Welcome and hello again to all our Supergirl fans out there, the beginning of this piece comes to you from your trusty Supergirl.tv Admin (Eric). As some of you may know, our support page lists that at certain levels of donations, we provide and encourage guest and opinion pieces to be writen by you, our users and supporters! Today we are overwhelmed and excited to bring you our first opinion piece brought to us by one of our biggest supporters, user jacksc01! We thank her for her support and encourage you all to read her thoughts on Season 3 so far, below:
One Supergirl Fan’s take of Season 3 so Far (Episodes 1-9)
Very well done. Episodes 1-9 did not disappoint. They are filled with all the characteristics that make Supergirl one of the best action packed series on television. What do I consider the best characteristics of a good show to be for this series?
- Increase number of sister moments with extended dialogue
- Supergirl front and center in her show at all times in all episodes.
- Butt kicking Supergirl action with the help of her friends including Alex, J’onn, Winn, James and the DEO.
- Realization that Supergirl is not a robot who upon getting injured can just be placed under a sunlamp and everything is all better both mentally and physically.
- A show that let’s children know that even if you are adopted, you will be loved.
- A show filled with love, morals and a show that can be watched by the entire family.
So let’s take a look at Season 3 and see how Episodes 1-9 make out when judged by these criteria points.
Increase number of sister moments with extended dialogue
This season so far Kara and Alex have had many sister moments with extended dialogue. The writers heard the fans and gave us what we wanted. Every episode so far has had a sister moment with extended dialogue. Girl of steel- regarding whether Supergirl should retain the persona of Kara or just be all Supergirl with Alex providing her own opinions to answer that question. Triggers – with Alex letting Kara know that no matter what happens, she always has her. Also, Alex providing that extra needed boost to Supergirl for the final showdown with Psi. Far from the tree – Alex and Kara sharing time at the beginning regarding the wedding shower that Eliza was throwing for Alex and Maggie. The Faithful where at the end Alex and Supergirl worked together to protect the citizens in the stadium. Damage – where Alex and Supergirl were fighting the criminals on the bus and Alex confirmed to Kara that was the day she was going to tell Maggie and of course the scene at the end where Kara comes to the bar and makes plans for them to go home. Midvale needs no explanation since this whole episode was dedicated to the sisters (yippee!!!!). Wake up where Alex gives Kara a shoulder to lean on regarding MonEl and his wife. Crisis on Earth-X, Alex and the team trying to save Supergirl from Overgirl. Last but not least we have Reign where Alex warns Supergirl that there was something about this villain that scared her and finally the moment where Alex sees her sister in a heap of cement not really knowing whether she will live or die.
Yes, episodes one through nine definitely gave us sister moments with extended dialogue in every single episode and I am a happy camper.
Supergirl front and center in her show at all times in all episodes.
Definitely Supergirl has been front and center in all of her episodes one through nine. Looking at the show this season we see Supergirl/Kara deeply involved in the main plot of each episode. So far there have not been any episodes this season where you see Supergirl for only 5 minutes or less and then she doesn’t appear for the remainder of the episode. Again the writers heard what people wanted and provided it.
Butt-Kicking Supergirl action with the help of her friends including Alex, J’onn, Winn, James and the DEO.
Well not all episodes had butt kicking action but even those that did not had our girl of steel front and center. Examples of episodes with kick butt action include Girl of Steel, Far from the tree, Crisis on Earth-X and of course Reign where Supergirl got beaten by Reign but not before Supergirl put up a darn good fight.
Realization that Supergirl is not a robot who upon getting injured can just be placed under a sunlamp and everything is all better both mentally and physically.
I think that has been shown very well in the third season. Beginning with the episode Girl of steel we see that mentally, Kara has not recovered from losing MonEl and the show makes you aware that she has been grieving for some time. This point has also been shown in the episode Reign in which Supergirl is beaten to the point where her recovery requires more than just putting her under the lights. Thus again showing the point that she does have that human side that requires time to heal both mentally and physically.
A show that let’s children know that even if you are adopted, you will be loved.
What I have always loved about this show is the way that Kara is loved by the Danvers family. Eliza’s love is unwavering and she refers to Kara as her daughter, her youngest. The sisterly bond between Alex and Kara is extremely close and even though Alex in previous episodes made us feel that it was a conditional love, the episodes this season (especially Midvale) let us know it is not. They may have arguments like normal siblings but that love is there to stay. Any young child who is awaiting adoption or has been adopted can see from the show that yes, you can be loved by your adopted family as if you were born into that family. What a beautiful message to send.
A show filled with love, morals and a show that can be watched by the entire family.
In my opinion there isn’t an episode this season that could not be watched by the entire family. As for morals and love, I think the show stresses that with each episode. Supergirl is the personification of all that is good and moral. The show is realistic in showing that when you hold yourself to these morals, you may find that you have to defend what you believe in. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but if you keep trying and your heart is in the right place, you will eventually succeed.
In conclusion, the episodes 1-9 this season have fulfilled everything I could have asked for in this show. Major theme of this season: “Wake Up” and basically that is what this season has done. We asked the writers to “wake up “and give us the things we asked to see in the show – and in my opinion they have. If the remaining episodes keep on this track then I can honestly say that young and old have found a female hero in the Girl of Steel.
Admin here again, Thank you again to guest author Chrystal Eve! As always let us and her know your thoughts on this opinion piece in the comments below and or the forum! Also please remember that the site's rules still apply and we will moderate opinion comments as well. If you've donated before at the levels that allow for opinion pieces and want to write your own, please let us know! Or if you are interested in sharing your own opinion piece, check out the support page where we've made that option available. Thank you all!
Comments
Perhaps... and yes, I agree - We really shouldn't sugarcoat such issues.
I think that part of what we're discussing here is how closely we would like the show to mirror "real life". (The original Supergirl comics of the 60s were of course very unrealistic.) There is always an element of dramatic license in TV and comics writing. For instance, DNA testing (forensic "genetic fingerprinting") today generally requires several weeks to be completed correctly. On TV shows, it never seems to take more than 30 minutes or so!
Me, too!
Of course, the reason I prefer the "cheerful sunny Kara" is because that is the Supergirl I grew up with back in Silver and Bronze Age of DC Comics. As I said before, one's preferences are generational to a great extent, also....
Stewart I know you greatly prefer cheerful sunny Kara so take heart, the \S/ still got brighter in E9. I have faith that Kara’s core personality is still there and will ultimately shine through. Will she ever be the somewhat naive person she was in the first season, I sure hope not. With maturity comes a certain level of darkness as we take on in Kara’s case the weight of two worlds. I want to see Kara find joy again, she’s trying because she’s not bottling up her feelings anymore. IMO this “mini-breakdown” has been a long time coming. Kara has unresolved issues that have been pushed aside for various reasons and now events are forcing her to deal with them. Mental health issues don’t get quickly resolved but ebb and flow during a person’s life. IMO it would be a dis-service to people who struggle with mental health issues to show Kara quickly working through things and going back to exactly who she was before. Kara’s going to come out of this dark period in her life stronger I just know it. My fondnest hope is the season finale ends with Kara in a happy place, after what this season throwing at her she deserves it.
And that... no matter how dark the world seems now, light will come.
When everything is sunny, it is not always easy to get that message out; at least, not for many people.
In my opinion, Supergirl does a good job of balancing that and doesn't go overboard with the philosophical discussions."
I agree. I just want to see Kara get back to her normal personality already. It's what makes her unique among TV superheroes. (And it also makes Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman unique among big-screen movie superheroes.)
Here, here's what I'm talking about:
https://flic.kr/p/D9iKNp
And yes, in the comics Kara was trained in martial arts by Wonder Woman (an expert!). But on the TV show, Alex appears to have taken over that role :)
How people can fall and then can get through anything with the strength of love (all kinds of love) and friendship.
While I agree that it is fun to watch a cheerful Superhero... The reason why Superheroes go through the same struggles a regular human goes through, including some PTSD and depression is for the same reason that they some times need to fail and then get back up. So, that everyone (both kids and adults) who watch can know and believe that they can get back up after failures too and that they can be heroes too.
And that... no matter how dark the world seems now, light will come.
When everything is sunny, it is not always easy to get that message out; at least, not for many people.
In my opinion, Supergirl does a good job of balancing that and doesn't go overboard with the philosophical discussions.
And I also agree with kdogg , I really want Kara to move past the funk she is currently in, and get back to being her usual sweet, cheerful, optimistic self. I think it's about time. As Time magazine wrote last year: "Who says superheroes have to be brooding? Supergirl saves her city with a smile." Not that's the Supergirl I want to see again!