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“Red Dawn” gave us the epic battle we’ve been waiting for all Season long between Supergirl and Red Daughter. It also gave us the return of Alex’s memories (yay!), Ben Lockwood being shown he’s been a puppet this whole time (YAY!), and Brainy short circuiting and rebooting (BOO!). It’s the penultimate episode of the season and it did not disappoint!
Slitting the Throat of the Fattened Heifer of the American Dream Snake Oil
We pick up immediately after last episode with Kara being kidnapped by President Baker’s security team. We learn that Kara is going to be held until it’s determined she’s no longer a threat and that her evidence has been scrubbed on the CatCo servers. Kara dispenses with the agents quickly and is met at the door by Red Daughter of Krypton (RDK from here on) holding a big ole rock ‘o Kryptonite. Before RDK kills Kara she wants to know why Kara does what she does because why would she support democracy, and capitalism, and the rest of the American Dream. Kara tries to point out that working with Lex is a lose-lose proposition and RDK insists Lex is working for the betterment of the world. As RDK moves closer to Kara the Kryptonite starts to affect her as well so Kara takes advantage and attacks. RDK shoots Kara in the arm but she gets away and recovers enough to fly from the scene. At J’onn’s apartment he gets the bullet fragments from her and Kara is distraught because the pen was supposed to be mightier and because Lex knows who she is so therefore Alex could be in trouble as well. J’onn cautions her that Alex can’t be told that Kara is Supergirl because that would be…bad. Kara goes quickly to the DEO and changes into Supergirl. Alex is startled to see her and Supergirl explains the whole RDK thing. Col Haley also drops in and is really not happy to see Supergirl until she’s brought in on the whole thing. They get Supergirl recharged with directed sunlight lamps and they pinpoint where RDK is hanging out in National City. Supergirl says Alex cannot come along, this has to be her alone. Supergirl goes to the apartment and finds it basically like hers except for any kind of decoration. There are clothes, wigs, glasses, etc along with a hand written journal that details out Kara’s life and friends. There is also a picture of Mikael from Kaznia. Alex comes anyway and learning that Kara could be a target of RDK (without realizing why), she gets panicked that she can’t protect her sister well. Supergirl places her hand on Alex’s and things are calmed down. Alex then gets a call from Eliza that Kara is there with her in Midvale and that all is well. Supergirl panics and tells Alex Eliza needs to get out of there now. By the time Supergirl gets there RDK has Eliza and again wants to why all of this stuff is around the house and how wasteful it is. Supergirl brings up RDK affection for Mikael and then the fight is on! The two battle one another and having the same powers things are pretty much at a standstill – except – RDK has a purple lightning weapon that Supergirl does not. That becomes her advantage and her way to weaken Supergirl. They continue the fight and Supergirl is bested. RDK listens for Supergirl’s heart to stop beating and flies up to watch Alex and Eliza react. As she’s watching she appears to be summoned away by what we don’t know. The next thing we see is Col Haley putting together that Lex has a miniature version of the Claymoor weapon in the Lex-o-suit and on television we hear President Baker say that Lex Luthor has brought the terrorist Supergirl to justice and we see the Lex-o-suit holding the seemingly dead RDK on the screen.
Alex’s Beautiful Mind
Alex is having a dream/memory about teenage her and Kara yukking it up through Midvale and they come close to a cliff and something knocks them off. She jolts awake to find Kelly still on her couch. Dr. Kelly surmises that the dream is a reflection of her not-so-successful adoption in Portsmouth. Alex thinks that something is off in her brain and that it has to do with Kara. At the DEO when Supergirl is rebuffing Alex coming with her to find RDK Alex also finds that particularly odd. When Supergirl realizes Eliza is in trouble and flies away Alex follows on her motorcycle. As she watches Supergirl get pummeled by RDK she has a series of memories that go back to Kara saving the teen them by flying them back to safety. As Supergirl succumbs to her injuries Alex goes to her and cries for her not to give up. Eliza is also distraught and Alex says they need to get sunlight into her. She surmises that the grass in the field they’re in has sunlight in it by photosynthesis. She places a clump of grass into Supergirl’s hand and begs her to fight. The grass in her hand and all around her starts to give its sunlight to Supergirl and it does indeed revive her. As she wakes up Alex tells her how much she’s missed her and Supergirl says the same. [My summary will not do it justice. This sequence was simply. beautiful.]
Ben Lockwood The Puppet
Lena goes back to the DEO to report on what she and Kara found out in Kaznia – Red Daughter, the Lex-Plan, everything. Among her, Alex, and Brainy they put together that Ben Lockwood is at the center of these things. Lena says she’ll go lean on him to find out where Lex is. Lena also has bought the prison where Lillian is and has therefore gotten her out for the weekend to do a little science experiment. She needs Lillian to figure out a way to extract the Harun-El from Ben (or Jimmy). She also sicks a baby truth seeker on Lillian. Lillian can figure it out and she also admits that does in fact love Lena. She finds Ben, who can no longer get President Baker on the phone, and Ben tells her it’s too late to get her “Super Serum” back. She demands to know where Lex is and he doesn’t understand why he’s supposed to know. She tells him that Otis, President Baker, and Ben himself are all working for Lex. Ben is dumbfounded and also angry. He leaves and Lena along with James follow. Ben goes to the warehouse to find Otis there. Otis confesses to Ben that yes, he got Ben into the position he is in – but, he didn’t tell him to wear the mask, that was just icing on the cake. Now that Otis has confessed he has to kill Ben. James gets in on the action to stop Ben because they need Otis to lead them to Lex. James then short circuits as the Harun-El goes trippy on him. Ben rips the Kryptonite from Metallo-Otis and that’s likely the end of him. Ben gets away. Lena brings James back to Lillian and she has figured out that giving him another dose will stabilize him. They do it so James retains his powers. Oh, and the poison that Lena gave Lillian in their first meeting? Yeah, she gives her the antidote. The look on Lillian’s face that Lena actually poisoned her? Priceless.
BONUS: Bye, Bye, Brainy…Hello “The 5th”
Brainy goes to J’onn to ask for help in finding aliens. They go and determine that a shell corporation of Ameritek has taken all of the aliens from Ben’s roundups in order to use their abilities to charge a battery of sorts. They follow the trail back to the company and Dreamer is with them as well. Brainy has been waiting the entire day for the right moment to express his being in love with her but the timing never works out. Dreamer wants to Wookie their way in with J’onn shapeshifting and carrying her and Brainy in as prisoners. J’onn’s not really feeling the Wookie so he leaves to do some reconnaissance so Brainy decides to make Dreamer happy and Wookie’s his way to being Secretary Lockwood. He’s immediately found out as Brainiac in the full blue. He and Dreamer are separated and under capture he is hit on the head so hard that his neural network resets and he is rebooted. In the process he transforms and speaks about space travel being also time travel and how hard he has tried to keep his ancestral instincts at bay. However, they have reset him and so that is a cataclysmic mistake. He breaks free and absolutely destroys his captors. His character changes and he finds Dreamer and identifies himself as “The 5th.” He breaks her restraints then changes his mind and says that she will go through the portal where they are sending aliens and astral project their location so he can take action. He leaves Dreamer captured while she begs for help. J’onn also catches up with him and Brainiac 5 disables him and leaves him to be captured and sent to the other location as well. He watches from above as Dreamer and J’onn are sent to the other side.
Closing Thoughts
This is the longest summary that I’ve written all year. The sheer amount of storytelling in this episode was outstanding and that all of the different pieces came together to make a well-paced episode is a testament to the writing team. As usual as we move toward the end of the Season we are going to get monumentous actions and this episode did not disappoint. The battle between Supergirl and RDK as well as Chyler Leigh’s extraordinary performance in her desperation of Supergirl’s death while remembering her sister’s relationship were tremendous. Where this episode took things to the next level is the destruction of Brainy and the birth of Brainiac 5. Well played, team. Well played. Shout out to the Mother’s Lillian and Eliza both being on this Mother’s Day episode and all that they bring in their appearances. This episode brings so much to the table and to know that Lex Luthor will be back for the finale sets up the excitement for how Season 4 will be wrapping up!
Cougar’s Comic Corner
“Superman: Last Son of Krypton”
(October 8, 2013) Written by Geoff Johns and Artists Richard βFreakingβ Donner and Adam Kubert
Two of Geoff Johns’ (JUSTICE LEAGUE, AQUAMAN, BLACKEST NIGHT, GREEN LANTERN, THE FLASH) most acclaimed stories of his now classic ACTION COMICS run are collected here! Along with co-writer Richard Donner (director of the original Superman feature films), Johns will take us on a epic journey that will leave Superman re-examining everything about himself.
A rocket lands in Metropolis containing a boy Superman thinks is from Krypton. Along with figuring out what that means to him, Superman must protect young Christopher Kent, who has become the most valuable child on the planet thanks to his immense power. Will Superman be able to protect him against both Lex Luthor and his new Superman Revenge Squad, as well as the Phantom Zone criminals General Zod, Ursa and Non?
This all sets the stage for Superman’s showdown with one of his greatest foes: Brainiac!
Buy it on Amazon here!
Next time on “Supergirl”!
Season 4, Episode 22, “The Quest For Peace”
LEX LUTHOR RETURNS – Lex Luthor descends upon Washington, DC and summons Lena and Lillian Luthor to the White House. Supergirl realizes she has one last chance to stop Lex and turns to the power of the press to help her. Jesse Warn directed the episode with story by Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller and teleplay by Rob Wright and Derek Simon.
Feedback
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[sc:ms]
Hey Monty: Legion of Evil writing Devices
I’ll take a Lantern Justina but only as a guest. Ideally though I would love a Huntress more because again that’s a dynamic that’s unique to Kara from the comics not something Clark based and I do so miss them doing Kara plots instead of copying his to have her take on, again she has her own books to pull ideas from too writers. I still laugh thinking about the idea of Alex saying Helena Bertinelli is a bad influence on Kara and Kara going “She’s a school teacher!” and giving her a look that says she’s also basically Alex if Alex wore purple so how can Alex not like her. π If it was the Helena Wayne version of Huntress then she’d be more good guy than anti hero like Bertinelli but just thinking Helena Wayne already has me thinking she’d be a dual guest because Wayne with “Batwoman” now it’s just asking for her to appear there; Bertinelli could do it too though given she’s Gotham based. “Supergirl”/”Batwoman” mini crossover activate! Ha. Kara and Kate were fun together and you add in Alex, that mini would be a blast I feel. π
Lol to #ThatsTheTicket!
Realistically, I probably would have given this episode a 10 too, but James still has powers so I’m not overlooking that anymore.
Easily the best moment has to be Alex remembering Kara; the sisters are the heart of the series and Melissa and Chyler per usual killed that scene! Hearing Alex say “You can’t go now!” – chills again; ugh Chyler is so good and proves time and time again why she and Alex are the second lead of this series without question and many fans favorite. Long my the Danvers sisters (played by Melissa and Chyler as the adult versions of course) reign on the CW!
Oh John I love your attempt but I won’t lie, you say hefer in the accent but all I hear is something close to what it sounds like when someone tries to mimic the “Da Bears!” line. π
Red Daughter you can tell has feelings for Alex because her first word was “Alex” when she spoke to someone after learning where she was; true Lex is trying to tempt her but I think deep down she knows Alex is important and so she’s not going to hurt her. I don’t know if physically she even can or if something is always going to hold her back to the point she gets Alex out of the way but doesn’t injure her like she could and that something would be undying love because even as a part of Kara Red Daughter has essentially a heart full of love for Alex. It just speaks to the sisters’ bond I feel and I love each time Red Daughter is kind of protective of Alex. π
I think the lightening is part of Red Daughter’s suit.
Lol to K Vox shaking when John asked did Justina agree on the Red Daughter Vs Kara fight, clearly she does not agree with your take John. Ha. As for the reason Red Daughter left, I took it as it had to be something related to either Mikal (maybe she heard him and rushed to see what was going on because what she heard sounded familiar) or Lex calling her and she rushed to help him because he faked needing help to surprise and capture her so he could do that pose at the end.
I’m a little surprised the writers didn’t have Lillian out Kara when she had the truth seeker on her arm, of course if she’s around next episode she still could but that would be a gut punch to Lena also because she knows Lillian can’t lie so it has to be true; again though writers if you do that NO MAKING Lena EVIL!!!
The portal was first introduced in S2 and then it came back in S3 near the end as Kara used holo Alura to trick one of the Kryptonian witches into opening the portal so she could come back through after getting trapped on Argo City.
Mercy. π
To be fair Darryl Eliza probably doesn’t watch the news as much as she use to because who wants to watch their kids get sucker punched weekly? Yeah Kara’s pretty indestructible but she’s still Eliza’s little girl and then you add big sister Alex in that mix who’s always one visit punch away from a free bone setting by Dr. Hamilton it makes sense Eliza would be a little slow on current events. π
“It made no sense but it was pretty to watch” – ha John.
Alex doesn’t need powers John, she is the prime example of not everyone has to have them to be badass…this isn’t to say they should write James as a sudden black belt in 5 martial art styles suddenly to keep him on the street (stop taking James out the office writers) but yes you don’t need actual powers to be powerful – LET James’s VERBAL SKILLS SPEAK FOR HIM AS THE WRITER HE IS ONLY ALREADY!!!
Ha to Monty with the Captain Kirk comment!
I was not that impressed with “Arrow”‘s season/series final(e), depending on who you ask, the first half was a drag to watch but the last 10 minutes was good to take it to ok overall but it certainly was no “Flash” who I think won the finales battle between them. I think our episode of the week was the best but talking just finales so far “Arrow” was just ok to me John and that’s being nice. I don’t watch Legends so I can’t speak to them; I tried going back to them but they annoyed me with recent pairing choices and I always take issue with how they handled Nyssa mentions on the show so not a show I keep up with. I also don’t watch “Black Lightening” as it conflicts with “This Is Us” usually and I’m not missing TIU.
Welcome to “Supergirl” Spider Gwen! π
Yay for Alex getting her memories back! π
“If I don’t have Supergirl what do I have?” “You have me.” – OH THE FEELS! Right in the feels…the scene from “Exodus” where they place their hands on the glass also gets me really easily. Again HEART OF THE SHOW!!!
No Leslie don’t mention the M name!
To be fair Leslie I think Alex was kind of in desperation mode in that scene; yes she also knows what she’s doing to try emergency medicine if you will but still there was also desperation to save Kara too that she would go that way instead of having liquid sunshine and jamming it into her. Speaking of where are the sun grenades when you need them?! Surely Alex has some of those rolling around in her desk still.
I still feel the crossover will merge the words and I’m not sure how I feel about that; again if they do they better include “Black Lightening” not the regulars as it were because again he shouldn’t escape having to deal with Barry’s screw up if everyone else has to deal with him messing with time. Maybe they’ll still be separate in only the crossovers effect the episode before and after but has no effect on the season as a whole but I’m just feeling merger with something this big. We’ll see – I’m always cautious.
I want to do a follow on Red Daughter in a handwavium fashion to sort of explain comic book style that she is the yang to Kara’s yin.
When Kara was split by the harunel she was halved or cleaved in twain as to powers and to traits (according to Derek Simon, probably who does not apparently have a clue to the true mirror nature of the Chinese version of the concept.). However, somebody on the show at least visually understands the complementary nature of yang to yin.
Left mirrors right.
Dark mirrors light.
And then there are the colors…
Yin colors are the colors that bring about healing and relaxation. It is considered more feminine and calm.
Yang colors are the colors that provide us the enthusiasm or the active energy required to do something or be motivated. It is considered more masculine and bold.
Yin colors are white, blue, purple and green.
Yang colors are red, yellow and orange.
Beats the heck out of me how Red Daughter does PURPLE. It ain’t the Chinese way at all. She should be ORANGE when she ray blasts Kara with the sparky left hand. (Did you notice, only the left hand when she smacks Kara with the Purple?) I sure like my Star Sapphire idea a whole lot better to fit the visuals.
Charles Soule would then have a chance to SUE! Red Daughter is supposed to be a (Red) Lantern, dagnabit.
As for the sky darkening? That is symbolic KSG’s EVULZ manifested as a presage SupergRRR PRIME moment and possibly of our friend the Vorlon (Monitor) showing up for “The Crisis”. GRRR again. That should have been A Red Sky Sailor Take Warning…
Hey Geoff…
“Hey Monty: Legion of Evil writing Devices”
http://desource.uvu.edu/dgm/2740/IN/steinja/lessons/08/images/more_explicit.gif
I say, never explain the magic, but it has to be consistent and make sense or you might as well say; “The cat did it and give Mehcad Brooks an eyepatch.”
Monty