Kara mentions she's been holding a massive amount of rage. She recently became a Red Lantern in the comic books, chosen because of the rage in her heart.
First live-action appearance of Red Tornado, and his creator, the supervillain T.O. Morrow. All previous appearances were in animated productions.
Chyler Leigh, who plays Alex, and Glenn Morshower, who plays General Sam Lane, previously appeared together in episode 6x20 of Grey's Anatomy.
Apart from the obvious reading of the name "T. O. Morrow" the character is likely a nod to the titular character in H. G. Wells' novel "The Island of Dr Moreau", who created hybrid creatures with unfortunate results.
General Lane is missing his four star rank insignia on his ACU patrol hat. However later in the series this error is corrected.