Television Review: Supergirl, Season 2

Show: Supergirl, season 2

Company:  DC Entertainment

Date: 2016

Plot: Having left the safety of being Cat Grant’s assistant at Catco Worldwide Media in order to figure out what she really wants to do, Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist) continues to work with Hank Henshaw (aka Martian Manhunter) and her adoptive sister Alex (Chyler Leigh) at the DEO as Supergirl – protecting the citizens of National City and searching for her missing father Jeremiah (Dean Cain) and the secret research lab Project Cadmus. Along the way, she will team up with her Kyrptonian cousin Kal El – aka Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) – to battle new villains both terrestrial and extraterrestrial, from the DC Universe, as she strives to balance her personal life with friends/allies James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), Winn Schott (Jeremy Jordan) and more with her busy life as a new Super Hero in SUPERGIRL Season Two.

Season 1

After my review of season 1, more than one person told me Supergirl gets better as you progress through the series.

They were right: season 2 was stronger for me. There was more character development, both as individuals and with budding relationships. There were personal battles as well as the intense fights against aliens threatening the Earth.

The mysterious arrival at the end of season 1 comes in the form of Mon-El from Daxon, a cute guy with a heart almost in the right place and a desire to impress Kara – even if that involves becoming a hero in order to do so.

Mon-El challenges Kara’s assumptions: she realises she can’t hate him just because he is from a rival planet. She can’t deny her feelings for him, but learns how to respect herself – she won’t put up with a man who doesn’t listen to her. This personal development is reflected in Supergirl’s battles against her enemies – punching her way through problems doesn’t always work.

Kara is not the only one to face personal issues. Alex confronts her sexuality and risks her heart to find happiness. James puts himself in harm’s way to answer the superhero calling while Winn pushes himself both professionally and personally. J’onn faces the same challenges as Kara: letting go of prejudices and seeing someone for who they are, not what species they belong to.

Mon-El is not the only newcomer: the Luthor’s are introduced to the plot in the form of Lena Luthor – Lex’s adopted sister – played by Katie McGrath. I’ve always liked her as an actress (Merlin fan after all!) although her American accent wasn’t the strongest.

It was fun seeing Clark Kent show up. I adore the Superman story, it’s one of the main reasons I started watching this. Seeing the two cousins work together gave a fresh dynamic to the few episodes he appears in, and added some nice continuity throughout the season.

The threat came from two angles: Mon-El’s power-hungry mother wanting her prince back and Lena’s crazy mother wanting to rid the world of aliens. Fighting a war on two fronts is no easy feat and Kara must face hard choices as to where to place her trust. Despite the two enemies, the tension wasn’t as strong for me this season – partly because I was enjoying the personal development more than the superhero side of things.

Have you ever watched something at just the right time and it sticks with you? While Cat Grant isn’t in this season as much as the previous one, she still has some iconic moments. When Kara goes to her for advice, I sat up and listened as well: it was advice worth heeding!

One of the things that grates on me, however, is that Kara chooses to be a reporter and, just like that, it’s happening. If only making career decisions was really that easy…

An enjoyable season for sure. I’m looking forward to more and the continuous progression of our heroes.

Amazon

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