Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Supergirl - The Adventures of Supergirl


With Supergirl moving from CBS and joining the other DC Comics television properties on The CW there were questions about how much the show would change. Picking up just seconds after the First Season finale, Supergirl kicks off its Second Season with a strong opener. The entire core cast returns with some important additions and minor tweaks. First, the DEO has moved from their lonely cave to a downtown skyscraper - and has a new employee in Winn (Jeremy Jordan) who is now in far better position to help Supergirl (Melissa Benoist). Second, the city is now also home to Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath), the stepsister of the world's wealthiest federal prisoner. And then, of course, there's Superman.

The First Season awkwardly tried to insert Supergirl into a world with her more experienced cousin without giving Kal-El any screentime. "The Adventures of Supergirl" changes all that. Not only do we get Tyler Hoechlin as both Superman and Clark Kent in this episode but we see how well Kara and Clark work together (both in and out of costume). It's a welcome addition to the show, even if I'd expect the Man of Steel to be used sparingly over the course of the show's sophomore year. The addition of Lena Luthor, apparently taking over the Maxwell Lord spot of powerful industrialist and potential frenemy, is intriguing as is the reveal the show is bringing in Project Cadmus to develop new threats to Supergirl.

If the show's First Season was about developing the character of Supergirl it sounds like this year will be about doing the same for Kara. Building on the strong foundation of Kara and Cat Grant's (Calista Flockhart) relationship, the first episode forces our heroine to make some important decisions about her future. The choice to shelve the Kara and Superman's black friend James "Don’t Call Me Jimmy" Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) romantic angle is a surprise but likely the best move in both the short and long run. I was also quite amused by Cat and Clark's interactions (a wink to Cat throwing herself at the Midwest reporter in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman). And, as a fan of Superman: The Movie I'll admit I smiled at both Wynn's earthquake question to Superman and to the identity of Cat Grant's new assistant (Andrea Brooks).

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