The CW's Supergirl returned from its mid-season hiatus on Aug. 24, and it showed that Kara had many, many things to adjust to in her daily life post-Phantom Zone. One of Kara Danvers' first surprises, however, was learning that while she was off facing the nightmarish terrors of another realm, her just-acknowledged-work-crush William Dey has moved on to dating someone he met at a charity event. To be fair, the romance between Kara and William was slim to start, amounting to no more than lingering glances and Kara's bottom lip biting.
But, with just shy of ten episodes left of Supergirl, this moment seemingly promises that, at this time in Supergirl's life, romance is just not a priority for her. Whether or not this is true, or if this bake-sale-founded romance is a fling or something serious, still remains to be seen. However, what Supergirl Season 6, Episode 8 did show fans was how content Kara was to hear that their first date wasn't going to happen. While Kara was the one to finally ask William out for coffee, her sigh of relief when he declined was very audible. Perhaps, instead of fan-shipping Kara's ending romance, the audience should listen to her wants and even ponder why a woman fated to save the world has to also find romance if they're just not feeling it.
Before delving into the potential suitors that could or couldn't work with Kara during the show's final hour, it's important to acknowledge that it's an unfair burden to place upon women-identifying heroes that their stories must also include a romantic ending. While there's a vicarious joy in seeing people on-screen fall in love, it's something that in the Arrowverse pressures its women-identifying leads about more than its male ones. Heroes like Oliver Queen or Barry Allen don't linger too long in the arena because they're accompanied by heroic women who, subconsciously or consciously, are viewed by them as their fated romance, which gives both them and the audience the permission to view any other romance that crops up as inconsequential.
This "saved" assumption robs characters like Iris West or Felicity Smoak from having nuanced romantic relationships that could aid in their character growth and understanding of themselves, regardless if they're enduring or not. This is probably the one thing that Dawson's Creek has always trumped The CW's superhero shows in when it comes to romance. Even if it knew which romances would falter, it never shied away from showing how or why they didn't work, especially if it meant that the character grew from that romantic experience.
On a show like Supergirl, though, there wasn't ever this idea of a long-lost or never-kindled love. Instead, Kara was thrown into a variety of romantic entanglements, ranging from the better-as-friends Jimmy Olsen to the star-crossed and ill-fated relationship with Mon-El. Unlike prior Arrowverse shows, Kara has crushed, dated, loved and lost. In Season 6's "Prom Night!," the audience even caught a glimpse of what could have been a Superman and Lois-Lane-like relationship between teenage Kara and Kenny. But a recurring theme in Kara's life is that she, more than anyone, knows when to sacrifice something personally fulfilling if it means it'd stand in the way of accomplishing something that could help all of humanity.
While that might feel like an unfair burden for Kara, it's also one that's not uncommon for superheroes to balance regularly. It's never assumed that Batman needs to have a romantic relationship in order to save the day or be satisfied with his actions. And, more importantly, if this is a need to have for Kara Danvers, aka Supergirl, it's worth wondering if this aim could be accomplished with only 12 episodes left of its final season. And if so, would that be enough space to show how Kara has overcome her PTSD post-Phantom Zone to then also find love? When Kara returns to National City, she can barely say the word phantom. And as someone who always sacrifices for others, she deserves time to heal as well.
Even if a new romantic partner was introduced, it'd likely fall into that nebulous gray-zone similar to the last season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D with Daisy Johnson and the man-out-of-time, which, while endearing, felt rushed. However, something that worked for Daisy in this romance is that she was facing the challenge of learning to let someone in romantically, which is ultimately what that romance served to teach her: a start to something is good enough to experience, despite where it lands. For Kara, she's never had that starting trouble.
What ends her romantic relationships is that her duties pull her away from committing to a relationship that doesn't factor in superhero stakes. At this moment in Supergirl, there aren't any heroes at her level that have been through the trauma that she's experienced and can understand the sacrifice that she has to deal with on a day-to-day basis. The closest she had to that was with Mon-El, and, while he's returning for Supergirl's finale, Season 5 clearly cemented their relationship in the past, as he promised to commit himself to his wife.
While there's always been a fandom rallying cry for Kara and Lena to explore a romantic relationship, Season 6 seems to also have other plans for Leena's arc. At the end of Season 6, Episode 8, Leena admitted that she's finally ready to confront her adopted identity and explore her birthplace and lineage. Similar to Kara, Leena also seems rooted in a journey of self-discovery. And even if Leena was able to find herself and return to Kara within this season, it's unclear if all of this potential build-up of a romantic relationship could work with so little time left in the series.
While many fans would love to see a Leena and Kara relationship, there's not enough time to explore both of these women's explorations into themselves, their trauma and their possibly newly discovered sexualities for a relationship to feel worthwhile in a mere half-season left. And even if The CW is going to shyly bring Kenny back, it seems like there's just not enough time for Kara to form a romance. And, in reality, there's no need for her to have to do it.
To see if Kara ends her series in a relationship, Supergirl returns Sept. 7 on The CW.