SUPERGIRL - Season 4.10

REVIEW:  SUPERGIRL – SEASON 4, EPISODE 10:  “Suspicious Minds”

We are back!!  The Girl of Steel returns from the hiatus, ready to continue her crusade against the man causing problems with her and the alien community---Agent Liberty.  When last we left off, Liberty was being taken to prison, Supergirl was dismissed from the DEO, Jimmy’s PR issues continue, Lena was working on a cure, and came across something REAL interesting, and we finally got to see Nia’s powers in full effect.

We start off in Eastern Europe as we continue to watch the development of the Red Daughter and her training, as she’s stopping missles. The Military big wigs watching her little exercise say she's about ready for more intense training.

We cut to Lena and Kara working out at the gym (like Kara needs it).  She jokes about “feeling the burn” as she and Lena chat about James, and him distancing himself from Lena.  Kara says for her to talk to him.  And offers to beat him up if he doesn’t talk to her.  She then hears a cry for help.  She fakes a cramp to escape Lena to change to Supergirl and flies to the source of the trouble.  She heads out into the ocean where a cargo ship is found, and she finds all the soldiers unconscious.  One of them, a Gen. McAllister, is swept away off the boat by an invisible being.  She then discovers a bomb on the boat, and promptly disposes of it.  Later on, the DEO is there, and her and Col. Haley get into it.  Haley feels she offers nothing, and has contaminated the crime scene, and orders her to leave.  Supergirl says that she isn’t going to stop being a hero just because she doesn’t work for the DEO anymore.  She then flies off, leaving Alex to deal with Haley.

We see J’Onn at his new office hanging up a picture of him with Kara and Alex when Brainy walks in, letting J’Onn know that Supergirl is going to need his help…a “His Girl Friday” to have her back.  Brainy is afraid that Kara’s life is going to get worse.  He offers J’Onn money, but J’Onn refuses—saying that if Kara needs his help, she’ll ask.  Meanwhile, back at the DEO, Haley and Alex are talking about the “Shimmer” alien that Supergirl had mentioned, and Haley is adamant that Supergirl is a nusicance, and she feels the President was mistake, and they need to have a contingency plan to rein her in.  So, she has a plan to find out about who Supergirl is, so that they can control her again.

James and Lena finally have their pow wow, and come to an understanding that sometimes the ends justify the means as far as how they approach their respective situations. 

At the DEO, Alex has a pow wow with some of her agents about making sure they conceal Supergirl’s secret ID.  She makes sure she doesn’t force anyone into doing this, but they all agree to help out.  Just then, Col. Haley pops up inquiring about what’s going on.  Alex covers and says it’s a debriefing.  Haley then calls one of the agents aside for a chat.  Alex and Brainy talk about how will they be able to keep Supergirl’s secret.  Back at Kara’s, Alex and Kara go over the events of the day, as they find out that there is no record of the cargo ship, or of Gen. McCallister.  Things get stranger.

Brainy calls Nia to ask if they would like to meet up to eat.  Nia asks him if he’s asking her on a date, and he says yes.  Just as they’re about to set a time and place for the date, Haley comes up to Brainy, asking to talk to him about Supergirl.  At Kara’s again, J’Onn shows up with some files about the cargo boat and the alien that killed the men on the cargo boat.  Kara and J’Onn not only find out that there was a secret project at work, but a Gen. Tam, Gen. McAllister and Col. Haley were all in on it.  It’s a cover up!

Briany comes out of the interrogation, complaining about Haley’s interrogation skills.  Alex meets up with him just as he exits the room, and he forgot for a brief time that Supergirl and Kara are the same.  He quickly recovers.  They found out where Gen. Tam is.  They ask him about what Project Amorai is, and he tells them they recruited these invisible aliens to become assassins.  But when the President sent word to cut all ties with aliens, they set up the cargo ship as a trap.  But the Shimmers got smart, and killed the crew first.  Now, they were coming for Tan.  He takes off as Supergirl, who can spot them with her x-ray vision, sees two of them approaching.  One chases after Tan, with J’Onn in tow, trying to stop Tan from running off.  Alex and Supergirl fight off the one, but the other one manages to crash the car Tan was in, killing him.  J’Onn couldn’t save him.  Supergirl tries to reach out to the other Shimmer, telling them that she too got betrayed by the DEO.  When she tries to connect further, the Shimmer collapse.  It killed itself.

Back at the DEO, Alex tells Haley that Tam is dead.  She demands answers, but Haley is resistant to give much information.  But when Alex presses further, she lets Alex know of how they used the Morae, and that they used the means necessary to control them.  Alex feels its amoral, but Haley tells her that this is necessary. 

Lena and James are having dinner, and she finally opens up about her experiments with the heart.  She asks James to be her moral compass in regards as to how to approach this “cure”.

Brainy has a paintgun, with phosphorous pellets, saying that this will help “mark” the Morae.  The agents have said that they’re ordered to take lethal force, according to Col. Haley’s orders.  Alex then talks to Kara, and tells her she can’t be a part of the DEO anymore.  She can’t deal with Haley.  Kara tells her that she is the DEO’s moral compass, and needs to stand her ground.  Soon, Haley bumps into Alex, and Alex sees that one of her agents has betrayed her, and apologized because she couldn’t hold her tongue.  Haley now knows that Alex covered up Kara’s ID as Supergirl.  Just as Haley is about to come down on Alex, the alarms go off, as the Morae arrive, ready to kill Col Haley.

The attack begins, and Haley hands out orders to kill.  As the lights go down, Alex says that if they stick together, they should survive.  The attack begins.  They manage to kill one of them, and Brainy tags the other, but gets tossed aside.  Alex wants them to close ranks, but Haley and Alex split up to grab the other one.  Just as the second one is ready to kill Haley, Supergirl comes in to save her.  She manages to capture the Morae into a prison cell.  But Haley is undeterred, and threatens Supergirl with knowing her secret ID.  Wanting to make sure she does what she’s ordered to do, otherwise she will expose Kara’s ID, and ruin her life, and those of her loved ones.  At this point, Alex punches her out.  She turns to Kara, saying that she had to.

Back at the DEO, Brainy and Alex talk, when they see a container with a blue creature in it. Turns out, this alien’s sole purpose is to seek the truth.  Haley’s intent is still there…to expose Supergirl’s ID.  Back at Kara’s, J’Onn has talked to the other agents, and they agreed to have their minds wiped, in order to keep Kara’s secret.  Alex also tells Kara that she must do it as well.  Kara resists, and says that the only reason she became Supergirl was because of Alex.  Alex says that will still be the reason, but that for once, let her save Kara.  J’Onn begins to mindwipe everyone, as we see a montage of James sitting up in bed looking over at Lena, doing some heaving thinking while she’s asleep, and Brainy and Nia talking about another date.  Finally, the episode ends as J’Onn asks Alex if she’s ready.  She says yes, and he begins the mindwipe.

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This was a powerful episode, and loyalties were tested, and moral boundaries were blurred.  The backdrop of the political aspect of this arc was put to the side, as we see the story shift into a more “take action” mode against the aliens.  Especially aliens who were used by the US Government, and Col. Haley’s vendetta against Supergirl.  Supergirl is now being shown as Public Enemy #1 in the eyes of Haley, and that made tonight’s episode so strong---it tested the loyalties of those in the DEO loyal to Alex and Kara…and could they handle the torture before breaking down and succumbing to Haley’s questioning.  Sadly, one of them did, and led to one of the biggest moral dilemmas of the entire installment---having J’Onn erase the memories of those who know Supergirl’s secret ID in order to protect her from Haley.  Also, more questions about Lena’s research arise, and puts James in quite an interesting situation, as well as just when in the hell the direction this relationship between Briany and Nia will go.

Let’s address the main issue here.  Haley is scum.  I’m just gonna come right out and say it.  Although she’s Amanda Waller Light, she’s still got that type of attitude, where it’s national security FIRST, country FIRST, and screw anyone and everyone that becomes collateral damage in the process---even those you put in your employ, like the government did the Morae.  To the government…especially the Military Industrial Complex—which is, let’s face it---what we’re dealing with here, the ends justify the means as long as the country’s security is safe.  They use and abuse the resources given them, because, well….they can.  And if they feel you’re an asset to them, they don’t care about your feelings, or individuality, or your basic human rights.  If you have an ability or a gift that benefits the “greater cause”, they will threaten you at every turn to gain your allegiance---willingly or not.  Such is the case of Haley, who---while she doesn’t LIKE Supergirl---still sees the VALUE of her as an asset…from a military standpoint.  She feels that by CONTROLLING the Girl of Steel---by threating her with harm to those closer to her OR exposing her ID to the public, she can use her…as well as the rest of the Military Industrial Complex, to their advantage.  She becomes the “big stick” that the Government and Military to use at THEIR discrection should ANYONE who doesn’t share America’s “interest”, can be neutralized by their Kryptonian “soldier”.  She’s a power hungry, overbearing, politician seeking gloryhound out for her own puposes, while trying to SUPPOSEDLY protect “American” interests.  Controlling the most powerful being on the planet gives her----and the President to that extent---all the leverage in ANY deal they make involving American interests.

Alex’s confrontation with her is something that put Alex’s loyalties to the test.  As much as she believes in the DEO, she feels that Haley has hijacked the purpose of the group.  While Alex wants to capture, but understand these alien beings, Haley’s only purpose is to destroy that which does not fit her’s and the President’s agenda.  If they see VALUE in what an alien race can provide from a strategic standpoint, then---and ONLY then---do they see the purpose in that alien staying ALIVE.  That is, until they have served their purpose…then, like everyone and everything else…you’re expendable.  And while it’s nice that there are those loyal to Alex---they also feel they have to follow orders and be loyal to Col. Haley as well.  Thus, one of them cracked in the interrogation, and coughed up Kara’s secret ID.  While she DID apologize, it set things in motion that only J’Onn could fix.  In the end, we see that, while Alex had thought of quitting before the Morae's attack on the DEO, Kara pushed her to stick around, because she was the DEO’s “moral compass”.  At the end, when the mindwipe was brought up for everyone for Kara’s sake, Alex decided to stick around…to expose Haley and bring her down…and stay the moral compass of the DEO.  Kara was the one to change her mind, when she saw what it was going to cost them both---the bond they share as sisters. 

On the other side of the loyalty issue, we had James and Lena.  While it was nice to see that both of them admitted to mistakes they made in regards to Agent Liberty and James’ potential prison sentence, the fact that they both agreed that sometimes the ends DO justify the means shows the lines of morality blurred.  Both were willing to do things that were morally questionable for what they believed to be MORAL purposes.  Lena opening up, and admitting what she discovered in her research to James shows she’s willing to trust in him and their relationship.  James was still shocked about her findings, and what her purpose is with that knowledge----noble as SHE may feel it is---weighs heavily on him.  Even moreso, when she asks HIM to be HER moral guide on this issue.  That’s a weight James feels on his chest very much in this episode…and will down the road.

J'Onn having is PI office is right out of the comics, as this was J'Onn's occupation in his disguise at "John Jones".  He was a gumshoe.  Love it!

We finally got an appearance from the Red Daughter for the first time in awhile, as we see her continue to hone her skills at the tutelage of the military.  It won’t be much longer before she’s unleashed upon the Motherland…and the world for that matter.  It’s been a slow build, but I’m hoping there’s going to be a huge payoff at the end of this season.  I expect a huge battle with her and Supergirl before the season ends.

We get some confusion and a little more interaction between Nia and Brainy this week.  Brainy not quite comprehending the concept of dating is comical, and his social awkwardness is fun to watch---it provides the comic relief we have been missing with Winn gone.  Also, his insistence on Nia becoming a super-hero seems a bit pressing, and I don’t believe she’s ready to be a willing participant in that department…at least as yet.  Right now, she was just a tad hurt that her dinner date with Brainy didn’t go as well, but it seemed like they were making up for it at the end of the show.  This relationship is the one fun part of the show right now…it’s lightheartedness.

When Alex decided to have her mind wiped, Supergirl was reluctant, and mentioned that she was in a world where Alex didn’t know here, bringing up the ELSEWORLDS crossover.  That’s good to know for story purposes…meaning that it wasn’t one of those aberration stories, and it DOES have a reaching effect on our shows. Was also sad to see that moment between Kara and Alex…where Alex knew what had to be done (and I had called it during the course of the episode).  It’s going to be heartbreaking to see Alex NOT know her sister’s dual identity…and wonder what kind of long-term impact this will have on the future of their relationship.  I credit those loyal to Alex and Kara remaining.  Getting back to the moral aspect of this…for J’Onn, this means crossing a line he’d swore to himself he’d never cost.  But this goes back to James’ argument about the ends justifying the means---if it’s for a noble cause.  Which is what he felt saving Kara’s secret ID was worth.  It’s the moral lines being blurred on all sides.  In the end…everyone feels they’re doing the RIGHT thing…even if you bend the rules to do it. 

This is an episode that makes you think a little, but also a little sad, because now the dynamic shifts a little.  Now Supergirl truly IS an outsider…even to everyone at the DEO now…not just Col. Haley and the President, which will still be their main goal…getting Supergirl’s ultimate loyalty…and making her their lapdog.  Their ultimate weapon.  But this may also free up Supergirl to be the hero that fills the shoes of Superman while he’s gone playing Daddy-to-be with Lois on Argo.  Gives her a chance to be a global presence…and go beyond the shackles of working for a government agency…which she SHOULDN’T be doing to begin with.  But that’s just MY thoughts.

Anyway, that’s it for this week!  Please subscribe and pass the word along…I’d love to hear from ya!  Leave some comments too…be curious as to your guys’ insights. 

Until next week….Up, Up, and AWAY!