Truth, Justice and the American Way (Supergirl)

"Truth, Justice and the American Way" is the fourteenth episode in the first season of the CBS television series Supergirl, which aired on February 22, 2016. The episode's teleplay was written by Yahlin Chang and Caitlin Parrish, from a story by Michael Grassi, and directed by Lexi Alexander. The episode is named for the catch-phrase that is used as the motto for Superman in comic books and related television and film series.

Plot[]

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Non requests Kara pay her final respects to her aunt. Surrounded by Kryptonians, Kara says a Kryptonian prayer before Astra's body is sent into space. He tells his niece the next funeral will be hers. She warns Alex and Hank of Non vowing to return within a fortnight. Kara goes to see Maxwell, who wants to be let out, but she brusquely refuses.

Kara discovers that Cat hired a new assistant, Siobhan Smythe, who Cat introduces as her "number one." Cat assigns James and Lucy to investigate Maxwell's disappearance. James reminds Kara that Maxwell can't be held because of due process. An escaped Fort Rozz prisoner is cornered by the DEO, but the alien is already captured by an armored attacker. This armored attacker, Master Jailer, kills the alien. Alex, Hank and Kara later discover that missing persons cases match with missing Fort Rozz prisoners. Siobhan calls out Kara over slacking on the job after Kara leaves for the DEO. Lucy shows pictures to James, believing Maxwell is being held by a secret government organization that tracks aliens. James accidentally reveals the truth about the DEO, causing Lucy to be jealous of his relationship with Supergirl. The DEO learns that Master Jailer uses the prisoners' identification numbers to track them down. Kara arrives to protect his next target, a professor, but Jailer is victorious.

Cat asks James about Maxwell, saying journalists tell the truth because they want to be good people. James and Kara talk at the DEO, and James wants Maxwell to prove Kara wrong. Alex informs Kara that Master Jailer is Detective Warren. As they arrive to confront Warren, Detective Draper shoots him and reveals that he is Master Jailer. Kara is held prisoner in a cell without her powers, due to the light mimicking the red sun. Alex discovers that Jailer was a Fort Rozz prison guard until landing on Earth and pinpoints his location. She bursts through the ceiling of his ship, underneath an empty cabin, to rescue Kara and the professor. As she fights with Jailer, Alex shoots her gun at the ceiling to let in sunlight. Kara reclaims her powers and defeats Jailer. Maxwell is released, and Alex warns him to not reveal anything about Supergirl or the DEO, or else the police will be given information to send him to prison.

The next day, Siobhan reveals her goal is to be the next Cat Grant, to which Kara says that Cat decides who will stay. James tells Kara that he might have to reveal to Lucy that she is Supergirl. Kara asks the Alura AI about Myriad, only for the AI to threaten self-destruction, before Hank shuts it down. Kara tells him she no longer wishes to work for him.

Reception[]

Ratings[]

The episode attracted 527,000 viewers for its British premiere, making it the 9th most watched programme on Sky One for the week.^[1]

Critical response[]

Cliff Wheatley of IGN gave the episode an 8.8/10: "“Truth, Justice, and the American Way” is a thematically confident episode that tackles one of the major themes of the Superman mythos – one not so subtly displayed in its title. It’s deftly written (Cold War line aside) and makes sure that all of the elements tie together to result in the most important lesson Kara has ever learned. While Lexi Alexander’s direction is ambitious, the budgetary restraints are a burden. Still, despite a few shortcomings here and there, this episode is Supergirl at its best."^[2]

Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly noted: "“Truth, Justice and the American Way” spends most of its running time asking what Supergirl is supposed to stand for, which leads to one of my favorite scenes on the show to date. While the villain of the week isn’t that compelling, the questions and issues his presence raises make up for that."^[3]

Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3.5 out of 5 stars.^[4]

References[]

External links[]

"Truth, Justice and the American Way" at IMDb