'Supergirl' Recap: 'The Adventures of Supergirl'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

When we last left Kara Zor-El on Supergirl, she was a hero that had everything she could ever want. She was out from under Cat Grant's thumb, able to choose her own career path. She had finally come into her own as National City's savior, fully embracing and understanding her role as the hero known as Supergirl and heck, she even got the guy. It was quite the happy ending for our intrepid Kryptonian, which left us wondering, where exactly would the story go from here?

Thankfully that question was answered during last night's season two premiere, 'The Adventures of Supergirl' in the only way that this series knows how, with gentle and thoughtful moments that remind us of our humanity and the importance of teamwork along with empowering Kara to make her own educated decisions as she spent the episode learning how to live a fulfilling life when all of your dreams come true. After all, it's not enough to simply achieve the dream, we have to maintain it, and find ways to keep life exciting and fulfilling. But before we get too deep into that, there was one other issue the show simply needed to address, because it was something that hung over all of season one...her cousin Superman. Yes, this larger than life character only cameoed from the shadows last year and rather than continue to tease his existence and let him loom over the show, they brought him right into the mix...and it was simply magical.

Seeing these two iconic heroes on screen together, performing super-feats, was childhood imagination come to life. But more importantly, Superman's arrival on the show wasn't done in gratuitous fashion, nor did it take the lime light off of Kara, it was all about enhancing the story, building a world outside of National City and also...it was just so freakin' cool. I mean come on, they dropped easter egg after easter egg in this episode when it comes to the Man of Steel and a lot of credit as to why this storyline worked so well falls to actor Tyler Hoechlin who did an amazing job of owning the dual role of Clark Kent and Superman. When he wore the 'S' the man simply became the part, playing the Last Son of Krypton in cool and collected fashion, but what was more impressive was his portrayal as Clark, since he channelled a touch of Christopher Reeve to make Clark goofy and forgettable, for all the right reasons.

But while it was amazing to see the Man of Tomorrow return to the small screen after all these years, Kara's journey was truly the centerpiece of the night because her story, the need to find out who Kara Zor-El is as an everyday person, was a refreshing and subtle character study. So often our superheroes are just that, heroes and nothing more. Sure they have their secret identity but that identity often serves as relief to the overall story. We don't think about the hobbies that most of us require, or a passion that fuels our mind, body and soul because in a matter of minutes our heroes are back to saving all of mankind. But Kara, she's different. She needed something to fulfill a greater calling within her and the scenes between her and Cat, as she poked and prodded Kara to let go and be more in life and find a personal purpose were outright beautiful and touching; especially when Cat flat out told Kara that she was an inspiration.

In the end, Kara discovered that perhaps following in her cousin's footsteps and becoming a reporter at CatCo is the life she needs to lead, and what matters most...she did it on her own. Sure Lena Luthor threw her a bone, but she always knew deep down what her calling was, heck so did Cat and that's quite the empowering message to send to the viewers and while it was heartbreaking to see her decide to call it quits with James, that's another important moment. It's about Kara being happy with who she is and where she is going in life before adding romance into it and that's another wonderful message to send, that another person isn't always what we need to be whole and well, with that kind of storytelling in front of us, it's clear that we are off to a great start for season two. This will be a year of personal discovery, with just a hint of saving the day and I cannot wait to see what other incredible adventures with Supergirl await us. Until next time. 

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