SUPERGIRL - SEASON 5.4

REVIEW:  SUPERGIRL - SEASON 5, EP. 4:  "In Plain Sight"


The twists and turns the Maid of Might's show has provided us so far this season has been crafted beautifully.  We're getting a pretty decent balance with our cast of characters, a story that's very personal to J'Onn, but it effects everyone else.  We have Kara trying to figure out her co-worker William Dey's deal, and then there's Lena and her plan to re-map the human mind...to make everyone be honest and never lie.  James is finding his way.

So...some things you just can't take at face value.  Some things are hidden...even in plain sight.

We last left Kelly and James departing National City to keep Kelly away from Malefic's reach, since she is now getting visions of him in her head.  They head back home to Calvintown to spend time there.  They get more than they bargained for when they see their hometown in despair.  Crime is up, and there's a big prison that looms in the background.  They head to their aunt's house, only to find out a kid had broken into the house, and had been squatting there for awhile.  He bails before they get a word in edgewise, but bump into him later at the local market, as he's about to make off with a can of food.  Kelly helps him out, and they talk to him.  His name is Simon, and his mother was put in prison for 10 years for a minor theft charge.  Seems that the whole town is in fear of those running the prison, including the local paperman whom gaved James his start.  He says that the people who run the prison keep the townfolk in fear, and if he were to say anything, he'd lose his paper, and the employees he pays would lose their jobs.  James pulls some favor to get Simon's mother a lawyer, but says he has to head out of town.  Simon is disappointed.  

We see Kelly walking through National City just as Malefic pulls up on her, looking to kill her, but it turns out it was J'Onn in disguise, and they fight.  Turns out, J'Onn brought the Super Friends with him, and Supergirl attacks Malefic.  Briany tries using the Phantom Zone projector, but it has no effect.  Malefic escapes.  They head back to the DEO, and Alex is insistent on using the Verdec Blaster on Malefic.  J'Onn is hesitant.  He believes Brainy can fix the Phantom Zone projector.  Brainy struggles with the repairs because his mind is on his relationship with Nia.  After a couple of failed attempts, Alex calls upon Lena to lend a helping hand.  Lena, however, has her own ideas, thanks to Hope's observations about how Malefic's abilities to incept his prey can be used to further their own experiments.  Lena heads to the DEO to lend her "help".  After yet another failure, Brainy is frustrated.  But leave it to Lena to play her card, and warm up to Brainy to help him in his relationship woes with Nia.  She tells him to take a break, and she goes to work on adjusting the Phantom Zone projector her own way.  

We get a little investigative journalism from Kara and Nia, as they have been keeping tabs on William Dey.  Turns out, the digging they've been doing on him has him meeting a woman named Elena Torres in Mexico City.  Kara zips down there, and finds him in a meet with a mysterious man.  She sees a car accident, and it's too late for Elena.  Later, Kara searches Elena's apartment, only to have a woman with mysterious wind powers attack her.  She re-enters as Supergirl, and they fight, only to have this meta nearly choke Supergirl to death, until the Girl of Steel pushes a table at her, incapacitating her.  Kara DID manage to grab a clue:  a set of numbers from Elena's desk.  Supergirl flies the meta to the DEO for incarceration.  Nia and her then discover that the numbers are for an offshore account that Elena had been stashing money in, as well as someone else, but they didn't know at the time.  She was an accountant with Obsidian Industries.

While at the DEO, Alex is approached by Malefic in disguise, and is incepted.  She later confronts J'Onn, and berates him for his actions, after Malefic had manipulated Alex.  J'Onn is upset and blames himself for Kelly getting caught in the crossfire.  He talks to Kara about it, but she reassure's him that he did nothing wrong.  J'Onn is glad that he had confided in Nia, and that she told Alex, but Kara tells him that Nia has been with her working all day.  They discover Malefic got to Alex, and she is in danger.  The team rallies up, and Malefic calls J'Onn, and wants him to to meet at the planetarium alone.  At the same time, Kelly, who is connected to Malefic and can see him through his shapeshifts, knows that Alex is in danger, and she and James head back to National City to help out.  The reach the planetarium, and face off against Malefic.  But he's manipulated the audience, and they start shooting the DEO weapons at the team.  Supergirl tries to repair the roof, as J'Onn tries to restore Alex, which he does.  Meanwhile, Brainy, James, and Kelly try to help out the civillians, and disarm them.  Supergirl finally helps out, and just as Malefic sees the Phantom Zone projector, J'Onn reaches it, and sends Malefic away.

We get back to the team having a get together, and it is here that James says goodbye to everyone as he has bought the paper back home, and decides to run it, and clean the town up.  We see him back there with Simon---giving him his old camera, and telling Simon to NOT call him "Chief"...but Jimmy.  

Kelly and Alex are happy again, as well as Brainy and Nia---as they finally reach an understanding about their relationship.

Kara confronts William after searching his apartment, and sees an investigative board.  He says that he's really working for the Times in London, and that he's undercover at CatCo to get close to Amanda Rojas and Obsidian, who he believes is dealing shady, and may be in cahoots with Intergang, which is the man whom Kara saw earlier with him.  Turns out, he's an undercover CIA agent.  Elena is his mole, and they had to fake her death in order to get Intergang AND the Rojas Family OFF their trail.  He makes Kara swear that she never saw anything, and that she won't reveal his true intentions.  He believes in her writing.

Lena had packed up after the victory over Malefic, and took a little prize for herself as she left the DEO.  Turns out...Malefic WASN'T zapped into the Phantom Zone---but to her lab!  She feels that her and him can work out something.


Yet another solid episode this week, and we got a lot more out of just WHO William Dey is, and what he's been up to---it also sheds light on the background of Amanda Rojas and HER family as well.  Like the title said...in plain sight.  Things aren't always what they seem, but people hiding in plain sight.  It also applies to the connection that Kelly has with Malefic (or had...not sure she still has it, but we'll see).  She can spot him for who he is regardless of what form he takes.

Lena is defying everyone and playing her role in her plan to re-write the human brain.  She's willing to compromise her ethics for science and for the "betterment" of mankind---pretty much the path everyone supervillain takes in justifying their law breaking and willingness to forego moral ethics.  She's embracing the Luthor name more and more.  Her soul is being lost more and more every day.

Kara and Nia's investigative skills get to be on display this episode.  I liked that!  Two co-workers on the trail of a story that involves yet another co-worker.  William Dey has been a tad mysterious, but his revelation to Kara was HUGE.  I wasn't sure how long they'd drag that out, but glad they brought it out into the open sooner.  Perhaps, the three of them combined will be able to expose the truth about Amanda Rojas.  But I gotta know---who was the meta chick with the wind powers?  Could that have been Windfall...a character who appeared in Batman & The Outsiders comic?  Either way, she was just a villain-of-the-week that didn't last very long.  

Malefic brought up some major points using Alex as his medium...making sure to rub salt in the wounds of J'Onn.  J'Onn felt guilty enough, but Malefic went out of his way to bury him emotionally.  Had it not been for the support and love of both Kara and later Alex...J'Onn might not have gotten through this one.  

The story is getting better as we hunker down into this season----and we haven't even gotten a Monitor sighting this season.  He's already showed up to hand down task after task to Oliver Queen, and told Barry Allen that he WILL die...what about Supergirl?  What is to be the fate of Kara Zor-El?  We've yet to begin to peel back the layers of this season.  I can't wait to watch it unfold.

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Until next week...Up, up, and Away!