Supergirl Episode 314: Schott Through The Heart

It’s been two months of long hiatus since the last new episode of Supergirl aired. For me, it was a mistake, a lull in the middle of an intense season, it slowed momentum. The season restarted this week with a Winn centric episode which built on the foundation of his character from season one. There are almost no mentions of World Killers or Reign or Purity

In some ways it isn’t the best episode to return with. The main plot is on the back burner for another week. We get no Sam or Ruby. That’s one more week for memories to fade about  the particulars of that plot.

In other ways, it seemed right. We get good character moments from all the main players. Certainly Winn takes center stage.  But there are scenes with J’onn and Alex and James that remind us what we love about them while enriching their stories. And Kara gets great moments both as Suoergirl and Kara Danvers. So no better episode to reintroduce to the cast and remind us what we live about th m.

But also this episode continues the thread of loving and humanity as being a strength for people, not a weakness. I have said all along that Sam’s humanity and hr love for Ruby will win over Reign’s wickedness. That more than punches and heat vision will end the threat. And this episode shows how all the characters are dealing with family obligations and loving responsibility.

The bottom line is this was a fun chapter in this season,  very much a live action comic book with strong emotional beats.

And apologies for clunky writing, rough screen shots and any typos. This review was done on the fly while on a mini-vacation and away from usual tech. Onto the episode!

It’s been a while since a new episode so we open with a bespectacled  Kara giving a rah-rah speech to the gang about heading into battle and giving it their all for the people. Made me think we were going to jump right into an action sequence. Instead it turns out that she is pumping up everyone for a night of Karaoke.

For those of us wanting another musical episode, this might be the closest we get. And it is great to hear Kara cut loose Singing the Beastie Boys. But it is J’onn’s robotic performance of Whitney Houston, M’yrnn’s Suspicious Minds, and Alex’s boozy offkey warbling that really made me smile.

Before Winn can break into song, we see in the news that his father, the Toyman, has died in prison. It puts a pall on the proceedings. We know how terrible the Toyman was as a villain and father from way back in the CBS season one. So I’m happy that we are building on the show’s continuity.

At the cemetery, Winn runs into his estranged mother and it isn’t a pleasant reunion. But before we can learn too much about what has pushed a wedge between them, there is danger.

The machine lowering the casket begins to play Pop Goes The Weasel and at the climax, the coffin explodes. It is a massive explosion, so big Kara had to suoerspeed switch to Supergirl to fly in for the rescue.

Back at the DEO, Winn confronts his mother about how she left him. In a tense scene in which Jeremy Jordan really shows his range, Winn angrily tells his mother that she left him when he needed her most, in the aftermath of the deiscovery if all his father did. He can never forgive her. She reveals that the Toyman was so twisted that he threatened to kill Winn if his mother smaintained a relationship. She was forced to run away to keep Winn alive.

Winn isn’t really buying that excuse. She could have turned to all sorts of agencies for help. But instead she ran. So he tells her to leave again.

It makes me wonder if Winn’s happy go lucky exterior is all some front, or perhaps a defense mechanism he has, to hide the horror in his life and the anger he feels.

It turns out that the Toyman’s threat of not letting Winn’s mother stands the test of time. From perhaps beyond the grave he sends an attack force if obit flying monkeys to the DEO tomtry to kill Winn’s mother. This includes a giant one which looks a bit like a Power Ranger villain.

They’re silly CGI things but there is a nice sequence of Kara and James and Mon-El all flipping, punching, heat visioning, and blidgeoning them. I’ve been waiting to see some Kara action for two months so it was great to see her cut loose. And we know that her favorite movie is the Wizard of Oz so there is an extra layer of fun here.

Meanwhile at J’onn’s house, we get a nice scene between the Jonzz’s and Alex. J’onn states he continues to look like Hank Henshaw, despite the racial issues that comes with that identity, because he wants to face down adversity and change the world into something better rather than run from danger.

But the bigger issue is it becomes clear to Alex that M’yrnn is suffering from early dementia. And when she confronts him about it (while J’onn is in the other room) he becomes angry. He can’t tell J’onn now. They have just got back together as a family. He won’t put that burden on his son now. He just wants to enjoy this new life. He demands Alex stay quiet and then throws her out.

Again, the idea of needing to care for each other and be honest with each other is growing in all the characters. I know, in the end, this will all play out in the final battle with Reign, where they will call upon Sam’s love to overcome the Reign persona.

We then get two very good scenes for character growth and interaction. First, James has a heart to heart with Winn. James wonders if Winn is lashing out at his mother because he needs a target. We’re reminded that James’ father died when out on a story. And James says he was so angry about his loss that he took it out on his mom. Perhaps Winn is doing the same thing. Maybe Winn should be acknowledging that his mother is here now, trying to be together now that she believes it is safe. At least for now, Winn isn’t going to hear it. He still feels like she abandoned him.

Earlier in the episode, James really comforted Winn when he learned about the Toyman's death. It was great to see these two in a scene alone together, solidifying their friendship.

And then we get a scene with Kara and Winn’s mother where Supergirl talks about how crucial Winn is to the DEO. How he often is the one to come up with the idea that solves the problem or rallies the troops to keep going. His Mom knew he was smart and good with his hands. She’s thrilled that Winn iorking on the side of good.

Both scenes give us background of the supporting cast. And for someone like me, who likes Winn a lot, it was great to see Kara talk about how big a deal he is.

In the DEO, Winn and his mother began to dissect the Flying Monkeys hoping to get a clue about the Toyman’s lair. We learn that she was the Toyman’s apprentice, handy with electronics jut like her son. It made me nervous that perhaps she was just engineering these attacks as a way to bring her and Winn together, a bit too Identity Crisis for my liking.

But then she tells a harrowing tale of physical abuse by the Toyman, stalking her and forcing her off the road while she was running with Winn to an abuse shelter. This is the time when the Toyman told her that he would kill Winn if she cared for him. This is when she had to leave him in order to save him. It would be hard to reconcile such a terrible past with a nefarious plot. She does discover a clue about the attack’s origin and heads to an abandoned Toy warehouse where an unknown woman captures her.

The DEO gets a Zod-like transmission telling them to head to Wiggins Toy Company if they ever want to see Winn’s mom alive again. Supergirl, Mon-El, and DEO agents all suit up but Winn insists on going. This time he’ll use his background rather than deny it.

The ensuing fight is a fun, very comic book-y brawl. Supergirl gets trapped in a n indestructible Action figure case with the villainous woman cooing about her powers and points of articulation. Winn’s mother is trapped in a giant claw from a toy grabbing machine. There are flame throwing toy tanks and exploding toy airplanes and eventually a giant toy T.Rex. Those last two seem like homages to the Toyman first appearance on Superman the Animated series. Mon-El uses his cape like a whip effectively to destroy to dinosaur.

It turns out the woman villain was Maintenance in the Toyman’s prison and became his apprentice there. She will act out his final wishes to kill Winn. In a callback to season one, Winn uses his father’s shuriken yo-yo yo free himself. And Winn and his freed mother have to team up to defeat her.

I’m glad that Winn’s mother did not go evil here. She had a super-sympathetic backstory of abuse and it would be weird if she went down a darker path. Plus, that wouldn’t jibe with the theme of the season.

Nothing left but the wrap-up. I have come to appreciate these end scenes where the writers tie up any loose plot threads and tease the next episode.

Back at the Karaoke bar, Mon-El brutally sings ‘Carry on my wayward sin’, so badly he apologizes. In a sign of maturity, Kara says she can’t talk to him about his marital issues. Incredibly he says he only wanted to talk business. Imra and Brainy purposefully because world killer Pestilence becomes Blight! He promises to train Kara in his cape technique. We even get a Rimbor reference.

M’yrnn finally confesses to J’onn about his dementia. His first thought is to spare J’onn any burden.

And then the big hook. Lena, who James has been trying to call all episode, turns out to be in her lab in a medical suite with Sam!! What is Lena Up to? Great hook!

But overall this episode continued the overarching theme of humanity being important for healing. Since we lean so heavily into parents here, I’m still thinking Ruby will be the reason why Sm will reject Reign. We get that vibe from Winn reconciling with his mother. We get it with J’onn not abandoning his father. 

And kudos to Jeremy Jordan for giving us a whole ne layer of Winn. Perhaps that happy-go-lucky  personality is just a defense mechanism.