The first of seven all-stone totems was found on this week’s episode of “Supergirl” — but unfortunately, it ended up in the wrong person’s hands. Where Kara failed her courage gauntlet twice, Nyxly only failed once, succeeding on the second try and obtaining the totem in full. So, why exactly did Kara fail her test? “Supergirl” showrunners Jessica Queller and Robert Rovner say fans will find out the truth.
Apparently, Kara’s test all traces back to the “Supergirl” series premiere. On the night Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist) became Supergirl, there was a moment where she lacked true courage. Initially, she thinks it was when she passed up saving someone right after rescuing her sister’s plane, for fear of getting exposed. But that wasn’t it, and it apparently wasn’t any other rescue she ignored that night.
By the end of the episode though, we still have no idea what it was. Well, according to the “Supergirl” executive producers, the clue lies in Nyxly’s revelation at the end of the episode.
“Nyxly explains it in the episode that what the totem wants to see was their vulnerability, and that the courage kind of went in that direction,” Rovner told TheWrap. “And that is something that Supergirl will have to get to the root of on why she couldn’t pass it. The answer lies in that.”
Really, she’s going to have to figure it out quick, because there are still six more gauntlets for her and the Super Friends to go through — each totem has its own. According to the showrunners, the most challenging one will be the love totem. Queller notes that it will be the most brutal, “in terms of what it will put our characters through to achieve saving the love totem.”
“They all have a particular burden on the characters,” Rovner added. “One of the exciting things about this season is that in addition to trying to defeat our big bad, each episode is thematically tied to the totem that they’re going after. So that allows us to explore deeper character things as well so we’re excited that the storytelling gave us that ability.”
That said, one love story that fans can probably rest a bit easier thinking about is that of Kelly and Alex (a.k.a. Dansen). Series star Azie Tesfai previously told TheWrap that they have some “big life stuff” on the way, and Queller and Rovner agree.
“We don’t want to spoil it but their love story deepens and and becomes central focus as the season goes on,” Queller noted.
Meanwhile, the dream totem is also going to be a big one for Nia (Nicole Maines). Rovner confirmed that fans won’t find out what exactly that super deep dream she was in during “The Gauntlet” was, but that the dream totem will certainly open things up for her.
Regardless, the things that lie ahead clearly won’t be easy for the Super Friends. Between the return of Lex, his wooing of Nyxly, and Andrea Rojas stirring up more problems as Acrata, these final episodes will truly be a series of gauntlets.