Supergirl Review: Changing (Season 2 Episode 6)
Supergirl is doing what comics and superhero stories have been striving to do for years: telling real, relatable stories in a fantastical world.
What’s different about Supergirl is that it’s not just lifting up the geek boys who’ve always claimed this genre is their dominion. This show raises up geek girls, lgbt+ women, and people of color too, giving representation to those groups in ways that few shows, let alone superhero shows, ever manage to do.
Kara is obviously the hero of this show, but one of the best things about Supergirl is that she isn’t the only one, and they don’t all wear capes.
This episode’s monster of the week is not all that interesting, but it gives James and Winn a reason to finish their little side project. James’ transition into “The Guardian” has not been the most exciting, but this week he steps it into full gear and we are so here for it.
James knows he can help by doing more than standing behind a desk or a camera, and it’s wonderful to see him step into a new, more hands on role. His suit is incredible, and with Winn’s help he’s quickly becoming his own brand of superhero.
James: We’re heroes man, just like Kara.
Also a hero this week, or rather the whole season so far: Alex Danvers.
Last week, Alex came to realize there may be more to her feelings for Maggie than just friendship and admiration. Supergirl is giving Alex one of the most realistic and honest lgbt+ stories I have ever seen on television.
Alex: Maybe it’s just a phase, you know, maybe it isn’t real.
Maggie: It’s real, you’re real. And you deserve to have a real, full, happy life. Okay? Tell your family. This is the biggest thing that’s ever happened to you, and you shouldn’t have to do it alone.
Anyone who’s ever experienced feelings for someone of the same sex knows exactly how Alex is feeling. The show is taking the time to do this story justice, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
Chyler Leigh delivers Alex’s varied emotions at this new part of her life in the most perfect and believable way. From the way she stumbles over her words when she tells Kara about her feelings, to the tears of fear and the way she smiles through them when talking about Maggie, to the devastation she feels after she puts herself out there for the first time and falls, everything about this performance is perfect.
Kara: I know that this is not the same at all, but I do know how it feels to keep a part of yourself shut off, to keep it inside. And I know how lonely that can make you feel. But Alex, you are not alone.
The show is giving Alex and Maggie a slow burn romance usually only reserved for the heterosexual characters of a show and we can’t wait to watch every step of their journey.
Other thoughts:
- How will Jonn’s blood transfusion from M’Gann effect him? Will he learn that she’s really a white Martian? Will it turn him against his friends, like the teaser for next week seems to indicate?
- I might be the only person that doesn’t see Supergirl is taking Kara and Mon El down the road of romance. Can we all just agree that that would be a terrible idea? I mean James is a much better choice, and his new vigilante identity might change the dead end that he and Kara seemed to have run into.
- While I really don’t want Mon El to romance Kara, I don’t want him to become a victim of Cadmus either!
- Raise your hand if you still miss Cat Grant.
What did you think of this episode of Supergirl? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Reviewer Rating:
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Supergirl airs Monday at 8/7c on The CW.
Samantha Coley
Samantha (she/her) is a social media specialist by day and a sci-fi junkie by night. As a freelance writer and podcaster, she also enjoys live-tweeting, blogging, good music, and better television. Her current favorite television shows include Star Trek (yes, all of them), Riverdale, and Stranger Things and there will always be a place in her heart for Battlestar Galactica, Leverage, and The West Wing.
8 comments
Raising my hand!!!! I must be honest, I haven’t watched a single Episode since Cat left. I read reviews to keep up on the lackluster storylines until Cat pops back in. If they were to get rid of James Olsen, whom the show insists we like even though we insist we don’t, I would give this show a second chance.
I’ve enjoyed the show and didn’t mind at all that they are taking Alex gay. I’m not sure what it adds to the storyline as this is really a show about Supergirl but okay.
Then this week they add Climate Change to the story and I’m realizing this isn’t really about Supergirl at all. It’s about bringing out all the leftist ideas and ignoring the fun of a Super girl.
I don’t watch these kind of shows to be told about social issues, I watch to see a girl of steel do super things.
It just seems it distracts so much from what the show was last year.
“What it adds to the storyline” – it IS a storyline. A show isn’t made up of just one story or character. But fwiw, it contributes to Kara’s narrative by putting her in the position of being strong and caring for her big sister for the first time so we have an interesting role reversal there; we also have her realizing that her secret and her life has always overshadowed Alex’s, coming to terms with that and apologizing (which fits in neatly with this season’s theme of ego). It obviously contributes to Alex’s growth by giving us a glimpse into her personal life, her history, and giving her a new relationship that’s not familial – last season we really only saw her dynamics with Kara, J’onn, and her mother. Quite apart from that, does a character’s sexuality HAVE to add anything to a show? Or can it just be a natural extension of an already fleshed out character? In this case, it certainly serves a narrative purpose, comes at a crucial time in queer storytelling on TV, and will make a difference to a lot of viewers (especially young ones) witnessing a character they love and relate to going on this journey. But a character being gay doesn’t HAVE to serve a purpose anymore than a character being blonde or being Asian or wearing glasses does.
As for the social issues – wow. My guy. Did you miss the fact that last season’s big bad villains Astra and Non were LITERALLY ecoterrorists who wanted to enslave everyone on Earth in an effort to stop global warming? Because that was kind of a thing. Bringing relevant social issues into storytelling and a girl of steel doing super things are not in any way mutually exclusive.
Well it’s completely alienated me (see what I did there?). I don’t watch these types of shows to have my consciousness raised. I watch them for the drama of the fighting and to see how she resolves the problems. These social issues don’t belong in this show. I think they are trying to get an audience back but this is not the way to do it.
lol if you haven’t seen the social issues that have been in the fabric of this show since literally episode one, then I really don’t know what show you’ve been watching but it’s not the one they’re writing. There are a million shows to watch if you just want to see fighting and bad guys vs good guys. Those things have always very explicitly come second to the greater themes of the show, which include but are not limited to family, hope over fear, feminism, and the ability of ordinary people to be heroes. Season one also explored – not at all subtly – issues like the power and role of the media, sexism, prejudice, queer themes via Kara’s “coming out” allegory, immigration, bullying, climate change and environmental destruction, and others. Not to say that they always handled these explorations brilliantly, but the themes were there and for the most part done well. This show has ALWAYS been topical. If you’re only just now catching on to that, then I’m sorry that it’s distracting for you, but it’s not new.
Great review. I think it’s important that television realise that diversity, whether through PoC or LGBTQ+ characters is the only way forward and Supergirl seems to be going in the right direction. To those who say those storylines are ‘unimportant’ or ‘boring’ I can only say that to those of us who are rarely depicted on screen it is so refreshing to see characters that you can relate with. It’s also great to see reviewers such as yourself picking up on these things.
Thank you for this short but wonderful review! I couldn’t be happier about the way Alex’ storyline started to develop this season. Nothing has ever felt more real, and finally she is a person I can identify myself with. The dynamic between her and Maggie is simply beautiful and I can’t wait to see where this will take us. Alex has been a hero ever since season 1 but I am glad that we get more and more insight into her character and that she proves herself a hero over and over again! A welcome plus (though it took a sad note in the episode) is that we get more Alex/Kara bonding time, which I dearly missed in the first few episodes of the season!
At first I wasn’t too thrilled about the thought of James as a superhero, but the idea definitely grew on me this week and hell – one can never have to many superheroes who are people of color! What made me unbelievably happy is the character development we saw Winn and James undergo to reach this point of companionship – they really are a great team!
Of course I still miss Cat Grant and I pray that somehow this wasn’t the last we have seen of her! One thing I enjoyed about the first season was the constant struggle of Kara trying to live in both worlds and the fun that also came with it. Lately we’ve been mostly seeing her as Supergirl and while I don’t mind that I’d love to see more of Kara Danvers as well.
I too hope they won’t go for a Mon El/Kara romantic relationship. I was never a huge fan of James/Kara but it would simply be a waste of wonderful growth to throw what they had away. While I adore the dynamic between Kara and Mon El, I hope he will just continue to be a good friend for her.
I really hope that the White Martian blood won’t cause too much harm on J’onn because I seriously need him to remain some sort of father figure for both Kara and Alex.
All in all I feel like this was the best timing for this episode considering the US elections last week: Alex comes out a gay? James, a black man, becomes a superhero? The topic is global warming? What a welcome fuck you to the person that currently calls himself President Elect!
*RAISES HAND INTO SPACE*
BUT this episode was so good and Alex’s story this season is cleansing my soul of the horrors of 2016. So so good. There are definitely other areas of the show where the story is lacking, and omg PLEASE NO @ Mon-El and Kara being a thing (ugh it’s gonna happen though isn’t it, UGH), but overall this is still the best part of my week. And next week CADMUS!!!
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