Supergirl: ‘Welcome To Earth’

(Suggested by Caroline Preece)

Talalay’s first foray into Supergirl  wasn’t her first work inside the DC TV Universe, but was a pretty important episode. That’s not least because ‘Welcome to Earth’ introduced Maggie to the Supergirl story, a character who would go on to become a massive fan-favourite. It also gave us another dose of Lena Luther to boot.

Most notably, though, it’s themes and timing were very on point – airing, as it did, just prior to last year’s US presidential election. It also made play of the complicated issues around dealing with immigration, and how to handle domestic terrorism.

Subsequent events now make the sight of Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) as president seem even more poignant. They also makes Talalay’s choice as director all the more interesting.

There’s very little by the way of showiness going on here. Talalay delivers a rock solid, relatively simple episode that relies on strong performances and a good script. It also doesn’t make a massive meal of the points it’s trying to make. She does, however, keep Kara Zor-El’s fan-girling over the President on the right side of charming, while her action beats are spot-on and in keeping with the look and feel of the series.

While there’s not a lot in the way of auteurism, the episode is worth a watch for the slow-motion panning ‘protecting the President’ shot alone – and another couple of fiery interludes later on. You’ll know them when you see them.

In fact, here’s that first one.