TV Show Review

TV Review: SUPERGIRL: Season 2, Episode 3: Welcome to Earth [The CW]

Lynda Carter Melissa Benoist Welcome to Earth Supergirl

Supergirl: Welcome to Earth Review

The CW’s Supergirl Season 2, Episode 3: ‘Welcome to Earth’ has proven that the second season can hold off on it’s own without having Superman around in the first two episodes. It really helped when the show got to add some more characters in the mix to divert from Superman’s departure. The biggest addition was having the original Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter on the show as President Olivia Marsdin. It’s cool that the current DC TV shows are utilizing the actors who were also a part of some memorable DC shows from the past, so it’s wonderful that Supergirl did the same when they cast Lynda Carter to play the female president.

It was even more fun to see the President interact with Kara (Melissa Benoist) in the episode. For someone who has defended the planet against aliens and metahumans, it was funny to see her all nervous when meeting with the President. Those scenes were some of Melissa Benoist’s best we’ve seen in the episode, as the episode allowed her to embrace the silliness of her character.

The arrival of President Marsdin also presented some things to come this season. With the spotlight on the Alien Amnesty Act and the alien community’s reaction to this, it seems like the show is heading into something similar to the mutants of the X-Men. Fear, hate, and obligatory registration are all shown within the alien society after the announcement of the treaty. The biggest revelation is that President Marsdin isn’t who she appears to be, so it will definitely question whether her campaign for aliens to co-exist with humans is actually genuine.

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Another character that was introduced was Maggie Sawyer (Floriana Lima), a tough-as-nails NCPD detective who is actually familiar with the alien population in National City. She doesn’t actually come out as an important member of the cast, but she does have a certain respect for Supergirl and Alex (Chyler Leigh). There may actually be some kind of spark between Maggie and Alex, which should make things interesting.

We also get to experience Kara’s first encounter with Mon-El (Chris Wood) after he woke up from his coma. Chris Wood stood out as a likeable character with a heavy burden on his shoulders as he talks of the struggles he’s faced. Mon-El turns out to be more of a start point for the strong arc for Kara this season, as she must change her way of thinking after knowing the rough history between her people and his. Just like the Hatfields and McCoys, the Kryptonians and Daxamites aren’t particular fond of each other. With both of their homeworlds gone, the two aliens now have a chance to bury the hatchet and move forward. The show does well in showcasing the message of acceptance, even though it’s not heavily implied.

One of the flaws of this episode that continues to become a trend with the series is the villain. This week’s installment brought in Scorcher (Nadine Crocker), a renegade alien who can manipulate fire. It was hard to understand what her motives were. It’s strange that she would attack the President and kidnaps a detective in order to stop the government from exposing aliens. The show had a chance to use her as a catalyst to show the alien paranoia aspect, but she was never given that opportunity and ended up being nothing more than just a run-of-the-mill villain.

The workplace subplot in Supergirl didn’t do the episode any favors either. It’s hard for a show to balance between CatCo and the DEO since Cat Grant is gone. It is fun to see the friction unfold between Kara and Snapper Carr (Ian Gomez), but that’s all for this portion of the story. Even having James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks) as the new boss doesn’t help. It seems like the writers have no idea on what to do with James since he isn’t romantically linked with Kara anymore. Hopefully things start to turn around once James is given more material to do.

The episode ended on a rather shocking revelation when J’onn (David Harewood) discovers that he isn’t the only survivor from Mars. During his visit to the alien bar in National City, he encounters M’gann M’orzz (Sharon Leal), another Green Martian living on Earth. This should make a great storyline dealing with the Martians. It even ties together rather well with the anti-alien movement that pushes through the new season.

Overall, ‘Welcome to Earth’ kept the momentum going in season two with some new characters. It was a highlight seeing Lynda Carter returning to the DC world. It was also great that the show set up the anti-alien frenzy plot this season and has become just as important as what’s going on in Cadmus Labs. The only downfall for the episode was the poor handling of their villain and CatCo being shoved into the episode. We can expect some big trouble coming ahead for Supergirl and the team.

Leave your thoughts on this review and this episode of Supergirl in the comments section below. Readers seeking more TV show reviews can visit our TV Show Review Page, our TV Show Review Twitter Page, our TV Show Review Facebook Page, and our TV Show Review Google+ Page. Readers seeking more Supergirl can visit our Supergirl Page. FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and Facebook.

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Mufsin Mahbub

**Fired from FilmBook for Plagiarism** Mufsin is a freelance writer from New York who has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism at Long Island University. He has written for publications like HollywoodLife, Clubplanet, and Heavy. He is an avid lover for everything related to TV and film. He has gone to dozens of film screenings, press events, and loves to attend New York Comic Con every year. He gives an honest opinion on every TV show or film that people are going to be talking about.
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