20 best superhero TV shows of 2018, ranked

Photo Credit: Supergirl/The CW Image Acquired from CWTVPR

16. Supergirl

Supergirl kick-started the year with the mid-season premiere of its third season. Since then, it has aired the remainder of Season 3 as well as the beginning of its fourth season, all of which has made 2018 a very interesting year for Girl of Steel.

Like the majority of The CW’s superhero shows, Supergirl suffered a slight decline in standard during its third season. While not monumental enough of a decline to make it bad per say, it wasn’t as enjoyable as it once was. The introduction of Reign and the other Worldkillers made for an incredibly engaging, and surprisingly grim, storyline, but after a very promising start, the writers weren’t able to fully follow through.

Having said that, they did get a lot right. From Sam’s internal struggles with her demonic alter-ego to Mon-El’s commendable character development (not to mention the introduction of the Legion of Super-Heroes), it did get a lot right. While the skipping of major plot points and unnecessary storyline dragging held it back, it didn’t completely take away from the great storyline.

Season 4, however, has brought the show back into the light – in more ways than one. With the grim vibe of Reign in the past, the show has chosen to tackle more political issues this season (such as the integration of aliens into society and the resistance that they face from humanity), making each weekly adventure a microcosm of a real-world problem, and it has managed to do so incredibly effectively. The writing is stronger and the storylines have much more gravity – simply put, the characters are no longer going through the motions – they’re feeling everything that is happening and, as a result, so are we.

Overall, Supergirl had a relatively strong, but flawed, year. However, thanks to Season 4’s impressive new direction, things are looking up (up and away) for Kara Zor-El next year.