Supergirl Season 4 Episode 19 Recap This week’s Supergirl Season 4 Episode 19 has Kara spending her time as an investigative reporter rather than as Supergirl, in an attempt to expose Lex without furthering the anti-alien sentiment. Dreamer steps up to act as National City’s defender of aliens in Supergirl’s absence as Lockwood and his deputies terrorize and capture aliens. Meanwhile, Brainy tries to help James by forcing him to confront his trauma. James’s Trauma Brainy theorizes that the Harun-El serum is attempting to cure what ails James by targeting his PTSD. Each time James has a panic attack, a new ability manifests. Brainy suggests that JAmes enter a “mind palace”, a mental safe room where James can confront his trauma. Brainy speculates that James’s trauma is related to Lex, but James’s repressed memories break in and put a young James at his father’s funeral. James and his sister, Kelly, say that can’t be a memory because James wasn’t at the funeral. James says that he was at a diner across the street, locked in the bathroom, and missed the funeral. As James and Brainy go deeper, the truth about that day comes to the fore. Brainy is expelled from James’s mind palace, and Kelly takes his place. Kelly witnesses as James remembers the truth about the funeral. He did visit his father’s casket early, but was kicked out because the funeral hadn’t started yet. On the street, a couple of bullies found James and locked him in an empty casket in the funeral home. James was trapped in the casket as his panicked, eight year old sister called for him. Kelly had always held it against James that he missed the funeral and wasn’t there for her. Seeing the truth, Kelly forgives James. When James awakens, his abilities are not in crisis mode. Instead, he is levitating peacefully above the bed. Lena’s Frustrations Lean is frustrated that she is unable to find a way to extract the serum from James. She returns to her lab and tries another experiment, but the heart with the Harun-El inside it explodes whenever she attempts to extract the serum. Lena takes her frustrations out on Kara, saying that Kara is only interested in Lena as a source for her story on Lex and not as a friend. The Lockwoods Lockwood takes his son, George, out on raids to arrest aliens. George is present when Lockwood arrests a husband and father, telling George that they are not men, they’re roaches. George, however, has second thoughts about his father’s politics adn his methods when Lockwood and his deputies raid an alien safe house and George recognizes his friend, Charlie, among the refugees. George lets Charlie escape. That night, George asks his mother if she believes in his father’s stance on aliens. She parrots the line that aliens are roaches, not people. The wife of the man that Lockwood had arrested breaks into the Lockwood house and kills Mrs. Lockwood. Alien Affairs Kara utilizes her coworker, Franklin, who has a sister who works in Human Resources at Ameritek. Edna allows Kara to view files, where Kara finds that a mysterious Sebastian Melmoth transferred millions from L-Corp to Ameritek and then purchased a military base in the non-existent Rubniu, using Ameritek as the shell company. While Kara investigates and works on her story, Dreamer acts as defender of aliens against Lockwood’s thugs, stopping the raid on the safe house. Kara comes up with the idea to do a sit down interview with Dreamer for CatCo. In the broadcast, the world gets to know Dreamer, a half-human, half-alien who is just like them, as she cites pop culture references and affiliations. Dreamer says that she is different, being half-alien and a trans woman, that everyone is different, and that’s not a bad thing. They are the new face of the world they all share. Lockwood sends his goons to capture Dreamer at CatCo as soon as the broadcast ends, but Alex, Kara, Dreamer, Brainy, and James hold them off so that Dreamer can escape and inspire people to resist. Lena is one of those Dreamer has inspired. She apologizes to Kara for the way she acted, saying that she is the one who has been keeping secrets. Lena admits to helping Lex, which Kara says anyone would do when a family member is in need. Kara shows Lena all she has for her story. Lena figures out that Lex used the pen name of Oscar Wilde — Lex’s favorite poet — and Wilde’s favorite cipher in the corporate ledgers. Lex purchased the based in Kaznia. Share your thoughts about Supergirl Season 4 Episode 19 in the comments below!<doc-sep>SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 21: Actor Nicole Maines attends the #IMDboat At San Diego Comic-Con 2018: Day Three at The IMDb Yacht on July 21, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb) With Kara sidelined now that public opinion has turned against Supergirl, it looks like Nia Null is going to take over as National City’s main hero. Sunday’s Supergirl episode may be the first one that doesn’t actually feature Supergirl. Sure, Melissa Benoist will have her usual amount of screen time. But she ended the last episode by declaring that it was time for Supergirl to “lay low” now that she’s unfairly become public enemy No. 1. So Kara may be around doing her journalist thing, but we may not actually see her as Supergirl at all. That means there’s room for another hero to step in and protect the citizens of National City from evildoers of all kinds. Who’s going to answer that call? Based on the promo, the answer appears to be none other than Nia Nal, a.k.a. The Dreamer! It looks like the show is going to lean into the inherent goofiness of her character next week. Supergirl has been darker than it has ever been this season, so an episode of pure levity might be for the best. Date: Sunday, April 28 Start Time: 8:00 p.m. ET Episode: “American Dreamer” TV Channel: The CW Live Stream: Watch live on Fubo TV. Sign up now for a free seven-day trial. You can also watch on The CW website or app. Admittedly, everyone will either be at a movie theater catching Avengers: Endgame or glued to a TV screen watching Game of Thrones this Sunday. Maybe watching a silly CW superhero show will be the perfect palette cleanser after the former or a great lead-in to the latter.<doc-sep>Supergirl S 4 E 18 Close this dialog window Streaming Options One day has passed since the world believes it saw Supergirl attack the White House, and Kara is horrified to realize how sharply public sentiment has turned against her. President Baker himself addresses the nation to announce a sundown-to-sunup curfew and to urge Supergirl to turn herself in. Even though she’s America’s most wanted, when Supergirl hears someone calling for help from a burning vehicle, naturally she flies to lend a hand. But her efforts are interrupted by a man with a gun trying to make a citizen’s arrest. Her attempts to deflect the bullets end up causing an explosion in the car and even the man she pulls to safety says his daughter was crushed to watch Supergirl turn into a terrorist. To rectify things, Alex and Lena set out to help Supergirl in their own ways. For Alex, that means subverting Lockwood’s demand that the DEO turn over the signal watch and any weapons that could capture Supergirl. Haley sends him away to secure proper presidential approval, but while he’s gone, she sets about gathering the goods he asked for because “orders are orders.” Alex hands over the watch and instructs her to press it twice to summon Supergirl. (Ah, but once summons Supergirl; twice is the Akbar warning.) To get her chain-of-command-loving boss fully onboard, Alex asks for Kelly Olsen’s advice on what to do. Kelly tells her that you can’t change people, but you can appeal to what they care most about. So Alex tries to convince Haley that following an immoral order makes you complicit and begs her to think of her daughter. Haley is furious at having that bit of personal information leveraged against her. Also, she knows that Alex lied and it’s actually a single press to summon Supergirl. Brainy, too, is facing a conundrum after he and Alex agree that Lockwood’s next step will be to use the alien registry to start rounding up aliens. Declaring that “no one is more clandestine than I. NO ONE!” Brainy sets out to delete the registry, relying on the subterfuge techniques of Ethan Hunt, “master of the impossible mission.” But when the time comes to delete, he realizes that there’s a 50/50 chance that deleting it will cause more harm for the alien community if he’s discovered. He freaks out and finds Nia at CatCo, even though they haven’t spoken since their “incredible yet devastating romantic encounter at the hospital.” Since he can’t use logic to decide, he asks her to dream the future to find out what he decides so he can just do it. Then she plays him by pretending to dream that he doesn’t destroy the registry. He says that’s ridiculous, and she explains that she tricked him into listening to his gut. But that night, she for-real dreams that he’s apprehended by the Children of Liberty for destroying the registry and calls him in a panic to warn him not to do it. Too late, though; he deleted it but downloaded a copy of his brain, calling the potential danger “the cost of being a hero.” Okay, now, to Supergirl and Lena, who follow up on Lilian Luthor’s tip that Lex has been coming and going from his prison cell for months. They strong-arm the Stryker Island warden to let them toss Lex’s cell by promising to keep his husband out of his Lex-related legal mess. He agrees, and Supergirl takes the long walk past a row of penned inmates chanting her name and calling her a terrorist, with a supportive Lena by her side. Lena, after all, knows all about how awful it is to be a good guy accused of being bad. In Lex’s cell, Lena declares his Hannibal-crossing-the-Alps etching pretentious and solves his puzzle to unlock their childhood chess board to reveal stacks of Lex’s journals, including one recording all of her faults and mistakes since she was four. What a monster he is. Lena settles into the painful task of reading her brother’s journals, even though just looking at his handwriting is like needles in her eyes, while Supergirl talks to his cell neighbor, Steve Lomeli (Willie Garson, a welcome presence in whatever show he pops up in). Steve, who’s locked up for stealing classified DOD documents about illegal drone warfare, calls her a malignant narcissist, taunting that, “Everything you touch, you ruin.” Then things get worse when Otis shows up to kill the warden and free all the inmates from their cells to help capture Supergirl. Knowing that Otis has Metallo’s powers, Lena gives Supergirl a Kryptonite shield for her S-insignia. Wait, so Lena made a K-shield and brought it with her on the off chance that Supergirl might need it? That’s certainly thoughtful of her. Then Supergirl turns to fight her way through a long line of inmates, none of whom stand a chance against her, and honestly, Supergirl effortlessly batting around a cellblock full of numbskulls is exactly why I watch this program, so thank you every so much, writers. Then Otis appears to sneer, “if it isn’t Lee Harvey Supergirl.” They blast each other through walls and hit each other with prison gym equipment, but eventually, his Kryptonite blasts destroy her shield, and Supergirl’s forced to change into Kara Danvers. In her human guise, she tells Otis she saw a red blur going that-away, and for a second, Otis looks suspicious. C-could he possibly be…? Nah, he just wants to know what a woman’s doing in an all-male cellblock. She tells him she’s a journalist doing a story on prison reform. But he doesn’t care to give her a comment: “I don’t trust the press. They always parachute into crises like this without any context for the larger systemic issues at play.” Y’ALL. I may be a little in love with Otis now because, by God, he’s not wrong. When he heads out, Kara recharges in the sun and then bumps into Steve, who turns out to be the editor of Stryker’s one and only newsletter. He’s delighted to meet the famous Kara Danvers, who writes the Aliens of National City column, and apologizes for having his muscle pull a shiv on her. Then the National Guard pulls up outside and makes plans to come in shooting if Supergirl doesn’t give herself up. Steve predicts that the prisoners are acceptable collateral damage in this scenario and drops to the floor, placing a comforting hand over the trembling fingers of his scared bodyguard, which was a nice little character moment. To minimize the casualties, Kara changes into Supergirl again and uses a super-clap to knock all of the rioting prisoners off their feet and out of the line of fire. Then she races back to Lex’s cell, where Lena has discovered that the etching isn’t of the Alps, but the mountain peak where a young Lex promised a young Lena that he’d build a house to keep them both safe forever. (Is…is that a touch of humanity, or another long-ago Lex trick?) When she touched that section of the drawing, the wall lifted to reveal his secret prison lab. But before the women can explore its secrets, Otis steps into the cell as he talks on the phone with Lex, who directs him to the center of the room. Once he’s there, Lex engages a device that revs Otis’s Metallo implant and causes him to explode. It destroys the lab, and Lena and Supergirl barely escape thanks to Supergirl punching through the back wall. But the danger isn’t over yet; Lockwood arrives at the DEO with the proper presidential order and starts handing out big guns to his men. He tells Haley to summon Supergirl, and Haley. presses. twice. Heck yeah, scary boss lady! A frustrated Lockwood realizes that Supergirl’s not coming, so he takes all the big guns with him and leaves. Haley tells Alex that she didn’t do the double-tap for Alex but for her daughter, who’s scared of the martial law and is sad that her favorite alien teacher has gone into hiding. Suddenly, the complicit thing didn’t look so appealing, huh? Also unappealing?<doc-sep>
David Harewood makes his directorial debut with the season’s most emotionally resonant episode. As Supergirl lays low, it’s up to Dreamer to protect National City. Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) has temporarily hung up her cape to ensure that President Baker and Ben Lockwood’s marshal law doesn’t harm aliens. In her absence, Nia Nal (Nicole Maines) has taken on the mantle of National City’s protector. As Dreamer, she has her work cut for her. Meanwhile, Brainaic-5 (Jesse Rath) is on a mission to help James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) who is suffering from the side effects of Harun-El. With David Harewood in the director’s chair, this episode of Supergirl will resonate with many on an emotional and political level. Kara Danvers, Hero-at-Large In the previous episode of Supergirl, Kara realized that under the current state that the country is in, she would do better as a journalist hunting for Lex than as Supergirl. In this episode, she combines her investigative skills with her power to inspire. Kara doesn’t need a cape to help people – it’s always the little things that make her such a compelling character. Kara’s ability to accept her failings, see beyond her myopia, and her inherent generosity are the reason why the world needs Supergirl. She is desperate to protect Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath), but encourages her friend’s trust in her by her actions. The scene between Lena and Kara was packed with emotion and did so much for Lena’s characterization. Seeing female friends in popular media is not as uncommon anymore, but seeing these two characters bond as sisters again was a highlight in this episode. And it all leads to them discovering a part of Lex’s plan. Trust really does go both ways. Some Characterization for the Olsen Siblings Now that James knows his condition is more than just PTSD, he has turned to Lena to help solve the problem. But Lena hits a dead end, so Brainy steps in with a plan to uncover the source of James’ trauma using a mind palace. What he ends up uncovering is a truth that James has buried deep down. How will this affect his relationship with his sister, Kelly (Azie Tesfai)? Supergirl — “American Dreamer” — Image Number: SPG419b_0265b.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Jesse Rath as Brainiac-5 and Mehcad Brooks as James Olsen/Guardian — Photo: Diyah Pera/The CW — ÃÂ© 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. James has been shortchanged for far too long on Supergirl, and an emotional, personal story arc for him is a fitting way to honor a character that has been around for a very long time in the comic books. This entire episode hinged on the actors accurately capturing the depths of their character’s emotional states, and Harewood brought out the best in all of them. Seeing Brooks capture James’ struggle to face his own personal nightmare was distressing yet cathartic. It will be interesting to see how the showrunners use Harun-El in the rest of James’ arc henceforth. But seeing James back in his authoritative form in the climactic fight was spine-tingling. Nia Nal, the Hero We Need Nia Nal is a gem. Nicole Maines plays her with a passion and effervescence that is so often missing in superhero fare, especially with regards to female characters. Nia loves being a hero, and she does it with plenty of style. It is fantastic how the showrunners have embraced this character and how important she is. Step aside Supergirl, Dreamer can make some inspiring speeches of her own. In this episode, we get to see how Nia manifests her Dreamer powers, as well as her penchant for punchlines. Yet Dreamer isn’t comic relief. She struggles with the enormity of the task at hand, and when given the chance, lays bare her soul. Nia is so relatable and likeable, and the fact that now National City and the whole world of Supergirl know that there’s a trans alien-human hero to protect them, that fictional world is one step closer to acceptance. Super Sentiments Despite being at odds with each other during their initial encounter, Kelly and Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) have bonded well. In this episode, especially, it seemed like Kelly was able to get a lot of strength from Alex championing her cause. Are the showrunners hinting something more about their connection? Not every relationship needs to be romantic, but these two seem to be headed that way.