'Supergirl' "Stand and Deliver": Was the Shooting Strategic or Hateful?

Supergirl has made it hard to root for humanity in recent episodes, and it’s likely that a human once again commits an act of violence at the end of Season 4 Episode 14 — this time against another human. But is this move one based on strategy or in hate? That all depends on the identity of the shooter and motivation behind the act.

Spoilers for Supergirl Season 4 Episode 14 below.

“Stand and Deliver” could have been a bloodbath. Ben Lockwood organizes a rally to support his decision to repeal the Alien Amnesty Act and send aliens home. The aliens put together a peaceful march in protest. Manchester Black and Hat attack as the two sides face off, but the day doesn’t end in tragedy.

Instead, Kara, Nia, Brainy, and J’onn, along with the DEO and the police, manage to put a stop to the violence. Some humans, including Ben’s own assistant, Quentin, step up to help aliens. James picks up a camera again, and his photos begin to change some minds about aliens.

However, just as James is leaving his office at the end of the day, his phone rings. When he turns back to his desk, someone shoots him in the back.

Since it’s hard to be too worried about James — would Supergirl really kill off one of the few humans we can actually root for? — let’s take a look at who could have been responsible for shooting him.

The Children of Liberty

Remember when the Children of Liberty thought that James, as Guardian, could be on their side? They soon learned they were wrong.

Now, his actions are helping to sway public opinion against their beliefs and their leader, Ben Lockwood. Someone in the group may have attacked him in retaliation.

Ben doesn’t even have to be behind the act, though he and James have crossed paths and he may blame James, in part, for the loss he had to take. At the end of the episode, Ben had to announce he wouldn’t follow through with his plan to try to repeal the Alien Amnesty Act.

In Episode 13, we saw that some members of the Children of Liberty weren’t happy with Ben’s leadership. Though he put an end to that by using his Agent Liberty mask to violently beat one of them, that doesn’t mean everyone else is just going to fall in line.

Colonel Haley

Lena may be working at the DEO, but she’s made it clear she doesn’t trust the government. Colonel Haley wants to move forward with Lena’s project to give people superpowers, but Lena says they’re not ready yet.

What if Colonel Haley had one of her soldiers shoot James to put him in a position where Lena’s serum would save his life?

After all, Haley makes it a point to tell Lena that she knows about her previous relationship with James in “Stand and Deliver.”

Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor debuts in the next episode. Though his focus seems to be on the “super” of the characters of the series — he really hates Superman in the extended promo Entertainment Weekly posted — it’s possible that he may have orchestrated the attack against James since James is Superman’s friend.

Lex is such an iconic villain, it’s hard to put anything past him.

Manchester Black

With Manchester Black still out there, we can’t eliminate him from our list of suspects. He, too, may have seen James’ photos from the event. If no one’s speaking out against aliens, then Manchester’s not going to have anyone to attack since he’s going after alien haters.

Someone Else

Maybe there’s a mystery villain out there we have yet to meet. Maybe James was simply targeted by someone full of hate because of his photos. Maybe someone has it out for CatCo and he’s the one to suffer. It could have just been a random act of violence.

Whoever shot James, one thing’s for certain: it’s unlikely this is the end of his story.

Supergirl Season 4 airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Related video: A Pro-Alien March and Anti-Alien Rally in Supergirl Season 4 Episode 14 Trailer