'Supergirl' Review/Recap: "The Adventures of Supergirl"
Megan Miller ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
It’s not a bird, it’s not a plane—it’s a rocket launch, and with it the introduction of a couple new faces (with familiar names) and a whole host of new mysteries on the season premiere of Supergirl.
Over the summer Supergirl made the move from CBS to the CW, and a change in network didn’t stop the show from picking up exactly where it left off. The first mystery is the Kryptonian pod carrying another survivor from Kara’s home planet, who then proceeds to stay unconscious through the whole episode. Even this strange occurrence isn’t enough to drag Superman away from Metropolis. It isn’t until the next day, when the launch of the first commercial spacecraft, the Venture, goes horribly wrong that Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) finally has a face to go with his famous name.
Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist) spends a not-so-blissful day facing down Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart), to whom she is no longer an assistant. At the end of season one, Cat handed her a new office and the offer of any position within the company (within reason) she wants, and twelve hours later the frosty media mogul wants an answer. Kara struggles to “find her calling” over the course of the episode as she deals with her first date with James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks).
The date is derailed when the Venture Launch literally goes up in smoke; an explosion on the spacecraft sends it hurtling to earth. Hearing the pleas from their respective city’s news sources, both Supergirl and Superman answer the call, landing the craft somewhat unharmed in a field. Kara and Clark’s first on-screen interaction involves an enormous amount of cuteness. They share their glee at being able to save something together and then both agree that they would “normally say hi” when faced with an awed family of bikers.
By the end of the premiere, the gang discovers that Lena Luther is not the perpetrator of the explosion, but the target, thanks to her intent to rename Luther Corp to “L Corp” in order to turn over a new leaf and distance herself from her brother. He is the mastermind behind the explosion as well as another several attacks on Lena, both thwarted by the Super-cousins and the DEO. Kara makes several important decisions about her life outside of her superhero activities, in her love life with James, and in asking Cat for a position as a reporter, a request that Cat grants with pleasure while revealing that she pegged Kara for the job the moment she applied.
What we haven’t learned, however, is the identity of the mysterious Kryptonian. The final scene also introduces another known mystery: our first real glimpse of Project Cadmus, the shady government operation where Alex’s father might still be held, alive, when Lena Luther’s would-be assassin finds himself there, on the brink of death. An unnamed doctor (Brenda Strong) offers him life or death. She injects him with some kind of liquid metal which turns his eyes metallic, and then coins him “Metallo”.
Though there were plenty of reveals in the season premiere, this episode left us with more questions than answers, and that seems to hold true for Supergirl herself. Though Kara made significant decisions in her work and love life, she still has the looming question of a potential new relative in the mysterious Kryptonian, which sets up brand new uncertainty for her as the season continues. With Clark sticking around the small screen for at least a little while, and more potential family cuteness to ensue (along with some Luther family drama), the move to the CW has maintained the perfect balance of action, drama and quirkiness that blends flawlessly in Kara’s story.