The best (and worst) Supergirl episodes from all 6 seasons of The CW show

Best and worst Supergirl season 5 episodes

Season five finally gave fans what they had been waiting on for seasons. Lena knew Kara's secret, and that came with both the fun of Lena as a Super Friend and the heartbreak and betrayal that was bound to come after being lied to for so long. While the season had multiple episodes with out-of-character behavior, it was overall one of the series's better seasons.

Best: Season 5 Episode 13, "It's A Super Life"

Whether it was supposed to be or not, one of the best relationship dynamics within the CW's Supergirl was the friendship between Lena and Kara. It was wonderful to see it developing in spite of the known relationship between Clark and Lex in season two, and seeing Lena develop drastically different relationships with Kara and Supergirl in seasons three and four set up a lot of dramatic potential for when she ultimately learned Kara's secret.

Given how important their relationship was, it was a wonderful idea to place it at the heart of the show's 100th episode, "It's A Super Life." The version of Mr. Mxyzptlk depicted in this episode is much more endearing than his original portrayal, and it was a lot of fun to see how the series might have played out differently if Kara had revealed her secret earlier.

While the ultimate message of "There was no good time to tell Lena" was a bit weak, Kara needed to learn that she couldn't change the past. Lena was rightfully upset, but that didn't justify her working with Lex on mind control technology. Had there been better wigs for Melissa Benoist, "It's A Super Life" easily could have been the best episode of Supergirl altogether, because it seemed to finally understand and celebrate what made so many people love the show to begin with.

Worst: Season 5 Episode 15,"The Bodyguard"

Somehow, the writers of Supergirl managed to go from understanding the heart of their show to completely misunderstanding it by the very next episode. "The Bodyguard" is the worst episode of season 5 because it repeatedly undermines Kara's character and focuses on plot points that never seem to come together.

Between Lex and Leviathan, there is too much going on in this episode. More importantly, the conflicts have little to do with the characters the audience has the most connection to. Kara and Alex both seem to be little more than puppets for Lex, and Brainy becomes less likable by the minute. For a show that is best when it is showing off the power and complexity of women, this episode demeaned them instead.

Coupled with convoluted plot points, the primary subplot of "The Bodyguard" is Kara's potential relationship with William. However, there are very few fans who ever enjoyed their relationship. There was very little chemistry between them, and even the writing itself seemed conflicted. Romantic subplots are fine if executed well, but this one took up time that was desperately needed elsewhere.

Altogether, the episode felt like an attempt to smother the heart of Supergirl in order to build it back as a show about Lex Luthor instead. His exit in season four worked extremely well, but the writers couldn't seem to let go of the character once they'd introduced him, to the detriment of the show and its main characters.