Supergirl Episode 406: A Call To Arms

Supergirl episode 406, titled'A Call to Arms' aired earlier this week and was another very good episode in this season's overall arch about prejudice and fear. While a few notes were a little shrill, overall this episode continued to show how complex this topic is. And for a show like Supergirl which has been holier than thou at times with ham-fisted scripts I have to applaud the writers and producers.

While the main theme for the season has been fear of aliens, a clear metaphor for immigrants and racism (or any of the other phobias of 'other' out there), I think a current coursing under the theme is just how far people will be pushed by their fear and anger. And the writers have to be commended for showing us a number of shades of gray.

It starts with the villain Ben Lockwood, pushed towards anger and hate by a series of unfortunate events which left him fearing for his family's life. Warped from a reasonable person to a hate monger, he has a line he has drawn. He won't kill humans. Will his crossing that line show him the errors of his ways?

Meanwhile, the opposite side of the coin is Manchester Black, a man who loved an alien and had become a man of peace through his love. Now with his fiancee killed, he has also been twisted into a hate, killing and torturing his fellow humans to get what he wants.

And there is Kara, the beacon of hope who is constantly being asked to stay out of the mud. She has had moments of self-doubt that maybe she is too optimistic. Will she be dimmed.

But the most intriguing person might be Colonel Lahey, a side character who at times seems like a clear-thinking person, assessing threats. At other times, she is just as slimy as Lockwood. Which way will she turn? Can she be redeemed? Shown the light?

While all this was there in this episode, we also got Helen Slater, Thankisgiving dinner at the Danvers, mysterious stuff about Nia, and a fight with a dragon. Just wonderful.

On to the details.

The show opens with the Children of Liberty, now sporting masks and matching hoodies, beating up some aliens who are out for a stroll.

Out of the darkness because Manchester Black, all cool as the other side of the pillow as he wades in with fists and kicks. On cue, Supergirl arrives to also help out. In the group of the CoL is dirty cop Petrocelli.

And then, from the sky, rains down copies of the Children of Liberty's manifesto, propaganda against aliens.

I do wonder where the CoL are getting their funding. Cool tech masks, matching hoodies, now air distributed propaganda leaflets? That takes some bucks. More than Lockwood has.

In a nice pick up of a plot thread left hanging from last season, we see Miss Tessmacher and Lena experimenting with the Harun-El rock.

Lena is hoping to cure cardiac cancer with it. (Seems like a weird choice of cancers to go after, but it makes for a nice prop of a beating heart in a pod.)

Unfortunately the cancer can't be beaten. Dismayed, Lena incinerates the heart. But Tess has hope that the protocol just needs to be changed.

Nice to finally hear the words Harun-El and see Miss Tessmacher in the lab again.

At the DEO, Alex hopes to mobilize her team to root out the Children of Liberty. This propaganda reminds her of other calls to arms in the past. But Lahey reminds Alex that the DEO is an agency to fight alien threats. The Children of Liberty, as a human hate group, is under the FBI jurisdiction. She orders Alex to stop investigating.

Then Lahey orders Supergirl to follow orders or else.

I always thought that Supergirl was more like a deputized citizen and not an actual DEO agent. I thought she was like a freelancer who helped out. But I guess not?

Then Lahey reminds the sisters that she brought in sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving and they should have a slice. See Lahey is the character most likely to shift her beliefs. She is a xenophobe ... but the rest of her seems sort of okay. My guess is she will realize the error of her prejudice by season's end.

But until then, Kara should just quit. What if Lahey told her to take 2 weeks off without super-ing? She can't blindly follow orders that way.

Another interesting character to watch is Ben Lockwood. My guess is over the course of the season we are going to see him unravel. And yes, I bet he ends up crossing that line and killing a human to advance his goals only to see his followers reject him for that.

Still, for now he is a man walking in 2 worlds. We see him irate that his patrols have been undermined by Supergirl. But then he walks into his house, hugs his wife, and talks about groceries and making the mortgage payment.

I get the sense his wife doesn't know about his other life. And I wonder if ultimately it is his family rejecting him that is one of the last straws.

At Catco, James sees a clip of Ben Lockwood stating his odd views. The aliens are protected. The mainstream is downtrodden.

Lena tells James that he can refute those when he heads to a show called Counterpoint Daily. She booked James there so he can renounce the Children of Liberty. But James can't go because at that time he is meeting someone from the CoL to try and learn about them.

Another character that bears watching this season is Lena as I think she is being pulled in so many directions that she might snap. After poojh-poohing the danger of the CoL before, now she realizes that it is a hate group and James needs to distance himself from them. She is trying to control him. And when he says he won't go on the show, as his boss and CEO of CatCo, she orders him to go.

For some time I have been wondering when Lena is going to turn to the dark side. I think the answer is now.

J'onn reaches out to Manchester Black and asks if he has a place to go for Thanksgiving. Black could join J'onn at Kara's. But Black says he'll be too busy.

And then we see why.

Black has dirty cop Petrocelli strung up in his bathroom. And implements of torture ... pliers, knives, trochars ... are all there.

Brutal.

Battle not monsters lest ye become a monster.

Behind the season, Brainy has been working on trying to decipher any hidden code in the manifesto.
There is something delightful about Brainy and his approach to things, almost sort of absent-minded professor-y. He thinks there is a code about a ham sandwich in the pamphlet. When Col. Lahey almost discovers what he is doing, he lies, or 'covering on the spot', a new human skill.

As for James, he doesn't go to the show and instead meets a normal guy who is a Children of Liberty. One thing about this episode is that every CoL is a white male. If this is a human vs alien thing, you would think that there would be other races shown. We saw this in the earlier episode where Agent Liberty was giving a speech.

At LCorp, the Harun-El again fails to kill the cancerous cells but somehow has made the heart invulnerable to fire. Lena now has the potential means to create a super-human. Hmmm , giving that to a Luthor? Risky.

James begins walking with CoL member Tom. Tom says that all members are Agent Liberty, a sort of 'I am Spartacus' moment for the bad guys. And Tom says that all they do is patrol the streets and try to keep families safe. But throughout, Tom's alien sniffing dog keeps barking and Tom keeps texting someone.

The conversation gets bleak when Tom talks about 'roaches' and how Guardian is a hero for humans. James takes offense to being lumped in with such racism.

Nia gives Kara a little pre-show pep talk and Kara ends up doing very well in a debate against of all people Ben Lockwood.

Lockwood talks of aliens as a societal problem and boosts Guardian as an example of human exceptionalism. Kara refutes about free speech and hate speech being distinct. And she hopes the spirit of Thanksgiving, of diverse cultures coming together, would be espoused.

But Lockwood turns that on its ears. After all, the indigenous people were ultimately slaughtered by the Europeans. Maybe centuries from now aliens will have a Thanksgiving Day celebrating their over-running humanity?

Lockwood is certainly charismatic. His words have some truth. It is why he is able to bring people into the fold. But he is dangerous. His views are skewed.

One thing that I have talked about this season is how the show is really leaning into its own continuity. We have seen how Thanksgiving dinners for the Danvers can get heated. So it was great to see another ... and with Helen Slater back as Eliza!!! Big happy smile from me there.

This scene crackles with good character moments.

Brainy shows up with artificial flowers, which just seems perfect.

Nia, who we earlier learned has narcolepsy and left Washington DC abruptly, lies to Eliza about having a doctor in National City caring for her.

And Manchester Black does arrive hoping to convince J'onn to read Petrocelli's mind. But before he can get into specifics, J'onn talks about how that would be a violation. So Black stops his line of questioning.

And this scene even made me care a little about the James and Lena relationship. Lena is coooolllld when James arrived. Look at that withering stare above.

When James says that he can understand some of CoL member Tom's feelings of inferiority to alien powers, Lena tips her hand a little about the Harun-El, talking about leveling the playing field by giving 'good people' powers. That would be akin to playing God ... something which I think is natural for a Luthor.

 Finally, the Children of Liberty's plan is figured out. They have marked alien homes with something visible through their masks. The title of the manifesto was 'Twilight's Last Gleaming' the time the group will attack aliens. Kara and Alex run out to protect. And even James runs out.

In another taut scene, Lena reveals that she protected James from the FBI. She even says she loves him! There is no line she won't cross to protect him. He says such controlling isn't love.

This is not going to end well. Never spurn a Luthor!!!

But this was my favorite scene.

As Lockwood says grace over his Thanksgiving dinner, as he talks about rising and overcoming, we see the Children Of Liberty arming themselves.

It reminded me very much of the baptism scene in the Godfather. As Michael renounces Satan and all his works, we see his button men kill his rivals.

The juxtaposition of something sacred and something evil, the lie inherent in the former compared to the truth of the latter, is delicious. Very well done.

The bands of thugs roam the streets. Brainy and Supergirl are out scrubbing away the otherwise invisible red A's painted on alien homes.

When the CoL attack Brainy, he says he will beat them up .. with physics. And then he does, dodging and ducking and having them use their own attacks against them.

Perfect.


Honestly, Jesse Rath is killing it as Brainy.

Of course, to again hit things a bit too much on the nose, the Children Of Liberty are seen carrying Tiki torches. But this time, instead of just beating them up, Manchester Black outright shoots them dead. He is a Punisher type now isn't he?


But the best bit was when Kara had to fight an alien home's pet. Spike starts out lizard sized but morphs into a full-on dragon. It is a great fight sequence with great effects.

And perhaps best of all, Supergirl wins by talking to pet down with praise and loving tones.

Just wonderful.

With the CoL's attacks seemingly shut down, there is nothing left but the wrap-ups.

Colonel Lahey realizes the Children of Liberty are a threat only in that they are provoking aliens. So now the DEO is on the case. Right end but wrong path getting there. And Alex won't stand for Lahey's meddling, saying Lahey can court martial her if she wants. This definitely bears watching.

As for Lockwood, his time on the Counterpoint was so well received he is going to get his own show. The propaganda now has a legitimate forum.

As for James, he reaches out to Tom again. But this time it isn't so friendly. A band of Liberty show up and put him in a van.

Black tortures more info out of Petrocelli.

And Lena, fearing she will lose James, fearing the world is on the brink, and knowing the power the Harun-El can bring, wants a human subject for her experiments. This is not going to end well.

So overall, another good episode. You really see how almost every character is being set up with some line they will or won't cross, some threshold they are willing to cross or avoid, something they are being driven to do out of fear or hoping to quell fear.

I am really impressed about how I am liking what every character's mini-arc is about and how well the show is able to juggle them all.

This season really has been very good.

Lena – more dangerous. On verge of civil war. People we love will need protection. Human subject.

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