Supergirl and her friends must race against the clock to take down Lex Luthor.
Tropes in this episode:
- 11th-Hour Superpower: When Red Daughter dies, she dissolves and is absorbed into Supergirl, amping up Supergirl's Eye Beams to the point that she can counter Lex's gauntlets in a Beam-O-War.
- Ambiguous Situation: We're not quite sure what Ben is feeling upon seeing his son on the news, condemning him and becoming an advocate for peaceful alien/human relations.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Red Daughter learns too late that Lex was using her and Kaznia the entire time for his own ends, and she dies protecting Supergirl.
- All-Loving Hero: Kara even tries to save Lex, but he'd rather die than be saved by a Kryptonian.
- And This Is for...: Kara devotes taking down Lex to Red Daughter.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Brainy finally confesses his love to Nia when she is in danger of dying while overloading the reactor.
- Artistic License – Law: Baker is arrested and carted off like any other criminal. Being the President, this would definitely not happen and getting him out of power would likely take several weeks, minimum. Even if he did eventually get arrested, he wouldn't be carted off in a way that humiliates him, he would likely have a cover over his head and/or hands.
- Artistic License – Military: Aircraft carriers are absurdly expensive. There are only 22 on Earth right now (half belonging to the US). The idea that a minor Balkan state embroiled in a long ethnic civil war could own one, even with Lex Luthor's help, is laughable.
- Assassin Outclassin': Lockwood dispatches the Eve clones sent after him.
- Bad Boss: Lex tests the drained powers of one alien on an unlucky guard.
- Bait-and-Switch: When Lena shows up to game night, it seems like it means she's not letting what Lex told her about Kara get to her, but the episode ends with her drinking alone in her office and then smashing a picture of her, Alex, and Kara with her whiskey glass.
- Bittersweet Ending: Lex is dead, Baker and Lockwood are arrested; the Alien Amnesty Act is reinstated, Supergirl's reputation is restored, Kelly and Alex as well as Brainy and Nia become couples; and George Lockwood is now an advocate for peaceful alien/human relations. But Lena had to shoot Lex and now she knows about Kara's secret, sowing doubt in her faith in her friends. And then the Monitor shows up on Earth-38, bringing with him J'onn's brother to stir up trouble and then collecting and (implicitly resurrecting) Lex for some role in the upcoming Crisis On Infinite Earths.
- Blatant Lies: Baker's justification for pardoning Lex is extremely thin. Even beyond people being well aware of the Deceased Fall-Guy Gambit trope, there were many witnesses to Lex's crimes—Lena even had a wire on when Lex ranted about why he turned the sun red. It's little wonder that Kara's article turned public opinion against him.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Lex and Eve assume that five of her copies can kill a superpowered Lockwood. He takes them all out in about a second.
- Breaking Speech: In his dying breath, Lex reveals to Lena how her friends have been lying to her all along, shattering her to the core.
- Brought Down to Badass: Even with the power dampeners on, J'onn and Nia successfully lead a riot on Shelley Island.
- Brought Down to Normal:
- Lockwood and James after they mutually extract the Harun-El from each other.
- Lena also de-powers Lex.
- The Bus Came Back: Lex finally returns in this episode after having been absent since "The House of L".
- Cain and Abel:
- Lex's threat is ended by his own half-sister. Ironically, the sibling doing the killing is the one portrayed as in the right.
- J'onn's mysterious brother is apparently out for his blood.
- Call-Back: Lex calls Superman "The Man of Yesterday", showing that he's not over Superman being considered "The Man of Tomorrow, instead of him.
- Card-Carrying Villain: When Red Daughter is shocked that Lex betrayed her, he tells her how stupid she was, as his record was right in front of her the entire time. He also emphasizes how much he hates Kryptonians.
- Condensation Clue: When Nia astral-projects into Lena's office, Brainy predicts her arrival and points out that, in her current state, they won't be able to hear or see her. However, she can interact with the world by ionizing things, so he fogs up one of the windows for her to write on. She writes out "Shelly Islan" before she's interrupted, and Kara realizes something must have happened because she suddenly trails off at the last letter.
- Deceased Fall-Guy Gambit: When Lex and Eve learn Otis has been killed by Lockwood, they turn him into a convenient patsy for Lex's crimes.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: How Red Daughter dies after saving Kara.
- Didn't See That Coming: Lex knew Lena would be waiting for him at his hideout and thought she would help him because she wouldn't want to see him die. She shoots him instead.
- Dramatic Irony: While Lex gloats about his plan's success and the stupidity of the common man, we're treated to a montage of Kara's article spreading far and wide, exposing Lex's crimes to the public and scuttling his entire scheme.
- Dying Curse: Lex chooses to reveal Kara's secret to Lena as his last act, just to mock her for being a fool when everyone else knew already.
- Dying Speech: Lex manages to go on for quite a while despite taking two bullets to the chest.
- Energy Absorption:
- Lex's plan is to drain all available aliens of their powers and use the collected energy to power Claymore in order to blow up Argo City.
- In a more heroic fashion, Red Daughter transfers her essence and energy unto Kara when she dies.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite all the bad blood, and Lillian even trying to poison him right on the spot, Lex refuses to kill his family.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- At this point, even Lillian has had enough of Lex's madness.
- Eve also seems shocked at the sheer lengths Lex is trying to go just to destroy Superman.
- Evil Is Petty:
- Lex intends to use a Claymore satellite to destroy Argo, wiping out the Kryptonian race and blowing through half the power his plan would have produced, all just to kill Superman. He even peevishly refers to Superman as "The Man of Yesterday", a Call-Back to Lex's jealousy over not being considered "The Man of Tomorrow".
- Lockwood, knowing how dangerous Lex is, nevertheless prioritises picking a fight with Supergirl and company over trying to stop him.
- In his dying moments, Lex exposes Kara's secret to Lena purely to spite her, gloating that she won't have a friend in the world afterward.
- Evil Versus Evil: After being targeted by Lex, Lockwood tries gathering a few remaining loyal men to get back at Lex.
- Eye Scream: James loses an eye during his fight with Lockwood. By the end, he's seen wearing an eyepatch.
- Face Death with Dignity: Lex takes being shot by Lena surprising well, because he believes it means she's sunk to his level.
- Faking the Dead: Lex teleports out of his malfunctioning suit as it crashes to the ground after his fight with Supergirl. However, Lena awaits him right in his base. The public assumes he died in the crash, while Lena shoots him and leaves his body to rot.
- Fatal Flaw: As always, Lex could have it all if he'd just get over his obsession with Superman. As always, it's not gonna happen. Downplayed, as the biggest blow to his plans comes from Kara exposing his crimes, which would have happened whether Lex had taken a shot at Superman or not.
- Flashback: The episode has a few scenes taking place a few hours back, leading up to the current situation.
- Former Friends Photo: To illustrate how pissed and hurt she is at Kara for not telling her about being Supergirl, Lena smashes their picture with a drinking glass.
- Fusion Dance: A nearly dead Red Daughter gets absorbed by Kara just before she succumbs to her wounds.
- Greater-Scope Villain:
- A mysterious, powerful organisation called Leviathan planted Eve in Lex's circle to exploit his plans for some unknown end. It didn't work, but judging from their agent's meeting with Eve, they're nowhere near finished.
- The Monitor appears at the end of the episode, summoning Malefic to Earth and taking Lex's dead body for his own purposes.
- Heel–Face Turn: Haley cements hers by publicly thanking Supergirl on TV for her help in averting the Luthor crisis.
- He's Back!: Seeing Dreamer almost sacrifice herself to stop Claymore brings the old Brainy we know and love back.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Red Daughter tackles Supergirl out of the path of a Kryptonite blast, getting fatally wounded by it in the process.
- Human Resources: Lex plans to round up aliens and drain their powers to produce clean energy, which he can then monetize. After wasting half of it to blow up Superman.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Lena justifies killing Lex by saying that the world would never be a safe place as long as he's in it. Notably, she utters this justification to Lex, implying that she's saying it more to convince herself of this than anything else.
- Internal Reveal:
- Lex learns that Lockwood got powers.
- Lex reveals to Lena that Kara is Supergirl.
- In-Universe Soundtrack: Lex's battle is set to Frank Sinatra's "My Way", which is revealed to be playing inside his suit when it cuts to a helmet cam perspective.
- Irony:
- Lex, an avowed lunatic, claims that he wouldn't kill his own family. The much more stable Lillian and Lena both try to kill him before the episode is out, with Lena succeeding.
- Kara decides to hold off on telling Lena the truth, wanting to give her some time to get over recent traumas. One of those traumas, little does Kara know, is Lena finding out the truth.
- It's All About Me:
- Obviously Lex, as his entire scheme is to prove himself superior to Superman.
- It's shown that Baker could care less about what Lex has been doing or the damage to the nation as long as he became President.
- Karmic Death : Lena shoots Lex dead, then leaves his body to rot where no one (save the all-powerful Monitor) will ever find it. Quite a cold-blooded thing to do to your own brother, but when said brother is Lex, it becomes a healthy dose of karma.
- Kick the Dog:
- After betraying Red Daughter, Lex feels the need to rub it in that he was never her friend, that she was stupid and naïve to believe he ever was in the first place, and that he hates her for simply being Kryptonian.
- Mortally wounded, Lex decides to use his last moments to torment Lena by revealing to her that Kara is Supergirl, all but laughing in her face while telling her that she's a fool, taking pleasure in the idea that he's leaving her totally alone in the world.
- Killed Off for Real:
- Otis could be revived, but Lex and Eve don't bother, leaving him as a dead scapegoat for Lex's past crimes.
- Lex, courtesy of Lena, only to be be saved by the Monitor.
- Kill Sat: Lex has built an improved Claymore satellite, which he plans to use to blow up Argo.
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- Supergirl defeats Lex with a combination of Lena's tech and Red Daughter's power.
- Baker's Cabinet invokes the 25th Amendment to remove him from office and Lockwood is sent back to prison on charges on domestic terrorism. Even more delicious is that he'll have to watch from prison as his son denounces his hateful work and sets out to undo it.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Lillian notes how the cancer has aged Lex, a nod to the extreme example of
Dawson Casting with Jon Cryer playing him. note - Locked Out of the Loop: Lena finally learns that she's the only one in Kara's inner circle who doesn't know that Kara is Supergirl. If her last scene is any indication, she doesn't take that news well.
- Magical Security Cam: Lex shows footage of Kara using her powers taken straight from the show at angles no camera at those locations could have possibly recorded.
- Mutual Kill: Non-lethal variation. Lockwood stabs James with the Harun-El extractor, but James grabs the backup and stabs Lockwood in turn, de-powering them both.
- My Greatest Second Chance: J'onn sees stopping Claymore as one for running during the White Martian invasion.
- Mythology Gag: The episode's title comes from the title of the fourth and final Christopher Reeve film Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, which also starred Jon Cryer as Lex's nephew Lenny.
- A Nazi by Any Other Name: If his genocidal actions against aliens weren't an indication before, Lex even quotes Hitler just to disperse any doubts of him being this. Lillian chides him for the latter, saying it's bad for the brand.
- Never Tell Me the Odds!: Evil Brainy tells J'onn and Nia that their chances to overload the generator that's powering Claymore are pretty slim. When they do it anyway and seem to succeed, he is unable to compute and the real Brainy regains control, switching to encouragement that they can beat the odds.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Alex talks Kara out of telling Lena her secret immediately, making sure that Lena stews in her anger a little bit longer.
- Not Quite Dead: Lex didn't kill Red Daughter; he just made her weak enough so he could stick her in a pod to fuel his Kill Sat.
- Offhand Backhand: As Lex is talking to Red Daughter about betraying Kaznia, he casually blows a Kaznian jet out of the sky without even turning to look.
- Offing the Offspring: Lillian tries to do this to Lex by poisoning his tea, but he sees right through the plan.
- Phlebotinum Overload: Unable to deactivate Claymore's power core, J'onn decides to overload the core so it will explode without transferring its energy to the satellite.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Invoked by Eve as the plan was to use the aliens and create a limitless supply of power which could win over the world's public. Instead, Lex wants to waste half of that power to fire a beam halfway across the galaxy and blow up Argo, all because he needs to destroy Superman.
- Prison Riot: Nia and J'onn lead one on Shelley Island.
- Properly Paranoid: Supergirl wears her anti-Kryptonite suit to her confrontation with Lex, knowing his suit will have Kryptonite weaponry.
- Purple Is Powerful: After absorbing Red Daughter's strength, Kara's heat vision becomes purple.
- Put the "Laughter" in "Slaughter": Lex has a blast blowing up the Kaznians.
- Relationship Upgrade: Both Kelly and Alex as well as Nia and Brainy become couples.
- The Reveal:
- Baker was never President Mardsin's first choice to be her running mate; Lex arranged for her preferred choice to be taken out of the running, forcing her to go with Baker, an "unimportant back-bencher" Senator at the time, all so he could have his own man in the White House when he decided the time was right to take Marsdin out of office.
- Lex didn't kill Red Daughter; he merely knocked her out so he could use her in a machine to siphon off alien powers.
- Lex is gathering up aliens to recharge a new Claymore satellite weapon aimed at Argo so he can kill Superman.
- Eve's being a Monster Fangirl toward Lex? She's not. She's really working on behalf of "Leviathan," whoever or whatever that is, and is Trapped in Villainy, to boot.
- A minor example with President Baker. After taking great pains to avoid revealing his first name for most of the season, we finally learn that it's Phil. A bit anticlimactic.
- Revenge Before Reason:
- Lockwood gathers up several Children of Liberty to confront Lex. As soon as he sees Supergirl and company, however, he picks a fight with them instead.
- Lex has finally got a Presidential pardon and public approval to become a hero to Earth... and he's going to waste it all to kill Superman.
- Season Finale: The show's fourth.
- Sequel Hook:
- Lena knows that Kara is Supergirl, and it's implied at best it'll strain their friendship and at worst drive her to villainy.
- Eve was working for Lex under orders from a mysterious organization called Leviathan, who come to collect her for another Evil Plan.
- The Monitor shows up to Earth-38, bringing J'onn's brother to stir up trouble. He then collects Lex for some purpose, presumably for a role to play in Crisis On Infinite Earths.
- Skewed Priorities:
- Lockwood and his goons decide to pick a fight with the heroes rather than go after Lex. Doubly foolish, as they all have the same goal at this point; attacking the heroes accomplishes nothing for Lockwood.
- Invoked by Eve on Lex as he's on the verge of attaining ultimate power and being hailed by Earth for it...and instead he's going to waste time and energy trying to destroy Superman.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: Frank Sinatra's "My Way" plays, accompanying Lex's slaughter of the Kaznians. He even sings along.
- Special Edition Title: The title once again has Red Daughter's logo in it, alongside the regular.
- Taking the Bullet: Red Daughter intercepts the Kryptonite beam Lex fires at Kara.
- Talk to the Fist: Alex knocks Lockwood out after he's de-powered.
- Tempting Fate: Lex is so sure that his plan has succeeded, he's completely dismissive of the idea of the truth coming out; while he says this, Kara's article is being released to the public and people are already protesting.
- Too Dumb to Live: Yep. You have no idea where this alien comes from or what powers he may have, but go on, experiment on him anyway. No way that could go wrong.
- Tranquil Fury: Lena is clearly not happy about finding out Kara is Supergirl as she's sitting in her office and smashes a picture of her, Alex, and Kara with her whiskey glass.
- Undignified Death: Lex is shot by Lena and left awkwardly slumped in a chair. She doesn't even bother telling anyone about the body.
- Villain with Good Publicity:
- Lex has been pardoned by Baker, using the now-dead Otis as The Scapegoat for his past crimes.
- Subverted with Kara's article; Baker, Lockwood, and Lex are all exposed for who and what they are, and they each get their just desserts.
- Villainous Breakdown:
- Lockwood has another one when he learns that Baker dumped him as Secretary of Alien Affairs in favor with Lex, the man who's been using him all season.
- Lex when Supergirl and her allies begin messing with his plan on Shelley Island.
- We Are Everywhere: Leviathan (or, more specifically, a female member of it) tells Eve that there's nowhere she can go to escape it, which it punctuates by having everyone in the vicinity turn and look at her in unison.
- Wham Episode:
- Eve was working for Lex under orders from a mysterious organization called Leviathan.
- J'onn J'onzz has a brother, identified in the closing credits as Ma'alefa'ak, and he's been brought to Earth-38 by the Monitor to stir up trouble.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Alex and Kara are angry at Brainy for deeming Nia and J'onn being captured an "unimportant detail".
- The first thing Dreamer does when she (physically) sees Brainy again? Send a bolt of energy flying his way. Whether or not she meant to miss is up for speculation.
- What You Are in the Dark: Lena kills Lex and learns that her friends have been hiding Kara's secret identity from her for two years. She chooses to stew in her own (admittedly justified) anger about it, rather than telling anyone.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
- Red Daughter has lost value to Lex and thus he puts her in a draining battery.
- Lex sends Eve to deal with Lockwood, but she's outmatched and he's ultimately dealt with by James and Alex.
- You Wouldn't Shoot Me: Lex says this to Lena when she corners him in his hideout. He's wrong, because he forgets one important thing: despite everything, Lena is a Luthor.
