The Supergirl season 5 premiere, "Event Horizon", raised the stakes in the conflict between Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor - and it brought some questions with it. At the same time, it called into question the past of J'onn J'onzz by introducing an old enemy out to destroy the Martian Manhunter and left James Olsen with an uncertain future.
One month has passed since Supergirl's season 4 ending, in which Lena learned Kara's secret. To that end, Lena set into motion an elaborate revenge scheme that started with selling CatCo to Andrea Rojas; an old schoolmate who runs the North American branch of Obsidian. Perhaps not coincidentally, Andrea's first act as owner was to demote Lena's ex-boyfriend James Olsen and appoint herself Editor-In-Chief, before announcing a new direction that would focus on click-bait over quality news content.
Simultaneously, a new alien shapeshifter arrived in National City and stole the rocket that brought Superman to Earth from an exhibit of Kryptonian artifacts. Armed with its engine, there was no limit to the destruction they could have inflicted, but they ultimately used it to power a Phantom Zone projector that released the murderous alien killer Midnight, whom J'onn had once brought to justice. All these events set the tone for Supergirl season 5 and raised a number of big questions.
6. What Will James Do Now That He's Out Of Journalism?
Along with her announcement that CatCo would now be focusing on acquiring clicks rather than presenting real journalism, Andrea announced that all of the current employees had been signed to three-year contracts with strict non-competition clauses. Having already been demoted out of his position, James Olsen elected to resign. This leaves James with an uncertain future, though it does give actor Mehcad Brooks a clean break to leave the series. The question remains as to what James is going to do with his life now that photojournalism is no longer a career option.
5. What Will Be The Fallout of Lena Cheating Andrea?
One aspect of Lena's deal with Andrea was that she would provide Andrea with an exclusive story that would be guaranteed to bring the entire world to CatCo's website. Though Lena did not give Andrea the details of the story, she had planned to use Andrea to announce Supergirl's secret identity. Lena abandoned the plan, however, when Kara confessed her secret identity to her just moments before the scheduled upload. This is sure to be a sore point with Andrea, whom Lena was trying to build a new working partnership with, and is sure to lead to trouble down the line.
4. Why Does Malefic Hate J'onn?
After Midnight is vanquished, J'onn returns to his office to find the alien shapeshifter waiting for him. The cloaked figure wants to see J'onn suffer for his crimes and he says that he will make sure J'onn gets what he deserves, before lowering his hood and revealing himself to be a Green Martian and J'onn's brother. J'onn denies knowing him, to which the other Martian says that J'onn and his father were more evil than he imagined and they would get what's coming to them. Precisely what J'onn and his father might have done to earn such hatred remains unexplained.
3. Why Doesn't J'onn Remember Malefic?
Another mystery raised by the confrontation between J'onn and his long-lost brother is why the Martian Manhunter has no memory of Malefic's existence. It's possible that J'onn's father erased all memory of J'onn's having a brother from his mind, due to whatever happened that caused Malefic to turn upon his family.
2. What Are Lena's Plans For Saving Humanity?
After Lena decides not to share Supergirl's secret identity to the world, her AI-driven digital assistant, Hope, asked if Lena has forgiven Kara for lying to her. Replying that Luthors are scorpions who never forgive an insult and always sting back, Lena explained to Hope that she had a plan to fix all of mankind's problems and that Supergirl would be a useful tool in fulfilling her designs. These plans are sure to be a big part of the story of Supergirl season 5, though it is unclear just what problems Lena is planning to address.
1. What Happened To Eve Teschmacher?
Supergirl season 4's finale ended with the revelation that Eve Teschmacher had been manipulating Lena and Lex Luthor at the behest of a mysterious group called Leviathan. She attempted to flee the city but was caught. However, "Event Horizon" shows Eve in a waitress' uniform, having a bag thrown over her head as she walks to her car. Apparently she had been able to evade Leviathan for the past month, raising the questions of how she managed that when they seemed to have her dead to rights before.