REVIEWED: SEASON 5 (EPISODES 1 – 3) | WHERE TO WATCH: NOWTV, SKY GO

When we left Supergirl at the end of Season 4, everything was fine in National City. Lex Luthor is dead (he isn’t, but they think he is), the alt-right has been defeated, the Kaznian invasion has been repelled, and Brainy finally told Nia Nal that he loved her. Sure, Lena Luthor still has a mad-on for Supergirl, and the Monitor released J’onn J’onzz’s brother from Phantom Zone purgatory, but what’s a little rain on a sunny day?

Season 5 opens with things still being fine, but – spoiler! – that doesn’t last. By the end of the third episode, Brainy and Nia have split, J’onn’s brother has tried to kill him (and Jimmy Olsen’s sister, Kelly), Lena has committed brain murder on her former assistant Eve Teschmacher, and a new and sinister organisation is using alien powers to target healthcare professionals for some weird reason. Worst of all, CatCo has been bought by someone who wants Kara to write clickbait; things have taken a dark turn indeed.

Of course, this is business as usual for the cast of Supergirl, who have had to deal with all manner of criminal, governmental, and alien drama over the past few years, and it’s not like CatCo hasn’t gone through a bajillion changes (and several owners) since it was first introduced as some kind of Cosmopolitan clone, back in Season 1. Something feels different, however, and whether that’s down to a slightly darker tone to the show, the upcoming prospect of the Crisis on Infinite Earths possibly putting National City on the grim, dark world inhabited by Arrow and The Flash, or Supergirl now sporting trousers and a fringe, is unclear.

With a triple threat established before we even think of getting to the Crisis, there’s no shortage of peril on this season’s Supergirl, and that’s matched by the personal and professional drama soaking through the lives of the Maid of Might and her supporting cast. Supergirl isn’t the best superhero show on TV – it’s not even the best superhero show on The CW – but it’s a dependable, solid piece of escapism, with a likeable cast and a sympathetic world view. Just what we need in these trying times before the Crisis hits us…