The pilot of Supergirl was rollicking, right out of the gate. Its momentum sputtered a few episodes lagged. Recently, however, Supergirl is starting to find its legs. The characters are beginning to get fleshed out, the actors are coming into their own, the action is getting better, and the well-meaning but hamfisted feminist messages have become a lot more subtle and well presented. Despite all that though, I still think there's a lot more the show could be doing to make itself into the high flying superhero show it has the potential to be. The Superman mythology is one of the richest in all of comics, with some of the best characters, villains, and concepts imaginable. And though the big screen version of Superman has jettisoned much of the more whimsical, lighthearted trappings in favor of Nolan style realism, Supergirl has retained the cartoony earnestness needed to pull off some of the wackier stuff the Golden Age era of comics brought to the table. (good-) And, well, Supergirl comics are chock full of the craziest, coolest stuff you'll ever seen in a comic book. So far, much of the show has consisted of monster-of-the-week stories interspersed with a running story line involving Kara, her aunt General Astra, and the memory of Kara's mother. And while that's worked out pretty well, there are a lot of really interesting pieces that could be brought to the board in order to make the show an even richer and more entertaining experience.
