Into the Arrowverse: Supergirl returns, The Flash falters
By Ariba Bhuvad
Supergirl — “Deus Lex Machina”: Pictured: Melissa Benoist as Kara/Supergirl — Photo: Katie Yu/The CW
Supergirl Episode 517: “Deus Lex Machina”
Three cheers for Supergirl’s return! And not only does the show return with a solid episode, but it’s the directorial debut of Supergirl herself, Melissa Benoist! And she did a marvelous job!
With a show like Supergirl, it’s easy to get lost in the story, which has a tendency to get convoluted at times. But I’m really enjoying where the series has gone post-Crisis, and this episode continues that streak.
We open up about 90 days after the Crisis, with Lex Luthor covered in blood in a warehouse full of Obsidian users. For a moment, it feels as if Lex will finally get punished for all the horrible things he’s done, but it’s quite the opposite. The authorities are led to believe that Lex actually saved all the comatose users in the warehouse. But really, this was all part of Lex’s very elaborate plan.
I’m so glad Supergirl took a moment to explain what the heck Lex has actually been up to all this time. He’s always been a villain, but his plans and ideas haven’t always been clear. This episode helps us understand everything, and then some.
The episode goes back and forth between the early days of a post-Crisis world and present day, in order to explain the journey Lex has taken during this time. The day after Crisis, Lex wakes up to a world where he is revered, honored and beloved. It’s a very strange reality.
Lex immediately works on making Lena his ally, which isn’t the easiest thing to do, no matter what world you’re living in. He thinks they need to work together and promises her that he will destroy Leviathan, which Eve has been using to wreak havoc.
We fast-forward to Lex recruiting Eve to work for him. She’s flattered and overwhelmed with the attention she gets from Lex and decides to be his mole in Leviathan. Come on, Eve, you should know better!
At first, this relationship seems like it will truly benefit Eve. Lex is confident in her, he is going above and beyond to protect her and her mother, and even gets her on the Obsidian Platinum project. But this is Lex Luthor we’re talking about — does he ever mean well?
This series of mini-plans leads up to Lex’s master plan. He intends to keep the current glitch that has popped up in Obsidian so they come to Lex for help, and then he’ll be invited onto the ship where he can do what he really wants: sharing Brainy’s code.
About a month and a half after the Crisis, we start to see Eve falling in love with Lex. Ew, why? But he pulls the classic, “I got you to trust me, and now I’ve gotten what I need so I’m going to turn into a jerk” move on her, and puts her in her place. We saw this coming, obviously.
Oh, and she’s the one who killed Alex and Supergirl’s father, Jeremiah Danvers. Surprise!
As Lex continues to execute his plan, the events we’ve seen take place over the last few Supergirl episodes are shown, leading up to Jeremiah’s death. This sparked the sisterly love Lena has always felt for Kara, and she immediately shows up to give her condolences. Well, that is not going to work for Lex.
So what does he do? He begins to layout another plan to lure William and Kara into the mystery of the Obsidian users in the warehouse. First, he’ll alert them to something strange going on, which will cause them to investigate, and eventually, they’ll need something like Myriad to track the users using the Obsidian lenses.
Well, Myriad is a sensitive topic for Lena, and once she realizes Supergirl has gone to the Fortress of Solitude and is mucking around with her work, she’s as pissed as Lex wanted her to be. Mission accomplished, jerk.
But wait, there’s more! When Lena went rushing to the Fortress, Lex sent along a Morae with her in order to get the tiny sun eater out of there. And the thing went wild. The more it takes Kara’s powers, the bigger it gets.
Never fear, all our heroes are here, including M’Gann who was sent promptly from Mars to help out once they sensed the waves. And with J’onn, Supergirl, and M’Gann on a mission, they’re able to save the day and the baby sun eater. Phew!
While the sun seems ready to burst from a distance, folks around the world start getting notifications that they can pop in their Obsidian lenses to escape the madness of what is going on.
The episode ties up Lex’s plans within plans as we return to the present day to learn that Lex killed Margot and ended up looking like the hero who saved the Obsidian users. For some reason, the guy hasn’t failed just yet, but something tells me his trip to the Fortress of Solitude might change that.
Kudos to Melissa Benoist for a marvelous episode that catches us up on Lex’s supervillain plans. I love episodes like this because they really help tie the story together. Job well done!