Invincible Season 2: How Is Dupli-Kate Still Alive?

Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Invincible Season 2, Episode 8, “I Thought You Were Stronger.“

Dupli-Kate’s unexpected return is one of several surprises in Invincible Season 2’s finale, “I Thought You Were Stronger.” So, how exactly is Dupli-Kate still alive in Invincible Season 2?

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How Dupli-Kate Still Alive in Invincible Season 2, Explained

Kate Cha/Dupli-Kate’s apparent death is one of Invincible Season 2, Part 2’s most shocking moments. The self-replicating superhero goes head-to-head with Lizard League bruiser Komodo Dragon in Season 2, Episode 5, “This Must Come as a Shock,” in a one-sided brawl that results in several of her doubles dying. As the fight wears on, only the original Dupli-Kate and one of her duplicates are still standing – until Komodo Dragon gets his hands on them.

The hulking evildoer promptly slams both Dupli-Kates’ bodies together. True to form for Invincible, a shower of blood and gore ensues, and Dupli-Kate and her copy fall to the floor, seemingly dead on impact. Episode 6, “It’s Not That Simple,” doubles down on Dupli-Kate’s demise, with her Guardians of the Globe teammates holding a funeral to mourn her passing. As such, we’re given no indication that Dupli-Kate’s fate was anything less than final – until Season 2, Episode 8, “I Thought You Were Stronger.”

Related: Invincible, Season 2, Episode 5, ‘This Must Come As a Shock’ Recap

Here, Dupli-Kate drops in on her boyfriend, the Immortal, at his snowy mountain retreat. She apologizes for keeping him in the dark about her survival, adding that she never told anyone that she secretly lived her life through one of her doubles. This is reflected by the zero logo on Kate’s chest; the Kate who died sported a number one logo because she was actually Kate’s first duplicate, not her core self.

Dupli-Kate then explains that her original incarnation lived in hiding “just in case” something like the fight with Komodo Dragon happened. But even though she survived, Kate toyed with the idea of using her supposed death as a way of covertly retiring, having grown weary of experiencing her doubles’ grisly ends. Kate ultimately decided not to go through with it, however, as it would’ve meant walking away from her relationship with the Immortal.

Did Dupli-Kate Really Die in Invincible Season 2, Part 2?

So, did Dupli-Kate really die in Invincible Season 2, Episode 5? It depends on how you define “die.” Each of Kate’s duplicates is a fully sentient, genetically identical copy of her, so in that sense, Kate technically died multiple times in “This Must Come as a Shock.” What’s more, Kate herself terms her doppelgangers’ being dispatched as “dying” – and who knows better than her?

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But if you define Dupli-Kate dying as the original Kate Cha shuffling off this mortal coil, then no, she didn’t really die. Based on what she told the Immortal, the prime Kate was somewhere safe far away from all of Episode 5’s carnage. As a result, her return in Invincible Season 2’s finale counts as a reveal rather than a resurrection.

All four episodes of Invincible Season 2, Part 2 are now streaming on Prime Video.