CBS’s Supergirl took flight tonight. Read our recap and discuss the episode with fellow fans.
Supergirl has a lot of hype to live up to. Not only is it coming from the super (pun intended) team behind Arrow, The Flash and the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow, but it is also the first modern superhero series to feature a female lead.
Yes, Agents of SHIELD has Skye/Daisy, but Coulson is marketed as the lead of the Marvel spinoff. Jessica Jones is also coming from Netflix, but it doesn’t debut until next month. Additionally, Arrow and The Flash, for all their strengths, have faced criticism for being male-dominated; it’s not often two women speak to each other on either series.
But that’s no problem for Supergirl. In fact, in a series that has been promoted as featuring a potential love triangle, the core relationship in the pilot is between two women: Kara and her adoptive sister, Alex. Alex even gets a small emotional arc of her own, confessing that when they were younger, she felt less than her adopted super sister.
This, combined with the numerous references to Kara/Supergirl being a potential role model and dealing with overtly sexist comments from her foe, show that those behind the series are completely aware of the series’ significance. Yes, the comments can feel a bit like anvils dropping at some times in the episode, but it’s a good “problem” to have at the end of the day.
This is a small quibble in an overall strong first episode. With these things in mind, let’s set the stage. So, who comprises our cast of characters?
Kara Danvers
Our charming and adorkable lead, Kara, was sent to Earth from Krypton to protect her cousin, Kal-El. However, the explosion of Krypton sent her pod off track and into the Phantom Zone, a realm where time does not pass. After more than two decades in the Phantom Zone, Kara’s pod is somehow freed and she completes her journey to Earth. Her pod brings some unexpected stowaways, however.
When she arrives, she finds that her cousin has already become Superman. He brings her to the Danvers, who take her in. Because Kara no longer has a mission and the world already has a hero, Kara chooses to blend in. Today, she is the assistant to Cat Grant, owner of media conglomerate CatCo.
When the plane Alex is on is in danger of crashing, however, Kara saves the plane. She immediately becomes a major news story. Dubbed Supergirl by Cat Grant, Kara struggles against both a government agency that tracks alien threats (which her sister also happens to work for) and an alien criminal looking for revenge against Kara’s mother.
Despite her struggle to become who she’s meant to be, the encouragement of her sister helps her defeat the enemy. By the end of the episode, Earth has a new hero: Supergirl.
Alex Danvers
Kara’s adoptive sister Alex works for the Department of Extra-Normal Operations, a governmental organization that monitors aliens on Earth. She discovers that she was recruited because of Kara, but it is her own intelligence and strength that keeps her on the team.
It’s clear Alex and Kara are close. Though Alex felt like she was in Kara’s shadow while growing up, the elder sister also cuts it close getting on a flight to Geneva for work in order to help Kara pick an outfit for a date. After facing Kara’s feelings of betrayal from learning about Alex’s real job, Alex pushes Kara to embrace her own powers.
Hopefully the sisterly bond will remain at the forefront because it is a high point of the pilot.
James Olsen
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jimmy James Olsen has left Metropolis to spread his professional wings; as a favor to Superman, he’s doing so in National City. He’s immensely charming and warm, and Kara (unsurprisingly) begins crushing on him immediately (like the rest of us), but that crush is put on the back burner since Kara has more important things to think about.
However, he also keeps Kara from getting fired at one point and offers her support (and a token from Superman). We’re looking forward to seeing more of him and how his relationship with Kara progresses.
Winslow “Winn” Schott
Kara’s best friend who is crushing on her, Winn, is a bit of a dork who runs a blog dedicated to aliens. Winn is also the first person Kara tells her secret. Once Kara shows off her powers and Winn is appropriately awed, they begin forming a Scooby gang. Winn is part of the montage that develops Kara’s suit and shows her first forays into being a public hero.
Kara brings him back into the fold when she decides to be National City’s hero. But don’t call them the Super Friends!
Cat Grant
Cat Grant is the Miranda Priestly of the series. Her first scene involves complaining about her private elevator stinking and planning to lay off part of her staff. When Kara objects, she reminds Kara that The Daily Planet has Superman to put on their cover more than half the time; he’s a money-maker for them. Cat is looking for her own hero to fuel her publication, and after the plane incident she comes up with the name Supergirl to irrevocably tie the hero to CatCo.
Cat is fierce, driven, and not concerned with the feelings of others. If this character goes too far, she is likely to become an unpleasant caricature, but she was amusing in the pilot.
Hank Henshaw
The enigmatic director of the DEO, Hank Henshaw is not in favor of Kara becoming a public hero. There’s not a lot to go on with this character just yet, other than the fact that he’s hard to impress and determined to do his job monitoring the alien convicts who made their way to Earth. This character has a villainous fate in the comics, so it will be interesting to see where the show takes him.
The General
The leader of the alien criminals looking to rule Earth, we learn that The General is actually Kara’s aunt. Moreover, she is Kara’s mother’s identical twin, but she has no qualms with killing her niece to get what she wants.
Supergirl airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Write a comment below or submit an article to Hypable.