Supergirl Season 2 Episode 3: Welcome to Earth Review

This Supergirl review contains spoilers.

Supergirl Season 2, Episode 3

The first two episode of Supergirlseason two were very much transitionary episodes, dealing with the changes that had to be made when the show moved from CBS to The CW, with a nice, Superman-shaped distraction to sweeten the pot. But this episode, “Welcome to Earth,” was a statement about what kind of show Supergirlcan be now that it’s on the smaller, more niche CW network — and, guys, I love this new, weird, alien-centric show.

When Mon-El escapes from the DEO and an alien assassination is attempted on the president (played by a delightful Lynda Carter), Kara and co. immediately assume it was Sleeping Beauty who did it. Kara is further convinced when she learns that Mon-El is not from Krypton, but rather Daxam, Krypton’s sister planet with which the Kryptonians fought a bloody war. Kara is generally such a ball of sunshine that it’s always weird to see her act with anything but an overabundance of compassion towards someone. However, this ignorant chink in her superheroic armor serves to make Kara seem more, for lack of a better word, human, and is particularly thematicly relevant in an episode that is hammering home the aliens=refugees/immigrants parallel so intently.

You see, President Marsdin isn’t just in National City for sightseeing. She’s planning on signing into law her Alien Amnesty Act, which gives the show a chance to discuss the very topical issues of security vs. freedom. Though most of our main characters are themselves aliens who might benefit from an Alien Amnesty Act, they have also devoted their working lives to hunting down renegade aliens. Surprisingly, it’s people like J’onn Jonzz who argue that America/Earth shouldn’t be extending a hand in friendship because it might get bit. Thank god Wonder Woman outranks him.

While the president is planning on granting aliens amnesty, Lena Luthor is already figuring out how she can capitalize on the potential influx of alien refugees — or at least the fear of them. L Corp has designed a device that will allow citizens to determine if their friends and neighbors are, in fact, aliens in disguise. It is one step closer to the documentation of alien refugees that the real alien behind the presidential assassination attempt fears and, though Kara would like to think she is nothing like the flame-throwing Magneto-type. Really, though, she is letting her prejudice against Daxam influence her treatment of Mon-El.

Eventually, Kara takes down the would-be assassin, releases Mon-El from the (ethically-questionable) DEO jail, and tells her fellow refugee about the terrible fate of his home world (property values are way down). More than any of the more heavy-handed declarations about security vs. freedom in the discussion of immigrants and refugees, the conversation between Kara and Mon-El as they discuss the fact that they can never go home again is perhaps the most affecting part of this metaphor. It’s often the part that gets left out of the discussion in real life, too.

“Welcome to Earth” introduces a few new characters and an exciting new setting that feel in-part possible because of the show’s move to The CW. With the introduction of alien bar and Miss Martian/M’gann M’orzz, we get a much more alien-centric focus that might not have floated on the older, more traditional viewers that make up the CBS audience. We also get the introduction of detective Maggie Sawyer as an effective new force in the battle against alien threats. Also, she and Alex already have a flirty banter thing going on. Basically, she is a great addition to the main cast of characters.

All in all, “Welcome to the Earth” is a fun, moving hour, made great by Lynda Carter’s cameo and Rachel Talalay’s turn behind the camera. (Talalay has also directed an episode of The Flashand some of the best recent episodes of Doctor Who.) More than anything, though, it feels like the start of something new for this superhero drama. The show’s budget may be smaller, but its heart and potential for greatness is bigger than ever.

If you want to learn more about Mon-El, check out our breakdown of the character’s confusing comic book history.