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There was a quite a bit of enthusiasm on our end at the start of season two of Supergirl, newly under the CW title. Now included in the DC TV universe started by Arrow, the hope was that the series would thrive under a network dedicated to sticking to the tonality of their heroes canon. Instead, shortly after the departure of Cat Grant and the dissolving of James and Kara’s anticipated romance, we were given a new storyline blocker in the form of Mon-El. Try as he might, the charms of Chris Wood weren’t enough to distract from how terrible disengaging his storyline was as Supergirl went from a series about a young woman trying to grapple with every day strife as well as the toils of being a superhero in the public eye, to a story about a superhero and her boyfriend, damn the rest. One of the best parts of the series in its inception was how unabashedly feminist it was. It was unapologetic, sometimes messy it just how much so, but loud and clear enough that any young girl would get the message. This even carries through to the title of the finale, “Nevertheless, She Persisted”. A powerful title, yes, but after a season of Kara compromising her happiness and beliefs it rang a touch false.
With Mon-El gone (for the time being) will we get our version of Supergirl back?
Granted, there were moments worth celebrating. While it does seem mightily accelerated it was nice to see Alex propose to Maggie after a season of watching their romance play out. It makes sense even in the face of Alex watching her sister loose the man she loved.
Then there was the “Go get them, Supergirl” moment from Cat Grant that, embarrassingly admittedly, left me a touch weepy. It goes to show just how invested we are in that dynamic that Cat finally vocalizing her knowledge of who Kara really is after a season away could result in such reactions. That it comes once Kara has left and after she’s already given her a speech, telling Kara that she’s on a hero’s journey without bringing to light what she knows, makes it all the more powerful. Cat saw something in Kara before she knew she was a hero, and that’s what made their dynamic so special and this reveal so poignant. It’s a dynamic I for one continue to miss on the show.
However, as much as that sequence utterly moved me, the best moment came when Supergirl and Superman had a show down, with the former becoming the victor. Sometimes what we all really need to see is Supergirl take down the Man of Steel. It was a marvelously shot piece of action, showing the combative nature of both characters when they aren’t holding back. Seeing Supergirl use all of her might to take down someone who supposedly was “earth’s victor” was hope put into imagery. It was both something we needed to see as well as well directed and crafted. It was enough to make me forgive the idea that still the episode was largely dominated by Mon-El’s want to be a hero while James was essentially nowhere to be found.
While the finale certainly opens up the opportunity for Mon-El to return, I for one hope that they sit on that return for a while. Or, at the very least, until they remember just how to write for their leading lady again without compromising her beliefs or anything that made her so wonderful to begin with.
Episode Grade: 7.5/10
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Season Grade: 6/10
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