Supergirl Season 6, Episode 12 recap: Blind Spots

The following article contains SPOILERS for Supergirl Season 6, Episode 12.

Taking a break from the interdimensional warfare, this latest episode of Supergirl Season 6 tells a much more powerful story about Black folks’ experiences.

This episode begins with a rewind of everything from last week so viewers can see Kelly Olsen’s perspective of the Ormfell building collapsing, along with the low-income housing hopes that Kelly fought for. She happened to be on the phone with Joey when the structure collapsed, so she immediately made her way to the location.

Catch up on last week’s episode titled “Mxy in the Middle” with our recap here!

Kelly immediately starts helping those caught in the destruction and eventually finds Joey, who is having trouble breathing. Instead of waiting for the first responders and the paramedics, who will likely take their time arriving, Kelly and Orlando help bring the victims to the local public hospital. At the medical facility, Kelly runs around trying to get the assistance of doctors. However, the issue is that there are not enough supplies and resources for everyone since the hospital is likely underfunded due to its location in National City and the patients they treat.

Supergirl Season 6, Episode 12: Medical injustice & inequality

This lack of funding looks to have some bright spots on the horizon when Councilwoman Rankin arrives at the same hospital. Kelly, who convinced this legislator to help fund the Ormfell building, asks if Rankin can do something about the hospital’s resources.

The councilwoman says she will help before she instructs her people to take her away, likely because she thinks she is too important and rich (and white) to be cared for at the public hospital. Rankin immediately leaves without giving any sort of help to Kelly, Joey, or the facility. Kelly and Orlando have a talk about how she promised to help but didn’t do anything, and Orlando is not surprised in the slightest.

At her privately funded hospital, Councilwoman Rankin uses her good friend, Dr. Google, to basically demand a drug that has not finished its testing and approval process. After the physician rightfully is hesitant to give Rankin the experimental medicine, the councilwoman threatens to pull funding if she is not given this drug.

This abuse of power is too common for folks in positions of power, and that is evident over the last year, with the rich and powerful receiving treatments and vaccines before those who need it much more than they do. It is later discovered that everyone who was in the area of the Ormfell’s building collapse has inhaled debris laced with magic from Nyxly.

This means everyone who was near the Ormfell building has 5th-dimensional energy flowing within them. Because Councilwoman Rankin has received the experimental drug, it allows her to absorb this otherworldly energy from the other people who have it within them. Kelly tries to get some eyes on the ongoing situation with the folks who live in the Heights, but not even her old employer in Andrea Rojas will focus on it with Catco.

Supergirl Season 6, Episode 12: Kelly Olsen receives some help

After a call to her brother, Jimmy Olsen, Kelly feels tired and lost on what to do next. Enter the original unsung man of the Arrowverse, John Diggle. The two bond over their shared experience of being veterans, being surrounded by extraordinary superheroes, being Black, and feeling like they have to work extra hard to fit in.

They go back to the scene of the Ormfell’s collapse, where they meet up with the Super Friends and compare notes. Kelly tries sharing her frustrations about the “little people” of National City. Even though Kelly is listened to by the Super Friends, she is not truly heard by those close to her, and that understandably upset her.

Following a Councilwoman Rankin PR stunt and Orlando calling her out in front of the press and camera, Rankin’s security almost assaults Orlando. Right before Orlando is struck, Kelly emerges as Guardian for the first time, wearing her brother’s silver helmet and wielding the shield. With Diggle by her side, Guardian goes after the fleeing Rankin, and the two have a battle.

The councilwoman is able to get away through her 5th-dimensional teleporting. As she returns to the tower, and after being subconsciously ignored, Kelly airs her grievances clearly to the Super Friends.

The new Guardian explains that not everything is about the big bad when the underprivileged people struggle to get simple resources. Azie Tesfai’s performance in this one scene alone is exquisite. Viewers can feel her frustrations, but they know her anger is not necessarily directed at them.

After another beautiful conversation with Diggle, Kara and Kelly have a chat where the Kryptonian explains how she was lost thinking about stopping Nyxly that she didn’t even think about who was being impacted by the Imp princess’s destruction.

Kara tries to sympathize with Kelly about her experiences since Kara marched with the aliens when they were being persecuted and discriminated against. While Kelly does agree that was brave for Kara to do, Kelly states that was because it directly related to her. Then Kelly Olsen gives a powerful quote that relates to the episode’s title.

"Sometimes you are going to miss things because they are different than your lived experience. It doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person, but we really need to hear each other.Kelly Olsen"

Supergirl Season 6 Episode 12: A climactic metaphor

The final battle is pretty quick, but the allegory set up throughout the episode is timeless. Rankin’s powers were coming from the would-be residents of the Ormfell building, so the councilwoman was basically getting stronger at the expense of low-income folks and people of color. After Brainy builds a device to reverse this power grab, the heroes take it to her.

As Supergirl and the Super Friends are dealing with Councilwoman Rankin, the new and improved Guardian emerges in her new golden attire to help the people who live in the Heights. After Guardian gains the trust of Orlando, the residents of the Heights all group together so they can receive their energy drained by Rankin.

The episode ends with Kelly and Alex having a poignant conversation about how a white person can lend their assistance to those people of color and anyone who has been traumatized for no other reason besides the color of their skin. Kelly explains that Alex should never push her to share and wait until Kelly is ready. She goes on to say that Alex should always be willing to truly listen because that is the only way that everyone will be benefited.

This show has always done its part to combat injustice, like how it used intergalactic aliens as a metaphor for immigrants. However, this story in Supergirl Season 6 about Kelly and the centuries-long injustice that Black folks have been experiencing in the country has been beautifully told without any metaphors.

There is no need to cover up this story with a metaphor like aliens from another planet because I feel like this would minimize or take away from the pain and suffering that Black folks and people of color have been enduring for generations.

I feel like Kelly’s story, and this subplot will be carried out through the rest of Supergirl season 6, if not the rest of the series, and I think that is a smart decision.

Catch up on Supergirl Season 6 on CWTV.com and the next episode on The CW next Tuesday, September 28th, at 9 p.m. ET.