Supergirl Review: Suspicious Minds (Season 4 Episode 10)
Supergirl returns from its winter hiatus with Supergirl Season 4 Episode 10, ” Suspicious Minds” and it’s one of the best episodes of the season.
Picking up shortly after events of the Elseworlds crossover, Kara is no longer working for the DEO but still trying to be Supergirl. Unfortunately, she finds herself in conflict with Col. Haley who makes it her mission to find out Supergirl’s secret identity so that she can use it to control her.
Col. Haley has been a villain since her introduction. She never hid her disdain for aliens and hints of her ruthlessness showed early on, but “Suspicious Minds” reveals how terrible she truly is when the audience learns she was part of a project that brutally turned alien children into assassins.
It’s still possible for Col. Haley to have a redemptive arc but it seems unlikely since she doesn’t even blink when she threatens Kara and the people she loves not three seconds after Kara saves her life.
I’ve loved the tension between Alex and Col. Haley all season. The first half of this season almost criminally underused Alex, but some of her best moments were with Col. Haley as her foil and a springboard that showcased Alex’s integrity, sense of justice and loyalty, and strength of character.
It’s hard to say how long this story with Col. Haley will last given how much the second half of the season has to cover. I hope we see at least a little more of the conflict between these two women and that the writers take the opportunity to utilize the many talents of Chyler Leigh and let Alex shine in a few more of those very satisfying confrontations. (Who didn’t cheer when Alex finally punched Haley?).
As compelling as Alex’s conflict with Col. Haley is, the heart of “Suspicious Minds” is the Danvers sisters and the heartbreaking consequences that result from Col. Haley’s determination to learn Supergirl’s identity.
Throughout the episode, viewers are reminded in multiple scenes that the foundation of Supergirl is the Danvers sisters’ relationship.
Their relationship grounds the show and makes everything else work. When Supergirl gets that right it’s one of the best sci-fi shows on TV and when it doesn’t, as is the case with the first half of Season 4, it flails.
“Suspicious Minds” gives viewers more great Danvers sisters moments than the entirety of the first half of the season.
Small moments like the worry and panic in Alex’s eyes as Col. Haley pushes to expose Kara’s secret and big moments like Kara giving Alex strength to stay at the DEO because she is the heart and the compassion that keeps Col. Haley in check.
All of these moments lead up to one of the most emotionally devastating scenes on Supergirl since the first half of Season 2. By the end of the episode, it’s clear that the only way to protect Kara’s secret is if everyone at the DEO who knows who Supergirl is has those memories removed from their minds, including Alex.
Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh play the scene of Alex telling Kara she has to have her mind wiped too with painful perfection as the weight of this sacrifice hits them.
Alex tells Kara that she will still be her sister and that she just won’t know she’s Supergirl, but her words ring hollow because they know that it won’t be the same. It can’t be.
As Kara points out, Alex is the reason she became Supergirl in the first place. Without Alex there as her support, confidante, and partner Kara is alone in a way she’s never been before.
Alex is what makes Earth home for Kara and the cruelty of losing even some of that is almost unbearable, but it’s also brilliant storytelling and the type of high emotional stakes Supergirl thrives on.
There are so many possibilities with this storyline as Kara rightly questions, who she is without Alex. How will she cope with the cruelties of the world or the loneliness of being an outsider in an increasingly hostile environment without Alex to lean on?
Perhaps even more urgent than who Kara will be and how she will cope, is who is Alex without Kara? Yes, they will still be sisters and as far as Alex knows she will have lost nothing, but Kara is as much a true north for Alex, as Alex is a source of strength for Kara.
What happens when that foundation is gone? Is it even possible to completely remove memories that strong and that formative?
The ripple effect of taking those memories might be even more tragic for Alex than they are for Kara.
I don’t know if the rest of the season will live up to the expectations that this episode has set. It wouldn’t be the first time Supergirl failed to meet its potential. But for now, after finally getting the episode I’ve been waiting for all season, I am cautiously optimistic and excited for what’s next.
Stray Thoughts
- I can’t help but point out that the main difference between this episode and the first half of Season 4 is the lack of Agent Liberty. I’m not naive enough to think we’ve seen the last of him, but I hope we get a break so that the other stories and everything that’s been good about Season 4 can breathe and develop in a way that they should have from the beginning.
- The episode opens with a tease about the Red Daughter storyline in a scene of Kara’s doppelganger training. I am still excited to see where this story goes, especially as it might have some parallels with Col. Haley’s history, and possible future plans, to use aliens more or less as weapons and military tools.
- One of the other highlights of the episode is getting to spend more time with Nia as her character inches closer to taking on her superhero mantle, Dreamer.
- Brainy and Nia continue to be delightful together and I am fully on board with this adorably awkward relationship.
- J’onn officially starts his new career as a private eye. This is a really smart development that will give Kara a home base now that she doesn’t have the DEO and perhaps allow her to use some of her skills as a reporter in her role as Supergirl.
- It might not last long since by the end of the episode James seems to already be having doubts and because Lena’s plan to give people superpowers is bound to go wrong, but it was nice to see James finally admit that he can be self-righteous and unfairly judgemental when he apologized to Lena early in the episode.
What did you think of this episode of Supergirl? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Supergirl airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.
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Sarah Fields
Sarah is an obsessive geek who likes to get into the weeds and over think things. She is passionate about Sci-Fi and comics and is a giant classic film nerd. Sarah cares deeply about media representation and the power of telling diverse stories. When she's not writing or watching her favorite shows she spends her days working in the non-profit world trying to make life a little better for those that need some extra help.