Lockwood gets right to work to use his new power as Director of Alien Affairs to stir up more xenophobia, and prop up the Children of Liberty, by advocating for the repeal of the Alien Amnesty Act. The Children of Liberty plan a march in Washington and pro-alien groups plan to march in protest, leaving Supergirl with the unenviable task of trying to prevent bloodshed between the two. And then Manchester Black and the Elite decide to show up.
Tropes in this episode:
- Actually, I Am Him: Someone going by the handle AmericanAlien organizes the march against the Children of Liberty. Brainy eventually admits to Kara that he is the one behind it.
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: The Elite breaks into the Fortress of Solitude.
- Arch-Enemy: By this point, Manchester is definitely this to J'onn; the mind games have pushed J'onn's patience to its limits, and at the end of the episode, J'onn furiously vows to hunt him down.
- Badass Boast: Sick and tired of Manchester's mind games, J'onn casts off any pretensions of pacifism and vows to find him.J'onn: You can't change me. Today, I find you like a Manhunter!
- Battle Trophy: Brainy puts on Hat's magical hat briefly after knocking him out.
- Berserk Button: Manchester bringing up J'onn's dead family is one for the latter.
- Bittersweet Ending: Despite Manchester breaking up the march, there are no casualties. Aliens and Children of Liberty actually come together to help each other in the chaos, Lockwood's momentum is broken, and the majority of the Elite are apprehended. But Manchester is still at large and J'onn casts off his robe of peace and resumes the mantle of Manhunter to hunt him down. Then the episode ends with James being shot in the back in his office.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Brainy and Haley briefly debate the pros and cons of allowing a peaceful march of protest. Brainy cites the Women's March and the Million Man March, while Haley counters with a reference to Tian An Men Square; the narrative leans more towards Brainy's side, but Haley makes a valid point.
- Break Them by Talking: After multiple instances of Manchester trying this on him, J'onn turns the tables, accusing Manchester of being glad that Fiona is dead so that he can act on his violent impulses with a clear conscience. While Manchester is still playing a mind game with J'onn, the accusation clearly riles him.
- Brought Down to Badass: During his scuffle with Brainy, Hat loses his magical hat several times, but still manages to put up a good fight against the Coluan in hand-to-hand.
- Call-Back: Hat was told of the location of the Fortress of Solitude by Mxyzptlk, who has visited the place before being banished.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with James being shot in the back by an unknown assailant and left to bleed out.
- Continuity Nod: Alex is still angry with Lockwood over what happened with Jensen:Lockwood: I have to say, it is so great to finally have a human in charge of the DEO. I mean, the idea that an alien would be running the very department in charge of policing aliens...
Alex: (icily) Did you hear that from the DEO agent that you turned into a terrorist? - Corrupt Bureaucrat: Lockwood blatantly abuses his power as Director of Alien Affairs, calling for a repeal of the Alien Amnesty Act, and even openly calling for violence at a rally in favour of this position and having several Children of Liberty on hand.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Lockwood compares himself to Winston Churchill. It's a pretty popular tactic by many right-wing figureheads to present themselves as the ones opposing the "actual Nazis" (whom they often try to frame as left-wing).
- Doppelgänger Spin: Manchester uses a holographic projector to create numerous copies of himself in an effort to egg the alien protestors into violence.
- Dwindling Party: Menagerie, the Morae, and the Hat are all apprehended and brought into D.E.O. custody, leaving Manchester Black as the sole member of the Elite still at large.
- Everyone Has Standards: Despite her own hostility towards aliens, Haley is still a law-obeying soldier and wants to do her damn best to make sure that the aliens and their supporters at the march are well protected from any violence that will inevitably break out.
- Faking the Dead: Manchester Black tricks J'onn and Supergirl into thinking he died by walking into a chamber of a sun eater.
- Fatal Flaw: Menagerie's insatiable Greed for jewels leads her to getting caught as it doesn't take much for the Super Friends to lead her into a trap with the sight of one pearl necklace.
- From Bad to Worse: The Children of Liberty marching and pro-alien groups countermarching, which leads to inevitable conflict, is bad enough. And then Manchester and the Hat show up, inducing panic and violence.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Kara considers Manchester and the Elite to now be no better than Lockwood and the Children of Liberty. Driving this point home, after Lockwood tries and fails to incite a riot at his rally, Manchester arrives and sets one off himself. The only real difference is what side they're on.
- Hypocrite: Quentin, Lockwood's aide, is very anti-alien, but he makes an exception for Supergirl because, unlike most aliens, she's a superhero. Hearing this firsthand is enough to convince Kara to join up in the march as Kara Zor-El, Kryptonian refugee and citizen of Earth, rather than Supergirl.
- In the Back: How James gets gunned down in his office in the final scene.
- It's Personal: It was already personal between J'onn and Manchester, but after the latter brings up J'onn's dead family and almost manages to push him into killing, it becomes even worse.
- Jumped at the Call: Nia is so gung-ho about being a superhero that she hangs around in costume when she doesn't need to and overdoes her attempts at being intimidating.
- Large Ham: Dreamer gets a bit too into her role as a superhero, to the point that Supergirl tells her to dial it back.Dreamer: Yield or die!
Supergirl: Just take it down to like, a seven.
Dreamer: Yield or else! - Me's a Crowd: During the rally, Manchester has Hat create several holographic copies of him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: More like "My God, What Was I Thinking?" Quentin, an aide of Lockwood's and a Children of Liberty sympathizer, initially assumes there's a distinction between an alien superhero and an alien immigrant. Upon seeing how violent his "side" is at the riot, he decides to help a scared alien to her feet.
- Mythology Gag: The incredibly heavy key to the Fortress of Solitude from All-Star Superman makes an appearance. A Sun Eater also makes an appearance.
- Passive-Aggressive Kombat: Alex is forced by the President to bodyguard Lockwood after the Elite try to assassinate him. She puts up with it by making her contempt for him quite clear.[ordering security to escort Lockwood away after he tries to incite violence] You're the threat!
- Pet the Dog: Haley acts much more amicable throughout the episode, trying to keep the peace, and at the end even complimenting AmericanAlien (it's ambiguous if she knows that Brainy is him).
- Rabble Rouser:
- Lockwood has the gall to try to incite violence at his own rally; Alex has him escorted away before this happens though.
- Manchester Black crashes the rally hoping to egg aliens into retaliating against the Childen of Liberty. Luckily, the aliens are too confused and scared to take the bait.
- Revenge Before Reason: Hat honestly believes in the Elite's goal to stamp out anti-alien bigotry, and is disgusted how Manchester is letting his feud with Lockwood drive their actions and leaves the Fortress in disgust when he can't be convinced otherwise. Subverted as this was an act meant to fool Dreamer, who they knew might be watching. Even so, Manchester is nevertheless convinced to come around to the greater cause instead of focusing on revenge.
- Ripped from the Headlines: The Children of Liberty and pro-alien activists counter-marching reminds one of the various white supremacist / Neo-Nazi marches in the late 2010s and the inevitable counter-protests that follow (that included violence in many cases).
- Rousseau Was Right: Several protesters, humans and aliens alike, are shown helping each other up during and after the chaos, and Lockwood's momentum of hate seems to take a significant turn.
- Save the Villain: Supergirl intervenes to save Lockwood from an assassination attempt by the Elite, and later Alex is forced to keep Lockwood safe to keep the peace.
- Sequel Hook: The episode ends with James being shot by a mysterious assassin.
- Smug Snake: Lockwood acts extremely smug towards Alex when she is forced to act as his security detail.
- Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: Manchester once again towards J'onn, this time by bringing up his dead family and telling him that maybe he needs to lose even more. J'onn almost kills Manchester (or rather, a Child of Liberty disguised as Manchester) as a result.
- Take That!: Lockwood's ambition to repeal the Alien Amnesty Act is a not so subtle jab at Republicans getting into a frenzy at the very thought of granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. Lockwood's entire speech is filled with rhetoric that's lifted from any number of anti-immigrant speeches on the subject.
- Tempting Fate: When Brainy says that he doesn't need his ring because he has friends, Hat sarcastically asks where Brainy's friends are now. Cue Supergirl knocking Hat flat on his face.
- Villainous Friendship: The Elite, for all their violence, are genuinely good friends. When Menagerie is captured, Hat advocates rescuing her from DEO custody instead of continuing to try and kill Lockwood. Despite this disagreement, Hat still takes Manchester to safety when he's confronted by Supergirl and J'onn.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Lockwood praises Alex's status as a human director of the DEO. Alex looks as though she's resisting the urge to break his face like a cheap dinner plate.
