What are your thoughts on Supergirl borrowing/sharing some of Superman’s allies and villains like James Olsen, Winn Schott (possibly the future Toyman), Livewire, Non, and Reactron? In addition, have Astra and the Fort Rozz prisoners been delivering as the big bad and villains of the week?
Andy Behbakht: I don’t mind that they are borrowing characters from his mythology because they do share a lot of the same supporting characters and villains and some of them honestly work better as Supergirl characters than Superman characters. I hope to see several of the baddies come back, especially Livewire because Brit Morgan just nailed that character with grace. I think it was the fall finale where I got more invested in the Astra/Non and Fort Rozz plot because up until that point, I was more interested in seeing Kara fight those other type of bad guys. I need to see how the second half does it with the Kryptonians, but I’m glad that the finale managed to get me at least a bit more curious about what they were up to.
Nick Hogan: I addressed this a bit already, but it makes it feel like it belongs. Without the Superman connections, the Supergirl writers have very little to draw from. With them, they deepen the Superman lore and teach us more about lots of those characters. I could always give or take a villain-of-the-week format, but in Supergirl’s case, it’s important to connect the audience to something they know more about. I don’t think it matters where the characters come from, so long as they’re compelling and tell a good story, and that is definitely happening.
Joy D’Angelo: I came into the Supergirl story without much of a comic book background, so the only character I really knew was James Olsen. I liked how they’ve used him. I also thought the episode with Reactron was well done in terms of Supergirl’s connection to Superman, although the open text messaging was ridiculous. (Like, that’s no way to keep your identity secret!). I like the character of Astra as a villain because they’ve infused the situation with so much gray. She’s not just some high-strung princess trying to take over the world or destroy the human race. The Fort Rozz element hasn’t been that strong, but in that winter finale I saw lots of potential!
Blaise Hopkins: I don’t mind that the show is borrowing the villains because I feel like the majority of people watching Supergirl aren’t super fans or comic readers to make the comparison. Plus, there isn’t a Superman show on TV that makes this a problem. The long-term plot with Astra is okay so far, but I definitely need her to be the main focus in the back half of the season. I actually almost completely forgot about her as a villain and think that the writers could weave her into the plot more to keep reminding us that she is the big looming threat. I’m sure that her character will see more screen time when the show returns, but I definitely need more from that storyline.
Chris King: I’ve had no problem with the use of Superman’s allies and villains; in my opinion, as long as they are a part of DC Comics, these characters are fair game for any of the DC TV shows out there. As for Astra and the Fort Rozz prisoners, I feel like Supergirl has done a pretty great job at utilizing both weekly villains and its overall big bad. As we’ve seen on other superhero series from Greg Berlanti, the first half of the season is typically more stand-alone episodes with little tastes of the main villain here and there before he or she becomes the central focus in the back half of the year. That worked incredibly well in Arrow‘s second season and The Flash‘s first season, and I’m enjoying that same pattern in Supergirl‘s freshman year as well.
The first half of the season ended with National City being invaded by Astra, Non, and several other Kryptonians, and the final shot of Episode 8 was the beginning of a huge fight between Kara and Non. What are your predictions for the outcome of this story and the rest of the season?
Andy Behbakht: As I mentioned above, it wasn’t until Episode 8 where I started caring more for the Kryptonians’ presence, because quite frankly, they haven’t really been there a lot since the first two episodes. While I don’t know how that particular fight will end, I think their presence will encourage Kara to grow and train even more because we definitely saw a little bit of growth there at the end of the finale where she is more frustrated than ever.
Nick Hogan: I predict that Kara will encounter lots of obstacles before she is forced to defeat her Aunt Astra. Being forced to battle her aunt will cause plenty of moral turmoil throughout the remaining episodes. Lucy and Jimmy may not last the season, and Winn will show shades of darkness. I predict mostly that the stories will continue to compel, evoke emotion, and be the strongest source of feminine heroes on television today.
Joy D’Angelo: Obviously, Supergirl won’t be killed. I think this Non may make a trade with J’onn J’onzz: Supergirl’s life to get back Astra. The rest of the season is going to have Kara wrestling with the implications of what she’s learned about her mother and why Krypton was destroyed – if that is in fact the truth. We may get some more backstory on J’onn J’onzz as well. As for this Toymaker thing, I don’t think Winn Schott is him…yet. That might be a Season 2 story.
Blaise Hopkins: I’m sure that we will see Kara pushed to her limit, but I’m expecting her to find her way out of the situation for the time being. All I want is for Kara to become a stronger character and superhero until she can finally face Astra and show she is finally getting the hang of being a hero. She wants to help people, which can also become a flaw because she is willing to do whatever it takes to save lives, but she needs to learn a little more about strategy and caution.
Chris King: I really have no idea what the outcome of the events in the winter finale will be, and that has me very excited. While I’m sure Kara will temporarily defeat Non and the other Kryptonians, there’s no way they’ll be gone for good, and it seems quite likely that they’ll leave a lot of destruction in their wake. As for what the rest of the season holds, I expect to see more conflict between Kara and Astra, Hank revealing his secret to at least one other person, Cat Grant as a part of the Supergirl team, and a more complicated but also more interesting love triangle between Kara, Jimmy, and Winn. In a more general sense, I’m expecting Supergirl to improve upon the stellar first half of Season 1 and deliver an even stronger, more confident, and more compelling back half.
Supergirl returns with new episodes next Monday, Jan. 4, at 8/7c on CBS. In the meantime, let us know in the comments below what you thought of the first half of Supergirl’s first season!
[Photo via CBS]
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