Supergirl had many highs and lows throughout its six-season run, but which of its seasons reign supreme as its best?
Supergirl boasts an incredible legacy. The long-running superhero series is renowned for being the first fully-fledged female-led superhero series since the 1970s. Led by Melissa Benoist, it first aired on CBS back in 2015 and went on to enjoy an incredibly successful six-season run (five of which aired on The CW).
But, like all good things, Supergirl came to an end back in 2021, as the network, producers and Benoist herself made the decision to wrap the series up following an extended sixth and final season that would see Kara Zor-El’s Arrowverse story come to an end. It was the third Arrowverse show to end (after Arrow and Black Lightning) but the series did get to go out on its own terms, just months before the shared universe of superheroes began its final chapter due to the sale of The CW.
Throughout its run, Supergirl has seen some major ups and downs – something that its vocal fanbase have discussed at length over the years. But no amount of lacklustre storylines could change the fact that, when the show got things right, the Girl of Steel soared higher than any other hero on the big or small screens.
Let’s take this opportunity to reflect on all six of those Supergirl seasons and see if we can rank them from worst to best.
6. Season 5
Let’s start off with an entry that few people will find surprising. If you asked a Supergirl fan what their least favorite offering was, there is a pretty strong chance that they are going to say season 5.
On paper it was the season everyone was waiting for (as Lena Luthor finally discovered that her best friend Kara Danvers was actually the Girl of Steel), but the execution of that storyline completely let it down. Lena’s motivations early on were clear and it was easy to sympathize with her, but the decision to take her down the villainous route undercut three years of articulate storytelling to prove that there was light in her. To make matters worse, our beloved genius found herself manipulated by Lex Luthor, and she became a supporting character in her own storyline.
Adding to that, Leviathan never lived up to their billing as the “biggest threat” the Super Friends had ever faced and the decision to have Crisis On Infinite Earths so greatly impact the storyline midway through the season made it rather hard to follow.
While there is admittedly a lot of good in there (hey, you can appreciate things better when you rewatch them), such as the performances, Winn’s return and the commitment to highlighting the game-changing differences that Crisis resulted in, it’s hard to argue with anyone who chooses this as the show’s worst season.
5. Season 6
Supergirl season 6 is a tale of two halves. The first half of it, focusing on Kara’s imprisonment in the Phantom Zone, is a grim and joyless affair that, on its own, would rank below season 5 as the show’s worst offering. The second, however, turns things around in a huge way.
Placing the focus back on its characters, Supergirl is committed to bringing all of their stories to a close in genuinely meaningful ways. Look no further than the formerly overlooked Kelly Olsen, who fought tirelessly against racism and became National City’s second Guardian, or her beloved Alex Danvers, who finally fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a mother.
There are some issues along the way, namely the fact that, while Kara does have a storyline it is constantly overlooked, and that suggests that it tries to do too much in one season, but it is a thrilling ride, with plenty of threats to overcome. And even though she takes a while to get started, Nyxly turns out to be a surprisingly enjoyable Big Bad, causing chaos for the Super Friends in her quest for the AllStone Totems.
Supergirl goes out big, and in highly enjoyable fashion, and as a fan of the show, you can’t really ask for more than that.
4. Season 3
The first half of Supergirl‘s third season had shades of other American TV dramas and it wore that persona surprisingly well. There was a maturity to its storylines, with Kara’s PTSD over losing Mon-El, Alex’s moving struggles over choosing between her relationship and her desire to be a mom and Lena Luthor’s corporate battle with Morgan Edge all making for an incredibly compelling opening. And that was taken many steps further when Reign was born, with the Worldkiller’s midseason finale showdown with Kara producing one of the show’s most captivating – and terrifying – moments.
The second half of the season tried hard to capitalize on that momentum, but it couldn’t quite get it right. Sam’s internal battle with Reign over control of her own body was a gripping arc and it gave what is probably the show’s best supernatural villain a real emotional hook to her story.
Unfortunately, the show just spent too long trying to fix Sam, dragging things to a standstill for episodes on end before then solving the problem too soon and having to take us on a retread in order to finally conclude the story.
There was too much momentum in the Reign story for it to fail completely – and Odette Annable was speculacular as both Sam Arias and the Kryptonian villain – so that definitely didn’t happen, but too many episodes ended up diluting what could have been the show’s best season to date.
3. Season 2
Supergirl‘s second season marked the beginning of a new era for the show. With production in Vancouver underway and Cat Grant set to depart, there were big changes in store, and one of them came early on in the long-awaited arrival of Superman.
Tyler Hoechlin’s charming and warm portrayal of the Man of Steel proved a better on-screen partner for Kara than the messenger she used to contact him in the first season, and seeing the pair team up throughout the season was one of its most fun elements.
But season 2 is also where the writers began to tackle more serious storylines, with the underground alien fight club and slaver’s moon providing the season with some of its richest material. And we can’t talk about the second season without discussing Alex Danvers’ emotional coming out story, which resonated with viewers across the world and paved the way for more representation in the superhero genre – an impact that will continue to be felt longer after Supergirl‘s conclusion.
This season also saw the introduction of important characters like Lena Luthor and Mon-El – both of whom would go on to have a major impact on Kara’s life. And, in spite of a few hits and misses along the way, their respective stories brought the season towards that incredible two-part finale that saw the Daxamites invade and Supergirl take her rightful place as the champion of planet Earth.
2. Season 4
Not everyone was a fan of when Supergirl attempted to tackle real-world issues, but the truth is that the show did a damn good job most of the times it did. A real example of that is its fourth season, which highlighted issues of discrimination and racism within society through its alien refugees and how they were treated by both the society and the system around them.
This was a fight that Supergirl couldn’t win with her super-powers and the show did an incredible job of highlighting that. At the heart of it was Agent Liberty (Sam Witwer) who turned out to be one of the show’s most well-crafted villains, using fear-mongering tactics to scare his followers into spreading hate, as he led a troubling movement against aliens on the streets and attempted to repeal the Alien Amnesty Act in office.
The series also shone in other areas as well, with J’onn’s identity crisis providing the character with arguably his best storyline, the formation of the Super Friends setting the tone for the rest of the show’s team-ups and the introduction of Jon Cryer’s Lex Luthor gifting us with one of the best ever portrayals of the iconic villain.
Accompanied by a compelling narrative and some thought-provoking writing, Supergirl season 4 proved that comic book TV can tackle relevant issues and it pulled it off remarkably well.
1. Season 1
Kara Zor-El’s story as National City’s savior started on CBS with a big-budget first season that reeled in more viewers than any superhero series in network TV history. And the moment that Supergirl‘s pilot episode concluded, it was clear that viewers were in for an incredible ride.
Both that episode and the season that followed it accomplished something that network television shows rarely accomplish – and that is delivering a feeling similar to that of a major motion picture. How it pulled it off, we still don’t quite know, but the truth is that the show absolutely nailed everything that makes the superhero genre so darn uplifting.
Viewers watched the birth of one of TV’s greatest heroes as Kara chose to use her abilities to follow in her cousin Superman’s footsteps, but what quickly happened was that she stepped out of his shadow and into a spotlight of her own making. Helping her do that was sister Alex Danvers, J’onn J’onzz, her best friend Winn Scott, Superman’s best friend James Olsen and even her own intimidating boss at CatCo, Cat Grant (played by the remarkable Calista Flockhart).
Though this writer doesn’t believe in the whole “bigger is better” trope, Supergirl was better when it bigger. And the stars truly aligned during that first season as it produced something truly spectacular for television.
There was an element of nostalgia about season 1 when it first aired, simply because it channelled the golden age superhero genre in all the right ways, but now that sense of nostalgia is even greater, as we reflect on and appreciate the beginning of this incredible story.
It was truly up, up and away for Supergirl.
What was your favorite season of Supergirl? Let us know in the comments below!