When I watch a TV show or movie, I look for something that I can relate to. There are so many shows now that I fall in love with because I find something in them that resonates with my own life. For Supergirl there are many, but the main one is the Danvers Sisters. I have two sisters, and I am the oldest so I really relate to Alex, but also just to their sisterly relationship as a whole.
When she was 13, Kara Zor-El was sent to Earth by her parents to protect her cousin Kal-El after their planet, Krypton, was destroyed. Kara however, landed on Earth much later than Kal afetr her pod got knocked off course, and no longer had a role to play in protecting him as he was now a grown man. Kal-El (Clark Kent) brought Kara to live with the Danvers family in Midvale in order for her to have the same, normal upbringing which he did. The Danvers had a daughter the same age, Alex, leading them to spend their teenage years growing closer to become #SisterGoals.
They weren’t always so close though. After being close for a while, with Alex protecting Kara from the popcorn maker and Kara taking Alex on night time flights, their father ‘died’, leading to a lot of resentment from Alex. In a flashback episode (Season 3, Episode 6), we get to see the relationship the two of them had as teenagers before they became the crime fighting duo we love. There is fighting, there is running to the bathroom before the other can get in, there is cuddles, and there is working on a project together.
I see a lot of parallels in this episode between my sisters and I. As teenagers, my sisters (one in particular – Sorry!) used to drive me insane! We would constantly fight. We would constantly argue. And because there was 3 of us, two would gang up on the other. With three girls in the house with a shared bathroom, there was a lot of stealing. Stealing of clothes, of books, movies, the TV remote and yes even stealing the bathroom from right under the others noses! (In retaliation, we would stand outside the bathroom until they were done, face pressed against the door ready to scare them.) Later in this episode, Alex and Kara eventually put aside their differences and are able to work together, with Kara even saving Alex twice!
Kara stop being a little shit! – Alex in her head, probably.
Even in the very first episode of Supergirl, we get to see some sister bonding in their very first scene together. Kara has a date, and needs Alex’ help to pick out an outfit. If sisters are good for anything, then it is for help in picking out clothes and for helping with make up (we are especially good at not holding back when either of these are not quite right!) The number of times that I have either called one of my sisters in to my room for help in choosing something, or asked them to help with a shopping trip is too many to count. I don’t think I’d be able to count them even if I had 100 extra hands! We sisters are great for this kind of event.
We get to see the protective nature of both sisters right from the get go. Kara leaves her date after finding out that the plane that Alex is on is on fire and is circling the city, and fly’s off to save it, outing herself as an Alien in the process. The thing about sisters is that you are the only one who is allowed to hurt or torment them, no one else is allowed to or else they will feel full on sisterly wrath. There has been times where I have been the one handing out the wrath (like going to walk my sister home from school after kids were bullying her), to times when my sisters have been the ones doing it for me (like people I went to school with using social media as a tool to try to bring me down for my fangirling – SORRY NOT SORRY BTW). My point is, there is no one in the world who will have your back quite like a sister does, like the Alex and Kara have each others backs and like the way my sisters and I do.
The thing about sisters is that they will always be there to save you, no matter what!
There is one thing that I always look forward to in every episode, and that is Danvers Sister Nights. Danvers Sister Nights area thing of glory! They curl up on the sofa in their comfiest clothes, eat junk food, binge watch TV and annoy each other in the loving way that only sisters can. I adore these scenes simply because it reminds me of my own sister nights mostly when we were younger. (Sister nights now usually involve LOTS of alcohol and stumbling home at 5am.) My sisters and I would spend our days off from school usually in my room watching marathons of Harry Potter or Disney Movies or TV shows while eating popcorn and ordering takeout. These sister nights are, whether they are on Supergirl or in my own life, filled with love and laughter – sometimes with pillows being thrown at each other or food.
I just really want a McLaren Sister Night OK!
There is one moment in the series which makes me cry each and every time I watch it, and it is simply because it resonates with me on a cellular level. When Alex comes out to Kara I pretty much ugly cry for days. Alex is so nervous, and Kara is kind and patient and lets Alex know that whatever she wants to talk to her about, she can just tell her. When Alex tells Kara that she suppressed a lot of memories and feelings, I feel like shouting ‘THAT’S ME!'(and sometimes I actually do). Later on in the episode when things don’t go so well with Alex’ crush at the time, Kara turns up at Alex’ apartment in full on sister mode. Kara can tell that Alex is upset over it, she bundles Alex in to her arms and lets her cry it out. Even though my coming out wasn’t exactly like that with my sisters (I pretty much just went ‘I’m Bi, it’s a thing, now lets act like nothings changed and make jokes about it!), my sisters were still there for me, and I know that they will be there for me like I have been there for them.
Sister cuddles are the best at ANY time.
I really just love the Danvers Sisters. They parallel my own relationship with my sisters so much, but then at times it is completely different. For one, my sisters and I don’t go and fight Aliens and Meta-Humans trying to take over the world, but the similarities are there. Some of the best episodes, in my opinion, are definitely the ones where there is some sort of sister time. Those are some of my favorite times, so why wouldn’t I love to see that reflected on my TV screen. Sure the circumstances of them becoming sisters is certainly not normal, but I can still remember the first time I met my youngest sister. I can still remember when we would play video games and I would beat them, or when we would go outside and play in the street (because that was still a thing then), or when we would go see a movie or one of our favorite bands. I know, just like Kara, what my sisters favorite orders are at certain takeaways, I know their drink of choice, I know their favorite movies and bands, and I know that without a doubt, that no matter when I need them, they will be there (and they know that I will be there for them – just in a separate time zone and on the other side of Facetime).
Sure we still fight, like all sisters do and exactly like the Danvers sisters do. That’s what makes Alex and Kara’s relationship so real. They reflect all the things that I love about having sisters. I’ve seen interviews with Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh, and in those interviews, you can feel the genuine love and respect between them, and that is what makes their sister dynamic work so well.
I could write for DAYS about the Danvers Sisters, and could still not be finished. But I guess I should finish up by using this GIF that I’ve been saving for the ENTIRE article and proclaim my love once more for the Danvers Sisters, for they are the definition of #SisterGoals!
Written by Christine
fangirlden.com 