Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 22 - Nevertheless, She Persisted

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




Plot

The people of National City are fighting back against their Daxamite invaders and Kara has freed her friends from captivity. But Queen Rhea has one trick left up her sleeve - a mind-controlled Superman!


Influences

Superman: War Of The Supermen. The Smallville episode Splinter (concept of Silver Kryptonite)


Goofs

As has been pointed out before, there's no explanation for how Queen Rhea learned of Kryptonite's effect on Kryptonians.

It also hasn't been explained why she felt the need to haul all of these - as far as she knew - completely useless rocks with her across the universe.

How in Rao's name did Rhea keep Superman subdued until Kara showed up? When exactly did she capture him, anyway? Was she sitting on him during the arranged marriage between Mon-El and Lena?

Why didn't Rhea use the Silver Kryptonite on Kara when she showed up?  Or any of the other Kryptonite she's apparently been sitting on all this time?

Why did Rhea use some untested form of Kryptonite on Superman? Why not just kill him? It was said last week that the Daxamite ships had Kryptonite cannons, so it's not like they're unwilling to use it in a lethal fashion.

Rhea's Kryptonite blood has similar issues. Ignoring that she'd have no way of knowing the effects her blood would have on Kryptonians (Clark and Kara are the only two left, as far as we know.) how would her body be able to contain it? She hasn't been exposed to a yellow sun nearly enough to have the natural immunities Daxamites are suppose to get under a yellow sun, so her skin shouldn't be acting like lead shielding.

There is no logical reason for why Rhea suddenly turns to stone and crumbles to dust. On top of everything else, the special effects suck.

Alex is able to get that one-man Kryptonian rocket delivered in record time consider the massive infrastructure damage that's taken place in National City.

So with all the technology that the DEO has to accommodate all manner of alien life form and disaster, they don't have an isolation cell capable of filtering out all outside air?


Performances

Tyler Hoechlin is still a damn fine Superman.

It's corny as all hell, yet even my stone heart was moved by Kara and Mon-El's tearful goodbye. A wonderful bit of acting from both Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood and the culmination of a great partnership that dazzled us all season.


Artistry

The effects work on the fight between Superman and Supergirl sets a new high-water mark for the series and superhero TV shows in general. The direction is top-notch too.

The running battle between the various forces in the fifth segment is also good, in terms of script-balance and direction.

The penultimate sequence, set to Idina Menzel's Small World, is perfect. Music. Acting. Direction. Everything.


Super Trivia

The episode title - Nevertheless, She Persisted - is a phrase that was adopted by feminist activitsts in the United States as a rallying cry in 2017. It originated from the comments of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as he attempted to silence Senator Elizabeth Warren while she was in the middle of reading a letter from Coretta Scott King. The altercation ended in Senator Warren being banned from further speaking during the proceedings. The letter was later read, without objection, by a male Senator.

Queen Rhea uses Silver Kryponite against Superman. The Silver Kryptonite of the DCTVU causes Kryptonians to suffer from intense paranoia and hallucinations. In this case, it causes Superman to see his most loyal ally (i.e. Supergirl) as his worst enemy (i.e. General Zod).

This seems similar to the Silver Kryptonite which first appeared in the Splinter episode of Smallville. There, Clark's blood became contaminated with a splinter of Silver Kryptonite, which caused him to become paranoid and turn on his friends and family. Unlike in this episode, it wasn't enough for Clark just to get close to it.

This form of Silver Kryptonite was introduced into the DC Comics Universe about three years later in Superman/Batman #49. Here, Silver Kryptonite was said to have mystic properties and was used in the creation of the two halves of the Ach-Om Rashay or Amulet of Mindfulness.

A different form of Silver Kryptonite appeared decades earlier in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #70. This form of Kryptonite had no special powers, being a prop made by Jimmy Olsen to keep Superman from snooping around his plans for a surprise party honoring the 25th anniversary of Superboy's first public appearance.

Mon-El calls Kara "The Woman of Tomorrow". In the comics, slightly less often than being referred to as The Man of Steel, Superman was called The Man of Tomorrow. Supergirl, in turn, was referred to as The Maiden of Steel and The Woman of Tomorrow, though The Maid of Might or Maiden of Might was more common.

Cat Grant notes that she has never seen Star Wars. This is something of a joke given that Cat Grant's actress - Calista Flockhart - is married to Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford.

The device Lex Luthor designed to irradiate Earth's atmosphere with Kryptonite in a bid to kill Superman or drive him off-planet is reminiscent of a similar safeguard Luthor developed during the War of The Supermen storyline in the comics. There, in order to repel an invasion of  hostile Kryptonians, Lex Luthor created a device which turned Earth's sun red instead of yellow. This killed nearly all of the invading Kryptonians as they were in deep space flying to Earth from New Krypton.

Superman teaches Supergirl a fighting move he says he learned on Warworld. In the DC Comics Universe, Warworld is an artificial planet most famously used by the intergalactic despot Mongul as a gladiatorial arena. It has alternatively been used as a base of operations by Brainiac and Sinestro.

Rhea says that after National City she will move on to destroy Star City and Metropolis. Star City, of course, is the home town of Green Arrow and Metropolis is the hometown of Superman in the DC Comics Universe.

In the final sequence, we see another baby sent away from Krypton on the day Kara and Kal-El were sent into space. Tended to by sinister women in black robes, they say that the child will "reign" on Earth. This may be a reference to Reign Of The Superman - the 1933 story by Jerry Siegel with illustrations by Joe Shuster - which served as a prototype for the concept that would eventually become the Superman we know and love today.

Reign Of The Supermen was also the name of the 1993 storyline following The Death of Superman where four characters - Cyborg Superman, The Man of Steel, Superboy and The Eradicator - appeared following Superman's death.

The building the baby is launched from has a Kryptonian house symbol upon its wall. The symbol appears to depict the profile of a skull. It does not correspond to any previous Kryptonian house symbol on record that this chronicler can find.

It may also be worth mentioning that Reign is the name of a super-villain from the 2011 New 52 Supergirl series. Reign was a genetically engineered creature created on Krypton for some undefined purpose. Reign was one of five such "Worldkillers" who were created to be living biological weapons that would continually evolve, becoming more and more capable of causing untold death and destruction. It was never confirmed but strongly suggested that Doomsday - the monster that killed Superman - was the fifth missing Worldkiller.


Technobabble

The DEO satellites are programmed to search for trace amounts of Kryptonite anywhere on Earth. This enables them to sense the poisoned Superman when he and Kara are fighting in the middle of National City.

Lena says that she can re-purpose one of her brother's devices so that it releases lead into Earth's atmosphere at a level non-lethal to humans but deadly to Daxamites. Reportedly Lex had intended to use Kryptonite rather than Lead, in a bid to either kill Superman or force him to leave Earth forever.

El Mayara is the Kryptonese phrase for "Stronger Together".

U-th-aur is the Martian word for Brother.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Kara wakes up in bed next to Mon-El. She cuddles up to him.)
Kara: Let's just stay here a little while longer, okay?
Mon-El: How long?
Kara: Until tomorrow.

Superman: And you're the guy who's dating my cousin?
Mon-El: Yes, sir. Mon-El of Daxam.  Though not, uh not like... the others Daxam. The killy ones?
(Superman just nods and offers his hand, which Mon-El shakes, looknig relieved.)
Superman: You must be a good guy or she wouldn't be with you.

Supergirl: I just... I feel like I'm on the brink of having everything I ever wanted. Family. Friends. A job I love. A life as a hero I never could have imagined. And Mon-El. If I beat Rhea, I get to keep all of that. (pauses) I don't know! I don't know if it's possible! I don't know if it's possible to have everything you want!
Superman: Well, it is. But only because you worked for it. Whenever I fight, no matter who it's against or where it is, I'm always fighting for Lois. I fight with her right here. (taps his heart) The people we love, they're ah... they're another secret super power. Keep him with you.

(Lilian Luthor is pushing desperately at a button on the device to irradiate the atmosphere. Nothing is happening.)
Lillian: You said it worked!
Lena: Oh, it does. I just gave Supergirl the remote. Only she can turn it on.

Mon-El: There's something I need to say. Wherever I go, I'm going to be better because of you. You'll be in my heart. I promise I'm going to be the man... that you thought I could be. I promise.


Continuity

Superman fought General Zod at some point in the past.

Clark considers Zod his worst enemy and is the person he most fears.

Mention is made of the necklace that Kara's mother gave her right before she left Krypton - last mentioned in 120.

The chessboard in Lena's office is a Luthor family heirloom.

The device Lillian Luthor took from Lex's vault in 212 is revealed. It's a device which could irradiate the atmosphere with Kryptonite, either killing Superman or making him unable to stay on Earth. Lena says she can alter it to do the same thing with lead at a level non-lethal to humans but deadly to Daxamites.

Clark says that he has never encountered Silver Kryptonite before.

Clark says that he was at full-strength when Kara beat him.

Clark refers to 208 and how Kara destroyed Kelex - the robot butler who tends to The Fortress of Solitude.

Dakkam Ur is an ancient and sacred rite dating back to the original wars between Daxam and Krypton. It likely dates back further as Mon-El says (though he is exaggerating slightly) that it has been around since "we crawled out of caves with rocks and sticks." In Earth terms, Dakkam Ur is a trial by combat.

Cat Grant has never seen Star Wars.

Clark has green eyes.

Superman fought on Warworld.

Superman addresses J'onn as Brother in Martian after J'onn says "Stronger Together" in Kryptonese.

M'Gann - last seen in 211 - arrives from Mars with friendly White Martians to aid in the battle.

Cat refers to the events of 119, saying that the Daxamite invasion is worse than Myriad.

Rhea dies after Kara activates Lena's device.

Mon-El leaves Earth in the rocket that originally saved him.  Kara gives him her mother's necklace.

Clark says once again that he thinks Kara is stronger than him. Not just physically, but emotionally. He freely admits that he isn't certain he could make a choice between Lois Lane and the world though he would like to believe that he would.

The mind bond between M'Gann and J'onn is strong enough that she heard him cry for help for Mars.

M'Gann discovered other White Martians who regret their past actions as she does.

Alex refers to how Kara told her how proud she was of her in 206. She returns the favor.

Alex proposes to Maggie. We don't hear an answer but her smile indicates a favorable response.

Cadmus and Lillian Luthor take credit for having saved the Earth.

Cat Grant has been married four times. It might have been five but she turned down Rob Lowe. Twice.

Cat refers to Kara's articles on Slaver's Moon (209), the Alien Registry (215) and Roulette's Alien Fight Club (204).

It is finally confirmed that Cat Grant does know that Kara Danvers is Supergirl and has merely been playing dumb this whole time.

Mon-El is seen entering a wormhole to parts unknown.

The final sequence - a flashback to Krypton  35 years ago - reveals that a third child, described as an "it" - was sent to Earth at the same time as Kara and Kal-El. When asked what it will do once it gets there, it is said that "It will reign."


Untelevised Adventures

General Zod apparently fought Superman at some point in the past.

Apparently, Clark also fought on Warworld in this reality.

M'Gann apparently made contact with other peace-minded White Martians on her return to Mars. They are now working to change how things are run and make amends for their past crimes.


The Fridge Factor

Surprisingly averted. Kara is said to be stronger than Superman twice. Lena proves to be smarter than her mother and probably could have finished her brothers' device faster without Winn's "help". On top of everything else, we finally get confirmation that Cat Grant knows about Kara's secret identity.


The Kryptonite Factor

Never has this section been quite so appropriately named. See Goofs, if you haven't already, for a full list of all the reasons why all the uses of Kryponite in this episode don't make sense. From Queen Rhea hauling it around with her in the first place to her poisonous Kryptonite blood, I defy you to make sense of any of this!


The Bottom Line

Cat Grant says it best "This is worse than Myraid. I never thought I'd say that." And yet, somehow, like Myraid, most of this episode works far better than it has any right to given the gaping plot-holes and the utter cheesiness of some scenes. Despite everything wrong, I still believe a girl can fly and can't wait for Season Three to start, if only to see if my guesses as to the identity of the "it" in the rocket is right.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 21 - Resist

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



Plot

The Daxamites are invading Earth and Kara is chomping at the bit to fight back, as Queen Rhea has captured both Lena Luthor and Mon-El. Yet The President has ordered the DEO to shoot down the Daxamite Mothership without making any rescue efforts. Will Kara form an unlikely alliance with Lilian Luthor and CADMUS, who have been preparing for just such an event for years, just to save her best friend and boyfriend?


Influences

The comic storyline Superman: New Krypton. The film Independence Day. (alien invasion plot, mentioned by Winn when describing the Daxamite ships hovering over National City.). The movie Man of Steel (the Daxamite technology used to create children.)


Goofs

The idea that Air Force One would be allowed to fly into the middle of a war zone while carrying the President is one of Trumpian stupidity.

The pattern of debris from the downed Air Force One should be spread across a greater radius.

Ironically, given that, Cat Grant's speech rallying the people of Earth to fight the Daxamites makes mention of a promise they made to "make Earth great again". Queen Rhea made no such promises in her earlier speeches.

On that note, you know what information might have been incredibly useful to broadcast along with Cat Grant's speech? The fact that ordinary lead bullets can be used to incapacitate a Daxamite. (Then again, if regulations in National City are like anything in real-world California, lead bullets are outlawed due to concerns about the lead being toxic.)

When it comes to enclosing the resisters who dared to fight the Daxamite invaders, one would think the Daxamites might have more advanced technology than simple chain-link fencing.

Where did Lena get the gun that she used to shoot the guard?

How the heck are Henshaw and Lillian going to get out of the Fortress of Solitude and not freeze to death if Kara isn't carrying them out?

Kara's speech about not understanding how the Daxamites could be so evil when they had families like hers doesn't ring true given all of the anti-Daxamite bigotry she showed earlier in the season.


Artistry

The pre-title sequence with the DEO being invaded is perhaps the strongest action sequence in the show's history in terms of overall direction.


Super Trivia

The basic plot of this episode - and indeed the major story arc of the second season - borrows a lot from the Superman: New Krypton storyline. In brief, Superman is able to rescue a lost group of Kryptonians who are unwilling to adapt to life on Earth and ultimately seek to establish a new world. Their attacks on Earth wind up empowering various xenophobic Superman enemies, including General Sam Lane and Lex Luthor, who is given a full pardon in exchange for devising weapons capable of halting the Kryptonian invasion of Earth.

President Olivia Marsdin - who we have known is an alien since her first appearance - is identified in this episode as having been born on the planet of Durla. In the DC Comics Universe, Durla is home to a race of shape-shifters who are almost universally distrusted because of their powers. The Legion of Super Heroes member Chameleon Boy is a Durlan.

The Daxamite technology for creating children from the merging of DNA without the need for sexual contact seems similar to the Kryptonian Birthing Matrix from the original Superman comics. It is a matter of record that Kryptonians considered themselves evolved past such "barbaric" means of continuing their race and that they used the genetic material of two predetermined subjects to create the next generation of Kryptonians.

Similar technology was used to create children on Krypton in the DC Cinematic Universe, according to the movie Man of Steel.

The Daxamites of the DCTVU seem to possess similar technology though - based on Mon-El's behavior in earlier episodes - they do not have the same prudishness regarding sex as the Kryptonians in the DC Comics Universe.

The Phantom Zone Projector is a piece of Kryptonian technology used to transport matter to or from The Phantom Zone - an extra dimensional realm used by The Kryptonians as a prison for their worst criminals.

In the DCTVU, The Phantom Zone Projector was used to transport convicted criminals to Fort Rozz.

As in the comics, Daxamites are allergic to lead in the same way that Kryptonians are weakened by Kryptonite. A single well-placed bullet is enough to incapacitate one, according to Lillian Luthor.

Alex tells Kara to be "faster than a speeding bullet" when it comes to rescuing Mon-El and Lena. This is a nod to the introduction of the 1950s Adventures of Superman live-action TV show, where Superman was described as being "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive (and) able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."


Technobabble

The White Martian device Rhea used to attack J'onn causes his vitals to become erratic. According to Alex, his neurons are "working overtime" but he is otherwise comatose.

Lillian Luthor says that the Daxamite ships are armed with Kryponite cannons and have upgraded their shields since the last time Supergirl fought them.

The DEO base in National City has a positron cannon mounted on the roof. This cannon is apparently powerful enough that not even Supergirl could survive being hit by it.

Daxamites have the technology to produce children between two beings without the need for sexual intercourse. All that is required is DNA samples from the respective subjects.

Hank Henshaw claims to be capable of repurposing a Phantom Zone Projector into a teleporter capable of penetrating the shields around the Daxamite Mothership.

Henshaw also claims that his enhanced cybernetic core will allow him to interface with the computers on the Daxamite mothership, allowing them to move undetected once on-board..

Winn designs a spray-nozzle for Guardian's gauntlet that sprays a lead-dust aerosol, effectively giving any Daxamite caught in the cloud "space asthma".


Dialogue Triumphs

(Maggie and Alex kiss.)
Alex: I'm so glad you're okay!
Maggie: And I'm so glad that when things look their worst, we both thought to run straight to a bar.

(Mon-El spins around and faces the guard escorting him and Lena back to their cell.)
Mon-El: As your Prince, I order you to lay down your weapons and let us go.
(The guard draws a gun.)
Mon-El: (smiling) Yeeeeeah.  I didn't think that was going to work either.

(Lillian has just left Kara and Mon-El for dead on the Daxamite ship.)
Mon-El: Well, now what are we going to do?
Supergirl: (sighs as she pulls out a small device) Lillian betraying us wasn't the biggest shock ever. So Winn bugged Henshaw and rigged a remote so I could beam us back if she double-crossed us. Hope for the best -
Mon-El: Have Winn Schott prepare for the worst.


Dialogue Disasters

Every cursed line Cat Grant says.


Continuity

Daxam's architecture involved great pyramids.

Supergirl and Cat Grant learn that President Olivia Marsdin is an alien.

President Olivia Marsdin was Cat Grant's resident assistant in the dorms at Radcliff University.

Olivia Marsdin is identified as a Durlan. Mon-El mentioned the Durlan race in 217.

President Marsdin says that Durlan was invaded by another planet and her people enslaved within the course of one year. She claims to be one of the few who escaped that fate.

There is a Luthor Family Children's Hospital.

A Phantom Zone Projector is among the Kyptonian artifacts Superman stores in The Fortress of Solitude.

Reference is made to Hank Henshaw breaking into The Fortress of Solitude in 207.

Lillian Luthor confirms that she knows Kara Danvers is Supergirl. She says that she didn't tell Lena because she trusts that Lena will figure out the truth on her own eventually and that she will hate Kara for lying to her and prove everything Lillian ever said about Supergirl correct.

Maggie refers to the events of 203 and how she and Alex met during an attack on The President.

Cat Grant recognizes James as The Guardian immediately.

At the end of the episode, it appears that Queen Rhea has taken control of Superman, somehow, and used him to destroy the DEO's positron cannon.


Location

The Fortress of Solitude.


The Bottom Line

I'd forgotten how much better this show got once Cat Grant left it. I enjoy a good slam of Bill O'Reilly as much as the next smartass woke social liberal but 90% of Cat's dialogue seems really out of place here and distracts away from what should be Kara's finest moment as a hero.

It's telling that all of the developments that have made Season Two different than Season One - Kara's relationships with Lena and Mon-El, J'onn's more active role in the field, the presence of Maggie Sawyer and James as The Guardian - are all minimized or negated so that Cat Grant can save the day by giving a speech. Because this is much more interesting than watching a hero cop, a masked vigilante or the combined forces of the DEO fighting aliens in the streets of National City. Presumably this episode was meant to save the budget for the big finale next week?

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 20 - City of Lost Children

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




Plot

When National City is seemingly attacked by a member of a normally peaceful race of alien telekinetics, it raises a lot of eyebrows at the DEO. When the hunt for the suspected terrorist discovers only one scared little boy named Marcus, it will fall to James Olsen to be The Guardian he dreams of being.


Influences

The 2008-2009 crossover event Superman: New Krytpon.


Goofs

Why doesn't J'onn use his telepathy to try and talk to Marcus?  You'd think having another telepath "speak" with him might be comforting.

You'd also think that  J'onn - being a father of two - might have some idea how to comfort an upset child. Or to at least have better sense than to lock a traumatized child up in an interrogation room!


Artistry

The special effects work for the various telekinetic attacks is great.

The final shot of the Daxamite ships hovering over National City is a visually stunning one.


Super Trivia

The episode title comes from a 1995 science fantasy film, which is set in a dystopian future where a mad scientist tries to steal the dreams of children in an effort to become immortal.

When James is talking to Winn about how he's scaring people rather than being a beacon of hope, he refers to "Clark's friend" and Winn says he always thought they were more frienemies, it's pretty clear that they are talking about Batman. This is yet another subtle hint that Batman does exist on the Earth of Supergirl.

Lena says that her brother Lex is being held on Stryker's Island. In the DC Comics Universe, Stryker's Island is a maximum security prison located on an island in the West River near Metropolis. It is modeled on the real world prison Riker's Island, which is located in the East River near New York City.

James makes reference to owning the same model of camera used by Spider Martin. James "Spider" Martin was an American photographer best known for his work chronicling the Civil Rights Movement, particularly Bloody Sunday and the aftermath of the Selma and Montgomery marches.


Technobabble

Lena's secret project has something to do with quantum entanglement and polyatomic anions.

The reaction of the polyatomic anions is meant to start the generator for the L-Corp portal.

The ultimate goal of the portal - from Lena's perspective - is to eliminate famine and the need for fossil fuels.

The DEO has the ability to scan Earth's orbit for satellites and alien ships.

Lena ultimate tries to fix the generator by increasing the anion input without overloading the energy output, all while maintaining the element synthesis rate at a constant.

The DEO has a cell equipped with a telekinetic dampener.

A major shift in atmospheric energy can alter a Phorian's mental state, resulting in a loss of telekinetic control.

Winn developed a portable telekinetic dampener.

Rhea has a White Martian device that was used to pacify Green Martians by trapping them inside a nightmare. She uses this to neutralize J'onn.


Dialogue Triumphs

James: That woman was more afraid of Guardian than she was of her attackers.
Winn: That can't be true...
James: No, dude - you didn't see her.
Winn: I'm sure she was in shock.
James: Yeah, but it's bigger than that. It's... it's happening a lot. People see this big guy in this scary mask and they freak out. They run away.  Just like Clark's friend.
Winn: Oh, you mean...? (holds up a finger on the side of his head) I feel like they're more frienemies.
James: You know what I mean. It's just that Guardian's not... he's not this beacon of hope that I thought he would be. I mean, basically all I'm doing is beating people up.
Winn: No, dude! We are doing a lot of good here!  We're making a difference.
James: Superman and Supergirl - they're making a difference. They're changing hearts and minds. They inspire people. Guardian inspires fear.

(Lena throws down her tablet as the generator fails to start. Rhea enters the room.)
Rhea: Still isn't working?
Lena: Was it me throwing it down in disgust or the sparks that gave it away?

(Mon-El surprises Kara at work with lunch from her favorite Chinese restaurant.)
Kara: Did you rip the seat off the toilet in my loft again and now you're just bringing me Chinese food so you don't get in trouble?
Mon-El: That was once! That was one time! And in my defense, you are scary when it comes to enforcing bathroom etiquette.

J'onn: Look, I know what I said earlier on but we could really use your help here. It has to be you.
James: Why? Because I'm black? You look the same as he does too. Why don't you talk to him?
J'onn: It's more than that. He sees something in you.
James: I brought him to CatCo and I risked everybody's safety. Supergirl had to come save everybody. Me. Him. She kept everybody safe and I... I had no idea what to do!

J'onn: (chuckles) You know, I remember that feeling? On Mars we were encouraged to decide our line of work when we were very young. Everyone had no problem pinpointing their futures. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I was just waiting for a sign.
James: Did you find one?

J'onn: My first daughter. When she came along, I finally realized I had a mission in life. I had someone who relied on me. Having her gave me direction. Protecting her made me realize that I had a gift for keeping people safe. So I, uh.. I joined the law enforcement on Mars. I became The Martian Manhunter.
James: And you think me talking to Marcus would give me that kind of purpose?

J'onn: I saw a reflection of myself in my daughter. I think you already see a reflection of yourself in him. (pauses) You want to find out what kind of hero you can be? Right here's a great place to start.

Rhea: Everything I do, I do for my people. Everything you do for yours is to bolster your broken ego. You need this planet to worship you - the last daughter of a failed world. Because otherwise your survival means nothing.
Kara: You're delusional.
Rhea: (scoffs) No, I see everything clearly. I came here in peace, which you refused. And all of the ugliness that's transpired is because of your righteousness, Kara Zor-El. Everything that happens from now on is your doing. Every city that burns. Every nation that falls. For every child of Earth that cries out, "Why is this happening?"... the answer is Supergirl.

James: I went to a school where there weren't a lot of people who looked like me. And when my dad died... it just got a lot worse. See, he was... he was my guardian. And he was the guy that made me feel safe. So after he was gone, I just.. I put up this wall. And I didn't let anybody in. Until I moved to Metropolis. And then I made a new friend. And this guy was different too. And I didn't realize how different he was. I just knew that he understood something that most people didn't. And because of that, I trusted him. And eventually, I let him in. Do you know what happened?  That wall came down.

Continuity

Lena and Kara are both N'Sync fangirls.

Phorians are a historically peaceful alien race with both telekinetic and telepathic powers.

J'onn states that he was unware of any Phorians having taken refuge on Earth.

The alien who James busts for buying marijuana says he needs it to treat his anxiety in the wake of his recent kidnapping. This is likely a reference to the events of 215 and Cadmus attempting to forcibly deport a number of alien immigrants.

Lex Luthor is imprisoned on Stryker Island.

James owns the same model camera that Spider Martin used to document the Civil Rights Movement. He bought it with the first paycheck he made selling a photo.

Mon-El says that on Daxam it was common practice to drug yourself so that you didn't feel any negative emotions


The Bottom Line

The good news is the series finally seems to have realized where they went wrong in trying to turn James into The Guardian. The bad news is they really should have found a way to develop James as a figure of inspiration before now. Unfortunately, all of the other subplots - from Rhea manipulating Lena by being the supportive mother she needs to Mon-El and Kara being cute together - are far more interesting than James Olsen delivering monologues to a largely mute child - no matter how well-written the speeches nor how skilfully Mehcad Brooks delivers them. As it stands, this episode feels like too little, too late.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 19 - Alex

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



Plot

Alex is abducted by an unknown villain, who has somehow figured out that Kara Danvers is Supergirl! Unless Supergirl releases a notorious criminal from prison, Alex will die! In order to save her, Kara and Maggie will have to put aside their differences on how to handle crime-fighting. Meanwhile, Queen Rhea - in the guise of a business woman - approaches Lena Luthor with an interesting offer.


Influences

Various Superman and Supergirl stories where a terrorist takes one of their loved one's hostage to try and force them to do their bidding. Kara's speech to J'onn about feeling powerless mirrors a Clark Kent speech from Superman The Movie after Pa Kent dies of a heart attack.


Goofs

While Kara presumably is acknowledged as a DEO agent, the DEO is a covert organization whose agents disguise themselves as the agents of other organizations when in the field. Granting that acting against Supergirl would be a logistical public relations nightmare, why doesn't the NCPD act to deputize Supergirl in an official capacity if her interference is causing so many cases to be thrown out that it's spawned "The Supergirl Defense"?

The amount of wine in Mon-El's glass and whether or not he is holding the glass changes between shots as he is giving his "As a superhero myself..." defense of Kara.

Rick talks about growing up poor and abused and his father having to scrimp and save to send him to college. How then does he have the resources to construct the underground cell where he keeps Alex?

On that note, while it is possible that a childhood friend might be able to make the connection between Kara Danvers and Supergirl, it strains all credibility that this same person could find out about the head of the DEO being a telepathic Martian shapeshifter and finding ways to plan against that on one-year's notice without any resources?

The message about Maggie and Kara both being right but different is sort of undercut when it is Winn's unorthodox digital detective work that leads them to Alex's kidnapper, Kara's idealism wins the day and Maggie is ready to throw everything she said about the law and procedures out the window to save Alex.


Artistry

The underwater scenes of Alex trying to escape from the tank are well-shot and all the more effective for being without music.


Super Trivia

When Supergirl arrives on the scene of the hostage situation, someone in the crowd says "Look! Up in the sky!" This exclamation was also said in the introduction to the 1950's Adventures of Superman TV series.

"The Supergirl Defense" - as Maggie calls it in this episode - is a frequent concern for law enforcement in fictional realities with superheroes.The excellent blog Law and the Multiverse examines these issues in depth.

Generally, in the DC Universe comic books, most superheroes do not have official police powers and they are only empowered to make citizens' arrests until a police officer can step in. Most major city police departments have a metahuman liaison who works with local superheroes to make sure that they operate in a lawful manner. In some cases - such as Batman in Gotham City - a hero may work directly with the police department in an unofficial capacity. In rarer cases, such as Superman in post-Crisis Metropolis, a superhero may be officially deputized by a local government with the full authority that office grants.

Rick Malverne is based on the DC Comics character of Richard "Dick" Malverne a.k.a. Dick Wilson.

In the Pre-Crisis Supergirl comics, Dick Wilson was raised in the same orphanage as Kara Zor-El (then using the alias Linda Lee). He harassed her in a manner similar to how Lana Lang teased Clark Kent in the classic Superboy comics, continually insisting that Linda was Supergirl, prompting Kara to have to humiliate him to cover her secret identity.

The two eventually got adopted - he by The Malvernes and her by The Danvers - but the two met again in college and dated for a time. They drifted out of touch, however, meeting once more as adults when Kara learned that Richard was dying of cancer. Before he died, he admitted to knowing her secret identity and having always loved her.

In the Post-Crisis Supergirl comics, Richard Malverne was an appliance store owner who dated Linda Danvers. Their relationship ended tragically when she found out he had been demonically possessed. The demon was the only thing holding Richard's cancer in check and he died once it left his body.


Technobabble

Rhea's proposal to Lena involves a device for matter transformation and reconfiguration. Lena says the technology could revolutionize virtually everything including travel, energy and security.

Lena gave a TED talk on quantum technology.

L-Corp has done work in zero-size intelligence.

All DEO agents have sub-dermal trackers. Alex's kidnapper found a way of depowering her's so she couldn't be found.

According to Winn, he can't triangulate the signal of the kidnapper's phone call due to his using four different arrays to scramble the signal.

Rhea complements Lena's Black Body Field Generator from 205.

Rick Malverne has some means of blocking J'onn's telepathy.

Lena confirms Rhea is an alien using her skin-testing device from 203.

Earth's Periodic Table of Elements stops at 118 elements.  The element Rhea's device requires would be classified as Element 260.

Alex removes her own tracker implant with a broken credit card and then hooks it up to the camera in her cell. This causes it to send out a signal asking for a software update, which is picked up at the DEO when it is coming in from outside their network. From there, Winn just has to track the IP address of the camera to a physical location to find her.

L-Corp has a large-scale generator ring which Rhea wants to adapt to create a transmatter portal.

Maggie has access to some kind of holographic and digital lockpick technology (presumably borrowed from the DEO along with Alex's gun) that allows her to spring Peter Thompson from his cell unnoticed.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Alex, Maggie, Kara and Mon-El are sitting down to dinner.)
Mon-El: So - how's my girlfriend, guys? Huh?
Kara: (embaraased) What?
Mon-El: Bank Robbers: Zero. Supergirl: Two. What do you even need cops for in this city?!
(Mon-El laughs as Maggie's eyes narrow.)
Alex: He's from a different planet. He doesn't even know what he's saying.
Maggie: (mock cheerful) No! He's right! Why bother trying to talk a guy down when Supergirl can just swoop right in and force him down? 17 hours of "what do you want?", "how can I help you?" good old-fashioned hostage negotiation wasted.
Kara: You're not upset that I caught the bad guys and got everyone out safely, are you?
Maggie: I would have gotten them to free the hostages.
Kara: Maybe. But they're in jail now where they can't hurt anyone.
Maggie: As long as they don't use The Supergirl Defense.
Kara: The what?
Maggie: It's a thing some criminals use to get their charges dropped. It's a perfect storm for a defense attorney. Excessive force. Evidence contaminated by debris. Vigilante justice....
Kara: Vigilante justice? I stand for Hope and Help and Compassion! I did what I had to do to get those people out of there!
Alex: I think that what Maggie is trying to say is what you do is... amazing when we're up against -
Maggie: - a giant purple monster or a half-cyborg murderer? Sure. But most of the time? Police work  requires a more... delicate touch.
Kara: Delicate?
Maggie: Yeah! You broke a guy's arm and gave another one a concussion. And that was - after- you knocked in the roof of a National City landmark. And... (chuckles) And -now- it just has a big Supergirl-sized hole in it!
Kara: A thousand things could have happened from the time of your call to the hostages walking out! Maybe... yeah, sure... I broke some walls. But... I got everyone out of there safely and that is a win!
Maggie: Well you should have asked! But you never look before you leap.
Kara: (smugly) Because I can fly.

Rhea: I wish I had a daughter like you. Your mother must be proud.
Lena: Well, that's not how I'd describe her.
Rhea: Mothers and daughters - not always the easiest relationship.
Lena: It's more like apocalyptic, but - you know.
Rhea: We don't have to talk about it...
Lena: No, no. It's fine. She never really cared about me and only came back in to my life to steal from me and frame me for a felony. So, you know - usual mother/daughter stuff.

J'onn: A life sentence can't be all that easy. Being in here all by yourself... you ever keep in contact with anyone on the outside?
Peter Thompson: Just last week. A Mr. J.C. Penny sent me a letter. He said there was a sale on galoshes. It's just that I don't have anywhere to wear them.

Lena: I was looking through your designs and there's a small problem. It requires an element that doesn't exist on Earth. You see, we have 118 and this would be categorized as 260.
Rhea: I don't know what you mean.
Lena: I think you do.
Rhea: (rolling her eyes) It was when I thanked the gods at dinner, wasn't it?

(J'onn walks out onto the DEO balcony to find Kara standing there with her eyes closed.)
J'onn: What are you doing?
Kara: Listening for her. but I can't hear anything. I can do all these incredible things but I can't...punch my way out of this. Or fly fast enough and turn back time. And now I'm afraid I'm going to lose the person that is the most important to me.
J'onn: To us, Kara.
Kara: Maggie was right. I shouldn't have rushed in! I made things worse!
J'onn: Maggie was upset and frustrated and she lashed out at you. You only did what you thought was best to protect your sister. No one can blame you for that.
Kara: I'm scared.
J'onn: Hey, come on
(J'onn pulls Kara into a tight hug.)
J'onn: So am I.


Dialogue Disasters

Rick Malverne's whole Narm-ridden speech that ends in his screaming "FREE MY DAD!"

Maggie's suddenly tearful refusal to have Alex say her goodbyes just in case.


Continuity

Kara and Mon-El both like Hawaiian pizza.

Maggie refers to both the battles the NCPD had with Parasite (206) and Cyborg Superman (208).

Alex's kidnapper refers to a convict named Peter Thompson who is serving a life sentence in Albatross Bay Supermax.

Alex recognizes her kidnapper.

Peter Thompson was convicted on three charges of home invasion, two counts of driving under the influence and two counts of felony murder.

Using facial recognition sofrware, Winn is able to identify Peter Thompson's one visitor as Rick Malverne, who used to live in Midvale... Kara and Alex's hometown.

Rick Malverne says that he spent a year planning to abduct Alex.

Rick Malverne claims that he figured there was something strange about Kara after she saved a baby from a fiery car crash without being hurt shortly after her arrival in Midvale. Years later, knowing Kara was in National City at the same time as Supergirl's first appearance, he put two and two together.

Rick Malverne was abused by his mother, who hid is father's existence from him. Sometime after he was 14, Rick was saved from her by his father who took care of him and was reportedly a good father who worked hard to get the money to send him to college.

Maggie refers to the events of 213 and her and Alex celebrating Valentine's Day together.

J'onn mindwipes Rick Malverne, removing all his knowledge of Kara Danvers being Supergirl and the DEO.

Kara does not like kale.

Lena decides to help Rhea after all.


Location

Rick Malverne's house an hour outside of National City.

The flashbacks take place in Midvale.


The Kryptonite Factor

The DEO agents all have their collective IQ's lowered 40 points so that Maggie can show Kara the value of old-fashioned police-work. Granting that J'onn has a different background in the DCTVU than he does in the comics, I can't believe that the Martian Freaking MANHUNTER is having to be told to check the people around the convict the kidnapper asked to be released! Or that he'd bring Kara, in her secret identity as a reporter, to interview the convict in question when he's sidelined her over far less in the past.


The Bottom Line

A phenomenally stupid episode whose unimaginative name tells you everything about just how much effort they put into it. It seems they worked backwards from the concept of needing something to distract Kara away from Lena so that Rhea could manipulate her and that resulted in this Very Special Episode where Maggie and Kara suddenly have issues with each other and learn that both of them have valid views on how to go about protecting people.

Well, except that Maggie is a total hypocrite, Winn does all the detective work and Kara's idealism is what wins in the end. Throw in a villain who has magically thought of everything the heroes might try to do to stop him - even things he shouldn't have been able to have known through simple stalking - and you have the weakest episode of Supergirl's second season.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 18 - Ace Reporter

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



Plot

When Lena Luthor's ex-boyfriend - a scientist named Jack Spheer - comes to National City to unveil his development of disease-destroying nanotechnology, Lena asks Kara to attend his news conference with her for mortal support. When Snapper Carr's presence inspires Kara to questions Jack's claims, she attracts the attention of a whistle-blower who prompts a bigger investigation that places Kara and everyone around her in danger!

Menwhile, Winn talks James into taking on Lyra as a partner in crime-fighting but Lyra proves over-zealous in making up for her criminal past.


Influences

The Power Company (character of Jack Spheer and Biomax) and the movie Big Hero 6 (the villain being an executive controlling an army of nano-bots.)


Goofs

The CGI for the nano-swarm changing back into Jack Spheer is a bit dodgy.

Lyra's sudden violent reaction to being told she can't help Guardian out doesn't jibe with her previous characterization.


Performances

Rahul Kohli is an engaging presence as Jack Spheer and does have good chemistry with Katie McGrath.

Between the scenes with Kohli and her bonding moments with Melissa Benoist as Kara, Katie McGrath does more in this episode to develop Lena's character into a sympathetic person than in any previous episode.


Super Trivia

Despite Kara having been fired from CatCo in 215, the opening narration still describes her as a reporter working for CatCo.

The character of Jack Spheer (a.k.a. Biomax) first appeared in the comics in Power Company #6 (September 2002). Jack Spheer was CEO of the Biospheer Technologies - a company which developed Biomax - a plasma that could control organic tissue. The original intent was to use Biomax to alter food production, creating cows that grew to maturity in days and vegetables that did not require refrigeration. Unfortunately, several people became sick after eating the altered foods but Spheer refused to stop production despite this. A confrontation with Green Arrow and Black Canary - who had started investigating the company after two of their friends got sick - resulted in Spheer falling into a vat of Biomax and becoming a non-physical being who could take control of other people.

The DCTVU version of Jack Spheer is quite a different character. The original one had no connection to Lena Luthor and was old enough to have an adult son. The DCTVU version of Jack Spheer runs a company called Spheerical Industries rather than Biospheer Technologies. The DCTVU version of Biomax is also promoted as a medical breakthrough rather than a genetic-engineering mechanism.

The biggest changes, however, are that Jack Spheer is now a living swarm of nanobots rather than a psychic projection and that rather than being a villain in his own right he is being controlled by his corrupt CFO.

An establishing shot shows that The L-Corp building is located on Cordova Street in National City. Cordova, Alaska was the name of the town where Clark Kent spent some time working on a crab boat in the movie Man of Steel.


Technobabble

Winn says he's going to spend the downtime working on a Lebeckian code breaker.

The Biomax Medical Nanobot Program is capable of healing a cut hand in seconds. Spheer claims that his nanobots can eliminate the need for vaccinations, anesthetics and antibiotics.

Kara asks about an FDA regulation regarding distributing drugs across state line and whether or not Spheer is following that law by having started developing Biomax in Metropolis but launching it in National City.

Lena asks Spheer about how he finally cracked the nano swarm.

Spheer says that he took inspiration from watching a flock of migrating starlings and how they all moved in perfect synchronicity. After musing on how he should have followed Lena to National City, he decided that they'd been modeling the nanobots on the wrong animal. Until that point, he'd been trying to create a "queen" as a base for the bee-like drones to revolve around by programming a protective algorithm.

The Buomax nanobots are based on murmuratiom - the technical term for a flock of starlings.

The nano-swarm's artificial nitelligence is a linked sentience, controlled through the Spheerical lab mainframe computer.

Valerians' sense of smell is so powerful that they can distinguish the scents of individual humans.

Three years earlier, Lena and Jack knew that the nanoforms had a side-effect. The brains of the rats they treated were forever altered so that "we could make them do whatever we wanted.".

Beth Breen - the CFO of Jack's company - plans to use the Biomax technology to take control of the world, one person at a time.

Sea salt incorporates better with the dough when making danishes.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Kara flies into the DEO office and walks into the War Room.)
Kara: Woo! It is another beautiful day in National City and the Girl of Steel is ready to take on the world!  I am here to kick some ass, take some names, and do it all with an endearing smile on my face! So - bring it on! What have you got for me?
J'onn: There is literally nothing for you to do.
Kara: Nothing?!
Winn: I challenge you to find an eight-year-old stealing candy!
Alex: It's like somebody slipped law-abiding serum into the reservoir.
Kara: Did somebody do that? Is that illegal? I could stop them.

(The Guardian walks to Winn's van which is rocking rhythmically. He opens up the back of the van to discover Winn and Lyra making out.)
The Guardian: Oh my God... are you serious?
Winn: Woah... ohhhhh.
The Guardian: What are you doing?! You're supposed to be watching out for me!
Winn: (laughing) Guardian! Hey, man! Uh.. you had those guys! I mean, you didn't need me!
Lyra: Yeah!
Winn: Great job!
Lyra: Relax, James. You had him.
(The Guardian pulls off his helmet to reveal himself as a furious James Olsen.)
James: What - I...you told her?!
Winn: I did NOT tell her!
James; (pointing at Lyra) Well, then how do you know?!
Lyra: Humans all smell different.
Winn: Oh, hey, uh... what do I smell like?
(Lyra spins around getting right in Winn's face, slowly inhaling.)
Lyra: You smell like honey.
Winn: Oh-ho!
(The two start cuddling again, momentarily oblivious to the incredulous James.)

(As Kara is dragging him out to crash Lena and Spheer's dinner date.)
Mon-El: This just feels like stalking.
Kara: No! It's journalism!
Mon-El: Okay. (quietly, to himself) It's very creepy journalism.

Kara; I heard Supergirl saved you.
Snapper: Yeah. She was there.
Kara; Did you say thank you?
Snapper: Once. To a divorce lawyer. It was uncomfortable for everyone involved.

Beth Breen: You know, it's true what they say? Behind every great man is a strong woman.
Lena: Oh, I wouldn't know. I've never stood behind a man.

Kara: How are you holding up?
Lena: When Lex was arrested, my mother was there. My mother saw her son, dragged bleeding and raving from her house. And when I got there, Lillian was tidynig his room. Like he'd been away on a business trip. (pauses) That's how I feel. Cold and clam. Until I think about Beth dying in jail, and then I feel warm for a minute.
Kara: You're in shock, Lena...
Lena: Loss does strange things to my family and I have lost a lot of people...
Kara: Well, you're not going to lose me.
Lena: I think when I feel things again I... I'm gonna be very, very afraid. Of the person I might be.
(Kara puts an arm around Lena and hugs her close.)
Kara: You don't have to be afraid. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere.
Lena: Promise?
Kara: I will always be your friend. And I will always protect you. I promise.


Continuity

When not otherwise occupied on Thursday mornings, Alex practices knife-fighting.

Lena Luthor and Jack Spheer dated for two years. They spend five years working together on a start-up out of a garage, trying to find a cure for cancer. They broke up when she left Metropolis to run L-Corp from National City and he refused to go with her.

It is confirmed that Metropolis and National City are in different states.

Lyra Strayd was apparently freed from DEO custody and is still dating Winn, following the events of 216.

Valerians are able to identify humans based on their unique scent. Because of this, Lyra knows that James is The Guardian.

According to Lyra, Winn smells like honey.

Winn brings Lyra in to help James with fighting crime.

The L-Corp building is located on Cordova Street.

Lena's executive assistant is named Hector.

Mon-El is still using Mike as an alias.

Mon-El is a good enough pick-pocket that he steal's Spheer's security badge while hugging him.

Lena Luthor is capable enough a fighter to go up against a black-belt.

Jack Spheer dies when Lena deactivates the robots.

Beth Breen is arrested although on what charges isn't precisely clear. Presumably the two murders she caused using Jack.as a weapon.

James tells Winn that he considers him a brother.

James invites Lyra to rejoin the team with the understanding that she follow his orders exactly.

Snapper Carr enjoys baking.

Kara gets her job as a reporter at CatCo back.

At the end of the episode, Lena is approached by Queen Rhea, who is dressed as an ordinary Earth woman. She says she has a business proposition for her.


The Fridge Factor

Lyra is suddenly portrayed as having a violent temper in order to set up a crazy girlfriend joke.


The Bottom Line

A sadly flat episode that proves how essential the DEO setting has become to the series in Season 2. The biggest problem is that most of the episode is devoted to Lena's romance with Jack Spheer, which its hard to become emotionally invested in since Lena hasn't been developed much as a character so far. It's a credit to Rahul Kohli and Katie McGrath that the subplot works as well as it does.

The rest of the episode isn't any better, focusing on Kara's efforts to prove herself as a reporter and James' continuing misadventures as The Guardian. I think the Kara subplot might have been stronger had she depended more on her reporting skills and less on her powers, ala The Late Mr. Kent episode of Superman: The Animated Series. And while I seem to be one of the few critics who don't mind the Guardian scenes, even I think this week's subplot was total filler.

Worse yet, The Guardian scenes undermined one of the better subplots introduced this season - Winn's relationship with Lyra - by having her become a violent berserker when she hasn't shown any tendencies towards violence before. Where were those fighting skills when she was being abducted by Lillian Luthor's thugs or her brother was being threatened a few episodes ago?

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 17 - Distant Sun

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




Plot

Alien bounty hunters swarm National City when a price is placed on Supergirl's head. Meanwhile, Alex deals with awkwardness when Maggie's ex comes into town for a few days and J'onn receives an interesting order from President Olivia Marsdin.


Influences

Romeo And Juliet (name-dropped by Mon-El, the theme of noble families and forbidden love)


Goofs

Odd that the most powerful telepath in the Alcorian system doesn't read the mind of the guy who threatens him to see if the weapon he's being threatened with is real and, oh, not a stapler.

Where did Queen Rhea learn that Kryptonite could be used to hurt Kryptonians? (It's possible she got the information from some source on Earth, but it seems unlikely given her high-and-mighty attitude toward the Earthlings having anything to benefit her people.)

For that matter, given how much The Daxamite royalty hate Krypton and anything associated with it, what are the odds they'd be hauling Kyrponite around with them to be fashioned into knives when they call the rocks of Krypton "litter" and had no idea their son had fallen in love with a Kryptonian woman until a week ago?

The Daxamites have been orbiting Earth for a little over two weeks now - give or take. Why then, can the king be stabbed to death with a simple knife? Shouldn't he have the same invulnerability that Mon-El developed almost instantly?


Performances

As usual, Chris Wood and Melissa Benoist's flirting is the high point of the episode. But Wood gets some good moments here to show off his dramatic chops.

Chyler Leigh damn near steals the show with her scenes as Alex in this episode, however, and her subplot has definitely been the strongest one of the season to date.


Artistry

The effects work during the first fight between Supergirl and the Amalak is good.

Kevin Smith's direction of the comedic scenes is well-done.


Super Trivia

Despite Kara having been fired from CatCo in 215, the opening narration still describes her as a reporter working for CatCo.

This episode was directed by filmmaker Kevin Smith - famed for his View Askewniverse and his work writing various Marvel and DC Comics books, including a critically acclaimed run on Green Arrow.

The alien bounty hunter with the laser-shooting eye-patch whom Kara first fights is identified as being part of a race of alien bounty hunters called Amalaks.

In the comics, Amalak was the name of an alien enemy of Superman and Supergirl. Amalak's planet of origin was never identified, but according to him it was destroyed by a Kryptonian and he was the last survivor of his people. To that end, he armed himself with a variety of energy weapons based around mimicking the energy of a red sun and devoted himself to destroying what little remained of Krypton and its people.

The telepathic bounty hunter claims to be the most power telepath in the Alcorian System.

In the comics, Alcoria is the home-world of Tal-Dar of the Intergalactic Space Police. First appearing in Detective Comics #282 (August 1960), Tal-Dar has the distinct honor of being the only alien (other than Superman, of course) who made multiple appearances in Batman's Silver Age adventures.

Mon-El makes mention of a planet that a Durlan emissary told him about when he was a kid.

In the original comics, Durla was the home-world to a race of shape-shifting aliens. Chameleon Boy of the Legion of Superheroes was a Durlan and the race was almost universally mistrusted due to their powers.


Technobabble

The first alien bounty hunter had a interplanetary messaging device, which can access an alien-run "dark Net".

The bounty on Kara's head is 300 quartz crowns. According to Mon-El, this is an insanely high amount of money - enough to buy a good planet.

Winn reconfigures the messaging device to act like a pager whenever another messaging device (and, presumably, another bounty hunter) is close.

The exact technology used by the Daxamite ship to travel through space is not described but it is said that it will take four of their years for it to return to Daxam from Earth.

The transmat portals used by the Slaver's Moon slavers do not require a second gateway to establish a portal. The second portal acts as more of a beacon to the first but so long as you have the exact coordinates of where you want to teleport, you only need one gate.

The DEO satellites are able to detect ion thruster activity.


Dialogue Triumphs

Kara: Any word from your parents?
Mon-El: No, they're just... up there, hovering around in orbit. (gasps in realization) Is that what they mean by "helicopter parenting"?

Alex: How much is 300 quartz-crowns?
Mon-El: It's a lot. Like, enough to buy a planet.
Winn: Woah! Like, we're talking like a planet in a good neighborhood? Or like a hipster, up-and-coming kinda vibe?
Mon-El: Exactly.

(J'onn asks Alex to search the DEO databases for alien species that access the bounty hunter dark Net)
Alex: Absolutely. Well, I had plans, but I will cancel.
Kara: No! No, don't cancel your plans just to search databases. That's ridiculous!
J'onn: Ah - these databases won't search themselves.
Winn: Oh, actually, they will. I just have to write a program for it. (wincing) And I just signed up for more work, didn't I?

(Mon-El's parents have just discovered that he works in a bar on Earth.)
Lar-Gand: You... you -work- here? As a a servant?
Mon-El: (haughtily) I'm a mixologist. It is an artistic profession in the medium of preparing alcoholic beverages. And it is very honorable.

(Kara and Mon-El are cleaning up the glass of the broken window in Kara's apartment.)
Mon-El: Hey, so, I've been thinking of a solution to our problem.
Kara: Yeah. Me too.
Mon-El: Yeah?
Kara: There's only one thing we can do.
(The two start to speak at the same time.)
Kara: Talk to your mother. Wait - what?
Mon-El: Run for our lives. What?
Mon-El: (stammering) So, there's this planet that a Durlan emissary told me about when I was a kid. It's got water and a yellow sun . It's got everything we need to survive. My parents wouldn't find us there! We'd be together. We'd be safe... I think of this because I'm reading this play right now - Ro-May-O and Juliet?
Kara: Yes.. I've... heard of it.
Mon-El: Right and... there's this moment at the end, where I am right now, where they're about to - to run away together and live happily ever after and I can't... help but think that that could be us. You know?
Kara: Yeah, but... Juliet and Romeo both die at the end.
Mon-El: ... I... did not see that coming.
Kara: And, no. We're not going to your secret planet. I'm Supergirl. I don't run from anything!
Mon-El: (burying his face in his arms on the table) Yeah, I know. It's one of the more annoying things about you.
Kara: Well, thank you.
Mon-El: You're welcome.

(Queen Rhea has just stabbed Kara with a dagger made of Kryptonite.)
Kara: Where did you get Kryptonite?!
Queen Rhea: (coldly) Our planet is littered with the corpse of yours.

Alex: I think... that when your parents didn't accept you, you stopped trusting the people that are closest to you. And I totally get that. But Maggie? You don't have to be guarded with me. Okay? I am not here to judge you for things that happened in the past. I am here to help you heal.

(Winn explains how he can use one of the gates used by the Slaver's moon slavers to teleport Kara onto the Daxamite ship.)
Alex: So as long as you have the exact coordinates of where you want to transmat, you only need one gate?
Winn: Mmm-hmm. Yes. One gate and one, you know, flawless calculation of the ship's location as it hurtles through space, relative to us, as we spin around the Earth's axis at 1,000 mph.
Kara: And if the calculation's wrong?
J'onn: You'll transmat directly into the cold vacuum of space.
Kara: Let's hope it's not wrong.

(Mon-El is in a cell on the Daxamite ship. Suddenly, there is a flash of light and Winn lands in the area outside the cell with a grunt.)
Mon-El: Winn?
Winn: (looking around) Okay... thank God I am not in space.
Mon-El: You -are- in space.
Winn: Oh! Yeah, I know. I mean, like floating around in space, dying. (collecting himself) Uh - I am here to rescue you! Hi!
Mon-El: Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?
Winn: You finally saw Star Wars!

President: Director - did you engage the Daxamite ship?
J'onn: Yes. How did you find out?
President: I have my sources! And you had your orders. I am disappointed.
J'onn: I understand. But an alien who was under our protection - who had been given amnesty - was taken against his will and we were his only hope.
President: And what if things hadn't turned out your way?
J'onn: It's my job to ensure that they do.


Continuity

Mon-El taught himself how to cook by reading a cookbook.

President Marsdin was last seen in 203.

The President orders J'onn not to engage with the Daxamite ship for fear of starting an intergalactic war.

Maggie practices yoga. Alex has just started it.

Maggie was with Emily for five years. The relationship ended badly, with Emily breaking it off and telling Maggie she did not deserve to be happy.

The most powerful telepath in the Alcorian System is not as powerful as J'onn.

Alex confronts Emily and discovers that Maggie had cheated on Emily, spurring the comments about her not deserving happiness.

It is revealed that Queen Rhea issued the bounty on Supergirl without her husband's knowledge.

Winn recovered one of the transmat portals from 209.

Mon-El finally saw Star Wars.

Maggie is able to find closure with Emily.

President Marsdin has some source that informed her of J'onn taking action against The Daxamite ship.

Again, we are reminded - as we saw in 203 - that President Marsdin is some manner of shape-shifting alien.

Queen Rhea stabs her husband to death, saying she is not done with Earth yet.


Location

The Fortress of Solitude.

The Daxamite ship in low Earth orbit.


The Bottom Line

A decent episode, if one ignores the plot holes in the script, but it's not one that's likely to be remembered fondly or at all. Kevin Smith is a fine comedic director and the romantic scenes here aren't bad but the man can't block an action scene to save his life. The basic plot isn't pushed forward much until the final segment and while the cast turn in some fantastic performances, the whole thing still feels like filler.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 16 - Star-Crossed

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




Plot

The arrival of an unknown alien ship may spell trouble for Kara's relationship with Mon-El. At the same time, Winn's winds up in trouble with the law thanks to his new girlfriend, Lyra. And then a new villain called The Music Meister attacks...


Influences

The Mayhem Of The Music Meister! episode of Batman: The Brave And The Bold, the Star-Crossed episode of Justice League: The Animated Series (title, plot based around lovers from two worlds finding out the other lied to them.) and every rom-com where the noble woman manes the idiot man want to be better.


Goofs

Why doesn't J'onn use his telepathy to determine whether or not Lyra is telling the the truth about her endangered brother and her reasons for committing the theft?

How does The Music Meister know about Barry Allen or how to work the inter-dimensional extrapolator? (Presumably he gained the knowledge telepathically after locking eyes with Kara.)


Performances

The episode is a nice performance piece for Jeremy Jordan, who gets to take center stage for most of it.

As cheesy and cliche and "rom-com" as the Kara/Mon-El scenes are this week, Chris Wood and Melissa Benoist still have amazing chemistry together.


Artistry

The special effects sequences are top notch, with Kara's confronting the ship and the destruction of Daxam flashback standing out.

The make-up for Mandrax is a little more intensive than what we usually see for aliens on this show.

The ending musical sequence is well-shot.


Super Trivia

Despite Kara having been fired from CatCo in 215, the opening narration still describes her as a reporter working for CatCo.

Winn describes Lyra as a "she-hulk" when she breaks a lock with one hand. She-Hulk is, of course, a super-strong superheroine with the Marvelous Competitor of DC Comics.

Teri Hatcher - who plays Queen Rhea - played Lois Lane on the 1990s drama Lois & Clark.

There are two notable DC Comics characters who also had the name Rhea.  One of them was Rhea Jones - a member of the Doom Patrol who fought crime under the codename Lodestone. As her name implies, she had magnetic powers. The other Rhea was a character in New Teen Titans - apparently the Rhea of Greek Myth - who was really an alien who inspired the myths of the original Titans. This Rhea also saved an infant Donna Troy from a fire and bestowed a measure of power upon her.

Kevin Sorbo - who plays King Lar Gand - is famous for having starred in the 1990s Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

In the original comics, Lar Gand was the original name of the amnesic Daxamite who was named Mon-El by Clark Kent after his rocket landed on Earth. He also used the names Valor and M'Onel while serving as a member of the Legion of Superheroes in various alternate realities.

The painting which Winn is accused of stealing is Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night. Painted in 1889, it is one of the most famous paintings in Western Civilization and has been part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City since 1941.

Lyra's species is identified as Valerian. There is a Valerian race on Star Trek that are trade partners with The United Federation of Planets.It is also the name of a flowering planet, whose roots can be used to make mild sedatives.

A passing reference is made to the planet Rimbor Five. 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.

The Music Meister was originally created for the cartoon Batman: The Brave And The Bold. A powerful telepath who was bullied for his love of singing and musicals, he discovered that he could control the minds of other people by singing. This resulted in the people under his control bursting out into song, as if they were in a musical production. The episode in which he appeared - The Mayhem Of The Music Meister! - was nominated for an Emmy and frequently places in the top rankings on lists of Television History's greatest musical episodes.


Technobabble

The DEO picks up a homing signal on a teleportation beam.

The Guardian's shield is made of titanium alloy capable of deflecting laser blasts that can cut through a trailer.

Winn analyzes the inter-dimensional extrapolator that Cisco Ramon built for Kara back in L207 and declares that it is working fine.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Kara and Mon-El have just beamed down from Mon-El's parent's ship.)
Mon-El: So, you survived the first dinner with the fam...
Kara: You're a liar!
Mon-El: I'm sorry, okay?! Can you really blame me for wanting to be just Mon-El - a regular guy from Daxam?
Kara: Ohhhh - wow.
Mon-El: With how you feel about Daxamites, if you had known that I was the crown prince, would you even talk to me?
Kara: You didn't even give me the chance!
Mon-El: I tried to tell you so many times, okay? I really did.
Kara: What? Is that supposed to make this better?
Mon-El: Me being the prince doesn't change anything. Not how I feel about you...
Kara: This changes everything! It's bad enough you lied but you being the prince? I thought you were just born on a cruel planet but you lead it! You benefited from its cruelty! What about that Kryptonian emissary? Your guard... Do you even feel guilty?
Mon-El: Of course I do...
Kara: (shaking her head in disbelief) I can't even look at you.
(Kara flies up into the sky as Mon-El watches her sadly.)

Alex: Kara, maybe Mon-El is an evil prince. But maybe he's just a guy who is ashamed of his past and he's looking for a fresh start?

(An informant agrees to sell-out Lyra for Hamilton tickets - a price Alex agrees to. As they walk away...)
Winn: Hamilton? How you going to pull that one off?
Alex: The guy who plays King George is from Rimbor Five. He owes me a favor.

J'onn: Miss Strayd-
Winn: - needs our help!
J'onn:  - is an admitted con artist.
Winn: Her brother is in danger!
J'onn: Have you ever met this brother? Or could this possibly be just another con from a woman who knows how to play you?
Winn: (slowly) I believe her.
J'onn: I know you do. But I can't afford to.

Lyra: This was your plan all along?!
Winn: I mean, if I had told you half of National City's heroes and a squad of DEO Agents were going to show up, were you going to come along?
Lyra: Keeping secrets? (smiles)  Looks like I'm rubbing off on you.


Continuity

As the episode opens, Kara and Mon-El are watching Game of Thrones together.

Kara loves musicals and thinks that Funny Face is the most romantic movie ever.

Lyra is strong enough to break a padlock with one hand.

We discover that Mon-El is Prince of Daxam - not the royal guard that he claimed to be.

Queen Rhea refers to the events of 209 and how a Dominator ambassador informed them that their son helped orchestrate a slave revolt.

We find out that the sequence described by Mon-El in 204 was a complete lie. His escape from Daxam was facilitated by his bodyguard ushering him away from a one-night stand, ignoring people in need, killing a Kryptonian emmisary and stealing his rocket.

Alex remarks that Winn has a type. The last woman he was involved with sexually became Silver Banshee.

Valerians do not show up in photographs or on video cameras.

Alex finds two other similar heists in the past nine months - a Rodin stolen from the Modern Arts and Culture Museum in National City and an original Warhol taken from the Art Institute of Metropolis. Both of the suspects in those cases claim to have been set up by a girlfriend.

Worris is one of the regulars at the alien bar who both Alex and James have pumped for information in the past.

The Valerians in National City hang around a trailer park near Blackmore.

The actor who plays King George in the National City production of Hamilton is an alien from Rimbor 5 who owes Alex a favor.

Winn says he was a theater geek in high school.

Lyra has a brother named Bastian who was smuggled onto Earth with her. The two were refugees following a ten-year war on Starhaven, where their parents starved to death. She claims to be unable to sleep alone in the dark because of her nightmares of being locked below-deck on a spaceship for six weeks.

Lyla admits to real affection for Winn but claims she had to use him to steal the painting in order to pay a debt her brother owed.

Lyla's buyer is a fence named Mandrax - he was another Fort Rozz escapee.

Lyra's last name is Strayd.

Winn forgives Lyra for setting him up. It is unclear if she plans to say in National City because of this but Winn says that any woman who would go through the lengths she did to say her brother is someone worth forgiving.

Kara dumps Mon-El, despite his big romantic speech about how she makes him want to be better a better man.

Mon-El tells his parents he is not returning to Daxam with them and further tells them not to return to Earth.

Winn says that he's pretty sure he and Cisco Ramon would be best friends if they lived in the same dimension.

The Music Meister says he was looking for Kara, is aware of the existence of Barry Allen and knows how to work the the inter-dimensional extrapolator.


Location

The Music Meister's psychic dimension


The Bottom Line

A predictable, cliche-driven episode that works purely because of the charisma of the cast. Jeremy Jordan does a fantastic job holding the focus of the episode as Winn while Chris Wood and Melissa Benoist make their rom-com break-up subplot work.

That being said, I'm annoyed that after all that had been done to establish Winn and Lyra that they have her turn out to have been manipulating him because it's lazy writing. I'm also not sure what's worse - James being absent from the show for weeks at a time or episodes like this where he only shows up to get his butt kicked.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 15 - Exodus

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




Plot

As Kara investigates a series of Cadmus-backed alien kidnappings, Alex continues the hunt for Jeremiah Danvers and Lillian Luthor. When Kara's editor refuses to run a story on the abductions based only on Supergirl's word and Alex is suspended due to J'onn questioning her ability to remain impartial, it becomes apparent that the two sisters will have to break some rules to stop Cadmus' latest plot.


Influences

The Superman: New Krypton storyline (general idea of clandestine military group backed by a Luthor fighting aliens on Earth.) Iron Man 2 (some of the sequences of the redhead Alex running in her DEO back uniform and leather jacket can't help but inspire thoughts of Black Widow.) and Star Trek 2: Wrath of Khan (the scene of Kara and Alex placing their hands on one another's over the glass separating them.)


Goofs

Granting that it is topical, Alex's "you are forcibly deporting these people" line comes off as a little forced.

Not a goof on the show but a goof on the social media team - danvers.com appears to be available. How could they not have snatched that up to start making some AR content for the show by showing us Kara's "real" blog?


Performances

This episode is a triumph for Chyler Leigh on every level.


Artistry

The opening sequence with the family being abducted is well-directed and jarringly different enough from the usual tone of Supergirl that it effectively grips the viewer right away.

The fight sequence when Cadmus attacks the alien bar features some fantastic choreography and wonderful cinematography.

The entire scene of Supergirl stopping the frigate from launching is well-shot and has some great music underscoring the mostly dialogue-free scene.


Super Trivia

The episode title comes from the technical term for a mass departure of immigrants. It is also the name of the second book of The Hebrew Torah and The Christian Bible.

Mon-El makes a reference to Zakkarian Ale.  In the Green Lantern comics, Zakkaria was a planet in Space Sector 2814 (the same one as Earth) which was the home world of a criminal known as Izar The Zakkarian. Izar led an intergalactic criminal gang known as The Crimson Star Mob, with whom the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner came into conflict.

Zakarian (with one K) also appears to be the name of a now defunct brand of beers and ales.

Lillian Luthor quotes from Thus Spoke Zarathrusta by Friedrich Nietzsche - the novel in which Nietzsche outlined his concept of a over-man (or super-man) who represents the eternal struggle for self-mastery. Nietzsche also spoke against idealization in any form and urged people to improve this world rather than waiting for some perfect afterlife.

At one point, Lilian says to Jeremiah "This time you are the only Superman we need." This is a nod to the fact that Jeremiah's actor - Dean Cain - played Clark Kent and Superman in the TV series Lois And Clark.

IMDB names the Cadmus agent who is disguised as a cop as Shuster. This is a nod to Joe Shuster - the artist who co-created Superman.

The actor who plays Shuster - Dean Redman - is also the voice of Nick Fury in various Marvel Comics animated films.

Jeremiah Danvers describes the ship being used for Project Exodus as a Hoshin Frigate. Hoshin is a Japanese word meaning "setting a direction" or "setting an objective."

It is revealed that the goal of Project Exodus to deliver the aliens to a world called Takron-Galtos. First appearing in a Legion of Super-Heroes story in Adventure Comics #359 (August 1967), Takron-Galtos is the chief prison planet utilized by The United Planets and The Legion Of Super-Heroes in the 30th Century. The world is also a prison planet some 1000 years earlier, having been utilized by both The Green Lantern Corps and the bounty hunter Lobo.

In the final scene, the hooded alien woman is played by Teri Hatcher. In addition to appearing on Desperate Housewives with Lillian Luthor actor Brenda Strong, she played Lois Lane on the TV Series Lois and Clark.

In the final scene, the hooded alien man is played by Kevin Sorbo. A veteran actor famous for his appearances in various science-fiction and Christian-themed productions, he is still best known to a generation of fantasy fans as Hercules in the 1995 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys television series.


Technobabble

The captured Cadmus agent has some means of negating Martian telepathy. He claims he also has something in his head that will alert Cadmus if he gives the DEO any information and kill him instantly.

There is a magnetic field disruptor in the DEO armory which J'onn (disguised as Jeremiah Danvers) says he can use to disable the death-trap cages Lillian Luthor has set-up in Cadmus.

We're told that the ship being used for Project Exodus is a Hoshin Frigate - the best in the Kazark fleet. It can travel at light-speed and it is set to travel to Takron-Galtos.

Alex planted 10 Haldorr particle mines all over the Cadmus base before she was caught. Half of them are set on a dead-man switch to rigged to explode once released.


Dialogue Triumphs

J'onn: Are we any closer to finding out where Cadmus is taking them?
Mon-El: Or what they want? 'Cause hat's the trillion-dollar question.
Winn: It's million-dollar question, buddy.
Mon-El: Really? That low?!
Winn: Yes.

Mon-El: Hey, uh (clears throat) Winn, you know what you need right now?
Winn: (barely holding back his anger) If you say a drink, I swear I will-
Mon-El: Oh! I was going to say a deep breath! But that is a much better idea!

(Jeremiah is begging Alex to help him steal a piece of equipment from the DEO to stop Cadmus.)
Jeremiah: Will you help me or not?
(Alex turns away, clearly conflicted and hesitant. After several seconds, she speaks.)
Alex: Yes. I will help -
(Alex turns around to see "Jeremiah" molding into J'onn.)
Alex: J'onn... you were testing me?
J'onn: I had no choice. You're a federal agent, Alex. You took an oath. We're facing a crisis situation here. Thousands of lives are at stake. I feared your judgement might be compromised. Sadly, I was right.

Lillian: Project Exodus?
Jeremiah: It's almost ready.
Lillian: "The over-man shall be the meaning of the earth. Remain faithful to the earth, and do not believe those who speak to you of otherworldly hopes."
Jeremiah: (nodding) Nietzsche.
Lillian: Who better? His Super-Man was about we humans believing in ourselves instead of looking up to gods. This time... you're the only Superman we need.

Alex: Turn it off! Now!
Lillian: You don't threaten me.
Alex: Lillian, do you really think I'd walk into the lion's den without a whip? I planted 10 Haldoor Particle Mines all over this facility. (holds up a trigger) Stop the launch!
Lillian: (coolly) You're lying.
Alex: Wanna bet?
(Alex presses the buttons as explosions rock the building around them. Guards move in on Alex, guns raises but she brandishes the trigger defiantly.)
Alex: The rest of the bombs are on a dead-man switch! I let this go and the entire place lights up!
Lillian: I won't stop this.
Alex: I don't need you to. (looking to Jeremiah) Dad? It's time for you to do what you told your daughters to do. Are you with me?
Lillian: Tamper with my launch, Jeremiah, and I declare war on your whole family.
Alex: If you let her... We're going to protect each other. Always.
(Jeremiah stands stock still, looking at Alex.)
Lillian: Jeremiah?  (prompting) Jeremiah!
Alex: Dad... make this right.
(Jeremiah looks between Alex and Lillian... before giving Alex a soft nod and attacking the guard standing behind him.)

(J'onn admits that he made a mistake testing Alex the way he did, disguised as her father.)
J'onn: Please know... I only did it to protect you. I didn't mean to hurt you.
Alex: You sound just like him.
(Alex hugs J'onn. He slowly hugs her back.)
Alex: Can we just agree to stop doing the wrong things for the right reasons?
J'onn: Yeah. That sounds like a plan.


Dialogue Disasters

(Jeremiah explains Project Exodus.)
Alex: I don't understand.
Jeremiah: Lilian was going to kill them all!
Alex: You're forcibly deporting them! I mean some of them have escaped famine, and poverty and genocide -
Jeremiah: At least this way they have a chance.


Continuity

Winn and Lyra both enjoy the film version of Dune, despite how the sandworms were handled.

Lyra has been living on Earth for several years, but she learned English off-world.

Cadmus has devised some means of protecting all their agents from Martian telepathy - not just Jeremiah Danvers.

Lena suggests that Kara consider becoming a blogger rather than working for CatCo. She also volunteers to check L-Corp's records for any business dealings that might lead to Cadmus or any technology that might help locate the missing aliens.

Lena discovers that a LuthorCorp naval research facility was closed in 2007 yet L-Corp was billed for a metal shipment to that facility in 2017.

Lillian has a spy in L-Corp reporting to her on her daughter's activities.

Jeremiah explains that his plan was to forcibly deport all the abducted aliens off-planet. He considered this preferable to Lillian Luthor's plans to just kill them all. He also says the only reason he worked for Cadmus was because they threatened his daughters.

Jeremiah is shot by Cyborg Superman's eye laser. It is unclear if he survived the blast.

Kara is fired from CatCo for publishing an article utilizing CatCo resources on a rival platform and for working for another media outlet in violation of her contract.

In the final scene of the episode, the hooded aliens last seen in 209 are revealed as a man and woman, who are addressed as Your Highnesses. The man comments, upon standing in a yellow sunbeam, that there is something different about "this place" and the woman comments that she feels different.

(The popular theory among fans at the time the episode aired is that these are Mon-El's parents and that rather than being the bodyguard of the prince of Daxam, he IS the Prince of Daxam)


Location

An unnamed freeway, presumably somewhere outside of National City.


Untelevised Adventures

There were 19 abductions of aliens on Earth before the scene that opens the episode.


The Fridge Factor

Granting that Kara is naive, she should not be stupid enough to anonymously publish an article on danvers.com


The Kryptonite Factor

After two episode of being completely absent, it's somehow even more jarring for James Olsen to show up just to comment on Winn's new girlfriend and briefly appear as The Guardian to help the DEO catch a Cadmus agent. As much as I love Mehcad Brooks, I almost wish the show would just let his character go at this point or that he'd be brought on as a full-time DEO agent because it's clear that the writers have no idea what to do with the character at this point.

By the same token, I'm glad that we seem to be rid of the CatCo sequences - at least for a time. The scenes there only served to slow the episodes down and Snapper Carr (aka Don't Call Me Perry White) has never taken off as a character


The Bottom Line

A solid episode that is most notable for what it lacks rather than what it contains and how much of Kara's subplot is devoted to streamlining the show as Alex takes center stage. It's not a great ensemble piece (I think Winn's girlfriend has more lines than James Olsen at this point.) but it does a great job of advancing darn near every subplot in the series that was in need of some momentum.