How Supergirl Season 3 explored the identity of its characters

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Sam/Reign

Finally, identity was a huge part of the villain’s storyline this year. Sam was introduced as a single mother who was trying to make ends meet but soon, things began to change. We saw in the Season Premiere that Sam was something special, but we didn’t fully understand her until much later in the season.

It turned out that there was another being living inside Sam — Reign. It was clear that Sam was the baby we saw being sent to Earth at the end of Season 2 which explained Reign’s abilities. But it was only once we actually met Reign that we understood her purpose. She was sent to cleanse Earth of sin.

Unfortunately, her definition of Sin was a little bit different from Supergirl’s and the two ended up battling. But it wasn’t a battle of strength that ended up saving the day. Instead, Kara ventured into the dark valley Sam’s personality was contained in and helped Sam prove her strength. But not by defeating Reign with brawn. She used her connections to the people she loved to ground her instead.

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So, that’s it. Supergirl Season 3 was a complex analysis of its characters. Rather than simply deliver us the characters we had come to love over the last couple of years, the writers decided to explore what made each one of them unique.

This was an interesting approach which I, for one, thought succeeded massively. While the season itself might have been a bit up and down, there’s no doubt that we know the characters better than we ever did.

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