Livewire (Supergirl)

"Livewire"
Supergirl episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 4
Directed by	Kevin Tancharoen
Written by	Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Caitlin Parrish
Production code	4X7605
Original air date	November 16, 2015 (2015-11-16)
Guest actors
Helen Slater as Dr. Eliza Danvers Dean Cain as Jeremiah Danvers Jenna Dewan-Tatum as Lucy Lane Brit Morgan as Leslie Willis / Livewire

"Livewire" is the fourth episode in the first season of the CBS television series Supergirl, which aired on November 16, 2015. It was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Caitlin Parrish, and directed by Kevin Tancharoen. The episode centers on Kara and Alex dealing with an emotional Thanksgiving while a DJ seeks revenge on Cat following an accident.

Plot

At the DEO headquarters, a hulking humanoid alien breaks free from her restraints and attacks the guards. Kara subdues the alien, even while having a phone conversation with Alex about their plans to spend time together. Hank grants Kara's request for the rest of the day off. At Alex's apartment, Kara worries that their mother, Eliza, will be upset that Kara has come out as Supergirl. Eliza arrives and is happy to see Kara, but is overly critical of Alex. Kara invites Winn and James over for Thanksgiving, but the latter already has plans to be with Lucy.

Shock jock Leslie Willis, a CatCo employee, delivers a diatribe against Supergirl. Cat orders Leslie, her former protégée, to stop talking about Supergirl on the air. When Leslie objects, Cat demotes her to the traffic chopper. Soon after, the helicopter is caught in a thunderstorm, but Leslie stubbornly refuses to cut short her reporting. Supergirl saves the pilot as the vessel spins out of control, but lightning strikes Leslie through Supergirl. Cat visits a hospitalized Leslie, telling her to get up. Eliza refuses to watch a news report on the incident, questioning why Alex allowed Kara to put on the costume instead of looking out for her. A frustrated Alex leaves for work. Leslie is discharged from the hospital, and discovers she has acquired electricity-based superpowers; she gets a rush from blasting a man with electricity when he accosts her in an alley.

At the Danvers' Thanksgiving dinner, the tension between Alex and Eliza is palpable. Kara takes a call from a bored James, whom she encourages to have fun with Lucy. After Winn asks Eliza about her work, Alex—acting on earlier advice from Kara—reveals that she works for the DEO with Kara. Eliza is displeased, and asks if Alex thinks Jeremiah would be proud. Alex and Winn both leave, and Kara asks Eliza why she is so hard on Alex. Their conversation is interrupted when Cat calls Kara into work due to a power outage. Kara arrives and determines that they need Winn's help, and suddenly they are attacked by Leslie, now calling herself Livewire. She transmits herself through the office's electrical equipment and tries to electrocute Cat. After being sent to get a security guard, Kara returns as Supergirl and tries to fight off Livewire, but finds that Livewire is able to absorb Supergirl's eye beams. Cat tries to flee in an elevator, from which Supergirl rescues her after Livewire attacks it.

Having weathered Livewire's attack together, Cat and Kara bond by talking about their families. Cat reveals that her disapproving mother inspired her to become who she is now in order to defy her, and she regrets not being tough enough on Leslie. Cat is surprised to learn that Kara has a foster mother, only now learning that Kara is an orphan. Eliza apologizes to Alex for what she said about her father and for being so hard on her. She explains that she wants Alex to be better than her, and that she does love her and Alex has always been "her supergirl." After Alex apologizes for lying about the DEO, Eliza says there's something she needs to tell both of the girls, only to be interrupted when Alex is called into work.

Hank determines that the lightning that went through Kara's body entered Leslie's, turning her into Livewire. He suggests that Livewire can be contained with an energy trap from the DEO's armory. Cat agrees to help Supergirl by acting as bait for Livewire, demanding an in-person confrontation. When Livewire attacks Cat, Supergirl is there to challenge her. The trap is damaged in the fight, but Supergirl breaks open a water main to douse Livewire, knocking her out as her electrical powers are short-circuited.

The next day, Kara gives Winn leftovers and apologizes for her family drama. But he is grateful to have been included, revealing that his father is deservedly incarcerated. Just as he gives Kara a gentle kiss, she is distracted by James' arrival with Lucy. Kara then meets with Cat, who announces that she is going to run a photo essay on soup kitchen volunteers, instead of the usual post-holiday celebrity gossip feature. Cat also tells Kara that she wants to know more about her.

That night, Eliza reveals to Kara and Alex that Jeremiah worked for the DEO. A flashback shows that Hank tracked down Kara after she used her powers to take Alex for a late-night flight; to prevent the DEO from taking Kara, Jeremiah agreed to work for them as an expert on Kryptonians. Eliza explains that when Jeremiah supposedly died in a plane crash, he was working for Hank; she has always doubted the DEO's explanation. At the DEO, Hank congratulates Kara on her capture of Livewire. Now suspicious of him, Kara and Alex resolve to find out what happened to their father.

Production

Due to the November 2015 Paris attacks, the episode "How Does She Do It?", originally scheduled to air on November 16, 2015 as the fourth episode of the season, was pulled from air, due to content in the episode that was similar to the events. "How Does She Do It?" was later scheduled to air as the fifth episode on November 23, 2015.

Reception

Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly notes in his assessment of the review, "Thanksgiving’s a bit early this year, or at least on Supergirl it is. Because of the tragic Paris attacks, CBS decided to switch out “How Does She Do It?,” an episode about a series of bombings in National City, with tonight’s Thanksgiving-themed episode “Livewire.” Thankfully, the switch doesn’t seem to have hurt the season’s flow, and it was definitely easy to follow along with everything in the episode. In fact, “Livewire” is definitely one of the strongest episodes of the season so far because it focuses on what Greg Berlanti shows do oh so well: family. "

Cliff Wheatley of IGN gave the episode a 7.2, saying, “Livewire” gives us our first really enjoyable villain in Supergirl, while managing to dig a lot deeper into the depths of Cat Grant. The action is fun, Brit Morgan hams it up as the titular villain, and getting some new insight on the Danvers family added some intrigue to the overarching series. Unfortunately, the flip side is drama with Alex and Eliza while Kara’s journey as a hero gets pushed to the side."

Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5 stars.