How Supergirl Season 3 explored the identity of its characters

Photo Credit: Supergirl/The CW Image Acquired from CWTVPR

Whatever you thought of Supergirl’s third season, there’s no denying that there was a clear theme running throughout it. As well as Kara’s battles against Reign and the Kryptonian witches, it was also a study into identity.

Throughout Supergirl Season 3, Kara faced many battles. But she didn’t have to simply face the villainous Reign and her Kryptonian witches, she also faced a struggle with her own identity. This theme continued throughout the season as each character faced a battle with their own identity.

We were given plenty of opportunities to truly explore each of the characters this season. Some of these were thanks to the introductions of some new characters, while others came more naturally through the character’s storyline. It would have been easy for the writers to simply focus on the superhero action. Instead, we got something much deeper and we knew the characters even better at the end of the season.

Let’s take a look at each character’s journey.

Kara and Supergirl

More from Bam Smack Pow

• James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy casts more major DC characters
• New Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom trailer pushes Arthur to his limits
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episodes 1 and 2 review: Aftermath
• 7 actors who could replace Ezra Miller as The Flash in the DC Universe
• The 9 best (and 8 worst) Arrowverse characters

When Supergirl first returned to our screens, the title character was at possibly her lowest point. Mon-El had gone, seemingly forever, after a decision she had made to save the world from the Daxamite invasion. Because of this, Kara was depressed and decided to focus on her life as Supergirl, rather than Kara Danvers. She felt that her human side was a weakness, rather than the strength it actually is.

This led to a more distant Kara who didn’t show much of the bubbly, fun-loving character we’d come to love. It took a while, but she eventually came out of this slump thanks to her sister. Alex told Kara that she shouldn’t give up on her normal life; despite her amazing powers, she still needed something to ground her.

After being very aloof and methodical, Alex told her sister that she needed to return to her normal self. Her exact words were, “Kara Danvers is my favourite person. She’s saved me more times than Supergirl ever could. So, just think of that while you’re trying to get rid of her.” These words stuck with Kara and allowed her to finally get out of her slump.

We really got to see an exploration into Kara’s alien side this season. As already mentioned, she believed that her human side was a weakness at the start of the season. Once she arrived on Argo City and discovered that her mother, Alura, was still alive, Kara seriously began to think about leaving National City behind.

Towards the end of the season, Kara made the decision to leave and live in Argo City. Living as a normal person with the people she thought she’d lost seemed great at first. But it wasn’t long before Kara realised that Earth was truly her home.