Line #74 Recap/Supergirl2015S1E16Falling


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/evilsupergirl.JPG]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[Music/ThreeDoorsDown If she goes crazy then will we still call her Supergirl?]]]]
3
4	Supergirl is exposed to red Kryptonite, changing her personality.
5	----
6	!!Tropes in this episode:
7	* AccidentalPervert: The PowerPerversionPotential of the XRayVision is [[AccidentalPun shown]] when Kara uses it and sees Winn and Siobhan in the [[DoubleEntendre climax]] of their "session".
8	* AdaptationNameChange: A minor example: the alien species "Khund" is here known as "K'hund". [[PunctuationShaker For once]], this is a correct usage of an apostrophe, as it acts as a glottal stop and makes it clear the word is two syllables instead of one.
9	* BadassBoast: When Alex asks J'onn why he didn't just run when exposed:
10	-->'''J'onn:''' Because I'd spend a thousand years in this cell to keep you and your sister safe.
11	* BatmanGambit: Maxwell Lord engineered the red Kryptonite and stuck it on the roof. However, he meant to attract Non's attention, since his satellite was over the area. Instead, the fire brings Supergirl, and the synthetic Kryptonite has a completely unexpected effect.
12	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: As Alex lampshades, Lord, by accident, has managed to turn Supergirl into the very threat he thought she was.
13	* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Kara's behaviour at [=CatCo=] and her actions toward Siobhan are very much like how Siobhan herself was [[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E14TruthJusticeAndTheAmericanWay when she was introduced]].
14	* BewareTheSuperman: An almost literal case, as the entire city learns they have to beware the Super''girl''.
15	* BigDamnHeroes: J'onn publicly reveals himself in order to save Alex and stop/save Supergirl.
16	* BrainBleach: Kara uses X-Ray vision to see Siobhan and Winn fooling around in a closet. She instantly regrets it.
17	* BreakingSpeech: Kara--under the influence of red Kryptonite--loves giving these, and she gives some pretty brutal ones to Cat and Alex. Made worse by the fact that even if they are her most base of thoughts, there is some truth to her words.
18	* BrokenMasquerade: J'onn has finally publicly revealed himself as an alien and an impostor (well, at least "public" to the DEO and Miranda Crane).
19	* BrokenPedestal: The unfortunate consequence of everything that has happened in this episode.
20	** The entire National City is disappointed to see their hero and champion acting so brash and callous.
21	** It is heavily implied that the entire DEO sans Alex feels this way about J'onn. Senator Crane is an unambiguous example.
22	* BrokenTears: Kara after a heartbreaking MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment.
23	* BrutalHonesty: The red Kryptonite makes Kara say every negative thought with painful honesty.
24	* TheBusCameBack: Both Maxwell Lord and Senator Crane return after last appearing a few episodes ago.
25	* ButtMonkey: Siobhan is really on the receiving end this episode. Also counts as HumiliationConga.
26	* CassandraTruth: The alien K'Hund claims Supergirl didn't even bother trying to capture him, only to be incarcerated by the DEO for his troubles.
27	* CreateYourOwnVillain: See StartOfDarkness below.
28	* CurbStompBattle: Kara is on both ends of this, effortlessly taking down the K'hund, and getting trounced in the climax by J'onn.
29	* DarkestHour: The end of this episode is definitely one of the lowest points for Team Supergirl: J'onn is in prison for being an alien, Kara is forced to deal with the knowledge that there's a part of her that revels in abusing her powers, and perhaps worst of all, National City has lost faith in her and she fears that she'll never get it back.
30	* DeceptiveDisciple: Siobhan is revealed as one. When Cat tells her that they won't reveal the story of Supergirl letting the K'hund go until they have more information, Siobhan loses no time in trying to sell the story to Perry White.
31	* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title refers to Cat being thrown from the top of her building, as well as both Kara and J'onn's fall from grace.
32	* DownerEnding: The episode ends with J'onn outed and captured and Kara becoming a BrokenPedestal for all of National City.
33	* DramaticIrony: Evil Kara's conversation with Alex is eerily similar to Astra and Alura's during an earlier flashback, not helped by the fact that Kara is dressed similar to Astra.
34	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even Maxwell Lord seems to be horrified by what's happening, and willingly comes to the DEO to work on a way to fix it.
35	* EvilCostumeSwitch: At [=CatCo=], Kara starts dressing in outfits similar to Cat's, and as Supergirl, she eventually switches to an outfit evocative of her late aunt.
36	* EvilWearsBlack: All of the clothes Kara wears after her EvilCostumeSwitch are black.
37	* EvilFeelsGood: When told that her behavior is due to the red Kryptonite, Kara proclaims that she feels more like herself than she ever has.
38	* ExactWords: "Nothing on Earth can stop me." Cue J'onn…
39	* FriendlyRivalry: Cat is still on good terms with Perry White, so when she tells him about Siobhan's [[DeceptiveDisciple betrayal and attempts to sell him a story]], he assures Cat that he won't employ Siobhan either if she looks for a job at the ''Daily Planet''.
40	* AGodAmI: Bad Supergirl eventually revels in being worshiped and feared by the denizens of National City.
41	* GoneHorriblyWrong: The Red Kryptonite is an attempt to replicate the normal, green stone's effects; the result is a substance that doesn't physically weaken Kryptonians but affects their minds, making them progressively more aggressive.
42	* GoodGirlGoneBad: The red Kryptonite has changed Kara's attitude for the worst. Luckily, the effects are reversible.
43	* GodzillaThreshold: J'onn really doesn't want to reveal himself, but he has no choice in order to save Alex's life.
44	* HatePlague: What the red Kryptonite does to Kryptonians.
45	* HeroAntagonist: Since [[VillainProtagonist Kara herself]] is the episode's VillainOfTheWeek, everyone sans Siobhan can be considered this by default.
46	* InternalReveal: J'onn is revealed as the Martian Manhunter to the public.
47	* InterruptedDeclarationOfLove: James stops Kara's confession because he needs some time to think first.
48	* JerkassHasAPoint: A core theme throughout the episode. Many of Bad Supergirl's criticisms toward her friends and family have a certain degree of validity to them.
49	* KidsAreCruel: Kara helps a girl being bullied by other kids for her homemade Supergirl costume early in the episode. Just to drive the BrokenPedestal home, the kid has a brief scene later, throwing the outfit in the trash.
50	* LastSecondWordSwap: Cat calls Siobhan a "backstabbing, opportunistic little... imp," in a tone that implies that she would like to substitute that last word with something decidedly less polite.
51	* LetsYouAndHimFight: The ComicBook/MartianManhunter vs. ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}.
52	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Despite the effects of the Red Kryptonite wearing off, Kara retains all the KickTheDog moments she did in its influence and breaks down.
53	* MythologyGag:
54	** Bad!Supergirl flicks some peanuts through a bar's bottle wall, like Superman did after he went bad in ''Film/SupermanIII''. (Although we don't have a scene where Supergirl fights herself, [[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E12Bizarro because we've had that a few episodes back]].)
55	** Not to mention the Kryptonite being synthetic.
56	** Just like in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', the Red Kryptonite removes any inhibitions and makes Kara act on erotic and selfish emotions.
57	* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
58	** Maxwell Lord sets a trap for Non, but it instead affects Supergirl and makes her go mad.
59	** Miranda Crane implies that after J'onn's revelation of who he really is, she will distrust aliens again.
60	* NoEndorHolocaust: Not a single casualty is caused by Kara's rampage.
61	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: In order to save Alex and National City from Supergirl's acts of destruction, J'onn reveals his true self and subdues Supergirl long enough to reverse the Red Kryptonite effects. His reward? [[ArrestedForHeroism The DEO incarcerates him and Senator Miranda Crane distrusts aliens again, all because he revealed himself to save the day]].
62	* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: Tough to tell, because we only get a very quick shot of Kara catching Cat, but it does look like she decelerates to the ground once Cat is in her arms.
63	* NotWorthKilling: Kara spares a K'hund just because she believes that the alien isn't worth her time.
64	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Everybody that knows Kara/Supergirl is alarmed after her attitude changes due to the Red Kryptonite.
65	* OutOfCharacterMoment: Maxwell Lord actually being remorseful for creating the red Kryptonite and then willingly working with the DEO on a way to fix it does seem out of character for him based on his past attitude toward Supergirl, particularly during "[[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E12Bizarro Bizarro]]". Possibly justified in Max realizing a rogue Supergirl will be coming after him.
66	* PetTheDog:
67	** Maxwell Lord tries to fix his mistake without being forced to do so.
68	** Cat tries to give Supergirl some comfort at the end of the episode (in her own, special way).
69	* PowerPerversionPotential: Kara's XRayVision allows her to see Winn and Siobhan hooking up in a storage room. Cue {{Squick}}.
70	* PragmaticVillainy: Before Siobhan can send the e-mail with the Supergirl news story to Perry White, Red Kryptonite Kara gets her away from the computer, prints the e-mail, and shows it to Cat. She didn't do this out of loyalty or goodness, just to leave her without work.
71	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Both Cat and Alex get these from Evil!Kara.
72	* RecycledScript: The episode's premise is quite similar to [[Recap/TheFlash2014S1E8FlashVsArrow an early episode]] of ''Series/TheFlash2014'', complete with a showdown between heroes (and the other one being green to boot), TheHero attacking her civilian identity rival (professionally in Kara's case), and the source of TheHero's antagonism being connected to the color red (although Red Kryptonite has existed in the Superman mythos for quite awhile).
73	** In fact, it's lampshaded in [[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E18WorldsFinest The Flash's appearance]] later in the series when Kara explains what happened and Barry tells her how "the same thing happened to [him]" to give her advice.
74	* RingRingCRUNCH: Kara post-Red Kryptonite does a number on her alarm clock.
75	* SheCleansUpNicely: When Kara stops being mousy and dresses to the nines, she looks ''stunning'', if evil.
76	* ShipperOnDeck: Kara looks excited when she notices the closeness between J'onn and Sen. Crane.
77	* SpoilerOpening: Creator/PeterFacinelli being listed in the opening credits is a major clue that Maxwell Lord is responsible for the whole mess. What IS a surprise, though, is that it was actually an accident--he was trying to make ''green'' Kryptonite, and to target Non's crew.
78	* {{Squick}}: Kara is horrified after using XRayVision to see Winn and Siobhan getting real close and intimate inside a closet.
79	* StartOfDarkness: Siobhan getting fired by Cat is implied to set up Siobhan to become Silver Banshee, just like how Leslie became Livewire.
80	* TaintedVeins: Kara's veins occasionally glow with the red Kryptonite.
81	* TemptingFate: During her final rant, Kara states that no one on Earth can stop her. Cue Martian Manhunter.
82	* ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil: Exposure to Red Kryptonite causes Kara to turn evil, and she nearly destroys the city before she is cured.
83	* ThouShaltNotKill: The first words out of her mouth when Supergirl is cured: "Did I kill anyone?"
84	* TookALevelInJerkass: The main conflict of the episode.
85	* TrashTheSet: Kara just loves destroying things in this episode.
86	* UndyingLoyalty: One of the main traits that Cat wants from her employees; unsurprisingly, this gets Siobhan fired (see DeceptiveDisciple above).
87	* VillainProtagonist: Kara herself becomes the VillainOfTheWeek thanks to the Red Kryptonite.
88	* WhamEpisode: J'onn exposes himself as an alien publicly, leading to him getting imprisoned at the DEO. Supergirl loses the public's trust due to her actions while affected by Red Kryptonite, and will have to work hard to earn it back.
89	* WrongGenreSavvy: Cat lampshades how Siobhan thinks that she's the go-getting reporter who will make a big splash by selling the story on Supergirl to Perry White, and Cat will be so impressed by her gumption that she'll hire her back. Cat makes it clear that is ''not'' the case.

Context Recap / Supergirl2015S1E16Falling