Red Faced

"Red Faced" is the sixth episode in the first season of the CBS television series Supergirl, which aired on November 30, 2015. It was written by Michael Grassi and Rachel Shukert, and directed by Jesse Warn. The episode centers on Kara feeling the pressure as she takes on an android commissioned by Lucy's father, General Sam Lane, while Cat's estranged mother comes to visit and Winn helps Alex investigate her father's death.

Plot

During a flight above National City, Kara gets a call from Alex about her whereabouts, but she explains to her that she wants to relieve stress. Supergirl then swoops down to break up a road rage between two men who were racing in a school zone. When one of the men tries to punch her she hurts him badly which scares the children. Hank is not happy with Kara's behavior, and Maxwell is now leading a campaign to place regulations on Supergirl. Later on, Lucy asks James to have dinner with her father, General Sam Lane, then stops and thanks Kara for the invitation as she leaves. A confused Kara learns from James that he doesn’t get along with Sam because he’s friends with Superman, and that James invited Lucy to Kara's game night.

At CatCo, Cat gets a visit from her mother Katherine, who has been critical of her daughter. Alex also pays a visit to convince Winn to help break into the DEO mainframe to find out about Jeremiah, and he agrees. Hank calls Kara and Alex in to the DEO base camp to test out a new weapon that was commissioned by Sam. Lucy then arrives with an executive order and Kara agrees. The android, Red Tornado, is introduced by Dr. T.O. Morrow, who objects to how his project is treated. James and Winn tell Kara she doesn't have to take part, but she wants to prove that she and her cousin can be trusted. Meanwhile, Cat cleared her calendar for Katherine, who changes plans to see Toni Morrison instead. Kara overhears this while she brings Cat layouts that she rejects and orders Kara to stay late and tells Kara that everyone knows she has a crush on James. During game night, Lucy (who reveals her jealousy about Supergirl) and James shows off their romantic side as Winn gives out clues.

The next day, a more upset Kara begins her training with Red Tornado, but both Hank and Sam are at odds over who is in charge. With T.O. controlling the android, Kara is pushed to the breaking point, until Morrow stops the project when it starts to experience damage and Kara is unaware she was told by Hank to stand down, causing Red Tornado to become unstable and then it takes off. Sam blames Supergirl for unleashing Red Tornado onto the city, and has Morrow fired as he orders the DEO to destroy the android. Later on, Cat is furious over Kara's whereabouts, and when Kara shows up Cat snaps at her and Kara yells at her to stop. Cat stares at Kara only to tell her that they're going to have a martini together, as Cat tells Kara she wasn't trying to be mad at her but tells Kara to find out who she's mad at. Over at Lord Technologies, Alex asks Maxwell for help in tracking down Red Tornado, but he turns her down. During dinner, Sam takes his frustrations out on James and tells Lucy that she shouldn't be with him. Red Tornado then arrived to attack the Lanes, and James uses his signal watch to alert Kara, who immediately shows up to stop it, only to have the android to create a tornado that puts it in harms way and Supergirl races to save those in its path by diverting them away from it.

Sam blames Kara and the DEO for allowing Red Tornado to get away, but Hank tell the General that it was designed to destroy Kryptonians instead of terrorists. At Lord Technologies, Alex and Maxwell get together as the two know what it feels like to lose parents. Maxwell states that, judging from his samples, Red Tornado is little more than a drone - therefore, its behavior can only mean that the android is being controlled remotely by Morrow. Meanwhile, Kara and James set up punching bags, as Kara takes out her anger about being a alien and not fitting in. Alex then calls Kara to inform her that she found a way to draw Red Tornado's attention by using a hologram of Sam with Kryptonian crystals. The only way to stop Morrow is to remove it or kill him. The android shows up to attack Kara, thus allowing Alex to take out Morrow, but Red Tornado now proves to be unstoppable, pushing an enraged Kara to her limits, causing her to use the full power of her heat vision to destroy the machine.

The following day, Lucy informs James that she has resigned her commission rather than following her father, saying that they're on the same team and hopes that they can reconcile. Winn reveals to Kara and Alex that they found information about how Jeremiah and Hank went to South America to apprehend an alien until they went missing and presumed dead, only to discover that Hank survived, and has been deleting and redacting information from their father's files. Winn cautions Alex, who now becomes more suspicious of Hank than ever. Later at the office, Cat is nursing a hangover when Kathrine starts yelling at Kara for not getting her car, and Cat snaps back, saying that she doesn’t get to talk to Kara that way. Kathrine excuses herself, and both Kara and Cat feel much better. Cat drops a glass, and Kara cuts her finger on it, surprising herself and feeling human.

Reception

Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly noted: “Red Faced” is a nice rebound from last week’s lame installment. As I mentioned last week, Supergirl is at its best when it focuses on family dynamics and moments of connection between its characters that don’t focus on romance, and this episode definitely showed that off. It lures you into thinking Kara’s anger issues are tied to her crush on James, but then it quickly reveals there’s a deeper and more complex reason."^[1]

Cliff Wheatley of IGN gave the episode a 8.6, saying, “Red Faced” is a great episode that really digs its claws into Kara’s character and forces her to confront emotions that have been bubbling under the surface. It really stacks the odds against her and urges her to overcome them. Combined with great scenes with Cat, fun action sequences, and emotional punch at the end, this week’s Supergirl stands as the show’s strongest feat thus far. ^[2]

Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5 stars.^[3]

References