Supergirl , the hit TV show starring Melissa Benoist as the title character, has recently concluded its first season. The show was met with a generally positive reception and has been renewed for a second season. According to IGN , Supergirl was flawless in just about every way from the moment it made its debut.
The show was able to nail the fantastic and cheery tone that the Superman franchise of Richard Donner established a while back, which is a much-appreciated breath of fresh air in a world of the Dark Knight and Man of Steel movies.
Design & Trend reports that Supergirl’s cousin, the one and only Superman, will be making a guest appearance in Episodes 1 and 2 of the upcoming Supergirl season.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman coming to @supergirlcbs: https://t.co/UrXPB3MtCn #Supergirl pic.twitter.com/n4PIbXdkMl
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) June 12, 2016
While it is as yet unknown who will play Superman in these guest appearances, Design & Trend put forward five suggestions as to who would do the character justice, with everyone from Smallville’s Tom Welling to Pretty Little Liars star Ian Harding, as well as White Collar’s Matt Bomer, Devious Maids’ Ryan McPartlin, and Sam Witwer, who played Doomsday on Smallville .
Tom Welling’s schedule is open — is a Superman return on #Supergirl in the cards? https://t.co/SCcb0H9g3y pic.twitter.com/wj2YNHsK1B
— Comic Book Resources (@CBR) June 10, 2016
The success of the show has largely been attributed to the way in which the title character was written. Supergirl was constructed to be upbeat, capable, and strong as a character, and ultimately the show became what she embodied. It also showed the innocence of Supergirl in the way that she was not above making mistakes and readily owned up to them.
Supergirl captures the true essence of a Superman comic, wherein the best moments of the character are not when they would use their powers, but their heart and mind. That said, scenes involving car chases and foiled bank robberies were as enjoyable and true to character as ever.
One of the weaker points of the show might have been the team dynamic. Supergirl is a character who can very well stand on her own, and yet the show writers tried to introduce a team aspect to the character in the form of the DEO, which was intended to resemble what Arrow and The Flash have on their shows. While the team helps Arrow and The Flash save people and stop the bad guys, it does seem like the DEO holds Supergirl back from time to time and sometimes even gets in her way.
The three big relationships Supergirl had on the show were with Alex Danvers, Hank Henshaw, and Cat Grant. Alex became the motivator for Supergirl early in the show as to why she should use her powers for good when she saved Alex from a crashing airplane. The beauty of the interaction between the two is that they often behave like sisters in the show, complete with petty arguments coupled with emotional support.
One of the highlights of the season came when one of the characters, Hank Henshaw, revealed himself to be metahuman J’onn J’onzz, with the highest point of the character being the episode “Manhunter.” He later then became somewhat of a father figure to Kara and Alex.
Silly #supergirl comic pic.twitter.com/twGDNZPrIU
— Maria de los angeles (@mariangie1221) June 3, 2016
The biggest breakout role in the first season of the show, aside from Supergirl herself, would have to be Cat Grant. Exceptionally quick witted, Cat provided the comic relief in the form of one-liners throughout each episode she was featured in. Despite her habit of shooting one-liners, she turned out to be Supergirl’s most valuable source of inspiration. It was the arc between Cat and Kara that seemed to have been the most fleshed out in the season.
On the other hand, fans of Supergirl were disappointed with the way Season 1 concluded. According to Gizmodo , the season finale was lackluster at best.
The finale was far from awful, but it was just hinging on mediocrity through an episode that felt self-indulgent rather than moving.
On the other hand, Melissa Benoist was happy with the cliffhanger ending to Season 1 of Supergirl , reports Den of Geek .
The season finale of #Supergirl ended on a SERIOUS cliffhanger, guys: https://t.co/KdvSnlmluI pic.twitter.com/2JP3oH2YaB
— Nerdist (@nerdist) April 19, 2016
The Supergirl actress also revealed that as yet, she doesn’t know the outcome of the cliffhanger ending as to who or what is in the Kryptonian pod that crash landed in the final episode.
“I have theories. I have heard a few rumblings of who it may be, but I’m not positive.”
But whether Melissa Benoist is genuinely being kept in the dark or whether she is just cleverly concealing studio secrets (much like Kit Harington following his Jon Snow/ Game of Thrones cliffhanger from last season) remains to be seen.
Not without its flaws, Supergirl’s first season remains an enjoyable show and certainly captured an impressive following. Not shying away from the colorful nature of the comic books, it generally succeeded in what it was trying to achieve.
[Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images]