Big EW Interview With Melissa Benoist About The End Of Supergirl.

I'm not surprised she brought up The Flash as I think she is personal acquaintances with Grant Gustin. Even when she was a lot more hesitant to suggest she would be willing to play the role again, I always thought that maybe something the like series finale of Flash, she would make an exception for, because of that personal relationship.

Melissa does indeed have a personal relationship with Grant. She and Chris were guests at Grant’s wedding, they posted pictures on IG. I might be wrong on this but I may have read that Chris and Grant were friends before Chris met Melissa.

I'm not surprised she brought up The Flash as I think she is personal acquaintances with Grant Gustin. Even when she was a lot more hesitant to suggest she would be willing to play the role again, I always thought that maybe something the like series finale of Flash, she would make an exception for, because of that personal relationship.

Quoting muckle9999: "When the Mick came up to the plate you stopped what you were doing because you didn't know what was going to happen."

Sadly I only saw Mantle in person one time. My uncle gave our family box seats for the Yankees/Twins game for my birthday, probably in 1962 or 1963. Unfortunately Mantle was in the twilight of his career, and did not start that night. He did come up as a pinchhitter late in the game though, which was a thrill. Many of us kids saw him as a hero, and I tried to make myself a switch-hitter. I can't remember what he did in the one time I saw him bat, but I can still see him in my mind's eye, standing in the box, bat cocked.

Briarrose

Mickey Mantle was not great because he played hurt, we just disagree that playing hurt is the right thing to do or is what makes an athlete great. He was great because of his natural talent and the work he put in, please note it shouldn’t be necessary to push oneself to physical and mental exhaustion to be considered a hard worker. Mantel was an alcoholic and it was thought that was how he dealt with the physical pain he was in. It’s impossible to tell how much his drinking impacted his playing career, but it did cause him significant health problems later in life. Sadly we will never know what Mantel could have done if he had taken/been given the time to truly recover from his injuries instead of being encouraged to be a trouper and play through it.

I saw Ricky Henderson break the stolen base record, my dad took me out of school that day to go to that game. Among other things Ricky pushed back at the notion that playing hurt is better than not playing. He knew in the end he would steel more bases if he played healthy instead of with nagging injuries, kinda the notion of working smarter not harder. Ricky had a long successful career and is in good health today because he took care of his body and listened to it.

Hahahahahahahaha Mickey wasn't drinking to ease his pain....Billy Martin, Whitey Ford and Mickey were drinking because they were in New York City partying all night. And even with a hangover the next day Mickey would hit a couple of home runs. Because of his family history Mickey thought he would die before the age of 40 and that's why he didn't take care of himself.
And Rickey Henderson was a bum. Give me Paul Molitor any day of the week.

July 20,1969 "Oh My God" "The Americans Are On The Moon"
Rita Hayworth-Higher And Higher

superbill

Kind of off topic, but indulge me for a moment. The baseball discussion mentioning Harmon Killebrew brought back memories of summer days as a teen-ager watching the Minnesota Twins at the old ballpark, Metropolitan Stadium. Many times I watched as Killebrew launched one of his high, arcing home runs into the left field seats. One reached the second deck, making it the longest home run ever hit at "The Met." The seat where it landed is now mounted on a wall at the Mall of America, which stands on the site of the old ballpark.

When I was a kid I saw Harmon when he was with the old Washington Senators. He was one of the most powerful right handed hitters in all of Baseball. He was one of my all time favorite ballplayers. Only Ruth had a higher home run percentage per a bat then Harmon.
There are 2 records that will never be broken and they belong to Mickey Mantle. He hit the longest home run on record in Washington when it went out of the stadium a few blocks away which measured 565 feet. And the other record is his 18 home runs in World Series play. When the Mick came up to the plate you stopped what you were doing because you didn't know what was going to happen. When batting lefty he could lay down a bunt and with his blazing speed he would beat it out or he could hit a 500 foot home run into the center field bleachers in Yankee Stadium.

July 20,1969 "Oh My God" "The Americans Are On The Moon"
Velvet Underground-Sweet Jane

Mickey Mantle was not great because he played hurt, we just disagree that playing hurt is the right thing to do or is what makes an athlete great. He was great because of his natural talent and the work he put in, please note it shouldn’t be necessary to push oneself to physical and mental exhaustion to be considered a hard worker. Mantel was an alcoholic and it was thought that was how he dealt with the physical pain he was in. It’s impossible to tell how much his drinking impacted his playing career, but it did cause him significant health problems later in life. Sadly we will never know what Mantel could have done if he had taken/been given the time to truly recover from his injuries instead of being encouraged to be a trouper and play through it.

I saw Ricky Henderson break the stolen base record, my dad took me out of school that day to go to that game. Among other things Ricky pushed back at the notion that playing hurt is better than not playing. He knew in the end he would steel more bases if he played healthy instead of with nagging injuries, kinda the notion of working smarter not harder. Ricky had a long successful career and is in good health today because he took care of his body and listened to it.

To bring it back to the show.

The point being is when you have a multi talented actress on your show it's your obligation to show case her. They did not.

Nope, just nope neither the EPs nor Melissa had or have any obligation to do anything just because a fan or fans want/wanted it. There’s a good reason shows don’t just do everything a vocal minority of fans scream for, if they did they would have so many fans screaming at them they wouldn’t actually be able to produce a show. If my manager micromanages how I do my job it hinders my ability to actually do my job. Fans trying to micromanage what happens in a show in the internet is worse, at least my manager has a legitimate right to manage my work.

Kind of off topic, but indulge me for a moment. The baseball discussion mentioning Harmon Killebrew brought back memories of summer days as a teen-ager watching the Minnesota Twins at the old ballpark, Metropolitan Stadium. Many times I watched as Killebrew launched one of his high, arcing home runs into the left field seats. One reached the second deck, making it the longest home run ever hit at "The Met." The seat where it landed is now mounted on a wall at the Mall of America, which stands on the site of the old ballpark.

Brierrose

I wouldn't mind seeing her put the suit on again for the sentimental factor but I think it's highly unlikely. The truth is that the role of supergirl gave her career a shot in the arm. As the show rolled into it's forth season it became apparent that the shot in the arm began to have negative side affects. To be honest you must accept that it's never a good career move to have your star in a show that's going down the tubes. In my opinion the last three seasons have hurt her career. The addition of these make believe superheros gave her less air time and took the spotlight off of her. As I have said many times, when you have a Mickey Mantle in your lineup you let her swing away. They had opportunities but failed to do so.

July 20,1969 "Oh My God" "The Americans Are On The Moon"
Velvet Underground-Sweet Jane
Happy All Saints Day..........GO GIANTS!

I doubt Melissa’s standing within the industry was ever “hurt” due to the show. Because of Supergirl she got to prove herself as lead and director. Being a leader while also being a team player is one of most desirable qualities in any industry. To use a sports analogy nobody wants to play with a ball hog or showboat. I’d argue that because of this show Melissa has more freedom to do the projects she wants to do which will only expand her fan base. She can do that period piece and reach people who didn’t watch Supergirl.

Your Micky Mantel analogy is flawed. Mantel was a great player but he was a team player who played on a team of great players. Without his team he wouldn’t have won the championships or been the player he was. Baseball by nature is a team sport, over a 150+ game season it’s impossible for a single player to make a winning team. Mike Piazza, Don Mattingly, Ichiro Suzuki, Tony Gwynn, Ken Griffey Jr, Juan Marichal, Ernie Banks, Ted Williams, Harmon Killebrew, and Frank Thomas are all hall of fame players without a World Series ring because no matter how good they were as individuals the team wasn’t strong enough.

I'm impressed with your knowledge of Baseball. However your analogy is flawed. Mickey was a great teammate and a team player and inspired everyone around him to give their all because he played hurt his entire career. The Yankee teams back then were great but without Mickey you don't win all those pennants and World Series. The point being is when you have a multi talented actress on your show it's your obligation to show case her. They did not.
Back to baseball for a minute. There are many more hall of fame players with a world series ring then not. Funny you should mention Harmon Killebrew. I was seating in the left field stands at Yankee Stadium one afternoon and I saw Harmon Killebrew smack a line drive that was whistling through the air and put a dent into the left field scoreboard.

July 20,1969 "Oh My God" "The Americans Are On The Moon"
Velvet Undergroud-Sweet Jane

I wouldn't mind seeing her put the suit on again for the sentimental factor but I think it's highly unlikely. The truth is that the role of supergirl gave her career a shot in the arm. As the show rolled into it's forth season it became apparent that the shot in the arm began to have negative side affects. To be honest you must accept that it's never a good career move to have your star in a show that's going down the tubes. In my opinion the last three seasons have hurt her career. The addition of these make believe superheros gave her less air time and took the spotlight off of her. As I have said many times, when you have a Mickey Mantle in your lineup you let her swing away. They had opportunities but failed to do so.

July 20,1969 "Oh My God" "The Americans Are On The Moon"
Velvet Underground-Sweet Jane
Happy All Saints Day..........GO GIANTS!

I doubt Melissa’s standing within the industry was ever “hurt” due to the show. Because of Supergirl she got to prove herself as lead and director. Being a leader while also being a team player is one of most desirable qualities in any industry. To use a sports analogy nobody wants to play with a ball hog or showboat. I’d argue that because of this show Melissa has more freedom to do the projects she wants to do which will only expand her fan base. She can do that period piece and reach people who didn’t watch Supergirl.

Your Micky Mantel analogy is flawed. Mantel was a great player but he was a team player who played on a team of great players. Without his team he wouldn’t have won the championships or been the player he was. Baseball by nature is a team sport, over a 150+ game season it’s impossible for a single player to make a winning team. Mike Piazza, Don Mattingly, Ichiro Suzuki, Tony Gwynn, Ken Griffey Jr, Juan Marichal, Ernie Banks, Ted Williams, Harmon Killebrew, and Frank Thomas are all hall of fame players without a World Series ring because no matter how good they were as individuals the team wasn’t strong enough.

RobertAnthony

I am so glad Melissa said she'll reconsider putting the suit on again...methinks though for the right scenario. To me that's a sign of saying she took pride in playing the last daughter of Krypton, despite all the flaws and the season 4 polarizing writing that got me a little sick to my stomach at times.

As for that appearance, could it be on Superman and Lois, or The Flash or even Stargirl? The third show I mentioned because I think Courtney needs a female mentor other than her mom...someone who can teach her about using her powers. As for Kara's appetite...well that's another story

I wouldn't mind seeing her put the suit on again for the sentimental factor but I think it's highly unlikely. The truth is that the role of supergirl gave her career a shot in the arm. As the show rolled into it's forth season it became apparent that the shot in the arm began to have negative side affects. To be honest you must accept that it's never a good career move to have your star in a show that's going down the tubes. In my opinion the last three seasons have hurt her career. The addition of these make believe superheros gave her less air time and took the spotlight off of her. As I have said many times, when you have a Mickey Mantle in your lineup you let her swing away. They had opportunities but failed to do so.

July 20,1969 "Oh My God" "The Americans Are On The Moon"
Velvet Underground-Sweet Jane
Happy All Saints Day..........GO GIANTS!

I am so glad Melissa said she'll reconsider putting the suit on again...methinks though for the right scenario. To me that's a sign of saying she took pride in playing the last daughter of Krypton, despite all the flaws and the season 4 polarizing writing that got me a little sick to my stomach at times.

As for that appearance, could it be on Superman and Lois, or The Flash or even Stargirl? The third show I mentioned because I think Courtney needs a female mentor other than her mom...someone who can teach her about using her powers. As for Kara's appetite...well that's another story

superbill

"But I have also wanted a reunion with Mon-El ever since he left, so I hope the writers can conjure up a way to make that happen too."

Steward Tick

I'm thinking that the Legion of Superheroes (including Mon-El) may come "back from the future" to help defeat Nyxly and Lex. In other words, they may show up "just in the nick of time", just as the cavalry always did in all those Westerns and Civil War movies that we grew up with. It really was a Hollywood cliche, wasn't it? "Here comes the cavalry", remember?

Mucks

Of course Monty and Winn are coming back to help save the day for Supergirl. And then I believe that Monty and Kara are going back to the future and live happily ever after. The End

July 20,1969 "Oh My God" "The Americans Are On The Moon"

Warren Zevon -Werewolves Of London
Bobby Pickett "Monster Mash"

"But I have also wanted a reunion with Mon-El ever since he left, so I hope the writers can conjure up a way to make that happen too."

I'm thinking that the Legion of Superheroes (including Mon-El) may come "back from the future" to help defeat Nyxly and Lex. In other words, they may show up "just in the nick of time", just as the cavalry always did in all those Westerns and Civil War movies that we grew up with. It really was a Hollywood cliche, wasn't it? "Here comes the cavalry", remember?

A very interesting article and video; thanks for posting them here! Hearing that Melissa is open to returning as Supergirl in a guest appearance is terrific news for fans and I am sure for the Arrowverse as well. It would be a real treat to see her and Grant together again, and also to appear on Superman and Lois. As far as how Supergirl ends, I've been back and forth but now am tending toward her revealing her identity while continuing to be Supergirl and a reporter in present-day National City. That is a more hopeful continuation of her story, IMO. But I have also wanted a reunion with Mon-El ever since he left, so I hope the writers can conjure up a way to make that happen too.

"I also hate the idea of Esme growing up without her Aunt Kara around."

Me, too!

"Personally, I don't need Kara to leave, but I do think something meaningful should happen in the end rather than just everybody staying in town and carrying on like before."

Perhaps that "something meaningful" is that her identity/ alter ego as Supergirl becomes known to the world and is no longer secret (as in the recent Superman comics).

I don't think the situation is really comparable between Supergirl and Lois&Clark. For one, Kara has been portrayed as very friendly with Barry, built up through multiple crossovers, this close relationship just does not exist with Clark. Also, with Alex somebody from Kara's supporting cast is there, while nobody from Superman is, to our knowledge. If let's say Clark's son was part of the crossover and Clark wasn't, we would expect an explanation as well. Even if that explanation is "he doesn't have time".

Personally, I don't need Kara to leave, but I do think something meaningful should happen in the end rather than just everybody staying in town and carrying on like before. I think an ending like that would be really underwhelming.

I also don't think that that explanation about Ali Adler leaving makes any sense. If anything, the show doubled down on the LGBT content after she left and so did the CW in general with shows like Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman. My impression was that she just wasn't interested in writing a show for the CW, and so by her own words, she only stayed on till mid season 2 and she mostly worked in crafting Alex's coming out story.

Yes, that was my reaction, too. It sounds like we may be getting the kind of ending I was hoping for, in which Supergirl / Kara stays in National City, and things go on more or less the way they were. In other words, an NYPD Blue sort of ending, in which Kara turns off the lights in the CatCo offices in the final scene, and then embarks on a long, leisurely flight home, over the now-familiar National City skyline.

I still think Supergirl's identity may be out to the world but I also like the idea of Kara still out there doing her thing as Supergirl even if we no longer see it each week.I've heard the argument that Supergirl needs to leave(go to the future or move to Argo) to explain why she's not involved in every crossover now going forward.Like to explain why she isn't in "Armageddon" but Alex is.I don't think that's true though.They can just come up with a reason why she isn't in this Flash event.I mean they are going to have to do that for Superman.

Superman isn't in "Armageddon" and the end of season 1 gives no obvious reasons why he couldn't be.Season 1 of Superman & Lois ended with Clark & Lois on the farm with their sons witnessing John Henry's reunion with his daughter.So why isn't he helping Barry in "Armageddon"?Superman is not doing anything in particular or is somewhere he can't help when we left him as season 1 closed.They'll have to come up with a reason in-story why he isn't helping with the threat of Despero.They can do the same for Supergirl.Maybe Despero does something when he arrives that prevents heroes like Supergirl ,Superman and Martian Manhunter from helping?They're actually the heroes most equipped to help stop Despero in the comics so maybe something happens in the event that prevents certain heroes from helping Barry?In the comics,Despero has powerful mind control and telepathy.So maybe he mental whammy's the heroes most likely to be able to stop him,taking big guns like the supers and J'onn and even Dreamer off the board.They could be laying on a table unconscious at The Tower(or in Superman/Clark's case at the Kent farm) due to Despero doing something with his powers. That actually would be a good reason why Alex/Sentinel is part of the crew helping the Flash in this event.

The point is,they can come up with a reason why Supergirl isn't in a crossover without sending her to live in the future or moving her to another planet.They are going to have to do it with Superman too in this crossover since Clark was left on the farm with his family doing nothing particulary when season 1 concluded.

ETA

I also hate the idea of Esme growing up without her Aunt Kara around.

"I'm not even sure Supergirl will go the future or Argo, either."

Yes, that was my reaction, too. It sounds like we may be getting the kind of ending I was hoping for, in which Supergirl / Kara stays in National City, and things go on more or less the way they were. In other words, an NYPD Blue sort of ending, in which Kara turns off the lights in the CatCo offices in the final scene, and then embarks on a long, leisurely flight home, over the now-familiar National City skyline.

My favorite season is still season 3.I really liked the Reign/Worldkiller story.There are things I like in each season but my overall favorite season storyline was that.Melissa referred to it as Buffy like (when she was talking about the changes in season 4 and the social commentary aspect season 4 would be dealing with) which I agree with and liked.

Thalolli wrote:

"Yes, maybe season 1 was great for some viewers, but it clearly wasn't a sustainable way to create a show."

****
Romulus

I'll agree with most of your post, but that was a result of the PTB's (executives) lack of long-term planning. They also didn't know the extent of the affairs / entanglements in Melissa's personal life. That only came to light later on.

After the pilot was shot in early 2015, there was a lull / gap period between when a network picked it up (CBS) and when episode 2 and the rest of the season was shot. Consequently, there was a lot of catch-up and scrambling that went on. There was also the fact that it was initially picked up for a 13-episode order (and only got a full season order in early 2016), so the production and scripting was very rushed when the full season order finally came down.

In truth, the shooting schedule was hyper-compressed and it became physically and emotionally burdensome on Melissa. This needed to be addressed for Season 2 and it was. The focus shifted from Melissa's overall screen time to adding more secondary / supporting cast members' back stories and plotlines.

When the show dramatically shifted networks for Season 2 onward and moved shooting locations (Los Angeles to Vancouver), the dynamic of the show changed in a big way. It became a Berlantiverse and fully CW-centric product, and fell under a very different mandate (LGBTQ+ and SJW, "woke" focused).

The ratings took a massive hit in Season 2, partly due to the network shift (the CW has a limited household reach and is considered a niche network), and Ali Adler's LGBTQ+ focus in the season led to a massive exit of conservative-minded Supergirl fans and Season 1 hold-overs. This led to Adler's dismissal at the end of Season 2. Andrew Kreisberg was let go after his misconduct became public midway through Season 3 and with his departure, the show was left rudderless and fatally flawed. With the quality key head writer EP and crack key DC lore authority EP gone, the ship was also essentially firmly crashed into the iceberg and listing quickly.

The unfortunate, massive task of trying to right the ship / saving face fell to Jessica Queller and Robert Rovner. Unfortunately, they simply did / do not have the DC Lore knowledge or full grasp of what was / is needed to make a superhero show viable. They are good EPs for getting the product out to the public (and they would work well as EPs on different genre shows), but are / were ill-equipped to handle superhero shows. This has been evident since the midpoint of Season 3 to now. Season 4 was immensely polarising politically and socially, and Season 5 was just a plain, poorly planned mess. The only way out of this vicious circle was to curtail the series and allow the actors have a somewhat graceful Season 6 swan song send-off.

Such is life.

"Liberation" and "Arm In Arm" - Arkells, from the CD/LP/Download Blink Once. (2021)

"Bitter Taste" - Billy Idol, from the CD/LP/Download The Roadside EP. (2021)

"Run" - OneRepublic, from the CD/LP/Download Human. (2021)

Well, I'm glad someone else agrees with me.

July 20,1969 "Oh My God" "The Americans Are On The Moon"

Warren Zevon-Werewolves Of London
Bobby Pickett "Monster Mash"