- "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.
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[]
"It's a Super Life" begins when Mr. Mxyzptlk arrives at Kara's apartment and promises after their last encounter, he is a reformed imp and is only here to make amends. Kara and Alex are unsure, and they are soon interrupted by J'onn arriving with pizza. Mr. Mxyzptlk confirms this is best orchestrated with just one person, and sends Alex and J'onn 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 Kara and Lena's history together. Kara recalls how she made a fool out of Lena by hiding her secret identity right in front of the latter while trying to help as Supergirl. Mr. Mxyzptlk mocks Kara for her bad lying.
First is during the Children of Liberty's campaign. Kara finds a place and time from around then, eating lunch with Lena at L-Corp.[1] She apologizes to her friend, understanding Lena has been betrayed so many times, before revealing her secret identity. 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 confides in Sam that Kara is Supergirl, both surprised that they are one and the same. Lena felt Supergirl was horrible to her before this due to her stash of Kryptonite, and immediately starts to crumble at the idea of Kara thinking of her as a villain like the rest of her family. Sam tries to reassure Lena that she is a good person, having done what she had to in order to save the former. Unfortunately in this new timeline, Supergirl dies when Agent Liberty poisons the atmosphere with Kryptonite, since Lena wasn't around to save her in time. Alex mourns at her sister's grave. Kara immediately asks to be brought out of this reality.
Kara wants to avoid Lena and Supergirl fighting over Kryptonite and decides to intervene when they are talking about it at the D.E.O..[2] She is standing before Lena as Supergirl and reveals herself. Kara apologizes to Lena for not telling her sooner. Lena breaks down, crying that only three weeks ago, she found out that Sam, one of her closest friends, was a homicidal Worldkiller. Lena is upset over how she went through it alone and Kara wasn't there for her, angry at Supergirl for lying to her. Supergirl again apologizes, insisting she was only trying to protect her. Lena refuses to work with Supergirl, insisting she can't be trusted. Supergirl collapses when the eclipse that was caused by the Worldkillers begins. After Kara is taken out, she admits she forgot about the eclipse and Kryptonite bomb, and is hurt that Lena doesn't help them.
While looking over more footage and upon seeing Mon-El, who didn't leave Earth in this timeline, Kara immediately asks to be put back inside the reality to talk with him. Inside Patricia Arias' farm while waiting for Reign,[3] Kara asks Mon-El for his perspective on her fallout with Lena. Mon-El assures Kara that she is such a compassionate person, and would never deliberately hurt Lena; she deserves the same respect and understanding from her friends. Kara thanks him for his words but they are interrupted by Reign. Lena arrives in the midst of their fight, believing she can stop the Worldkiller without Kryptonite. After Reign seemingly recedes and Sam takes control, they celebrate. However, Reign reemerges and attacks Lena. Supergirl tries to save her but is injured and forced to watch Lena die. Mon-El angrily kills Reign but dies in the process as well. Heartbroken, Kara asks to again be removed from this reality.
Back inside her apartment, Kara and Mxyzptlk take a break while the computer is loading. They skip over some of the BetaMyx tapes of Kara and Lena's friendship and Kara decides to tell Lena the truth when they recently met. Before their friendship is really established, Kara informs Lena of her identity and the two team up as political allies. Kara likes what she is seeing and asks to be put inside this reality. Lena is testifying against Lillian Luthor and refuses to give up Kara's identity as Supergirl, yet is still able to win the court case. Outside, she runs into Ben Lockwood. He angrily reveals he was forced to close his family's steel factory after his father, wife, and child all jumped off a building to their deaths, believing Supergirl would save them due to joining the Cult of Rao (which expanded more in this timeline). Lena apologizes for the tragedy. Ben demands to know who Supergirl is, believing that would stop people from attempting to be saved by her in the future. When Lena refuses, he then kidnaps her with the help of Otis Graves. Supergirl finds Winn to help her track down Lena and Thomas Coville. The kidnapper reveals the only way to save them is for Supergirl to reveal herself and she has one hour to decide. Kara does so 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. The reality is ended.
Kara is absolutely devastated by this. She then thinks that maybe everything would've been all right if she never became friends with Lena. Mxyzpltk obliges and takes Kara into such a reality. However, they are standing in rubble where Kara's apartment building used to be, much to her horror. Kara and Mxyzptlk are then attacked by some A.I. robots. Kara fights them with help from Dreamer. They escape to the new D.E.O. where Alex, Mon-El, J'onn, Kelly Olsen, and Nia are all hiding out. Mon-El immediately recognizes Mr. Mxyzptlk and confronts him for his behavior the last time they met, when he tried to force Kara to marry him. Mxyzptlk genuinely apologizes for his past actions. They are interrupted by a televised message from their dictator, Lena Luther. She informs the people of National City that Supergirl is a terrorist and at large, working with a Fifth Dimensional being. After laying her propaganda, Lena declares that Supergirl will soon be destroyed. Kara learns that when Lena first came to the city, she was seriously injured by Lex's assassination attempt.[4] Two years later, Lena returned 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.
Mxyzptlk is still concerned with his missing powers, which he will be unable to use as long as Lena continues to harness Fifth Dimensional energy. Winn remembers a hat infused with Fifth Dimensional energy and Mxyzptlk recalls an old friend of his. He leaves the group to retrieve the hat, which has enough power to get him and Kara out. The team are immediately attacked by Lena’s enforcers. Dreamer, Alex, and Kelly hold off Brainy, Kara and J'onn take on Reign, and Mxyzptlk, Winn, and Mon-El attempt to get the hat. J'onn tells Supergirl to go to Lena. She tries to reason with Lena, who is revealed to have Metallo's Kryptonite powers. Lena bitterly asks where Supergirl was when her adoptive mother experimented on her to save her life, in which the pain destroyed her. Lena begins to kill Kara with her Kryptonite heart. J'onn and Mon-El are able to work together, Winn finds the hat and Mxyzpltk uses it to transport Kara and himself out of this reality.
Finally able to return to Kara’s apartment, she and Mxyzptlk are physically and mentally exhausted from the ordeal. Mxyzptlk suggests they try again but Kara realizes telling Lena the truth is a lost cause; Lena will always be angry and/or there will always be consequences. Kara 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. Mxyzptlk, in a very sobering 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 making him genuinely feel good about himself. Both now friends, Mxyzptlk leaves to go visit Mardi Gras in the 1780s.
Kara makes one final visit to Lena at her apartment. Kara acknowledges she made a mistake in lying to Lena, but points out that Lena can't keep blaming the former for her decisions. She warns that if Lena continues to work with Lex and go down such a dark path, then 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 paintballing and she tells them about 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 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 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 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
Uncredited[]
- Peter Gadiot as Mxyzptlk (archive footage)
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.[5]
- 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.[6]
- This was the final episode to feature both Odette Annable and Sam Witwer, as they did not return for the duration of the series.
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.[7]
- It's possible Kara either misremembered the perpetrator or placed the blame on Agent Liberty as well since he led the Children of Liberty.
- Kara might be remembering the events from Earth-38 instead, where Mxyzptlk naturally recalls the changes to the timeline as the Fifth Dimension was unaffected by the crisis.
- It is also possible that it was Agent Liberty's doing in Earth-Prime's timeline.
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" |