Supergirl Star Melissa Benoist Talks Kara and Lena’s Relationship in Season 6

Supergirl returned last week, kicking off the remaining episodes of The CW series’ sixth and final season. The return of the show saw the titular heroine return to Earth after having been stranded in the Phantom Zone and while there were and will continue to be challenges for Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist) after the trauma of her time away, being reunited with her friends and family is just as significant, particularly when it comes to her friendship with Lena Luthor (Katie McGrath.) The pair had just begun to mend their broken friendship when Supergirl was sent into the Phantom Zone, but according to Benoist, their friendship will be stronger than ever going forward.

Benoist recently told Entertainment Weekly that, while the events of Season 5 which saw Lena at odds with Kara aren’t forgotten, they’re moving forward stronger than before.

“I think that Kara and Lena’s relationship is stronger than ever in this last season,” Benoist said. “Everything they went through in Season 5, I wouldn’t say it’s water under the bridge, but I do think it’s fortified their friendship and their sisterhood, and their alliance. I think it’s such a wonderful exemplary relationship on the show of how women can lift each other up this season, and how women can disagree but then find a common ground that really solves problems in genius ways, especially when you have a Luthor, the name carries that weight, and Supergirl. Those two women together — the strength and brawn and hope of Supergirl, and the brilliance and ingenuity of Lena Luthor — they do some really exciting things together this year.”

The idea that Supergirl and Lena will do big things in the final episodes of the season seems to hint at the idea of Lena finally coming into her own and accepting herself for who she is rather than continuing to live in the shadow of her villainous older brother, Lex. That is something that McGrath herself has previously said that she would like to see as part of Lena’s story in the final season.

“I really would like to see Lena come into full acceptance of who she is, that she’s fully accepted who she is, what she’s done, and who she is now,” McGrath said previously. “She’s not hung up about the bad parts of her, and she’s fully accepted the woman that she is, warts and all, and she believes that she is a good person. For me, that would be such a lovely wrapping up for Lena because she struggled so much with who she is. To finally just take a deep breath and go, ‘I’m enough, Lena is enough,’ and be happy for it, I know it sounds so simple, it’s not like these grand plans that everybody else probably wants for their characters, but it’s so simple for Lena. I just want her to finally be okay with who she is.”

Supergirl airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.