Livewire (Supergirl)

"Livewire" is the fifth episode in the first season of the CBS television series Supergirl, which aired on November 16, 2015. It was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Caitlin Parrish, and directed by Kevin Tancharoen.

The episode centers on Kara and Alex dealing with an emotional Thanksgiving while a DJ seeks revenge on Cat following an accident.

Plot
At the DEO, Hank gives Kara the rest of the day off after she subdues an alien. At Alex's apartment, Kara worries that their mother, Eliza, will be upset that she has come out as Supergirl. Eliza arrives and is happy to see Kara, but is overly critical of Alex. After delivering a diatribe against Supergirl, Cat Grant orders shock jock Leslie Willis to stop talking about Supergirl on the air. After she objects, Cat demotes her to the traffic chopper. After the helicopter ends up in a thunderstorm, it spins out of control before being saved by Supergirl which is when a lightning strikes Leslie through Supergirl. Eliza refuses to watch the news about the incident, questioning why Alex allowed Kara to put on the costume; Alex leaves, frustrated. After being discharged, Leslie discovers new electricity-based superpowers; she gets a rush from blasting a man with electricity.

At the Danvers' Thanksgiving dinner, the tension between Alex and Eliza is palpable. Kara talks to a bored James, whom she encourages to have fun with Lucy. Alex then reveals she works for the DEO with Kara, in which Eliza, who is displeased by this news, asks if she thinks their father would be proud. After Alex and Winn leave, Kara asks Eliza why she's so hard on Alex. Cat then calls Kara into work because of a power outage. At CatCo, Kara determines they need Winn's help, before Leslie, now calling herself Livewire, attacks them. She transmits herself through the electrical equipment and attempts electrocuting Cat. Kara goes to get security, and returns as Supergirl to fight off Livewire, but finds Livewire is able to absorb her heat vision.

Cat later reveals that her disapproving mother inspired her to become who she is, in order to defy her. She is surprised to learn of Kara's foster mother, only now learning Kara is an orphan. Eliza apologizes to Alex for what she said about her father and for being so hard on her and Alex apologizes for lying about the DEO. Hank determines that the lightning, which went through Kara, entered Leslie's body, turning her into Livewire. He suggests Livewire can be contained using an energy trap from the DEO's armory. Cat agrees to help by acting as bait, demanding an in-person confrontation; Livewire attacks Cat. The trap is damaged in the fight, but Supergirl uses her x-ray vision to find a water main, opens the water main to douse Livewire, short-circuiting her powers.

The next day, Kara gives Winn leftovers and apologizes for her family drama; he, however, is grateful for being included, revealing his father is incarcerated. Kara is then distracted by James and Lucy arriving. Kara meets with Cat, who announces she is going to run a photo essay on soup kitchen volunteers, instead of the usual post-holiday celebrity gossip feature and tells Kara that she wants to know her better. That night, Eliza reveals to Kara and Alex that Jeremiah worked for the DEO. In flashback, Hank tracks down Kara after she used her powers to take Alex on a late-night flight; to prevent the DEO from taking her, Jeremiah agrees to work for them as an expert on Kryptonians. Eliza explains that when Jeremiah supposedly died in a plane crush, he was working for Hank; she has always been doubtful of the explanation. At the DEO, Hank congratulates Kara on capturing Livewire. Kara and Alex resolve to find out the truth about their father.

Release
Due to the November 2015 Paris attacks, the episode "How Does She Do It?", originally scheduled to air on November 16, 2015 as the fourth episode of the season, was pulled from air, due to content in the episode that was similar to the events. "How Does She Do It?" was later scheduled to air as the fifth episode on November 23, 2015.

Ratings
The episode attracted 1,015,000 viewers for its British premiere, making it the 3rd most watched programme on Sky One for the week.

Critical response
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly notes in his assessment of the review, "Thanksgiving’s a bit early this year, or at least on Supergirl it is. Because of the tragic Paris attacks, CBS decided to switch out "How Does She Do It?," an episode about a series of bombings in National City, with tonight’s Thanksgiving-themed episode "Livewire."  Thankfully, the switch doesn’t seem to have hurt the season’s flow, and it was definitely easy to follow along with everything in the episode. In fact, "Livewire" is definitely one of the strongest episodes of the season so far because it focuses on what Greg Berlanti shows do oh so well: family. "

Cliff Wheatley of IGN gave the episode a 7.2, saying, "Livewire" gives us our first really enjoyable villain in Supergirl, while managing to dig a lot deeper into the depths of Cat Grant. The action is fun, Brit Morgan hams it up as the titular villain, and getting some new insight on the Danvers family added some intrigue to the overarching series. Unfortunately, the flip side is drama with Alex and Eliza while Kara’s journey as a hero gets pushed to the side."

Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5 stars.