“Luthors” is episode twelve of season two of Supergirl.
This episode opens in a mansion 20 years ago. A woman – a younger Lillian Luthor it seems to be – is playing chess with a boy when a bald man enters, accompanied by a little girl. Lillian says to the man, Lionel, that they though they’d discussed this. Lionel says that this is what they are doing. He tells the girl, Lena, that this is her new mother. The boy introduces himself as Lex, and says that he’s her new brother, asking if she wants to play chess. Lillian, on consideration, thinks having a sister will be good for Lex.
In the present and Lillian’s trial is on the news that Kara is watching in the alien bar. The reporter mentions Lillian’s attempt to exterminate all alien life in National City in “Medusa”. Mon-El approaches and tells Kara that Lillian is bad news. He hopes after she is convicted that she will be put in the town square for public shaming. They did that on Daxam; it cut back on recidivism. Kara informs him that sort of punishment went away a long time ago. Kara hasn’t seen Mon-El in a while and asks how it’s going with Eve. Mon-El tells her it’s going great. He uses the word ‘great’ so many times that it sounds suspiciously as if it isn’t going great at all.
Kara returns to her table where James, Winn and J’onn are (really need to start calling him J’onn not Hank). This is the first time J’onn has been into the bar since M’gann left at the end of the previous episode, “The Martian Chronicles”, heading home to find more White Martians like herself. Win n is excited to meet Alex’s new mystery man and James asks if they know what he does for a living. It appears that neither of them knows yet. Kara says that Alex i9s dating a cop and Winn is not surprised; he thinks there is no way Alex Danvers will date someone who doesn’t have a gun. Then Alex approaches and introduces Maggie, who they have met before.
Neither Winn nor James knew. J’onn says that of course he knew, he’s psychic, but it’s not for him to say. Mon-El brings drinks over and is introduced to Maggie as well. He asks if that’s a problem here on Earth. Because on Daxam, the more the merrier. As Winn heads to play pool with Maggie, James talks to Kara about Lena. He’s concerned that Lena may be using her. Lena was the one who reported Lillian to the police though, and sabotaged her attempt to kill the aliens.
Lena is in her office – she testified against Lillian – when Kara enters. Not for a quote, but as a friend. One with doughnuts. Lillian wants to see Lena; Kara tells Lena that she has spent most of her life wishing she could talk to people who are no longer here. Lillian still is.
So, Lena goes. Lillian states she still loves Lena (she has a damn odd way of showing it). She explains that Lionel, after Lex was born, had an affair. Lillian states she didn’t know at the time. The affair was with Lena’s mother. When her mother died when she was four, Lena was brought to live with them. So, she is a Luthor, not merely an adopted one. Lionel apparently didn’t like Lillian spending time with Lena. So, she didn’t. Lillian wants a second chance. Later, at the same jail, John Corben – Metallo – has a package thrown into his cell. Inside is something green and glowing.
The next day, Alex and Kara are at Lillian’s trial when Corben is brought on as a witness for the prosecution. He goes on a rant about Lillian being a hero looking to save Earth from aliens, who should be wiped off the planet. Starting with Kara and Superman. The trial is a conspiracy to stop the one woman who wants to save their lives and the lives of their children. The prosecutor asks if she can treat the witness as hospital – and he returns the favour. Corben has a new Kryptonite heart and starts blasting away with it. He frees Lillian and Kara is unable to catch them, because Lillian gave her a choice – catch Lillian or stop people from dying.
At the DEO, Kara is asking Alex where Corben could have got some Kryptonite, as it was supposed to have been disposed of. Maggie is on the phone; Corben had no visitors last night. But Lillian Luthor did. Kara heads to warn Lena that people think she may have visited Metallo as well. Then Maggie arrives to arrest Lena; they have video of her taking Kryptonite.
Everyone seems to think that Lena is guilty. James does too; he tells Kara about how Clark for years thought Lex was his friend, and didn’t believe anyone who said otherwise. Lena could well be playing a long con with Kara, and James intends to prove she’s like the rest of the Luthors. Matters aren’t helped for Lena when Metallo breaks her out of prison. The only person who doesn’t disagree with Kara is Mon-El – after all, she believed in him as well. It also turns out that Mon-El and Eve’s date didn’t go ‘great.’ This is not a surprise.
There are some fragments that do question whether or not Kara is right about Lena. Is she truly different? Or is she simply smarter than Lex and Lillian, and playing a much, much longer game. Then something weird happens at the end of the episode, leading into the next, “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk”.