How Does She Do It?

"How Does She Do It?"
Supergirl episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 5
Directed by	Thor Freudenthal
Written by	Yahlin Chang Ted Sullivan
Production code	4X7604
Original air date	November 23, 2015 (2015-11-23)
Guest appearances
Peter Facinelli as Maxwell Lord (special guest star) Levi Miller as Carter Grant (special guest star) Jenna Dewan Tatum as Lucy Lane (special guest star) Scott Michael Campbell as Ethan Knox Rich Ceraulo as Agent Hartmann Tristin Mays as Paulina
Episode chronology
← Previous "Fight or Flight" Next → "Livewire"
Supergirl (season 1)
List of episodes

"How Does She Do It?" is the fifth episode in the first season of the CBS television series Supergirl , which aired on November 23, 2015. It was written by Yahlin Chang and Ted Sullivan, and directed by Thor Freudenthal.

The episode centers on Kara dealing with babysitting Cat Grant's son while on vacation while tackling a series of attempted bombings that threatens National City.

Plot

Flying around National City, Supergirl destroys a drone following her. She suspects Hank is watching her, but he denies it, and Alex tells Kara to trust him. When Cat receives an award but must go to Metropolis for the event, Kara volunteers to babysit her son Carter. James discovers Lucy has come to National City to pursue him. An explosion sends Supergirl racing to a skyscraper, saving it from collapsing. Alex tells Hank that the drone belongs to Lord Technologies. They confront Maxwell about the drone and the explosion, but he is uncooperative. Hank instructs Alex to keep on eye on Maxwell, who explains his dislike for Supergirl.

At CatCo, news of Supergirl saving the building gets the attention of Carter, who is a big fan. At Lord Technologies, Alex calls Kara after discovering a bomb in the building. Carrying the bomb into the atmosphere when it detonates, Kara is knocked unconscious into the ocean. Waking up at the DEO, Kara realizes she forgot about Carter. Kara confirms to Lucy that James is not seeing anyone, and convinces James to fight for love. Lucy returns to see James, and they kiss.

The DEO learns that a former employee of Lord Technologies, Ethan Knox, is behind the bombs. When Max learns that the launch of his new rail system is the next target, he refuses the DEO's help – his parents were scientists killed due to poor safety conditions, leading to his distrust of government agencies. Left in Winn's care, Carter disappears. A decoy bomb is planted at the airport, but Kara is fixated on finding Ethan as Carter, looking for Supergirl, is pushed onto the train. Spotting Ethan aboard the train, Supergirl orders everyone else to another train car. She tries to reason with Ethan, who claims he is acting on behalf of his daughter and activates another bomb. Supergirl disconnects the car from the rest of the train, saving everyone before Ethan blows himself up. At the DEO, Kara helps Alex defuse the fail-safe in the decoy bomb.

Cat learns that Carter met Supergirl, and refuses to let Kara watch him again. Kara catches James and Lucy kissing. Supergirl visits to Maxwell's penthouse, suspecting he had been paying Ethan's daughter's medical expenses, and used the bombings and drones to test her. Maxwell denies this, but Supergirl says she will be watching him.

Release

This episode was originally scheduled to air November 16, 2015, but due to the November 2015 Paris attacks, it was pulled because the content in the episode was similar to the events. ^[1] As a result of this move, CBS moved the episode "Livewire" up to November 16, 2015. ^[2]

Reception

Ratings

The episode attracted 1,021,000 viewers for its British premiere, making it the 2nd most watched programme on Sky One for the week. ^[3]

Critical response

Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly called the episode a "dud". ^[4]

Cliff Wheatley of IGN gave the episode a 4.5 out of 10, saying, “'How Does She Do It?' is a pretty dull episode of television by any standard, and unfortunately Benoist and a few funny lines aren’t enough to save it. There are too many characters getting a lot of screen time (and Cat not getting enough) without enough presence to keep them interesting, storylines that we’re not invested in, and action that’s not exciting. This episode would have been better left unaired". ^[5]

Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5 stars. ^[6]

References

1. Ausiello, Michael (November 15, 2015). "CBS Replaces Monday's Terrorism-Themed Supergirl, NCIS: Los Angeles Episodes in Wake of Paris Attacks". TVLine. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
2. "About this Show: SUPERGIRL (CBS)". The Futon Critic . Retrieved November 25, 2015.
3. "Weekly top 10 programmes". www.barb.co.uk. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
4. "Supergirl: How Does She Do It?" from Entertainment Weekly (November 23, 2015)
5. Wheatley, Cliff (November 23, 2015). "SUPERGIRL: "How Does She Do It?" REVIEW". IGN. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
6. "Supergirl Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Fight or Flight" from TV Fanatic (November 23, 2015)

External links

• "How Does She Do It?" at IMDb