What changes would you have made?

There are too many small and larger changes to mention in one topic posting. You'll have to read the entire forum boards over the past six years to get the whole picture. There are a litany of irks that finally added up.

For me, it was the predictable and consistent writing inconsistences throughout the run and the suit change in Season 5. The actors and crews did their jobs as asked and went above and beyond with the scant scripts they were given. They made the characters their own. That made the show worth watching even when the higher-ups (the writers and brass) dropped the ball terribly regarding the overall vision and scope of the show.

I was surprised they diidn't do more with Zor-El.His return diidn't really add much except give Kara both her parents back.I thought they were going to make him the villain of the season but they brought him back with Kara and then sent him to Argo.Seemed a little pointless.

Even though there are weak elements in the series,I always have trouble coming up with things to change because quite frankly,I'm no writer and what I would change,may not of improved things.lol

I guess off the top of my head, I would change the Leviathan storyline last season.There are two versions of Leviathan
in the comics.The one created by Grant Morrison during his Batman run.A criminal organization created by Talia Al Ghul and the second and current version created by Brian Michael Bendis during his Superman run that's still in play in his current Checkmate miniseries and current Justice League work.This version involved a mysterious individual(evenutally revealed to be former hero Manhunter/Mark Shaw) uspering Talia as leader of Leviathan and using it to take out all the spy organizations in the DC Universe like the DEO and ARGUS in order to create a world without secrets.Superman deciding to reveal his identity as Clark Kent to the world tied into this plotline.Leviathan is also responsible for the death of Lois's father Sam and Kara's adoptive mother,Eliza(in the comics Eliza & Jeremiah Danvers are/were DEO agents).Again this story is still playing out although the Danvers plotline seems to have been dropped when the previous monthly Supergirl comic series was canceled last year(the current Supergirl comic is a miniseries with a new storyline).

The Supergirl show seemed to create it's own version of Leviathan that never really worked IMO.If they wanted to use Leviathan ,I think they should of gone with the second and current comic version.I think it would of fit better in the series.

There are other things I would change but some of the stuff may of been out of the show's control like actor availability and such.

Changes over the years:

The lead actress did a truly fine job with the material she was given.

What should have been changed? The worldkiller should have been defeated by Supergirl. The solar collection scheme seen Tuesday would have permitted this. The Superfriend count got totally out of hand and should have been pared dramatically. The wedding was very fine but considerably too long. As a closer, Supergirl in the end came across as weak, indecisive, and being told what to do.

I wouldn't have changed anything until season 4 where I would have cleaned house and got new EP's and writers. I would have made no changes to Supergirl's costume. I would have kept the spotlight on Melissa and not added these fake superheros like Kelly and Nia. I would have not brought Lex Luthor to the show for obvious reasons. I would have had less one sided social issues which were prevalent throughout season 4,5 and 6.
And with Veterans Day tomorrow I wish all by brothers and sisters a happy Veteran's Day. And for those who questioned my character and thought that I couldn't handle a flying harness or beat the crap out of the guardian and was called the crazy uncle,I say this to you.
I'm a combat Vietnam Vet who was drafted in 1968 right after the Tet offensive and discharged with honors after my service. I spent 10 months outside of Chu Lai where I was awarded the Bronze Star in the field. Several months later I was wounded when a Bouncing Betty exploded about 10 yards from my position and got a purple heart. Other medals, National Defense, Vietnam Campaign, Vietnam Medal.

Like others, I was fine up to season 4. Although I probably would have cut the Morgan Edge subplot from season 3, because it amounted to nothing and was wrapped up sloppily and hastily.

The goals of season 4 were great. But I would have stuck with Manchester and the Elite as the season's primary antagonist, along with the Children of Liberty. I would have found a way in the season for Manchester to get his trademark powers...I also would have made him more of a Supergirl enemy than a J'onn enemy. I would have had Manchester discover Red Daughter, and try to bend her to his way of thinking.

Season 5, instead of Leviathan, I would have properly used Lex, revealing him as the money behind the Children of Liberty. This could have been the season where Lena is torn between her family and Kara/Supergirl, but I would have done it without Lena going full on villain like she did, this season. Lex could have still revealed Kara's identity to Lena, and Lena would be torn, but ultimately side with Kara/Supergirl because, even during their conflicts, both Kara and Supergirl treated Lena more like family than Lex or Lillian ever did.

Season 6. I wouldn't turn Kelly into Guardian because it seemed forced, in the last season, and took away valuable time in this reduced final season. I would start it off very similar to how the actual season started, but with Lex apparently killing Supergirl instead of sending her to the Phantom Zone. Episode 1 would be the death. Episode 2 could be the "funeral", as well as the aftermath. They would send Kara into space in a space casket (possibly her pod), as Kara and Non did with Astra. It would be "A World Without a Supergirl". We see the world in Supergirl's absence...how it responds. And maybe we'd even get an anthology episode, where a bunch of citizens tell stories of how Supergirl impacted their lives. That would get us through episode 3. We could then do a 2-part Midvale episode, just as they did this year, as part of Alex's memories of Kara. This would go through episodes 4 and 5. Episode 6 would flash forward a bit as Alex and company try to protect the city without Supergirl. We'd have Alex, J'onn, Brainy, maybe a repowered Sam Arias, and an awakened Bizarro, trying to fill the void Supergirl left. In the B-Story, instead of a Phantom Zone arc, we'd see Kara's space casket slowly drifting towards the sun, which would eventually heal, revive, and empower Supergirl. Back on Earth, the new team would come across a threat that they can't seem to beat. All hope is lost until a pod crashes down, and we see a fully revived and solar empowered Supergirl take down whatever this new threat is.

After Kara's return, I would have the threat for the rest of the season be the Zor-El version of Cyborg Superman. He would attack Argo, his former home, and Alura would flee to Earth, telling Kara of the mechanical monster that laid waste to Argo, and that it's heading for Earth. It would be gradually revealed that he is a herald of Brainiac, created from Zor-El's remains, drifting in space after he saved Argo years prior. Kara is torn between protecting the world and eliminating the threat that was once her father. It culminates with Brainiac invading Earth in a 2-part finale. Ideally, this would cross over with Superman & Lois. This also provides a heavy emotional conflict for Brainy. Brainiac imperils Supergirl, and is about to finish her off, when, seeing his daughter in mortal danger, Zor-El's personality breaks through to the surface and Cyborg Superman sacrifices himself to stop Brainiac. Enraged, Kara goes all out against Brainiac, eventually banishing him from Earth, and getting justice for Argo.

That's how I would handle the back half of the series.

Just a couple of comments. As has been noted many times, there was an over-abundance of secondary characters. More to the point, their stories were sometimes more developed that the title heroine. I felt that Kara/Supergirl was painted with a broad brush, and several of the secondary characters were given more detail.

I also felt that issues between Alex and Kara were never explored in enough depth. For example, at the end of "Falling", Alex and Kara had an emotional conversation about their relationship and Alex said "we have to work on that." But it never really happened and always seemed papered over to me, like a hug and "I'm sorry" would fix everything. I would have liked to see an episode or two where the two sisters really had a heart-to-heart.

One mistake I thought they made right off the bat was Mehcad's "James Olsen" character. It just didn't feel right to me. If you're going to have Jimmy Olsen on the show, have *the* Jimmy Olsen on the show. Or else don't include him in your cast of DC Comics characters. Don't change him!
Don't get me wrong - I thought Mehcad did a great job with his character. But I also though that he should have been a new character, maybe the veteran lead photographer for the Tribune and CatCo magazine. That way, he could served as a mentor for Jimmy in his new job. Anyway, that's the way I would have written it.
On the other hand, I always liked Winn, especially in his original role, I thought he was a good addition as a new character - sort of an updated, tech-savvy counterpart to Jimmy Olsen.

the show was clearly bloated and it showed. I would have kept many of the newly added 'regulars' as recurring guest stars and used them sparingly. I would have kept the focus on Kara and while I understand that the main actor wanted to do less, the story could have still remained on Kara while capable supporting actors carried their B plots well. I would have cut characters that clearly weren't working (or just reduced them). I would have had more Danvers Sisters, either fighting together or dealing with their issues as grownups. The romance side of this show was always it's downside. they either should have leaned in with kara and james (even if it didn't work out due to obvious conflicts and they want back to being superfriends and work colleagues) but not at the expense of the 'adventure' side of the show.

Hindsight is a P.I.T.A., isn't it?! The would've, could've, should've conundrum.

If I were to change things, it would have been that the Pilot episode would have been a more fully formed 2-hour TV movie (or an actual cinematic one) to get the ball truly rolling.

The first Season, despite its obvious technical / scripting flaws and general wonkiness, had the elan and the X-factor magic (I'm not talking about 5th dimensional stuff) and captured the spirt / essence of the character(s) well. It was light, bright and optimistic. Being on CBS with a wide viewership and larger budget helped.

Seasons 2 - 6, unfortunately, became bogged down with competing agendas, BTS politics, and the oversaturation / overuse / misuse of characters and consistently poor scripting. The focus shifted from being Supergirl being super to Superfriends with everyone being a superhero (and then some). The shift from CBS to the CW was both a blessing and a curse. It prolonged the series, but cost it its soul. The fact that the external (real) world shifted dramatically between 2015 and 2021 also played a large part in souring viewer perceptions. Reality trumped fantasy (pardon the pun).

The cast and crews did their jobs admirably. Everything else, unfortunately, just fell apart as the series wore on. After Season 3, the downward trajectory transformed from a snowball to an avalanche effect. The saving grace was the cast and crews pulling off the next-to-impossible for six seasons despite the massive obstacles. My hat goes off to them.

It seemed they had set up how Kara was going to beat Reign -- get Reign in mid air, use cape fighting, and perhaps the solar laser we saw at the end of season six. Instead they walked away from that. With some regularity, including the final episode, Supergirl did not in the end save the day.

To reduce Melissa screen time, starting in season one, no DEO that knows who she is. Instead, some organization that is plotting against her, and we see them plotting.