Here’s a spoiler-free review of Supergirl’s Season 2 Premiere. I won’t be able to cover the series on a weekly basis as I am covering both Arrow and The Flash already, but will do a more in-depth season review once the show concludes!
The CW now has another superhero show to add to their ranks following its departure from CBS last season. It’s easily been the most-talked about addition to the CW’s line-up this year (although that said, people should check out their other new time-travel show Frequency) and certainly has to hit the ground running in order to leave an impression. Right from the get-go, it’s pretty clear that the show hits all the right notes.
With the switch to The CW, it’s worth noting that this means a change in location in terms of shooting, and seeing as The CW shoot their shows in Vancouver as opposed to Los Angeles, you could be worried that there would be a different National City than the one we’re used to. Not so with Supergirl because aside from the reduction of Cat Grant as a regular character and the inclusion of a DEA base, not much has changed.
The biggest benefit that Season 2 has from Season 1 is the arrival of Superman played by Tyler Hoechlin who makes an immediate impression in one of the best scenes of the episode featuring both Kara and Clark rushing to save a crashing spaceship. For those who have worried that Man of Steel and Batman vs. Superman featured a darker take on Superman than the one that people are used to, the show seems to be using the classic 1978 portrayal of the hero as a starting point. This definitely works in its favor, making the most out of an extended multiverse that allows the writers to do their own things.
Merlin’s Katie McGrath also made an entrance this week as Lena Luthor, Lex’s sister, and there were plenty of references to the wider Superman continuity which even included a phonecall from Lois Lane even if she wasn’t featured on-screen. It featured many more nods to the comics and it’ll be interesting to see whether we continue to progress down that route as the series advances. McGrath certainly put in a good impression as Luthor and seeing what direction they take with her character is something to keep an eye on.
Despite the introduction of Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman, this show is called Supergirl for a reason and for the most part it really worked with the focus on her character being very strong. It’s great to see her moving away from Cat as well, even if it does mean that we sacrifice Calista Flockheart as a result. The exchanges that we got between her and her new assistant Miss Teschmacher brought some great moments of comedy to the series that really worked.
It’ll be interesting to see what direction the writers take with McGrath’s Luthor going forward as we also got plenty of teasers for a future Supergirl antagonist in this episode. Right now it’s hard to tell whether or not there’s more to her character than meets the eye, but the element of the unknown concerning her character is always welcome, so we’ll see how long the writers keep the element of surprise in the air. If she does follow the footsteps of her more infamous relative, I’d imagine that would make for a nice midseason reveal.
On the whole it’s clear that Superman’s long anticipated arrival on Supergirl was a welcome one and a nice change of pace from Kara’s solo efforts, but at the same time the show managed to keep the focus largely on Kara herself and to great results for the most part. Yes, the romance part of the story didn’t work as well as it should have done (but this is a problem that all CW superhero shows face, not just Supergirl) but it was still a really enjoyable experience that is certainly worth a watch if you’re still on the fence about checking out the second season.
Supergirl returns next Monday on the CW. Let me know what you thought of the series’ premiere in the comments section below!
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