Supergirl: Is Toyman Really Dead?

This week’s Supergirl story is catalyzed by the apparent death of Toyman, aka Winn’s dear old serial-killing dad. The show is surprisingly chill about the death of an iconic DC villain, making the strong narrative decision to focus on how the death affects Winn—not only in the tragedy’s own right, but in Winn’s relationship with his estranged mom. Leading us to the question: Is Toyman really dead?

We had a chance to talk to Jeremy Jordan, aka Winn Schott, about the apparent death of Toyman. Does he think his character’s dad is actually gone for good?

“Yeah, I think he’s dead,” said Jordan. “I do. I mean, listen, I’m always up for a surprise, but generally when you’re found dead in your cell in prison or on the news, I think it’s harder to fake that. But granted he did bribe a prison guard who was the villain of the episode to take his place, so you never know who else he could have gotten under his belt.”

Truthfully, I don’t have much narrative time or energy invested in the character of Toyman past his relationship to Winn, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if he popped back up at some point. Everyone knows that, if your character isn’t killed on screen (and, even sometimes if he or she is), then there’s a strong possibility that they will be back—especially in the superhero genre.

Whatever happens next for Toyman, we know that Winn has a bright albeit probably rocky (because this is TV) future ahead of him. Speaking about how the death of his father and the reunion with his mom has affected his character, Jordan said:

I think he does start to see the humanity in his mom, and he’s been, had his picture in his mind of her being almost as bad as his dad. So, if she is not bad, and his dad is as bad as he is, where does that leave Winn? I think it helps him discover his own humanity as well, which I think is really important for him because I think he knows deep down that he’s not this evil person that his dad was, but he doesn’t really understand how he could be normal or as inherently good as he feels he should be … It’s been scary, but I do think he starts to examine what his future looks like now that he’s dealt with his past.

What does that mean for Winn’s storyline in the rest of Supergirl Season 3?

“A few things start to happen in the next few episodes where Winn… Winn’s life is constantly being threatened on the show, but I think in the next few episodes, it starts to be a little bit more real to him,” teased Jordan, “the idea that life is impermanent, and the threats that surround him are very, very real. And has he gone as far as he can go before, in this line of work inevitably something’s gonna happen to somebody. And has he succumbed to that?”

Yikes! Well, now I’m kind of worried about poor, sweet Winn.