This article includes spoilers from Supergirl season five, episode one, so read this at your own risk if you haven’t seen it yet.
The CW’s Arrowverse is officially back as each respective show is making its return (or debut, in Batwoman’s case) and that includes the fifth season of Supergirl. The fourth season started and finished big for the Girl of Steel (Melissa Benoist.) Many of the massive storylines had the series exploring more topical themes as well as introduce the villainous Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer) into the DC TV universe. The season four finale wrapped up several stories while also setting a few things into motion for the new season, including this year’s Arrowverse crossover.
Having faced aliens, invasions, Worldkillers, and topical battles, this season’s threat is all about technology with the rise of Leviathan. The season premiere “Event Horizon” came with new faces, new suits, and new chapters as the Kara Zor-El drama kicked off season five. With Crisis on Infinite Earths coming up, Supergirl’s 100th episode, there’s a lot that is on its way for the Last Daughter of Krypton. As this marked as the fifth season premiere for the show, it’s time to take a look at all the season openers, including this one.
Girl of Steel (Season 3)
Following the fallout in the season two finale, the opener for season three is a bit of a dark one for the Girl of Steel. Having lost Mon-El (Chris Wood), Supergirl has pretty much given up her life as Kara Danvers so she can focus more on being National City’s hero. Girl of Steel is definitely one of the more serious premieres that the show has had its run thus far. However, perhaps it was a little too grim as it wasn’t really a lot of fun to see Kara in this light.
To see our hero literally yell “Kara Danvers sucks right now!” to her sister was a lot to take in. There is definitely plenty of good superhero action and serious moments that snap Kara out of her funk. Long story short, Girl of Steel is the weakest premiere of them all.
American Alien (Season 4)
The fourth season was heavily focused on exploring topical themes in the world of Supergirl. It’s still up for debate whether or not the show may have gone a bit too heavy on that theme. But regardless, the season four premiere American Alien kicked off the new season with several bangs and twists. For starters, we get the introduction of Mercy (Rhona Mitra) and Otis Graves (Robert Baker) from the DC world and they definitely made an impact.
The best introduction though is Nicole Maines’ Nia Nal who later becomes the superhero Dreamer in the season. This was a major moment in television history as Nia Nal became the first transgender superhero on TV. Even before she suits up, Nia’s first episode makes you fall in love with her instantly.
Pilot (Season 1)
All great shows start with a solid pilot and the one for Supergirl was definitely (well) super. Back when it was airing on CBS, we got to follow Kara’s first year of becoming the iconic heroine of National City. Similar to The Flash pilot, this one has a lot of heart, humor, and spectacle. From following Kara’s everyday life as Cat Grant’s (Calista Flockhart) assistant to making her heroic debut, the pilot sets up the series in one super (pun intended) way.
We also get to follow Kara’s perspective of losing Krypton in a way that Clark never did as she actually had a life there before being sent away. While the first villain of the week is forgettable, it’s the twist at the end that makes you want to keep watching, with Kara’s first big bad being more close to home than she could imagine.
Event Horizon (Season 5)
The latest premiere is charged with emotions, action, drama as well as a good dose of humor. From Kara getting her new super suit to our hero finally confessing to Lena that she is Supergirl, Event Horizon comes with a lot of punches. We also have the dramatic introduction of Andrea Rojas (Julie Gonzalo), the new Editor-in-Chief of CatCo as she has many new changes in store. But the core of the premiere is, without doubt, the situation between Lena and Kara.
While Lena makes Kara think that they’re still friends, the ending of the episode reveals that season five is truly going to be the battle for Lena’s soul. Will Lena really follow her brother’s footsteps and turn dark or will her destiny play out differently? That will certainly be one of the most important storylines of the whole season. The big question now is how long will it take before Kara discovers what Lena really is up to?
The only thing that Event Horizon suffers a bit from is that there was a little too much going on in just this one episode. But other than that, this premiere is incredibly solid as it sets up what will be one incredibly big season for Kara and her friends.
The Adventures of Supergirl (Season 2)
As Supergirl was saved by The CW for its second season, the premiere that year was the show’s biggest one. With the show re-establishing itself for new viewers on The CW, The Adventures of Supergirl has everything you want in a perfect episode. From the mysterious introduction of Mon-El to Kara finally getting to team up with her cousin Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), the episode truly lives up to the “Adventures” part in the title.
We also get to meet Katie McGrath’s Lena Luthor who from her very first scene made it clear that she would become one of the show’s biggest characters. From all the great action, new character dynamics and storylines, The Adventures of Supergirl is simply lots of fun.