Review: Supergirl Takes Flight in Premiere Episode
CBS premiered its new show, Supergirl last night, October 26. Supergirl, played by Melissa Benoist, is the fourth DC Comics TV adaptation to premiere on Primetime TV and unlike the other three shows, this one is all female.
The episode kicked off last night revealing Supergirl’s (Kara Zor-El) origin story. It touched on why she was sent to Earth , to protect her cousin, Ka-El (aka Superman), how her vessel got sent off track into the Phantom Zone, and how she ended up living with her adoptive family, the Danvers (thanks Superman).
Flash forward a few years and Kara is now living in National City, where she works as an assistant to media mogul, Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart), alongside her friend, Winn (Jeremy Jordan). The episode was a little slow at the beginning as they set up Kara’s life in National City, but after a date gone wrong and a crashing airplane the story began to pick up.
Kara, who has hidden her powers since arriving on Earth, finally revealed them to the world as she saved her sister and a plane full of people from crashing. From that moment on, National City was all about Supergirl; Who is she, why is she here, and is she related to Superman?
But not everyone was as pleased to see the new heroine. Kara’s sister, Alex (Chyler Leigh) and the agents from the Department of Extra-Normal Operations (DEO) were among the not so pleased ones. They want Kara to go back into hiding because they believe that, with her reveal, even more problems for the people of National City will arise and they were right.
Kara did not come to Earth alone when she landed here all those years ago. She brought prisoners from Fort Rozz (a Kryptonian prison) with her from the Phantom Zone. We met our first prisoner, Vartox, in last night’s episode. Vartox is bent on killing Kara because it was Kara’s mother that imprisoned him in Fort Rozz.
Kara attempted to take on the new baddie, but realized that this guy it not your average day Joe, but a Kryptonian just like her. Defeated her first time around, it is up to Alex to give Kara the words of encouragement she needs to prove that she can be a hero, not only to the DEO agents, but to herself as well.
During Vartox and Kara’s final fight, the audience comes to learn that Vartox did indeed not come here alone, but is working for someone far more powerful than he. In the final few moments of the episode, we learn who that person is and their plan for Earth.
There were some pretty great moments in last night’s episode .The scene between Kara and Cat as they discussed the name Supergirl was fantastic. Cat’s answer to why she is being called, “Supergirl” and not “Superwoman” is spot on and such a powerful statement.
The introduction of Jimmy Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) and his reasons for being in National City were done really well. It will be interesting to see where they plan to take Jimmy and Kara’s relationship over the next couple of episodes because sparks were definitely flying.
The creation of the suit was also a really good scene. Kara turning down the first couple of ideas because they were too over the top seemed really realistic. Let’s be real, the final outfit made the most sense. It was skintight, sure but she proved she could fly and fight in it without any worries. Unlike other comic based shows on TV, this suit really makes the most sense for a female hero.
Of course there were some negatives. The special effects and stunts weren’t the best, but the show made up for them in witty dialogue and character interaction.
What did you guys think of the episode? Will you be tuning in for Supergirl? Let us know in our comments!
P.S. the show pulled in around 14 million viewers last night! What a great way to start!!