Supergirl: Jesse Rath and David Harewood discuss what season 5 has in store for Brainy and J’onn

As we gear up for season 5 of Supergirl, stars Jesse Rath and David Harewood let us in on what to expect for their characters when the series returns.

One of the things that makes Supergirl great is its ability to balance the story of the Girl of Steel alongside those of a squad of appealing secondary characters, whose journeys have become just as important to viewers as Kara’s is.

From her sister Alex to BFF-turned-now-maybe-enemy Lena to (mostly) regular guy James and new hero Dreamer, Supergirl manages to make us care about every person in Kara’s orbit.

Culturess got the chance to catch up with series stars Jesse Rath and David Harewood, who play Brainiac 5 and Martian J’onn J’onnz, during a press roundtable interview at San Diego Comic-Con. The pair laughed throughout their brief chat and repeatedly referenced the great camaraderie between the show’s cast members.

They also gave us a few brief tidbits about what to expect for both of their characters in Supergirl’s upcoming fifth season.

According to Rath, one thing fans can look forward to in Season 5 is an increased focus on Brainy relationship with new team member Nia Nal.

“In these first couple episodes we will see them together in a relationship and learn how the aftermath of the alignment situation affected them as a couple,” he said. “What that revealed about Brainy, who he is, what he knows about himself and how he’ll struggle with opening up to Nia and being vulnerable with her.”

“He did hurt her unintentionally,” Rath acknowledged, “so it’s going to be a struggle. But there will be some fun moments. In this first couple eps you’ll see a lot of Brainy and Nia moments together.”

Romance won’t be the only change in Brainiac’s future in the new season, however.  Season 5 will focus more heavily on technology-related issues, and the ways in which humanity has handed over much of its identity and control to the tiny devices that rule our lives.

“Last year, people just picked Brainy’s brain and then all of a sudden they have this new technology,” Rath laughed. “Like with the image inducer, they used Brainy’s technology for that and then they made billions of dollars off of him.

“So this year there is a new company called Obsidian Tech and basically they have this virtual reality technology. Who knows? Brainy might factor into this with Lena.”

As for Harewood’s J’onn, the Martian will find himself with his own set of problems this year.

“J’onn is really dealing with some pretty serious family issues with the return of his rather capable brother Malefic, so I’ll be kind of having my hands full dealing with [that],” Harewood explained.

“The way that they’ve been writing him is extremely creative and I think it’s going to great, because he’s a shape shifter. I think it’s going to give some of the cast a great opportunity to play part of themselves in him.”

“Already, it looks great,” Harewood said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to work together in a slightly different way.”

“That’s always a fun thing to do on our show,” Rath chimed in. “When Kara plays you playing her, and then Sam Witwer played me playing him, that’s always fun to hand off the characters like that.”

A new nemesis isn’t the only season 5 news of note for Harewood either. He’ll be behind the camera once again this year as well. (He directed season 4’s “American Dreamer” last year.)

“I’m [directing] another episode this year,” Harewood told us. “I’m doing [Episode] 5.11 this year. [It was a] fantastic experience to direct. We have a great cast, so I couldn’t have asked for a better place to start my directorial journey.”

Supergirl returns to The CW for its season 5 premiere on October 6.