Supergirl is swooping in for another season in just over a weeks time, and if you haven’t watched the first season already, it’s about time you did!
Ali Adler and creators of The Flash (Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg) have managed to make a modern-day adapatation of the Supergirl series which really gets to the heart of modern media. It deals with feminist issues AND gives another long-awaited voice to a female superhero. What more could you want?
Supergirl herself, Kara Zor-El (played by Melissa Benoist), lives a story of her own in the bustling, demanding and chaotic National City, and has attracted a pretty good viewing audience so far. It’s obvious why people are saying that the reign of the superhero movie is over, making way for the slower-paced, more humble and developed stories of superheroes on the small screen.
One half of Kara’s life is spent as the overworked assistant of Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart), founder of the media conglomorate CatCo Worldwide Media. Her job gives the show the opportunity to unpack female power dynamics, corruption in the media, everyday sexism and – most importantly – shows the drive and capability of women to run the world. Cat is certainly a force to be reckoned with, and Flockhart portrays her perfectly.
Seriously, Cat’s sass runs the show.
The relationship between Kara and her ‘Earth sister’, Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) is also treated well and brings a great dynamic to the show. Alex is an inspiration alone; a number one scientist, expert unarmed combatant and bio-engineer, she has a pretty impressive CV. Alex may not have any superpowers, but she often leads episodes and shows consistently how capable she is of leading a team at the Department of Extra-Normal Operations (D.E.O), all whilst taking care of her extra-terrestrial sister. It’s a good job she made it into the series too, because she’s the only main character who didn’t originate from the comics!
Ah, the rollercoasters of sisterhood.
However, as much as I’d love to continue to sing its praises, the show has its drawbacks. Kara has no female friends, and whilst that’s not a problem in itself, the men in her life all seem to be portrayed as potential love interests. Jessica Jones gives a good indication of what a female duo can do alongside diverse, realistic male-female relationships. Jessica may have powers, but Trish Walker is in no ways upstaged, and Malcolm isn’t portrayed as a love interest for the sake of drama. However, the dynamic between Cat Grant and Kara in Supergirl is one to be admired: whilst Cat is a somewhat terrifying boss, she is also driven, sensitive and tuned into the world around her, even if she can’t get her assistant’s name right…
Tyler Hoechlin will be portraying Superman this season, and seeing as we’ve only had hints at his existence on the show (an odd arm or leg), the tension was certainly building after the announcement, with fans increasingly concerned that Superman would steal Supergirl’s limelight. After all, the Man of Steel has had so many of his own shows and movies that he has an almost unshakable reputation, whereas Supergirl – like most other female heroes – has been sorely neglected thus far. Kara herself struggles with living in her cousin’s shadow, often putting herself in danger because of it, and so illustrating just how far female characters must go in this genre just to get the same rep as a man.
The season two trailer gives hope to those wanting the show to deal directly with these themes, as it continues to unpack the many challenges a city girl/hero faces. Everyone in Kara’s life seems have the same overbearingly starstruck reaction to Superman’s presence. Naturally, Kara herself is elated, admitting she’s “dreamt of this moment. Both of us teamed up”, but there are also obvious hints of rivalry. The most telling moment of the teaser has to be Kara jesting at her cousin, teasingly saying “doesn’t bother you that I got top credit on this one does it?”, as he eyes up a “Supergirl saves the day!” headline after a joint rescue mission.
Of course, this won’t be the first time a male superhero made his way into Supergirl’s territory. When The Flash rocked up, Kara insisted that he not be seen as Supergirl’s competition, but as an ally and an equal. The message is consistently expressed that Supergirl runs this show, and always will, but that there’s space for others beside her. There’s a whole world of superheroes out there, after all!
National City knows Supergirl’s value, and we hope the show continues to do her justice. Catch the first episode of the news series on October 10th – showing on Sky 1 in the UK – and watch the trailer here!