Why Kara And James Didn't Have A Chance At A 'Supergirl' Relationship

Warning: This post contains spoilers from Supergirl's Season 2

When Season 1 of Supergirl ended, Kara and James had taken a step toward a romantic relationship. As the entire season had been spent building the momentum for a love match between James Olsen and Kara Danvers, some viewers welcomed the culmination of the attraction. After all, Superman has Lois Lane; why shouldn't Supergirl have someone to love as well?

Unfortunately, Kara and James didn't have a long-lasting relationship. They barely made it past one real date when Kara called it quits, leaving fans wondering what had transpired that could possibly have doused the flames between the award-winning photographer and the budding reporter. The answers the powers that be have provided aren't altogether satisfying.

After Kara broke up with James, executive producer Andrew Kreisburg offered an explanation last month that still leaves a few of us scratching our heads:

"We sort of felt like we were pursuing that relationship more because we felt like we had to than any of us was really truly feeling it."

What Kreisburg didn't explain is why the producers and writers felt like they had to pursue the relationship. With complete control over the characters, they had the option to keep Kara and James as friends from the beginning. So beginning something only to end it after two kisses doesn't make a lot of sense.

After a full season of will-they-or-won't-they, the powers that be decided to ax the very short relationship. Many fans who supported Kara and James as a couple were angry (and are still angry). Would it have been better to keep the will-they-or-won't-they up in the air? Or perhaps simply just have allowed the couple to move onto other partners, thereby showing the viewers a relationship wasn't going to happen.

As it turns out, Supergirl execs felt like the couple were better off as friends. Kreisburg added an additional comment that didn't exactly clear things up:

"We realized that the best scenes between [Kara and James] were just the nice, sweet scenes where they were being friends."

So after building up the relationship, moving Kara and James from friends to more, execs realized then what the best scenes were? Were they not paying attention all season long? How could it have taken them 20 episodes to decide Kara and James would only work as friends?

Not Even New Writers Could Help The Relationship

Supposedly, the relationship was struggling even before Season 2 began. In the writers' room, they couldn't seem to bring the two together in an organic way that seemed natural. At least, that's the inference Kreisburg made according to TV Guide. when he said that not even a new crop of writers could make the struggling romance work between Kara and James.

The question is: how was the relationship struggling? It had just gotten started. Many television shows are making relationships work between two main stars as executives realize love is an important part of life. And it's disingenuous to say that a romantic connection couldn't have worked between Kara and James when the couple weren't really given the opportunity.

I'm on the fence about a relationship between Kara and James, but I do see the producers pushing James Olsen into a position that he may not fit into. Perhaps their decision to focus on James's upcoming superhero transformation played a part in the dissolution of a budding relationship. Regardless, I hope they've decided that this next change works before they create another situation they'll have to rectify.