What I’m Watching: Supergirl

Supergirl: Season 1, Episode 9 “Blood Bonds” (B+)

It’s nice to have this show back as the first quality returning show in 2016 that isn’t premiering a new season. This show has always been a bit lighter than I might have expected, and it’s good to see a relatively serious hour, that, more than anything, uses music to underscore its impactful events. It’s so interesting to learn how Astra and Non predicted the downfall of Krypton and tried to do what they could to prevent it from happening, and how Alura condemned them to life imprisonment because they crossed a line and killed people to achieve their goals. Kara trusting Astra to keep her word was an important step, and Astra calling off the dogs after Non was ready to double-cross them was an equally crucial development in what she is determined not to call a truce but Kara is happy to accept as a temporary armistice. Now that Hank has revealed his true identity to Alex, she fully trusts him again, and he came in quite handy when Alex accidentally spilled the beans in front of Kara, who used him very cleverly to convince Cat once and for all that she wasn’t Supergirl. Kara and Supergirl shaking hands and meeting was a fun moment, and while it does mean more of Cat, who I don’t particularly love, it’s good that Kara can stay in her day job to keep her some form of sane. Maxwell Lord is becoming quite the villain, and he even managed to intimidate James when he went after him. It’s better that a human enemy should present a threat than another Kryptonian for the time being, and let’s just hope that Lord doesn’t cause too much damage to Kara and her friends before they take him down.