In advance of the show’s highly anticipated move to The CW this fall, the first season of Supergirl is being re-aired in two episode doses every week until the season premiere. In case you haven’t yet been following the adventures of Kara Zor-El on the small screen, here’s your perfect opportunity to do so.
DC Comics films have more often than naught been dark, grim and plot heavy. Ironically, the opposite is true for their television series. “The Flash” is a colorful and upbeat superhero show and fortunately, “Supergirl” follows that trend of being the stylized and fun shot in the arm DC needed.
Supergirl wastes no time setting up the backstory of Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) by quickly recapping the destruction of Krypton and her arrival to Earth to take care of her cousin Superman. Once on Earth, however, Kara discovers that her cousin has gotten along just fine without her and she moves in with the Danvers family.
24 years later, Kara is an assistant to the demanding media mogul Cat Grant (Callista Flockhart) who is trying to live a normal existence. All that changes when a plane carrying her sister Alex (Chyler Leigh) goes down and Kara uses her superpowers to save her and everyone on board.
“Supergirl’s” pilot is essentially a trailer for the show to follow and with that in mind, it’s a very promising start. The pilot’s lightning fast pace and waste-no-time exposition policy somehow manages to work in its favor. With “Supergirl” there’s rarely a breather and while that can be a curse for some shows, this one’s lighter tone and colorful environments make it a fun breeze to watch.
But the show’s real secret weapon is the perfectly cast Benoist as Kara. Simply put, she’s a ball to watch. Clark Kent, in virtually every portrayal of him, has been a boy scout and that doesn’t make for an interesting character. Kara, on the other hand, is as entertaining a presence as you can get, making for a believable character and one you want to root for. A personal favorite moment is her sitting on the couch in her jammies squealing in glee as she sees herself on the news. Who wouldn’t do that?
Another fun role is Mehcad Brooks as James “Jimmy” Olsen. We’ve normally seen Olsen as a young, hip photojournalist, but portraying him as an older and wiser almost mentor to Kara is a fun reversal and creates a new dynamic fans haven’t seen before. The references to “You know who” are also interesting, potentially building up to a meeting with him (At the time of this writing, it’s been confirmed), but it doesn’t distract.
Supergirl is a blast. The lighter tone, fun characters and super watchable Benoist make for an entertaining series that could very easily be just the break you need after a long, hard day.
Stay tuned for more “Supergirl” reviews leading up the season premiere in October!