Lena plays chess, and she's good at it, but does that mean Kara is just a pawn in her overall scheme? 

Supergirl Season 2 Episode 12 left a lot open to interpretation! 

Join TV Fanatics Steven Ford, Kathleen Wiedel, Jim Garner, and Yana Grebenyuk as they discuss Lena's back story, the synthesized kryptonite, and the appearance of Mr. Mxyzptlk. 

What did you think of the flashbacks and learning Lena is a Luthor by blood?

Steve: First off, let me just say that I'm super glad that we're bringing Lena back into the fold. I've been waiting to dive deeper into her story and relationship with her mother. As far as the flashbacks go, I rather enjoyed them as they are far and few between in this series and is refreshing when they do appear.

I'm a fan of Arrow and flashbacks are a staple of that series, and while the flashback this season are much improved, it can get tiring at times. So, the flashbacks were a nice treat on this episode.

Since Lena is truly a Luthor, it begs the question on whether Lena will follow the trend of ruthlessness her name carries or break the cycle. Time will tell.

Kathleen: I pretty much agree with everything Steve has to say. It's nice that they're not overly relying on flashbacks as a crutch with this series, and what we do get tends to be relevant and intriguing.

It was a surprise to discover that Lena actually is a Luthor after all, for one thing, and it opens up a whole new can of worms when trying to figure out where they're taking the character.

Jim: I'm with Steve on this one, I'm thrilled that they are bringing Lena back into the show. I'm really hoping she stays "good" as another evil Luther would just be SO over used.

Yana: It was cool. I don't know much about all the backstory, I mostly watch the show for the characters like they are on the show. Lena is a wonderful addition this season and I'm really hoping that she sticks around.

Do you think Lena will stay on the side of good, or will Lillian succeed in luring her to the dark side?

Steve: As I mentioned in my previous comment, it's an interesting predicament. I actually like Lena and she has the ability to become a true ally to Kara, which would be a nice change of breaking the evil Luthor cycle. However, I still don't fully trust her. She has Luthor blood and is more than capable of being wooed over to the dark side.

Kathleen: I really, really hope she doesn't turn out to be evil. That would send all sorts of bad messages, like "if your family is evil, you're evil, too." And, to be honest, it's far more interesting to watch her struggle against the evil her family has already done (and may still do in the future), and how everyone perceives her due to this.

Jim: I'm praying she stays on the good side. As mentioned above, all Luthor's being evil just seems cliche and over done.

Yana: I wouldn't mind either way but they spent a whole episode proving that she wasn't part of the dark side that tempted her family. Changing that now would be useless in my opinion.

Kara chose being Supergirl over James, but now Mon-El has her realizing she can have it all. Would you be angry if you were James? Do you think he still has feelings for Kara?

Steve: I could see being upset if I were James. It's obvious he still has feelings for Kara, they don't just disappear. I feel his Guardian persona is directly related to that and is his way of dealing with Kara's rejection and wanting to feel needed in some other way, such as being a hero.

If James can't be by her side romantically and isn't comfortable just being friends, he's going to be by her side in another way.

Kathleen: Steve brings up a really good point regarding James's drive to superheroics. The fact that Kara is apparently more interested in fellow extraterrestrial Mon-El than she is James only complicates the matter.

To be fair to Kara, she had to come to her personal realization in her own time; it's not something that can be forced along.

Jim: I'm hoping that they have become close enough friends that he realizes that they would have never worked. Then he could be happy for his friend Kara.

Yana: I don't think James would be angry but I sure am. This is again so very annoying and so bland. Everyone around Kara is convincing her that she likes or should like Mon-El, and it isn't the greatest thing to keep watching.

If she broke up with James for this exact reason, what will her being a hypocrite accomplish? It makes no sense and I just want Kara to be single.As for James, I think he still has feelings for Kara but more importantly he loves her as a friend and lately she hasn't been the greatest one, Mon-El can be to blame for some of that.

Do you think the synthesized kryptonite will play a part in Cadmus' future plans?

Steve: It will most certainly come into play. It reminds me of Superman III when Richard Prior's character Gus synthesized kryptonite, and while it didn't hurt Supes, it had other adverse affects.

Supergirl already sort of did this story with the red kryptonite in Supergirl Season 1 Episode 16, but it would be interesting to see different effects from this faux kryptonite.

Kathleen: Yikes. There were enough issues when kryptonite was simply being stockpiled, but now they're actually making the stuff, too. This cannot be good news for our Kryptonian superheroes, that's for certain.

I wonder if this will force Kara to rely more heavily on, say, Mon-El and J'onn, who aren't vulnerable to the stuff but still have a similar powerset to her. Cadmus would be foolish to let such a potential advantage fall by the wayside.

Jim: I can't believe Steve remembered Superman III for that part. Ok, is it sad that I remember what he actually used to fill in a missing chemical in Superman 3? And absolutely its going to come back into play! Duh!

Yana: Maybe? It's too serious not to bring back later to raise the stakes.

What are your thoughts on Mr. Mxyzptlk and his untimely appearance?

Steve: Mr. Mix...Miks...Mikt...the guy who we're talking about is one of the lesser known villains of the DC universe, and I'm excited to see what the show has in store for this character.

He's not necessarily a villain per se. In the comics he's just an annoying little troll looking fellow from another dimension that constantly appears to torments and interrupt Superman at the most inopportune time.

However, based on his introduction at the end of the episode, it appears the writers are going the route of an interdimensional stalker who's in love with Kara. I am surprised though by the choice to not go with a dwarf actor for this character, or even using CGI.

Then again, I can understand the decision to forgo the CGI in favor of a live actor due to budget concerns. It was a cool tease/cliffhanger though and I'm looking forward to seeing how Mr. Mixl...Mick...Mikel...whatever his name is, fits into the picture.

Kathleen: Not being familiar with the comics, I am forced to rely on basically what I saw. And it was definitely ridiculous, though not in a bad way. I hope they make the most of the opportunity to use a villain who is not necessarily doing things for The Evulz, or because they have some grand, universe-altering plan.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where they take this!

Jim: For Steve, phonetic pronouncement is: Mix-el-plick-ta – OR at least was from the cartoon. I have to admit that I'm very curious how he will be worked into the story.

Yana: Again, I don't know the back story or the reference so watching this random dude pop up was funny. He saved me from getting annoyed too much at that Kara/Mon-El scene so I can't wait to see where this goes.

Stacy Glanzman was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in March, 2019.