All the big feels from the Danvers sisters in The CW’s ‘Supergirl’
Supergirl’s core emotional relationship is not a romance or friendship, but a deep-seated bond between sisters. Kara (Melissa Benoist) and Alex (Chyler Leigh) may not share genetics, but they are each other’s family in every sense of the word that matters. This dynamic duo has faced down the end of the world together, always coming out stronger together in the end.
Benoist & Leigh, over the course of five seasons, have built one of the most loving and supportive familial relationships on television. The bond of the Danvers sisters survives mind wipes, betrayals, broken hearts, near-death experiences, and more. The pair always has each other’s back in the best way possible.
We’re here to salute Supergirl’s Danvers sisters with our favorite moments of the series. Why? Because The CW’s Supergirl will hit 100 episodes in 2020!
“Livewire” (S1E5)
This is a little moment in Supergirl’s first season when both Kara & Alex are young. In the scene, newly acquainted Kara & Alex take a midnight fly in the night sky. It’s a sweet and effective moment, showing the nascent bond between the two newly adopted siblings.
“For The Girl Who Has Everything” (S1E13)
Inspired by the classic Alan Moore comic “For The Man Who Has Everything”, Kara wakes up to a Krypton that is not destroyed, a cousin (Daniel DiMaggio) the proper age, and her parents alive.
Unfortunately, it’s all a cruel dream used by the Black Mercy sent to Kara by Non (Chris Vance) to drain her life force. Alex desperately tries to get to Kara throughout the whole episode, even turning to Maxwell Lord (Peter Facinelli) for help to get into Kara’s mind.
The bond between the sisters proves so strong that Kara is able to overcome the deadly dream when it matters most. The most iconic scene features Alex & Kara reaching for each other’s hands as false Krypton falls down around them. It’s one of the most powerful moments of Supergirl, showcasing how deep the sisterly bond runs.
“Better Angels” (S1E20)
In the first season finale of Supergirl, Kara fights a mind-controlled Alex in a Kryptonite suit. The fight is simply brutal, one of the best fights in the first season. While we can’t call this a pure Danvers sister moment, as Eliza (Helen Salter) helps Kara break the control on Alex, it’s definitely a testament to family bonds.
Kara & Eliza work in tandem to reason with Alex. Before Alex kills Kara with a Kryptonite sword, they’re able to get her to break the control and return to her senses.
With “Better Angels” comes a twofer of awesome Danvers sisters moments. In order to make sure that humanity survives Non and Indigo’s (Laura Vandervoort) last-ditch world-ending plan, Kara flies Fort Rozz into space.
The flight will likely kill her as, despite what comics will have you believe, Kryptonians cannot breathe in the unforgiving vacuum of space. Alex, however, refuses to let Kara sacrifice herself and flies Kara’s pod to go and save her sister from certain death. No Danverses left behind!
“Changing” (S2E6)
Due to the greater focus on the relationships of Kara & Mon-El (Chris Wood) and Alex & Maggie Sawyer (Floriana Lima) in Supergirl’s second season, there weren’t as many Danvers sisters moments in S2. Those few are powerful, though.
The most powerful and real moment arrives in the form of Alex coming out to Kara. Anyone who’s had to come out to family knows how utterly terrifying the prospect can be. Leigh & Benoist sell these scenes with aplomb, from Alex’s nerves over telling her sister she thinks she’s gay to Kara’s guilt at failing to provide Alex the space to find internal emotion honesty growing up.
Alex’s coming-out arc is one of the strongest of the series, filled as it is with great moments of character insight & honesty from these two talented performers.
“Exodus” (S2E15)
After learning her long-thought-dead father Jeremiah (Dean Cain) is working with anti-alien group Cadmus, Alex goes on a quest to stop Jeremiah & Cadmus at all costs. When she breaks into a facility preparing aliens for massive, forced deportation, Alex finds herself on the spaceship that is about to launch to the opposite end of the galaxy.
Kara arrives at the facility. The two sisters, separated by glass and with a countdown ticking, frantically attempt to stop the launch. Desperate looks and tension fill the air. For a minute, it looks like Alex is going to leave earth.
Eventually, Kara is inspired by her sister to force the ship down and keep the aliens (and Alex) on Earth. After Kara lands the ship, the pair have a moment of pseudo hand-holding through the glass of the cockpit.
“Triggers” (S3E2)
Supergirl’s third season tells a messy story. The character dynamics are as sharp as ever, however, with better effort to refocus on the Kara-Alex relationship. After sending Mon-El to space in order to save him from earth’s new anti-Daxamite atmosphere, Kara’s struggling with a lot of guilt and renewed feelings about the destruction of Krypton: perfect fodder for the fear-induced attack of Psi (Yael Grobglas).
Kara shares with Alex her guilt and fear that Mon-El may be dead, even though she tried to save him. Alex assures Kara that her fear doesn’t define her. Alex’s support enables Kara to defeat Psi. Nothing like a Danvers pep talk.
“Midvale” (S3E6)
In order to get Alex out of town while Maggie moves her stuff out of their apartment, Kara takes her broken-hearted sister to Midvale to visit Eliza. While there, the duo remembers how the bond between them began, and we’re treated to young Alex (Olivia Nikkanen) and young Kara (Isabela Vidovic). Unfortunately, Alex blames Kara for the “death” of Jeremiah, while Kara wants to go live with her cousin and be a superhero.
When Kara’s best friend Kenny (Ivan Mok) is murdered, the two team up to solve the case. Over the episode, Alex & Kara work through their differences and form a strong bond. Alex learns to find her inner badass, while Kara decides to repress her powers and figure out who Kara Danvers is. This sets them on their paths to become the dynamic duo we know and love.
“Of Two Minds” (S3E16)
Nothing like a near-death experience to make you want to save your family member. Supergirl’s third season features numerous near death experiences thanks to Reign (Odette Annabelle) and the Worldkillers.
Kara feels absolutely powerless to help her sister, who thinks she should be up and about helping. Along with J’onn (David Harewood), they set to reassure Alex that she’s stronger than Pestilence’s disease. Martian Dad and his two alien daughters get us all in the feels.
“Suspicious Minds” (S4E10)
Supergirl S4 heralds storytelling mastery. The creative team weaves together a tight and compelling narrative that touches on real-world issues using sci-fi tropes. The only weak link is Alex getting her mind erased about Kara’s identity as Supergirl. It seemed the team were going somewhere bigger with this plotline, but it never happened.
S4 features powerful Danvers sisters moments, however. The decision of Alex to protect her sister by having her memories erased by J’onn is the first. If she doesn’t, then Colonel Haley (April Parker Jones) will learn Kara’s identity from Alex by using an alien that forces people to tell the truth.
The scene in which Alex tells her decision to Kara is gut-wrenching. Benoist & Leigh sell every single moment of the emotionally wrought scene as Kara begs her sister to do anything else, while Alex remains resolute. The goodbye at the end? The way that Kara clings to Alex as J’onn approaches her? We were crying buckets of tears.
“Red Dawn” (S4E21)
Alex gets her memory back! Finally! While we want to believe there was a storyline that fell apart here, the whole plot just doesn’t come together. In the penultimate episode of S4, Alex’s memories of Kara’s abilities and heritage slowly come back to her. When Kara learns of these dreams, J’onn says that Alex needs to break through on her own or the consequences could be dire.
Apparently, dire straits is just what the doctor ordered. Kara and her Kaznian clone Red Daughter fight each other just outside of the Danvers home. When Red Daughter seemingly kills Kara, it’s the trigger that Alex needs to remember her sister.
What follows is something straight out of a Disney movie. Alex, utterly hysterical, pulls out grass and leaves from the ground, placing them on Kara’s body, and tells her to suck out the sunlight from the plants.
By the power of Melissa Benoist’s IRL Disney Princess hair, it works. Kara revives herself by sucking the sunlight out of the plants. How? No idea. You just go with the Disney logic and the tears running down your face at Alex’s soul-deep relief at Kara reviving. You cry harder when Kara realizes her sister remembers her. It’s the best moment of season four.
Red Daughter
We don’t quite know where to file this thing, as it takes place over several episodes. What we do know is that Red Daughter shows that Kara, at her core, adores her sister. Red Daughter is essentially Kara stripped of every memory, every inclination, everything but her core.
Alex is Red Daughter’s first and only word, and the only person she wants to work with. Unfortunately, the “Alex” she meets is dastardly Lex Luthor rather than her loving and devoted sister! What’s telling is that, when you strip away everything from Kara, the only thing she holds onto is her love for her sister.
Crisis on Earth-X
Crisis on Earth-X features the first time that Alex interacts with the Arrowverse at large. It also gives us some truly excellent Danvers sisters moments. Alex, fresh off her one-night stand with Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), runs into Kara outside of the Church. A five-minute conversation of Alex talking herself out of future one-night stands ensues, much to Kara’s increasing amusement.
That’s not all. With Alex and others trapped on the Nazi-ruled Earth-X, the elder Danvers sister is desperate to get home to Kara. She’s willing to pull at any heartstring and take down anyone who gets in her way. When Alex and Kara are finally reunited, then you know them Nazis is goin’ down. Badass.
“Elseworlds, Part 3” (Supergirl S4E9)
How deep does the bond between the Danvers sisters go? It transcends the multiverse. John Deegan (Jeremy Davies) uses the Book of Destiny to rewrite Earth-1 and himself into Earth’s greatest hero, Superman (Tyler Hoechlin). Kara, due to having the same powers as him, is vaguely retconned into being a bad guy, but Deegan wants her out of the way, as she’s not in his Book.
One of Deegan’s agents, however, is Earth-1’s Alex Danvers. That alone leaves us shook. Kara, seeing her sister’s doppelganger, tries to reach out to her. While Alex is resistant at first, Kara wins her over after sharing things no one else will know.
Even though this Alex isn’t Kara’s Alex, the two still make for an amazing team. When Alex & Kara are caught by Deegan, Kara tries to protect this other version of her sister. Alex will not deny Kara! She even calls Kara her sister. We hope Earth-1 Alex is living her best life now. Hopefully she remembers her alien sister from an alternate earth fondly.
