Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 2 - A Few Good Women

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

Plot

As Lex Luthor goes on trial for Crimes Against Humanity, Lena must make a difficult choice about how far she will go to see her brother face justice. Meanwhile, as the Super Friends seek out help to rescue Supergirl, Kara finds an unexpected ally and familiar face in the Phantom Zone.


Influences

Supergirl: The Movie (plot of Kara and her father needing to escape the Phantom Zone), Harry Potter (the phantoms of the Phantom Zone resemble the Dementors), Star Trek (Dreamer mentions the Holodeck when she sees Brainy's training simulation), the Babylon 5 episode Whatever Happened To Mister Garibaldi? (Kara's meeting with her father resembles Sheridan's first encounter with Lorien) and Stargate (the appearance of the Phantom Zone portal, theme of legends being aliens)


Goofs

Granting that the legal system in the Arrowverse is probably more efficient than in our world, it's still shocking that Lex Luthor could go on trial, even with an open-and-shut case, and have the trial end as quickly as it did. Particularly given the problem with jury selection given how well known Lex is and the nature of his crimes.

It's a little unbelievable that the episode would waste time showing us William watching Lex's trial, in effect having us watching William watching Supergirl.

Why is Lena watching the trial by herself instead of trying to help rescue Kara? 

For that mater, why don't any of the superheroes who arrested Lex testify against him?

Why, after such a big deal was made about it last week, do we not get a quick scene of Alex telling Kelly that Kara is Supergirl? 

Silas should not have any conflicting memories of how the Phantom Zone looked before Crisis. (Perhaps J'onn restored his pre-Crisis memories off-camera, though there's no clear reason why he'd do so.)


Super Trivia

The episode title is a play on the film A Few Good Men and the scene in which Lena tricks Lex into confessing his evil intentions is based on a similar scene from that movie.

Silas is said to be a native of the planet Transilvane, whose inhabitants inspired the legends of vampires on Earth. In the DC Comics universe, Transilvane was an artificial world created by Cadmus scientist Dabney Donovan and populated with genetically engineered replicas of classic horror movie monsters.

It is revealed in this episode that the Phantom Zone is named after the ghostly figures who populate it, who feed on the fear and torment they cause by making people relive their worst nightmares. This is a new conceit from the modern DC Comucs universe. Originally the Phantom Zone transformed those who were sent to it into phantoms, who could observe the physical world but were powerless to affect it.

By contrast, the Phanton Zone of the Arrowverse does not allow those who are trapped there to see the material world, as Zor-El had no idea that Kara was still alive or that Argo City survived thanks to his efforts.


Technobabble

Natives of Transilvane have enhanced strength, speed and stamina compared to regular humans. They also have the ability to transform themselves into clouds of smoke and bats. They feed on he blood of other beings but are not required to take it by violence.

Silas is able to assemble his Phantom Zone Portal on a day's notice, but insists it requires six months of testing before he can be sure it will be safe.

Brainiac-5 creates a holographic simulation of the Phantom Zone. It is backed by dream energy sensors that will detect any fluctuations, distractions, emotional incongruences Dreamer might experience, as the simulation will also psychically attack her in the same way that phantoms do.

The Phantom Zone is revealed to have been altered by the Crisis on Infinite Earths. When all of the timelines of the old multiverse converged into the Earth-Prime reality, the Phantom Zone fractured. It is now one ever-sifting pocket dimension - what Brainiac-5 describes as a interdimensional archipelago.

Every dimension within the Phantom Zone has its own vibrational frequency. Dreamer would need to travel to each one individually and synch up with it before her powers would work. Between this and the randomized pattern of the Phantom Zone shifting, Dreamer cannot use her powers to track Kara directly in the Phantom Zone.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Lex is sitting at his table in his cell, eying the food before him suspiciously. Suddenly, the cell door opens. Otis Graves and Lillian Luthor walk in.)
Lex: I thought visitors were forbidden in this wing.
Lillian: The Luthor name still commands respect... and the occasional favor.
(Lillian takes the seat opposite Lex.) 
Lex: Ah. Favors. Is that how you secured me that plea deal? Admit to conspiracy and manslaughter, and go away for...
(Otis is about to take a seat at the table, but Lex holds up a hand and shoos him away.)
Lex: Ah, ah!
(Otis stands back up and Lex continues.)
Lex: Go away for 25 years?
Lillian: I'm sure your lawyer advised you to accept it.
Lex: He did. Which is why I fired him.

(Lillian has urged Lex to accept the plea deal.)
Lex: Do you really have so little faith in me that you think I should agree to rot in prison? I will remind you, I have been in prison before. I have been shot and killed and risen from the dead before, and I will not be subjugated again. You should know, I always have a plan.
Otis: Yeah, boss. Kablooey!
Lex: A legal plan, you imbecile.

(Silas begins to power up the Phantom Zone portal.)
J'onn: You sure this thing won't blow up?
Silas: It won't blow up, but I can't guarantee it won't implode. 

(Lex has just been found not guilty of all charges. He is, for once, stunned speechless.)
Otis: (whispering as the judge is thanking the jury for their work) Uh... Wait, you actually won? (quickly apologetic) Not that I'm surprised, boss!
Lex: Well, I am! Clearly I underestimated the value of just... being myself.
Otis (sighs wistfully) No kablooey.
Lex: Of course not, you idiot.


Dialogue Disasters

Lex's sudden speech about jealous women trying to tear him down seems horribly out of character. Granting that Lex has an ego and a deep hatred of aliens, it's hard to see him ranting like a Men's Rights Activist.


Continuity

In the opening scene, the Super Friends attack a man who burgles a Luthor Foundation blood bank.

The vampire, Silas, is a native of the planet Transilvane, which is the source of the vampire legends on Earth. 

Silas is gay and was married to a man named Owen.

Owen was falsely accused of theft and sentenced to six months at Fort Rozz in the Phantom Zone. He apparently went mad due to the torments of the Phantom Zone.

Silas is the only person known to have ever attempted to break into the Phantom Zone. He is quick to note that he was not successful. 

Silas says that building the technology to enter the Phantom Zone is easy; the hard part is dealing with the phantoms from which the Phantom Zone takes its name, as they can drive a person made by feeding on their fears until they lose all touch with reality or die of fright.

Dreamer goes back to CatCo to continue to cover for Kara's absence, but is reminded that they need her powers to find Kara once they get into the Phantom Zone.

Andrea Rojas wants CatCo to focus as much coverage as possible on Lex Luthor's trial and turn the public against him. She assigns Nia and William Dey to cover the trail directly and try to interview the court officials involved.

Lex meets with his mother and informs her that he fired his lawyer and refuses to take a plea deal. He intends to represent himself at his trial.

Lillian freely admits that she cares more about saving the Luthor family name than freeing Lex.

In the Phantom Zone, Kara is rescued from the Phantoms by a man who she realizes is her father, Zor-El.

Kara tells her father that his efforts to save Argo City were successful. 

Kara remembers the Phantom Zone differently than how it was when she was trapped there. This was partly due to her rocket protecting her from the Phantoms, somehow.

The worst nightmare that Kara experienced at the hands of the phantoms was her battle with Reign in 323, where all of her friends and family died and there was nothing she could do to save them all this time.

Zor-El says the only way to stay sane in the Phantom Zone is to accept that you are trapped. This keeps the phantoms at bay. Attempting to move upon the anchor where Fort Ross as rooted in the Phantom Zone only provokes them.

Andrea and Lena meet for drinks. Andrea tries to fish for details on what happened between Lena and Lex, but Lena refuses to speak about it, on or off the record, and angrily kicks Andrea out of her office.

Silas is uncertain he can get the portal to work safely. J'onn becomes angry with him and almost becomes physically violent.

Alex tries to comfort Silas and reassure him that he will help save Supergirl.

Lex Luthor is formally charged with crimes against humanity, murder and conspiracy.

M'Gann has a talk with J'onn about his becoming overly emotional regarding Kara being in danger. 

When Lex cross-examines Eve Tessmacher, he gets her to admit that she loved him and that he rejected her advances in 517. He then tries to spin it that she was a jilted lover framing him for her own crimes as a complicated revenge scheme.

As a result of Lex casting Eve Tessmacher's testimony into doubt, the murder charges against Lex are dropped.

Lillian meets with Lena and offers to sell her Lillian's share of LuthorCorp so Lena will be able to keep Lex from using any of the company resources for his schemes.

Lena refuses the offer, seeing it as a bribe, and tells Lillian that she'd decided to testify against Lex to ensure he goes to prison for the rest of his life, even if it means admitting to her own crimes.

Brainiac-5 makes a holographic Phantom Zone simulation to test Dreamer's ability to use her powers in that environemtn.

Dreamer has a vision of Alex and Kara when they were in high school.

Dreamer is not sure she can use her powers to accurately track Kara through a dream, but Brainy says he has confidence in her.

Kara decides to try and fight through the Phantom Zone on her own. She is overwhelmed almost immediately and saved by Zor-El again. Kara's refusal to give up inspires Zor-El, who agrees that they will go down fighting together if they cannot win.

Lena tells the court about her Non Nocere project and how Lex corrupted her technology.

When Lex cross-examines Lena, Lena tricks Lex into bragging that Lena's designs would never have worked without his contribution and that he did everything Lena accused him of. Lex proceeds to blame women who were jealous of his success and power trying to tear him down for all of his problems.

Silas is able to get the portal to the Phantom Zone open, but the Super Friends are attacked by phantoms.

J'onn is able to use his telepathy to augment Dreamer's energy blasts, allowing them to force the Phantoms back through the portal.

All but one of the phantoms are forced back into the portal, though the Super Friends do not realize that one phantom is in hiding.

Otis disguises himself as a guard at Luthor's hearing and has a plan prepared to cover his escape.

The jury find Lex not guilty of all charges, much to his surprise.

Silas says he'll continue to help the Superfriends to save Kara.

Lex singles out CatCo and their coverage of his trial when talking about how the the media is out to destroy successful men like him.

William is feeling disillusioned by Lex Luthor's acquittal. 

Brainiac-5 starts mapping the Phantom Zone.

J'onn thinks on M'Gann's advice and decides he needs to start approaching Kara's rescue as a soldier rather than as a father.

Alex has a breakdown in private with Kelly over how they couldn't save Kara.

Andrea goes to meet Lena and complements her courage in testifying against Lex.

Lena apologizes to Andrea for jumping down her throat. Andrea apologizes for trying to push Lena into giving her a story.

Amdrea says she still intends to use CatCo to bring down Lex.

Lex says that he now intends to tell the truth as he sees it and trust that things will work out, as people seem to like his "telling it like it is."

Silas is attacked by the phantom and calls J'onn.

In the Phantom Zone, Kara and Zor-El see a group of three phantoms open a portal. This inspires them to try and capture a phantom.


Location

The Phantom Zone


Untelevised Adventures

Zor-El is revealed to have sent himself to the Phantom Zone after rescuing Argo City from the destruction of Krypton.


The Bottom Line

Another lackluster episode which is oddly focused upon the least interesting aspects of the current storyline, with the title character being about #3 or #4 on the writers' list of priorities. Does anyone really care about William Day? Was anyone really wanting to see Lena and Andrea make-up? Or any more of Andrea at all, really? Silas isn't a bad character, but he's just one more member of an increasingly bloated ensemble who really doesn't add anything to the show. Unfortunately, it seems like we'll be working through this Phantom Zone storyline for a while to come.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 21 - Red Dawn

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




Plot

Supergirl finally comes face to face with the Red Daughter. As the two Kryptonians battle for supremacy, J'onn, Dreamer and Braniac-5 start searching for the alien test-subjects abducted by Lex Luthor. Meanwhile, Alex begins to realize that her memory has been tampered with as Lena Luthor turns to an unexpected source for help in figuring in how to extract the Harun-El from a human subject.


Influences

Red Dawn (the title and the plot involving a Russian invasion of the United States), Superman: The Movie (the Kryptonite ball and chain used to subdue Kara), Star Wars (Dreamer's reference to "The Wookie Gambit", her asking Brainy to tell her the odds) and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Kara draining the solar energy from a forest to heal herself.)


Goofs

Kara says that she's been dealing with Kryptonite for 15 years.  When was she ever exposed to Kryptonite before she became Supergirl four years ago?

So none of the guards see J'onn hovering over the alien prison?

Was Eliza Danvers informed about Alex's erased memory? It seems like she would have to have been to prevent any confusion at family gatherings.


Performances

Jesse Rath has a great turn here as he transforms into the more traditional Brainiac-5.


Artistry

The fight between Supergirl and Red Daughter may be the finest in the show's history.


Super Trivia

The title of the episode comes from a 1984 film about a Russian invasion of the United States.

The title card of the episode shows the Red Daughter symbol before changing to the usual House of El symbol.

The sequence in which Supergirl drains the solar energy from the plants in a forest to heal herself is inspired by a scene in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns where Superman does the same thing after being severely injured by a nuclear bomb.


Technobabble

Brainiac-5 says that there is a a 56.3% chance that any plan that involves pretending to be captured will result in their actually being captured.

Alex uses the DEO satellites to scan for Supergirl's unique solar radiation signature so they can track Red Daughter.

Colonel Haley says that the energy beam for the Claymore satellite was powered by an unknown energy source.

Brainiac-5 later determines that the captive aliens are having their power drained and converted into kinetic energy for use in the Claymore particle beam.

J'onn saw aliens being herded into a transmatter portal (like the one the DEO has) suggesting their power is being drained at another site.


Dialogue Triumphs

Lena: Lex is planning on invading America.
Brainiac-5: What?!
Alex: You should have led with that.
Lena: Well, then you're going to love this. Lex has a clone of Supergirl.
Alex: What?!
Brainiac-5: You should have led with that!

(Kara watches Red Daughter looking queasy at the close proximity of the Kryptonite.)
Kara: You know, for saying that you want to know your enemy, you don't know me at all. For instance, that pain you're feeling? You've only felt it for the past couple of months. But me? I've been dealing with Kryptonite for 15 years.
(Kara slips loose of the chain and uses it as a flail against the Red Daughter, running for the hotel room window and jumping through it, flying away once she's far enough away from the Kryptonite.)

(Lena opens a container. Out crawls an octopus like creature, which latches onto Lillian's arm and wraps around it.)
Lena: It's a baby Truth-Seeker. And I need the truth.
Lillian: You mean, I can't lie?
Lena: Nope.
(There is a long pause as Lena regards Lillian.)
Lena: My middle school boyfriend, Taylor.
Lillian: (reflexively) I paid him $14,000 to never speak to you again.
(Lillian looks astonished at having been forced to confess that.)
Lena: I knew it.

(On The "Wookie Gambit")
J'onn: Why does everyone always think getting captured is the best plan?

Brainiac-5: You know 56.3% isn't that bad. By our standards.

Brainiac-5: (panicked) What I'm trying to tell you is that my species has ancestral memory. And my ancestors? Very bad people. (pained) They were collectors! Conquerors! I remember everything!
(Brainiac-5 looks around, eyes wide in terror as the terror gives way to manically glee.)
Brainiac-5: Uh-oh!
(Brainiac-5 laughs manically and passes out. A moment later he looks up, totally dispassionate as he speaks.)
Brainiac-5: In short, your rebooted me. Aligned me with my more... emotionless ancestors. And that was a calamitous mistake.
(In an instant, Brainiac-5 is free of his bonds and unleashing a perfectly executed series of martial-arts maneuvers on the guards.) 

Supergirl: Hope, help and compassion for all. That's what I stand for.
Red Daughter: You will not be able to stand at all when I am done with you!


Continuity

Alex has a dream about herself and Kara as teenagers. She was trying to teach Kara how to clap her hands to the beat of a song and the clapping created a shockwave that started an Earthquake.

Alex tells Kelly that she has a weird feeling about the dream and she had the same feeling when she was being questioned at the DEO several months earlier. She thinks it has something to do with Kara, for some reason.

Alex gets a call from Brainiac-5, asking her to come into the DEO right away.

The Secret Service informs Kara that they scrubbed the CatCo servers of her evidence of the Kaznian invasion plot.

Kara is able to fight the two Secret Service agents even while tied up without using her powers. She is stopped from escaping by the Red Daughter, who is wearing a dark-haired wig and carrying a box with a Kryptonite necklace.

Brainiac-5 informs Alex of the events of the last episode and how Ben Lockwood is now on a super-powered rampage.

Ben Lockwood took the entire stock of Harun-El serum in Lena's lab at the DEO and trashed the labs to boot.

Lena says that Ben Lockwood must be connected to Lex somehow.

Alex says that she can hunt down the Red Daughter.

Brainiac-5 says he will get J'onn and Dreamer and tackle tracking down the missing alien criminals Lex abducted.

Lena says that she is going to confront Ben Lockwood and try to find out where Lex is hiding, but first she needs to borrow one thing from the DEO. Alex says she can have it.

The Red Daughter is tasked with killing Kara after she is taken captive in the White House.

Kara is able to escape because she's far more used to fighting through Krytponite poisoning than the Red Daughter..

Kara goes to J'onn to get the bullet shrapnel removed from her arm.

Kara says that all of her evidence about the Kaznian invasion and Lex has been destroyed.

Kara says she has to tell Alex the truth about her being Supergirl.

J'onn says that she can't tell Alex the truth because the techniques he used to wall off her memories are fragile and she could go insane if the news is just dropped on her.

J'onn says maybe if Alex remembered on her own her memories might be restored, but he's not certain of that.

Lena Luthor bought the for-profit prison Lillian Luthor was incarcerated in and makes arrangements for her to be sent to her lab for a weekend.

The one thing Lena borrowed from the DEO is revealed to be the Truth Seeker from 410.

Under the influence of the Truth Seeker, Lillian Luthor admits to paying Lena's middle school boyfriend Taylor $14,000 to dump her and never speak to her again.

Lena put a slow-acting neurotoxin in Lillian's lunch, giving her 24 hours to solve the problem of removing Harun-El from a human body in order to earn the antidote.

Lillian Luthor also says that she loves Lena, much to Lena's surprise.

Lena determines that Ben Lockwood really had no idea that his rise to power was facilitated by Lex Luthor.

Lena says she also thinks the unrefined Harun-El cure is causing physical deterioration in Ben Lockwood as he seemed to have a clump of hair fall out when he was talking to her.

Lena and James go following after Ben Lockwood.

J'onn's determines that three aliens were taken from the latest DEO raid site.

J'onn finds a unicorn keychain on the crime scene.

Dreamer has a vision of a young alien girl riding a unicorn being chased by wolves.

Brainiac-5 determines that Faol is an archaic Irish word meaning wolf and that Faolan Shipping is a subsidiary of a subsidiary of Lex Luthor's favorite shell company, Amertek.

The Wookie Gambit is a maneuver where the heroes infiltrate a prison by pretending to be guards escorting a single prisoner.  It is name for how Chewbacca infiltrated the Death Star brig while pretending to be a prisoner, as Han Solo and Luke Skywalker posed as Storm Troopers.

Brainiac-5 decides to try the Wookie Gambit anyway when Dreamer sees the girl from her vision.

Brainiac-5 uses his image inducer to pose as Ben Lockwood. It works until the alien-sniffing dogs react to his presence.

Kara says that absorbing sunlight into her body feels warm and she feels the sensation in her toes first.

Colonel Haley is informed of the Red Daughter's existence and that President Baker is working for Lex Luthor. She agrees to help Alex and Supergirl.

J'onn sneaks into the prison disguised as Eve Teschmacher.

While undergoing electric-shock torture in the alien prison, Brainiac-5's mind is "rebooted" and his ancestral memories take over. This replaces his usual personality with a more cool, logical and amoral one that has no qualms about killing.

Colonel Haley mentions Project Claymore from 413 and says she tried to track down the six engineers behind it. She found all of them had died within the past two weeks and the locations of their deaths match six of the spots Red Daughter visited.

Coloney Haley concludes that Lex is trying to get his hands on the specs for a new Claymore style weapon.

The DEO computer tracks a likely base of operations for the Red Daughter to 1114 Cedar Street in National City.

Supergirl insists on leaving Alex behind and facing Red Daughter alone.

1114 Cedar Street is an apartment which Red Daughter has roughly started to decorate to look like Kara's apartment. It is also within visual range of Kara's apartment, suggesting that Red Daughter has been watching Kara and slowly starting to emulate her.

Ben Lockwood injects himself with another unrefined sample of Harun-El before meeting Otis Graves.

Otis confesses to Ben Lockwood that he was working for Lex Luthor when he started helping get the Children of Liberty started.

Ben Lockwood goes berserk when he learns that all of this planning was based around making money and world domination.

Lena figures out that Lex's plan is to betray the Kaznians and become the hero he sees himself as in the public eye by stopping their invasion.

James has a violent reaction to the Kryptonite in Otis Graves' chest.

Ben Lockwood rips out the Kryptonite heart of Otis Graves, seemingly killing him once and for all.

Brainiac-5 finds Dreamer but informs her that he is not freeing her, as they'll be able to find the location of the where the aliens are being drained much easier if she is sent there and then she sends him an astral projection telling him where to find her.

Brainiac-5 also knocks out J'onn with a series of nerve punches, leaving him to be captured so as to increase the odds of one of them being able to contact him.

Kara finds a journal of the Red Daughter's, which has sketches of her and Alex in it, along with a code cipher and a photo of a young boy as a bookmark. (Mikhail from 416)

Alex comes to Red Daughter's apartment and starts to have a breakdown as she realizes it looks like Kara's apartment and overlooks Kara's apartment.

Eliza Danvers calls Alex to tell her Kara just got there.  Kara realizes that Red Daughter has disguised herself as her and is going after her adoptive mother.

The Red Daughter has developed powers Kara does not have - chiefly the ability to generate purple electrical energy around her hands which is capable of shocking even Supergirl.

Watching Supergirl fight Red Daughter brings back a flood of memories of Kara using her superpowers to Alex. These include using her frost breath to make it snow indoors at Christmas, roasting marshmallows with her heat-vision when they were teens, Kara catching them both after they fell off a cliff whens he accidentally started an earthquake by clapping too hard and assorted clips from the past four seasons.

Alex remembers that Kara is Supergirl.

Red Daughter flies off after she hears Kara's heart stop beating. She appears distressed, however, when she sees Alex's reaction and realizes she actually killed Supergirl.

Kara is able to heal herself by drawing on the solar energy in the plant around her.

Lillian Luthor determines that a second dose of Harun-El should stabilize James' condition.

J'onn and Dreamer are sent through the portal to wherever the alien captives are being sent to.

Colonel Haley determines that the Claymore satellite was a prototype for a weapons system that could be contained within one mechanized suit.

As the episode ends, President Baker is holding a press conference to announce that the Kaznian invasion of America was led by Supergirl but that it was thwarted by one man - Lex Luthor - who killed Supergirl.


Location

Midvale - 2007
Washington D.C.
Midvale - 2019


The Bottom Line

Far better than it has any right to be, given some of the hokier elements of the story. Poetic as it may have been with Frank Miller's narration, Superman absorbing solar energy from plants never quite worked in my mind and it doesn't work any better in live action. Still, what does work here works well, such as Melissa Benoist's dual performance and Chyler Leigh recovering her memories as Alex.

In retrospect, it seems that the writers weren't sure how far to go with Ben Lockwood and one week after turning him into an irredeemable monster, suddenly he's going over the edge to declare war on Lex Luthor. I think the show might have been better had he been killed early on and Manchester Black were still around trying to thwart Luthor's scheme with targeted ultra violence. Ah, what might have been eh?

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 18 - Crime and Punishment

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




Plot

With Supergirl declared Public Enemy Number One, Ben Lockwood starts looting the DEO Armory for weapons to arm the Children of Liberty over Alex's objections.As Lena and Supergirl go to Stryker's island in search of evidence that might lead them to Lex Luthor, Kelly encourages James to turn to someone about his PTSD.


Influences

"The Late Mr. Kent" episode of Superman: The Animated Series. (Clark has better luck pursuing a case as Clark Kent than Superman.)


Goofs

I can readily believe that there are anti-alien bigots who will ignore a man trapped in a burning car to try and pull a citizen's arrest on Supergirl while she's in the middle of trying to save someone. I cannot believe, however, that anyone would be so stupid as to try shooting Supergirl with an ordinary pistol after she apparently killed the heavily armored personnel protecting the White House.

It also seems a little unbelievable that the man whom Supergirl saves from said burning car, while being shot at, immediately turns on her and says he doesn't understand why she's saving him after what he saw on the news. Honestly, this whole episode feels like it was written by someone who only reads Marvel Comics the way the public is easily misled.

It's incredibly out of character for Brainiac-5 not to over-analyze every aspect of a mission before starting it, so it is hard to believe he would get into the vault containing the DEO Alien Registry before he considered the mathematical odds of his actions making situations worse and the probability of Ben Lockwood finding some other way to go after alien civilians.

Somehow, the random man with the gun is exceeded in his stupidity by all the random prisoners in Cell Block D who think they can punch hurt Supergirl with their bare hands or a crowbar. (At least Supergirl rolls her eyes at this too.)

The biggest news story in the world is that Lex Luthor is still at large, but nobody thinks there is a connection between this and Supergirl apparently attacking the White House, despite everything Lex has done in the past to try and discredit Kryptonians?


Performances

As over-the-top as it is, Robert Baker's performance as Otis the Metallo is just plain fun. And his execution on the "something's not right..." gag with Kara is perfect.


Super Trivia

Lex Luthor's chessboard has a lock on it that is opened when the board is set in a configuration of a checkmate maneuver known as Anastasia's Mate.This is a real-world chess maneuver that occurs when a rook and a knight are used to trap the opposing king between a friendly piece and the edge of the board. Some variants, such as the one Lena builds, add in a queen.

While Lena is inspired to think of the maneuver because of Lex's pet nickname for her (he called her Anastasia in reference to the famous lost princess), the pattern has been in existence for more than 200 years and was named after an 1803 novel which made reference to it - Anastasia and the Game of Chess.

Brainiac-5's plan to delete the DEO alien registry is similar to one enacted by real-world American librarians in the face of the passage of the Patriot Act. Among other civil-rights violations, the Patriot Act authorized federal agencies to demand the library lending records of any suspected terrorist without a warrant. The American Library Association responded to this by changing their policy to discourage libraries from keeping such records in the first place. This prompted one FBI official to complain that "radical militant librarians" were making it impossible for them to do their jobs.


Technobabble

Supergirl suggests that Lex's duplicate Supergirl is the result of a shapeshifter, a hologram or an image inducer. Lena dismisses all three ideas because the heat signatures don't match.

Paragraph 4, Sub-Section A of the DEO charter requires a Presidential order to comply with any request to hand over alien technology to non-DEO government personnel.

The Superman Signal Watch has a fail-safe to warn anyone who can hear it of an ambush. The fail-safe is activated by pushing the button to activate the alarm twice. Pushing it once delivers a regular distress call.

The server containing the DEO alien registry is located in a vault on sub-level 5 of the DEO's base in National City. It is protected by a voice-identification scanner, a retinal scanner and armed guards before the elevator leading to the sub-level.

Brainiac-5 is able to use his image inducer to scramble a retina scanner so his eyes look like those of someone else.

Bilateral stimulation is a technique used to calm people with anxiety.

Lex had some kind of sensor set-up in his cell that would alert him if someone with Kryptonian DNA entered it.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Supergirl hears a man calling for help in the distance.)
Supergirl: Someone's in trouble. I have to go.
Alex: But you heard the President. It isn't safe!
Supergirl: If the government wants to stop me from helping people, let them try.

Lena: (on Lex) He's sick and he's twisted but at least he's consistent.

Lena: (reading Lex's diary) Lena craves my attention. Pathetic. If she knew how brilliant she was, she wouldn't need it.

(Otis walks through the prison library, looking for Supergirl. Instead he finds Cara Danvers hiding between two bookcases.)
Otis: Where'd Supergirl go?
Kara: I don't know, but I - I saw a red blur go through that door.
(She gestures to the dining room exit and Otis starts to walk off. Suddenly he stops and takes a step back to Kara.) 
Otis: Wait a minute...
(Close up on Kara looking nervous, clearly afraid Otis has somehow seen through her disguise.)
Otis: D Block's for guys only. What are you doing here?
Kara: I - um - I'm a reporter. I was doing an interview in the dining hall when the guards rushed us out. (pulling herself up) The article's on prison reform. Maybe you'd care to comment?
Otis: (shaking his head) I don't trust the press. They always parachute into crises like this without any context for the lager systemic issues at play.
(Otis walks off as Kara shakes head head in disbelief at her good fortune.)

Steve Lomeli: What is it they say? The pen is mightier than the sword?
Kara: Hmm. Maybe even mightier than a cape.


Dialogue Disasters

(Supergirl is trying to save a man trapped in a burning car. A man with a pistol keeps shooting at her, despite her pleading for the three people to help her save this man or at least stop shooting at her.)
Man 1: She's going to kill us!
Man 2: Not if I kill her first.
(Man 2 continues to try and shoot at Supergirl, despite her catching all his bullets)


Continuity

President Baker institutes a sun-down to sun-up curfew. Humans caught out after dark will be cited. Aliens will be detained.

Supergirl saves a man from a burning car, despite being shot at by some random man with a pistol who tries to do a citizen's arrest. Despite this, the man is confused as to why she save dhim and scared of Supergirl, saying his daughter used to look up to her.

Alex accounts for the Bizzaro Supergirl from 112, to make sure the Supergirl duplicate is not her.

Lena learned from her mother that Lex had been coming and going from his cell at Stryker's Island for months.

Lena tracks the Cayman Islands bank account of the Stryker's Island warden and confirms several payments from Lex's accounts.

The Warden admits to taking money from Lex but has no idea where he is now.

The Warden agrees to let Lena and Supergirl inspect Lex's cell for two hours in exchange for his husband being left out of things when Lena reports his crimes to the police.

Lena identifies the image Lex etched into his cell wall as Hannibal Crossing the Alps.

When they were children, Lex and Lena left hidden messages for each other inside of their chess pieces.

Lex left a message for Lena inside the White Queen of his chess set in his cell. On a rolled up piece of paper, Lex left the date 7/16/18 and a photo of her test subject from 407. Lena says the date is a reference to July 16th, 1918 - the date of the execution of the Romanovs.

Lex used to call Lena "The Lost Princess" in reference to Anastasia Romanov.

Lena realizes that Lex's chessboard has a hidden lock on it that requires her to set-up a checkmate pattern called Anastasia's Mate in order to open it.

The panel under Lex's chess set conceals his diaries.

Lena says Lex left his diaries behind to torment her since he'd know the last thing she'd want to do is get inside his head and go through old memories.

Ben Lockwood is now Secretary of the Department of Alien Affairs, his previous position as director having been elevated to a Presidential Cabinet post.

Lockwood demands any weapons that could be used against Kryptonians and that the DEO assist him and his men in ambushing Supergirl.

Alex refuses citing a DEO Protocol that requires a direct order from the President to hand over alien weapons to non DEO personnel.

Colonel Haley orders Alex to give her the signal watch that Supergirl gave to her, as she begins preparing the weapons for Lockwood's return.

Alex gives Colonel Haley bad instructions for using the watch, which will warn Supergirl that the signal is a trap.

Brainiac-5 suggests deleting the DEO registry of alien citizens before Lockwood demands they hand it over as well.

James has an appointment with one Doctor Park, who is apparently the best PTSD psychiatrist in National City.

Kelly meets with Alex, who asks her for advice on handling Colonel Haley and convincing her to defy Lockwood's orders.

Kelly tells a story about a jerk CO she had while in the military and how she learned to work him by appealing to his concern for his men's safety rather than moral concerns.

One of Lex's diaries details his pay-offs to the guards and inmates. Another runs through Superman's many failings. A third is an inventory of every mistake Lena has made since she was four years old.

James is showing the same black veins running through the skin on the back of his neck that Adam developed before he developed superpowers.

Lex Luthor's next-door cellmate was a man named Steve Lomeli, who was imprisoned for stealing data from the US Department of Defense that proved the military was using illegal drones and leaked that information to the press. He doesn't like Supergirl, seeing her as a narcissist who thinks she's above the law.

Brainiac-5 has not spoken to Nia Nul since they kissed in 415.

Nia gives Brainy a hard time about him refusing to tell her about her descendants in the future but still expecting her to tell him the future.

Nia lies about Brainiac not destroying the registry, to make him realize that he should destroy the registry.

Alex tries to convince Colonel Haley that following Lockwood's orders would violate the spirit of the American military and asks her to consider her daughter. This angers Colonel Haley, who has also figured out that Alex lied about using the signal watch.

Otis Graves goes to the Warden of Stryker's Island after one of Lex's alarms senses that Supergirl is in his cell and kills him.

Otis releases all the prisoners on Cell Block D and tells them he'll free whoever can subdue Supergirl.

Lena gives Supergirl a Kryptonite shield that should protect her from Otis's refined Metallo body.

Supergirl welds Lena into Lex's cell to protect her from the prisoners while she fights her way to Otis.

James suddenly develops super-hearing, super-sight and crushes a metal lamp with one hand while having another PTSD attack after a gun-shot goes off on the TV behind him, after he returns to his office after his first therapy session.

One of Lex's journals talks about how Lena stole their father's favorite fountain pen for Lex. It was given to him by the King of Jordan.

As children, Lena and Lex sought shelter in a tree house when Lionel Luthor was drunk, since he couldn't climb into the tree.

Lex told Lena that when they were grown up, he was going to build a house for them where they'd always be safe in the mountains behind their home.

Lena recognizes the mountain in Lex's etching of The Alps as being, not one of the Alps, but the mountain he pointed out to her when they were younger.

Lena discovers the mountain conceals a button, which reveals a secret passage out of the cell.

Kara is able to escape from Otis by changing back into her Kara Danvers clothes and claiming to have been interviewing inmates on prison reform when the riot started.

Steve Lomeli stops another inmate from stabbing Kara with an improvised knife after she identifies herself as Kara Danvers with CatCo Magazine. He reveals himself as a fan of her writing and says he writes the only newsletter in Stryker's Island - "The Not So Free Press"

Lex apparently contact the National Guard, informing them that Supergirl was at Stryker's Island.

Kara knocks down all the fighting inmates with one shockwave generated with a clap of her hands, putting them all on the ground before the National Guard starts opening fire.

The tunnel in Lex's cell leads to a secret lab.

Amertek electronics on are a work-bench in the lab. This is the same corrupt company whose executives The Red Daughter severed in 416.

Lex has monitors in the secret lab that show the DEO's desert facility as well as his cell.

Otis lies about Luthor's cell still being in order when he calls.

Lex triggers a self-destruct in Otis' Metallo body which makes him explode, releasing a Kryptonite gas throughout the facility. Supergirl and Lena barely outrun the cloud and escape through a side tunnel out of the prison.

Nia has a nightmare vision of Brainiac-5 being grabbed by Children of Liberty while at the DEO.

Nia calls Brainy and tells him not to delete the registry. He says he already did, but he's holding a copy of it in his brain just in case they need it later.

Brainy says he was wrong to ask Nia to try and view the future on his behalf - mostly because the moral imperative to do the right thing is more important than any calculation but also because she's not very good at interpreting her dreams yet and the odds of him being arrested are 3 to 2 against.

Lockwood returns with his court order and sets his ambush. However, Colonel Haley pushes the button on the signal watch twice.

When Alex asks her about this later, Colonel Haley says it had nothing to do with what Alex said and everything to do with her daughter having nightmares about the martial law and the fact that her favorite teacher, an alien, has disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

The news is now reporting that Supergirl tried to free the prisoners at Stryker's Island.

Supergirl decides she needs to lie low for a while, despite what Alex and Lena think, and find another way to fight Lockwood and President Baker.

James calls Kelly, tells her about his seeing and hearing things from a distance, and how they need to talk to Lena.

President Baker authorizes Lockwood to deputize the Children of Liberty.

Otis was put back together by Eve Tessmacher after being blown up.

Kara interviews Steve Lomeli with the understand that he'll be an unnamed source. He reveals to her that he hacked the prison Wi-Fi and was able to back-up the computer in Lex Luthor's secret lab as a result.


Location

Stryker's Island - Metropolis.


The Bottom Line

A bit of a mixed bag, overall. When the episode is good, it is very good and the interactions between Lena and Supergirl,, Supergirl with Steve Lomeli (in both her identities) and Alex with Colonel Haley is golden. Braniac-5 and Dreamer's storyline is okay, if it a bit rushed, but it says a lot that I hadn't noticed that they hadn't interacted in three episodes.

The worst part of the episode is everything involving James and his sister, which instantly drags the plot down to a snail's pace. I know many people complain that James is a wholly unneeded character, but adding his sister into the show has only aggravated the problems with his scenes feeling tacked on.

Ironically, for all the problems this episode has with logic and people trying to hurt Supergirl who should really know better, some of its best moments involve Robert Baker hamming it up as Otis Graves and being appropriately stupid when it comes to seeing the obvious. Cheap as his resurrection is, it's actually a relief that such an amusing character wasn't killed off so casually. 

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 17 - All About Eve

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



Plot

Supergirl, Lena and Alex must form an unlikely alliance to go after the woman they see as the weak link of Lex Luthor's plan - Eve Teschmacher. Unfortunately, Eve is far smarter tan anyone gave her credit for - something the three women realize as they track Lex's "Ms. Teschmacher" across the country. Meanwhile, James is urged to confront the trauma his sister is sure he's repressing as Ben Lockwood works to help President Baker with his plan to repeal the Alien Amnesty Act.


Influences

Superman: Red Son (concept of Kryptonian raised in Russia)


Goofs

Kara says that Lex Luthor usually retaliates within 48 hours of a prison escape. How would she know this when Lex was just sent to prison for the first time over three years ago? (He may have escaped several times in the space between the events depicted in the last episode.)

Why would the DEO be involved in the hunt for Lex Luthor when he isn't an alien criminal? (Lex utilizes some of the most advanced technology on Earth and the DEO has the most experience in battling similar tech.)

Eve Teschmacher is said to have an elderly aunt in National City whom she visited on Sundays. In 406, Eve said that she didn't really get along with her family and could work on Thanksgiving without issue. (She may have been lying or it she doesn't get along with her family apart from the one aunt.)

The DEO is supposed to be providing extra security for the President. So why are all the personnel in the Oval Office armed with standard issue pistols?

Granting that it's a trope, why are the White House security so stupid as to waste ammo and risk a ricochet trying to shoot Supergirl in a crowded, dark room full of panicking civilians?

It is unclear at this point just where President Baker stands on the whole issue of alien rights. It seems to vary from episode to episode if he is as big a bigot as Ben Lockwood or if he's just a political opportunist who will do anything for votes. The fact that he is pushing forward with repealing the Alien Amnesty Act, despite having seemingly pacified Lockwood's followers by giving him a Cabinet post and not being worried about the many people protesting in favor of alien rights suggest he truly is a bigot.


Performances

Carl Lumbly is always a welcome presence as M'yrnn J'onnz, yet there is something about his performance and stance here that seems to emulate David Aja as Manchester Black. If it is revealed that his appearance here is art of Manchester's further manipulation of J'onn, then it may be the single must subtle performance ever seen on this show.

David Harewood also does a fantastic job depicting J'onn's breakdown in the face of his father's apparent disappointment.


Artistry

The attack on the White House scene is blocked like a horror movie and is truly scary. James PTSD attack during the battle is also well executed visually.


Super Trivia

The title of this episode comes from a 1950 film. It is the only film in Oscar history to secure four award nominations for actresses - two for Best Actress (Bette Davis and Anne Baxter) and Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm and Thelma Ritter). It is ranked #14 on the AFI 1998 list of Greatest American Films.

M'yrnn makes mention of the Martian city of Z'onn Z'orr.  In the classic DC Comics Universe,  Z'onn Z'orr was the name of a Martian colony city established on Earth thousands of years earlier in what became Antarctica. Hidden under the glacial ice for millennia, it was unearthed by the White Martians who attempted to invade Earth disguised as an alien superhero team called The Hyperclan in Grant Morrison's JLA: New World Order. It was briefly used as a Fortress of Solitude by J'onn after the Hyperclans defeat, but was later burned down during a battle with the villain Malefic.


Technobabble

Eve Teschmacher's research logs show that tried to extract the Harun-El serum from someone after treatment.

Lex Luthor and Eve Teschmacher used Cadmus' Metallo Protocol to revive Otis Graves. This is revealed to be how they brought him back to life. There were five failed test-subjects before him, one of which was turned into a semi-robotic guard for Eve Teshmacher's lab.

One car in Washington DC employs an x-ray scatter shield that blinds Supergirl when she tries to look through it. This car houses a hologram of Eve Teschmacher that tells Supergirl to enjoy the show once its light field is disrupted. This also triggers a Lexo-suit which confines Supergirl was the Red Daughter is impersonating her while attacking the White House.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Supergirl stares down the group of armed DEO agents pulling guns on her. She is holding a pink pastry box.)
Supergirl: I, uh...I come offering donuts and my help!

(Supergirl joins Lena and Alex before the house of Eve Teschmacher's aunt.)
Supergirl: Uh, so why are we in the burbs?
Lena: Well, I realized that Eve is in love with Lex...
Supergirl: (snarky) Crazy Lex-Girlfriend.

(M'yrnn is trying to leave J'onn's office with the Symbols.)
J'onn: You can't just leave. After everything we went through for you to pass the Symbols on to me?!
M'yrnn: You can imagine how disappointed I was when you resorted to violence.
J'onn: That's why I was trying to contact you! I need your help! I'm trying to... I'm trying to figure out who I'm supposed to be.
M'yrnn: The easiest question in the world.
J'onn: (stammering) What's the answer?
M'yrnn: For you? (shrugging) No idea. You figure it out. (chuckles)
J'onn: I ask you for help and all you do is turn up and you make it worse. (gripping M'yrnn's shoulders) I'm the last Green Martian!  If I lose myself, we not only lose Martian religion... I... we lose everything!  Our entire history! Every memory you ever gave me! (strangled) My wife... my daughters.
M'yrnn: (deadpan) So this is urgent?
J'onn: Yeah. Oh yeah.
M'yrnn: I know what will solve this problem.
J'onn: (desperately) What? What? What?
M'yrnn: A nice hot cup of c'off'ee!
J'onn: (confused) What?!
M'yrnn: I will stay for one.
(J'onn stands there, blinking as M'yrnn moves to make the coffee.)

(Lena, Alex and Supergirl are questioning Eve Teschmacher's cousin, Bitsie.)
Lena: Were you sick at all, Bitsie?
Bitsie: Me? Healthy as a horse. Why?
Lena: Oh, just something Eve said about a cousin with cancer and two daughters.
(Bitsie holds a forced smile as the oven timer goes off.)
Bitsie: My blood orange cake! Want some?
Supergirl: I can never turn down cake! (whispered) She's lying. Her heart is as fast as a hummingbird's.
Lena: (quietly) Yeah. I think so too.
(Bitsie straightens up from before the oven. She is holding a hot cake pan in her bare hands.)
Supergirl: Uh- Bitsie?  Your... your hands?
(Bitsie looks down and realizes her mistake. She drops the cake pan and begins badly acting like she is in pain.)
Alex: Your hands should be scalded. They're not even red.
Lena: You were sick. You were on hospice. Eve cured you with the serum I made for James. She was here.
Bitsie: I - I want you out of my aunt's house!
(Bitsie pounds the marble kitchen counter, which cracks under her fist. All three women look at her expectantly, clearly not buying any of this act anymore.)
Bitsie: (innocently) I drink a lot of milk?

(Eve Teschmacher and the Red Daughter, dressed as technicians walk through an underground service tunnel.)
Eve Teschmacher (exaggerated, as if speaking to a child): Okay! When YOU, get the signal, go THAT WAY, exactly 900 meters.
Red Daughter: (annoyed) I speak English better than you.

J'onn: Everything I did, I did in the name of peace.
M'yrnn:You killed him.
J'onn: He was a killer!
M'yrnn: Then so are you.
J'onn: Well, what would you have me do? Sit around and pray all day while the world around me burns, like you did on Mars?!
M'yrnn: (evenly) At least I didn't run.


Continuity

The episode opens with Alex leading a DEO team into Lena Luthor's office. They find a drugged Lena and a letter from Lex Luthor, addressed to Lena, left behind by Miss Teschmacher.

The letter to Lena berates her for betraying Lex and testifying against him and expresses his disappointment that she was so easy to fool, first by working Miss Tessmacher into her trust and then by manipulating her into perfecting the Harun-El cure. He warns her not to come after him because he may not be so sentimental as to let her live next the next time they meet.

Lena tries to tell Alex something but Alex tells her to just focus on resting.

J'onn searched the entire South Pacific but could find on sign of Lex or his helicopter.

Kara makes reference to Superman being off-planet.

J'onn tries to cast a psychic net to locate Lex. Instead, he hears the voice of his father and passes out.

J'onn says he has newfound clarity as to who he is not, but fears he no longer knows who he is.

There is an ancient Martian story about a race of shape-shifters whose planet was destroyed. That had to constantly change shape to survive but ultimately forgot what they truly looked like and who they had been.

J'onn decides to try and use the staff of his father to contact his spirit for advice.

James is released from the hospital. He got a clean bill of health but still seems to be jumpy about loud noises.

Kelly Olsen is a psychologist specializing in trauma treatment.

President Baker is moving ahead with the repeal of the Alien Amnesty Act now that everyone in the world is distracted by Lex Luthor's escape from prison.

Supergirl goes to the DEO to offer he help and brings donuts with her.

Kara says that Lex Luthor usually retaliates within 48 hours of a prison escape.

Col. Haley is fond of cinnamon crullers.

Col. Haley has ordered most of the DEO personnel to Washington D.C., by order of President Baker, to act as extra security during the ceremony repealing the Alien Amnesty Act, specifically to counter unrest and protests by alien rights groups.

According to Col. Haley, the FBI, CIA, the US Marshalls and possibly US Navy SEAL Teams 1-6 are currently assigned to the manhunt for Lex Luthor. In fact, every law-enforcement agency except the DEO seems to be involved.

Supergirl informs them that Lex Luthor now has superpowers.

Col. Haley agrees to monitor the operation in DC, freeing Alex and Brainiac-5 up to assist Supergirl.

Alex suggests that she should talk to Lena Luthor about Eve Teschmacher given her rocky history with Supergirl.

Kara gives Alex a Superman signal watch so she can summon her directly if she needs help.

Supergirl tells Brainiac-5 that Nia is at the Fortress of Solitude, trying to dream up a lead on Luthor.

Supergirl returns Brainiac-5's Legion flight ring.

M'yrnn shows up at J'onn's office in the flesh, as he is meditating trying to commune with M'yrnn's spirit.

M'yrnn says that J'onn's office reminds him of the library at the University of Z'onn Z'orr.

M'yrnn says that he returned in the flesh because J'onn failed and he is taking the Sacred Symbols back.

J'onn passes out again as M'yrnn takes the symbols, now manifested as a vessel on J'onn's table, away.

Lena leaves the hospital and visits Lillian Luthor in prison.

Lillian says Lena was prone to migraines as a child.

Lillian is aware of who Eve Teschmacher is and mocks her for following Lex like a love-sick puppy.

Lillian says that Lena's friends will abandon her once they find out what she did to try and save Lex and that she'll be all alone again.

Alex brings Lena in to help in the manhunt for Lex. Lena isn't happy about working with Supergirl, but says that finding Lex is more important than her grudge.

Lena goes with Alex and Supergirl to meet Eve's elderly aunt, Mary Tessmacher, who lives in National City and is the only family Eve has in the city. Eve apparently visited her every Sunday.

Ben Lockwood has a meeting with a Senator Grandbury, who informs him that she changed her mind and is voting against the repeal. Her justification is that denying aliens with superpowers basic rights might lead to an all-out war with humanity.

Lockwood suggests the Senator should fear the common man more than aliens. She doesn't buy it.

M'yrnn stays because J'onn passed out. He eventually agreed to stay and listen to J'onn's problems for one cup of coffee.

Mary Teschmacher is revealed to be on vacation in Florida. Her house and plants are being taken care of by Bitsie Teschmacher, who claims to be Eve' s favorite cousin and bowling partner at family reunions. Bitsie has twin daughters who are currently at camp.

Bitsie Teschmacher says she hasn't seen Eve in months.

Lena remembers from 407 that Eve said the she had a cousin with cancer with two daughters who was in hospice care. Bitsie shrugs this off and says she's as healthy as a horse.

Supergirl determines Bitsie Teschmacher is lying because her heart is racing like a hummingbird's.

It is revealed that Bitsie was given the Harun-El cure after she accidentally takes a cake pan out of the oven without protecting her hands and breaks a kitchen counter by pounding it, insisting that she's perfectly normal.

Bitsie affirms that Eve cured her cancer but insists that she is a good person who could never be involved with Lex Luthor. She says that Eve came to her and cured her recently, while on the run from the police, risking getting caught to save her life.

Eve had a secret lab at National City University.

Eve and the Red Daughter are seen dressed as technicians working in an access tunnel.

Kelly Olsen says she could fit ten of her apartments into James' office at CatCo.

Kelly gives her brother referrals to other trauma psychiatrists in Central City.

Lex Luthor tried to kill James Olsen on eight occasions.

James says the only time Kelly ever visited him was when he was in the hospital and she could tell him what to do.

Eve's lab at National City University is lead-lined.

Supergirl discovers Harun-El inside a safe in Eve's lab.

Lena confesses that it was hers and that she synthesized more after giving all of the original samples to Alura Zor-El.

Supergirl is angry about what Lena did but Alex points out that Lena's work has saved lives, including James'.

Kara admits she was wrong and says that she is just stressed out by the thought of failing to protect the world in Superman's absence. She apologizes to Lena for judging her. The three agree to let bygones be bygones.

Lena finds blueprints of Lillian Luthor's prison in Eve's lab.

Eve's computer password is ILoveLex.

Even and Lex revived Otis using the Cadmus Metallo protocol. They had five failed test-subjects before bringing him back, one of whom was likely transformed into the robot guarding Eve's lab.

Alex and Lena are able to destroy the new Metallo with an improvised grenade.

Brainiac-5 is given the Kryptonite hart of Metallo.

Supergirl finds a Cadmus-13 pistol in Eve's lab. This is the same type of pistol that shot James. Brainiac-5 later confirms that it is the gun that was used to shoot James. This suggests that Eve Teschmacher was the shooter, which makes sense as she could have gotten into CatCo relatively unnoticed without raising suspicion.

Lena, Alex and Supergirl puzzle out that Lex was behind the plot to shoot James and, quite likely, behind the creation of the Children of Liberty.

Lena says that she will talk to her mother in prison and try and get more information from her on Lex's plans or what Otis has been doing.

Supergirl says that she will go to Washington DC to ask Ben Lockwood about his connections to Lex Luthor.

J'onn says that he is the Martian Manhunter and that it was a mistake for him to try and take up his father's role as a priest.

J'onn says that he can take the sacred symbols of the Green Martian religion to the Desert of T'ozz - the place where H'ronmeer first imparted them to the Martians, They can lie dormant there until someone worthy comes to claim them.

M'yrnn reveals that he is just an extension of J'onn's memories of his father and that they have not really been talking.  J'onn says he realizes that, but says it was still good to see his father again.

Kara tells James that Eve was the one who shot him.

The Alien Amnesty Act was appealed, thanks to Senator Grandbury changing her mind.

At the press conference where Senator Grandbury announces her vote, Eve Teschmacher is briefly visible in the crowd of people behind the Senator after her image inducer briefly fails.

Lena shows Lillian the blueprints that Supergirl found. She points out that Lex wrote out the notation for Lillian's cell in red ink - his subtle notation for marking people needed to die in his plans. This means that he was coming for Lillian, not to break her out of prison, but to kill her because she knew something that could be used to track him.

Ben Lockwood is revealed to be ignorant of why Senator Grandbury changed her vote. When he asks why she changed her mind, she glances at the disguised Eve Teschmacher, and tells Lockwood to just take the win.

James attends the signing ceremony at the White House, among the many photographers allowed in to shoot the ceremony.

Supergirl is held captive by a Lexo-Suit after falling into a trap planed by Eve Tesmacher.

Red Daughter attacks the White House, dressed as Supergirl.

James has a PTSD attack in the middle of Red Daughter attacking the White House.

President Baker declares Martial Law in response to the attack and declares Supergirl public enemy number one.

Alex says there is no way Supergirl was responsible for the attack. Col. Haley agrees.

James tells Kelly that he does need help dealing with his trauma.

J'onn leaves the planet to return to Mars, to take the sacred symbols back. As he is doing this, he misses Kara's call to check up on him.

Lena and Alex call Supergirl with the signal watch, to let her know that they believe she is innocent and will help her prove it.


Location

Washington DC


The Bottom Line

Despite the title, this episode has almost nothing to do with Eve Teschmacher and everything to do with tending to all the subplots that have been neglected over the past two weeks while Lex Luthor was being established. It does this effectively, though there is a bit of irony in the finale, that Kara should find herself going into a search for the truth alongside her two best friends, whom she has lied to intensively in the name of a greater good. This is a far more compelling conflict than everything involving the Children of Liberty and the increasingly erratic President Baker. Thankfully, there's nothing in this episode that is glaringly bad either, apart from the James subplot, which is somehow made even worse by the inclusion of James' annoying sister Kelly.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 4, Episode 16 - The House of L

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




Plot

With Lex Luthor free from custody, it is now clear that he's been planning his escape for sometime and he's been far from idle while imprisoned. This flashback episode shows how Lex has been influencing the lives of his sister and Supergirl over the past few years and what role Lex has to play regarding the mysterious Supergirl clone now controlled by the Russian government.


Influences

Superman: The Movie (The trio of Lex, Ms. Teschmacher and Otis),  Superman: Red Son and DC Bombhsells (concept of Kryptonians raised by Russians during Cold War) and the Superman comics leading into Death of Superman, where Lex Luthor introduced the Matrix Supergirl to Earth culture and trained her to work for him.


Goofs

How did Ms. Teschmacher justify taking off from work to fly to Kaznia multiple times?

We still don't have an explanation for how Otis faked his death in 504.


Performances

Jon Cryer is pitch-perfect playing Lex Luthor as a smooth manipulator. You almost believe his sob stories to win over the Kara clone, even as we know they're totally untrue.

Melissa Benoist does an equally fantastic job playing the Kara clone and capturing her anger and confusion as she learns Lex has not been giving her the whole story.


Artistry

The opening sequence, in which Lex utilizes a drone which transforms into a Lexo Suit to lure Supergirl into a fight and reveal that he has powers now is well executed in terms of its visual effects.

The sequence of Lex exiting the courtroom to Frank Sinatra's "My Way" is another example of brilliant staging and perfectly matching music to mood. The song becomes a connecting theme for Lex as the episode continues.

The script for this episode is very intelligently written, even ignoring the literary and historical references. It explains a lot of what seems to be plot holes from earlier in the season (i.e. how the Kaznians just happened to have a room capable of protecting their clone from the Kryptonite seeding the atmosphere).


Super Trivia

In the opening sequence, Lex Luthor fights Supergirl on the roof of The Daily Planet. This is the newspaper for which Clark Kent famously worked in the original Superman comics. The fight ends with Lex bringing the globe on top of the Daily Planet building down on Supergirl.

After being convicted, Lex Luthor is sent to Stryker's Island. In the Superman comics, Styker's Island Penitentiary is a maximum security prison in Metropolis, located in the West River. It has a special facility used to contain metahuman criminals and has been the home of Lex Luthor during his stints in prison. It is modeled on the real world Riker's Island prison, which is located in New York City in the East River.

Lex makes reference to Eve Teschmacher being "a Manson girl," This is a nod to famous cult leader Charles Manson, who acquired a large number of groupies after being sent to prison.

When the Warden of Stryker's visits Lex to inform he he has a phone call from Kaznia, Lex first asks him how his husband liked the court-side Knights tickets. The Warden says it made him "feel like Nicholson." This is a nod to actor Jack Nicholson, who had standing court-side tickets to watch the L.A. Lakers basketball team play for many years.

What's curious about this is that, in the DC Comics Universe, Metropolis doesn't have a basketball team called the Metropolis Knights. Like New York City, Metropolis does have two baseball teams (The Monarchs and The Meteors) and two football teams (The Metros and The OTHER Metropolis Meteors). Their professional basketball team is the Metropolis Generals and their professional hockey team is the Metropolis Mammoths. Gotham City, it should be noted, has a professional sports franchise called the Gotham Knights. However, they are a baseball team rather than a basketball team.

Lex made arrangements for the inmates at Stryker's Island to be fed lobster, endearing himself to his fellow prisoners. Lex dismisses the Warden when he thanks him for this, saying that lobster is "18th century peasant food, only fit for the indentured and the incarcerated." This was the general attitude regarding lobster until World War II, when it was repackaged as a delicacy for the rich after it became scarcer due to a lack of fishing vessels and the materials needed to catch it. Before that, lobster was the most common source of protein for the working poor in coastal cities in America.

The Supergirl logo in the stinger for this episode has the name "Super Girl" written in Russian and shows the Red Son Superman logo rather than the usual House of El shield.

One of the books Lex arranges for the Kara clone to read is Thus Spoke Zarathrustra by Friedrich Nietzsche. This was the book where Nietzsche proposed that the future belonged to a paragon of virtue he called a "superman" which would go on to inspire the name of a certain superhero.

The Supergirl clone uses the alias Linda Lee while wearing a brunette wig to see America. In the classic Silver Age comics, Kara Zor-El used the same alias and disguise while she first came to earth and lived at the the Midvale Orphanage.

One of the rich men in the club who harass Linda Lee wears a pin that identifies him as working for AmerTek, whom Lex identifies as an unscrupulous company. In the Superman comics, AmerTek was a corrupt military weapons manufacturer who employed John Henry Irons before he became the superhero Steel. The company has also appeared on Arrow and The Flash and was depicted as being equally corrupt.


Technobabble

Lex has a drone he can control with his watch which can transform into a full Lexo-Suit of armor, capable of flight.

Lex has a hologram of himself set up in his cell to hide his absence.

When pondering things that might have caused the Kara clone's illness, Lex considers that the Black Kryptonite may have caused unchecked cell growth, which might be cancer-symptomatic. He also says it could be a telomere problem. He goes on to say they must stabilize the senescence, before Eve Teschmacher finally gets his attention.


Dialogue Triumphs

Judge: Mr. Luthor, you are charged with murder, ecoterrorism, and crimes against humanity. Since you have chosen to represent yourself, have you anything to say before I render the verdict of this court?
Lex: (standing up) Superman made me do it.
(The audience mutters as the judge gavels for silence.)
Lex: This is a paradigm shift. Aliens are among us. And for the rest of human history, there will only ever be "before Superman" and "after." I am protecting mankind from an extinction event. And if this pearl-clutching jury of my... (voices trails off, hesitating, finally saying the word) peers... wants to put me behind bars for it, they are welcome to try. But know this. I will always have my thumb on the scales.
Judge: Alexander Joseph Luthor, (clears throat) You've been found guilty on all counts and will serve 31 consecutive (coughs a bit more harshly) life sentences.
(The judge starts to cough uncontrollably.)
Lex: Maybe we should make it 32?
(The lawyers for the prosecution and the jury all start coughing as well, gasping for air.  James Olsen runs around the courtroom as if trying to figure out who to help first as Lena is ushered out of the room by her security detail. The bailiffs force Lex down, bending him over the table for the defense team. Luthor closes his eyes and smiles wickedly.)

Eve: Wow. (chuckles) Nice prison you got here.
Lex: It's for conjugal visits. But still, after this, it's back to concrete and iron.
Eve: Sounds lonely.
Lex: Stryker's is a Petri dish. Bottle city. I've even managed to teach some of the inmates chess. I like mentoring.
Eve: It's a waste. You're a once-in-a-generation mind and the only man standing between us and total annihilation. You know, I used to write you letters.
Lex: I read them. You're literate for a Manson girl.
Eve: You are not Manson. And for the record, I'm not just some girl. I've got degrees from Yale in literature and physics, and I am a former Junior Miss North Carolina.
Lex: I don't need your resume. (thoughtful) Although... I may know someone who does. Ms. Tessmacher...
Eve: Eve.
Lex: Ms. Tessmacher, I need you to do me a favor. What do you know about CatCo Magazine?
Eve: Their circulation's down?
Lex: Jimmy Olsen works there. He's been a thorn. But he's connected to the second Kryptonian. And I happen to know that Cat Grant needs a new assistant. A woman of your talents would have no problem finding a job there.
Eve: Consider it done. But you do know there's a lot more that I can do.
Lex: And you will. We're gonna make you undeniable.

Lex: Pennies from heaven, how does this happen?! Clone?
Eve: I think I know. It's called Harun-El. Black Kryptonite. It splits Kryptonians in two. Supergirl must have come into contact with it.
Lex: She's a blank slate. Doesn't share Supergirl's memories.
Eve: We don't know exactly how this works, yet.
Lex: (incredulous) "We"?
Eve: (calmly) It's Lena. And she has more.
Lex: Brava!
Eve: (smug) I told you I'd be more useful at L-Corp than CatCo.
Lex: And how is my darling sister?
Eve: Obsessed. About to have a breakthrough with the Harun-El. But she hasn't produced results yet.
Lex: See that she does.
(Lex enters into the back of a waiting car.)
Otis: So do I stay and hang with the Commies?
Lex: What? No, you're driving!
Otis: Oh, sure.
(Otis gets into the driver's seat as Eve takes a seat next to Lex.)
Otis: So what's the play?
Lex: Paper tigers.
Otis: (confused) Um...
Lex: (sighing) Chinese idiom. Paper tigers threaten, but are destroyed easily. Kaznia wants to move on the US. They're crazier than Russia. They wanna bring back the glory days of the Soviet Union.
Eve: So you wanna help them?
Lex: I don't care about their politics. Regimes change. Kings die. But if Kaznia attacks America, and I foil the attack, America will hail me as a hero. To do that, I'm gonna need patsies in both the East and the West. So, Otis, fetch your sister and find me a real American. Someone charismatic, a radical.
Otis: (grinning) I think I know just the guy, Mr. Luthor.
(Otis passes Lex one of Ben Lockwood's pamphlets.)
Otis: Name's Ben Lockwood, seems smart.
Lex: I'm glad someone does.
(Lex takes the pamphlet and flips through it, nodding as if to say "This has promise.")
Otis: Wait. Where are you going?
Lex: Back to Stryker's. Prison's the best alibi the world has yet devised. And I'm about to need a lot of alibis.

Lex: You've read that one more than the others. Gatsby. Why?
Kara Clone: (enthusiastic, but struggling to find the words in English) It's beautiful. Lush. I, uh... I think that's the word. The language. It's hard to even imagine the world that way.
Lex: (harshly) I didn't give it to you because it's pretty. This is a book about vapid, profligate fools. Money is always acquired at someone else's expense.
Kara Clone: (confused) But you have money? You must. The way you come and go.
Lex: I do. Because it is their weapon. The way their world works. Read it again.

(Lex is rambling to himself about how to save the Kara clone.)
Eve: Lex!
Lex: What? Oh, right. The Harun-El. It made her. It might stabilize her. Bring it to me.
Eve: It's not ready yet. Lena's trial still has a 100 percent mortality rate.
Lex: Then I'll solve it.
Eve: The girl is dying!
Lex: What do you suggest I do?! She is everything I have worked for! She's a... a miracle. The skies opened up and gave her to me. I...I can't lose her.
Eve: I have an idea. But you're not gonna like it. What we -
Lex: You're right! I have to give myself cancer.
(Lex starts to walk rapidly down the hallway with Ms. Teschmacher racing to keep up with him.)
Eve: Whoa, whoa, whoa. That is not what I was gonna say!
Lex: No, you were going to tell me that I need to work with Lena. And you're right. Except she won't buy it. She'll never work with me. But she will... save me.
(Lex opens the door to the radiation chamber and hits the button before closing the door.)
Eve: No, Lex. No!
(Ms. Teschmacher watches helplessly as Lex begins to scream as his body is bombarded with invisible energy.)

Lena: I'm not like you. I wanna help people.
Lex: I'm people! And you're using the black rock to make super soldiers. Who is that helping?

Kara Clone: Supergirl acts on her emotions. It's selfish, ugly. I will not be her. I will be me. I will be disciplined. I will follow you and destroy her.
Lex: Do you remember that story about Alexander the Great and his father?
Kara Clone: I remember.
Lex: You thought I was Alexander. But I'm Philip. I only get one lifetime. But you're forever. My gift to the world, my legacy.
(Lex reaches over and opens up a case.)
Lex: (In Russian) My Red Daughter.
(The Kara clone sits up and looks into the case. In it is a grey uniform with a stylized symbol on the chest. It has the same five-sided shield as the House of El symbol, but instead has the hammer and sickle of the old Soviet Union.)


Continuity

Lex has developed super-strength and enhanced durability thanks to the Harun-El cure.

Lex went on trial for 31 counts of Murder, Eco-terrorism and Crimes Against Humanity in the spring of 2016. This would have coincided with the time in between the end of Supergirl Season One and the start of Supergirl Season Two.

Both James Olsen and Lena Luthor testified at Lex Luthor's trial.

Lena was wearing a wire during the flashback sequence in 415 where Lex turned the sun red.

Lex was convicted of all charges. He presumably faced further chargers for Murder and/or Attempted Murder after he somehow managed to poison the judge, jury and prosecutors at his trial within seconds of being convicted.

Eve Teschmacher was a fan of Lex Luthor's work who went to the trial hoping to see him.

As Lex was taken away after being convicted, she was approached by Otis Graves.

Ms. Teschmacher later visits Lex in prison, where he recruits her to apply for the job as Cat Grant's personal assistant so that she can spy on James Olsen and Supergirl for him. This is where we first saw Eve on the show, having just started the job in 201.

Eve Teschmacher attended Yale and earned degress in Literature and Physics. This reaffirms her statement in 321 that she studied Nuclear Physics at Yale.

Eve Teschmacher was also Junior Miss North Carolina.

Lex carves a relief of Hannibal crossing the Alps into his cell wall over the course of two and a half years.

The Warden of Stryker's Island has a husband who is a basketball fan. Lex arranged for him to get court-side seats for a team called the Knights.

Lex also made arrangements for the inmates of Stryker's Island to be fed lobster.

Lex is contacted by the Minister of Defense for the nation of Kaznina. This takes place "six months ago", sometime in the Fall of 2018, before the events of 401.

Lex Luthor can speak Russian.

Lex knows the home address of the mother of Stryker Island's warden, the church she plays Bingo at every Friday night and the name of  her most heated rival. Showing this convinces the warden to look the other way when Lex leaves prison for 72 hours to travel to Kaznia.

Lex is shown to be playing four games of chess simultaneously with other inmates. He is able to Checkmate all of them at the same time.

"Nine months ago", shortly after the events of 323, the Kaznian military discovered the clone of Supergirl made by the Harun-El. They recognized her immediately and confirmed that the real Supergirl was in America.

The only word the Supergirl clone would say at first was Alex. She didn't seem to have any verbal language skills but did react violently to a soldier who tried to touch her.

The Supergirl clone was personally taught the Russian language and geography by the Kaznian Minister of Defense. This process took up about three months. It is shown here that while her verbal skills are limited she knows how to read English well enough to look words up in a Russian/English dictionary.

The first time the Supergirl clone is taken outside and trained in the use of her powers, she is startled by a sudden gunshot and activates her X-Ray and Heat vision, killing several soldiers before she is swarmed and tasered into submission. This prompts the Minister of Defense to contact Lex Luthor.

While Lex is en route to Kaznia, the Supergirl clone hears a boy calling for help. She flies to his aid and discovers his home being robbed by three men. She kills the three men. When Lex arrives, he finds the clone hugging the boy, clearly shaken by what she has done.

When Lex first speaks to the Supergirl clone, he says that he is Lex. She asks if he is Alex and he agrees.

Lex is accompanied by Otis Graves and Eve Teschmacher.

Lex agrees to teach the clone how to use her powers and train her to hate who the Kaznians want her to hate for an undisclosed sum of money. Otis notes that Lex isn't as liquid as he used to be.

The soldier who tried to touch the Kara clone before is shot after Lex instructs him to be removed. When the Minister of Defense says he can have the soldier re-stationed in the base where the clone, Lex points out that the clone can see through walls.

When the soldiers is shot, Eve Teschacmacher flinches and Lex tells her not to do that in the future.

The clone says that the name "Alex" is all she remembers apart from how to speak some English and read it somewhat better. Lex lies and says that he and the clone are good friends. She does not know anything about Krypton or why she has her powers.

Lex says that he will tell Kara everything but first he must go for a time. He gives her a package of Chocos and tells her that he will send books for her to study and that he expects her to be speaking English better when he returns.

Eve Teschmacher is the one who figures out that the Supergirl clone must have been created when Supergirl came into contact with Harun-El in 323. She tells Lex about how Harun-El is a black Kryptonite that has the ability to split Kryptonians in two but that Lena thinks it might have other properties and us experimenting with it in secret.

Eve Teschmacher smugly says that she told Lex she'd be more valuable to him as a spy on Lena Luthor at L-Corp than watching Jimmy Olsen at CatCo. Eve started working for Lena after the events of 321.

Lex's ultimate plan is to help the Kaznian's turn the Supergirl clone into the weapon they want but then set it up so he can stop that weapon, causing the public to see that he was right all along about the dangers posed by the Kryptonians and other aliens and hail him as a hero.

Otis suggests that Ben Lockwood might fit the role of a patriotic patsy who can be manipulated to serve Lex's agenda in the United States, showing Lex one of Lockwood's pamphlets We saw Otis pick up this pamphlet in a flashback in 403, which took place during the events of 323.

This confirms that Lex was the mastermind behind setting up the Children of Liberty, who sent Otis and Mercy Graves to Ben Lockwood in the flashback sequences of 403.

The books that Lex sends the Supergirl clone include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thus Spoke Zarathrustra by Friedrich Nietzsche, Course in General Linguistics by Ferdinand De Saussure, Edward Gibson's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy by Karl Marx.

Lex learned both chess and the Russian language from the chess-master Anatoly Karpov as a boy.

Lex quizzes the clone on Philip of Macedon - the father of Alexander The Great, who accomplished far more than his father ever had and conquered the world. The clone guesses correctly that Lex was named for Alexander the Great and admired him.

The Great Gatsby is the clone's favorite book. She likes the rich language and descriptions of the beauty of the 1920s. Lex says that is not why he gave it to her. He wanted to show her how wasteful and greedy the idle rich were. She says that Lex must be rich and he agrees, but claims he only uses his money as means to an end to counter corrupt elites and those who abuse their power.

The Kara Clone begins visiting the boy she saved for tea on a regular basis. His name is Mikhail.

Mikhail's mother is away working much of the time.

Mikhail's father was a bad man who abandoned them.

Lex visits Mikhail with the Kara Clone on one of these visits. He says that he had a bad father too, but his father stayed.

It is during this visit that the Children of Liberty plot to seed the sky with Kryptonite from 402 is set into motion. Lex was prepared, however, and built a chamber that would protect the Kara clone. It is here that he reveals that she is an alien from Krypton, explains how Kryptonite can harm her and that there is another Kryptonian, Supergirl, who believes in the greed of the nations that oppose Kaznia.

When the Kara clone is released from her safety chamber in 404, Lex agrees to show her America and tell her more about Supergirl.

Lex refers to Supergirl as the clone's sister.

The Kara Clone draws a parellel between herself and Supergirl and Lex and Lena, identifying her as the usurper who took what was owed to another who just wanted to help people.

Lex arranges for the Kara Clone to work in a ritzy club under the name Linda Lee. This allows her to see first-hand the piggish behavior of American captains of industry.

Lex Luthor is aware of Supergirl's secret identity and breaks into Kara Danvers' apartment so the Kara Clone can see the "opulent" lifestyle of her sister.

While looking at Kara's kitchen and being stunned at how much food is saved for one person, the clone sees a photo of Alex Danvers with Kara and sees the name Alex on a score-card from game night pinned to the fridge.

The Kara clone is forced to impersonate Kara when Alex shows up at her apartment to water her plants. This reveals that this scene took place while Kara was on vacation in Smallville, during the events of Elseworlds.

After learning that Supergirl has an Alex of her own, the clone reads Kara's journal instead of immediately returning to Kaznia. Through it, she learns of Kara's life and how she befriended Lena Luthor.

The Kara Clone goes to L-Corp to see Lena and impersonates Kara to talk to her. She runs into Eve Teschmacher, whom she tells that from what she has seen America is unsavory but it is not as bad as Lex told her. She also says that Supergirl seems to want to help people and has compassion and friends like Lena. She wants to know how Supergirl and Lena could be friends, based on what Lex told her of his treacherous sister.

Eve Teschmacher reports this to Lex in prison, who comes up with a plan to win back control of the Kara clone by killing Mikhail with a missile attack.

Eve Teschmacher sneaks onto the USS Yosemite - a US Navy ship on maneuvers near Kaznia - and launches a missile which destroys Mikhal's home after Otis sets up a receiver to attract it.

The Kara clone goes on a rampage and nearly destroys the USS Yosemite.

Lex stops the Kara Clone, but admonishes her for being undisciplined and weak.

Otis is revealed to have saved Mikhails' life. He tells him that he was dead once but instructs Mikhail to play dead if he ever sees a bald man.

We see the clip of the Kara Clone training from 411 where she developed the nose-bleed and passed out.

Lex is contacted after this happened and informed that the clone is dying of an unknown illness.

Lex concludes the only thing that can save the clone is the Harun-El, which means he needs to help Lena finish her work. Since there is no way Lena will work with him, he concludes he must goad her into saving him. This leads Lex to go into the radioactive chamber he built to test Kara's invulnerability, and exposing himself to enough radiation to give himself cancer.

Lex tells Lena about his illness, confirming what Lena said in 415 about Lex telling her he was dying of cancer six weeks earlier.

Lionel Luthor was an alcoholic.

Lex uses a blood transfusion of his own blood to cure to treat the Kara clone. He apologizes for what he said before. She in turn apologizes for losing control of her emotions. She declares that she will be more logical in the future and follow Lex's lead, not letting her heart guide her as Supergirl does.

Lex gives the clone a title - Red Daughter - and declares that she will be his legacy - the new Alexander who will conquer the world and create a new era of peace.

Supergirl tells Alex and James that Lex Luthor has escaped.

Alex says she will find Lena. She tells Supergirl to find J'onn and then go look for Lex.

Ms. Teschmacher is seen dropping Lena off at her office and leaving a letter behind on her desk.

The Red Daughter is seen hovering over an American city as the episode closes.


Location

Metropolis - The Roof Of The Daily Planet - Spring 2019 (Today)
Metropolis - Spring 2016 (Three Years Ago)
Stryker's Island - Spring 2016 (Three Years Ago)
Stryker's Island - Fall 2018 (Six Months Ago)
Kaznia - Fall 2018 (Six Months Ago)
Kaznia - Summer 2018 (Nine Months Ago)
National City - Winter 2018 (Four Months Ago)
Kaznia - Winter 2018 (Four Months Ago)
Kaznia - Winter 2019 (Three Months Ago)
National City - Five Weeks Ago
Kaznia - Spring 2019 (Today)


The Bottom Line

A powerful episode that redefines the series and the stakes of the season. While the Red Daughter storyline has been handled clumsily before now, this episode explains away the missteps and inspires a surprising degree of sympathy for its villains. The Red Daughter is shown to have been manipulated from the first moment of her creation. Eve Teschmacher is shown to have been manipulated by Lex Luthor, even if she is more ruthless than we thought. Even Otis is shown to have a softer side. And you almost feel sympathy for Jon Cryer's Lex in those moments where it seems like he's slipping a little truth into his sob stories, such as when he mentions his own bad father and looks uncomfortable at the honest emotion. Almost.