CW President Mark Pedowitz is defending the upcoming return of Mon-El to Supergirl. Kara Danvers' Daxamite boyfriend became a point of contention for many fans of the show, as the second season's plot relied heavily on Mon-El and his family, and his relationship with Kara became the show's driving focus to the detriment of all other story threads.

Supergirl's second season was, in many ways, a marked improvement on its first, and moving to The CW brought it more in line with the other Greg Berlanti produced DC superhero shows. Chris Wood's Mon-El was initially a welcome addition to the cast, a refugee from a dead planet who understood essentially nothing about Earth culture. Kara first served as a kind of mentor to Mon-El, helping him navigate the waters of his new life. It was a funny, charming plot, but when the relationship turned romantic, the show embraced a level of melodrama it hadn't before, and the show's focus too often strayed from its titular heroine.

While speaking about the show at the Television Critics Association, Pedowitz met resistance to Mon-El head on. When a TCA member suggested nobody wants to see Mon-El back on the show, Pedowitz had a quick, diplomatic response: "I think people would disagree with you on that."

In a later interview with TV Line, Pedowitz acknowledged he's heard the criticism, but reiterated that Mon-El is crucial to the story Supergirl is trying to tell this year.

“I understand there is some backlash to [Mon-El]. I am a big fan of Chris Wood and Melissa [Benoist], and they get along great. And you know what, it’s the right way to tell a story.”

It's unclear exactly how Mon-El will return to the fold. At the end of Supergirl's second season, Earth's atmosphere was rendered lethal to Daxamites in an effort to repel an invasion from the alien race, and Mon-El fled Earth in a spacecraft, which was promptly swallowed by a wormhole. There's been plenty of speculation that Mon-El may end up in the Phantom Zone, the dimension where Kryptonian prisoners were exiled. It's also been speculated he could encounter Kara's long presumed dead mother, Alura, who was previously played by Laura Benanti, but was recently recast in the guise of Smallville alum Erica Durance.

Supergirl's Mon-El problem is serious. It would be unconscionable for the show to allow him to dominate the plot again in its third season, but it would also be difficult to completely jettison a character who's come to mean so much to Kara. It's a tricky tightrope the show will have to prove it can navigate, as it seems like Mon-El is here to stay.

Next: Mon-El’s Location is the ‘Central Mystery’ of Season 3

Supergirl season 3 premieres Monday, Oct. 9 at 8pm on The CW.

Source: TV Line