In the move to The CW, Supergirl made many changes for season 2. One of the best decisions, by far, was completely eradicating (and partially rewriting) the relationship between James and Kara. For the first five episodes of season 2 Kara has been flying solo with not a romantic prospect in sight. Yet Mon-El is now on the show and more than few fans would like to see them together. While Mon-El is a vast improvement over James and in some ways the best new character on the show, Kara should not have a romantic future with him. At least not quite yet. Right now Supergirl is much better off if Kara stays single.
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Why Mon-El Has to Wait
Kara does not need to stay single forever on Supergirl. No one is clamoring for a spinster superhero (even though the idea of a “spinster” as negative concept is ridiculous.) Kara will eventually end up with someone on Supergirl and right now Mon-El does seem like the best option available. It’s not that Mon-El and Kara are bad for each other in general. It is just that Kara getting into a relationship with Mon-El would be bad for the show at this current state.
There was a plethora of problems with James and Kara’s romance in season 1. While many people will say that all of them can be traced back to the actors’ lack of chemistry with one another, that’s not entirely true. The biggest problem with Kara and James was that there was no real reason for them to be together. The relationship, if it can even be called that, lacked any kind of hook. Kara and James were attracted to each other because Supergirl decided the two characters needed to be together and nothing else. The whole thing felt false and rushed.
A similar situation would more than likely unfold between Mon-El and Kara. Chris Wood and Melissa Benoist do have more chemistry than Benoist and Mechad Brooks but Mon-El is still very much growing as a character. Supergirl stunted James’ character growth by throwing him into a love triangle with Kara and Lucy Lane. Supergirl never got the chance to really tell us who James was because his sole identity was Kara’s love interest.
The same thing should not happen with Mon-El. Mon-El is a mystery not only to the audience but to himself. Mon-El is struggling to find himself on a new planet and a whole new life. Supergirl owes it to that character and Chris Wood’s impressive performance to not just make Mon-El’s identity Kara’s boyfriend.
Spreading the Love Around
There are plenty of other avenues that Supergirl can look to if it wants some romance on the show. Since Supergirl season 1 was so heavy on Kara’s romantic life, it’s actually very wise for Supergirl to start looking to the other characters, something they are already doing, for romantic subplots. Alex with her slow and perfectly executed coming out storyline and her relationship with Maggie Sawyer has become one of the best parts of Supergirl season 2. Alex was always an important part of Supergirl’s supporting cast but she has blossomed in season 2.
The time that Supergirl spent in season 1 with Kara fumbling over James and being jealous of Lucy has been dedicated to Alex and her relationship with Maggie in season 2. If Kara was given a bigger romantic focus in season 2, Alex’s complicated feelings for Maggie probably wouldn’t have been completely ignored, but they would have been given much less screentime. It would have been much harder for Supergirl to juggle the storylines. Alex’s coming out probably wouldn’t have been handled with as much patience as it has been in season 2.
It’s not just Alex who could benefit from less time spent on Kara’s love life. With all the new characters, J’onn has kind of faded to the background. If Supergirl spends even more time with Mon-El, which they would if he became romantically linked with Kara, J’onn would become even more marginalized. J’onn is one of the few male characters on Supergirl who works. He needs more screentime and more important storylines, especially of a personal nature.
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Like Alex, J’onn also has a potential romance that Supergirl has introduced. Though Miss Martian is Martian Manhunter’s “niece” in the comics, Supergirl cast a contemporary of David Harewood to play M’Gann M’orzz. In M’Gann’s first big episode of Supergirl, the show definitely played up a sense of romantic tension between J’onn and M’Gann. If fans want a Romeo and Juliet star-crossed lovers romance, one of the big things going for Mon-El and Kara, M’Gann and J’onn already have that down.
While J’onn thinks M’Gann is another Green Martian like himself, she is actually a White Martian in disguise. The White Martians are responsible for killing J’onn’s family on Mars and are viewed as an evil species. This alone makes a romance between M’Gann and J’onn more compelling than nearly anything else on the show and it hasn’t even really happened yet.
Kara finding love again is an inevitability on Supergirl. The show did not move to The CW, the home of hot young romance, for Kara to become celibate. Kara will probably get weak in the knees for someone at some point and that someone will probably be Mon-El. At the very least, though, Supergirl needs to take its time, develop any potential romance slowly with Kara and keep giving the spotlight to other characters. Otherwise the show will just make the same mistakes it did in season 1 with Kara and James.
But what do you think? Should Kara stay single on Supergirl? Who do you want to see her end up with on the show? Do you miss her ill-fated romance with James? Do you think the show will ever revisit it? Is Mon-El the right choice for Kara? Do you enjoy watching Maggie and Alex together?
Supergirl season 2 airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW. Want more news? Like our Facebook page!
(Images courtesy of The CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
