History Recap / Supergirl2015S2E12Luthors

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Metallo assaults some security guards before he breaks Lena out of her prison cell. Said guards were mocking Lena and joking that she might end up bald like her brother outside her cell literally seconds before Metallo arrived.

* NotSoDifferent: Lillian tries to pull this on Lena to sway her to her side.

* RealityEnsues: When Kara [[ChronicHeroSyndrome tries to convince Maggie to give Lena]] a chance to explain as she's being arrested, she is told to stay out of it. She might be a superhero, but she has to follow the laws like everyone else.

* MentorShip: Kara admits her feelings to Mon-El this episode.

** According to Mon-El, on Daxam it was standard practice to publicly shame criminals in stocks in the town square. "Really seemed to cut down on recidivism."

* Aborted Arc: The final scene between Lena and Kara followed by a flashback to Lena beating Lex at chess, imply that Lena may not be as innocent as she seems and is possibly playing both Kara and Supergirl. This plot thread is never followed up and the rest of the season establishes Lena as {{ Good All Along}}.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Any competent lawyer would skewer Metallo on the stand when he says Lillian is justified in her actions. By saying she is justified, he is confirming she broke the law, turning the case into a slam dunk. Of course, he helps her escape moments later.

* TheBusCameBack: Metallo and Henshaw both return.
** Lena and Lillian also return after 4 episodes

** He's more confused about everyone finding a lesbian relationship odd than the reveal that Alex is in one. Daxamite tradition is apparently "[[{{Polyamory}} the more the merrier]]."

* ForgotAboutHisPowers: Kara is faced with a SadisticChoice of capturing Lillian Luthor, or saving innocent people from a falling crane. She conveniently forgets about her SuperSpeed, with which she could've saved the innocents, gently placed the crane down, captured Lilian, and brought her back to prison in ''seconds''. Then again, she ''did'' just take a direct blast from Metallo's kryptonite heart, so she may have been weakened enough to not be able to catch Lillian.

* HomoeroticSubtext: The final scene between Kara and Lena has romantic undertones reinforced by Lena sending Kara an office full of flowers just before Valentine's Day.

When Lillian Luthor and Metallo escape from their trial, suspicion falls to Lena, and the question of her loyalty to her family maybe corrupting her sense of justice arises, leaving Kara as her only ally. The question then falls to whether Lena's friendship with both Kara and Supergirl is genuine or not.

!!Tropes in this episode:

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Any competent lawyer would have skewered Metallo on the stand when he said Lillian was justified in her actions. By saying she was justified, he was confirming she broke the law, turning the case into a slam dunk. Of course, he helped her escape moments later.

* BadBoss: Lillian had no problem leaving Metallo behind to die for her, despite his [[UndyingLoyalty belief in her mission]].

* CallingTheOldManOut: Lena to Lillian, multiple times, particularly when it turns out Lillian needed Lena's DNA to open Lex's arsenal; Lena declares that her so-called mother cares for nobody but herself and that she'd rather take her chances in jail.
* ChildProdigy: In the flashback, 4 year old Lena defeated Lex in a chess match.

* ContinuityNod: A Black Mercy is among the weapons within Lex's bunker.

** According to Mon-El, on Daxam it was standard practice to put shame criminals in stocks in the town square. "Really seemed to cut down on recidivism."

* GoingCritical: The synthetic kryptonite in Metallo's chest grows more unstable as it's used, eventually going up in a [[EverythingMakesAMushroom giant, green, mushroom cloud]].
* {{Hypocrite}}: Everyone (except Mon-El) accuses Kara of letting her friendship with Lena cloud her judgment with confirmation bias of her innocence. They never even consider that their prejudice that she's a Luthor is heavily biasing their opinion as well, even before seemingly damning evidence comes up.
* InternalReveal: James and Winn learn that Alex is homosexual.
* InterruptedDeclarationOfLove: Kara and Mon-El are disrupted by the sudden appearance of Mister Mxyzptlk, declaring his love for Kara.
* JerkassBall: Everyone, besides Kara, takes a grab at it in regards to Lena. All are quick to write off Lena as a villain in lieu of the circumstantial evidence and an official verdict, due to her family's infamous history.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Metallo assaults some security guards before he breaks Lena out of her prison cell. Said guards were mocking Lena and joking if she might end up bald like her brother while in close proximity to her literally seconds before Metallo arrived.

** Lionel Luthor's name and extramarital affairs come from the ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' version of the character, while his physical appearance is a dead ringer for Lex from the comics. The guards in prison also mention that Lex indeed went bald at some point while in prison.
** The War Suit, Black Mercy and the Atomic Axe are among the weapons within Lex's bunker.

* TheReveal: While Lena was indeed adopted, she is in fact Lex's ''half''-sister, with Lionel being her father and thus Lillian being her stepmom.

* RomanticFalseLead: After their brief lunch date, Eve ends things with Mon-El, having picked up on his feelings for Kara.

* SmartPeoplePlayChess: In the flashbacks, Lillian is initially seen playing chess with her son Lex. When Lena comes home, she instead plays Lex, and defeats him.
* SoreLoser: After Kara gloats of Lena's vindication, she's dismissed by Snapper with it being the news game and not any impulsiveness on anyone else's part.

-->'''Lena''': I've never had friends like you before... I've never had ''[[FamilyOfChoice family]]'' like you before.

* UnexpectedCharacter: Mister Mxyzptlk makes his entrance with no warning or any foreshadowing that he had any connection whatsoever to Superman's cousin, let alone his love for her.

* JerkassBall: Everyone, besides Kara, takes a grab at it in regards to Lena. Despite the 11th amendment, they are all quick to write off Lena as a villain in lieu of the circumstantial evidence and an official verdict, due to her family's infamous history.

* AnAesop: Everyone, no matter their connections or past, is innocent until proven guilty, never the other way around.

* ContinuityNod: The War Suit, Black Mercy and the Atomic Axe are among the weapons within Lex's bunker.

* InterruptedDeclarationOfLove: Kara and Mon-El are disrupted by [[ShockingSwerve the sudden appearance]] of Mister Mxyzptlk, declaring his love for Kara.

* ShockingSwerve: Mister Mxyzptlk literally shows up out of nowhere in the final seconds of the episode, declaring that he's in love with Kara.

* JerkWithAHeartofJerk: Lillian only attempts to get close to Lena so she can open Lex's secret base. And when she refuses, Henshaw forces her to open it.

* NeverMyFault: After Kara gloats of Lena's vindication, she's dismissed with it being the news game and not any impulsiveness on anyone else's part.

** According to Mon-El, on Daxum it was standard practice to put shame criminals in stocks in the town square. "Really seemed to cut down on recidivism."
** He's more confused about everyone finding a lesbian relationship odd than the reveal that Alex is in one. Daxumite tradition is apparently "[[{{Polyamory}} the more the merrier]]."

* {{Hypocrite}}: Everyone (except Mon-El) accuses Kara of letting her friendship with Lillian cloud her judgment with confirmation bias of her innocence. They never even consider that their prejudice that she's a Luthor is heavily biasing their opinion as well, even before seemingly damning evidence comes up.

** Lionel Luthor's name and extramarital affairs come from the ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' version of the character, while his physical appearance is a dead ringer for Lex from the comics. The guards in prison also mention that Lex indeed went bald at some point.