Childish Things (Supergirl)

"Childish Things" is the tenth episode in the first season of the CBS television series Supergirl, which aired on January 18, 2016. It was written by Yahlin Chang, Anna Musky-Goldwyn, and James DeWille, and directed by Jamie Babbit.

The episode centers on Winn's father, Winslow "Toyman" Schott Sr., escaping from prison in an effort to reconcile with his son while seeking out vengeance, Cat offering Lucy a job at CatCo, and Hank using his powers to find out what Maxwell is hiding at Lord Technologies.

Plot

At the Maximum Security Prison, a pair of guards check on an inmate while they bring him a meal. When they open his cell they assume that he is sick and need medical attention, but soon discover a talking doll on his bed and become his victims of a trap as a yo-yo with blades kills the guards. He then attacks another pair of guards after he escapes in a guard's uniform. The inmate is revealed to be Winslow "Toyman" Schott Sr., the father of CatCo employee Winn Schott Jr.

During a flight together, Kara tries to convince J'onn to embrace his powers and reveal himself to the world, but J'onn refuses to do that, saying he likes his current identity as Hank. They are joined by Alex as the three come up with a plan to find out what Maxwell is hiding at Lord Technologies. Later on at CatCo, Cat offers Lucy a job despite a conflict of interest because of James, but is convinced to take the offer. As James and Winn asks Kara to listen in on the conversation, the news reports of Winn's father becomes the top story and Winn wants nothing to do with it, and when agent Cameron Chase arrived to talk to Winn about his father's whereabouts, Winn tells her that he has not seen his father and wants nothing to do with him. Kara then confronts Winn, who admits that his father, who was a toy designer, was responsible for the death of six people at the company he worked for after his boss took credit for his father's designs, although his boss (the intended target) survived. Winn then shows Kara a doll he received on his desk, indicating that Winslow Sr. wants to meet him at their favorite place, and goes to Cameron to tell her.

Back at the DEO, Alex attempts to convince J'onn to use his powers to infiltrate Lord Industries but J'onn is refusing because it would make him relive his past as the Martian Manhunter. However, Alex does call Maxwell out for a date, giving J'onn time to sneak in and get the information. That evening, as Alex and Maxwell have their dinner (that turns into a conversation over their "association" with Supergirl), J'onn (posing as Maxwell) sneaks in and finds the mystery woman. When J'onn trips over the alarm a guard shows up but J'onn erases his memory and tells the woman he'll be back. When Maxwell returns, he discovers the guard has no memory of anything, including his own family. Meanwhile, Kara questions Cat's reason for hiring Lucy, only to have Cat accuse Kara of making eyes at James. James later discovers Lucy in his office, but he's reluctant to have her working at the company. Lucy wants the job and is upset that he does not support her.

At an arcade, Winn finds his father, who despite his dislike for Winslow Sr., the elder reminds his son that they are much alike. However, as Cameron and her agents closes in on Winslow Sr., they are tricked by a wall of mirrors and tells Winn Jr. to leave as the mirrors collapse. A cloud of gas appears ready to take out the agents but Kara (as Supergirl) arrived to inhale the gas and disperse it into the air. Cameron tells Winn Jr. that she is not convinced that he wants nothing to do with Winslow Sr., leading to Winn Jr. to believe that Cameron wants to have his father killed. Kara tells a reluctant Winn Jr. that she will find his father. Back at CatCo, Winn Jr. realizes that his father must be hiding in an abandoned factory that he use to own and Kara flies off to capture him before the FBI does. When she arrives at the factory Kara is trapped in quicksand and hears a girls voice from an overhead box that is about to be dropped into a shredder. She escapes but discovers a Supergirl doll in the box, allowing Winslow Sr. to escape. At Kara's Apartment, Winn Jr. wants to call Cameron, but Kara talks him out of it and convinces him not go down the same path as his father. After being encouraged by Kara, Winn Jr. tried to kiss Kara but Winn Jr. is rejected by Kara, and he leaves upset. He is then kidnapped by Winslow Sr. and is taken to a warehouse. He reveals that his whole plan is for Winn to kill his former boss, Chester Dunholz so that they can be together in prison. To ensure his compliance Winslow Sr. says that he has hidden ten bombs in random toys at the convention and he will set them off if Winn does not go through with it.

The following day, Cameron shows up at CatCo, where she and Cat are combing for clues to find out if Winn Jr. is working for his father. As Chester Dunholz, makes his speech, Winn Jr. arrives with the weapon (disguised as a plastic gun). As Winn fires the gun into the air Cameron and the FBI agents shoot to kill him, but Supergirl stops them, and uses her x-ray vision to see Winslow Sr. set the bombs on a timer. She opens the sprinklers to create a frozen shield that foils Winslow Sr.'s plans and then subdues him. Afterwards at CatCo, James admits to Lucy that he wasn't enthusiastic about working alongside her but they do kiss and make up. After Kara sees this, she tries to apologize to Winn, who in turn apologized for kissing her but because of his feelings for her is not so sure at this point. Later that evening Kara (who flies in with her Supergirl outfit to Alex's place) admit this to Alex about Winn Jr.'s feelings for her and admits she felt guilty about it. Alex then admits to Kara that she convinced J'onn to infiltrate Lord Technologies, which Kara had reservations but Alex believes he can do it. Unaware to the sisters, and especially Kara (still wearing her Supergirl outfit), Maxwell had planted a recording device in Alex's purse, confirming his suspicions that they're sisters.

Reception

Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode an 8/10 praising Jeremy Jordan's performance as Wynn, the Toyman comic book references and the creepiness of Toyman, but criticizing the Lucy Lane's subplot and the scene with the quicksand.^[1]

Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly noted: "The first part of Supergirl’s season has been focused on Kara finally embracing who she really is and enjoying every moment of that. Well, tonight’s episode finds the people around her, mainly James, Winn, and Hank, grappling with who they are, what they want, and whether or not they are ready for the world to see who they are."^[2]

Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.0 out of 5 stars.^[3]

References

External links

• "Childish Things" at the Internet Movie Database