CBS made the second episode of Supergirl available early to press, and I can happily report that it’s even better than the first episode, which I liked a whole heck of a lot.
What makes it work?
Nobody’s perfect. Supergirl comes to National City, and suddenly she’s this perfect hero? Not so much. The Maid of Might goes through some growing pains on her next week on the job, and not everything goes as well as she’d like for them to. Does the city see her as a Spider-Man-like menace? Maybe not yet, but if she keeps it up…
Name dropping. Remember how the first episode avoided saying “the big guy’s” name for most of the episode? Not so much here. Superman is directly referenced more than once, and names like Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Perry White might come in, as well. Additionally, we learn a little bit about Cat’s back story and what led her to becoming the CatCo entrepreneur that she is today. We don’t need to see the Daily Planet to know what goes on there; that story has already been told. It is, however, nice to know that that part of the universe is not ignored.
We see Supergirl does what she does because it’s the right thing to do, and it’s the right thing to help people. I could even go so far as to say that’s a “House of El” thing, and we get some insights to the kinds of things Kara learned as a child on Krypton.
Kara helps her friends, and her friends help Kara. Stronger together, right? Not only are Kara’s relationships with Winn and James explored, but her interaction with her sister is strengthened as well. There’s also some interesting interaction with Cat and some interesting developments involving Hank Henshaw and the DEO.
The “Astra” thing makes sense. One of my criticisms of the Supergirl pilot was that I found it a little bit silly that Kara’s aunt looked just like her mother. That criticism is alleviated partly by the casting of the very fantastic Laura Benanti, who plays the characters so differently that you definitely don’t get confused. I’m also going to assume that Andrew Kreisberg is going for a “The Master looks just like Nyssa’s father on Doctor Who” type approach here too, where someone that is going to be so hated looks just like someone that the main character loves.
The Hellgrammite. Already, in Episode 2! I have a feeling this is just the first of many characters from the comics lore who will cause trouble on the show.
Cinematic visual effects and look. I feel like I’m watching a movie when watching Supergirl. You kind of expect that from a pilot episode, but Episode 2? Really? Glen Winter did another great job directing, and the VFX team did top-notch work. But between the effects, the filming locations, the sets, and the general look of the show, I’m just very impressed.
Great writing. The story from Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg and the teleplay from Andrew Kreisberg and Ali Adler are top notch.
Supergirl Episode 2 airs Monday night, November 2 on CBS. Come join the countdown to the episode’s airing on our Supergirl forum and if you’d like to see some preview photos, look below!
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