When Jeremiah is finally returned home from CADMUS to his family, Eliza, Alex and Kara are overjoyed. But when Mon-El and Winn discover some evidence that leaves them questioning whether all is as it seems, a rift is driven between Kara and Alex.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Apologetic Attacker: Jeremiah doesn't want to hurt J'onn more than he has to, and is also apologetic towards his daughters, claiming he acted in their best interest.
- Artifact Alias: Jeremiah notes J'onn's insistence on still using Hank Henshaw's likeness as a disguise. All J'onn replies is that he hopes he has "put it to good use."Jeremiah: Well, better than he ever did.
- Artistic License – Nuclear Physics: In-universe even. Jeremiah claims that CADMUS plans to use a fusion bomb powered by "the radiation they harvested" from Kara's heat vision. Mon-El points out that this doesn't make any sense, and besides that CADMUS clearly wasn't "harvesting" anything from Kara at the time, but is ignored.
- Bavarian Fire Drill: Jeremiah claims that CADMUS will detonate a nuclear bomb over National City; this emergency gets Kara, Alex, and Mon-El sent on a wild goose chase mission, allowing Jeremiah to steal the National Alien Registry from the DEO without much resistance.
- Berserk Button: Alex is not happy about the distrust against her father, even accusing her own sister of being unable to think for herself and just repeating what her boyfriend says.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Jeremiah reenlists back at the DEO only to betray the trust of all his former friends and family in order to steal their data for CADMUS.
- Blackmail: Jeremiah knows Mon-El's true identity, and threatens to reveal it to Kara if he doesn't back off.
- Broken Pedestal: Kara and Alex are naturally devastated when they learn of Jeremiah's true allegiance.
- Brutal Honesty: Two examples for Mon-El.
- He loudly proclaims that he and Kara are dating, despite her asking him to keep it under wraps for now.
- He is also quite open with his distrust against Jeremiah, during his homecoming party, no less.
- Call-Back: The events of "The Darkest Place" factor into the plot. Kara burning out her powers also supposedly doubled as gathering energy for the fusion bomb, and Jeremiah's injuries are claimed to be punishment for allowing her and Mon-El to escape.
- The Cassandra: Mon-El is Properly Paranoid about Jeremiah the entire episode, but he is treated as an asshole although his reasoning makes sense.
- Celebrity Paradox: Winn mentions that Mon-El has been watching too much 24. Glenn Morshower (Gen. Sam Lane) plays a prominent Recurring Character in that show, while Faran Tahir (The Commander) plays the Starter Villain of its fourth season.note
- Co-Dragons: After Metallo's death, Jeremiah now seems to have taken his place as Lilian's top enforcer alongside Henshaw.
- Computer Equals Monitor: Jeremiah hacks the DEO's files by attaching a device to a monitor in the mainframe, then shoots the monitor to cover his tracks. This is particularly baffling because there is obvious server hardware lining the walls of the room.
- Continuity Nod: At the beginning, there is a subtle reference to Maxwell Lord, the dissapeared former enemy of Season 1. Lillian's trucks passed near an Active Test Range of Lord Technologies.
- Cooldown Hug: Maggie and Mon-El respectively give Alex and Kara one after seeing their significant others in a Heroic BSoD over Jeremiah's betrayal.
- Cry into Chest: When Maggie hugs Alex after seeing her tear up, Alex sobs into Maggie's chest.
- Cyborg: Jeremiah's right arm has been cybernetically enhanced, similarly to Hank Henshaw.
- Dark Secret: Jeremiah brings up that he knows something about Mon-El, and threatens to reveal it to Kara if he doesn't back off.
- Downer Ending: Not only is Jeremiah revealed as The Mole for CADMUS, but he manages to steal the record containing every alien living in the United States on their behalf.
- Drowning My Sorrows: When we see Alex in her apartment near the end of the episode, it's clear from her half-empty bottle of liquor that this is what she has been doing. When she goes to refill her glass again, Maggie cuts her off.
- Et Tu, Brute?: J'onn, Kara, and especially Alex are all hurt and pissed off at Jeremiah's treachery.
- Final Solution: As revealed at the end of the episode, CADMUS has stolen the registry of aliens on the planet and now plans to free the planet.
- Freudian Excuse: When Kara questions how Mon-El could be so quick to question Jeremiah's loyalties, she asks what he would do if his father turned up alive. Mon-El immediately responds that he would run, as his father was a horrible person.
- Gilligan Cut: After Kara makes Mon-El promise to keep their relationship a secret, he loudly shouts it out for everyone in the DEO headquarters to hear.
- Heroic BSoD: Alex and Kara do not take Jeremiah's betrayal well.
- I Did What I Had to Do: How Jeremiah justifies his betrayal, saying he's keeping Alex safe. The audience doesn't know any details yet, just that he has a mysterious deal with Lillian.
- Idiot Ball:
- Rather than being cautious upon Jeremiah's return and listening to Mon-El's justified concerns about the circumstances, J'onn, Alex, Kara, and (initially) Winn toss out years of experience and accept him back, no questions asked. This is especially bad in J'onn's case, as even a cursory scan of Jeremiah before he started acting blatantly suspicious would have revealed that his mind is shielded from telepathy.
- Alex and Kara go after Jeremiah without any backup. Unless Kara flew Alex there, there's really no reason not to have an entire team.
- Jeremiah tells Alex that she must either let him go or kill him since he refuses to be taken taken in alive, but with his enhancements he'd likely survive a shot from that alien blaster of hers. She couldn't shoot to wound and allow Kara to subdue him after she saved the train? Additionally, the DEO has been shown to have non-lethal weapons available. She couldn't remember to perhaps pack one or two with her?
- I Owe You My Life: J'onn thanks Jeremiah for saving him from the real Hank Henshaw (and for never showing him any prejudice for being an alien).
- Ironic Episode Title: The episode reveals that Jeremiah is The Mole for CADMUS; he leaves again near the end of the episode to "officially" (as in openly) join them.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Mon-El ends up being the only DEO agent who actually thinks like a DEO agent after Jeremiah's return.
- Kill Me Now, or Forever Stay Your Hand: Jeremiah refuses to return to the DEO with Alex, claiming that she will have to kill him for that. She can't bring herself to do so.
- Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex: Kara has reportedly broken four noses while kissing.
- Mythology Gag: A character played by Dean Cain is enhanced as a Cyborg, just so the show can make a Visual Pun to Cyborg Superman.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Kara, J'onn, and Alex's staunch refusal to even consider Mon El's suspicions about Jeremiah until it's too late result in CADMUS getting the DEO's entire alien database in their clutches. Again, a simple mind scan from J'onn could have averted things long before Jeremiah got anywhere near it.
- No Such Thing as H.R.: Hilariously averted. In spite of Supergirl and Mon-El working (without pay) for the DEO, a clandestine organization that tracks and contains aliens and metahumans, they apparently have an HR department as well as tedious procedures for handling office romances.Kara: Can we just, uh, pretend like that [Mon-El shouting that they're together] never happened?
J'onn: I'd like nothing more, but unfortunately as your supervisor, I have to ask you to report to HR.
Kara: [laughs] ... You're serious?
J'onn: Kara, you're dating a coworker.
Kara: That's not—w-wait, we have an HR?
J'onn: [points at Mon-El] Walk this puppy down to the second floor and fill out all the forms Pam gives you, in triplicate. - Not Staying for Breakfast: Mon-El wakes up alone at the beginning of the episode, with Kara having already started the day doing some heroic work (and picking up coffee and flowers for him). While he's pleased she's so happy, he tells he he'd like to wake up with her next time.
- Properly Paranoid:
- Mon-El rightly finds Jeremiah's sudden return and CADMUS's carelessness suspicious.
- There's also Winn placing a tracker on Jeremiah just in case, which comes in handy when he goes rogue.
- Secret Relationship: Kara tries to have one with Mon-El, as she doesn't want people immediately commenting on it. It lasts for exactly ten seconds because Mon-El's just too excited to keep it to himself, to Kara's chagrin.
- Sequel Hook: CADMUS has some sort of aircraft that figures into their plan of eliminating all aliens.
- Shout-Out: When Mon-El comes to Winn with his suspicions about Jeremiah, Winn tells him he's been watching too much 24.Winn: I knew I shouldn't have given you my Netflix password.
- Thicker Than Water: Alex is unable to shoot Jeremiah, despite his betrayal and allegiance to CADMUS, because he's still her father and he clearly still loves her, Eliza and Kara.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Right after Mon-El reveals their relationship and they find out about the DEO red tape they're going to have to go through as a result, Mon-El realizes he's going to pay for it during his training session with Kara.Kara: Ya think?!
Mon-El: Okay, I'm gonna warm up. [leaves] - Training from Hell: Kara clearly has this in mind. See This Is Gonna Suck above for why. Fortunately for Mon-El, it's averted thanks to an alert that CADMUS is on the move.
- Trainstopping: Henshaw detonates several charges on a train bridge, which just so happens to have a train incoming, so Kara will have to save it and allow them to escape. She welds one of the rails back into place with Heat Vision and holds up the other herself as the train passes over.
- Trapped in Villainy: It's implied Jeremiah's motives for remaining with CADMUS are more complicated than brainwashing, as he claims to be doing it for Alex. He also mentions a deal with Lillian.
- Unreliable Narrator: Whatever the device CADMUS assembled is, Jeremiah's claim that it's a fusion bomb powered by Kara's harvested heat vision radiation is clearly untrue. Mon-El points out that the helmet they used wasn't "harvesting" anything, but Kara brushes it off.
- The Un-Reveal: Despite being touched upon, whatever or whoever Mon-El really is is ultimately not revealed at the end of the episode.
- With Us or Against Us: When Kara voices some concerns considering Jeremiah, Alex bluntly shuts her down and tells her that she is either part of the family or not.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: CADMUS allows the DEO to rescue Jeremiah, who's been pretty badly beaten, to sell the illusion that it's a rescue and not an infiltration.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: When Mon-El discloses to the DEO that he and Kara are dating, J'onn sends them to HR to fill out forms that deal with intra-office relationships.
- Alex: Oh, and you're going to have to attend a mandatory sexual harassment seminar.
Kara: Seriously?!
