A superhero’s identity, and those who know it, is a big part of any superhero series. In Supergirl, it’s always been crucial whenever Kara Danvers tells those closest to her who she really is, and why it's important that they know. With sister Alex getting close to Kelly Olsen, it was only a matter of time before she found out the truth about Kara, especially since the show is ending, but it wasn’t even seen. With this, showrunners Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller explain why it transpired off screen.
While not everything needs to be told on screen, fans were surprised to find out that Alex already told Kelly about Kara and that it happened off camera. In the Season 6 premiere, it was actually a big deal that Kelly wasn't in the know about Kara as Supergirl, which made it all the more shocking when she knew everything by the following episode. Robert Rovner told TheWrap that storytelling logistics played into the decision to have the reveal take place off screen. Rovner explained:
It was something that we had toyed about being able to do at the end of the first episode, but the story kind of — we didn’t have the time in that episode to achieve that. Because Kelly was fine with the news, we felt that we could integrate it into the story and that their relationship — it was something that Kelly was going to be very supportive [of] and helping Alex cope with this. And some of it is explored in the next episode, when Alex is having a very difficult time.
Last season, Kara dealt with Lena knowing that she’s Supergirl along with the implications it had on her and the team, as well as the world. It took Lena a while to forgive Kara for not telling her, leading her to find out from her own dying brother. Though she felt betrayed by her best friend, Lena eventually let it go. With this, Jessica Queller and company felt that they needed a storyline with no conflict when it came to Alex and Kelly. Queller said:
And I’ll just add, we spent an entire season on when that news did not go well. We felt like we really played that conflict last season.
Recently, Kelly Olsen actor Azie Tesfai had said she wasn’t even concerned with how her character would take the news. In fact, Tesfai believes the revelation would actually make Kelly and Alex’s relationship stronger than it’s ever been:
Kelly is so wonderful. I would’ve been angry, but she’s just such a dream girlfriend, you know? She gets it. She gets everyone’s perspective on things, and she’s so kind and empathetic that [Alex and Kelly’s] relationship continues to be such a standard of healthy love that I think everything brings them closer together.
Alex and Kelly’s relationship has been going strong since the latter's introduction in Season 4. The character was only recurring and was upped to a series regular for Season 5. The news of Kara’s secret will bring the two even closer and show that Kelly is there for Alex no matter what, and she really needs her now more than ever.
Supergirl airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.
