The Supergirl season 1 finale, “Better Angels,” brought the conflict between Kara and Non to a head with the fate of the world at stake.
The first season of Supergirl has been unapologetically upbeat, consistently touting the power of hope and love. This season has been a time for Kara to not only come into her own as a hero, going from being saved by Superman early on to saving him in the finale, but also to find her family. While she had the Danvers family, who loves her as if she were their blood, this season has brought new figures into her orbit, including James Olsen and J’onn J’onzz. An under-appreciated assistant going on bad dates at the beginning of the season, Kara is promoted to an office of her own and has requited love in the finale.
Phew. It’s been quite the year for our heroine.
“Better Angels” encapsulates everything that the first season has been, from exploring the bonds of family when Mama Danvers is able to snap Alex out of Myriad’s grasp and Kara saying a tearful farewell to Alex to Supergirl’s message of hope literally being the thing to snap the citizens of National City out from the control of Myriad.
Moreover, when Kara believes she is going on a suicide mission to defeat Non and Indigo, she bids emotional farewells to all her loved ones, showing the depth of her love for her found family. And, rather unsurprisingly, we get a happy ending as the villains are defeated (though J’onn ripping Indigo in half was brutal, even if she wasn’t a traditional life form), Kara is saved before she dies making her sacrifice, J’onn is pardoned, and the core team meets for dinner at Kara’s apartment — where James gives Kara a photo of herself before kissing her.
It’s a touching episode, and I found myself tearing up when Kara begs Alex to promise that she’ll live a good life after Kara is gone. The relationship between these two sisters has been the core of Supergirl, giving a refreshing spin on sibling relationships — especially adult sisters — in modern entertainment. Their relationship has been messy at times, but Kara and Alex have proven willing to work on it.
And so, when the superhero needs saving after launching Fort Rozz into space, it only makes sense that it would be Alex, flying Kara’s pod, who would rescue her. Supergirl may be the Earth’s hero, but as J’onn said earlier this season, Alex is Supergirl’s hero.
It’s striking to me that in an episode that features James reciprocating Kara’s long-simmering feelings for him, romance remains on the back burner. We focus instead on Kara’s relationships with Alex, J’onn and even Cat more than with James. There’s something revolutionary about that — a heroine allowed to have romance but not be defined by it.
This episode also does some interesting things for Maxwell Lord, who continues helping the team. He is the one to get Supergirl’s message to broadcast all across National City, thus breaking Myriad’s hold. And he tracks down Non and Indigo’s location so Kara can go after them. He genuinely seems to care about Kara’s safety when she plans to go after Non and Indigo on her own — and not just because her victory is necessary for him to live.
And when it appears as though everyone is going to die from the effects of Myriad, he and Alex grasp hands. There were hints earlier this season that there might be something between these two; hopefully we see more of the Alex and Max dynamic, assuming Supergirl is renewed. We see General Lane and Max looking over Non’s technology in a closing scene, which seems to indicate he’ll remain a sometimes ally, sometimes enemy.
A few plotlines have been left for a potential season 2, including Jeremiah Danvers being alive and held at Project Cadmus as well as the mysterious Kryptonian pod that crash landed in the final moments of the episode. While we don’t know whether there will be a season 2, the signs are promising. And I can only hope we’ll see that season 2, as the show truly found its footing in the second half of season 1.