A recently deceased Toyman forces Winn to face the truth about his mother’s abandonment while fighting off attacks from beyond the grave. Upon growing closer with M’yrnn, Alex uncovers his health problem and urges him to be honest with J’onn. Here is a recap and review of the Supergirl episode “Schott Through the Heart.”

RECAP & REVIEW:

“My name… is Kara Zor-El…”

And just like that, we’re back from a nine-week hiatus that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In Supergirl’s absence, Legends of Tomorrow became a successful blend of crazy fun and crazy good and developed an affinity for children’s toys (all hail Beebo, the blue god), so it’s fitting an episode about Toyman followed its finale.

“Schott Through the Heart” reminded me a lot of what I loved about last season. Supergirl has an illegal alien and journalist as the protagonist; there was no way it was not going to be a political show, but it seems this season, there have been so few instances of storylines that dare to tackle a socially relevant or impactful topic. While this episode was not political in nature, it did explore the real-world issues of domestic abuse and dementia that grounded a flying monkey episode and reminded the audience that their storytelling can be powerful when they want it to. If only we could see more of this for the rest of the season.

In addition, Supergirl is at its best when it focuses on the characters we’ve grown to love and allows them to explore their past, present, or future while dealing with a highly personal case. For a character who keeps the DEO going with his enthusiasm, intelligence, and thinking outside the box, Winn’s screen time has been severely lacking this season. A story about his father’s death and destruction was a perfect way to thrust Winn’s personal life into the spotlight, while also utilizing his work resources and his super friends. Unlike Lena’s tug-of-war with darkness, Winn’s parental issues have so rarely been touched upon that it provided a refreshing world of personal drama. However, this episode failed to fully realize its own potential and continued to play into concepts that contradict the series’ originally feminist message. More on that later. Let’s start at the beginning.

Standing stern before her friends, Kara gives a pep talk. It’s time to overcome their fear. It’s time to show everyone what they’re made of. It’s Kara-oke time! Supergirl has one of the most vocally talented casts on television, yet they chose the route of bad, drunken singing. While it kicked off an otherwise heavy episode with a touch of humor and joyous family bonding, it’s also disappointing to have their skillsets shoved aside for a joke. And who let Alex sing “I Drove All Night”?!

Grabbing a drink, Mon-El asks James if he’s seeing anyone. Not really. Actually, maybe. He’s not sure what to call their relationship, but he’s working on being happy.

This is the second time that James has brought up happiness, the first being back in “Reign” when he made a toast with Lena. It may be coincidental. Or it may be hinting at a shift in James’ story arc, given that his character hasn’t been provided with much to do lately. I’m wondering if he’ll reevaluate his position at CatCo and step down to return to photography, which he loved, or if he’ll be stepping up and making CatCo once again relevant to the show. Television shows evolve. They figure out what works and phase out what doesn’t. The dramatic decrease in CatCo scenes this season may just be a case of something seemingly not working (from the writers’ standpoint) or it may just be a consequence of limited screen time, but either way, it’s a shame that we’ve lost certain character dynamics and messages. Kara and James’ friendship was pivotal in season one, so I hope to see them reestablish that dynamic where they supported and confided in one another, both inside and out of the office. In addition, the show briefly touched upon Kara and Lena’s professional relationship at the beginning of the season, but it’s fallen by the wayside. There is still much to explore there, especially when it comes to Kara and Lena having different ideologies about catching criminals and monitoring aliens. What’s most frustrating about Kara being away from CatCo is the important message the show is no longer touching upon. Kara impacted the city as Kara Danvers, ace reporter, and that role was just as important to her as making an impact as Supergirl. She reminded us that you don’t need superpowers to make a difference.

Taking the karaoke stage, Winn’s focus is snapped by news coverage of his father’s death. Arriving at the gravesite, Winn’s mom, Mary, believes they’re finally safe. As Toyman’s coffin drops into the ground, it explodes. Spoke too soon. Rejecting Mary’s attempt to justify her past, Winn recounts the night his father snapped. He sat in the police station in his pajamas waiting an hour, two hours, twelve hours for his mom to arrive, but she never did. It’s not his father’s madness that haunts him; it’s his mother abandoning him when he needed her the most. Robotic flying monkeys attack the DEO. James and the Schotts take down a few, and Supergirl knocks out a whole swarm.

Spending dinner discussing the intersection of race and rock-and-roll, Alex asks J’onn why he’s chosen to live as a black man in America. J’onn became Hank Henshaw to survive, but now he’s proud, saying, “I wouldn’t want to live in a world where I need to change the color of my skin to feel safe, to feel seen, to feel like I am not a target. I’d rather change the world.”

It’s upsetting that over the past couple of years, J’onn’s statement has become more relevant and needed, rather than less. But this right here… this is the power that Supergirl has. The power to influence and educate. The power to inspire us to be better, to be proud of ourselves, and to value others equally. The title character’s slogan is “hope, help, and compassion for all.” I wish we could see more moments like this to remind us that diversity and differences have the power to change hearts and minds and make the world a better place.

As someone who also lost his father, James understands Winn’s pain and says he can’t change what happened, but he can decide how to proceed. I’m ecstatic that James and Winn’s friendship has returned since there haven’t been any Guardian/Man in the Van scenes in a while. This scene in particular exhibited a supportive and understanding friendship akin to Kara and Alex’s. However, this episode missed a few opportunities for more heart-to-hearts with Winn’s friends. Kara lost her father as tween, and Alex lost hers as a teen (granted he wasn’t actually dead, but she still has some perspective), so both could have provided a line or two of understanding and comfort to show how the Danvers have become like Winn’s family.

Mary admits to Supergirl that she worried Winn would take the same path as his father, so she’s proud he’s saving lives. Remember Cat Grant’s line from season one, episode two… “Every woman worth her salt knows that we have to work twice as hard as a man to be thought of as half as good.” The Supergirl writers just proved their own point and played into this double standard rather than trying to rectify it. Before this scene with Mary Schott, the only time Winn’s potential to follow in his father’s footsteps has been addressed was back in “Childish Things.” But since then, there has been no doubt in anyone’s mind that Winn is a force for good. He’s never faltered. He’s never questioned his nature. He’s never been portrayed as an untrustworthy figure just because of his family. On the contrary, Lena is constantly depicted as teetering on the brink of darkness, constantly living in the shadow of her family’s crimes, constantly having to prove that she is different. Lena works twice as hard as Winn to prove her goodness, and yet she’s still reduced to being a Luthor.

With J’onn in the kitchen, M’yrnn hopes Alex can become the granddaughter he’s always wanted. Alex mentions K’hym and T’ania. Who? Having seen the effects of dementia with her grandmother, Alex encourages him to confide in J’onn about his deteriorating memory. Angered, M’yrnn orders her to keep quiet and leave.

A storyline about dementia is unexpected in a show that usually promotes hope, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Just like Kara’s (former) necklace connected her to her mother and gave her a sense of not being alone, the Martian bond can do the same for J’onn, if they chose to go that route. Sharing all of his father’s memories may give him that sense of hope and comfort in an otherwise devastating situation. It’s impressive when they can tackle a human topic with an alien twist. If we’re not that different from Martians, all humans are not that different from one another.

Helping Winn uncover the secrets of a monkey corpse, Mary asks if he remembers going to Disneyland. Of course he does. They drove all night, but a car crash kept them from arriving. Turns out, they were headed to a domestic abuse shelter, but Toyman ran them off the road and threatened his son’s life. He didn’t snap one day; he was always paranoid and controlling.

So much of this scene was about Mary’s decision to abandon Winn, but it seemed rather surface level. It would have been interesting to see them dig a little deeper into the psychological effects of domestic abuse and rationale behind many survivors’ decisions. It would have been worthwhile to explore how severe her situation was in order to make Winn’s willingness to make amends more justified. I never got the sense that he fully understood why she chose to leave him as a child, even if he still didn’t agree with her decision. In addition, this would have been an ideal place to also explore what Winn’s childhood in foster care was like to provide her with more perspective on the impact her decision made.

Right about here, the case of the week started to go from interesting to lackluster. Without seeing Toyman’s accomplice, without seeing what or who exactly we and the characters were supposed to be afraid of, it was difficult to feel like Winn was in any real danger. Arguably, the point of this episode was not the case of the week, but rather a character study on Winn, so the case didn’t need to be stellar; however, it did need to be more clearly articulated. If Toyman had an accomplice, why were there not attacks before his death? Why did the Accomplice agree to help him in the first place? Why did he want to kill Winn if Mary still was not in his life? Did the Schotts know there could be more than one or two attacks?

Mary finds a lead, hides it, and heads to the game company where Toyman’s accomplice works. The Accomplice traps Mary in a claw crane and lures Winn there. Storming the facility, Supergirl gets trapped in plastic action figure casing, while Mon-El fights off a giant robotic T-Rex. The Accomplice strangles Winn with a yo-yo. Knowing his father’s tricks, Winn uses the hidden blades to cut himself free, and Mary knocks out the Accomplice.

First question: Why was James not in his Guardian outfit? Second question: Where were Martian Manhunter and Alex during this raid? Third question: Why has Supergirl been turned into a damsel? This is supposed to be a show that showcases the power of a female hero – a show that demonstrates her competence in comparison to male heroes, and yet, she gets physically trapped while Mon-El stops the threat. In a show geared heavily toward a young adult audience, it’s important to pay attention to the message that the show is sending and hold it accountable for the positive or negative influence it can have by praising or criticizing the takeaway. This scene failed. It’s frustrating as a viewer, as a writer, as a woman to see a powerful woman so literally made less threatening for the sake of a man, especially when it was not plausible within the story. The Girl of Steel should not have been overpowered by plastic. Supergirl is the protagonist. She should save the day… with a little help from her friends, not by being overshadowed by her friends.

During karaoke night round two, Kara informs Mon-El she wants to stay out of his relationship problems with Imra. He needs to enlighten her to a problem that involves her. Imra and Brainy intentionally crashed in National City in 2017 because in 1000 years, Pestilence, the third worldkiller, becomes Blight. If they can stop her now, they can save the future.

Two voicemail messages later, Lena returns James’ calls, saying she’s been swamped at L Corp. Minor lie. She’s been watching over Sam, who’s asleep in a high-tech medical facility. Nothing to worry about. Everything’s fine.

ODDS AND ENDS:

– If anyone was wondering what song James picked at karaoke, it was Mehcad Brooks’ own “Tears Away.” Check it out on Spotify. (This is not a paid endorsement.)

– Little upset no one was singing Bon Jovi.

– Alex: Some of that old time rock-and-roll, huh. That was an epic karaoke performance.
M’yrnn: Indeed. But a problematic genre.
Alex: Been on the Internet?

– Mary: When it comes to your day-to-day, on a scale of one to ten, how big of a pain are flying monkeys?
Supergirl: Maybe a two.

– Winn: We got a thing on our twelve.
James: That’s our six.
Winn: I’m very stressed right now… literal hot wheels.

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