"Supergirl" Recap: "Pilot"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Hype can be a dangerous thing when it comes to television shows or motion pictures, because hype creates expectations. Those expectations lead to hope and a grand desire that everything will be beyond amazing and we've all seen the end results when something doesn't live up to the hype...and it's never pretty. But last night, something rare happened on television, a show lived up to its hype and it completely blew my expectations out of the water because as it turns out...Supergirl is shaping up to be an incredible show. 

In fact, it wasted no time getting the fanboy/fangirl moments out of the way by giving us a taste of Krypton and baby Kal-El before bringing out the big guns...cameos! We saw Superman, and yes while I understand he was mostly in the shadows...it was him! We also got surprise appearances from Helen Slater who played Supergirl in the 1984 film of the same namesake of the show and freaking Dean Cain who donned the cape for Lois and Clark back in the day. Now, this obviously isn't the only reason the show was great last night, but it was a sign that the powers that be are serious about making sure it's respectful to the source material and that's important. If anything, this was simply a geek out moment that needed to be highlighted because what came next actually managed to exceed these awesome moments.

Yes, it is possible to top Superman showing up in one simple way...by giving the superhero genre new life by foregoing the dark and brooding atmosphere and making everything lighthearted and fun. There's no dark moments to be found in Supergirl, just simple characters who jump off the screen and rather than spend a ton of time on an unnecessary origin story the plot gets moving at a breakneck pace, getting Kara into the suit and saving the day as quickly as possible and I fully appreciate the fact that the show was willing to do that. Kara isn't a tortured soul with a past or someone who needs to brood and stew before making a decision to become something special...she WANTS to help people, she wants to do good and that's a vastly different message to see from this genre than we have in years and it's quite refreshing. It doesn't mean I don't like the darker aspect of the genre as it stands now...it's simply not necessary here, especially with the quality messages provided in the premiere.

Not only did the show make a point about good people doing good things, another rarity on television these days, it also makes a point to focus on Kara's struggle with being more in life. She's not happy settling, she never has been, she has always wanted to do more, to be more and well...she finally gets the chance to do that and make mistakes along the way before saving the day and that's some powerful storytelling right there because it speaks to so many people out there and gets back to the core of why we love the Superhero genre...they inspire us to be more. Kara's journey flat out tells us to be more, to try and be something special in this life and yes, you're going to screw up along the way so pick yourself back up and try, try again until you get it right. It really made for some magical television to be honest. 

What's even better...this is just the beginning of her journey and if they managed to pack all of that wonder and awe into the pilot episode, what else do they have in store for us? Either way, I absolutely loved this premiere, and everything about it. Every single person is cast perfectly, Melissa Benoist is absolutely stellar as Kara Zor-El and brings a depth to the role and the character that was sorely lacking in the 1984 film and she is the anchor to this series and the reason that last night's premiere was a success in my eyes. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the fact that the pilot wasted no time in setting up the plot for the entire season which is awesome, now we know what kind of epic adventures Supergirl is in for this year and it only has me more excited to see what is coming our way because wow...this was a groundbreaking piece of television, one that accomplished a ton in a short period of time and one that completely goes against the grain of what's out there right now. Bravo to Supergirl. I'm hooked and I'll be watching come next week...until then.

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