Kara Danvers' (Melissa Benoist) return from the Phantom Zone in the Supergirl mid-season premiere “Welcome Home, Kara” brought back more than just Kara. After a season and (almost) a half of Supergirl that failed to focus on developing the regular characters by giving far too much attention to the series’ villains like Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer), the final season is finally (in the back half) returning to the character-focused stories that lead to exemplary growth for the main players. Since this monumental moment, the stories have been far more grounded, as we’ve spent the majority of Episodes 8-12 focusing on various social issues and how these heroes are actually doing when it comes to protecting the citizens of National City.
It’s a shame that the show is doing so much better with many of the characters, given that Supergirl Season 6 consists only of 20 episodes and it wasn’t until Episode 8 that any real progress was seen. Much of the characters’ development that’s finally unfolding should’ve been done much earlier, and it’s clear that there is so much more story to be told for the Super Friends.
Nia, Kelly, and Lena
Without a doubt, Nia Nal (Nicole Maines) has experienced the biggest changes of any character we’ve seen over Supergirl Season 6. Since her powers first began to manifest after her introduction during Supergirl Season 4, Nia has struggled to control these powerful abilities. Losing her mother around this same time didn’t help, either, as she was the only person that truly could’ve guided Nia through the world of dreaming.
Over the course of Season 5, Nia fell to the background until the latter half of the season, where the show really picked up the focus on the story at hand. Nia’s dreams about Lex were impossible for her to interpret to save the day, something that has weighed on Nia heavily. Now, Nia’s powers are finally being explored. She’s taking these experiences and trying to master these abilities, which have been shown to rival even the most powerful of villains and potentially lead to the heroes regularly getting the upper hand.
The show went so far as to create a scenario in Season 6 Episode 10, “Still I Rise,” where Nia’s mother came back from the dead temporarily to help Nia get a handle on interpreting her dreams. After two and a half seasons, Nia’s finally embracing her role as Dreamer, and her story as a hero has only just begun. Likewise, much of the recent Supergirl episodes have been focused on building up Kelly Olsen (Azie Tesfai) to take up the Guardian mantle that her brother Jimmy left behind when he left National City, which she finally did on “Blind Spots.”
Kelly, first introduced in the final stretch of Season 4, joined Nia as another character greatly disserviced by Season 5, barely having a story of her own (or any time on-screen, for that matter). The potential for her stepping up as Guardian has always been there, especially after she rocked the shield during the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” event last season as National City and Earth-38 crumbled around them.
Season 6 is the first chance fans are getting to really see Kelly for all that she is, including the hero she’s blossoming into with the help of her girlfriend, Alex Danvers, and the other Super Friends. With Kelly, the show is also exploring social issues such as affordable housing and the problems within the foster system, which is a major part of her rise as Guardian, to be a hero for the people that the bigger heroes don’t always see.
While Nia and Kelly only joined Supergirl during Season 4, a character that has been on the show since very early on joins them in having a major arc in these final episodes: Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath). Lena’s story since her first appearance in Season 2's “The Adventures of Supergirl” has been primarily focused on her role as part of the infamous Luthor family. Given Superman and Lex’s rivalry, it has been quite interesting (for the most part, excluding quite a bit of Season 5) to see a different story unfold between a Super and a Luthor.
As the show winds down, we’re just getting insight into Lena’s birth mother, a character that has remained nameless until Season 6, Episode 11. And with that insight comes the revelation that Lena’s mother was a witch... and Lena is, too. With only eight episodes to go, Lena is just finding out she possesses magical powers.
It’s an utter waste to see this major development in the final episodes, as there’s clearly so much more to do with Lena. As a scientific genius and magical witch, she’s the ultimate package. She’s being set up to be the key to stopping the series’ current Big Bad, Nxyly, and her entire life is changing.
Not to mention that, along with powers, Lena’s romanticized view of her mother was shattered. She discovered that her mother had accidentally killed a man, causing her to be run out of her hometown when they uncovered the truth. The girl has enough familial trauma from the Luthors, and now we’re adding more (that will likely go unaddressed with so little time left) and shattering the illusion of her perfect birth mother. What is the point?
Brainy, J’onn, and Alex
As for Brainiac-5 a.k.a. Brainy (Jesse Rath), he’s had little development during this final season. He dealt with his feelings over working with Lex, and his relationship with Nia has progressed a bit (primarily because of where Nia’s story has gone over the last 12 episodes), but other than that there hasn’t been much.
Same with J’onn J’onnz (David Harewood), too. It seemed like the show was finally going to dig into his relationship with M’gann (Sharon Leal), but she’s inexplicably disappeared just before Kara’s return from the Phantom Zone. Overall, J’onn hasn’t had much of a story of his own (which isn’t new, unfortunately). So, with so few episodes left and so much left unaddressed when it comes to what his future will look like, pretty much any ending for him wouldn’t feel earned.
Meanwhile, like some of the other female characters, Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) has only recently stepped up as the vigilante Sentinel to protect National City, armed with a special alien weapon that puts her on even ground with the super-powered aliens they’re often facing.
If Supergirl ends as many expect, Alex will end the show married to Kelly with a child to raise... in addition to continuing as one of National City’s protectors. But we’ve just barely started to see Alex’s new life explored since she left the DEO. And with how poorly Kelly was treated during Season 5, Alex and Kelly’s relationship suffered too, as the majority of their relationship development has come off-screen. This fan-favorite couple has hardly interacted on-screen, leaving so many opportunities to shine the spotlight on their relationship, particularly now that both are part of the Super Friends.
Alex’s role as Sentinel has only just started to be explored as well. She only received her own superhero name in the Season 6 premiere. Plus, after leaving the DEO, what's next for Alex career-wise? She was so devoted to that place, and it put so many of her talents to excellent use. What does she want to do with her life now? Being a hero is great, but it would be wonderful to see the other side of Alex explored. Kelly is a social worker, Nia and Kara are reporters, how does Alex want to use her brilliant mind?
It’s Too Soon to Say Goodbye to the Super Friends
While Kara Danvers’ story may be coming to an end, and even that is being unfortunately cut short in such an unsatisfactory manner, so much development that should’ve come much sooner has been pushed into this final season. We’re just seeing the women of the Super Friends make these major changes in their lives, becoming heroes and/or owning their power, putting their lives on vastly different courses than before. This would’ve been fascinating to explore last season… instead of having to tolerate the unending focus on Lex Luthor.
Many of the characters are changing in such positive ways that it makes this season feel like a beginning, rather than an ending. If the characters’ stories do not continue after the end of the series (maybe, say, in a Super Friends spin-off), it would feel like a slap to the face to have this amazing content saved for the final season as we’re forced to say goodbye, especially after what a disaster Season 5 was.
The first five seasons of Supergirl are streaming on Netflix. The final season continues Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.