Supergirl’s audacious third season finale pretty much cleared the decks of characters (goodbye Winn, Sam, Ruby, and Mon-El) and storylines (goodbye Legion, Blight and Reign’s reign of terror), leaving many fans wondering where a new season might take the show.

However season 3 did leave fans with some intriguing/worrying dangling threads to mull over including a second Kara, created from the aura that left Supergirl’s body during her battle with Reign in Siberia. There was also J’onn’s decision to step down as head of the DEO, promoting Alex in his place, James’ possible indictment for his vigilante work as Guardian, and Lena’s secret research. Throw in a couple of new villains, and an ominous new threat, and the fuse is lit for an explosive fourth season.

The show returns on Oct. 14 with “American Alien,” an episode that pitches a theme of hope versus fear as a wave of anti-alien sentiment washes over National City following recent positive steps by the President to bring a divided country together.

We’ve seen the episode a little early, thanks to our friends at the CW, and have a number of spoilery teasers to share with you. As always, we never reveal major plot points the network or show’s writer would prefer we kept under wraps (yes, they really do let us know beforehand). However, we are aware that occasionally one fan’s gentle teaser is another’s great big flaming spoiler. For that reason we urge you to proceed with caution. If you would like to know more about our Spoiler Policy, you can do so by following this link.