“Supergirl” never really fit in on CBS, since the channel has almost always avoided genre fare since its renaissance in the early aughts. “Supergirl” finally found a great home at the CW network, avoiding being cancelled, and gets a chance to bloom and fit in with her fellow superheroes at the channel. For the second outing of the “Supergirl” series, the writers and producers are so much more devoted to bringing in new viewers. Not only did the network give a whole season marathon over the course of the summer before its debut, but season two finally introduces this iteration of Superman.
For all of Season one in “Supergirl,” Superman mostly remains in the background and at a distance, since Warner and DC were using the character mainly for movie development. In all of season one, he appears sporadically, and even when most of the population falls under the control of a villain, Superman shows up briefly and then doesn’t do much after falling under the control of the rogue Supergirl has to face alone.
With season two, The CW is given a more liberal use of Supergirl’s universe, and brings on Superman to be allowed a bigger more active role. Thankfully actor Tyler Hoechlin is amazing in the role, playing the character as a powerful god-like hero with a ton of humility, charm, and enthusiasm for what he does to help the world. It’s a shame Warner didn’t take notes for Hoechlin’s turn as Superman.
While his appearance is brief, it makes a ton of impact and opens up Supergirl’s world finally. Sans Superman, “Supergirl” season two continues being an imperfect but entertaining series that mixes drama, science fiction, and good old fashioned superheroism for the audience.
All the while there’s continued fan service for the hardcore Supergirl buffs, everywhere. This season Kara faces a new role in Cat’s company, all the while dealing with the appearance of her cousin Superman, who has a dark and pretty troubled history with her mentor Martian Manhunter. Meanwhile Supergirl is up against a new nemesis in the form of Lena Luthor, and garners a new ally in the form of masked superhero and vigilante “The Guardian.”
Also, to add to the spectacle, Supergirl teams up with Arrow, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and their teams to stop a potential alien invasion in a four series crossover. We also get to meet the series’ iterations of Metallo and Mister Mxyzptlk, as well as Livewire, who becomes a Supergirl villain for this series. Overall it’s been a much ballyhooed follow up to season one where the writers and cast were carving out their own niche, and it’s a welcome return with Melissa Benoist once again ruling as the definitive live action Supergirl.
Among the extras for the season two set, there are almos two hours worth of goodies for fans. There are episode commentaries for choice episodes, and “Supergirl 2016: Comic Con Panel” where we get to learn a lot of new details about the new season. “Alien Fight Night” is about the episode “Survivors” where we get a bigger insight in to the overtones of the episode involving immigrants, which has been a humongous theme for Superman and Supergirl since they were created. There’s also a special commentary for the episode “Supergirl Lives” with director Kevin Smith and Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg. It’s a lively and very energetic commentary that fans of Smith will enjoy. There are also a couple of “Did You Know?” featurettes about Supergirl,
As for “The Flash: Season Three” if you’re not on board the show by now, you won’t be at all. The show is also one of the many imperfect but still damn good series from the CW that has managed to definitively present the Flash in an epic scope with engaging storylines and human characters. After Barry defeated Zoom in season two, his world is shaken when he enacts the “Flashpoint Paradox” from the comics, where he manages to save his mother from being murdered.
This happens to have humongous and radical alterations to his universe and world, unleashing some new twists in his reality that he’s not prepared for. Season three mostly revolves around Barry dealing with the consequences of tinkering with the speed force, and how he has to back pedal on some motivations.
Two new villains introduce themselves including Alchemy and the new speedster Savitar whose identity is unknown to many. There are also some new characters and obstacles, along with the continued themes about family, with the return of Captain Cold, the evolution of Killer Frost, and Cisco whose powers continue to grow, all the while dealing with the death of his big brother, which occurs in the new timeline Flash has built.
There are also some big events, including the four series cross over called “Invasion” where the heroes from “The Flash,” “Arrow,” and “Legends of Tomorrow” come together to battle a new alien foe. There’s also Barry crossing paths once again with the sentient and hyper intelligent Gorilla Grodd, when he abducts Jesse’s father and keeps him hostage in the newly established Gorilla City.
And of course, fans get an added treat as Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin flex their singing pipes for the highly anticipated episode “Duet.” While “Arrow” has had a hell of a time digging itself out of a rut, “The Flash” still has the new show smell, feeling its oats and having a fun time introducing new speedsters like Kid Flash, and Jesse Quick from Earth-2 and various other complex characters like Killer Frost.
Among the extras for “The Flash: Season Three” is “Villain School: The Flash Rogues,” the one minute “The New Rogues,” and the nine minute “Allied: The Invasion Complex.” It’s a shame they included the extra but didn’t feature the entire crossover in one whole special. There are seven deleted scenes, the nine minute “Rise of Gorilla City,” the four minute “The Flash: Hitting the Fast Note,” the two minute “The Flash: I’m Your Super Friend,” the fifteen minute “Harmony in a Flash,” and the twenty one minute “Synchronicity in a Flash.” There’s the thirty minute “The Flash: 2016 Comic-Con Panel,” the twenty one minute “A Flash in Time: Time Travel in the Flash Universe,” and finally a gag reel.