Just like what happened last year
with the respective pilots of
The Flash and Constantine, the pilot for the
new DC TV series
Supergirl was
recently leaked online months before the season officially starts. Here are my thoughts – labelled in Pros and
Cons:
CON: It was completely the same
as the trailer – and I disliked the trailer.
When the trailer for
The Flash pilot came out last year, I was underwhelmed – it didn’t compel me to watch
it. But I did. And I was
glad I did, because, though the
plot of the pilot was basically summarized by the trailer already, the pilot
itself turned out to be more awesome as I was expecting. It won me over. From then on, I was hooked. And now, a full season later,
The Flash has become my most favorite ongoing TV
show.
I was hoping that it would be the
same way with Supergirl. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be. The trailer perfectly embodied the tone and
direction of the pilot. There’s too much
The Devil Wears Prada vibes. It’s littered with YA rom-com tropes, hence,
there’s always this nagging feeling it’s targeting the demographic that avidly watches YA rom-com. Ugh.
Hence, with all these things going
against it, I was more sensitive in picking up unimaginative, bland, or dumb parts. And there was an unforgivable
amount of them. There are flaws in The Flash as well, but I don’t care, since the flaws are outweighed by all the fun and excitement it generates.
PRO: Melissa Benoist as
Supergirl.
When the first image of Benoist’s
Supergirl was released earlier this year, I felt that, at least, as far as
appearance was concerned, the casting was perfect. And it made me excited for the series. After the pilot, I still think that she
looked amazing for the part.
CON: Supergirl isn’t compelling
half of the time.
Again, this might be The Devil Wears Prada vibes ruining the
characterization of the character.
Everything feels annoyingly off. To be fair, there
is no real definitive characterization of Supergirl. But, still, I don’t think that Supergirl
is someone that struggles with her self-worth or considers the word “girl”
demeaning that she’s bothered she has been christened “Supergirl.” Yes, there are times that she struggles with things
like finding her purpose or finding her place in the world or living up to the
legacy of Superman, but she doesn’t mope – she gets mad. She has lesser restraint and
patience than Superman. Heck, in the New
52 version, there’s much anger in her that she even became a Red Lantern.
PRO: Mehcad Brooks as Jimmy
Olsen.
Supergirl’s version of Jimmy Olsen resonates with
pleasant good-nature, optimism, and charm.
I easily find him likable from the first scene he appears.
He’s a unique version of “Superman’s pal.” He’s black and
non-geeky, and serves as Superman’s liaison to Supergirl (more about this
later). Also, if what some articles are
saying is true, he is going to be Supergirl’s love interest. I find that intriguing.
PRO: Superman exists in this
universe.
Because it’s not going to make
sense if he does not. The character of
Supergirl is always hinged on the mythos of Superman. Of course, the show could have opted to take the whole Superman mythos and made it Supergirl’s own – like, there’s no Kal-El at all, and only Kara Zor-El was sent from Krypton to Earth. That could work, but it will really be weird
and confusing.
CON: But he probably won’t really
appear in person.
Still, Warner Bros./DC won’t allow a live-action
Superman to happen in TV that is more than a cameo. Hence, this probably means that
Supergirl’s Superman is going to be like
the “Mother” in
How I Met Your Mother?
– just out there, but won’t make an actual appearance (until, maybe, at the
latter seasons of the series).
Seriously, he sends Jimmy to talk to Kara in his behalf instead of talking to her personally?! I find that so stupid. And, sadly, more of this stupid kind of writing is sure to come to avoid putting Superman on the screen.
PRO: Jeremy Jordan as Winn Schott…
maybe.
To be honest, I’m still neutral
about him. And it was kind of strange
that Kara would quickly tell him her real identity just like that. But Winn is supposed to be the obligatory IT/tech
guy for this show (since every show these days has at least one such character),
and the thing about this kind of stock character is that either you get to like
them immediately (
Arrow’s Felicity
Smoak,
Leverage’s Alec Hardison) or
you initially found them unlikable but eventually liked them over time (
The Flash’s Cisco Ramon). So, yeah, there’s a good chance I’ll like
this guy.
CON: Calista Flockhart as Cat
Grant.
She has a big hand in giving the
pilot
The Devil Wears Prada vibe that
I hated.
CON: David Harewood as Hank
Henshaw… maybe.
The moment he opened his mouth, I
know that this is a xenophobic A-hole I will hate all series long. But there’s a chance this could be a good
thing in the long run. Sometimes, loathed
characters became the kind “you love to hate”, which actually makes the
character – especially villains – compelling.
Besides, if the show will take its cue from the comics, Hank Henshaw
could eventually become
Cyborg Superman – in my opinion, the greatest Superman
villain next to Lex Luthor, Brainiac, and Doomsday – down the road.
CON: Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers
Alex Danvers feels like more of a
plot device rather than an actual character.
It’s as if she only exists to help push the plot rather than being part
of the plot. She’s that generic character who has a close relationship with the main hero/heroine, and possesses some hidden, vague
resentment/jealousy for the hero/heroine, and initially discourages the
hero/heroine from being a hero/heroine because – you know – hidden, vague
resentment/jealousy, but eventually supports and encourages the hero/heroine because
love overcomes all. Pfffft.
PRO: The “Danvers” surname
In the comics, the Matrix, a
shape-shifting version of Supergirl (this was the first version of Supergirl I
encountered; this was way back during the “Death of Superman” storyline) from
an alternate reality, merged with a character named Linda Danvers to became a
new, white-shirted version of Supergirl.
So will this version of Supergirl appear in the show? Or is it just a loose reference? Will other versions of Supergirl appear in
this show? Will Power Girl?! Maybe I’m overthinking things, but more unexpected awesomeness have happened already in current super hero shows.
PRO: Potential for crossover with
the The Flash/Arrow universe
Just look how adorable this is…
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"On your mark, get set..." |
But establishing that
Supergirl exists in the same universe as
The Flash and
Arrow won’t make sense.
Again, Superman exists in the
Supergirl
universe, so if the
Supergirl
universe is the same as
The Flash/
Arrow universe, why was there no mention
at all of him prior? Thus, I don’t like
this approach.
How can a crossover happen
then? Grant Gustin said in a recent
interview that
The Flash will be
exploring the multi-verse in season 2.
So, yeah, let them use a cross-universe phenomenon to make that
crossover happen.
PRO: Greg Berlanti is on the
helm.
This is the same guy that has
brought us The Flash and Arrow.
Hence, there’s a good chance that Supergirl
will improve. It was a subpar pilot, but
it was only a pilot nonetheless. The
writing could get better; the characters could become more interesting eventually,
and less boring or irritating. I think Mr.
Berlanti has earned enough goodwill for me to give this show at least
half-a-season of a chance.