Saturn Girl (Amy Jackson) is finally getting the team-up with Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) she’s always wanted.
Last week it was revealed that Saturn Girl (aka Imra), Mon-El (Chris Wood), and the rest of the Legion have the key to saving the future hidden in their DNA, but that didn’t stop Saturn Girl convincing the rest of the Legion to help the DEO with Reign (Odette Annable) in Supergirl’s absence.
“I think that’s just her personality,” Jackson tells Variety on why she was the first to step forward. “She always sees the good in people, she wants to change the world. Also, she’s always looked up to Supergirl who’s been her idol since day one. So to get the chance to help her — even though it might have a consequence — she can’t see anything but helping her.”
This week’s episode — titled “Fort Rozz” — is being pegged as a “girl power” episode that finds Supergirl and Saturn Girl teaming up with villains Livewire (Brit Morgan) and Psi (Yael Grobglas). Variety spoke with Jackson about her long-awaited team-up with Supergirl, getting to know Saturn Girl past the love triangle with Mon-El and Supergirl, and the show’s fandom.
How does Imra get roped in to helping Supergirl and two of her villains this week?
“Fort Rozz” is an out-and-out girl-power episode. It’s a whole different world away from the relationship with Mon-El and that love triangle. It really focuses on Saturn Girl as a leader of the Legion and her relationship with Supergirl as a friendship — which she’s always wanted. To be able to fight alongside her, away from everyone else, it gives her that opportunity.
There’s no apprehension from Supergirl to really get to know her? We haven’t seen them spend a ton of time together up to this point.
In the last episode she had come to terms with the situation and there’s a bigger job at had — which is Reign. Although she was in love, and probably still is in love, with Mon-El she knows she has a job to do and obviously that comes before anything as does it with the Legion.
With the fate of the future resting on the Legion, will there come a time when the Legion looks around while helping Supergirl deal with Reign and say “OK, this is getting too dangerous for us to get involved and hope to survive”?
I think that’s why Supergirl brings in the villains this week. She knew she would need as much help as possible. As did Saturn Girl and the DEO, they’re deciding what they can do and how to make it as safe as possible.
How does Saturn Girl deal with working alongside the villains, Livewire and Psi?
She always sees the good in people and thinks she can change people. I think because she can read minds, she can see the backstory to these people and what’s coming from inside them. She thinks she can change things and — not manipulate — but have an impact.
Do we get to see more of Imra experiencing this Earth that she’s only heard stories about?
Yes! She literally relates Bon Jovi to Shakespeare and Aristotle. Even though she’s a major intellect in the 31st century, this is a whole new world to her and that makes her innocent in a way. She’s learning — she wants to learn. She’s always watching Supergirl, so to get to fight alongside her and watch her and learn from her is really important to her.
When you first joined the show, you got some fan backlash on Twitter when it was revealed Imra and Mon-El were married. Has fan reaction changed as they’ve seen more of your character?
Yes it has. I noticed after last week’s episode we were getting more welcomed into the “Supergirl” fandom. Can I be honest? I watched “Supergirl” prior to being cast on the show, and I was a KaraMel fan and I would love to see them together. Because Imra is such a genuinely nice character, it’s impossible not to like her. I think that’s why this episode is important, because she’s so much more than her relationship. She’s a really strong, powerful character and it’s nice to showcase them away from the whole love triangle.
“Supergirl” airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. on the CW.
