In the Supergirl Season 2 finale, Cat Grant told Supergirl, “The thing that makes women strong is that we have the guts to be vulnerable, we have the ability to feel the depth of our emotion, and we know we’re going walk through it to the other side”
The Supergirl Season 3 premiere explores this very idea. Meet Kara 'No Feelings' Danvers. The only way to save Earth-38 was to unleash a lead based weapon that caused every Daxamite to flee or die, including Mon-El, the love of Supergirl’s life. Superman said he’d never have been strong enough to make that decision if it were Lois Lane’s life at stake. “Clark said he couldn’t have made that sacrifice but I couldn’t have lived with myself if I hadn’t. Kara Danvers was a mistake,” Supergirl says in the premiere, which takes place six months after the finale where she put Mon-El in a pod and sent him into outer space. Since, she’s been in a very dark place.
She’s taking her caped crusade very seriously, even skipping pizza night and turning down free dumplings. When we catch up with her, she’s daydreaming about Mon-El and her mother while hovering in the clouds above National City. The production isn’t bright and clean like Season 2. A dark cloud looms over Supergirl’s consciousness since the Daxamite invasion.
Supergirl questions if her alter-ego, Kara, is even a good person and worthy of having a life outside of her super suit. She replays the moment she said goodbye to Mon-El over and over in her head and wants to leave behind everything that defines Kara Danvers. She quits CatCo, stops hanging out with her friends, and even though crime is the lowest it’s ever been, doesn’t have any hope of living a “normal” life. “I’m not human,” she tells J’onnz.
This vulnerability and emotion displayed during Kara’s grieving process brings some of the best fight choreography we’ve ever seen on the show. Supergirl dives into the ocean to stop a missile. Running out of breath, she falls to the ocean floor, opening her eyes only when she hears Mon-El telling her, “Wake Up.” She emerges from the water with the huge (and I mean huge) submarine over her head. The whole city watches from the distance. This scene was striking, reminiscent of Diana Prince running through the battlefield in Wonder Woman and launching herself into the tower where the sniper is hiding and saving an entire town. The scope of emotion brings tears to your eyes. It was truly incredible to watch.
Supergirl has experienced a change in tone every season. The first, on CBS, was more of a family drama. The second season got the magic Arrowverse touch for The CW and brought Superman into the equation. This season, it looks like we’ll be delving into Kara’s internal struggle, taking the typically bright and hopeful character to a darker and emotionally unstable place. Can we get an HD poster of that submarine scene, though?
Supergirl airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
