- "Guys, you've been with me from the second I became Supergirl. In my best moments and especially my worst moments. That means the world to me."
- —Kara Danvers on what her friends and family brought into her life
"It's a Super Life" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of Supergirl, and the one-hundredth episode overall. It aired on February, 23 2020.
Contents
Synopsis
Mxyzptlk returns with a proposition for Kara – what if she could go back in time and tell Lena her secret before Lex did, would things turn out different? Looking back over key moments throughout the series, Kara must decide if she wants to change history to become friends with Lena again. Familiar faces return in this special episode.[src] |
Plot
Mr. Mxyzptlk arrives at Kara's apartment, and promises after their last encounter he is a reformed magician and is only here to make amends. Kara is unsure and so is Alex and they are soon interrupted by J'onn who arrives with pizza. Mr. Mxyzptlk confirms this is best orchestrated with just one person, and sends the other two on an extravagant paintball expedition, much to their enjoyment.
Kara is rather happy with her life but decides perhaps she could have worked things out in a more favorable manner with Lena, convinced if she had told Lena her secret identity earlier, they would still be friends. Mr. Mxyzptlk begins to play a video reel of all of their encounters together throughout knowing each other.
First was during the Children of Liberty's campaign. Mr. Mxyzptlk smocks Lena for her poor acting, and Kara ignores him. She finds a place and time from around then, eating lunch together at L-Corp.[1] Kara decides it's a good time to inform Lena. Kara again apologizes to her, understanding she has been betrayed so many times before revealing a very deep secret. Kara quickly leaves to take care of Mercy Graves' attack and when she returns, Lena is gone; she traveled to Metropolis to see Samantha. Lena immediately tells Sam that Kara is Supergirl, surprised that they are one of the same. Lena felt Supergirl was horrible to her before this, and immediately starts to crumble when she thinks Kara thought of her as a villain like the rest of her family. Sam tries to reassure Lena that she is a good person. Unfortunately in this new timeline, Supergirl dies when Agent Liberty poisons the atmosphere with Kryptonite, and Lena wasn't able to save her in time. Kara immediately asks to be brought back out of this reality.
Kara wants to avoid Lena and Supergirl fighting over Kryptonite. She decides to intervene when they are talking about Kryptonite[2]. Kara is standing before Lena as Supergirl and reveals herself as Kara. She immediately apologizes to Lena for not telling her sooner. Lena crumbles, crying that only three weeks ago she found out that Sam, who was one of her closest friends, was a homicidal Worldkiller. Crying how she went through it alone and Kara wasn't there for her, she is angry at Supergirl for not telling her the truth sooner. Supergirl again apologizes, insisting she was only trying to protect her. Lena refuses to be her partner and doesn't want to work together, insisting Supergirl can't be trusted. Supergirl collapses when the eclipse that was created by the Worldkillers begins. Kara admits she forgot about that and the Kryptonite bomb. Kara is hurt that Lena doesn't help them, and asks to be taken out.
While looking over more footage, and upon seeing Mon-El, Kara immediately asks to be put inside that reality to talk with him, as in this changed reality he wasn't forced to leave Earth. Inside while hiding from Reign, she asks him about his perspective on the situation. He very kindly informs her that she is such a compassionate person, that she would never maliciously hurt anyone. She should expect the same respect and understanding from her friends. Kara thanks him for his words but they are interrupted from another attack. Lena believes she is able to stop her and after Reign falls down, they celebrate. However Reign is not dead, and kills her own mother, and attacks Lena. Supergirl tries to save her but is physically injured. Mon-El, in his anger attacks Reign; he kills her, but everyone has died. Heartbroken, Kara asks to again be removed from this reality.
Back inside her apartment they are taking a moment to recover themselves while the computer is loading. They briefly skip over some of the BetaMyx tapes of their friendship and Kara decides to tell Lena at the very start of their friendship when they first met. Before their friendship is really established, Kara informs Lena of her identity. The two team up as political allies. Kara likes what she is seeing and asked to be put inside that reality. Lena is testifying against Lex Luthor and refuses to give Kara's identity as Supergirl, and is still able to win the court case. Outside, she runs into Ben Lockwood. He angrily admits he was forced to close his family's steel factory after his father, wife and child all jumped off a building, for whatever reason believing Supergirl would save them. Lena apologizes for his misfortune. Ben demands to know who Supergirl is, believing that would stop people from attempting to be saved by her in the future. When she refuses, he then kidnaps her with the help of Otis Graves. Supergirl finds Winn to help her track down Lena. The kidnapper reveals the only way to save her is to reveal herself and she has a single hour to decide. Supergirl does and saves Lena in the nick of time. Afterwards Agent Liberty and his followers target each of Supergirl's loved ones, including Cat Grant, in an explosion; there were no survivors.
Kara is absolutely heartbroken by this, as this is her single worst fear. She tries to leave that reality, but they are unable. They are then interrupted by A.I. robots, who attack them. They escape to the new D.E.O. where Alex, Mon-El, J'onn, Kelly Olsen and Dreamer are all hiding out. Mon-El immediately recognizes Mr. Mxyzptlk and confronts him for his aggressively rude behavior last time they met, when he tried to force Kara to marry him. He genuinely apologizes for his behavior, and Mon-El accepts his apology. They are interrupted by their dictator, Lena Luther. She informs the people of National City that Supergirl is a terrorist and is at large, and working with a fifth dimensional being. She lays more propaganda onto the people of National City, before informing them that Supergirl will soon be destroyed. Kara is informed that when Lena first came to the city, Lex tried to assassinate her and she was seriously injured. Two years later, she came back as a tyrant dictator and killed Lex, even destroying most of the city. They are soon attacked by two of her enforcers, Reign, and Brainiac 5. Mxyz is still concerned at his missing powers; as long as Lena continues to harness fifth dimensional powers, he will be unable to use his. He remembers an old buddy of his and informs the group to get his hat, confirming it has enough Fifth Dimension power to get them out. They are immediately attacked by Lena’s enforcers. Dreamer holds them off while Mxy, Supergirl and Mon-El attempt to get the hat. J'onn and Mon-El are able to work together, and Kara and Mr. Mxyzptlk escape the timeline.
Finally able to return to Kara’s apartment, both are physically and mentally exhausted from the entire experience. Mxy tries to convince her to try again, but Kara realizes telling Lena the truth is a lost cause. Lena will always be angry, and there will always be consequences. She decides it's best to live in this current timeline, and deal with the situation as it comes. She tells Mxyzptlk that he still helped her, and hopes he is free of any burden of guilt. Mr. Mxyzptlk, in a very sobering and genuine confession, admits he was very lonely, and didn't really like himself, which is why he acted so out-of-character and dramatic last time. Mxyzptlk thanks Kara for giving him a second chance, and for genuinely making him feel good about himself, because of her friendship. Both now friends, he politely removes himself to go visit Mardi Gras in the 1780s.
Kara makes one final visit to Lena as Supergirl at L-Corp. Kara informs Lena that she can't keep blaming the former for her decisions and if Lena continues to work with Lex and go down such a dark path, Kara will treat her just like any other villain. As Kara leaves, Lena looks after her, stunned and perhaps regretful at her former friend's words.
Kara's friends return from paint balling and she briefly explains to them her own adventure with Mr. Mxyzptlk. Kara has come to the realization that no matter what she did, it would never be good enough for Lena and their friendship is what it is. She hopes one day, Lena will be able to see past her own bitter anger, but if not, there is nothing Kara can do.
Cast
Starring
- Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers/Supergirl
- Chyler Leigh as Dr. Alex Danvers
- Katie McGrath as Lena Luthor
- Jesse Rath as Querl Dox/Brainiac 5
- Nicole Maines as Nia Nal/Dreamer
- Azie Tesfai as Dr. Kelly Olsen
- Andrea Brooks (credit only)
- Julie Gonzalo (credit only)
- Staz Nair (credit only)
- David Harewood as J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter
Special guest stars
- Chris Wood as Mon-El
- Odette Annable as Samantha Arias/Reign
- Sam Witwer as Ben Lockwood/Agent Liberty
- Jeremy Jordan as Winn Schott
Guest starring
- Betty Buckley as Patricia Arias
- Robert Baker as Otis Graves
- Chad Lowe as Thomas Coville
- Thomas Lennon as Mr. Mxyzptlk
Co-starring
- Jeffrey Chivers as Reporter
- Toni Nielsen as News Anchor #2
- Andre Paul as Security Guard
- Angelo Renai as Defense Attorney
- Tawny West as News Anchor
Trivia
- This episode is tied with "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 1" for being the highest rated episode of Supergirl with a rating of 8.8.
- This is the 100th episode of the series, designed in the same style as what Arrow and The Flash did with theirs.
- The episode's title is a reference to the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.
- Coincidentally, Arrow's 100th episode, "Invasion!" is also based off of It's a Wonderful Life, with Oliver Queen even comparing his experience to the film in the following episode, "What We Leave Behind".
- The events which Kara and Mxyzptlk altered/traveled to take place in the following episodes:
- Season 2
- Season 3
- Season 4
- "Fallout"
- "Will The Real Miss Tessmacher Please Stand Up?"
- Interestingly, Mxyzptlk doesn't show what might have happened if Kara revealed her identity to Lena in "Will The Real Miss Tessmacher Please Stand Up?" as she once planned.
- The events of "Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk" regarding Kara and Mxyzptlk’s first meeting were mentioned.
- Myxflyx is shown buffering on Mxyzptlk's laptop, and is a reference to the popular streaming service Netflix, on which Supergirl is available.
- 5 seasons of Supergirl are shown on Myxflyx, a reference to the 5 seasons of the show at the point of the episode's airing.
- Beta-Mxy is a reference to Betamax.
- In one timeline as Reign is disintegrated by the Staff of H'ronmeer, her skin turns white as she dies, similar to her comics appearance.
- Mxyzptlk’s unnamed friend whose hat they need is Hat.
- There are two references to Star Trek:
- Kara says, "Beam me up, Mxy", misquoting "Beam me up, Scotty" from Star Trek: The Original Series.
- Mxyzptlk says, "Make it so", which is Captain Picard's catchphrase.
- This episode is similar to the DC's Legends of Tomorrow episode "Legends of To-Meow-Meow":
- Kara tries to reveal her identity to Lena without ruining their friendship. Similarly, John Constantine tries to avoid accidentally sending his boyfriend, Desmond, to Hell while fighting Neron.
- Kara and John's choices have inadvertent horrific consequences on everyone in each timeline.
- Kara and John are forced to realize they can't fix their mistakes by changing the past and must move forward.
- Both situations were inevitable and meant to happen, known as a "fixed point" in the timeline.[3]
- Showrunners Jessica Queller and Robert Rovner revealed in an interview they wanted both Calista Flockhart and Mehcad Brooks to return as Cat Grant and James Olsen, but they were both unable to make an appearance due to scheduling conflicts.[4]
Goofs
- At one point, Kara mentions that "Agent Liberty poisoned the air with Kryptonite." However, it was actually Otis and Mercy Graves who did this.[5]
- It's possible Kara either misremembered the perpetrator or placed the blame on Agent Liberty as well since he led the Children of Liberty.
Gallery
Videos
References
Supergirl season 5 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
"Event Horizon" • "Stranger Beside Me" • "Blurred Lines" • "In Plain Sight" • "Dangerous Liaisons" • "Confidence Women" • "Tremors" • "The Wrath of Rama Khan" • "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One" • "The Bottle Episode" • "Back From the Future - Part One" • "Back From the Future - Part Two" • "It's a Super Life" • "The Bodyguard" • "Reality Bytes" • "Alex in Wonderland" • "Deus Lex Machina" • "The Missing Link" • "Immortal Kombat" |