Her moment of existential crisis is interrupted when she gets a phone call…from Cat Grant!
“Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me”
She’s in scuba gear and scolding Kara about the coral reefs and stupid humans, steamrolling her and calling her Kiera, like the good old days. Kara waits until a break in the rant to ask why Cat called her, and she tells her that she bought CatCo back, and she wants Kara to help her report on what really matters. She wants her best reporter, Kiera, to be her Editor in Chief, and she’ll be back in National City in two weeks to get to work.
“Getting your dreams…It’s strange, but it seems a little, well, complicated.”
When Alex shows up to find a stunned Kara standing in her apartment with unfinished arrangements, she asks what gives, but Kara promises that with her superspeed everything will be fine.
While I understand Alex’s stress, I also procrastinate and I don’t even have superspeed to fall back on.
She tells her about her distraction: Cat Grant’s offer and Alex points out that this is Kara’s dream job, so why isn’t she jumping up and down? Kara says she’s not sure if she’s going to take Cat up on her offer; she sees her Superfriends flourishing and she feels so…lost. Splitting her time between being a reporter and being Supergirl wasn’t working, and even though she’s not the city’s only hero, she still has a lot of supervising and teaching to do. Ironically all this empowering is making her feel less powerful.
But Alex knows that isn’t true. That lighting someone else’s candle doesn’t make yours burn any less bright. Alex isn’t worried about her baby sister. She knows Kara is amazing, both parts of her, Danvers and Zor-El. She believes in her heart Kara will make the right choice, and Alex will be there for her just in case she doesn’t. Kara settles into her sister’s lap and asks, “What would I do without you?” which is what I’ve been asking both of them all week.
This, for me, is what the show was always about.
And so we come to wedding day, with J’onn using his magic to skywrite congrats to the happy couple. Esme is in a pretty little flower girl dress, Kara and Mama Danvers are taking in how beautiful Alex looks. Mama couldn’t be prouder of her two strong, brave girls, and her newest bravest little one.
Blood doesn’t make a family, love makes a family.
Far from superstitious eyes, Kelly is in her stunning wedding dress, and her brother is there to give her a gift. Something new, a communicator watch so they can always have each other’s back.
Kelly Olsen was the hero we needed, even though we didn’t deserve her.
The rest of the guests file in, Lena wearing a suit that implies she was told this would be an outdoor daytime wedding with pastels and flowers and she said, simply, “No.”
And then Nia is surprised and delighted to see a familiar green face amongst the partygoers. Brainy learned a lesson that would make Gideon proud and decided to choose love over logic. Nia is worried about the timeline but Brainy says that is quite literally a problem for future us and says they’ll rewrite the stars if that’s what it takes, he just knew he had to be with his girl.
As the wedding begins in earnest, Kara and Winn sing Pat Benetar’s “We Belong.” And why yes, thank you for asking, this is another place that the floodgates opened for an eyeball waterfall, realizing this was the last time we’d hear Kara Danvers sing, and maybe the last time in a while we’d hear Melissa, too.
Okay but what if she had started singing one of the songs she sang on Glee. “And all along I believed I would find you. Time has brought your heart to me. I have loved you for a thousand years, I’ll love you for a thousand more.”
J’onn walks Alex down the aisle, Esme is the flower girl, James walks Kelly down and Alex and Kelly exchange such loving glances.
Queer love wins.
J’onn officiates, and starts choking up when talking about being Alex’s Space Dad and how Kelly complements her, balances her, grounds her. He calls them the epitome of love and then says that since it’s the finale, as a wedding gift, they can talk for a longer stretch of time than they’ve talked to each other this entire season combined.
I cannot understate how happy I am that we got to see a character go from not even being out yet to getting married to the love of her life and her daughter’s other mother.
Kelly tells Alex that she is her rock, her reason, her agent of chaos. She might have known she loved Alex that one night at Al’s bar, but the moment she knew it was forever was the night Alex came home and held space for Kelly when she asked for it, didn’t push her, didn’t try to “fix” her, simply let her be. She vows to be that person in return for Alex, forever and ever.
“If you ever lose your way and everything is out of place, I’ll be there to make to it all okay. I will light the path for you, I’ll do all that I can do to keep you safe.”
Alex says she spent too long living inauthentically, and it took her a long time and a few heartbreaks to figure out who she was, and Kelly gave her the space to keep learning about herself. Kelly is her truth, and Kelly makes her feel like herself. She promises to return the love Kelly gives her, and never take the joy in their lives for granted.
“Anywhere the river flows, anyway the trade winds blow. You don’t have to face it on your own. I will right the stars for you, I’ll do all that I can do to keep you safe.”
With that, J’onn pronounces them wife and wife and the brides kiss.
“The curtains close on a kiss, god knows, and we know the end is near.”
Kara leaps up and whoops with joy, everyone claps, Nia and Lena beam at their friends. Esme yells, “WE’RE MARRIED!” and it’s all very cute and sweet and gay and happy and I love it. This is now the fourth finale in two years (two season finales, two series finales) that ended in a gay wedding (Station 19, Wynonna Earp, Legends of Tomorrow, now this) and I, for one, am here for it.
Esme shows her moms the birdhouses her and Aunt Kara made for the lovebird theme, and they all giggle and laugh at the unbearable cuteness of Esme.
Hey Google, show me “light personified”
Winn reflects on how terrified he used to be of Alex, which feels like as good a time as any to talk about Alex’s trajectory over the course of these six seasons. Alex used to be angrier, harder, snapping at her friends, pushing Kara to be stronger. She built sharp, opaque walls to protect her heart because she thought if it filled up too much it might break. She was a soldier and a protector, because that’s how she was taught. But as she came out to herself, to her family, as she fell in love and did indeed get her heart broken, as she healed and found an even greater love… Her heart grew stronger and her angles got softer. Her walls have more windows and doors, and she is quicker to welcome people in. She has matured and grown but hasn’t lost her sense of fun and excitement. She’s a mother, a sister, a friend…and still a protector. Because that’s what she has learned.
We’ll always have Canada.
Winn, the worst time traveler in the history of time traveling, tells J’onn that he and Alex will lead the DEO to greatness, according to J’onn and M’gann’s future son.
In a scene that I had in my screener but apparently aired in Canada (one of three, actually) and now is on the CW site, Esme runs off from her moms to bring Uncle Jimmy a special birdhouse, and in return he gives her a little camera. Maybe I’m just a messy, nostalgic bitch but none of the men bothered me nearly as much in these scenes as they did the first time they were on the show.
In another scene that inexplicably did not air in the US but is on the CW site, Lena tells Alex and Kelly that theirs is the best wedding she’s ever been to, and I bet she’s been to some rich-ass weddings.
The newlyweds tell Lena they want to ask her something, and she says, “You want to adopt me, right?” which is hilarious on a lot of levels, not the least of which being she like JUST became an orphan and is already leaning into the humor of it. But no, that’s not what they want; they want Lena to be Esme’s godmother.
This will be very convenient if Kara and Lena do end up together, since I have to imagine Kara is a godmother too. Raomother?
I don’t want to undersell the importance of this scene. Lena went from claiming to hate aliens, to claiming to hate Kara and the Superfriends because they kept Supergirl’s identity from her, to not only BEING one of the Superfriends, but being the GODMOTHER to Kara’s niece! I just really felt like Alex and Kelly hugging Lena tight and tell her they loved her was a pivotal moment in their journey as friends and I loved it very much.
More like godmommi amiright. (I’m so sorry.)
And then it’s time to dance! Everyone is happy and joyful and it’s a beautiful thing to behold.
The three original Superfriends, Kara, Winn and James, sit down together and talk about how far their journeys have taken them, and when they say they are finally starting to figure out what they want in life, Lena calls them over to join the fun.
I love to yell at my friends when they look good and I feel like I would just constantly be yelling at Lena? Just, nonstop.
Before Kara can get back to wildly flailing her arms on the dance floor, Cat calls again and asks why she hasn’t signed the contract yet. Kara hems and haws until Cat tells her to use her words (a favorite line of mine I use on my friends that I stole from my days of teaching) and Kara admits that she has always felt torn, like she was two people fighting for space and she wasn’t sure it would make her a very good Editor in Chief.
I would like to take a moment to thank the wardrobe department. No reason. (jk the reason is arms.)
Cat suggests that perhaps it’s because Kara is weighed down by the burden of her Supergirl secret, and Kara can hardly believe her Super ears. Cat laughs at her for thinking her little glasses fooled her after years of actively interviewing Supergirl and working day to day with Kara and watching her whiz off whenever danger was afoot.
“Yes I figured out you’re Supergirl. What, like it’s hard?”
Cat says that she knows she feels like she hasn’t been able to be fully Kara or fully Supergirl, so why not be both? Being 50% a hero and 50% a Pulitzer award winning journalist is still more than most people ever accomplish, but it doesn’t have to be that way. She turns some of Supergirl’s own words against her, and asks Kara to consider living her truest life and being her brightest and boldest self. It’s what she wants — nay, hopes — for Kara.
Kara thanks her mentor for saying exactly what she needed to hear, and Cat says she believes in her. She always has. (And for those playing the Drink when Valerie Cries Harder game, start waterfalling here.)
Honestly Kara handled this with grace. Heather has to give me a 30 minute warning before she pays me compliments so I don’t spontaneously combust.
In the last deleted scene from the CW airing, Kelly throws the bouquet and Nia uses dream energy to catch it.
Could Nia Nal BE any cuter?!
One of the guys tries to do that macho thing of like “oh no Brainy you’re next” but Brainy just smiles at Nia and says that he knows in a way that you know means it’s his dream come true.
And what’s interesting about this scene being taken out of the US airing is that it goes from Kara hanging up the phone with Cat to consider one of the biggest decisions she’s ever had to make, directly into Lena coming to find her. Lena sits down and starts to make jokes until she realizes Kara is doing her serious eyebrow scrunch thing and she matches Kara’s tone.
The *ease* and comfort Lena exuded at this whole wedding provided me a sense of warmth I cannot quite describe.
Kara confesses that she doesn’t feel strong, that she feels like she’s been hiding behind her glasses. Maybe Alex was right and living this closeted life isn’t the best or fullest way to live. It’s gotten in the way of so many things, kept her from being the best journalist she can be, kept her from being the best friend she could be to people, including but not limited to Lena.
“Then something new happened and turned my life around entirely. And that’s ’cause you happened, and look what happened to me.”
Kara realizes now what the Courage Totem’s gauntlet was trying to tell her. Her cowardice wasn’t not saving the citizen who needed her help, her mistake was creating a secret identity in the first place.
Lena understands; she hid behind the Luthor name for a long time. She was always framed by someone else, but now coming into her own magic and leaning into her own power, she’s starting to live her own life.
I don’t have the word count to go into how this entire conversation was a metaphor for coming out. We’re already at a gay wedding.
Kara is scared; the reasons she hid are still there. The reasons she lied to Lena in the first place. What if she reveals her identity and someone gets hurt?
But Lena says the difference between Kara when Alex’s plane was going down and Kara now is that now she has a team of Superfriends with magic and science on her side, and a city full of everyday heroes who quite literally would have her back if she needed them to. Kara doesn’t have to be the one to fix things anymore; they’re one big happy family now, and they can face anything. El mayarah. Stronger together.
Former xenophobe Lena Luthor speaking Kryptonian will never not be beautiful to me.
Overwhelmed with being so understood and supported, Kara breaks a little. She takes off her glasses and lets out something like a sob; the sound that comes when you mix a gasp of panic with a sign of relief. Lena comforts her as Kara tries to regain enough composure to explain what she’s feeling. Kara is so grateful for Lena; she’s the person who has challenged her the most and taught her the most. They had ups and downs in their relationship, but one thing is certain: they are who they are because of each other, and they’re better for it.
“So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you. You’ll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart. And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have re-written mine by being my friend.”
Lena and Kara wipe away their tears as Alex and Kelly call them from their honeymoon car to say goodbye. Kara is about to put her glasses back on, but she thinks better of it. She puts them down and walks away from them, once and for all.
It’s probably been a long time since Kara felt the sensation of relief that comes from putting down something that was too heavy.
She joins Lena and the rest of their family as they all wave goodbye to Alex and Kelly as they fly away in J’onn’s magic car.
I don’t know WHY we got a Grease ending for Alex and Kelly, but it gave me a big ol’ belly laugh, so I’m not mad about it.
Cut to the next game night, with everyone laughing and having the best time. Kara is feeling a little nostalgic, but she knows they still have plenty of adventures ahead of them.
Maybe Kara’s perfect game night partner was the friends she made along the way.
And Alex says that just because she’s cute and sappy doesn’t mean she’ll go easy on her on game night.
Had to sneak in one last Alex Hair Appreciation shot.
As the camera pans away from the Superfriends, we see CatCo has dropped an exclusive interview, where she reintroduces the world to Kara Danvers, aka Supergirl.
Thank you for everything, Kara Danvers. You’ll always be my hero.
And the show ends on Kara’s beaming face, finally one person, finally whole.
And that’s a wrap on Supergirl. Not unlike Kara, the show has gone on quite a journey, with ups and downs and ups and downs. But I’ll never forget that feeling I got the first time I saw the pilot in 2015. The rush of excitement to see a character that was more like me than any character I’ve ever seen — nerdy, excitable, hopeful — be a superhero. Unlike her Arrow counterpart, she thrived on friendship and wanted nothing more than to build a team, which she did. This show is what got me well and truly into superheroes; I had seen some X-Men and Avengers stuff before but Supergirl made me realize something plenty of nerds had known for years: comic book heroes aren’t all men. Their stories don’t have to be about brooding in the dark and punching your enemies’ teeth out. Sometimes it’s about inspiring the people around you and being more clever than your foe. And that’s an important lesson that I’ve carried with me. (Sometimes even literally, in the form of a quote scribbled onto a cardboard sign before going to a march or protest.)
Rao, so much has changed in the past six years. In the world at large, in my own life, in the landscape of television. Some for the worse, but a lot for the better. Supergirl isn’t the only female-fronted superhero show on the CW anymore. Season One of Supergirl didn’t have any canon queer characters at all, but the series finale was set almost entirely at the titular character’s sister’s big gay wedding.
Some things have stayed the same. The friends I first saw the pilot with are still some of the best friends I’ve ever had and some of the most important people in my life. Kara and Alex Danvers are still incredibly important to me. Probably always will be.
Are there things about this final season I wish I could change? Absolutely. There would have been less men, for starters. Kara would have been pushed just a bit further to the forefront. National City would have become West Gotham and made everyone gayer, especially Lena and Kara. But knowing how the season had been, I had four big wishes for the finale, and they all came true.
First, I wanted Alex and Kelly to have a happy ending. I didn’t realize we’d get a whole wedding that took up most of the episode, so that was a pleasant surprise! I love when queer love is celebrated and is the thing that brings everyone together, especially knowing how hard Chyler fought behind the scenes for the queer representation to be done right, and how hard Azie worked behind the scenes to make sure the Black representation was done right.
Also, I wished for the return of Eliza Danvers. My favorite TV mom. And I was so happy to see her.
My third wish was: no roadblocks to eventual Supercorp endgame. I knew the show wouldn’t do it; they’re NOT Batwoman, and based on its DC origins and possibly even its original creators/networks, I didn’t foresee them letting the show end with two main queer couples and a trans superhero all in the main cast. Unfortunately. Even though they accidentally(?) wrote a beautiful friends-to-enemies-to-lovers tale for a Luthor and a Super. But they ended in such a way that could have simply been, as the old legend has it, the start of something new.
And my fourth wish stemmed from my biggest fear going into this finale: that Kara was going to hang up her cape at the end of the series. That she would decide to be Kara Danvers full-time and retire the Supergirl mantle. I also didn’t want her to be Supergirl full time. Because the joy of Kara was that she was both. She was Alex’s little sister and the fastest girl on Earth. She was a Superfriend and a game night champion. She was the plucky reporter and the Girl of Steel. So I was beyond grateful that in the end, she found a way to be both.
So while the show did plenty of things I hated over the years, it did so, so many things I loved. Like Alex’s coming out story, valuing found family, and knowing that there’s strength in hope. It gave us a Luthor who’s a hero instead of a villain, Kelly as Guardian, and Dreamer, the first trans superhero on the CW. Plus, it gave us so many incredible acting (and in some cases, also writing and directing) moments from Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Katie McGrath, Nicole Maines, Azie Tesfai, and so many others.
To the cast and to you, gentlereaders, I say thank you. I hope you take what this show has taught us and keep fighting for what’s right. I hope you remember that there’s strength in letting your found family support you. I hope you keep being brave enough to hope. And I hope you do extraordinary things.
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Valerie, I stopped watching Supergirl years ago, but have still really enjoyed your recaps. Love the detail and the excellent mix of analysis and humor. You REALLY get the characters as the show presented them, but also understand queer fan aspirations, and you always wove these two together (canon and acknowledgment of the paths not taken) so well.
I’m really happy Supergirl provided you with both viewing pleasures and deep friendships. These are the ways that even imperfect shows like this one are significant to lesbian/queer community.
Thanks for your service to us!!!
Thank YOU so much for reading, especially after you stopped watching. It means a lot!
That was all beautiful, and the finale was wonderful, and your line about Lena’s wedding wardrobe made me cackle.
But
Are we not going to talk about the way Cat Grant asked Kara if she was, “BI-furcated?” That was her stressed syllable, not mine.
Cat knows everything.
thank you!! when she said BI-furcated I screamed
Cat really does know everything haha
Thank you so much for your recaps. After I found the Supercorp fandom early in the pandemic, I became utterly obsessed for a ton of reasons: first, the ice queen x happy girl vibes, then the will-they-or-won’t-they, then the super queerness of it (gender included, I legit owe a lot to fanfic nonbinary Kara Danvers), and tons more.
But I was worried about committing to the show, knowing about the queerbaiting people complained about, so when I learned about the season 5 storyline going on I ended up trying to find recaps and found yours. I’ve been following them religiously ever since mid season 5, every Wednesday after the show came out. And you’ve always done beautifully, Valerie, and this?
You might not think a recap could make me cry, but it did. You are a light in a community that while amazing, is sometimes too dismissive of the real queerness we have here in favor of Supercorp: a trans superhero who actually is a main character? A happy lesbian interracial couple adopting a kid and being the centerpiece at the end of the show with their wedding? Those are amazing things, and you never dismissed them. I’m a Supercorp fan now and forever, but thank you for not just throwing the baby out with the bathwater as I’ve seen many people do with the show for not doing SC.
So yeah, your recaps have made me laugh, cry, and experience a show by proxy in a way I never expected I would. Maybe I’ll watch it, maybe I won’t (Batwoman is honestly more of a priority with it being queer off the bat), but thank you for your work. It’s always been the highlight of my week.
Also? I never expected they would have Kara “come out” as Supergirl and I fucking love it. In my headcanon, Kara and Lena become witch/super power (heh) couple everyone loves, #2 to the never confirmed but super obvious Sentinel/Guardian.
This was beautifully written, Gyre. Supercorp fan here too.
And big thank you too Valerie too, your recaps are always such a fun read, in spite of the roller coaster quality of the show.
Thank you, Luce!
Thank you so much! Yeah it makes me sad when people forget about what a WIN Alex/Kelly and Nia are, but I do understand their pain. Thank you for caring about them with me!
I can’t thank you enough for all your work recapping throughout this show’s run. You’re comedic spin (and musical references!) always found a way to make me smile even at the show’s lowest moments.
Like many (MANY MANY) I had so many issues with this final season. I especially hated that after years of tormenting them, it seemed like the heroes only overcame Lex in the end because they got lucky that he girlbossed too close to the sun, but reading the way you put it, I can be kind of ok with it. Even if I would’ve preferred Kara & Lena getting the pleasure of yeeting him into the PZ.
I will miss these characters so much. I fell in love with the show and stuck around because of them and your parting words were as sweet a goodbye to them as possible.
Thank you so much, Rhonda!
{waterworks}
That’s all for now. Waterworks and Gratitude. El Mayarah!
But {Kara voice} “you know me!”, I must return to nitpick: “and a shadow version of Red Daughter.”
Oh, don’t you dare malign the late lamented Alex-loving/Lena-lusting Kaznian Kara! 💙💗
Whom you saw (among Lex’s {barf} “gladiators”) was ***OVERGIRL***, the Nazi version of Kara from S3’s crossover “Crisis on Earth X”. [In that alternate universe, Nazi Kara was married to Nazi Oliver. Our Supergirl’s gag reflex (expressed to Our Arrow) re that possibility? Oh yeah, right, she’s straaaaaightttt… 🙃]
Okay thank you! I guess I really blocked out a lot of CRISIS because I was like “Why is Kasnian Kara being so mean” so thank you!!
El Mayarah <3
Hey, V.A., since I don’t think you specifically mentioned it: promise me you saw the full (“extended”) version of the final Supercorp convo, too? Sigh, it’s not like they kiss or say “I love you” in it. But you do get to hear Lena talk about Kara’s “core wounds” in a way that’s not {grumble-grumble} in the U.S. (CW) broadcast version.
Thank you for all your wonderful recaps, Valerie. I forget how exactly I came to find them but they have been one of the reasons I’ve stuck with the show through thick and thin. And you’re the reason I discovered Wynonna Earp, so double thank you.
—-
Looking back on the show, it’s a wonder we ever got this far. As I recall, season one was originally an eight episode miniseries that had to be extended into a full season. Season two felt like it pivoted with us as we entered into the darkest timeline in 2016. In season three, they had to rewrite the entire back half of the season after one of the executives was thrown out during Me Too. I don’t know if anything behind the scenes changed the source of season four, but the sudden chorus of “It was Lex all a long!” makes me thing so. And then season five had to contend with Crisis and Covid.
So for a show about people in their 20s, it’s fitting then that its own run was like your 20s – you’re doing the best you can with what you can. Eventually, you find your way through to someplace better. Or, in Kara’s case, back to where you were at the beginning, but this time you know to turn left.
—-
“Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?”
I felt the ending was good enough. They managed to bring all the characters’ arcs to a satisfying conclusion based on the story they set out to tell. It didn’t rise to the level of Wynonna Earp or She-Ra, but maybe it didn’t have to. Supergirl may not have broken the closet ceiling, but she hit it hard enough that others – Batwoman, Legends, Wynonna Earp, etc – could.
Oh, sure, I could nitpick the finale and the season and the show ’til the cows come home, but that’s what fanfic is for.
—-
Speaking of Wynonna Earp, the only reason I can think of for Eliza to have been in National City, with a shotgun, three weeks before her daughter’s wedding, was she was participating in a very intense Earp LARP.
—-
It does not feel like an end, just a transition. So all that’s left so say is: Kaoshuh (lit. “to be continued”)
But Emily Andras has already smashed that ceiling with Lost Girl in 2010. Besides Waverly Earp was already an established baby queer before Alex’s coming out storyline.
I’m sorry. I just think it’s unfair to credit Supergirl writers for Emily Andras’ amazing queer storyline on Wynonna Earp.
Perhaps I could have phrased it better. My point was that a rising tide raises all boats and Supergirl was part of that tide.
Thanks for this last recap, Valerie! This show was rarely what I wanted it to be plot-wise, but I really will miss some of these characters and the vast potential they had.
While I mostly decided to just accept this ending for what it was, there were two last things that I was a little sad to see this late in the game. First, Alex telling Kara in any context that there was something she could do that Alex wouldn’t forgive. Six years in to Kara trying to prove herself and shouldering the burdens of the world largely alone, and her own sister has already made up her mind about the exact context in which that work becomes meaningless.
Sad that Alex still can’t fully trust anyone more than her gun, sad that Kara had to quietly appease a family member in a way that went against her instincts one more time. Sad that we’ll never explore that a part of Kara’s hesitation to be her full self is the Alex piece, where her sister gave up her teens and early 20s to keep Kara safe, and their lingering resentments and feelings of being sort of indebted to each other. Love those sisters, wish we had more than like 4 episodes total to show that as much as they love each other, it’s still complicated.
And second, I’m so sad about Nyxly’s end. All we’ve gotten to know of her all season, aside from her being petty and defensive at oftentimes homicidal levels, is that she was desperately lonely and and hurt scared after surviving her bad family experience.
I hate that, after 6 years of Kara trying to connect with all sorts of people and villains to help put them on a better path, none of that compassion was offered to Nyxly as she realized she was sort of marooned on an evil island with Lex, esp after she did show Esme real affection.
Nyxly’s arc hit a lot of the same notes as Lena’s in S5, and it could’ve been nice to close this series on the message that hope, help, and compassion aren’t just reserved for our friends.
This is not okay at all. They made Supercorp canon and then cut it from the episode. https://twitter.com/bettysluthor/status/1458868456368087040
That’s not real.
I trust you on this but how can you tell it’s not real?
Because it’s an obvious Photoshop, and I saw the Twitter timeline wherein the Photoshopper said upfront she was presenting a wish-fulfillment.
Photoshopping desired ships is nothing new at all, but the way some on Twitter intentionally tried to make this a “We’ll gaslight the CW the way they gaslighted us” thing, ignoring the OBVIOUS pain they were going to cause to yet more hurting Supercorp fans, was a terrible idea. We Supercorp fans face enough bullshit attacks on us by haters and phobes as it is, that we have to play right into the stereotype of being crazy and toxic? Argh. 😖
Thank you.
A great recap but that was overgirl not red daughter and j’onn doesn’t have magic. i normally hang on to every word that comes out of lena’s mouth but i must have missed her saying she hated aliens. is there a specific reference to that?
I don’t think Lena hates aliens in the way her brother does, but season 2 Lena certainly shows that she’s apprehensive about aliens being part of the general public with stuff like her alien detection device because she thinks people have a right to know if aliens are around them. That sounds pretty xenophobic to me.
but she never actually says it
First of all, thank you Valerie Anne for making this such an insightful and joyful ride over the years. Glad the series did manage to light up your life, with its nerdiness, its found family, its inclusiveness… all of Katie McGrath.
For me, it was always Chyler Leigh and Alex’s journey to herself (a recurring theme for almost all characters) that truly spoke to me. Her season 2 arc was such a revelation personally. By the time, I had been out for a couple of years already, but something finally fell into place. And for that I’ll forever be thankful to Dr. Alexandra Danvers. Seeing Alex achieve her dreams, is not something I really took for granted. She made it through. So many good things still waiting for her… Well, hopefully, Chyler keeps that wonderful super gay haircut.
Speaking of ships… Supercorp. When Lena turned around during the party, I stopped breathing for a sec, what was that lingering frame for!!! Like yes, call your girlfriend! Tell her, she pushed you to be a better person. And that you’ll be by her side, no matter what. No more dancing with arms flailing on your own 😄. Frankly, Lena/Katie made this a better show. So fare thee well, you badass witch. Hope, you pop up somewhere else soon.
The titular Supergirl, Kara Danvers finally bridging that gap, finding the courage to just be her best and wholesome self – knowing she doesn’t have to fix(ate on) everything or everyone. Cos people don’t need fixing, they do need a bit of support and something to believe in (and maybe affordable housing, nourishment and so on…). Melissa took this character and gave it her all. Wish the writers had given her better storylines, but so be it. Kara Danvers made me hopeful despite all the chaos.
So another series wraps. Another comment ends. Hope time makes me/us all bolder, too. See y’all around.
PS: One of my wishes was to get Cat Grant back for one last pep talk, so woohoo.
Thinking about the last couple of scenes of the show: One Last Game Night . . . and that, at Casa Kara Danvers, the TV was *off* while all around National City, people were glued to their respective screens, as Cat Grant re-introduced N.C. to THE One Girl They’d Known & Loved all this time.
It occured to me, that the only reason they weren’t watching at Kara’s place, was that, OBVIOUSLY, the Super Friends had already seen it. And that—probably explicitly—they’d all given their permission and AFFIRMATION of Kara’s Coming Out.
And then I saw this Last Game Night for what it truly was: not about charades, or even that we have this new married couple (w/ new child) and soon-to-be-married couple in THIS century, thankyouverymuch (though of course, it was ALL of that!). [Descending fully into the land of headcanon, Kara and Lena are on a *little bit* of an agreed break, while they get their new respective projects off the ground (Good God, the amount of terrible Luthor Corporation/family bullshit that Lena is going to have to finally and EMPHATICALLY SHUTDOWN, forever?) But I’m betting that ALL the Super Friends can see that this supposed “break” is NOT going to last very long! 💙💗]
This Game Night Party is all of the above, but it was in Yours Truly’s genderqueer experience of looking at YT ***Transition Party*** videos, where it all became clear to me: THAT’S WHAT THIS IS! Like a Transguy burning his last bra/binder before top surgery, loved ones gathered around, the Super Friends are together, celebrating Kara’s Transition. [Did they ceremonially stomp on every pair of glasses? I imagine Brainy made them fly around, for Esme’s delight.]
THAT was what Kara’s Smile to Cat was about: the Transition Party was already being set up, by her beloved family. The SMILE of the One Kara-Who-Is-Supergirl, SAFE in the knowledge that she is fully loved, supported, affirmed, and celebrated by her family, with her One Complicated-but-Complete Self OUT to the world.
And that’s a helluva thing to celebrate!🎉🎉🎉 Whatever my grief at the lack of Canon Supercorp (and yes, that’s also real), I will forever be grateful to the show for this closing message.
Please don’t hate for my extremely long comment, most of it quotes from your own work. It’s just my way of showing appreciation and or agreement.
“The rest of the guests file in, Lena wearing a suit that implies she was told this would be an outdoor daytime wedding with pastels and flowers and she said, simply, “No.”’ Hahaahahaha I couldn’t stop laughing at this. OMG.
I would like to take a moment to thank the wardrobe department. No reason. (jk the reason is arms.) Crying!!!
“I don’t have the word count to go into how this entire conversation was a metaphor for coming out. We’re already at a gay wedding.” Hauling!!!!!!
“First, I wanted Alex and Kelly to have a happy ending. I didn’t realize we’d get a whole wedding that took up most of the episode, so that was a pleasant surprise!” —-THIS!! I will aways be grateful for Chyler and Alex Danvers.
“Also, I wished for the return of Eliza Danvers. My favorite TV mom. And I was so happy to see her.” This too. My only issue with this is, and bear with me here because between the pandemic and that season 4 and 5 where not my favorites my memory is kind of sc***ed, did Eliza met Kelly BEFORE this chapter?? I think it might have happened when Jeremiah funeral but… I can’t remember it.
“My third wish was: no roadblocks to eventual Supercorp endgame. I knew the show wouldn’t do it ..But they ended in such a way that could have simply been, as the old legend has it, the start of something new.” SAME… SAME
“So while the show did plenty of things I hated over the years, it did so, so many things I loved. Like Alex’s coming out story, valuing found family, and knowing that there’s strength in hope. It gave us a Luthor who’s a hero instead of a villain, Kelly as Guardian, and Dreamer, the first trans superhero on the CW. Plus, it gave us so many incredible acting (and in some cases, also writing and directing) moments from Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Katie McGrath, Nicole Maines, Azie Tesfai, and so many others. “
Thanks for all these recaps, they have been a very good companion of my watching the series in a time not always bright for me.
It might be because of my age and that I grew up with little to none representation, but even with all the things this show scre**d up, I’m still grateful for the ones it got right. I’m grateful for its existence, even if it’s not the best, even if we deserve better. One of the things about getting enough representation (and I know we are still far from it) it’s that we also have the “right” to shows that scr** up.
This cast will always have my love and gratefulness just because they allowed for everything else that the fandom created, and that is the best part.
See you around everyone, and watch all the other shows with queer representation out there. (Or as many as you can).