Supergirl season 1, episode 10, “Childish Things,” aired tonight. Read our recap and discuss the episode with fellow fans!
Winn and his father
Winn’s father, the supervillain Toyman, breaks out of prison and immediately makes contact with his son. He wants Winn back in his life as well as revenge on the man who took his chance to be Winn’s father away from him. This is some pretty faulty logic, as Toyman only went to prison because he murdered people. But hey, he’s a supervillain. Logic isn’t exactly his forte.
Winn wants nothing to do with his father. He also confesses to Kara that he’s afraid of becoming his father — that his genes are a ticking time bomb. And, to be fair, many fandom theories have proposed the same thing. Later, Toyman kidnaps his son and blackmails him into killing the man who stole his toy designs. He’s planted bombs around the National City Toy Convention, and he’ll set them off if Winn doesn’t cooperate.
Winn realizes they’ll both go to prison, which is exactly what Toyman wanted — complete assurance that he and his son will be together. Because nothing says father-son bonding like spending time together in prison. But hey, supervillain logic. Winn starts to go through with it, but Supergirl arrives to save the day, and Toyman goes back to prison.
This storyline does some interesting things for Winn’s character, as it gives us more information about where he comes from and his deepest fear — that he’ll become like his father. He’s kept his father’s identity a secret out of shame, and we have to wonder if part of Winn is motivated to help Supergirl as a means for atoning for his father and his own potential for evil. It would have been interesting to hear Toyman’s views of Winn being friends with Supergirl, but with him alive, perhaps he’ll return in the future.
Notably, Winn also learns from this. He realizes that his father spent years bottling up his emotions and snapped when he had his toy designs stolen. Winn is no longer going to bottle up things, including his feelings for Kara.
Winn and Kara
Speaking of Kara, she acts as Winn’s support system during this episode. There’s only so much she can do for him besides be there. And when she reminds Winn of their friendship, he takes it as a romantic signal and kisses her. Kara, who sees Winn as a friend only, pulls back. Later, Winn apologizes for kissing Kara. She wants things to go back to the way they were, but Winn confesses his feelings for her. Kara doesn’t know what to do with them and leaves.
Besides giving us insight into Winn, this story also humanizes him. He’s been a polarizing character over the first ten episodes. For some viewers, he’s completely sympathetic in his pining for Kara while for others he’s the epitome of a Nice GuyTM. Winn’s tearful confession is heart-wrenching, though the true test of his character will come in the wake of Kara not returning his feelings.
J’onn
The other main plot of this episode is Alex encouraging Hank/J’onn to embrace and use his Martian powers. The DEO is still investigating why the Kryptonians were after Maxwell Lord, so Alex goes out with him to a formal dinner while J’onn uses his powers to find out what is in Room 52, which James was beaten up for discovering. J’onn ends up having to destroy the memories of a guard when he was discovered, and he feels guilty.
Now that we’re starting to get to know J’onn, we’re learning a bit more about why he has taken human form. He says he once tried to be J’onn J’onzz on Earth but was hunted, giving a sense of history. He believes the world needs Hank more than J’onn because the world isn’t ready for someone like J’onn; the planet’s resident alien heroes, Superman and Supergirl, look human so they seem less threatening.
J’onn also has an underlying sadness to him. As the last son of Mars, he’s lost his family and his entire race. He’s lonely and he seems hesitant to get too connected to either Alex or Kara, perhaps out of fear of losing them as well. Kara’s love and enthusiasm are infectious, though, so no doubt she will have her own effect on him.
Also worth noting
- Alex and Maxwell continue that weird, flirtatious dance they’ve been doing since they first met. Maxwell ends up bugging Alex’s bag, and he sees Alex and Supergirl together and discovers they are sisters.
- J’onn discovers Jane Doe in Room 52 and promises to come back for her.
- Cat Grant offers Lucy a job as her personal attorney. Lucy contemplates the job and asks for James’ opinion. James seems less than thrilled, which Lucy believes to be about their relationship. After Lucy accepts the job, though, James admits that he was jealous of Lucy’s enthusiasm for her work. He doesn’t love his work; he misses being out in the field.
- Buffy alum Emma Caulfield guest starred as FBI agent Cameron Chase. This felt like a pretty minor role for a well-known actress in the genre, so hopefully she’ll be back.
Watch a promo for the next episode
