"Supergirl" Recap: "Better Angels"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​There's something magical that happens when a hero suddenly realizes there's no help coming their way and they are the only person who can save the day from an incredible threat that endangers everyone...they become fearless. Suddenly it's about protecting the innocent and doing whatever it takes to make them safe and last night, Kara Zor-El finally crossed that threshold during the  season one finale of Supergirl.

While last week served as the setup for Kara's defining moment as a hero, this week delivered it and man, I have to say this season finale was satisfying on so many levels because it truly had something for everyone. If you wanted big time action, you got it. If you wanted gentle and touching moments, that was there too; as was a healthy dose of redemption for several of the characters. But what would Supergirl be without a few twists and turns along the way and the good news is, "Better Angels" was filled with plenty of those as well.

Case in point, Myriad. I was a little surprised that this whole grand mind control scheme was so incredibly easy to defeat. But it made sense why the show wrapped that up so quickly. For starters, we can't get a showdown between Non and Supergirl without it being out of the way and it was important to show much the S represents hope wise for National City and how much Kara has touched everyone on a personal level in some form or fashion. Regardless of her mistakes, the people trust her and believe in her and that worked as the perfect setup for saving all of mankind because holy cow, Non upped his crazy game like no other. I really wasn't expecting him to go from "humanity must be saved from its own mistakes" to "kill 'em all" in record time like that, but a push from Indigo never hurts and let's be honest, we always knew that deep down he was this evil.

That little twist led to best surprise of all last night, the fact that Kara was going to stop him one way or another, and was fully prepared to die in the process. That's how much it meant to her that everyone saw her as a symbol of hope in this world, and this is what I meant when I mentioned that moment when a hero realizes it's up to them and them alone. But rather than be bold and simply woosh off to save the day, Kara handled the weight of it all in beautiful fashion. There was something incredibly unique about her saying goodbye to those she loved before doing this, and I think Cat's point about living every day to its fullest applies here the most. She knows now how fragile life is on this world, and how much every last one of these people mean to her, and having lost Kelly last week, and Krypton too so long ago...now was the time to do this right and make sure her friends and family know what they mean to her regardless of what the outcome was going to be.

It made the final showdown matter more, it made her super acts all the more spectacular and it made that ending ten times more satisfying. Because "Stronger Together" has always been an important theme to this show. That unity is the key to accomplishing wonders, and that's exactly what happened in this season finale. She went the extra mile for those she cared for and to have them go to the same lengths to save and help her...it proves she's doing exactly what Cat said she would do in this life...she's changing the world. That's what we have come to expect out of our Kryptonians over the years and that makes for one fantastic season finale and I certainly hope that CBS makes a decision quickly to give us a second season of this show because this is exactly what television needs right now; something fun, something uplifting, and something that inspires. Until next time.

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