Forgive them, father, for they know not what they do.

This episode is chock full of daddy issues, with Kara’s sidekick Winn taking center stage in this Freudian drama. When a man escapes from prison by way of a deadly shuriken/yo-yo combo, the news report that follows identifies him as the Toyman—finally the Winn Schott/Toyman connection is revealed. Comic readers identified Winn Schott as the name of Supergirl’s foe shortly after the show premiered, but it was unclear if and when the connection to Kara’s co-worker was going to take place. Turns out, the Winn we know is Winn Junior, and his dad is the villainous genius inventor with the background in toy making.

Winslow Sr.’s (Henry Czerny) debut also brings along with it the introduction of FBI agent Cameron Chase (Buffy’s Emma Caulfield). Readers already know Chase well as an agent of the D.E.O.; the power structure of said agency might need to be retooled on the show if J’onn J’onzz ever decides to go full-time with the superhero shenanigans. Methinks we’ll be seeing more of her in the coming months, even if she has relatively few lines throughout this episode.

While Kara is sidetracked with Toyman, her sister Alex and the rest of the D.E.O. further investigate exactly what Maxwell Lord has been up to, and why the Fort Rozz gang were so intent on attacking his building. Alex decides to play decoy and draws Maxwell from his base, while J’onn/Hank/Martian Manhunter infiltrates the lower levels of the Lord building to find out what he’s involved with. It’s there that J’onn, shapeshifting as Maxwell, discovers the semi-comatose Jane Doe patient that is presumed to be the proto-Bizarro Supergirl. When a security guard interrupts J’onn’s investigation, he has to leave the building without a change to save the nameless woman. It was only at Alex’s insistence that J’onzz agreed to the covert mission, because he doesn’t like having to use his deadly powers against morally dubious lackeys just to escape. It’s clear that the mind-wipe he performed on the Lord security guard was not his first, and I’m betting we’ll see some far worse Martian trickery in inevitable flashbacks.

Later, after a one and a half run-ins with Toyman, Supergirl finally comes to Winn’s defense, facing Winslow Sr. at the National City Toycon. Winslow (and Winn, for that matter) are perfect examples of passive-aggressive behavior gone awry. Winslow was jailed for his pent-up retaliation toward a bully from his professional life, and Winn—despite viewer hopes that he wouldn’t go down this road—is turning into the Rejected Nice Guy with a Grudge archetype after he impulsively kissed Kara. Throughout the episode, Winn repeats how much he doesn’t want to be like his father, but he keeps saying so in the most blatant I’m-still-going-to-turn-into-my-father kind of way. It’s a pretty solid performance from actor Jeremy Jordan, all around; he definitely epitomizes Winn’s inner turmoil throughout the episode.

If Winn winds up as another of Kara’s enemies, however, she’ll end up with more enemies who know her secret identity than friends, because …

Maxwell Lord knows who Supergirl is now. He plants a camera in Alex’s purse during her decoy distraction date, and wouldn’t you know, it ended up pointed directly at Kara’s couch by the end of the night. The couch where Alex and Kara (still decked out in her supersuit) wistfully converse about sisterhood and life and boys. I knew he was going to be a pain for Kara, but I thought they were going to string this reveal out a little longer.

We are officially at the halfway point of the first season now. Supergirl was picked up for 20 episodes, and the 11th airs next week. How did you feel about the episode? Sound off in the comments below!

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Notable Quotables:

“As much as I love watching you millennials deny your feelings, I pay you not to have them.” – Cat Grant

“Here’s to the Danvers Sisters. We should come with a warning.” – Alex Danvers

Blink and you’ll miss it:

Winn’s desk is covered with a collection of assorted toys, which all through the series have been foreshadowing his connection to Toyman. At the beginning and the end of the episode, Winn is shown playing generic versions of popular licensed video games, including a Minecraft look-alike.

Listen for:

“Heartbeats” (The Knife cover) by Daniela Andrade & Dabin

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Image: CBS