Supergirl Review: Of Two Minds (Season 3 Episode 16)

Morals are tested and loved ones threatened with the arrival of the third Worldkiller on Supergirl Season 3, Episode 16, “Of Two Minds.”

Oof. Supergirl is starting to really enjoy putting its characters—and, by extension, us—through the wringer to the fullest extent. Here’s hoping we all make it as far as the season finale.

Let’s start with Ethical Dilemma 101: Does the threat poised by Pestilence justify the cold-blooded elimination of her human host? Despite the noble front Supergirl puts up, this isn’t a rhetorical philosophy debate—the Blight, if not stopped, will cost millions of lives.

There’s an interesting tension as sides are drawn between Kara and Imra for the first part of the episode. The show’s morals are much more gray than they sometimes have us believe, and even as Mon-El stands by Kara, we have to acknowledge that Imra knows humanity’s fate.

Then Winn falls ill, the promised cure is discovered to be flawed, and the line our heroes supposedly won’t cross becomes a lot less clear. When Alex collapses, too, all bets are off. As we’ll soon learn, threatening a sister carries a lot of baggage.

Also, can we talk about that scene between Winn and James? I’m glad the lasting emotional impact of Winn reuniting with his mother is being acknowledged, and the fear and grief they both feel at the idea of his hopes being doomed is heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, in the end, all this emotion gets rushed to a happy ending, packed in with everything else that we have to deal with in the final ten minutes. Kara and Alex get a wonderful scene, but a very brief one, and Winn is already back to work.

To be fair, though, even without Myr’nn appearing in this episode, we still get enough emotion in a scene between J’onn and Alex to remind us just how much this plot will hurt. I don’t necessarily need a reminder of that, but here we are.

The most alarming thing (besides, you know, the threat to millions of people) about Pestilence may be that her host, Grace, so completely embraces what she is becoming. We now see a major wrench in the plan to save human from Worldkiller.

What does that mean for Sam, who is willingly electrocuted in the attempt to expel Reign from her body, only to have Reign lash back for control? Thus far, both Sam and Julia have fought against the evil Grace takes on. Can they still win?

The scenes between Lena and Sam ratchet up our belief in their dedication. At the same time, as we spiral into the terrifying depths of what is taking place in Sam’s psyche, we have to wonder whether even Lena Luthor is up to this task.

Then, of course, the other shoes drop. Yes, “shoes”, plural, because there is a lot to process even outside of Pestilence leaving behind enough DNA for a miracle cure and Will and Alex recovering in a heartbeat.

Confirming what has long been rumored, we now know that Imra loses her sister to Blight in the future. This may be a big part of what charges her anger, but it actually has little effect on the moral dilemma heightened by mass loss of life and Grace acting as an accomplice.

As the Worldkillers unite, there’s no telling what it will take to have any hope of defeating them. With that in mind, the timing of Kara’s discovery of what Lena has been doing—and the strong potential that Lena may realize the secret Kara hides from her—can be very, very bad.

How both parties will process these major revelations, should they indeed come to pass, will play out of over the next episodes. But at a time when we need unity, we could be getting something else entirely.

What did you think of this episode of Supergirl? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Supergirl airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.

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