“City of Lost Children” is episode twenty of season two of Supergirl.
The episode opens at night in the rain and a woman is followed by two men. James, as Guardian, appears and takes them down. The woman seems to eb at least as scared of James as she was of her attackers.
The next day, Kara is having lunch with Lena, and talking about NSYNC and Justin Timberlake. Lena apologises for being busy, as she is working on a top-secret project. She promises to tell Kara as soon as she can. Lena is working with a new partner, and she’s sure that Kara will love her. No, she really won’t – in the previous episode, “Alex”, Lena agreed to work with Rhea. Rhea calls – shame Kara didn’t use her superhearing to eavesdrop – and Lena says she has to go.
James is at a market when Winn bumps into him. Not by accident. Winn wants to know what happened last night. James explains about the woman, and how it is happening a lot. People just see a big guy in a scary mask and run away. Just like Clark’s friend. Winn thinks they are frenemies rather than friends – they are probably talking about Batman. James doesn’t feel like the beacon of hope he wanted to be. Superman and Supergirl inspire hope. Guardian inspires fear.
At this point, an alien woman’s eyes start to glow purple and the ground shakes. The woman blasts a cop into a stall and then starts levitating. Winn calls in a hostile telekinetic and the woman throws a car at a building. Fortunately, Kara catches it.
At the DEO, Alex and J’onn are concerned that the media are stirring up fear and will cause a witch hunt. Winn has ID’d the alien as a Phorian. J’onn knows them, but didn’t know there were any on Earth. They are normally benign telekinetics. They are also telepathic, like Martians. James offers to help but he’s told it’s DEO business.
Lena is dining with Rhea in a restaurant; the first test didn’t go well. Rhea reassures Lena; she has faith in her. As Rhea leaves the restaurant, Mon-El glimpses her, briefly. Which is a shock.
Guardian interrupts a drug deal between an alien and a human. The alien is shook up and asks James not to shoot him. It’s just a little bag of weed. For anxiety. The alien is probably going to need a much larger bag now. The alien also knows where James can find the alien woman responsible for the resent attack. James heads to the house; the woman isn’t there but her son is. Who is also afraid of James, until James removes his helmet.
The boy, Marcus, is brought into the DEO but Alex isn’t having much luck with him. Winn, who is outside with James and J’onn, suggests that they give Marcus action figures. It would have worked for him. James doesn’t think this is the best way to go about it. Alex, on exiting the interrogation room, agrees. All Marcus is doing is looking at the camera. Then she realises he’s actually looking at James. So wants James to speak to Marcus, in a more conducive environment, and J’onn agrees.
Mon-El asks Winn to just check that his parents’ ship isn’t in orbit. Winn already did that, but does it again. Yes, the skies are clear. The device Lena and Rhea are building still isn’t working and Lena mentions Lex, who is supposed to be the smartest man on the planet. So, Rhea tells Lena that Lena is smarter than Lex and to stop trying to solve the problem like Lex would, and solve it the way she would.
The more conducive environment that James takes Marcus to is CatCo. In James office, Marcus has a look at James’ cameras. Including the broken one that James’ father gave him. James mentions that his father was a soldier, and that he passed, and Marcus finally speaks. His father was a soldier too, and he also died.
Mon-El comes in to CatCo and tells Kara he thought he saw his mother. He didn’t feel anger, though; he felt other stuff. He hates that he still cares about her. Kara reassures Mon-El; Rhea is still his mother. Elsewhere, Lena has solved the problem with the portal, and a giant purple stargate activates. And Marcus’ eyes turn purple, just like his mother’s did. He doesn’t seem to be in control of his powers, but he could still bring the building down.
Mon-El is still struggling with his feelings about his mother and James is trying to help Marcus and his mother.
Rhea has not been entirely honest – shocker! – with Lena about why she wanted the portal building. Which leads into the next episode, “Resist”.