Just when you thought things couldn’t get any heavier, last night’s Supergirl dropped a bombshell. No no, not Winn finally confessing his love for Kara. Nor Lucy Lane teaming up with Cat Grant. But rather Maxwell Lord discovering Supergirl’s identity – and potentially MUCH more in the episodes to come.

So let’s use our X-Ray vision to see through these messes and find out what’s really going on this episode. It’s time to take a Closer Look at “Childish Things”.

The Meaning Behind: “Childish Things”:

So the obvious emphasis of this episode title is clearly pointed at Winn and his father, who by turning toys – “childish things” – into deadly things, took away Winn’s childhood. In short, this episode could be called “Daddy Issues”; but it’s not. So there must be some other “childish things” to see, and this is where things get really well done.

The patient in Lord’s lab is like a “childish thing” in that she is a completely new lifeform being created. As for the real Supergirl, we see the episode start with a scene that shows Martian Manhunter teaching her to fly in a very father/daughter-like moment. Meanwhile back at Cat Co, Cat Grant and Lucy Lane seem to both enjoy the possibility of a partnership in how it can give the other an ace over Lois Lane – a pretty childish spat. In the end, we find that Toyman’s toy weapons aren’t the only things considered partly childish.

Comparing & Contrasting – Hank, Kara, Winn, Toyman & More:

Beyond “Childish Things” of course, we saw a wonderful amount of compare contrast moments between Hank & Kara, Kara & Winn and finally Winn and his father. As the episode begins, Kara tells Hank/Martian Manhunter that he could do so much good if he came out – like she did. Hank believes differently, that unlike Kara HE can do more as human than alien. Though as the episode progresses, we see that there’s more in common with these two’s paths than first though. Hank ultimately does use more of his powers and in doing so does good – discovers part of Lord’s plan – but also causes many new problems as well.

As for Kara and Winn, he see here how both have a “homicidal family member” who wants to reconnect with them. Though unlike Kara and her Aunt Astra, Winn’s father is anything but redeemable. He fails to take any responsibility for his actions and feels that there is no punishment severe enough as long as he gets his revenge. He’d rather drag his son down than do what’s best for him; and this is what leads to our final Compare/Contrast moment.

Winn struggles this episode with wondering how much like his father he is. Both are geniuses, but will both also end up being mad? We see these similarities grow as we learn that Toyman’s problems arose because he never let out his feelings; but instead kept them bottled up. In the end, Winn ultimately does take a different path because he admits to being in love with Kara. What’s next for their relationship remains unseen, but it was something that had to happen and I’m glad Winn finally spoke up. Hopefully these two can get together or at least be friends again, because the alternative is far too sad – but more on that in our Easter Egg section below!

Up, Up & Away – Easter Eggs, Quotes & Other Notables:

• We’ve seen the Martian Manhunter’s shapeshifting and mind reading abilities, but now we see his phase powers as well as his mind wipe technique.
• In the comics, Toyman’s son DOES in fact go bad and become the villain Dollmaker. He’s in fact a Supergirl villain and is obsessed with Cat Grant. Whether Winn will eventually become this remains to be seen; but clues were certainly dropped as to this ‘possibility’. Though I doubt we’d see that happen, but the idea of him going rogue definitely has a nice precedence. And who knows, perhaps Winn has a brother who may follow in his father’s footsteps.

 

How Dire The Lord Situation Really Is:

Sneaking into Lord’s company – disguised as Lord – while he was away might have sounded like an epic idea at the time; but then we remember that Maxwell Lord is no pushover. Sure Hank/Jon discovered that Lord is experimenting on someone – experiments which should have killed her – but the price to Kara, Hank, Alex and the entire DEO might be too high.

Lord had backup footage so he knows an alien breeched the lab. And it’s unknown what other cameras he had so he could have seen Jon turn back into Hank – this implicating the entire DEO. Though on the other end of the plan, we find that Lord planted a covert camera on Alex’s bag, which we see at the end revealed her and Kara (in Supergirl outfit) private conversation – but what else? Could this camera reveal DEO secrets as well as Hank’s identity as the Martian Manhunter?

This seemingly foolproof plan has had so many unintended consequences that you have to wonder if it was worth it. The fates of almost ALL of our characters are in Lord’s hands right now – and none of them know it. When they discover this deception will determine how much more damage is done; but judging from next week’s preview we might have even bigger problems. Could another shape-shifting alien be making its way to Earth, hell-bent on destroying everything. We’ll find out next week on Supergirl!