About three days ago, I completed my binge (re)watch of Supergirl, and I forgot how much I loved the first season of Supergirl. The Hank Henshaw/J'onn J'onzz mystery, Maxwell Lord, General Astra and Non, World's Finest crossover, Kara getting into her own as a hero, how the D.E.O. was treated, etc, etc. This was surprisingly a very strong season in my opinion and I was excited to dive into the CW-era of the show because I remembered liking it well enough. 

But as I went on through the show, I found myself not enjoying it as the seasons progressed. By season six, I was just dumbfounded by the state of the show and asking myself \*"How did we get here?"\*. By season six it had become, in my opinion, a very confused, parodic version of itself. The characters (mostly J'onn) did not feel like the same people we've met back in the earlier season. And obviously, I don't expect a character to stay the same over the course of six seasons, but I still want them to feel true to themselves.

I've come to the conclusion that the show had a drop of quality both visually and writing wise when it moved over to the CW and it never got better as it went on.

Come season two, they immediately drop the Kara/James romance in the first episode, after building it up for an entire season. While, yes, I didn't much care for the Winn-Kara-James/James-Lucy-Kara love triangle, they at least could've committed to it for a little bit, instead of building it up, them finally getting together in the finale, then immediately breaking it off in the season 2 premiere. 

Where did Maxwell Lord go? The finale teased that he would be up to something with the Omegahedron and that he, and it, would play a part in the future. Only for it and him to never be seen again. Now, yes, I am aware that Peter, along with Calista, were not willing to move up to Vancouver, but maybe a recast could've worked with Maxwell Lord, I don't know. I really wish he did stay, because he could've been Kara's Lex Luthor, which he kind a was for the season. Alongside him, General Lane and Lucy Lane, are again, also never acknowledged for the rest of the show. It seems after they moved to the CW, they barely ever acknowledge the entirety of season one, with a few minor exceptions (i.e. Parasite's origin, Myriad in season five/six, the trials in season six).

As for the writing quality, from my point of view, the show's writing took a bit of decline when it moved to the CW. It wasn't as noticeable in season two or even three, but four and onwards, you could tell that it wasn't quite the same. Now, the writing for season one wasn't perfect either, but it was stronger than later seasons, and I wish it kept the same quality throughout the show. When they moved to the CW, it took on the Arrowverse's CW-isms and blended in with the rest of them unfortunately.

And for visuals, man, the show looked so much better in Los Angeles. And it felt more brighter and different, than cold, wet Vancouver where every Arrowverse show was shot. once it moved to Vancouver, it just looked like the rest of the CW shows. Arrow and later Batwoman was better at making it look like it was a different city, but National City (season two and on), just looked like Central City, without the Flash-related stuff. It just felt that National City had more life when back in LA.

Adding on to it, the flying shots and CGI, weirdly looked better as well. Now, not much cause at the end of the day, the show's CGI was never top-notch. But it just looked slightly better when it came to her flying and J'onn's Martian form, which just looked worse and worse as he went green in the series.

Finally, character. Kara was her own person in season one, she wasn't just a "female Superman", she had her own agency. Yes, she was bubbly and joyous, and happy, but she had a lot of anger, trauma, and resentment (towards Astra). The show, surprisingly focused on the aspect of Supergirl of her being angry and the Last Daughter of Krypton, which I greatly appreciated. But come season two, they make her a reporter and make her Clark Kent, and they sanitize her personality, where she is just Superman but blonde and in a skirt. Hell, the show gave her Lex Luthor and made him her archenemy for the last three seasons of the show. She became boring and not as interesting of a character. Not to say Melissa didn't try, she always did an amazing job through all six seasons. But this didn't stop with her, J'onn became a bit weird(?) as the show went on and didn't feel like the guy we met in Season 1. Yes, he was masquerading as Hank Henshaw, but even then, there was a bit of edge to him. He put the "Manhunter" in Martian Manhunter, but fast forward to Season Six, he just blends in with the rest of the cast and doesn't feel the same anymore.

If the show had stayed on CBS, I personally believe:

\* Kara & James' relationship would've lasted a tad bit longer, still break up as the romance wasn't seen as a hit to audiences and CBS had the tendency to step in and order shows to cut what doesn't work. But it would've had a better closure than the abrupt ending of the "relationship"  
\* The D.E.O. would've kept it's mysteriousness and edge, and stay in the cave.  
\* No Lena Luthor, which probably means no Lilian Luthor (or at least a different version of Lena & Lilian)  
\* No Lex Luthor  
\* Definitely no Superman, as they were keen on copying what VEEP was doing at the time per the quote from Ali Adler: "Our prototype is the way the president is seen on Veep,” \*\*executive producer Ali Adler\*\* \[tells EW\](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/06/supergirl-superman-cbs), referring to \*the HBO drama’s clever way of mentioning, but never showing POTUS\*. “It’s certainly \\\[inspired by\\\] so much of what Julia-Louis Dreyfus’ character goes through. \*\*Ultimately, this is a show about Supergirl and we really want to see it through her lens.\*\*” And they were more focused on making the show about Kara  
\* Maxwell Lord as a "Lex Luthor" for Supergirl and a recurring antagonist/antihero.   
\* General Lane might've been a recurring presence.  
\* The cast would be mostly the same, as Cat would still be on the show. There would be no need to write anyone out and the following seasons would be more interwoven with the events of season one.  
\* Crossovers would most likely be a logistical nightmare, with CBS most likely holding Supergirl hostage, meaning she most likely wouldn't be in \*Invasion!\*, or \*Crisis on Earth-X\*, or any of the following crossovers. She would've had a cameo in \*Crisis on Infinite Earths\*, at best, most likely, which would lead to Black Lightning having a bigger role and making him a Paragon.  
\* Lucy Lane would still be a player in the show as Co-Director of the DEO alongside Hank/J'onn, and Lucy & Kara would be the dynamic, instead of Lena and Kara. Along with her becoming the villainous Superwoman according to Jenna Dewan.   
\* Mon-El (if he was planned from the beginning), probably would be a slightly different version than we met in season two. Might've not gotten with Kara. It probably would've been more of a mentorship dynamic between the two, than a romantic dynamic.  
\* The writing and quality would've been mostly the same throughout it's tenure.  
\* The show would've focused on Kara instead of being an ensemble.   
\* Being CBS, there most likely wouldn't be a Nia Nal or Alex being a lesbian, due to how LGBTQ is represented on the network. Alex and Maxwell most likely would've had some sort of romantic dynamic.   
\* Budget most likely still would've been reduced by CBS, but still have more than what the CW gave them.   
\* Winn wouldn't be sidelined by the show and still have an important role, which wouldn't result in Jeremy having enough and leaving the show. Maybe still at CatCo with being a D.E.O. agent on the side  
\* Probably no Guardian  
\* Legion of Superheroes might've still appeared, but would've been more closer to the character origins (i.e. inspired by Superman and knows him).  
\* More flashbacks to Krypton and seeing Alura. Meaning no Erica Durance recast.

Yes, the show might've been canceled, but allow me to have wishful thinking here. But regardless, after season one, the show was never quite the same to me.

I Really Wish Supergirl Stayed On CBS, Instead of Moving to the CW