you're not telling us?
J'onn: The skirt was surprisingly comfortable, but no.

Kara: She's as strong as me. She flies like me. She fights like me. Except for the fact that she talks like Cookie Monster, she is exactly like me!

Cat: You two have not had your first kiss yet?  Kiera, you are like a character from a Jane Austen Novel. (glancing up at a screen) Bizarro.
Kara:  (sputtering) That's not that weird!  I mean, we've only been out a couple of times!
Cat: No. I named HER Bizarro.

Maxwell Lord: I ordered you to kill Supergirl.
Bizarro: You say... Supergirl bad. But Supergirl help people.... Supergirl not bad.

Alex: He made the Bizarro you.
J'onn: Is that what we're calling it?!
Kara: Another CatCo trademark.

James: How do you feel about drowning our sorrows?
(James begins pouring two drinks from a bottle of whiskey.)
Winn: I know what my sorrows are. What, uh... what sorrows exactly do you have, sir?
James: (chuckles) Bottoms up.
Winn: Yeah.
(The two clink glasses and drink. After taking a sip, Winn stares at James.)
Winn: What are you doing, man?
James: Having a drink with a friend.
Winn: No! With Kara.
James: Huh?
Winn: Why - why did you tell her that you were happy about her and Adam?
James: Because she likes him. And that's what she wants me to say, man. C'mon.
Winn: No!  Look, dude... Dude, I've been stuck in the friend zone so long that I'm just thinking about buying some investment property here. But you? Man, you could be with her and you know it. Literally, all you have to do is say the word. So why don't you?
James: Winn. I'm in a relationship.
Winn:  Look, dude, I know that you care about Lucy. You don't have to convince me. I get it. But nobody wants to be in a relationship with somebody who wants to be with somebody else.
(Winn downs the rest of his drink and sits back down at his desk as James rises, looking thoughtful.)
James: Good talk.
Winn: Yeah.
(James gets up and starts to walk off with the bottle of whiskey)
Winn: Leave the bottle.
(James sighs and puts the bottle on Winn's desk.)

J'onn: We're going to put her under. The way she was when I first saw her. 

Kara: She won't feel any pain, will she?

J'onn: She won't feel anything.
Kara: We have to try and help her.
J'onn: We will.
(Kara takes Bizarro's hand)

Kara: I'm going to hold your hand until you fall asleep, okay?
Bizzaro: Afraid!
Kara: I know. I once went to sleep for a long time too. I was afraid. But when I woke up, I wasn't alone. You're not going to be alone either.

Bizarro: Thank. You. Kara. 

Continuity

Maxwell Lord began "disappearing" Jane Does over two years earlier. Seven women have disappeared in that time, being transferred Lord's private facility - Prometheus Genetics.  He began working on the woman who became Bizarro three months ago.

J'onn refers to his invasion of Lord Technologies in 110 and the Jane Doe he examined there.

Kara's go-to coffee order is a spiced pumpkin latee with extra foam and a little cinnamon sprinkled on the top.

J'onn refers to The Red Tornado from 106 and how it was programmed to mimic Kara's powers.

Cat Grant dubs the evil Supergirl "Bizarro".

The DEO does not have legal authority to arrest people.

Alex and Kara determine that Maxwell Lord knows Kara's secret identity and about their relationship, but decide to keep this information secret from J'onn.

Maxwell Lord is being held indefinitely in DEO Cell 19 at episode's end.


The Fridge Factor

It seems remarkably foolish for Alex to insist on keeping Maxwell Lord's knowledge of Kara's secret identity a secret from J'onn.  Forget all the problems that keeping secrets from one another has caused their team before - HE'S A FREAKING TELEPATH AND A DAMN GOOD DETECTIVE!


The Bottom Line

A welcome return to form after last week. Oddly, the only bits that don't work are Kara's romance with Adam but that's mainly because it's clear that subplot is a distraction from the main meat of the episode.  Everything else is spot on.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 10 - Childish Things

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



Plot

Winn's father - the mad killer known as The Toyman - breaks out of prison, determined to win back his son's love. Kara must work double duty to protect Winn from his father and from an FBI agent who seems determined to prove that Winn is somehow involved with his father's escape. At the same time Cat offers Lucy Lane a job as her lawyer and Alex tries to persuade a reluctant J'onn to use his powers to infiltrate Lord Technologies.


Influences

Superman: The Animated Series (The existence of a Winslow Schott Jr. and Sr.), The Sterling Gates run of Supergirl (Toyman having a son who uphold his father's legacy), Chase (the presence of Cameron Chase as a character), various Martian Manhunter comics and various Superman comics involving The Toyman.


Goofs

It seems like Lucy Lane resigning her position as a JAG to take on a job working for CatCo is far easier than it should be. Doesn't she have to complete her current enlistment?  And that's ignoring that Lucy - who has been portrayed as a total Daddy's Girl thus far - doesn't seem to consider how her father the General is going to react to losing his legal attache!

When Kara saves the crowd at the Toy Convention, there only seems to be one big explosion rather than 10 small ones and the explosions don't seem to do much damage to the hall apart from knocking down the ice wall Kara builds to protect the crowd.


Performances

Henry Czerny turns in a remarkable performance as The Toyman. Given how manic the character is usually portrayed in other media, Czerny's understated performance is surprisingly effective. He really seems like he could be nice, grandfatherly sort of man... right up he casually starts talking about how easy it is to kidnap a small child by offering them a toy and killing hundreds of people like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Jeremy Jordan has not been given much to do on the show as Winn, beyond being the comic relief. What few efforts have been made to give him a personality beyond hopelessly crushing on Kara have only served to make him look like a creepy stalker. With this episode however, some level of pathos kicks in and suddenly Winn becomes a much more sympathetic figure as he talks about how he sees the same cowardice and anger that drove his father to murder in himself and how he is trying very hard not to give into those same feelings. And his declaration of love for Kara near the episode's end comes off as truly sincere rather than the confused ramblings of a fanboy who doesn't understand boundaries.


Artistry

The opening scene of Kara and J'onn flying together and Kara laughing is everything this show should be.

The cinematography and set design as Winn enters the abandoned arcade are top-notch.

Everything about the scene where Supergirl confronts Toyman. The acting and direction are brilliant but the best aspect of all is the writing. It shows The Toyman to be a clever and dangerous enemy who was able to contrive a surprisingly effective and logical trap for killing Supergirl sans Kryptonite with little time and resources to work with.  It also shows Kara's own intelligence and compassion, as she uses her brains to escape the trap but also works to save an endangered child before acting to save herself.


Super Trivia

The Toyman is one of Superman's oldest and most infamous enemies, first appearing in Action Comics #64. Originally Winslow Schott was one of many villainous madmen at DC Comics who used toys and games in his crimes, comparable to The Joker in the Batman comics and The Trickster in The Flash.  As time went by, he became more unstable and more violent, even during the pre-Crisis age.

Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, The Toyman was revamped into a much darker character, being a kidnapper and possible pedophile. He went on to murder Cat Grant's son.

The Sterling Gates run on Supergirl introduced a new villain - The Dollmaker - who revealed himself to be Anton Schott, The Toyman's long-abandoned son. Abandoned by his mother after she left his infamous father, Anton became obsessed with Cat Grant and wanted her to be his new mommy, allowing him to replace the son his father had taken away from her.

In Superman: The Animated Series, the Toyman was a man named Winslow Schott Jr. His father, Winslow Schott Sr., had been a toy maker who was framed for a crime by Intergang leader Bruno Mannheim. Blaming Mannheim for his lost childhood, as Junior cycled through a series of abusive foster homes, The Toyman set about using toy-based weaponry to seek revenge on Manheim and Superman, after the later stopped his earliest attempts at assassination.

The DCTVU version of Toyman combines little elements of all of these versions, primarily the animated series version. Indeed, he references seeking revenge for causing his son to lose his childhood and plots to make Winn into a killer, just like him - one way or another.

Toyman is held in the Van Kell Maximum Security Facility. In the DC Comics universe, the Van Kell Maxium Security Facility is a prison for meta-humans outside of Metropolis.

The FBI Special Agent in charge of bringing Toyman back into custody is named Cameron Chase. In the DC Comics Universe, Cameron Chase was a former private investigator turned DEO Agent.

The DCTVU version of Cameron Chase has little in common with her comics counterpart thus far, apart from being judgmental and quick to assume the worst of people. The comics version was the daughter of a superhero and had an ill-explored power that allowed her to negate the powers of other metahumans. It is worth noting, however, that the comics version of Cameron Chase did have an odd relationship with the Martian Manhunter, having apparently been saved by him as a child. This may be built upon in future episodes.

In the pre-Crisis Superman comics, Chester Dunholtz was the childhood bully who stole a young Winslow Schott's favorite toy - a red and blue balsawood plane that he designed from scratch. This taught a young Schott the advantages of theft coupled with the pain of being bullied - two things that would fuel him to become the Toyman.

In the DCTVU, Chester Dunholtz was Winslow Schott Sr.'s corrupt boss, who stole Schott's toy designs to make a fortune. Schott attempted to kill Dunholtz with a bomb inside a teddy bear that he mailed to Dunholtz's office. Unfortunately, Dunholtz's assistant opened the package instead, dying along with five other people. It was this crime that sent Schott to prison when his son was eleven.

The doll which Toyman sends to Winn is modeled on the jester-style costume worn by the 1970s Toyman. This Toyman, oddly enough, was a man named Jack Nimball who did not last long in the comics and was killed by Winslow Schott during the pre-Crisis age of Superman. Today, the Jack Nimball Toyman is primarily remembered as the incarnation depicted in the Superfriends cartoon.

The doll with the big forced grin that Winn finds in the abandoned arcade somewhat resembles the costume worn by the Superman: The Animated Series version of Toyman.

Maxwell Lord lists Alex Danvers as MATA HARI on his phone. Mata Hari was a French courtesan and exotic dancer who was employed as a spy during the first World War. She was later convicted on charges of being a double agent working for the German government and executed. Since that time, her name has become synonymous with female spies who seduce targets for information.

A Superman toy rocket ride is seen outside the arcade where Toyman asks to meet Winn.

Supergirl inhales the poison gas to save the FBI agents from Toyman's trap at the arcade - a feat frequently accomplished in the comics.

J'onn phases through the wall to enter Room 52 when his shape-shifting does not allow him to use the bio-metric scanner locking the doors. Phasing through solid objects is another power Martians have in the comics.


Technobabble

Toyman makes use of a bladed yo-yo which he throws like a shuriken on a string to escape from prison.

Slingschott Brand Quicksand contains thermite, making it explosive if heated.

The Jane Doe in Room 52 was being fed an IV of sodium sulfite (Na2-S-O3) and sodium iodate (Na-I-O3. According to Alex, the end product of this mixture (combined with the salt water in a standard IV - Na-Cl and H2-O) is hydrochloric acid (H-Cl), which is lethal to humans.

Toyman makes a special plastic gun that won't set off the metal detectors for Winn to use to kill Chester Dunholtz at the National City Toy Convention.


Dialogue Triumphs

Alex: You saw what Max Lord did to James! You know he's after my sister!
J'onn: I have been J'onn J'onzz on Earth! I have tried it! I was hunted for fifty years! People I've loved tried to kill me once they discovered who I really was!
Alex: I'm sorry. But times have changed. Looked at Supergirl.  The world loves her!
J'onn: Your sister looks like a pretty blonde cheerleader. J'onn J'onzz looks like a monster. I'll never be tolerated here on Earth. The more time I spend as Hank Henshaw, the less I have to face what I've lost. (pauses) When I change my state - shapeshift into someone new? Call upon new powers? I get one step closer to becoming the Martian Manhunter forever. And he creates panic and hysteria.  I know. I've seen it. It's not only that I'm better off as human. Everyone is.
Alex: Except Kara. She needs your help.

(Alex enters the room wearing a little black dress. Max Lord takes a long look at her.)
Alex: You're staring.
Max: Just wondering where you're hiding your gun under that dress.
Alex: Behave and you won't have to find out.

(J'onn is exploring the Lord Technologies building, disguised as Max Lord)
Paulina: Mr. Lord? Aren't you supposed to be out with Agent Danvers?
"Max": I ended the evening early. To be honest, it was a little disappointing.
Paulina: As long as we're being honest, she did strike me as a little humorless for you.
"Max": She's actually a lovely woman.
(Paulina's jaw drops in astonishment)
"Max": If anything, it was my narcissism and ill-kept facial hair that ruined any chance I had with her.
Paulina: I'm sure you weren't at fault, sir.
"Max": Getting so soundly rejected has caused me to question many of my life choices. I need to be alone, if you don't mind.
(Paulina leaves and "Max" walks off, smirking slightly as his eyes flash red)

(Supergirl is stuck in quicksand and hears a child inside a box that his heading towards a large industrial shredder on a conveyor belt) 
Toyman: It's so easy to lure a child if you offer them a toy. Oh, you're drowning in quicksand, by the way. The more you struggle, the deeper you sink.
Child: I'm scared!
Toyman: I understand even you need oxygen. Soon you won't be able to breathe.
Child: It's dark in here and I can't get out!
(Supergirl's eyes begin to glow red as she looks down at the quicksand)
Toyman: Oh, I wouldn't do that. Slingschott Quicksand is laced with thermite. Add heat... this whole place will blow.
Child: Help me! Please!  Help me!
Toyman: (walking to the door, playing with a yo-yo) Game over.
Child: Help me!
Supergirl: I'm going to save you!
Child: Help me! Please!  Help me! I'm trapped in here!
(Desperately, Supergirl looks around. She spies a large truck and tries to blow it toward the shredder with her super-breath but it goes off course and she begins sinking. With one last breath, she freezes the sand around her and flies up, just barely catching the box before it goes into the shredder. Supergirl opens the box to find... a talking Supergirl doll.)

Winn: You know, my father and I were inseparable. Like, we looked the same. We talked the same. We were good at the same things. And now he says we're linked. Like, what if he's right?
Kara: He isn't.
Winn: His genes are like... ticking time-bombs. Just waiting to go off inside of me. Turn me into him.
Kara: That's not going to happen!  You're a good person...
Winn: That's what people said about him.  And then he cracked. And now every time I start to get angry, I think "Could this be it? Could this be the day I lose everything?"
Kara: The day your father killed those six people was like, for me, the day my planet exploded. The course of our lives changed in that single moment. You... are not going to turn into your father. Because the day your world was destroyed, you didn't give into rage and hate like your father. Like my aunt.We both lost our worlds and now we're trying to give back because of it. And you and your father aren't the only ones that are linked. We are too. And I'm not going to let anyone mess with that.

Winn: That's why you broke out of jail? So you could get revenge for him, what? Stealing your dumb toy designs?
Toyman: No. No, this isn't about him stealing a toy. This is about him stealing your childhood. Stealing my chance to watch you grow up. I went to prison because of him. Winn, I almost lost you because of him.  But I have a plan on how we can make it right.
Winn: You're going to kill him.
Toyman: No, I'm not going to kill him. You're going to kill him. For me.

Winn: How did this happen to you?
Toyman: Do you know... that even with all the amazing toys I built, you're the best thing I ever made? You're just like me.
Winn: I am nothing like you!
Toyman: Don't underestimate yourself.

Winn: I shouldn't have kissed you. Kara... I'm really sorry.
Kara: It's fine. It doesn't matter.
Winn: Of course it matters. My dad kept his feelings bottled up for years, and then he exploded. Because he was a coward... like me. Look, I know I dropped this huge bomb on our friendship when I kissed you. And I should have told you how I felt a long time ago. But I was too scared to say anything. I was too scared to stand up for myself.  Kara, let me tell you the truth now. I love you.  I have been in love with you for a long time, since before you were Supergirl.
Kara: ... I don't want things to change.
Winn: Before this thing with my dad, I probably would have gone along with that. God, I just would have pretended that kiss never happened. But I don't know if I can sit and smile and eat pot stickers and pretend likr it is not killing me. Kara, I cannot keep bottling things up. I am too afraid of what could happen.
Kara: So... what does that mean for us?
Winn: ... I don't know.


Continuity

Alex and Kara both refer to the events of 109, where Maxwell Lord beat up James and James discovered Lord was hiding something in Room 52 of his building in National City.

Lois Lane's biography is called 'A Time To Soar'.

Lucy Lane is not close to her sister.

Lucy Lane graduated from the United States Military Academy At West Point. She later earned a JD-MBA from Harvard.

Winslow Schott Sr. was convicted of six counts of murder.

90% of CatCo companies are run by women.

Max Lord has Alex Danvers' phone number listed as MATA-HARI on his phone.

Winn was 11 when his father was arrested for murder.

Max claims that the Kryptonian criminals who invaded his lab in 108 didn't steal anything.

J'onn has the ability to walk through solid objects - i.e. phasing.

J'onn discovers the Jane Done in Room 52 and takes pictures of her and the room.

The security guard tells J'onn that she's classified as Code Phoenix when J'onn asks (as Max) for her to be moved to a hospital.  The guard then asks J'onn to tell him what Code Phoenix means. It is not explained if this means that the patient is not meant to be moved or if the guard was testing to see if Max really was Max by quoting a phony code.

J'onn can use his telepathy to erase memories, though he cannot do this with precision and can cause permanent brain damage in the process. Indeed, the process even causes physical scarring to the frontal and temporal lobes.

Apparently J'onn promised he would never use his telepathy in this manner ever again after some incident in his past.

Winslow Schott's toy company was SlingSchott toys. He marked his toys' circuitry with a Y-shaped etching, meant to resemble a slingshot.

Kryptonians breathe oxygen and can apparently drown.

Maxwell Lord set up secret back-up security cameras for all top-priority areas of his laboratory. This is how he has footage of a man who looks like him walking through the door to Room 52, despite J'onn deactivating the known security systems earlier.

Winn kisses Kara and immediately apologizes for it. The status of their friendship at the end of the episode is unclear, though Winn has said he's done being a coward who hides his feelings and bottles everything up like his father did. He confesses that he's loved Kara since before she became Supergirl.

Lucy takes the job as Cat Grant's lawyer as James considers quitting his art director job to become a photographer again.

It is revealed that Max Lord planted a camera on Alex's purse and now knows that Kara Danvers is Supergirl.


The Kryptonite Factor

It's hard to say who is more foolish - Kara and Winn talking about Kara's secret identity within ear-shot of a group of police officers and FBI agents who area already suspicious of Winn being a terrorist or Alex and "Hank" discussing J'onn's secret identity in the middle of the DEO HQ.

One wonders what kind of organization the DEO is that they don't check their agents and their belongings for bugs following a secret meeting with a technical genius they know to be extremely paranoid about the government.


The Bottom Line

Probably the best episode of the series to date and not just because Cat is only in two scenes. Winn is finally given some sorely needed definition and Toyman is easily the best villain yet, being presented as an intelligent and credible threat despite his silly gimmick. All the subplots play out well, despite the Lucy/James scenes feeling rushed and tacked-on. That being said, is it too much to hope for a Martian Manhunter spin-off after "Hank" inevitably has his cover blown and is forced out of his job as head of the DEO?

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 9 - Blood Bonds

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

 
Plot

The confrontation with Astra's forces ends with Astra captured by the DEO... and Henshaw captured by the alien criminals.  Now, as Alex contends with General Lane's attempted coup and James begins investigating Max Lord's operations, Kara must cope with Cat Grant's discovery of her secret identity!


Influences

The Supergirl run of Sterling Gates (Cat Grant trying to figure out Supergirl's secret identity, Sam Lane as a xenophobe) The Day The Earth Stood Still (name-dropped by General Lane as the reason he fears aliens) New Krypton (the idea of Kryptonians trying to save the Earth by imposing their will on it) and countless Silver Age comics where one superhero disguises themselves as another hero so that said hero and their secret identity can appear in the same place at the same time.


Goofs

Cat Grant does a complete 180 from the end of the previous episode, having gone from seeming genuinely grateful for Kara's help to being one step away from exposing her secret identity to the world for the sake of a story or firing her because she can't believe that Supergirl can have/should want a life outside of continually saving the world. It completely undoes all of the character development in the previous episode!


Artistry

The special effects when Kara shields Alex from the bomb are well handled.


Super Trivia

The room James tries (and fails) to break into at Maxwell Lord's lab is Room 52.  The number 52 has a special significance in the DC Comics Universe, which is more fully explained here.  In brief, references to the number 52 are hidden through various DCTVU series as an in-joke.

There is a long tradition in classic DC Comics - particularly in Superman comics - of superheroes helping each other out with hiding their secret identities. Most frequently this happened with Batman using his talent for disguise to pose as Clark Kent or Superman using his talent for mimicking voices to impersonate Batman, after donning his costume.


Technobabble

General Lane makes use of some sort of Kryptonite-based liquid to try and get information from General Astra. It is not identified as a truth serum but it causes great pain in any  Kryptonian it is injected into.

Room 52 of Maxwell Lord's research lab is fitted with a bio-diagnostic system rather than a keypad, finger print, voice print or retinal scanner. This makes it totally unhackable, at least by Winn.


Dialogue Triumphs

Henshaw: Director Danvers. Congratulations on your promotion.

Maxwell Lord: I know who your friends are. And I find your association with them rather troubling. Especially considering your prominent role in the media.
James: Well, the media doesn't exist to make people like you feel comfortable, Max.

Astra: They sent you back to try again? What makes you think it will be any different this time?
Kara: Because now I'm ready to hear what you have to say. I was afraid to listen before. But today, I got so upset I couldn't think. I didn't want to. I just wanted to hurt someone. Because I was afraid of losing everything that mattered to me. Like you must have felt back home. But if we have any hope for the future, we - we can't let our fear control us. We have to be better!
Astra: You give me too much credit.
Kara: Because I know the real you.
Astra: The woman you knew died on Krypton.
Kara: I still have faith there is good in you.
Astra: I am not worth your faith.
Kara: Everyone deserves faith, Astra. Even you.

Alura: I believe you. I believe Krypton faces annihilation. And far sooner than anyone here will admit.
Astra: Then why condemn me?
Alura: Because you killed people, Astra! No matter what noble goals you hid behind, nothing will ever change that fact! And I am bound by more than blood in this court. But I promise you I will fight for your cause. Not through fear and manipulation but through compassion and reason!  It is the only hope to save our world.

Astra: Do not mistake my compassion for weakness. This is not a truce.
Supergirl: Then let's call it a start.

Kara: (To "Henshaw") So... what did Alex mean when she said you had to transform? Or did you forget that I have super-hearing?

Kara: You're from Mars?!
J'onn: You're from Krypton.
Kara: But... why stay hidden?!
J'onn:  I'm trying to make the world a safe place for everyone. Human and aliens alike. I failed Alex's father before I assumed the identity of Hank Henshaw. I won't fail again.
Alex: And you saw what the DEO was like under General Lane, so we need Hank... J'onn... at the top.
Kara: You know, you guys could have told me!  I can keep a secret!
J'onn & Alex: (in unison) No, you can't.


Dialogue Disasters

Every damn bit of Cat Grant's attempts to get Kara to admit she is Supergirl.  Thank goodness this won't be a regular thing.


Continuity

Maxwell Lord refuses any further help from Alex Danvers.

The DEO Line of Succession is classified.  Alex is to take over as Acting Director if anything happens to him.

"Blood Bonds Us All" is a Kryptonian proverb dating back to the days when the Kryptonians were little more than waring clans.

The maximum penalty for taking lives on Krypton is life imprisonment in Fort Rozz

Alex's favorite food truck is in Chicago.

One of the alien criminals was part of a race famous for their telepathic powers. However, it is not as strong as Martian telepathy and Non kills the alien before we learn his name or species.

According to Astra, Allura promised to work to save Krypton while condemning her violent methods of achieving the same ends, affirming Kara's belief in her mother's idealism.

Kara now knows that Hank Henshaw is J'onn J'onzz of Mars.

Cat no longer believes Kara is Supergirl.

It is confirmed that Martians have the power of flight.

Maxwell Lord procured a Jane Doe with no relatives or connections of any kind. He is conductiing some kind of experiment on her using the severed arm of The Red Tornado from 106.


The Fridge Factor

All the character development from last week which made Cat a likable, intelligent character is completely undone with the random decision that she cannot be trusted with Kara's secret identity and the revelation that she is so blisteringly thick as to not figure out the secret.

Kara comes off as weak and whiny in this episode.  First, she needs J'onn to save her from Non. Next, she threatens to call Superman to bully Astra into talking about where her base is hidden. Finally, the only thing that stops her from going over the edge and killing Maxwell Lord is two men telling her that she should be better than that.  Ugh...


The Bottom Line

Dreadful for the first 40 minutes, as Cat Grant and General Lane vie for the title of most patently idiotic cartoon super-villain ever... which shouldn't even be possible in an episode with Maxwell Lord in it!  Redeemed only by the strength of Melissa Benoist's performance in the final sections and the fact that the bits with Martian Manhunter are awesome.  I agree with J'onn - it's a shame that Kara can't work for the DEO full time because the scenes at CatCo are dragging down the rest of the show.