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

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




Plot

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


Influences

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


Goofs

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

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

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


Performances

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

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


Super Trivia

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


Technobabble

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Dialogue Triumphs

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

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


Dialogue Disasters

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


Continuity

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sam is allergic to cats.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There are no cork trees on Mars.

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

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

Olivia transforms herself into a new Worldkiller.

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

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

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

Ruby dyes her hair with blue tips.

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

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

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

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


The Kryptonite Factor

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


The Bottom Line

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

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

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

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

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



Plot

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


Influences

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


Goofs

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

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

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

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


Performances

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

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


Artistry

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


Super Trivia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Technobabble

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

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


Dialogue Triumphs

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

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

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

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


Continuity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

James has a sister.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mon-El cannot sing.

Winn reconciles with his mother.

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

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

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

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

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

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


The Kryptonite Factor

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


The Bottom Line

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

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

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 7 - Wake Up

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




Plot

When an inspection of the recent damage to National City's shoreline unearths a strange spaceship, Kara is stunned to find Mon-El, alive and well, inside the ship. Meanwhile, Samantha turns to her estranged mother for answers regarding her sudden empowerment as J'onn tries to reestablish the bond with his father.


Influences

Superman: The Movie (Kara references and almost recreates the human drill scene, pretty much everything involving Samantha in this episode mirrors Clark Kent's origin in this movie, right down to the green crystal guiding her somewhere.)


Goofs

National City apparently has municipal submarines that are used for harbor inspections.

Odette Annable's delivery during her monologue about not feeling anything when she got shot redefines Narm.


Performances

It's a brief scene but the moment of James comforting Kara as she watches a sleeping Mon-El is a nice one and a reminder of the chemistry between Melissa Benoist and Mehcad Brooks that we didn't see nearly enough of in Season Two.


Super Trivia

In order to reach the sunken spaceship, Kara is ready to spin around in a circle very quickly, turning herself into a drill. This is a classic Superman stunt from the comics, famous recreated in Superman: The Movie.

In order to stop Kara from needlessly destroying public property, J'onn uses his powers to phase himself, Kara and Winn through the ground. Intangibility is one of The Martian Manhunter's many powers in the comics.

At one point Mon-El uses the word "grife". In the Legion of Super Heroes comics, grife was a 30th Century curse word used as a general exclamation of annoyance. (i.e. "Aw, grife! I will not drown in a roomful of wheat!")

First appearing in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958), Imra Ardeen a.k.a. Saturn Girl was one of the founding members of The Legion of Super Heroes - a group of super-powered teenagers who formed their own independent superhero team in the 30th century. The most powerful telepath on the Saturn moon of Titan, Imra left her homeworld to join The Science Police - the military wing of the United Planets. On the shuttle ride to Earth, Imra discovered a plot to assassinate billionaire R.J. Brande. With the assistance of two other youths - who would later become Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad - Imra thwarted the plot and, with a grateful Brand offering financial assistance, The Legion of Super Heroes was formed.

In the current Rebirth universe of DC Comics, a time-displaced and depowered Saturn Girl is apparently an inmate in Arkham Asylum. She has made appearances in several Batman titles and Emerald Empress - a time-displaced enemy of The Legion - was seen looking for Saturn Girl in Justice League Vs. Suicide Squad.

Samantha's Fortress of Sanctuary is clearly a dark take on Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Indeed, most of Samantha's story here is taken directly Clark Kent's origin from Superman: The Movie.

Samantha is told that she will be called a Worldkiller. In the New 52 DC Comics, The Worldkillers were five alien children, altered by Kryptonian scientists to become living biological weapons capable of destroying a whole planet single-handed.


Technobabble

"B'rahh alcom" is the Martian phrase for bathroom.

Winn is able to locate the submerged spaceship using the USGS (United States Geological Survey) geothermal scans.

Using the information from the scan, Winn determines that the ship has been buried for at least 12,000 years based on the rock layers around it and that the metal it is made of is not on the Periodic Table.

O'kk Rotokk is a Martian game of strategy with infinite outcomes, much like chess.

The alien ship has stasis fluid levels and a therian pump.

The pods in the alien ship are made of White Dwarf glass. Mon-El is unable to break it in but Kara can.


Dialogue Triumphs

(M'yrnn is wandering the halls of the DEO. Winn walks past him and then, seeing that he is apparently confused, turns back to him.)
Winn: Hey! Hi, Mr. J. You, uh... looking for something?
M'yrnn: I would like to find the b'rahh alcom.
Winn: Oh! Oh! You know, I've been brushing up on my Martian.... b'rahh... library?
(M'yrnn gives him an odd look.)
Winn: No... Bathroom!
M'yrnn: (nodding with a polite smile) To relieve myself.
Winn: (surprised) You...you don't know where it is? You... haven't you been here for three weeks?
M'yrnn: And four days. Precisely.
Winn: Yeah. It's down the hall, around the corner, third door to your left. (glancing around) We really, really should put up signs.
M'yrnn: May I go?
Winn: ... yeah.
M'yrnn: (bowing formally, with much enthusiasm) Thank you!
(M'yrnn hurries off, leaving a disturbed Winn behind him.)

M'yrnn: If you wish to return to the DEO, let us go.
J'onn: Oh, no! Father! It's okay! It's okay. We can stay out! You've been a prisoner for 300 years. You shouldn't feel like a prisoner here.
M'yrnn: I know I am not a prisoner of the DEO, my son. You are. You have glanced at your smart devices 43 times since we arrived. Your body is here but your mind is trapped in your work. You live there. Your only friends are there. You have nothing outside of it.

Kara: You know I don't sleep anymore? I lay awake at night, just staring at the ceiling, because if I close my eyes I dream about you dying! I see you... disappear into the blackness of space forever!
(There is a pregnant pause as Kara ponders her words and tries to compose herself.)
Kara: (crying) This was all I wanted! This. And when I saw you on that ship - oh my God, I felt like I could hope again! I could... touch you. And see you! And hear you! And be with you! Finally! (pauses) But... you're... you're different.
(Mon-El just sits in silence. There is a long pause as he looks at the ground, avoiding Kara's gaze.)
Kara: Do you have nothing to say? (pauses, then sobs) Nothing?!
Mon-El: I'm sorry.
(There is another pregnant pause.)
Kara: (cooly) Shame on me for having a human heart.

Mon-El: I'm sorry. For all of this. I never thought I'd see you again.
(Kara sighs)
Mon-El: I had to keep living.
Kara: You kept the necklace.
Mon-El: Of course I did. As a reminder of everything you taught me and did for me... a reminder of you.
Kara: It means a lot.
Mon-El: You - you have to believe that no matter what century or universe or world I'm living in that I would never forget you. Never. It was wrong of me to keep the truth from you.
Kara: Well, the truth never hurts as much as secrets.
Mon-El: Yeah, and I should have known better. You've never needed my protection. Well, except for that one time we went for all-you-can-eat ribs.  And you ah... you were inhaling those things, if I remember correctly. I swear, if I hadn't stopped you...
Kara: It was a limited time offer! I had to!
Mon-El: (chuckles and smiles) That's a very good point.
Kara: This is the first time I've seen you smile since you've been back.
Mon-El: I haven't had a chance to say it yet, but uh... it's really good to see you.
Kara: (choking up a bit) Yeah.
Mon-El: There's something I have to tell you...
Imra: Mon-El?
(The two turn and see Imra, now awake. Mon-El rushes to her side as Kara looks at him dumbfounded)
Mon-El: Imra?  Imra!
(The two embrace and kiss passionately. Kara's eyes widen as she puts two and two together on why Mon-El was so distant.)
Mon-El: I'm so glad you're okay! We... we thought your life support had failed!
Imra: No, I'm fine. Tired, but fine.
(Mon-El suddenly seems to remember Kara,who is watching this display trying to put on a brave face.)
Mon-El: Ah.... Imra, this is Kara Danvers. Supergirl.
Imra: I... I can't believe it's really you.
Mon-El: Kara, this is Imra Ardeen... my wife.


Dialogue Disasters

Most of Samantha's dialogue with Patricia, but especially "Patricia! What! Is! Happening?!"


Continuity

National City has a submarine inspect the damage caused by the submarine attack in 301.

The submarine discovers the hidden underground spaceship, last seen in 304.

Samantha tests her apparent invulnerability by placing her hand in boiling water. It does not hurt her.

M'yrnn has been on Earth for three weeks and four days.

The odd language Mon-El speaks when he first confronts Kara, J'onn and Winn in Saturnian.

The air on Earth is still toxic to Daxamites. Somehow, Mon-El is unaffected, but he can't explain why.

Mon-El says the five other people on the ship were passengers but doesn't know why he woke up and they didn't. The attack on the National City submarine was due to the auto-defenses activating.

Samantha addresses her adoptive mother by her first name, Patricia.

Patricia Arias has never met Ruby.

Patricia kicked Samantha out of the house for getting pregnant as a teenager.

Samantha recalls the events of 305 and how she got shot without being hurt.

Patricia reveals a rocket to Samantha, which she keeps out in an old barn. She says that she found Samantha in it and lied about her being adopted.

Samantha retrieves a green crystal from the spaceship that brought her to Earth as a baby.

There is no coffee on Mars.

Kara says she has stopped sleeping because she keeps having nightmares about Mon-El dying whenever she does.

Mon-El reveals that while it has been seven months since Kara last saw him, it has been seven years since he has seen her.

Mon-El says he went through a wormhole (a disruption) which took him to the planet Earth in the 31st Century.

Mon-El refers to someone named Kor-El.

L-Corp develops a cure for the Daxamite lead allergy at some point in the 25th century.

Four of Mon-El's teammates are still in stasis on the ship. One of them, Imra, is being cared for by the DEO as this episode ends.

Imra is from Titan - one of the moons of Saturn.

J'onn gets an apartment for himself and his father to share.

Mon-El has kept Kara's necklace all this time as a reminder of her.

Mon-El is married to Imra.

Samantha creates a Fortress of Sanctuary, complete with a hologramatic teacher. At the end of the episode, something in her is awoken, seemingly subverting her personality.


Location

Somewhere in the desert outside of National City.


The Bottom Line

Half of a great episode with a good subplot made great by two fantastic actors with great chemistry. Then there's all crap with Samantha and Reign. The best thing that can be said about the Reign subplot at this point is that they at least got Sam's transformation over with quickly. Thankfully, we won't have to worry about all that for another week. Bring on Crisis on Earth X!

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 10 - We Can Be Heroes

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




Plot

Kara's attempts to train Mon-El in heroism go awry when - while trying to recapture an escaped Livewire - Mon-El puts rescuing Kara over protecting civilians. Meanwhile, M'gann suddenly goes into a coma and James debates revealing his secret identity as The Guardian to Kara.


Influences

Star Wars (the drones in the combat training sequence resemble the one Luke used for lightsaber training) and various classic Superman comics where Jimmy Olsen tried to be a hero over Superman's objections.


Goofs

How is James able to do "one more" crime scene after getting shot in the arm? I don't care how good Winn's armor-forging skills are - James' arm has got to be hurting a bit, even if the bullet (which ripped the Guardian suit) didn't break his skin.

Alex and Maggie are a little free about discussing Kara's secret identity at the crime scene. Presumably the DEO agents know about Alex's relationship with Supergirl but what about the staff at the jail who are in the vicinity?

Kara's feelings about Livewire aside, she does have a point - how the heck DID Livewire get transferred into a regular human prison? Granting the DEO's mission statement is to deal with alien threats, that didn't stop them from being called in to investigate when Livewire escaped.

Kara's telling James he has no business trying to be a hero seems a bit hypocritical given that - in last week's episode - she was rallying a bunch of ordinary humans to fight back against heavily armed alien slavers who seemed to be stronger than ordinary humans. And because Kara walked into a slaver's camp without any superpowers because it was the right thing to do. And because Kara works with several ordinary humans - her sister among them - who routinely go after alien menaces and criminals. (It's likely Kara's objections come from her repressed love for James and not wanting to see him hurt.)

The slow-motion fight between the Livewire knock-offs and our heroes looks silly as all get-out.

For that matter, why are the Livewire knock-offs just running around punching everyone instead of electrocuting them?


Performances

The chemistry between Melissa Benosit and Chris Wood continues to impress.

Mehcad Brooks gives a powerful performance when James stands up to Supergirl.

The strongest performance of the episode, however, goes to David Harewood as J'onn confronts his own prejudices to try and be a better person and - in doing so - proves himself a hero, though that is the last thing on his mind.


Artistry

Good effects work and direction on the sequences where J'onn goes into M'Gann's mind.

A solid script with a lot of great character moments.


Super Trivia

The episode title comes from a lyric in the David Bowie song, Heroes.

The yellow-tinted sunglasses Mon-El wears as part of his costume resemble those worn by the 1990s Superboy.

Lisa Gold - the female Livewire knock-off was played by actress, stuntwoman, American Ninja Warrior champion and fanatical Supergirl fan Jessie Graff.


Technobabble

Alex checks for the heat signature of an invisible being when watching the security tapes of M'gann's cell.

Martian biology is usually intertwined with psychic phenomena. This means that a telepathic attack can bring about brain death in a Martian, despite the body being in otherwise perfect physical condition.

Winn claims to have trouble billineating Livewire's energy from other wavelengths when asked to track her.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Kara and Mon-El have just finished a round in the DEO combat simulation room.)
Kara: Uh - Mon-El?
Mon-El: Yeah?
(Kara points to one of the cardboard cut-out civilians - a little girl whose head was knocked off.)
Mon-El: Mistakes were made. But it's our fewest cardboard fatalities yet!

Livewire: Do you know what power is, Freud? It's the feeling of somebody's life in your hands. Every atom in you just burns electric. It's like kissing a frayed wire. You know what that power makes me? A bad guy? Evil? It makes me a god!

Winn: (in the style of a professional wrestling announcer) Lady and gentlemen, the one, the only Livewire! Who knows what havoc she will wreak when she resurfaces?! Maybe she'll turn all of her girlfriends evil again?! I don't know! We're talking about full on rats in the attic here, people! Except the rats are electrified and the attic is on fire! Behold, ye mighty, and despair!

(Alex is asking J'onn to use his telepathy to see what is going on in M'gann's head.)
Alex: You have shown them mercy before-
J'onn: Not this! I will not give her my people's memories. I will not give her my daughter's smiles! Her kind has taken enough from me. From us! If she dies, she dies. She deserves it a thousand times over! Let her drown in her own sins!

(Kara walks into the med bay. She walks to the far side of the room before turning to face James, Winn, Alex and Mon-El.)
Kara: It's a cool suit.
(James just looks at her.)
Kara: (To Winn) Yours?
(Winn nods silently.)
James: ... I was... going to tell you.
Winn: I told him to tell you last night.
Alex: I told you both weeks ago.
Kara: You all knew?!
Mon-El: Um, I didn't! I thought James was a professionally handsome desk person.

Kara: I am calm. I am going to listen to you. I owe you that much. But you need to tell me why.
James: Because that thing that you feel...that thing that makes you want to make everything better? I feel that too. And I always have. And I have tried so many different ways in my life to help people. Whether it's career or friendship. But it's just not enough. But this is. Now, look... I was never meant to be in Superman's shadow. Or yours. I am more me as Guardian than I've ever felt as James Olsen. Kara, we are the same-
Kara: No. We are not the same. You are a human. You are going to get yourself killed. One mistake - one human error - and you're gone! That's it! You don't get a strike, James! Not like me! Not like-
James: Mon-El?
Kara: Yes!
James: Are you serious?! You saw him! He left civilians unprotected at that fight, which I had to go back for!
Kara: Mon-El is still learning-
James: At what cost, Kara?!  There was a cop that took a lighting bolt because "Mon-El is still learning." Okay?! He cares about himself, he cares about you and that's what he fights for!
Kara: He can change! You can't! You are never going to be strong enough for this!
James: (cooly) You do not get to decide who is a hero. And who are you to tell me how to be? Or who to be? I am meant for this.
Kara: If you don't stop, I'll stop you.
James: You're welcome to try.

J'onn: Hate becomes your reason for living when you've lost everything that you love. If I find that there was some good in their kind... I don't hate her.
Alex: Forgiveness isn't something that you give to somebody who has hurt you. Forgiveness is something you give to yourself.

(Mon-El dashes through a window at super-speed and knocks down the two Livewire knock-offs.)
Livewire: Who the hell are you supposed to be?
Mon-El: Uh. The other Superman... in training.
Livewire: Your cosplay sucks.
Mon-El: .. that's not nice.

(And finally - possibly the most meta moment in the series to date.)
James: I don't want to be the guy at the office anymore.
Winn: Yeah, and I don't want to just be stuck behind a computer.


Dialogue Disasters

Livewire: This is copyright infringement, asshat. I'm going to sue you. And then... I'm going to murder you.
Mad Scientist: Such a nasty woman.


Continuity

The Guardian suit is not entirely bulletproof.

M'gann was last seen in 207.

M'gann is kept in Containment Cell 19.

M'gann is capable of emitting a yell that can break reinforced glass.

Livewire last appeared in 118.

Maggie Sawyer is a vegan.

The female inmate who esacped with Livewire is named Lisa Gold.

Livewire's profile with the DEO describes the events of her previous appearances, notes her affiliation with Silver Banshee and the fact that water shorts out her powers.

Kara considers Livewire to be her nemesis.

Kara discovers James' secret identity after he is knocked out while saving a police officer from a stray electrical blast that Mon-El accidentally redirected at the cop.

Alex refers to the events of 206 and M'Gann donating her blood to save J'onn despite knowing it would reveal her secret identity as a White Martian.

Kara refers to Mon-El kissing her while delirious in 208.

Livewire is still at large as the episode ends.

J'onn frees M'gann.

M'gann says the rest of the White Martian race are still alive and they now know where she is.


The Bottom Line

A surprisingly solid hour of entertainment despite its flaws. The villains are strictly one note, with half of them not having names and Brit Morgan phoning it in as Livewire this time around. The script does Kara a disservice, making her suddenly dismissive of James' ability to be a hero despite her working alongside other ordinary human DEO agents and trying to be a hero without powers herself in last week's episode! And yet, the ensemble cast make all of this work and the good bits of the show - particularly the bits with J'onn and James' standing up to Kara - knock it out of the park.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 5 - Crossfire

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





Plot

As a new criminal gang backed by Cadmus-provided technology plagues National City, Kara gets Mon-El a job an internship at CatCo and James Olsen makes a fateful decision regarding taking an active role in protecting the city.


Influences

The Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen comics of Jack Kirby (the criminals in this episode are similar to Intergang, the idea of Jimmy Olsen getting a costumed identity of his own) and Superman: The Movie (The Cadmus Doctor uses a device similar to the one Lex Luthor used in the movies to communicate with Superman to send messages to Mr. Miner before killing him and the rest of his gang with some kind of radio signal.)


Goofs

Even allowing for her being on-hand to offer help, it still seems ridiculously short-sighted on Kara's part to send Mon-El out into an officer environment without teaching him basic things such as how a phone works.

Why not have J'onn fill in for either Kara or Supergirl at the party? He's done it before and the DEO has a vested interest in monitoring Lena Luthor's fundraiser with all available resources if they believe the robbers might attack it.


Performances

Katie McGrath has her finest turn yet as Lena Luthor. Putting her in a heroic role in this episode and pairing her with Jeremy Jordan, however briefly, draws the character out of her infamous brother's shadow in a way the show hasn't managed until now.

Talking of Jeremy Jordan, the chemistry between him and Mehcad Brooks is phenomenal.  Both actors haven't been served well by the scripts for this season so far so it is gratifying that they both get great material this weak and are allowed to play off one another so well.

Finally, Chyler Leigh does delivers a credible performance as a confused Alex begins to consider her feelings for Maggie and the idea that there's a part of her she may have repressed in her years of seeking a perfect life according to the terms of her job and her role as a sister.


Artistry

The various fight scenes in this episode are much better choreographed than usual. The sequence in which James evacuates the building is particularly impressive.

The special effects for the sequence in which Kara rescues the police officer from the car thrown into the stratosphere are great.

There's wonderful editing in the scene where Kara and Supergirl must both be at Lena Luthor's party.


Super Trivia

Kara is shown using her heat vision to cut Mon-El's hair for his first day at work. In the comics and Superman: The Animated Series, it has been established that Kryptonians use their heat-vision to facilitate hair-removal since ordinary Earth tools couldn't get the job done. Superman has been depicted shaving using his heat vision reflected off a mirror and Power Girl has been shown shaving her legs with her heat vision.

Kara sets up a fake identity for Mon-El - Mike Matthews. This conforms to the most frequent standards for superhero secret-identities in classic comic books, where the male heroes' first and last names were both men's names (i.e. Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan, Peter Parker) or alliterative (i.e. Clark Kent, Peter Parker, Matt Murdock, Reed Richards, Bruce Banner) .

While not identified by name, the criminal gang depicted in this episode uses a similar modus operandi to the comic-book organization known as Intergang. Created by Jack Kirby and first appearing in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (October 1970), Intergang was a criminal organization that used highly-advanced alien technology to commit crimes in Metropolis. The rank and file members of Intergang were only interested in making money and were manipulated towards other ends by the true powers behind the organization.

In the case of the original comics, this true power was revealed to be the evil New Gods on the alien world of Apokolips. In the case of the DCTVU, the true power is Cadmus.

The idea of Jimmy Olsen operating as a costumed crime-fighter is not a new one. Numerous Silver Age stories involved Jimmy Olsen temporarily acquiring super powers and trying to use them to help out Superman or trying to operate as an undercover agent or powerless crime-fighter. In one of the more prominent cases, Jimmy gained stretching powers and was made an honorary member of the Legion of Superheroes as Elastic Lad. He also teamed with Superman in the Bottle City of Kandor, where they adopted the aliases of Nightwing and Flamebird.

Kara refers to the operation to have herself and Supergirl show up in the same place as Operation Doubtfire. This is a reference to the Robin Williams comedy Mrs. Doubtfire and the climax of the movie, in which an actor who masqueraded as an old woman  in order to spend time with his kids after losing custody, must balance dinner with his former family in his nanny identity and dinner with a producer as himself at the same restaurant at the same time.


Technobabble

An Anndrannian Photon Cannon is an electromagnetic weapon which emits phased moun particles. According to Winn, a fully-charged one could have unpredictable destructive effects on even Supergirl.

Even with a diminished-charge, an Anndrannian Photo Cannon was capable of knocking Supergirl out of the air and the beam fired by it was able to hold back one of Supergirl's heat-vision blasts.

Supergirl mentions one weapon - Pythrarian magma bombs - and identifies it as being more advanced than any weapon on Krypton.

Winn thinks a tracking algorithm might be able to locate the Anndrannian Photon Cannon by searching for the unique radiation signature left on Supergirl's suit.

One of the other weapons used by the gang is an gun capable of controlling gravity. It is capable of slamming Supergirl to the ground while she is hovering in the air and throwing a police car upward with enough force that the car is seen icing over and the police officer inside is clearly having trouble breathing.

Alex says the DEO is analyzing thermal residue to look for any electromagnetic components to the alien weapons so they can devise a counter-measure.

The final gun used by Mr. Miner has enough power to disintegrate the side of a large building. It's beam is also powerful enough to push back Supergirl's heat vision.

Lena Luthor has a Black Body Field Generator set up under the bandstand at her party. When at equilibrium with the alien weapons, the Field Generator will absorb the electromagnetic radiation of the weapons and shut them down. It fails to function, however, due to the frequency and wavelength being a match. It is fixed once she and Winn do something to the induction coil.

The Cadmus Doctor uses some manner of radio device to send a signal to Mr. Miner just before the signal kills him and his gang.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Supergirl flies down, facing off against one of the robbers. He raises a shotgun up at her.)
Supergirl: You do know those bullets aren't going to work on me, right?
Mr. Miner (pulling off his ski-mask as he raises a high-tech gun) I'm glad I didn't bring any bullets!
(Mr. Miner fires the gun at Supergirl, knocking her back a considerable distance.)

Reporter: I don't know about the rest of you, but I sure as hell would feel a lot safer if I had one of those super-powered weapons on me to defend myself.
Kara: That's not the solution!
Reporter: Well then what is? The bad guys are running around everywhere with these high-tech weapons. I just think it's about time w good guys got some of our own.
Kara: Alien guns are bad, no matter who controls them.
Reporter: The Second Amendment gives us the right to bear arms. Even if those arms are ray guns!
Kara: That's what Cadmus wants! They're the ones handing out these weapons. They want us to be afraid of each other. To not trust each other anymore?
Reporter: Well, how do you know what Cadmus wants?
Kara: ... I- I just do.

(Kara has discovered that Mon-El gave all of his work to Miss Teschmacher.)
Kara: This is your place of work! So when James gives you a task, you should be the one to complete it - not Miss Teschmacher!
Mon-El: She wanted to please me. On Daxam, when a woman wishes to please a man-
Kara: Wherever you are going with that, just... just don't. We are not on Daxam.... thank Rao!

Alex: I just thought that we could go and have some fun. Keep each other company.
Maggie: You and me?
Alex: Yes! Why? Why- what's wrong with that?
Maggie: Nothing. It just... I think I read you wrong.
Alex: What do you mean?
Maggie: I - I didn't think you were into girls.
Alex: I'm not!
Maggie: Oh - my bad then. Sorry...
Alex: No, I mean, no offense, Maggie.
Maggie: No, I get it. You're not gay.
Alex: Right!
Maggie: You'd be surprised how many gay women I hear that from.

(Kara uses her super-hearing to try and find Mon-El.)
Miss Teschmacher: (panting) Mike, do you have protection?
Mon-El: You mean like a sword?
Kara: Oh God! Get it out of my ears! Ewww!

James: My whole life I have been a sidekick. I have hidden behind my camera. All my best friends wear capes and they're heroes and they save people and  I want to do something good for the world. And I feel like I've waited too long already. Winn... you found the work that you're supposed to do at The DEO. I haven't. Not here. But I feel like this is it.
Winn: I hate to break it to you dude, but you don't have super powers.
James: I know! But I can do this! We can do this.
Winn: Was that... we?
James; Yes. We. I mean, I have a black belt. And you're right - I don't have powers.You... you can make me a suit. You can build me a weapon. And together we can level the playing field. C'mon!
Winn: Hmmm... no. No! I can't do it!
James: You helped Kara!
Winn: There's a difference, okay?! She can fly! You're just.... tall.
James: You know, watching my dad's camera get destroyed reminded me of something. He gave his life protecting this country. And if I do this, I can honor him.
Winn: Or you can end up just like him.
(Winn turns around to leave as James goes quiet.) 
James: Winn?
Winn: What?!
James: I'm going to continue to be that crazy guy with the baseball bat and the ski-mask. With or without you.
Winn: James... guys like us.... we are here to give people information. Right? To fight with knowledge. There is no shame in that, man!  You - you've got to think this through. You're going to get yourself killed.

Supergirl: You like to take risks, don't you? When Corben was after you and now this - why?
Lena: Well, you can't live in fear. You, more than anyone, must understand that? Time and again you risk everything to see justice done. Is it so hard to believe I feel the same way? Are you one those people who think there's no such thing as a good Luthor?
Supergirl: I believe everyone should be judged on their own merits.
Lena: Then judge me on mine.

Alex: My whole life has been about being perfect. Perfect grades. Perfect job. Being a perfect sister, taking care of Kara. The one part of my life that I've never been able to make perfect was dating. I just never really liked it. I - I...  And you know, I mean, I tried. I got asked out. I just...I never liked... being intimate. I just... I dunno. I thought maybe that's just not the way I was built. You know? Just not my thing. I never thought that it was because of...  the other... That... (laughs nervously) Maybe I.... I mean.... I don't know. Now, now I just can't stop thinking about....
Maggie: About what?
Alex: ... that maybe there's some truth to what you said.
Maggie: About...?
Alex: What you said. About me.


Continuity

Mike Matthews' social security number is 498-00-3145.

Maggie Sawyer's girlfriend, first seen in 204, has dumped her as this episode opens.

The camera that James Olsen's father gave him is destroyed during the gang's first attack.

Anndrannians are an alien race with purple skin and fins.

Kara says the weapons being used by this new criminal gang are more advanced than the weapons of Krypton.

Lena Luthor says that Kara is her only real friend in National City.

James says that a poll shows 63% of all people favor repealing The Alien Amnesty Act.

James has a black-belt in some unidentified martial art.

Alex identifies herself as an FBI agent when asked what her job is.

Alex liked horror movies, science fairs and punk rock as a teenager.

Kara preferred romantic comedies, N'Sync and didn't like science fairs as a teen..

The Cadmus Doctor refuses to go after The Luthors.  She says that she has a son and daughter.

Supergirl refers to Lena Luthor fighting John Corben in 201.

Both Krypton and Daxam have dancing.

All of the gang is killed by The Cadmus Doctor.

Winn agrees to make a super-suit for James.

James says he has a superhero name in mind but doesn't tell Winn what it is.

Mon-El was fired from his internship.

Alex confesses her attraction to Maggie Sawyer to Maggie.

At the end of the episode, The Cadmus Doctor is revealed to be Lena and Lex Luthor's mother.


The Bottom Line

An enjoyable episode that is more than the sum of its parts. The main plot with the Cadmus-backed robbers is fairly weak, as is the comedic plot of Mon-El failing to fit in at CatCo. Still, the effects used for the action-sequences and the direction of those sequences is top-notch. What makes this episode work as well as it does, however, is the excellent performances of the supporting cast and all the subplots involving Lena trying to prove herself to Supergirl, James trying to prove something to himself, Alex dealing with her newfound romantic feelings and Winn.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 17 - Manhunter

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




Plot

His identity as an alien revealed along with his masquerading as Hank Henshaw, J'onn J'onzz tells the tale of how he saved the life of Jeremiah Danvers and came to become director of the DEO.  At the same time, Kara tries to cope with most of the people of National City fearing her and considers revealing her secret as a gesture of good will, as Siobhan begins to plot against Kara for getting her fired.


Influences

Predator (the jungle sequences with the DEO team tracking J'onn through the jungle) Enemy Mine (the interaction between J'onn and Jeremiah Danvers), Men In Black (the scene of J'onn introducing Alex to the DEO HQ) and Man of Steel (the sequence of a teenage Kara losing control of her super-hearing and x-ray vision mirrors a similar sequence involving a young Clark Kent in this movie, the scene where Jeremiah Danvers talks to Kara about hiding who she is after she saves someone in a visibly flashy way mirrors a similar scene with Pa Kent and a young Clark after he saves a bus full of children from drowning)


Goofs

Granting that her father's rank probably helped expedite matters, it still seems incredible that Lucy Lane was able to reenlist in the Army (much less regain her old position) so quickly after quitting her job at CatCo.

Kara and Alex talk about not implicating themselves within a few feet of the Marines that are watching everyone in the building for suspicious behavior

CatCo has a shocking lack of security - both in how there is no one to stop Siobhan from sneaking into the building in the early evening and in how Kara's work computer is open to her e-mail when she was out sick the whole day.

Then again, Siobhan is kind of an idiot to think she can do what she does without being seen on the interior security cameras.

How are lead-lined frames supposed to prevent Kara from using her x-ray vision? The glass would need to be lead-lined as well.


Performances

There's one great scene early on in which Mehcad Brooks and Calista Flockhart have a conversation without a word being said as Cat's phone starts ringing and there is nobody else to answer it. The non-verbal acting in this moment is fantastic.

David Harewood is fantastic throughout. He plays three different characters in this episode - the original Hank Henshaw, the version of Hank played by J'onn J'onzz and J'onn himself - and this hour is a fine showcase for how versatile he is at playing different levels. It's reminiscent of Stephen Amell's work on Arrow, playing different versions of Oliver Queen at different points in time and around different people.


Artistry

Though the dialogue is rather sexist, with Jeremiah Danvers basically saying "You don't need to save people - there's already a man to do that!", the scene in which Kara's foster dad talks with her people's reactions to a young girl doing impossible things is a great improvement on the similar scene between Pa Kent and a young Clark Kent from the movie Man of Steel.


Super Trivia

J'onn is seen eating Chocos cookies in his cell at the DEO - a gift from Alex, who deduced they were his favorite. This is a nod to the comics, where Chocos were Martian Manhunter's favorite snack.

At one point it was revealed that the affect of Chocos on Martian physiology mirrored that of addictive narcotics in humans. J'onn was able to cure himself of his addiction by using his shapeshifting powers to expel the mass of cells responsible for causing the addiction.

In the comics, James Harper was the real name of a masked superhero called The Guardian. A Metropolis police officer in his day job, Harper created the identity of The Guardian to go after the criminals who couldn't be prosecuted legally. He was aided in his protection of the Suicide Slum neighborhood of Metropolis by a group of orphaned newspaper boys he adopted, who became known as The Newsboy Legion. The newsboys later grew up to become scientists, who started the comics book version of The Cadmus Project.

The DCTVU version of James Harper is a Colonel in the United States Marine Corps.

J'onn is seen to be visibly uncomfortable around the fire Jeremiah Danvers makes to keep himself warm at night. In the original comics, fire weakened Martians and made them unable to use their powers in the same way that Kryptonite depowers Kryptonians.

The reasons for the Martian weakness to fire have changed several times over the years. Most frequently, it was a physiological weakness akin to Kryptonite. One story said that it was a psychological effect, as the Martian god of chaos took the form of a wild fire. Another said that it was a genetic flaw programmed into their race by The Guardians of the Universe in order to prevent The Martians from becoming an unstoppable race of conquerors.

The DCTVU version of J'onn is uncomfortable around fire due to it reminding him of the fiery death of his race during the war between the White and Green Martians. This is also the reason for J'onn's weakness to fire in the New 52 DC Comics reality.

Col. Harper says J'onn and Alex are both being taken to Project Cadmus. In the comics, The Cadmus Project was a genetics lab that devoted itself toward the creation of heroic alien/human hybrids. They also created a younger clone body for Jim Harper, allowing The Guardian to continue fighting crime with the vigor of his original youth.

In the Justice League Unlimited TV Series, Project Cadmus was an initiative sponsored by the United States government to monitor metahumans and develop plans to neutralize the threat they posed. This version of Cadmus combined elements of the comics version of Project Cadmus, Task Force X (aka The Suicide Squad) and the covert organization Checkmate.

James Olsen describes the DCTVU version of Project Cadmus as the reason why Superman won't work for the American government.  He says that if the DEO is a prison, than Project Cadmus is a dissection lab. It's a genetic engineering facility that treats aliens like lab rats, weaponizing alien abilities for military purposes and using humans as guinea pigs.

As in the comics, Kara cannot use her x-ray vision to see through lead.

The DEO alerts Kara to a bank robbery on the corner of 10th and Shukert. This is likely a tribute to Supergirl staff writer Rachel Shukert,


Technobabble

Col. James Harper's team developed a stasis field that prevents J'onn from using his powers. It generates a smell like burning rubber. It also seems to generate some kind of static that prevents Supergirl from hearing anything within the field

The DEO has Remote Outpost Probes that allow them to detect the presence of aliens on Earth.

Henshaw uses a thermal tracker, which indicates that J'onn was active within a two mile radius of their current position.

Jeremiah Danvers made Kara a pair of glasses with lead-lined frames to help her suppress her vision powers.

Winn analyzed the typing speed and patterns on the hard drive of Kara's computer and determined it didn't match Kara but it did match Sibohan.


Dialogue Triumphs

(J'onn sits in his cell, ripping open a package of Chocos as Alex enters.)
Alex: You don't look so dangerous shoving Chocos in your face.
J'onn: (smacking his lips as he eats) How did you know they were my favorite?
Alex: You eat them at 3 am. Only your favorite will do at 3 am.
J'onn: You have to stop these visits.
Alex: I like taking care of you, for once.
J'onn: My mission as Hank Henshaw was to protect you.
Alex: Missions change.
J'onn: Not this one. Which is why I'm telling you, you have to distance yourself. Don't check in on me. Stop bringing me cookies. Just say you never knew about me. Say I betrayed you.
Alex: I would never do that! J'onn: There has to be a reckoning, Alex. An alien lied and took command of a government organization. This doesn't end with people getting fired or even going to jail. People get disappeared for this sort of thing. They're going to tear this place apart looking for whoever helped me.
Alex: I'll lie. I'll convince. I will do everything that you taught me to do. But I am not abandoning you! This is rock bottom. And I know what kind of person I'm going to be.

J'onn: I've dedicated my life to protecting this world and if you want to take me down for being different, so be it.

Lucy: Why would I help you? You and Hank? Why do you all lie?
Kara: When you're an alien and you've lost your world and you're dropped into a new one? You don't have a choice.

(To Lucy Lane)
Kara: I know you're feeling betrayed and alone. But if you go along with Jim Harper, just to feel like you fit in?  To feel like you belong somewhere? Ultimately, the only person you're betraying is yourself. It wasn't easy for me to show you who I really am. But I did it because I trust in who you are. Who you really are under that uniform. And I trust  you'll do the right thing.

(After revealing that she saw through Siobhan's incredibly stupid plan to get Kara fired)
Cat: I don't have very many regrets, Siobhan, but I do regret firing you the first time. I wish to God that I could fire you again. With feeling.


Dialogue Disasters

Jeremiah Danvers: I know you were only trying to help. But the world already has a Superman. All you need to be is Kara Danvers.


Continuity

Lucy Lane has been reinstated to her position as a Major in the United States Army.

J'onn apparently was hiding in the Peruvian Amazon, where the local natives thought that he was Supay - the Inca God of Death.

J'onn does not have a physical weakness to fire but is uncomfortable around it due to the fiery death of his race.

Superman reportedly described J'onn as the most powerful being on Earth.

J'onn has regenerative powers  - presumably a function of his shape-shifting allowing him to reshape the damaged areas of his body.

Jeremiah Danvers died saving J'onn from Hank Henshaw. He was able to throw Henshaw off a cliff, but not before being fatally stabbed.

Col. Jim Harper was the best friend of the original Hank Henshaw.

J'onn is over 300 years old.

Cat Grant is friends with Princess Kate Middleton.

Alex Danvers was recruited by J'onn for the DEO three years ago.

Kara reveals her secret identity to Lucy Lane.

Kara began working for Cat Grant two years ago.

J'onn has super strength.

J'onn has refined his control to where he can erase memories more precisely with his telepathy. As a result of this, he accidentally discovers that Jeremiah Danvers is alive at Project Cadmus.

Alex and J'onn go on the run, determined to find Project Cadmus and rescue Jeremiah.

Col. Jim Harper resigns his position and insists on Lucy Lane being placed in charge of the DEO.

At the end of the episode, a drunken Siobhan falls off a roof and is able to save herself as her scream turns into some form of sonic blast that allows her to levitate.


Location

The Peruvian Andes, on the border of the Amazon jungle.

Midvale Junior High School in the city of Midvale.


The Fridge Factor

Jeremiah Danvers argument against Kara trying to help people boils down to "Superman is already doing that sort of thing, you silly girl!"


The Bottom Line

A rushed episode that seems to be doing too much while simultaneously ignoring several urgent plot lines (i.e. the public no longer trusting Kara) in favor of a series of flashbacks that offer some much needed development to several characters who are quickly ushered out of the series. Still, if this turns out to be the back-door pilot for a Martian Manhunter solo series, I'll cope.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 15 - Solitude

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




Plot

With Kara unwilling to work with the DEO in the wake of her aunt's death and Winn drafted by them to help fight a dangerous alien hacker with technopathic abilities, Kara and James must journey to the Fortress of Solitude to see answers on how to fight the creature known as Indigo. But will their working together strike the final blow to James' relationship with Lucy Lane?


Influences

The Outsiders comics of Judd Winick (the character of Indigo/Brainiac 8), All-Star Superman (the key to the Fortress of Solitude being made of a heavy material only Superman or another Kryptonian could lift), The X-Men movies (Indigo's appearance here bares more resemblance to the make-up design for Mystique than her appearance in the original comics) and Superman: The Movie (the interior design of The Fortress of Solitude and the sequence in which Kara must race to stop a missile is a tribute to Superman doing the same thing in the movie).


Goofs

Granting that hypocrisy from Cat Grant is hardly unusual and that - given the events of 108 she would feel some sympathy for the victims of a hacker making private information public - it still seems odd that Cat was preaching the importance of always reporting the truth to James last week yet this week she's throwing out a gift-wrapped list of powerful people who make use of a website catering to married people who wish to cheat on their spouses because nobody will care about the scandal!


Performances

Jeremy Jordan has suffered a lot on this show, particularly in recent episodes. It almost seemed like the writers weren't sure to do with Winn now that he can no longer pine after Kara .  This episode proves a welcome change, as Winn gets to not only save the day by being a more capable hacker than anyone else at the DEO but he gets a nice little subplot where he tries to be nice to evil queen in training Siobhan Smythe.

Laura Vandervoort's performance as Indigo is interesting, to put it mildly. There's a cattiness to the performance that doesn't fit what I was expecting when I heard what character she was playing... and  yet I rather like the idea of a rogue Brainiac in a female robot body playing the femme fatale instead of the usual cool, dispassionate Coluan. It's a little cheesy but it's fun.

The scene in which Alex confesses to killing Astra and J'onn lying to cover for her ends with some wonderful non-verbal acting on the part of Melissa Benoist and David Harewood, as Kara just hugs Alex, J'onn tries to leave the room to give them some privacy and Kara just reaches out and grabs his arm before taking his hand and squeezing it. It's a wonderful yet silent acknowledgement of the relationship between the three.

Once again, the best scenes of the episode are any scene in which Melissa Benoist and Mehcad Brooks get to play off each other. The two have a great natural chemistry and it is a real treat seeing them at work.


Artistry

The script this week is unusually smart, answering all the logical questions this show usually glosses over as I ask them, such as why Jimmy Olsen knows more about The Fortress of Solitude than Supergirl does.

The final action sequence - with Kara trying to bring down the rocket charging toward National City - is easily the best the show has seen to date.


Super Trivia

The symbol seen on the screen of Kara's rocket when it reawakens in The Phantom Zone - three circles forming a point-down equilateral triangle - is the symbol of Brainiac in the comics.  Indigo later refers to this symbol as the sign of her people - the font of omniscient knowledge.

The truck which nearly hits the car that Supergirl saves has a license plate which reads PLASTINO. This is a nod to artist Al Plastino, who not only co-created Supergirl but also co-created Brainiac.

James offers to take Lucy out to dinner at Noonan's so they can have some time alone together outside of work. This may be an ironic nod to Noonan's Sleazy Bar - the favorite watering hole of super-powered assassin Tommy "Hitman" Monaghan in the comic Hitman.

In the comics, Indigo first appeared in the Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #1 special. Created in an uncertain future era, she traveled back in time to the early 21st century and arrived severely damaged. She attempted to heal herself by bonding with other electronic life-forms, causing tremendous damage in the process and indirectly killing two Titans. Once it was determined that she was no longer dangerous, she was later adopted into the new Outsiders team, formed by Nightwing and Arsenal.

It was later revealed that Indigo was really Brainiac 8 - the granddaughter of the future Brainiac 6 and that her sweet, innocent personality was a cover for a murderous android akin to the other Brainiacs. She was destroyed, resurrected again later as part of Superboy Prime's Legion of Doom, and destroyed again.

The DCTVU version of Indigo was once known as Brainiac 8 and was once linked to The Great Colun Cyber Construct. She was a descendant of the Brainiac clan. She was captured while trying to shut down Krypton's planetary defense system in order to kill everyone on the planet. She was also considered the most dangerous criminal ever sent to Fort Rozz.

Laura Vandervoort, the actress who plays Indigo, played Supergirl on Smallville.

Indigo's species is identified as Coluan - a highly intelligent, blue-skinned race from the planet Colu. They severed as super-computers on Krypton, responsible for running day to day operations.

In the comics, Coluans are a highly-intelligent green-skinned race from the planet Colu. Though considered cool and machine-like by other species, they are not a mechanical race.

The key to The Fortress of Solitude is made of a million tons of condensed dwarf star and is so heavy that only Superman and a few other select beings - including Supergirl - are capable of lifting it. This is a nod to the mini-series All-Star Superman, where Superman replaced the original key - a gigantic arrow disguised as a directional marker - with one made of dwarf star material.

The DCTVU version of the key is a compromise between the two designs from the comics. It doesn't look like a normal house key, unlike the version from All-Star Superman. Instead, it is an rod-shaped device, not unlike an over-sized arrow, with the House of El symbol engraved on one side.

The Fortress interior contains a statue of two figures holding a globe. The globe is Krypton and the two figures are Superman's parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van.

There are a number of display cases inside the main room of The Fortress. One of them contains the rocket which brought Superman to Earth.

Another display case contains a Legion Flight Ring - the rings used to denote membership in the 30th Century superhero team The Legion of Superheroes, of which Superman was a member in the comics when he traveled forward in time as Superboy.

Kara identifies the robotic helper in The Fortress of Solitude as Kelex. This was also the name of the robotic butler who tended to The Fortress in John Byrne's Man of Steel mini-series.


Technobabble

Winn determines that Indigo created an oscillating variable matrix to cover her footprints.

Winn creates an inversion pathway to track Indigo down.

Winn knows more about Python 6 malware encryption than anyone at the DEO.

According to James, the key to the Fortress of Solitude is made of a million tons of condensed dwarf star.


Dialogue Triumphs

Alex: Kara, Hank was only doing his duty, okay? Protecting the planet, just like you do, every day!
Kara: I don't kill.
Alex: But soldiers do. When they have to. And Hank had to.

J'onn: As effective as kicking and punching is, next time you're angry about something... lets have coffee.

(After Indigo disappears from the monitors after hacking CatCo's computers)
Cat: Toyman Junior? You're the computer expert. Fix this.
Winn: (After Cat has left the room) I definitely liked it better when she did not know who I was.

Indigo: To think... I was once linked to The Great Colun Cyber Construct. And now I wander the same realm as Candy Crush.

James: Think we should run this by Director Henshaw?
Kara: ...No.
James: Kara, I know you're upset with him for what he did. I would be too! But that doesn't mean you have to fight this alone.
Kara; I'm not alone. I'm with you.

Kara: I miss Winn and Alex. I save the world better when I save it with people.
James: Well, you ARE saving it with me.

Indigo: I am invincible! I am a god!
Winn: No. You're just a glorified Windows Vista!


Continuity

Kara prefers crullers to powdered donuts.

Cat refers to her own recent run-in with having her secrets exposed to the press by hackers in 108.

Supergirl flies faster than Superman, according to Jimmy Olsen.

James Olsen knows the location of The Fortress of Solitude and has been there several times.

Kara had never visited The Fortress of Solitude before, though Clark did invite her several times. She was afraid it would remind her of Krypton and make her feel homesick. Despite this, the Kelex robot in The Fortress of Solitude are programmed to respond to Kara's commands.

A different Kelex robot appeared in Kara's dreams of Krypton in 113. When James asks her about it, she says they were commonplace on Krypton.

The Coulans are identified as a highly intelligent, blue-skinned race from the planet Colu. They severed as super-computers on Krypton, responsible for running day to day operations.

Kara tells Lucy the story James told her about how his father gave him his first camera as a gift before dying in combat from 107. It turned out that Lucy had never heard that story before.

Fort Pemberton holds the closest nuclear missile silo to National City.

Indigo was the one responsible for reactivating Kara's ship and linking it to Fort Rozz so both could escape The Phantom Zone.

Winn hooks up with Siobhan, apparently making-out (or possibly more) in an elevator.

Lucy dumps James, thinking he is in love with Kara and knowing, from Kara's words, that she's in love with him.

Alex confesses to killing Astra. Kara forgives her.

At the episode's end, Non retrieves the pieces of Indigo's body.


Location

The opening flashback takes place in The Phantom Zone, 13 years ago.


The Bottom Line

Possibly the best episode of the series to date. There's nothing tacked on and Laura Vandervoort turns Indigo into a gloriously memorable (if somewhat hammy) villain. Would that they'd given her a more memorable design (seriously, are they TRYING to provoke a lawsuit from Jennifer Lawerence and Fox?!) but the whole thing is so fun, smartly-written and well-acted you can forgive them.

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.