Before long, Kara begins revealing her identity to those closest to her, most namely her co-worker Winn Schott (Jeremy Jordan), who comic book readers will recognize as the future villain Toyman (cleverly, there are several toys scattered across his workspace). Schott doesn’t display any villainous tendencies here, but accepts Kara’s secret with open arms and begins helping her refine her crime-fighting skills and costume. It’s never fully explained how the two manage to make her duds (though Superman’s baby blanket is eventually given to her to use as a cape), but it’s not really important.
What is important here is that, within about thirty minutes, Kara has gone from mild-mannered office worker to full-fledged costumed hero. The swift pace is much appreciated, and makes the pilot far more interesting than if Kara had spent the whole hour moping about her sense of purpose or destiny. Kara embraces the opportunity with a charming smile, and one montage later she’s the hero we’ve tuned in to see.
Because Superman is already established in this world, the question of which villains Kara will face throughout the series does linger (though we have a few suggestions). However, the writers find a clever way around this by bringing back the Phantom Zone. When Supes rescued Kara, one of the Zone’s prisons came with them and crash landed on Earth. This provides the “villain-of-the-week” fodder that these shows are so reliant on, and gives the writers the opportunity to bring in more aliens and baddies down the line.
It’s in this episode’s villain that the show’s true message of female empowerment takes hold. Kara is eventually led to Alex’s secret government facility and tasked with stopping an alien threat, Vartox (Owain Yeoman). Vartox underestimates Kara because she’s a woman, and is swiftly defeated.
The head of the Department of Extranormal Operations, played by Homeland actor David Harewood, doesn’t believe in or immediately trust Kara. Again, it’s not because she’s a woman, but because she’s an alien. You could almost swap her character out with Superboy and the script could remain virtually the same (though Cat Grant’s empowering speech about giving Supergirl her name would be a bit awkward).
Special effects, lovable characters, and smart plot development aside, Supergirl is not a perfect pilot. Though handled off screen, Superman’s shadow does hang over the series – especially because everyone keeps referring to him as “your cousin” when talking to Kara. Seriously, you could play a drinking game for the word “cousin” and be sloshed halfway through. That will hopefully go away in upcoming episodes, especially now that Kara’s origin is out of the way. Eventually, audiences are going to want to see the Man of Steel on screen in more than just silhouette form, so scaling back the name drops would help put him out of our minds until that day eventually comes.
Another potential thorn in the series’ side may actually be Jimmy Olsen, played here by Mehcad Brooks. Olsen seems to have graduated from bumbling Daily Planet photographer to famous, handsome and suave CatCo photographer. It’s a subversion of expectations that could lead to an interesting story – or simply remind us time and again of Superman’s existence somewhere. We’ll see how it plays out.
All in all, Supergirl is a bold and exciting introduction to the title hero. I have never been silent about my concerns about the series, but those worries have been completely replaced by excitement for what’s to come.
