Kara Danvers is struggling with a fear of abandonment on Supergirl for a very good reason — as an alien, her loved ones are often living or dead on other planets. The latest departure is her boyfriend, who left in a pod at the end of Season 2, but Mon-El will be be back at some point in the future. When he does return to Earth, however, don't expect the goofy, privileged prince to be the same. In an interview with Bustle, actor Chris Wood reveals that Mon-El's return to Supergirl will change both the character and the show.
"He's carrying the baggage of where he's been and what he's been through," says Wood about the character in Season 3. The details of his return and what he's up to are, of course, "shrouded in mystery" and Wood can't discuss them. However, he does reveal that when Mon-El returns, it's going to mix things up quite a bit.
At the end of Season 2, Mon-El was forced to leave Earth after Kara dispersed lead into the atmosphere to fight off invading Daxamites — and his pod was immediately sucked into a wormhole upon departure. While the character has appeared to Kara in dreams and motivational visions, he's not fully back on the show yet in Season 3. He told Kara that she made him want to be a better person, but space is big and we know he has enemies out there.
"You know [his return] affects everyone," Wood says. Whatever agenda or personality change he comes with is going to shake things up. "This guy who was one thing is now another thing and what he carries with him — it provides a different perspective to what [the other characters are] doing and it sort of changes the dynamic of the group in another way. It definitely creates a domino effect."
Whether he comes back as a fully-fledged hero or, an alien rights activist, or maybe, a hardened criminal, it's going to be interesting. Like him or not, Mon-El has a sort of refreshing innocence on Earth that it's difficult to imagine how that would change.
When exactly is he coming back? How will he deal with that tricky lead problem? That's all part of the mystery. Right now, the rise of Reign on Supergirl is occupying quite a bit of Kara's time. Plus, Lena Luthor is taking over CatCo, and having your best friend become your boss is rife for conflict opportunities. Dynamics are shifting all over Supergirl. By the time Mon-El does return, he might not even recognize everybody himself.
Kevin Smith, who directed the Mon-El centric Season 2 episode "Distant Son," is back directing Season 3, Episode 5. That could be a clue as to when he'll return. Perhaps he'll return as part of the next Arrow-verse crossover event. Mon-El isn't mentioned in the episode descriptions for upcoming episodes "The Faithful," or "Far From The Tree." It seems like Supergirl is going to keep fans and Kara waiting for quite some time, at least until after Season 3, Episode 4.
As for fan reception of the character, which has been mixed since Mon-El first crash landed on Earth at the end of Season 1, it doesn't really bother the actor. People are entitled to their own opinions and interpretations. "At the end of the day," Wood says, "I'm just doing my job."
Maybe this changed Mon-El will spark a different response in fans. It certainly sounds like his return is going to be something exciting. At least his story is not over, something that at the end of the day, we can all appreciate.
