Supergirl S2 Premiere Thoughts

"The Adventures of Supergirl"

The Season 2 premiere of Supergirl was just as enjoyable and refreshing as I'd hope while still keeping with the themes and tone of the series. Here are some of the more highlighted elements of the first episode for the new season in my opinion.

-Superman Is Finally Here!

Well, although Superman has always been a part of this universe since the first season, we've only really seen him in the form of teasing blurry silhouettes and text messages, so it's shocking to finally see him fully presented on the show. After watching the first episode, I can happily say that I absolutely loved this incarnation of Clark Kent/Superman introduced here. The clumsy, constantly smiling, and warm personality of Clark Kent matched with the confident and powerful aura of Superman is all beautifully presented here by Tyler Hoechlin who kills it in the role.

The way that the writers (so far) utilizes him is also well handled as he never really takes away the spotlight from the central character being Supergirl but instead shows up as a new and strong supporting element. I'm very curious to see just how his character will fit into the story here as they do introduce some significant name drops such as Luther (via Lena Luthor and the prison sentence remark about Lex) and Metallo. Watching Superman and Supergirl save the day together was a delightful treat for fans like myself, but what's even more interesting for me is the dynamic between Clark and Kara shown here.

Seeing Clark give advice to Kara about the struggle and understanding of having a foot in both worlds (the person and the hero) was a great scene as it shows how much these two can relate outside of their capes. But what I really liked following that is where Clark asks Kara to tell him more about Krypton and his family which shows that both characters have something to offer to each other. This has always been a series centering around family in some shape or form, so I'm really interested to see how that central theme will be strongly implemented here with these two.

-Visual Upgrade

So, if you've followed my episode reviews of the first season, you'll know that I had serious issues with several of the visual FX and action choreography on the show (especially the flight sequences). However, in just the premiere alone, I can definitely say that the scale and overall CGI quality of the action scenes have definitely improved a little. The flying looks pretty decent and the fact that we get to see both Supergirl and Superman saving civilians from environmental damage while strategically handling a threat together is a nice telling of the scope that this season might go as far as the action packed spectacle elements.

-Villain Set Up

I'll just say now that I'm not really that excited to see Metallo whatsoever as I've never enjoyed seeing the character in past iterations due to my boredom of villains who carry the hero's weakness around or inside of them as their secret weapon. The phrase "Well that's just cheating!" is a phrase that I highly dislike using on characters that I'm supposed to feel compelled by, so I do hope that this version of the character is simply here as a quick obstacle to get around and not a major villain moving forward.

There's just nothing interesting about John Corben in this episode as an expendable hitman, so his transition to Metallo isn't that exciting to me. However, I will say that his design and the battle scene itself just might turn the tables around for me. If Metallo ends up being awesome visually speaking and is followed up with a spectacular fight scene between him and our Kryptonian heroes, then I can at least say that his insertion in the show was entertaining. We'll just have to wait and see I suppose.

-Overall Thoughts

Generally speaking, this season premiere was definitely a success as far as not only breathing in fresh new air to the series with character introductions, but also nicely returning audiences to the colorful and lighthearted tone that they remembered previously. I'm not entirely sure how to feel moving forward regarding villains and possible story arcs, but I am curious to see where Supergirl journeys to with her double life as a hero and as a future reporter like her cousin. With Superman now being a much bigger part of the series, I can definitely say that this new season is looking to have a bright and fun path to follow if this premiere is any indication.

Bonus Content:

1. Luthor's Legacy

With Superman's full on introduction to the series now, we were bound to get some Lex Luthor easter eggs thrown in there as well. However, I wasn't expecting to seeing the Luthor name being a significant part of the story (or at least in the first episode). I'm curious to see if we'll ever get a Lex cameo of some kind as well as how Lena fits into everything with her plans of changing the family company's image. 

2. Gotham City Namedrop

No, I don't think we'll be seeing anyone in a bat costume running around anytime soon on the CW, but it was shocking to at least hear Gotham getting a brief shout out in this show. It's also funny that Gotham is supposedly safer than National City going by what that random guy says after being rescued by Superman.

Episode Rating: 8/10