Some really cool stuff happened on Supergirl last night. Melissa Benoist was adorably perfect in the role, as usual, and guest star Lynda Carter made a big impact with her surprisingly (to me, anyway) small part. But LGBTQ+ representation took center stage.
First off, how about that twirl?
Incredible #WonderWoman homage in tonight's #Supergirl, which guest stars Lynda Carter pic.twitter.com/684puAgR2T
– Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) October 25, 2016
In case anyone was wondering, Supergirl writer Derek Simon confirmed this was absolutely a '70s Wonder Woman reference.
if #Supergirl's fire-extinguishing spin looks familiar, well, there's a reason for that… pic.twitter.com/5IThjxAn3m
– Derek Simon (@DerekSimonID4) October 25, 2016
Carter also got to speak a fantastic line that referenced her “other jet” and for a few seconds I thought to myself, “What if she's actually Wonder Woman in this universe??” Not quite but there is more to her story. However, that same writer also happened to retweet several fans discussing a certain budding romance between two characters.
Oh yeah, they're doing it.
That can and should be read two ways because from the very first scene between Chyler Leigh's Alex and Floriana Lima's Maggie Sawyer I was shouting at the TV, “JUST F–K ALREADY!!”
No seriously, that conversation between them had so much aggressive sexual energy. You know, the kind we see between heterosexual characters on TV all the time.
Fans had been asking for LGBTQ+ representation on Supergirl since before the series began. We all like to see ourselves reflected on screen, after all. While there was none in Season 1, fans kept asking. Executive producer Greg Berlanti thanked the press (who are also fans, go figure) earlier this year for “keeping people honest, and keeping up the conversation” for increasing diversity. He also teased that a “significant” character would be exploring their sexuality this season but didn't specify which show. I think we can now assume it's Supergirl's Alex.
Maggie is a DC Comics lesbian character who famously had a relationship with Batwoman aka Kate Kane (she was married to a man early on in the comics until she formally came out). Considering Alex's flirtation with Peter Facinelli's Maxwell Lord in Season 1, we don't know just yet if she's going to be represented as bisexual on the show or as a lesbian but either way, it's a boon for LGBT representation, and I am so excited to see how it plays out. Now if we can just put Maggie in an indestructible bubble so they can't kill her off, we'll be golden.
Besides the start of something fantastic, Supergirl also brought in another bit of the real world into their fictional story – a female President. And they didn't stop there. “How did anyone even vote for that other guy?” says Supergirl in a clear reference to our current US election. Not to mention the allegory of the “Alien Amnesty Act” and Lena Luthor's L Corp alien detector invention and the even more direct discussion between Maggie and Alex about being “different” at the bar. If that seems weird to you, don't forget superhero stories have always been about social justice issues.
(Alex/Maggie gif via ainokiseki on tumblr)