‘Supergirl’ Season 3 Promises Not to Kill Off Maggie Sawyer

Perhaps the brightest corner of Supergirl’s move to The CW saw Chyler Leigh’s Alex coming out to start a relationship with Floriana Lima’s Maggie Sawyer. TV doesn’t have a great history with gay genre couples in lasting relationships, but showrunners want the word out that Lima’s impending exit from the show won’t fall victim to the “bury your gays” trope.

You’re warned of light spoilers for Supergirl Season 3 from here on out, but Lima’s downgrade from regular to recurring spelled likely doom for the “Sanvers” relationship, particularly as the Season 2 finale saw Alex proposing to Maggie. Both Lima and executive producer Andrew Kreisberg assured early on that the relationship would receive closure in Maggie’s remaining episodes, but Kreisberg today went further to tell Entertainment Weekly the character wouldn’t be killed off:

Maggie does not die. I’m sure a lot of people are afraid of that. Maggie will continue to exist in the world and we hope that if the opportunity presents itself for her, that she’ll come back from time to time.

The concept of gay relationships ending in violence has been sadly prevalent over the years, and The CW itself participated when The 100 saw a long-awaited coupling end with a gunshot mere minutes after its beginning. As Kreisberg put it, the Supergirl writers found a story that “we really feel like honors what’s come before them, and honors how much they love each other, how much they mean to each other, and how much they’ve changed each other’s lives.”

Season 3 will also introduce 24 alum Carlos Bernard as Maggie’s father, but will Alex and Maggie’s relationship end gracefully? Stay tuned for more on the October 9 Supergirl premiere.