Supergirl (TV Series)

Deus Lex Machina (2020)

Jon Cryer: Lex Luthor

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Quotes 

• Eve Teschmacher : I convinced Gamemnae I would be most useful as Obsidian, on the Platinum project.

  Lex Luthor : Well done. You are brilliant.

  Eve Teschmacher : Well, we do have one small problem. The Luthor tech that your sister convinced Andrea Rojas to put into the Platinum infrastructure, it helped solve the bio-link when people were getting toxic shock eating virtual food.

  Lex Luthor : I like to refer to that as the lobster problem. Or rather, middle America's desire to be gluttons without calories.

  Eve Teschmacher : Well, it caused a glitch. But..

  [showing him a video file of Kelly and Richard Bates] 

  Eve Teschmacher : Don't worry, I found a way to patch the glitch.

  Lex Luthor : That's not a glitch. That's my plan.

• Lillian Luthor : The past is the past. Best to focus on the future. In this world, the Luthors are revered. How do we maintain our status?

  Lex Luthor : Well, of course, the first order of business is finding the Fortress of Solitude and destroying the Kryptonians.

  Lillian Luthor : Why? Supergirl is your greatest ally.

  Lex Luthor : Was, I'm afraid. Supergirl will remember the previous world as vividly as I do. Soon it will be war. We need to be prepared. You, me, and Lena.

  Lillian Luthor : The Lena who killed you? That Lena? Well, you said she'll remember your previous world, too

  Lex Luthor : What's your point?

  Lillian Luthor : That you have an inferiority complex over a pair of hokey heroes in blue tights.

  Lex Luthor : If Supergirl sneezes too hard, it would split this planet in half.

  Lillian Luthor : And yet, it was her friendship with your sister that spun you out.

• Eve Teschmacher : Lex Luthor? What are you doing here?

  Lex Luthor : I'm here to help you, Ms. Tessmacher.

  Eve Teschmacher : You know my name?

  Lex Luthor : I know a lot more than your name. I know that you're brilliant. I know that Leviathan recruited you to work for them as a spy and an assassin. But you turned them down, so they murdered your father to change your mind. I know that they've forced you to do their bidding by vowing to kill your beloved mother if you dare defy them. And I know that you hate it, because you're a good person.

  Eve Teschmacher : Am I?

  Lex Luthor : You are, Eve, believe me. I wouldn't be rescuing someone I didn't think was worthy of my time.

  Eve Teschmacher : Nobody can fight Leviathan.

  Lex Luthor : You're going to have to trust me. Do you think you can do that? Better decide quick, Ms. Tessmacher. Stay with them, and continue to bloody those pretty little hands... or work with me to destroy the people who stole your life.

  Eve Teschmacher : I don't wanna kill anymore.

  Lex Luthor : [taking her gun]  Good choice.

  Eve Teschmacher : So, what do you want from me?

  Lex Luthor : Be my partner. Keep working at Leviathan, and be my eyes and ears. In return, I promise I'll protect you. And that you won't have to do any of this awful, dirty work anymore.

  [without even blinking, he shoots the man she was targeting] 

  Lex Luthor : I'll do it for you.

• Eve Teschmacher : My new apartment, it's a dream! When you said that you were getting me a new place, I thought you meant a small studio somewhere.

  Lex Luthor : Well, you're very precious to me, Eve.

  Eve Teschmacher : No one's ever treated me this way before.

  Lex Luthor : It's time you realize how wonderful you are. But we still have a mission. How is Obsidian?

  Eve Teschmacher : I've been monitoring all of the beta users. A-And Richard Bates still hasn't made a move on his wife's virtual lover.

  Lex Luthor : Well, not yet. Because his friend, the bartender, who turned out to be an amazing hacker, I might add, won't let him complete his virtual torture chamber until the time is right. And I still need to create trust with Leviathan.

• Lex Luthor : Ms. Tessmacher, why have you brought me to the world's saddest urgent care center?

  Eve Teschmacher : People have been getting stuck in the VR, just like you anticipated. Gemma asked me to look into the glitch. I told her that there was nothing we could do without shutting down the entire system, which can't be shut down thanks to Luthor PowerCore. She asked Margot to start cleaning things up.

  Lex Luthor : Who or what is a Margot?

  Eve Teschmacher : Leviathan middle-management, and a mean old hag, to boot.

  Lex Luthor : It's time to set Richard loose.

  [giving her a flash drive] 

  Lex Luthor : This is a back door that will allow Richard Bates to hack into Platinum to get revenge. That'll put welcome eyes on Obsidian's problems as this place starts to fill up with bodies. Make sure he gets it. Oh, and I have something else for you.

  Eve Teschmacher : [taking a vial]  Perfume?

  Lex Luthor : Uh... uh... perfume, poison; potato, po-tah-to.

• Lex Luthor : They're on your tail.

  Gamemnae : It doesn't matter. Our cloaking technology will cover all our bases from the human eye.

  Lex Luthor : They won't stop until they uncover the truth.

  Gamemnae : And what is that, exactly?

  Lex Luthor : That you and your Leviathan associates are ancient beings who manage humanity's... excesses. Don't get me wrong, Gemma, or, uh, Gamemnae, or would you prefer, uh, Goddess of Technology? I approve. Pompeii was spectacular, the Black Plague, intriguing, and your current move, creating an addiction to Obsidian Platinum, genius. The only problem is your plan is now at risk.

  Gamemnae : No, it's not. I'll pull up the timeline for our VR global event. It'll be happening beyond humanity's wildest dreams. A virtual gathering of everyone around the world. No one will want to miss it. And once the masses are in VR, I'll kill them all with a flick of my wrist.

  Lex Luthor : That would be great if you weren't about to be exposed. Obsidian will be shut down, all the lenses returned before you sell the first ticket. You don't have the luxury of time.

  Gamemnae : What do you propose?

  Lex Luthor : Create fear. It's instantaneous, and I have a specific idea of how to do it. I just need your stealthiest operative.

• Lena Luthor : I use a Q-wave broadcast to remotely access patients' brain activity. It's being interrupted by an overlapping signal.

  Lex Luthor : How could someone suppress Q-waves?

  Lena Luthor : I recognize the signature of this interruption. It's Myriad. Yesterday, I thought I had an honest conversation with Supergirl, and today I find out that she's using Myriad to interrupt my experiments? The very device she told me was too dangerous for anyone to use.

  Lex Luthor : You saw Supergirl yesterday? I could always just go to the Fortress, if you told me where it was, and turn off Myriad before she interferes again.

  Lena Luthor : No, you'll set off the El protocol.

  Lex Luthor : This is a new world. One where Luthors and Kryptonians work together. The fortress security won't be programmed to attack us.

  Lena Luthor : If she's using Myriad, I wanna see it for myself. Besides, you at the Fortress sounds apocalyptic.

• Lex Luthor : Director Dox, long time, no see. I come bearing gifts, a pysanka. Gifted to me by a Ukrainian holy man on my world tour. It brings love and wealth, and of course, fertility.

  Querl Dox : Does it also bring the end of Leviathan? You were meant to have gotten the location of their ship so we can implant the mortality code.

  Lex Luthor : I can't push them.

  Querl Dox : This delay doesn't have anything to do with you using Obsidian Platinum for your own ends, does it? Alex Danvers called me. She wants me to help her track Obsidian users she believes are being lured into some type of coma. By you.

  Lex Luthor : While it is utterly predictable that Alex Danvers would call you, it's not me behind your missing users, it's Leviathan. Scout's honor. I found out from Gemma Cooper.

  Querl Dox : Then help me find them. You have the Q-wave cube from Winn's ship. I can use it to track the lenses, find the missing people.

  Lex Luthor : Ah, well, I gave the cube to Lena. And if you involved her, Leviathan would kill her. And as much as I'd like to help you, I can't. Leviathan would find out, and then I'd be their enemy. And as you know, the long-term success of our plan relies on me being the opposite. But, by all means, you should help them. I know how important your friends are to you.

  Querl Dox : Okay. Lex, how shall I help them? There's nothing at the DEO that could track Q-waves.

  Lex Luthor : Why don't you ask Supergirl? I'm sure there's something at that fortress of hers that could help.

• Lillian Luthor : You missed a perfectly fine en passant capture opportunity. You're distracted. What's wrong?

  Lex Luthor : She... apologized to her.

  Lillian Luthor : Be clear with your pronouns, dear.

  Lex Luthor : Lena apologized to Kara. To Supergirl. For the death of Jeremiah.

  Lillian Luthor : I thought you put that behind you.

  Lex Luthor : I did! The assassination of Jeremiah Danvers was the perfect chess move, but for the fact that it *maddeningly* drove Lena back to Supergirl! And the worst part is that I didn't even see it as a possibility. So, yes, Mother, I missed the en passant. I'm missing a lot of things. I'm slipping.

• Lex Luthor : What you're holding is the deadliest substance on Earth.

  Eve Teschmacher : You told me I wouldn't have to kill for Leviathan ever again.

  Lex Luthor : And I always keep my promises. Every single one. That's why I tracked down the man who murdered your father, just like I said I would.

  Eve Teschmacher : Who is he?

  Lex Luthor : [showing her a picture of Jeremiah Danvers]  A Leviathan enforcer. He's in the Peruvian Andes working undercover with an NGO. I suspect because he has a target there.

  Eve Teschmacher : I should put a bullet in his head.

  Lex Luthor : It's the least he deserves. But we can't go to war with Leviathan. It has to look like an accident. You can handle that, right?

  Eve Teschmacher : Yes.

  Lex Luthor : Then be quick. I don't expect that he will stay in one place for very long. And nor will I. It's time for me to embark on my world tour, hocking Obsidian lenses. The beginning of the end... of Leviathan.

• Lex Luthor : Ms. Tessmacher, it's time to activate William Dey. Make sure your contact gives him the name on the medical bracelet he found. And then, I need you to move the bodies.

• Lillian Luthor : So, Lena showed the alien a little humanity. What's wrong with that?

  Lex Luthor : It pushes the limit. First, it's an apology. Then it's coffee before work. Next thing you know, they're playing Pictionary. That cannot happen!

  [chuckling as he calms down] 

  Lex Luthor : I know what to do. I'll set up Supergirl.

  Lillian Luthor : You already have a plan in place with Leviathan.

  Lex Luthor : I did, but this is better. Why use a nuke to create a catastrophe to draw Leviathan out, when I can use a Sun-Eater to turn Lena against Kara Danvers in one stroke?

  Lillian Luthor : I asked you if you had the strength of will, and you said, "Yes, Mother!". This is a display of weakness.

  Lex Luthor : Not weakness, Mother. Inspiration.

  [moving a chess piece] 

  Lex Luthor : Checkmate.

• Lex Luthor : Do I smell Beef Wellington?

  Eve Teschmacher : Victory and role-play makes me hungry.

  [imitating Margot] 

  Eve Teschmacher : "Amy Sapphire was right. Technology is the greatest evil mankind has ever faced."

  Lex Luthor : Okay, stop there. Please don't ever image-induce into her ever again. I might lose my appetite.

• Eve Teschmacher : I'm so glad we finally have a night to spend some time alone as a couple.

  Lex Luthor : A couple?

  Eve Teschmacher : I've been trying to tell you how I feel... and it's not just because you helped me escape Leviathan, it's because of who you are. How could I not love you?

  Lex Luthor : [she leans in to kiss him]  Oh... Ms. Tessmacher... you sad, silly woman. Of course you love me. What's funny is you thought I could love you back.

  Eve Teschmacher : I don't understand. We're a team. We're meant to be together. We're destined to do...

  Lex Luthor : Oh, we're destined. On another world, in another life, we knew each other very well. And in that life, you said you loved me, too. You distracted me, you made me weaker. But that's not happening this time, honey. I feel nothing for you. I saved you because you were useful. I needed a spy inside Leviathan. Oh, uh, and as for your mother... she's still in danger, but from me. Those cars I showed you, the men in them are just waiting to pull the trigger if you ever betray me. But I would think twice about that. That man you killed in the Andes didn't murder your father. I never bothered to find out who knocked off your old man. No, the man you murdered is Supergirl's father.

  [tasting a morsel of food] 

  Lex Luthor : Oh, that's good. I have video of you killing him, by the way. Defy me, and I'll pass it on. Believe me, you do not want to be on the wrong side of those laser eyes.

  Eve Teschmacher : [crushed]  You are worse than Leviathan.

  Lex Luthor : Not worse. Better.

• Supergirl : Lex, a real hero? How can this be true?

  Lex Luthor : If you weren't so obsessed with trying to persecute me, you might see that on this Earth, I've always been the hero. All these people say so. But I guess we're all heroes today, since I'm assuming you and your friends dealt with the big blackout. You're not gonna try and pin that on me, are you?

  Supergirl : No. That was Leviathan.

  Lex Luthor : The same Leviathan that I told you would be a problem months ago? Perhaps if you listened to me and tried to work with me, we could stop these dangerous organizations before they try to blot out the sun. So, do you know what they want, or where their base is?

  J'onn J'onzz : Not yet. But we will.

  Supergirl : We're going to stop them.

• Gamemnae : You murdered Margot! One of my own, one of Leviathan's most trusted agents.

  Lex Luthor : Margot's death was unfortunate. But she had to die, given the breadth of our...

  Gamemnae : [revealing her alien form and shocking him with lightning from her fingertips]  You don't tell me anything. I am a god. You are nothing. Do you understand?

  [he nods, and she lets him go] 

  Gamemnae : Explain yourself.

  Lex Luthor : As I said earlier, the Supers were close to finding your comatose souls. So I had to find them first. I moved them, and then I pinned their existence on someone else. So I connected Margot to Amy Sapphire and divorced her from you and Leviathan. Because of what I did, no one is suspecting Obsidian anymore.

  Gamemnae : Maybe you were right to kill Margot, but you made a mistake with the disaster. And now the Kryptonian has one of my assassins in her custody!

  Lex Luthor : I underestimated Supergirl and her team. The chaos of the disaster was working until she intervened. But now I know you were right about the global VR celebration. We should implement it immediately. Gather everyone into VR at once with this sparkling distraction. But first... we must kill Supergirl. She will always foil the plan. And a warning: no mere mortal can kill her. Many have tried and failed.

  Gamemnae : [taking the glass of Scotch he offers and putting it down]  I will not fail.

• Lex Luthor : Mother. Hate to say I told you so, but it all went according to plan. Lena's back on my side, Leviathan is set to kill our enemies, and I'm set to wipe out Leviathan. And... I did it my way.

• Eve Teschmacher : I couldn't get Gamemnae to take me onto Leviathan's ship. I'm scared.

  Lex Luthor : Ah. Forgive me, Eve. I... I should have eased your mind days ago. Please.

  [leading her over to a computer monitor] 

  Lex Luthor : Now, this is a live feed. I'm sure you recognize the sweet little house you grew up in. There's your mother baking in the kitchen. But I suspect what you don't recognize is that sedan, or those other two. Those cars belong to ex-Mossad agents that I've hired to guard your mother around the clock.

  Eve Teschmacher : How can I thank you, Mr. Luthor?

  Lex Luthor : Lex, please. And you can thank me after we've found the cold-blooded killer who took your father's life. We're a team, Eve.

• Eve Teschmacher : Amy Sapphire. She blames Obsidian's VR for the death of her husband. She threatened Andrea Rojas' life. You're going to warn Gemma to gain Leviathan's trust?

  Lex Luthor : The opposite. We're gonna help Amy Sapphire attack Andrea Rojas and blow up Obsidian.

  Eve Teschmacher : But if anyone attacks Obsidian, Leviathan is gonna want me to terminate them.

  Lex Luthor : Gemma won't ask you to assassinate anybody, because I will intervene before she gets the chance. I will offer up Supergirl to protect Andrea and Obsidian. Just make sure that Amy Sapphire gets these gauntlets. It'll make her a worthy adversary for Supergirl. And after Supergirl succeeds in saving Andrea, I will have proven myself to Gemma. And then, I will suggest that I roll out Obsidian Platinum worldwide.

  Eve Teschmacher : Lex, you're brilliant. But beyond that, you are so kind. And I think I'm...

  Lex Luthor : I know, Eve. I feel the same. But we have to stay focused on our goals, free you from them and avenge your father. There'll be time for us later.

• Lex Luthor : My colleague is retrieving a code that digitizes the human psyche, enabling us to make someone immortal by uploading their consciousness into a computer. I believe we can reverse the same code and use it against Leviathan. Then Leviathan is immortal no more. But I need an invitation to get onto their ship. Which means I need Gamamnae, or Gemma, if you prefer, to trust me. And trust begins with that glitch.

  Eve Teschmacher : But if there's a glitch and people are getting stuck, nobody's gonna buy the lenses.

  Lex Luthor : Correct. Leviathan will need to fix it. But they won't be able to because you won't let them. And when Leviathan can't fix it, they'll have to cover it up, and that's where I come in. I will help Gemma with the cover-up.

  Eve Teschmacher : Once she trusts you, she'll give you an invitation to the ship.

  Lex Luthor : An engraved one. So, you need to go back to Obsidian and make sure that glitch does not get fixed, or traced back to me or Lena.

  Eve Teschmacher : Done. What are you gonna do?

  Lex Luthor : Start exerting pressure.

• Richard Bates : My wife is cheating on me.

  Lex Luthor : [working undercover as a bartender]  Well... tell me about it, man. Maybe I can help.

• Lex Luthor : Any chance you've seen my darling sister around?

  [cut to them standing over a sleeping Lena] 

  Lex Luthor : So, the Monitor kept his word.

  Butler : The pre-Nobel celebration went so late... Ms. Luthor decided to spend the night.

  Lex Luthor : [injecting her with something]  Don't worry, Lena, this will just extend your beauty sleep for a few hours while I handle some family business. Sweet dreams. Make sure she ends up in her own home.

• Lex Luthor : You're rather calm for a woman who just learned the entire multiverse has been obliterated. You do understand I'm not the son you raised?

  Lillian Luthor : Perfectly. Would your Lillian have been frightened by world destruction? If so, you've upgraded.

• Lex Luthor : Friendship and loyalty to Supergirl was what prompted Lena to kill me.

  Lillian Luthor : Your obsession with Kryptonians led to your demise once. Let's not create a repeat performance, hmm? On this planet, the Luthors are cool-headed. We plan, we implement, and we rise, together. Show your sister you believe in her. Support her efforts. She'll gravitate toward you and away from the Kryptonian. The question is... can you give up your pet vendetta and stay focused?

  Lex Luthor : Are you really querying my strength of will, Mother? I'm a Luthor.

  Lillian Luthor : Good. Now go make Lena your ally.

• Butler : Are you all right, sir?

  Lex Luthor : That depends. Am I dead?

  Butler : Heavens no, sir. But I dare say you're a bit hung over. Coffee?

  Lex Luthor : [getting out of bed and opening the curtains]  I saved the world.

  Butler : It's all in a day's work for you, isn't it, Mr. Luthor? Why else would they be awarding you the Nobel Peace Prize?

  Lex Luthor : I didn't just save the world. I made a new world.

• Lena Luthor : You were a puppet on a string for Leviathan before. What makes this time any different?

  Lex Luthor : What the hell is Leviathan?

  Lena Luthor : You see, that's the thing about narcissists. You're so focused on yourself, you can never see that you're the mark. Your little fangirl was working for Leviathan the entire time she was working you.

  Lex Luthor : Ms. Tessmacher. And what exactly does Leviathan want?

  Lena Luthor : No one knows. They're behind seismic catastrophes, earthquakes, floods, plagues. They're alien, ancient, and all-powerful. If it wasn't for your hubris, you would've seen that they were playing you.

  Lex Luthor : All right, Lena. You've had your fun letting me know I let my eye off the ball. I'll admit this Leviathan is... irritating.

  Lena Luthor : And what are you gonna do?

  Lex Luthor : Exterminate them.