Hello Weirdos!
I'm thinking about making that my fanbase name. You're all a bunch of weirdos. I'm head weirdo.
Okay, on to our topic. Supergirl and her BFF Lena Luthor. You might be here because the tags #Supergirl #LenaLuthor led you here. Let me tell you right up front, I heavily ship Supercorp. However, that said, I am not one of those horrible people that attack the actors or the actors husbands because they play a character on a tv show that they don't like. I can tell reality from fantasy. Most of the time.
Lena Luthor. Lena Luthor. Lena Luthor captured my heart quicker than any character on a TV show ever has. It was love at first site. Not sexual love or romantic love, but a kind of parallel or sympathetic love. Love for a fellow-sufferer. Compassionate love. I just knew she was someone I was going to root for. She was someone I wanted to see be victorious in overcoming the Luthor name. They set me up for that in her very first episode, "The Adventures of Supergirl".
"I'm just a woman, trying to make a name for herself, outside her family. You understand that?"
Like Kara, I was nodding yes. Yes, I do. 100%
"Give me a chance, Mr. Kent. I'm here for a fresh start. Let me have one."
Yeah, Mr. Kent! Let her have one!
Seriously. That was it. I was on Lena's side instantly. My affinity for her only grew stronger with each episode. I felt very akin to Ms. Luthor. I wasn't able to put my finger on it right away, but over the series it became crystal clear.
Lena Luthor was a trauma survivor.
Her real mother died when she was 4. She watched her drown and blamed herself for not saving her. Someone had convinced her this was something she should have done. Someone made her believe she didn't do enough. Someone made her feel guilty about it. We're never specifically told who, but it's easy to figure out who. Her adoptive Mother. Lillian Luthor. Either directly, or indirectly through her mental abuse.
Lillian Luthor. Narcissist.
Lillian Luthor. Who despite her sons crimes, feels he is the golden child. He can do no wrong, while Lena can do no right. We do see her change her mind about her son once he tries to kill her. Narcissists don't generally forgive that.
Lillian Luthor. Who had zero nurturing skills and passive aggressively tore Lena apart every chance she got.
Lillian Luthor. A personality I was all too familiar with.
Lena was smarter than Lillian. She was smarter than Lex. Lillian hated her for it. Lillian hated her for many reasons. One being the fact that Lena was the result of her husband's infidelity. At least Lena had that going for her. Lillian wasn't her REAL Mother. However, as we all know, the people that raise you are the people that fuck you up or give you the life coping skills you need.
I was seeing myself. Here was a character trying to overcome everything she'd been through. All the trauma, all the guilt, all the suffering, all the passive aggressive comments and jabs. She was alone. No one was on her side. Not until Kara Danvers came along.
What she had accomplished was amazing. She stood proud. She was smart. She was beautiful. She was creative and inventive and all she wanted in the world was to help people. She was a very good businesswoman and in helping made a huge profit. There's nothing shady about that. Some Supergirl fans disagree.
Lena has always walked in the misty areas of good/bad. She's what I would describe as a gray character. Not overtly good but certainly not bad. Her traumas and suffering absolutely color her choices, but in the opposite way of her brother's. Lex Luthor wants to harm and maim and kill just as much as Lena wants to heal and help and save. Sometimes, her isolation and trauma hamper her understanding of what is considered "socially acceptable".
People that haven't been isolated, raised by a narcissist, lied to constantly and had their moral compass smashed to bits and had to find their own way have a hard time understanding characters like this.
Lena not only had a Narcissist parent, but an addict parent and a megalomaniac psychopath brother. Lena Luthor is incredibly strong to have overcome so much, right? Well, as we are learning, no.
Lena is broken and has no coping skills. She suffers from invalidation, instability, exploitation, manipulation, neglect, not being able to tell when someone is being superficial and control issues. It's why, season after season we have watched Lena invite the wrong people into her life. Queen Rhea, Eve Tessmacher, and more. She literally runs to people who need fixed because she wants to help them. Desperately. She is trying to save the world, cure cancer, be a hero BECAUSE of her trauma. She trusts no one and at the same time trusts too soon when she thinks there's a connection, hoping for validation. She had closed herself off completely after leaving Jack. Jack, who, for what we were shown, seems to have been really good for her. Which is probably part of the reason she left. Shame and guilt. She most likely felt he deserved better. Her Brother had just murdered who knows how many people in Metropolis trying to kill Superman. She couldn't smear his name with her trauma. She had to leave. Run away. And she did. Right to Supergirl.
Lena's first interactions with Supergirl were interesting. She was clearly thrilled to be teaming up. Her over-enthusiasm fits perfectly with someone suffering the traumas of a Narcissistic parent. Especially when the other child had tried to kill a Super and failed. It was rebellion and validation all in one. Supergirl accepted her. Supergirl BELIEVED in her. Then, inevitably, Supergirl let her down. They had a disagreement and that was it. Lena was done with her. This too, is part of her trauma. She still had Kara. Kara Danvers. She clung to Kara.
And then the reveal. Not by the person she trusted the most. No. By the person that had just manipulated and used her. By the person that she had decided was a clear and present danger to the person she loved most in all the world. Kara Danvers. She killed her brother for Kara Danvers. Kara Danvers, who ended up being someone who didn't need protecting at all. She killed her brother for the Girl of Steel. She broke. Completely.
So here we are. Season 5. Lena is completely broken and making self-destructive choices. How do I feel? Scared to death. Television isn't kind to people suffering from mental abuse and who have mental illness. Television often makes them the "bad guy" and irredeemable. I don't want to see this.
What do I want to see? Well, let me tell you. I want to see a group of friends decide that hell no, they aren't going to let their friend self-destruct. I want to see the challenges and the fight to help her.
HOPE. HELP. COMPASSION FOR ALL.
That's Supergirl's motto. So show me, Supergirl. Don't just tell me. SHOW ME.
Show me, show the world, that mental illness can be managed. Show the world how to not give up on someone and steer them towards healing. Show the world that therapy and love and compassion can heal. Show me that there's hope for Lena Luthor and in the process that there's all those things for people like her. Lena wants help. We've seen it throughout this arc. If she didn't, it'd be a different story.
Lena is Good. They will never convince me otherwise. Please don't let these characters fail her.
This cast has recently come forward about trauma and abuse and mental illness. Our very own Supergirl came forward as a victim of Intimate Partner Violence. Melissa's Instagram video was harrowing and brave and so needed. Chris Wood has a charity called "I Don't Mind" that helps with mental wellness. Chyler Leigh recently came forward as bi-polar in an effort to help erase the stigma of mental illness. All of this, so important, but you know what is also important? Showing it in the fictional realm. Showing it in storytelling. Showing the world that someone like Lena Luthor can be okay. That she is loved. That people care. That she is valid and deserving and that mistakes can be righted. We've learned over the last 100 years how impactful television can be. Even now, the propaganda machine is at war with storytelling and facts.
Come on, Supergirl. Do this. Not just for me. Do it for all of us that have sat through series after series watching those gray characters, those hurting characters, those survivors of trauma we identified with vilified. It's time to change the conversation. Fight for Lena.
I'm thinking about making that my fanbase name. You're all a bunch of weirdos. I'm head weirdo.
Okay, on to our topic. Supergirl and her BFF Lena Luthor. You might be here because the tags #Supergirl #LenaLuthor led you here. Let me tell you right up front, I heavily ship Supercorp. However, that said, I am not one of those horrible people that attack the actors or the actors husbands because they play a character on a tv show that they don't like. I can tell reality from fantasy. Most of the time.
Lena Luthor. Lena Luthor. Lena Luthor captured my heart quicker than any character on a TV show ever has. It was love at first site. Not sexual love or romantic love, but a kind of parallel or sympathetic love. Love for a fellow-sufferer. Compassionate love. I just knew she was someone I was going to root for. She was someone I wanted to see be victorious in overcoming the Luthor name. They set me up for that in her very first episode, "The Adventures of Supergirl".
"I'm just a woman, trying to make a name for herself, outside her family. You understand that?"
Like Kara, I was nodding yes. Yes, I do. 100%
"Give me a chance, Mr. Kent. I'm here for a fresh start. Let me have one."
Yeah, Mr. Kent! Let her have one!
Seriously. That was it. I was on Lena's side instantly. My affinity for her only grew stronger with each episode. I felt very akin to Ms. Luthor. I wasn't able to put my finger on it right away, but over the series it became crystal clear.
Lena Luthor was a trauma survivor.
Her real mother died when she was 4. She watched her drown and blamed herself for not saving her. Someone had convinced her this was something she should have done. Someone made her believe she didn't do enough. Someone made her feel guilty about it. We're never specifically told who, but it's easy to figure out who. Her adoptive Mother. Lillian Luthor. Either directly, or indirectly through her mental abuse.
Lillian Luthor. Narcissist.
Lillian Luthor. Who despite her sons crimes, feels he is the golden child. He can do no wrong, while Lena can do no right. We do see her change her mind about her son once he tries to kill her. Narcissists don't generally forgive that.
Lillian Luthor. Who had zero nurturing skills and passive aggressively tore Lena apart every chance she got.
Lillian Luthor. A personality I was all too familiar with.
Lena was smarter than Lillian. She was smarter than Lex. Lillian hated her for it. Lillian hated her for many reasons. One being the fact that Lena was the result of her husband's infidelity. At least Lena had that going for her. Lillian wasn't her REAL Mother. However, as we all know, the people that raise you are the people that fuck you up or give you the life coping skills you need.
I was seeing myself. Here was a character trying to overcome everything she'd been through. All the trauma, all the guilt, all the suffering, all the passive aggressive comments and jabs. She was alone. No one was on her side. Not until Kara Danvers came along.
What she had accomplished was amazing. She stood proud. She was smart. She was beautiful. She was creative and inventive and all she wanted in the world was to help people. She was a very good businesswoman and in helping made a huge profit. There's nothing shady about that. Some Supergirl fans disagree.
Lena has always walked in the misty areas of good/bad. She's what I would describe as a gray character. Not overtly good but certainly not bad. Her traumas and suffering absolutely color her choices, but in the opposite way of her brother's. Lex Luthor wants to harm and maim and kill just as much as Lena wants to heal and help and save. Sometimes, her isolation and trauma hamper her understanding of what is considered "socially acceptable".
People that haven't been isolated, raised by a narcissist, lied to constantly and had their moral compass smashed to bits and had to find their own way have a hard time understanding characters like this.
Lena not only had a Narcissist parent, but an addict parent and a megalomaniac psychopath brother. Lena Luthor is incredibly strong to have overcome so much, right? Well, as we are learning, no.
Lena is broken and has no coping skills. She suffers from invalidation, instability, exploitation, manipulation, neglect, not being able to tell when someone is being superficial and control issues. It's why, season after season we have watched Lena invite the wrong people into her life. Queen Rhea, Eve Tessmacher, and more. She literally runs to people who need fixed because she wants to help them. Desperately. She is trying to save the world, cure cancer, be a hero BECAUSE of her trauma. She trusts no one and at the same time trusts too soon when she thinks there's a connection, hoping for validation. She had closed herself off completely after leaving Jack. Jack, who, for what we were shown, seems to have been really good for her. Which is probably part of the reason she left. Shame and guilt. She most likely felt he deserved better. Her Brother had just murdered who knows how many people in Metropolis trying to kill Superman. She couldn't smear his name with her trauma. She had to leave. Run away. And she did. Right to Supergirl.
Lena's first interactions with Supergirl were interesting. She was clearly thrilled to be teaming up. Her over-enthusiasm fits perfectly with someone suffering the traumas of a Narcissistic parent. Especially when the other child had tried to kill a Super and failed. It was rebellion and validation all in one. Supergirl accepted her. Supergirl BELIEVED in her. Then, inevitably, Supergirl let her down. They had a disagreement and that was it. Lena was done with her. This too, is part of her trauma. She still had Kara. Kara Danvers. She clung to Kara.
And then the reveal. Not by the person she trusted the most. No. By the person that had just manipulated and used her. By the person that she had decided was a clear and present danger to the person she loved most in all the world. Kara Danvers. She killed her brother for Kara Danvers. Kara Danvers, who ended up being someone who didn't need protecting at all. She killed her brother for the Girl of Steel. She broke. Completely.
So here we are. Season 5. Lena is completely broken and making self-destructive choices. How do I feel? Scared to death. Television isn't kind to people suffering from mental abuse and who have mental illness. Television often makes them the "bad guy" and irredeemable. I don't want to see this.
What do I want to see? Well, let me tell you. I want to see a group of friends decide that hell no, they aren't going to let their friend self-destruct. I want to see the challenges and the fight to help her.
HOPE. HELP. COMPASSION FOR ALL.
That's Supergirl's motto. So show me, Supergirl. Don't just tell me. SHOW ME.
Show me, show the world, that mental illness can be managed. Show the world how to not give up on someone and steer them towards healing. Show the world that therapy and love and compassion can heal. Show me that there's hope for Lena Luthor and in the process that there's all those things for people like her. Lena wants help. We've seen it throughout this arc. If she didn't, it'd be a different story.
Lena is Good. They will never convince me otherwise. Please don't let these characters fail her.
This cast has recently come forward about trauma and abuse and mental illness. Our very own Supergirl came forward as a victim of Intimate Partner Violence. Melissa's Instagram video was harrowing and brave and so needed. Chris Wood has a charity called "I Don't Mind" that helps with mental wellness. Chyler Leigh recently came forward as bi-polar in an effort to help erase the stigma of mental illness. All of this, so important, but you know what is also important? Showing it in the fictional realm. Showing it in storytelling. Showing the world that someone like Lena Luthor can be okay. That she is loved. That people care. That she is valid and deserving and that mistakes can be righted. We've learned over the last 100 years how impactful television can be. Even now, the propaganda machine is at war with storytelling and facts.
Come on, Supergirl. Do this. Not just for me. Do it for all of us that have sat through series after series watching those gray characters, those hurting characters, those survivors of trauma we identified with vilified. It's time to change the conversation. Fight for Lena.