Did ‘Supergirl’ Just Reveal How Kara Ended up in the Phantom Zone?

Spoilers for the Supergirl episode, ‘Triggers’, below.

When Psi (Jane the Virgin‘s Yael Groblgas) uses her powers of psychic manipulation on people it traps them in their greatest fear long enough for her to carry out her villainous deeds — in this case robbing as many banks as she can. It’s a power that even Supergirl is not immune to. When Psi attacks Supergirl, the Girl of Steel finds herself going back to the day she left Krypton.

While reliving the past clearly traumatic for Kara — Alex even reminds Kara that she had episodes similar to claustrophobia when she first arrived on Earth — it’s possible that in addition to seeing Kara’s final goodbye to her family and world we might be getting a glimpse of how Kara ended up in the Phantom Zone.

In the show’s pilot episode, we learn that Kara Zor-El is sent to Earth to look after her cousin, Kal-El with the both of them being sent there because Krypton is imploding. However, Kal-El makes it to earth where he grows up to become Clark Kent/Superman while Kara’s ship is knocked into the Phantom Zone for 24 years before she makes it to Earth. In the memories Psi’s psychic manipulation brings up, fans actually see young Kara’s departure from the dying Krypton from her point of view.

Into the Phantom Zone?

In the scene Kara’s mother tries to reassure her, telling her that she will have amazing powers under Earth’s yellow sun and will do extraordinary things before the pod seals closed and the future Supergirl is hurtled out of the launch area. We can hear her labored frightened breathing as her ship travels up from the dying Krypton and then she is in space. Just ahead of her, Kal-El’s pod makes the hyper speed jump to head into the universe and towards Earth, but before Kara’s can follow suit, Krypton implodes. The control screen of her pod turns red to indicate a threat and then we see pieces of Krypton striking the ship, spinning it around and off course.

Kara comes out of the flashback before we can see what happens next, but one can only guess that when her ship powers up to leave Krypton’s orbit, it’s been sent so far off course by the collisions with Krypton’s remains that next stop is not Earth, but the Phantom Zone. While the detour ultimately has a positive ending, with Kara eventually making it to Earth and discovering that her cousin also arrived safe — not to mention grew up to be the hero Superman — reliving her final moments on her home while also reliving the death of everyone and thing she loved clearly has an impact. Hopefully one that won’t stop her from taking down Psi and saving National City.

Supergirl airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.