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in: Episodes, Supergirl episodes, Season 5 (Supergirl)

In Plain Sight

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"One of the main reasons I moved to National City was because Clark wanted me to keep an eye on you. But you're the one who kept an eye on me. You never needed me. Not then, and certainly not now."
—James Olsen to Kara Danvers before his departure

"In Plain Sight" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of Supergirl, and the ninety-first episode overall. It aired on October 27, 2019.

Synopsis[]

Kara's investigation into William Dey's "criminal" activities results in the shocking revelation he is not who she thinks. Meanwhile, the conflict between Malefic and J'onn J'onzz reaches a boiling point.[src]

Plot[]

After a failed attempt at catching Malefic, Supergirl, Alex, J'onn, and Brainiac all return to the D.E.O. headquarters. As part of the precaution against Malefic, everyone at the DEO is being scanned to confirm their identity. Alex is very upset with everyone, especially Brainy, being too emotionally invested, she blames him for their failed attempt at capturing Malefic before storming off. Supergirl calls Nia wanting an update on any information regarding William. She is given the name Elena Torres and Kara travels to Mexico City to find her.

Lena is working with Hope still working with Q-Waves frequency but are at a dead end when Alex calls her for assistance in apprehending Malefic, whose mind control abilities could help them. Lena helps Brainy and J'onn test the Phantom Zone projector to work on a Green Martian regardless of density, using J'onn as the test subject. After hours of research and trials, Lena suggests that J'onn get some fresh air, and while talking to Brainy, convinces him to allow her to help. She requests a special tool, and in his absence, she attaches something to the Phantom Zone projector.

In Mexico City, Kara finds out to there was a car crash and Torres died. She also sees William before he gets into a car driven by an unknown individual. Kara notices the license plate and (off-screen) sends Nia a photo of it. Nia calls Kara and informs her that Elena was the lead accountant for Obsidian Worldwide. Nia also tells Kara about Sergio Ramos, a member of Intergang, and the driver of the car William left the scene in. After finding Elena Torres's apartment, Kara finds a piece of paper with a series of numbers written on it. Kara is met by a woman who is under the impression that Kara is Elena Torres and tries to kill her. Kara returns in her Supergirl suit, then, after almost suffocating, is able to arrest the woman and bring her into the D.E.O. After returning, speaks with Nia. Kara shares that Elena's death was faked, and the body in the car accident had died of natural causes two weeks prior to the accident. Nia shares that the numbers Kara found in Elena's apartment were for an offshore account, shared by Elena and an unknown person, who Kara and Nia suspect to be William. Nia also states that the address linked to the account is encrypted; luckily, she has a friend who can decrypt it. Kara goes back to the D.E.O. and tries to console J'onn, who is upset after Alex blamed him for what he did to his brother. Upon the realization that it was actually Malefic incepting Alex, everyone realizes that the real Alex is missing. J'onn tries to find her psychically, but is blocked by his brother. J'onn agrees to meet with his brother at the planetarium only to find Alex, incepted by Malefic, there, and pointing the Verdex Blaster, a weapon designed by Hank Henshaw to kill Green Martians, at him. The two fight and J'onn is able to free her from Malefic's control using a psychic inhibitor, and, along with the help of Supergirl, the two engage in a fight against his brother, using a shield matrix to put a force field between them and the incepted audience shooting at them. While Supergirl tries to stop the building from caving in, they realize Alex has a bomb attached to her.

Meanwhile, James and Kelly are on the road, on the way to their Aunt Vi's town of Calvintown where they spent time growing up. Once they arrive, they are surprised to see the town in such disarray, with the large increased homeless population, accompanied by a new prison. Once they get to their aunt's house, two kids run away and appear to have been doing homework while squatting. James and Kelly run into Simon Kirby at a local convenience store when he's caught shoplifting. Kelly covers for him, and James invites him to dinner. While making pizza, Kelly gets a headache due to her connection with Malefic and steps outside. James and Simon talk about how Simon's mom is in jail for 10 years for petty theft. Deciding this doesn't sit well with him, James goes to visit his old mentor, Nelson Stewart, at the newspaper he started working at. Nelson, like Simon, confirms that keeping people in prison longer than they should be lines the pockets of those in charge, which keeps Calvintown alive. After getting on the phone with a lawyer from National City, James promises to get Simon's mom out of prison and agrees to cover the cost. But when Simon finds out James isn't staying in town, he gets upset and runs away. James and Kelly soon return to National City to help Supergirl.

When Kelly and James show up at the planetarium, the shield matrix starts to fail. Kara and James take the weapons from the audience, J'onn is able to phase Alex out of her jacket, and Supergirl contains the bomb. Realizing his defeat, Malefic tries to make an escape, but is identified by Kelly. J'onn stops with Brainiac's updated Phantom Zone projector, seemingly sending him back to the Phantom Zone.

Later on, James announces to his friends that he will no longer be coming back, and plans to move to Calvintown to help the citizens there. Buying the newspaper, he hires Simon as a photographer.

In CatCo the next day, Nia shares with Kara that her friend was able to decrypt the address linked to the account, and that it is located in National City. Kara goes to the address as Supergirl and discovers a "murder board" of sorts, with the center picture being one of Andrea Rojas. William enters the room, and Kara quickly switches outfits. William urges Kara to leave, but Kara demands to know what's going on. William reveals that he is undercover to investigate Andrea. Kara asks for the truth, and William reveals that he helped Elena fake her death because she thought "they" were onto her and that he needed to keep her safe, and that Sergio Ramos is actually a member of Interpol, and is just undercover in Intergang, and that he helped get Elena out. He is staying silent about the Rojases because he has no proof that directly connects them to a criminal conspiracy he claims is bigger than Al Capone; he took the job at CatCo to get closer to Andrea and get into her inner circle. He states that how he acted at CatCo was simply an act, and he thinks that Kara's writing is actually really good. Kara, however, states that she doesn't know if she can forgive William, which he understands.

It is ultimately revealed that when Malefic was hit with the Phantom Zone projector, instead of being sent to the Phantom Zone, he was instead sent to Lena's laboratory. While he is trapped there, Lena says that they can help one another.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest starring[]

Co-starring[]

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Trivia[]

  • This is the last episode of Supergirl to feature Mehcad Brooks (James Olsen) as a series regular.
  • This is the first episode of Supergirl to not feature Julie Gonzalo (Andrea Rojas) after signing on as a series regular.
  • The bomb on Alex Danvers is a hybrid of Tamaranean and Pharoid technology. DC's Starfire from Teen Titans is from the planet Tamaran.
  • Simon Kirby's name is a reference to both famous comic book artist, Jack Kirby, who is widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators, and also his partner throughout the 1940s and until 1955, Joe Simon. The partners were oftentimes referred to as "Simon and Kirby", and their most famous creation while working together was Captain America in 1940 for Timely Comics (the company that went on to become Marvel Comics).
  • This episode shares its name from the USA Network series In Plain Sight.
  • At episode's end, when James passes his camera on to Simon, Simon says "Thanks, chief", to which James replies "Don't call me chief." In the comics, this was a famous, and often repeated, exchange between employees at the Daily Planet and Perry White.
  • Kara Danvers/Supergirl tells Lena Luthor that she is a Superfriend, which is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup.
  • When Lena speaks to Brainy about Nia, she asks him about his "little boxes." Later on, when James reveals he is moving to Calvintown, Brainy says that he can't find a "little box" to put his feelings in. These are references to the advice Lena gave Brainy in "Ahimsa".
  • James says to Simon that "Misery loves company". Alex Danvers said the same thing to Kara in the Season 3 episode, "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 1".
  • In the DC Comics, Breathtaker was a member of the Hangmen and an enemy to the Titans. Her first appearance was in Titans #21.

Goofs[]

  • At the end of the episode, James gives his dad's camera to Simon; however, in "Crossfire", the camera was destroyed, which is what causes him to take up the mantle of Guardian.
  • He also gave Marcus the camera to try while trying to get him to talk about his mother in City of Lost Children

References[]

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