Supergirl (TV Series)

The Gauntlet (2021)

Melissa Benoist: Kara Danvers, Supergirl

Photos 

Quotes 

• Supergirl : Do you really not believe in magic?

  Lena Luthor : I believe in you. And in all of us. We'll defeat this, no matter what it's called. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go interrogate a Kryptonian witch.

  Supergirl : Have fun.

• Supergirl : We think that even if the courage totem seemed like an innocuous object before it was hidden...

  J'onn J'onnz : Because it's a magical power source, it could have evolved into a symbol of courage.

  Alex Danvers : So, I have run searches on every known artifact having anything to do with courage, from early human history to present day.

  Lena Luthor : And I've cross-referenced it with items that are still in existence. Coming to you... now, Brainy.

  Brainiac-5 : We apply my algorithm and we get... 64,427 possible totem locations.

  Alex Danvers : Great. So even at Supergirl's speed, that would take us...

  Brainiac-5 : 32 days, two hours, and 38 minutes to check them all. Unless, of course, we hit the jackpot early.

  J'onn J'onnz : [Brainy's computer beeps]  There's a partial facial recognition at the Museum of Science and Technology.

  Brainiac-5 : There's a potential artifact there. A slingshot. And not just any slingshot, the one David allegedly used to kill Goliath.

  Supergirl : Jackpot.

• Sentinel : Oh, sweet! Another dragon.

  Supergirl : Sweet?

  Sentinel : Yeah.

  [conjuring a whip from her gauntlet] 

  Sentinel : This one's mine.

  Supergirl : Alex, wait!

  J'onn J'onnz : Go get him, Alex!

  Supergirl : That dragon is gonna barbecue her unless we stop it. Can you calm it psychically?

  J'onn J'onnz : I admire your concern for your sister, Supergirl. And can I just say how proud I am to have watched you both grow into the strong women you are today?

• Lena Luthor : Okay, I've confirmed it. There was fifth-dimensional energy present at the coffee shop.

  Supergirl : Which is in the museum. The totem. Everyone there must have been affected, including some of you.

  J'onn J'onnz : Us? How?

  Supergirl : Well, Vita told us that anyone around the totem when it split could be impacted.

  Alex Danvers : Well, so what if we were affected? I mean, how bad can overly courageous superheroes really be?

  Supergirl : Alex, you ran *into* the dragon's fire.

  J'onn J'onnz : Alex is such a courageous hero.

  Alex Danvers : Aw.

  Supergirl : Yeah, who's usually a class-A, glass-half-shattered realist. And look at her now. The totem must've given her the courage to be dangerously optimistic. And you encouraged her!

  J'onn J'onnz : I'm just so impressed by her initiative.

  Alex Danvers : [modestly]  Well...

  J'onn J'onnz : I-I-I have to say, I'm impressed by all of you. You're inspirations, each and every one of you. How you handled yourselves, you make me feel...

  [realizing he's been affected, too] 

  J'onn J'onnz : Oh. I see.

  Supergirl : Yeah. Having the courage to openly express your feelings is hurting your ability to make quick decisions.

• Supergirl : Nxyly, hand the totem over.

  Nxylgsptinz : [chuckling in amusement]  No. This one's mine. Better luck next time.

  [seeing she's surrounded] 

  Nxylgsptinz : Cgrzyx.

  [the totem activates] 

  Bryxly : [a flash appears in her mind]  The rest of the troops are in the armory, sister.

  [Kara uses her heat vision to split the totem in half] 

  Nxylgsptinz : What have you done? Mitch, now!

  [as Kara speeds forward, Nxyly is teleported away] 

• Supergirl : So I have to pass my gauntlet before Nxyly passes hers.

  Brainiac-5 : [possessed by Vita's consciousness]  It will not be easy. You'll pay a terrible emotional price. And if you fail, the totem's erratic magic will surge in everyone who was near the totem when it broke.

  Nia Nal : [trying to comfort Kara]  Hey... we're gonna help you.

  Brainiac-5 : Ha! Yeah, right. Rubbish! She who broke the totem must run the gauntlet... alone. Oh, dear.

  Lena Luthor : [he chortles and laughs]  Got it. I've got it!

  Nia Nal : [Vita's consciousness is removed]  Brainy, are you okay?

  Brainiac-5 : What... what happened? Where am I?

  Nia Nal : You okay?

  Brainiac-5 : That wa... I did not like that.

  Lena Luthor : I will go and make sure that Vita can't make any more unscheduled appearances.

  Supergirl : Nia, go help Alex and J'onn try to find Nxyly. I'll go... pay my emotional price.

• J'onn J'onnz : Uh, Mr. Dragon, sir? Two minutes of your time. Just two minutes. Two minutes. So, uh, look. I know you've got a lot of rage going on inside of you, but you don't really want to hurt these people.

  Sentinel : [after being saved by Kara]  Nice catch. Gotta go.

  Supergirl : Wait. Alex, come ba... what's going on?

  [seeing the dragon open its mouth] 

  Supergirl : J'onn.

  J'onn J'onnz : That looks like, uh, fire.

  Supergirl : [using her cape to shield them from the flames]  J'onn, are you trying to reason with the dragon? We need to save everyone. So could you please just... just calm them down?

  J'onn J'onnz : Right. You're right, you're right. These people must be so scared. But they're being so brave...

  Supergirl : [impatiently]  J'onn!

  J'onn J'onnz : Right. Right.

  [as he uses his powers, the dragon reverts to its normal size and Alex picks the lizard up] 

  J'onn J'onnz : She got it. I'm gonna get a coffee.

  Supergirl : Get a coff...

  [confused] 

  Supergirl : What happened here?

• Supergirl : Vita, we need your help. We accidentally broke the courage totem, and now there's fifth-dimensional energy coming out of it.

  Brainiac-5 : [possessed by her consciousness]  Well, that wasn't wise. Breaking the totem unleashes its magic. Anyone within a close radius when it broke will be given a boost of raw, unfiltered courage.

  Supergirl : All those people at the museum have been affected. We could see erratic, even violent behavior all over the city.

  Nia Nal : We were there, too. Why weren't we affected?

  Supergirl : We'll monitor just to be safe. Vita. Hey, Vita!

  Brainiac-5 : Hmm.

  Supergirl : How do we reverse it?

  Brainiac-5 : By gaining control of your half of the totem. Mm-hmm. You understand? This will attract the other half. You follow? Unite them... and quell the magic.

  Supergirl : And to gain control, I have to pass that gauntlet?

  Brainiac-5 : Mm, someone's been paying attention to what I've been saying. Yeah, man. If you are successful, you'll gain full command of the totem.

• Supergirl : What was the word again? Cgyrzyx.

  Totem Oracle : [her half of the totem activates]  Face your past... face yourself... face the moment you lacked true courage.

  Supergirl : What does that mean?

  [in her mind, she finds herself in a bar, seeing a news report about an airplane in trouble] 

  Kara Danvers : This is the night I became Supergirl. Alex was on that plane.

  [after saving the plane, she hears someone else calling for help] 

  Kara Danvers : I remember this. I didn't go because I was afraid I'd be seen.

  Man : [getting mugged]  I... I-I don't have any cash.

  Kara Danvers : [pulling the mugger off and throwing him into a dumpster]  You're safe now. I'll call the police.

  Totem Oracle : [the memory ends]  You have failed.

• Brainiac-5 : I can't wake Nia. I think she's accessed a dream state deeper than she ever has before.

  Supergirl : [realizing]  Because she has the courage to. Vita told me if I failed my gauntlet, the effects would worsen.

  Alex Danvers : Hey, go easy on yourself. You will pass your test.

  Brainiac-5 : And Lena and I can contain the totem's energy until you do. Alex, J'onn, you should monitor the city. There might be more incidents like the coffee shop.

  J'onn J'onnz : Brainy, he has turned into such a wonderful leader.

  Alex Danvers : See? Come on. There's nothing to worry about. We got this.

• Supergirl : Lena, you're back. How was Newfoundland?

  Lena Luthor : Um... very quiet.

  Supergirl : Did you find anything else about your mom?

  Lena Luthor : Honestly, it was kind of a lot to process, so I'd prefer it if we could just jump back into work and maybe you could bring me up to speed?

  Brainiac-5 : We're in a race against a vengeful fifth-dimensional imp named Nxyly to find seven totems before she can use them to wipe us out of existence.

  Lena Luthor : I assume it's this Nxyly that's responsible for the giant cat I saw on the news?

  Supergirl : She was, and we have to stop her. I was just gonna go to the Fortress to see what info I could find. Do you wanna come?

  Lena Luthor : Sure. Have portal, will travel.

• Vita : You seek the AllStone totems? I advise you to stay away from them. Seeking them on Krypton led to the demise of many in my coven.

  Supergirl : Well, we don't really have a choice. So, how do we find them?

  Vita : Oh, if you choose to seek the totems, there are a few rules you must know. Rule one, there is a prescribed order to the totems. The courage totem is first.

  Supergirl : That must be the one Nxyly's after.

  Vita : Rule two, the totems have been concealed as artifacts, hidden over time. Three, you must activate the totem before you can wield it. To do so, you must speak the word "Cgrzyx." Four, to fully control the totem, you must submit yourself to a test of character. This trial will take a deep emotional toll. It will not be pleasant.

  Supergirl : Yeah, but we don't want to control the totems. We just wanna protect them. How did the witches in your coven start their search?

  Vita : On Krypton, we discovered that over the eons, these magical artifacts had an effect on the cultures that grew up around them.

  Lena Luthor : An artifact? That could be anything.

  Vita : Correct. The totems are formidable. May you survive your quest.

• Lena Luthor : This is incredible. Whatever the totem is, it's radiating concentrated fifth-dimensional energy. I mean, that can't be good.

  Supergirl : Well, maybe Vita can tell us more.

  Brainiac-5 : [bringing over a metal contraption containing Vita's crystal]  All right. How does this work, exactly?

  Nia Nal : [as he touches the crystal, purple beams zap his eyes]  Brainy?

  Brainiac-5 : [in a different tone of voice]  Hush, child. The Coluan... is fine.

  Supergirl : Vita, did you possess Brainy?

  Brainiac-5 : Hmm. It's quite refreshing to be embodied. Don't fret. I-I'll put him back the way I found him.

  [touching the circular lights on Brainy's suit] 

  Brainiac-5 : What are these? His nipples?

  Nia Nal : We need to get that witch out of him now.

  Lena Luthor : Yeah, I'm on it.

• Supergirl : Access all Kryptonian knowledge on fifth-dimensional AllStone totems. Here we go.

  [loading a crystal, she's surprised as a hologram of Vita appears] 

  Supergirl : Oh.

  Lena Luthor : You know her?

  Supergirl : Yeah, she's a Kryptonian witch.

  Lena Luthor : [skeptical]  A witch?

  Supergirl : Well, the living memory of one. Her name is Vita.

  Lena Luthor : Well, what does a Kryptonian witch got to do with a fifth-dimensional totem?

  Supergirl : Well, fifth-dimensional energy is magic.

  Lena Luthor : Is the term "magic" really accurate? I mean, it's energy. There must be a scientific logic to it. We just don't understand it yet.

• Supergirl : I wish Mxy's song had given us just a little bit more info, like, I don't know, where to even start looking for the totems.

• Lena Luthor : Any luck with your trials?

  Supergirl : Oh. No, not even a little. How about you and Brainy? Have you managed to contain the totem's energy?

  Lena Luthor : Not exactly. I'm actually on my way to talk to our friend Vita.

  Supergirl : Hmm. Well, at least you two haven't been affected by the totem. I wish we had an explanation for why I can't pass this gauntlet. The test wants me to overcome a moment where my courage failed. It's the night I made my first save as Supergirl, when I saved Alex's plane.

  Lena Luthor : That doesn't sound like a moment where you lacked courage.

  Supergirl : Right? I feel like I was the most courageous then. There's gotta be something more. I mean, what do I do? If I try again and fail, people could get really hurt. But then if I don't try...

  Lena Luthor : The imp could get the totem and all the magic it contains.

• Nxylgsptinz : I trusted you. And you betrayed me. You were my baby brother. There's nothing I wouldn't have done to protect you. I raised you. I wasn't just your sister. I was your most loyal friend. And this is how you repay me? You're going to just turn away from me? I would never have betrayed you. I would never have hurt you. I would never, ever have turned my back on you. Especially for him. I would've died for you. I did die. Right here. You destroyed everything. You destroyed me.

  Mitch : [her vision ends]  What? What-what happened?

  Nxylgsptinz : I broke down and told my brother how his betrayal destroyed me. I failed.

  Mitch : Must've been hard.

  Totem Oracle : [the totem shapeshifts into a red crystal]  You have performed admirably.

  Nxylgsptinz : That was it. The test. That was what they meant by courage. The courage to be vulnerable.

  Supergirl : [at the Tower, her half of the totem glows red]  Nxyly passed her test.

• Supergirl : You're going to electrocute this whole city.

  Dr. Beatrice Lahr : You sound just like my ex-partner, and I will prove you both wrong.

  Supergirl : [using her heat vision to short out the power source]  Tell us how to stop the storm.

  Dr. Beatrice Lahr : You just ruined my life's work!

  J'onn J'onnz : [whooshing in]  Bummer. Look, I feel your frustration. Do you want to talk about it?

• Brainiac-5 : I found the scientist. Dr. Beatrice Lahr. She was working on Project Bolt, an attempt to harness lightning energy... until she lost her funding this morning.

  Supergirl : It has to be her.

  Brainiac-5 : I've also dialed in on the epicenter of the storm. It's... it's right above the Tower.

  Lena Luthor : No, Brainy, it's not. It's not even close. That's your fourth miscalculation today.

  J'onn J'onnz : Brainy! You give us flawless calculations every day. You're allowed to make mistakes from time to time.

  Supergirl : No, he's not. You've been affected by the totem.

  Brainiac-5 : [snickering]  That's ridiculous.

  Supergirl : What's the one thing a Coluan doesn't have the courage to do?

  Brainiac-5 : Be wrong in his calculations.

  [realizing she's right] 

  Brainiac-5 : Oh... have I just spent all day guesstimating?

  Supergirl : I-I'm... I appreciate your newfound courage, but we need to have a plan. Alex...

  [looking around] 

  Supergirl : Where's Alex?

  J'onn J'onnz : She must have rushed out.

  [proudly] 

  J'onn J'onnz : That is just like her. Always thinking of others before herself.

  Lena Luthor : I've located the epicenter of the storm. It's clustering over the waterfront.

  Supergirl : Let's go. Hopefully, we can find Dr. Lahr and Alex there.

• Lena Luthor : Supergirl, that last strike was 800 megajoules. At this rate, we're minutes away from a strike that could electrify the whole harbor and anyone nearby.

  Supergirl : [looking around at the chaos]  Lena, release the totem.

  Lena Luthor : You can still pass the test.

  Supergirl : But if I fail, it will get worse. I need my team functional. I need Dr. Lahr helpful. And none of that will happen unless the totem was restored.

• Supergirl : It was Nxyly. I don't know how...

  Alex Danvers : [helping her sit up]  Here.

  Supergirl : ...but I could feel her emotions. She was... she was triumphant, yet still vengeful. Determined more than ever to get her hands on the next totem.

  Lena Luthor : I couldn't begin to explain it, but it is possible that restoring the totem created a psychic connection between you and Nxyly.

  Alex Danvers : Well, I can't find anything wrong. And your vitals are normal.

  Lena Luthor : Really? She just fainted due to a psychic bond with a fifth-dimensional imp.

  Alex Danvers : Exactly. So whatever's happening between you and Nxyly, our monitors can't detect it. So, do you think Nxyly senses you, too?

  Supergirl : I think so. And I think to fight her, I'm gonna need every bit of power I can find, and then some.

• Kara Danvers : I don't get it. I-I-I always try to be courageous. I don't understand why I can't pass that trial.

  Lena Luthor : I don't get it, either. You've sacrificed yourself for so many people. You literally went to the Phantom Zone to save humanity.

  Kara Danvers : And yet there was still something I was doing wrong.

  Lena Luthor : Well, I may have a way to fight Nxyly without your needing to pass the gauntlet.

  Kara Danvers : How?

  Lena Luthor : So, you know I went to Newfoundland to learn more about my mother.

  Kara Danvers : Yeah.

  Lena Luthor : Well, it's complicated, but it turns out... that... that she's a witch, and apparently, so am I.

  Kara Danvers : [taken aback]  What? That's... seriously?

  Lena Luthor : Yeah. I mean, as you can imagine, this is hard for me. I'm a scientist, but... and I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it yet. But there are things beyond rational law. And apparently, my bloodline is one of them. Science might not be able to defeat what we're up against, but maybe a combination of science and magic can. And I feel like I owe it to everyone to learn as much as I can. And I thought I could start with seeing if I could untether you from Nxyly.

  Kara Danvers : Well, I-I will take all of your help with magic, but, um... but I wanna stay connected to her. It... it could be an asset. If I can sense how Nxyly's feeling, maybe I can sense what she's planning.

  Lena Luthor : I mean, it could be painful and dangerous.

  Kara Danvers : Nxyly is unlike any villain we've ever faced, and if it gives us an advantage, I'm willing to take that risk.

  Lena Luthor : I don't know what that gauntlet was about, 'cause you are the epitome of courageous.

  [with a sharp inhale, Kara pinches the bridge of her nose in pain] 

  Lena Luthor : Kara? Kara, are you all right? Is it happening again?

  Kara Danvers : [the pain subsides]  She's angry. Nxyly's angry.

• Lena Luthor : This storm came on fast.

  Brainiac-5 : It's not following any form of normal weather pattern, either.

  Lena Luthor : There's been 13 ground lightning strikes in the past six minutes. If this storm clusters, we could be looking at a single discharge of over 1,000 megajoules.

  Alex Danvers : That's 50 times the strength of an average strike. It's enough to wipe out every power grid in the city.

  Supergirl : Do you think the totem has something to do with this?

  J'onn J'onnz : Supergirl, I know you like to take things all on your own shoulders. But this is not your fault.

  Brainiac-5 : Actually, it might be.

  J'onn J'onnz : Hold that thought.

• Brainiac-5 : At the coffee shop, I overheard two scientists arguing about something that could "harness lightning." If they had such a device, it could trigger a mega-storm.

  Supergirl : Find them. Cross-reference the security cam footage at the museum with facial recognition. If they started this, they can tell us how to stop it.

  [rhetorically to the totem] 

  Supergirl : How do I pass you?

• Supergirl : Cgyrzyx.

  [her half of the totem activates, and in her mind, she finds herself back in the bar] 

  Kara Danvers : Let's try this again.

• Supergirl : [fighting to keep her totem crystal from escaping]  Do we have anything to contain this? To keep it here?

  Lena Luthor : [putting a case on the table]  This wasn't enough to hold its magic, but it should be able to contain the totem physically.

  [Kara manages to put the crystal inside and Lena shuts the lid] 

• Sentinel : [looking at the lightning storm after being released from the totem's influence]  That can't good.

  Supergirl : Welcome back.

  Dr. Beatrice Lahr : I am so sorry. I just had to prove I could harness lightning. But now that I've supercharged this storm, it'll just keep growing.

  Supergirl : There's gotta be some way we can stop it.

  Dr. Beatrice Lahr : Um... if we had a negative ionizer, that-that... that might prevent the storm from getting bigger.

  J'onn J'onnz : Sentinel, the Hand of the Martian can morph into that.

  Dr. Beatrice Lahr : Be careful.

  Guardian : Don't worry. I got her back. Lena said you needed backup.

  J'onn J'onnz : Glad you're here, Guardian. Now for the remaining cloud cluster. Brainy, if Supergirl circles it, what's the probability of creating an inverse function to disperse it?

  Brainiac-5 : At Mach 4? 87.6%.

  Supergirl : Well, what are the odds if you, me, and J'onn do it together?

  Brainiac-5 : Excellent thinking. I'm on my way.