“Triggers” is episode two of season three of Supergirl.
Morning, and Kate and Maggie, Kara and Samantha and Ruby, Samantha appearing to have superpowers in the previous episode, “Girl of Steel”, are getting ready. Kara finds a book Mon-El had written in. Samantha drops Ruby at school; Ruby asks who helped her mother lift the tower. She doesn’t believe that Samantha could do it just from an adrenaline rush.
Lena Luthor has bought CatCo and Eve greets her, followed by James. James suggests weekly meetings to get her up to speed. Lena is planning to be there every day. Kara greets Lena too. Lena doesn’t need an office either; she’s going to be roaming free. She mentions the Edge investigation to Kara, but Kara gets a message and says she has to go.
Kate and Maggie are arguing over something at the DEO and Kate tries to drag Winn in. J’onn breaks in; it seems they’re arguing over a band or a DJ at the wedding. Supergirl arrives; she got the general alert. Two banks have been robbed by a woman who just walked in the front door. She’s now robbing another. The silent alarm is triggered and Supergirl flies there. The bank robber isn’t remotely bothered. She suggests Supergirl join her. Money equals happiness, and she’s getting more money. The robber looks at Supergirl, who is affected by something and staggers back. Maggie and the police arrive and Maggie finds Supergirl in the vault, struggling.
At the DEO, Supergirl is told her vitals are fine. None of the human victims remember anything. Supergirl felt claustrophobic; Kate says she used to have episodes like that when she first came to Earth. J’onn scans Supergirl for residual psychic activity. A psychic, but not like him. A metahuman.
Samantha is called to school; Ruby got in an argument with another girl and hit her. Both the principal and Samantha agree that’s not like Ruby.
Kara returns to work because Lena called a meeting in the news room. Lena didn’t tell James, which he brings up with Lena, as Kara gets another alert.
Supergirl confronts the bank robber again and J’onn tries to create a psychic shield. It doesn’t work and he collapses and the woman’s powers are used on Supergirl, who sees her mother, her pod leaving the dying Krypton and being hit by debris when the planet exploded, leaving her adrift.
At the DEO, J’onn says the woman is more powerful than any psychic he’s encountered. Winn has an ID; Gayle Marsh, who one day snapped and started robbing banks. They need to upgrade their psychic dampening tech. Supergirl speaks to Winn alone, explaining she knows that Marsh is using fear and that she relived the last moments of Krypton and floating through space.
This all creates a problem for Supergirl; she’s not having much luck stopping the robber because every time she tries, she’s brought low by her fears. And Ruby is convinced her mother has superpowers.