Why So Blu?

Supergirl: The Complete Third Season (Blu-ray Review)

The DC Universe is alive, well and rocking on the CW network. Supergirl, while a part of the universe (Moreso multiverse), didn’t originate there, but has no just finished her second season on the CW. Its a show that really tackles modern day issues regarding inclusion and takes no prisoners in doing so. You’ll be able to pick up the third season of the show for physical ownership when it arrives from Warner Bros on September 18th. This will give you ample time to prepare for its return and fourth season in October on a brand new night. It’ll be the CW’s first show in the brand new Sunday night block of original programming. You can pre-order this nifty new set to go along with your others, by using the Amazon link following the review.

Season 

Kara Danvers grapples with the sacrifices she’s made personally while saving National City as Supergirl.  She even considers covering up her human identity altogether. Being human and vulnerable is hard. Maybe she’s better off embracing her alien DNA and only being the “Girl of Steel.” As Kara struggles with her path forward, she continues to work with Hank Henshaw and her sister, Alex, at the Department of Extranormal Operations to battle all threats to National City, including new villains Morgan Edge, and the “Worldkiller,” known as Reign.  Everything Kara’s ever known and everyone she’s ever loved will be tested.

Supergirl’s third season kept on trucking along, not necessarily rising above just yet, but moreso maintaining a consistency and improving things internally. The show still remains the most popular show on the CW network Arrowverse not called The Flash. The season had some breakout moments and a really good villain angle, but I felt before the season this would be the one (It’s “Deathstroke” season), but it became just solid, with us still waiting for it. Reign definitely wins the award for best villain the series has had so far, but she still doesn’t really much compare to the best from the other programs.

One of the signature touches of Supergirl is its hard pressed way of showcasing and dealing with real world social issues we face everyday. The show is never shy about it and quite frankly isn’t afraid to hit you over the head with it or not be coy about something from the headlines they are trying to recreate. I’ve always loved their blunt and honest approach to progress and acceptance. I love even more how they don’t back down and will dish things back when someone’s ugly, dark aged views tries to take them down on social media. In season 3, it continues on with such issues like immigration.

Not that its something fresh or new, but Supergirl’s cast faces many interesting challenges within themselves this season. They’ve tried to offer some dramatic arcs with Martian Manhunter in the past for seasons, but in this one they really nail it and bring some terrific dramatics with his father and really hone in on his and Alex Danvers. Lena Luthor, as played by Katie McGrath, continues to glow and flourish, becoming one of the best things about the show and making you completely forget that Calista Flockhart never showed up this season. Star Melissa Benoist also goes through many trials and also finding herself knocking down a few pedestals both with her powers and personal life and learning her way back up, which is told in a terrific arc.

I’m hoping we are close to “that season!” for Supergirl here. Overall the show has been solid, but unlike that of The Flash or Legends of Tomorrow, I’m okay if I get behind on it and catch up. I still really enjoy the show, but its not a priority. I love everything the show currently is and does, but I want to be itching to see the next week, and wanting to make sure I’m clear to watch it right away. The show has the potential to and feels on the cusp. Maybe season 4 will be it. Season 3 was quite good, with its best villain so far (Kudos to Odette Annable for pulling off a really tough character), and keeps the show at a pretty solid level of quality.

Episodes

Girl of Steel

Triggers

Far From The Tree

The Faithful

Damage

Midvale

Wake Up

Crisis on Earth-X: Part 1

Reign

Legion of Super Heroes

Fort Rozz

For Good

Both Sides Now

Schott Through The Heart

In Search of Lost Time

Of Two Minds

Trinity

Shelter from the Storm”

The Fanatical

Dark Side of the Moon

Not Kansas

Make It Reign

Battles Lost and Won

Video 

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

Layers: BD-50

Clarity/Detail:  Supergirl’s third season comes to Blu-ray with a business as usual image.  The picture quality holds up to its first season and stand strong with its other CW Arrowverse family. Like always, the Blu-ray provides a step up from its HD broadcast appearance.  Motion, crispness, sharpness improve. Detail is very high.  The show is probably the brightest looking of all the other Arrow-verse programming and that lends itself to a wonderful looking image.

Depth:  Background and foreground imagery have a nice spacey relationship with good clarity. The second season has a real nice 3 dimensional work going on here, especially during some in air and flying sequences.

Black Levels:  Blacks are deep and inky.  No crushing witnessed.  Good shading and no real detail lost in the darkness.

Color Reproduction:  Coloring is rich and vibrant here.  Setting her apart from the other shows on the network, Supergirl’s city is bright, tropical and features lots of poppy colors, including her blonde hair.  Blues, reds, yellows…everything looks beautiful.

Flesh Tones:  Skin tones are natural with a consistent appearance throughout.  Facial details are window-clear in the bright image, displaying make-up, lip texture, wrinkles, stubble and more.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean

Audio 

Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Dutch, Spanish (Latin American), Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Dynamics:  Supergirl flies into Blu-ray for the third time with another terrific 5.1 presentation.  The mix is a great balance of the score/music, vocals and sound effects.  Things punch up and get effectively loud during some intense battle sequences but also let up for a lot of office and apartment scenes with dialogue taking the lead.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension:  Crashing, explosions, blasting, punching and much more (Including some dance beats) all thump your subwoofer.

Surround Sound Presentation:  Mostly front focused, there is some great ambiance and enhancements that feature in the rear speakers.  Front channels give a good toss around playing with movement and distance emanating from the screen.

Dialogue Reproduction:  Dialogue is loud, crisp and provides excellent clarity.

Extras 

Supergirl: The Complete Third Season is a 4-Blu-ray Disc set that comes with an Ultraviolet digital copy of every episode as well as an insert booklet.

Disc 1

Deleted Scenes – Girl of Steel (HD, 1:52), Triggers (HD, :27), Far From The Tree (HD, 2:38), The Faithful (HD, 1:50), Damage (HD, 1:58), Midvale (HD, 2:15), Wake Up (HD, 2:06)

Disc 2

Inside the Crossover: Crisis on Earth-X (HD, 41:59) – A very awesome roundtable discussion of showrunner/producers of each of the series as they talk about this past year’s crossover, what goes on in bringing these worlds together, how they compliment each other and more.

She Will Reign (HD, 8:23) – Explores the journey of Samantha Arias, who is on the path to the discovery of her dark Kryptonian roots and her destiny to become the evil Reign.

Disc 3 

Gag Reel (HD, 7:23)

Deleted Scenes – Fort Rozz (HD, 1:42), Both Sides Now (HD, 1:59), Schott Through the Heart (HD, 1:05), In Search of Lost Time (HD, 1:17), Trinity (HD, :22)

Disc 4

The Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2017 (HD, 58:27) – Instead of the usual “just The Flash panel” form SDCC 2017, they’ve mad one grand DC montage panel that even includes Gotham in the mix.

Deleted Scenes – Shelter from the Storm (HD, 2:56), The Fanatical (HD, 1:02), Not Kansas (HD, 1:50), Battles Lost and Won (HD, 10:01)

Summary 

Supergirl’s third season kept the show’s success moving along quite naturally, finding itself new challenges and dynamics for characters. Warner Bros Blu-ray release is business as usual for them, with terrific video and audio presentations accompanied by some solid supplemental material. Grab it on a good sale if you’re patient enough to wait to get your Arrowverse collection up to date.