Truth, Justice and the American Way (Supergirl)

Plot

Non requests Kara pay her final respects to her aunt, whose body floats in a pod and surrounded by Kryptonians, she says a Kryptonian prayer before Astra's body is sent into space. He tells his niece the next funeral will be hers. She warns Alex and Hank of Non vowing to return within two weeks. Kara goes to see Maxwell, who wants to be let out, but she brusquely refuses.

Kara discovers that Cat hired a new assistant, Siobhan Smythe, who Cat introduces as her "number one." Cat also assigns James and Lucy to investigate Maxwell's disappearance. James reminds Kara that Maxwell can't be held because of due process. An escaped Fort Rozz prisoner is cornered by the DEO, but they discover the alien is already captured by an armored attacker. This armored attacker, Master Jailer, kills the alien via guillotine blade. Alex, Hank and Kara later discover, with help from Detective Draper, that missing persons cases match with missing Fort Rozz prisoners and bodies have turned up in the river. Siobhan calls out Kara over slacking on the job after Kara leaves for the DEO. Lucy shows pictures to James, believing Maxwell is being held by a secret government organization that tracks aliens. James accidentally reveals the truth about the DEO, causing Lucy to be jealous of his relationship with Supergirl. At the DEO, they learn that Master Jailer uses the prisoners' identification numbers to track them down. Kara arrives to protect his next target, a professor, but Jailer is victorious.

Cat asks James about Maxwell, saying journalists tell the truth because they want to be good people. James and Kara talk at the DEO, and James wants Maxwell to prove Kara wrong. Alex informs Kara that Master Jailer is Detective Warren. As they arrive to confront Warren, Draper shoots him and reveals that he is Master Jailer. Kara is held prisoner in a cell without her powers, due to the light mimicking the red sun. Alex discovers that Jailer was a Fort Rozz prison guard until landing on Earth and pinpoints his location. She bursts through the ceiling of his ship, underneath an empty cabin, to rescue Kara and the professor. As she fights with Jailer, Alex shoots her gun at the ceiling to let in sunlight. Kara reclaims her powers and defeats Jailer. Kara and Alex decide to let Maxwell go, but Alex warns him that if he reveals anything about Supergirl or the DEO, the police will be given enough information to send him to prison.

The next morning, Siobhan reveals her real goal is to be the next Cat Grant, to which Kara tells her it'll be up to Cat to see who stays. James tells Kara that he might have to tell Lucy that she's Supergirl. Kara asks the AI of her mother about Myriad, only for the AI to threaten self-destruction, before Hank shuts down the device. Kara tells him that she no longer wishes to work with him.

Reception

Cliff Wheatley of IGN gave the episode an 8.8/10: "“Truth, Justice, and the American Way” is a thematically confident episode that tackles one of the major themes of the Superman mythos – one not so subtly displayed in its title. It’s deftly written (Cold War line aside) and makes sure that all of the elements tie together to result in the most important lesson Kara has ever learned. While Lexi Alexander’s direction is ambitious, the budgetary restraints are a burden. Still, despite a few shortcomings here and there, this episode is Supergirl at its best."

Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly noted: "“Truth, Justice and the American Way” spends most of its running time asking what Supergirl is supposed to stand for, which leads to one of my favorite scenes on the show to date. While the villain of the week isn’t that compelling, the questions and issues his presence raises make up for that."

Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3.5 out of 5 stars.