Changes are in store when Supergirl returns for a new season later this year.
If you haven’t seen the first season of Supergirl and want to avoid spoilers we suggest you stop reading now. If you have seen it and want to hear our thoughts on the next season keep reading.
Following a critically-acclaimed first season, Supergirl is moving networks in the US when season 2 arrives. The show will sit neatly alongside Arrow, The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow on The CW in the US after spending its debut season on CBS. The change in network means the show will be relocating to Vancouver for filming with a smaller budget and that could result in some casting changes.
At the end of the first season Kara (Melissa Benoist) defeated Non (Chris Vance) and she got a promotion at work from Cat (Calista Flockhart). The season came to an end with Kara discovering a pod similar to the one she came to earth in and she was shocked by what was inside it.
Elsewhere J’onn (David Harewood) was reinstated as the Director of the DEO and the shock reveal that Alex (Chyler Leigh) and Kara’s father Jeremiah (Dean Cain) was alive surely paves the way for that character to arrive during season 2? The show also started to explore a Kara and Jimmy (Mechad Brooks) romance that I’m not entirely sure I’m buying.
Ahead of season 2 we know that Superman will be making an appearance following the casting of Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf) as Clark Kent and that Kara will have a new boss Snapper Carr, a journalist hired by Cat as the editor of CatCo Magazine.
I’ve pulled together the Top 10 things that I want to see when the show returns…
1. Superman to be used sparingly. Personally I think it’s way too early for Superman to be showing up in National City. There were glimpses of him and mentions aplenty during season 1 and that’s where I think it should have stayed for a while longer. Supergirl didn’t show up in Smallville until the later seasons and Kara needs time to stand her own two feet before her cousin shows up. I hope Kara still gets to save the day and save Superman (not the other way round).
2. Cat to stick around. One of the rumours circulating is that Calista Flockhart will be reducing her role in the show now that the filming has moved to Vancouver. The confirmation that Snapper Carr is Kara’s new boss seems to support that but I hope we still get plenty of Cat. The relationship between Kara and Cat was one of the big successes of season 1 and without her the show just won’t be the same.
3. Romance to take a back seat. Was it only me feeling a little uncomfortable watching Kara mooning over Jimmy so much in season 1? You wouldn’t have got the same in a superhero show with a male lead would you? I don’t actually buy into the Kara and Jimmy relationship at all and I hope it is reduced to subplot during season 2. The focus should be on Kara’s kick-ass abilities and fight to save the world, not on her feelings for Jimmy.
4. Lucy Lane (Jenna Dewan Tatum). I loved the character of Lucy in season 1. She may have been introduced a little clumsily and the love triangle with Jimmy and Kara I didn’t really care for, but Lucy is another strong female character that grew over the season. I like how she began to bond with Kara and I hope she’s around as a regular for season 2.
5. Jeremiah to recur. Who really thought that the show would hire Dean Cain as Kara’s adopted father and not keep him around? The reveal that he’s alive wasn’t a huge shock so I expect we’ll see him in a recurring capacity, like Helen Slater, during season 2. There’s a juicy storyline just waiting to be explored there.
6. More Alex and Kara scenes. Leigh and Benoist have a fantastic chemistry and the moments they were together were some of the finest of season 1. Both are very strong characters and when they work together on missions the show hits its stride.
7. Making more of Winn (Jeremy Jordan). I thought Winn was a little side-lined for a lot of season 1, which is a shame as Jordan is a fantastic actor. He brings a little comic relief to the show and his character has scope to play a much bigger part.
8. A stronger enemy. I completely understand why Astra (Laura Benanti) and Non were the villains of season 1 but the arc was a little uneven. I’d like to see a more formidable villain that stretches the entire season and feels more threatening.
9. More scheming from Maxwell Lord (Peter Facinelli). The slippery character won me over by the end of season 1 and I was glad he was a bit more complicated than he first seemed. His constant switching of sides was fun and there was a spark there with Alex.
10. Improved visual effects when Kara is flying. This is going to be a tough ask, especially as the budget has been slashed, but the visual effects for Kara flying around National City weren’t great. If they can pull of the effects they do on Arrow and The Flash, surely this can look a little better?
Supergirl will return for season 2 on The CW in the US and Sky 1 HD in the UK this autumn.
