‘Supergirl’ Star Azie Tesfai Teases What’s Next for Her Character
When James Olsen left Supergirl back in season 5 to pursue small-town journalism, fans were left wondering when the group of Super Friends would replace him. Now, after watching Supergirl Season 6 episode “Dream Weaver,” we finally have our answer. A new Guardian has arrived in National City, and Azie Tesfai, who plays Kelly Olsen, could not be more thrilled.
How Kelly Olsen will navigate her new role as Guardian
It was only a matter of time before Kelly decided to take on the mantle of Guardian, following in her brother’s footsteps. And as a character who hasn’t been the central focus of many of Supergirl’s storylines, Kelly is deserving of the spotlight as the show nears its end.
Not only was her character becoming Guardian a special moment for Tesfai, but it also opened the door for Supergirl to discuss timely topics. Tesfai told ComicBook.com, “… I think really redirecting, in Kelly’s new career, these heartbreaking storylines through other characters and through our guest stars felt like the best way to start this arc of these timely, heartbreaking, and difficult circumstances that our characters and our society find ourselves in.”
In “Dream Weaver,” Kelly helps Joey, a young orphaned alien boy, and Orlando, his imprisoned brother. Kelly, with the help of Kara, discovered that the prison system abused Orlando as they took advantage of his powers. Kelly also uncovered mistreatment happening in Joey’s foster home. These events led to Kelly telling her girlfriend, Alex, that she wanted to help people outside of her role as a social worker. She aims to pick up where James left off and help people in need.
Now, Kelly can channel her expertise from her job into helping the city as Guardian. There’s no doubt that social issues will come into play when Kelly dons the Guardian costume in upcoming Supergirl episodes.
What do the final set of ‘Supergirl’ episodes have in store for Kelly Olsen?
As teased in the recent Supergirl episode, Kelly will start training with Alex, who is already an accomplished vigilante, to become Guardian. The audience is sure to see fight training sequences and Kelly navigating the superhero world. Aside from pure speculation, though, Tesfai promised that there is so much in store for her character.
“This is the beginning of everything for Kelly, which is why it’s so exciting,” Tesfai explained to ComicBook.com. “I mean, the power of her as a woman to decide what she wants, and step into it truly opens the door for every hope and dream, I think, that Kelly has, whether it’s been voiced or unvoiced, and every hope and change that I know our fans have. So, it really is the beginning of it all, which feels very exciting for me to get to watch everyone see it.”
Supergirl has always been a show about hope and inspiration. Most of Supergirl’s heroes have made inspiring speeches in past episodes that help the citizens of National City. It’s about time we see Kelly Olsen become a hero who motivates others as much as Kara Danvers and the rest of the Super Friends do.
How will Guardian help defeat Nyxly?
It seems as though Nyxly is being set up to be the Big Bad of the final season of Supergirl. If that’s true, what role will Kelly play in defeating her?
As an imp, Nyxly is excellent at deceiving others to get what she wants. Fans saw her powers at play in “Dream Weaver” when she convinced Nia to trust her and help her escape the dream realm. However, she’ll have a tough time messing with Kelly, who is an expert in psychology.
We saw firsthand how powerful Kelly could be when others try to mess with her mind in the previous season 6 episode, “Fear Knot.” She taught the others how to conquer their Fear Visions and did so with her own. If anyone can go toe to toe with an imp, it’s Kelly Olsen, and that’s before she became a superhero.
