I really wish some people would do at least a little research on schizophrenia before they post their Lottie Matthews hate because there are truly some very ignorant and harmful ideologies being spread. You can tell many of these people have never interacted in any meaningful way with someone diagnosed with schizophrenia and it shows. It’s a severely stigmatized and underrepresented disorder and it’s a shame that both fandom behavior and the writing of the show itself at times contribute to this. And it’s also really a shame that actual people with schizophrenia have shared with me they relate to and connect to aspects of Lottie’s depiction, and then they go online and see black-and-white fandom takes that make them feel like absolute shit!
The phrase “mental illness isn’t an excuse” is absolutely important and true, but that framing, when it comes to severe psychotic disorders like schizophrenia, is frequently used in a way that muddles important distinctions between intent, agency, and responsibility. Harm is harm, and victims of this harm deserve recognition, accountability, and care. What gets lost in a lot of fandom discourse is that the “no excuse” argument is often used in an oversimplified manner that assumes a level of cognitive control that is not possible in active, severe psychosis. It treats schizophrenia as if it functions like anxiety or depression, where insight is often still accessible and behavior is more clearly determined by choice. That assumption is inaccurate and reinforces stigma by framing people with psychotic disorders as morally deficient or ethically corrupt rather than severely impaired.
“I can’t believe Lottie would cross Shauna’s boundaries being obsessed with her baby” “Did she consider the emotional impact that seeing Callie wearing Jackie’s necklace would have on Shauna? She’s such a terrible person!” “I can’t believe she smiles after Nat’s death, she really doesn’t care about any of them” “Everyone is telling her to stop in the wilderness and she doesn’t listen to them!” “She keeps doubling down instead of apologizing” “She’s power-hungry and manipulating the group in the wilderness to control them” “She always thinks she’s right” “She doesn’t care about other people’s emotional states or the harm she’s causing”
Lottie👏is👏not👏connected👏to👏reality👏when👏she👏does👏these👏things! When Lottie acts under the influence of her visions, she is not weighing options and morality, with full access to reality, and deciding to prioritize belief over people. She is responding to what her brain is telling her is happening. In her mind, the Wilderness is a all-powerful entity that is protecting her and everything/everyone she loves. That is her absolute reality, and when she’s deeply caught in it as we see she is especially in Seasons 2 and 3, she’s not able to recognize anything else. In her mind enacting the Wilderness’s will is helping people. And telling her “This isn’t real Lottie, you’re hurting people and you need to stop!” is just not effective when she’s in that state.
There is also a difference between explanation and justification that gets reduced online. Explaining how schizophrenia shapes Lottie’s actions is not the same as excusing the harm she causes. It’s an attempt to understand causality, not to erase impact. You can hold two truths at once: Lottie’s actions have devastating consequences, and she is not operating with the same agency or intent as someone who is fully grounded in reality. That is a fact.
What makes Lottie’s arc particularly tragic is that the group repeatedly reinforces her psychosis instead of interrupting it. They validate her delusions, elevate her to a spiritual figure, and place responsibility for the group’s survival onto someone who is actively unwell for their own benefit. Blame is often placed solely on her, when in reality the environment, the lack of treatment, the trauma, and the group’s desperation all play a role in amplifying her symptoms and contribute to a dynamic of the other girls having control and power over Lottie, not the other way around. Which causes her to spiral. This isn’t even subtext, it’s text. Van literally says, “She’s like this because of us.”
Lottie certainly has moments of intentional manipulation and harm. All of the YJs do. But the truth is that a vast majority of the time, her intentions are not malicious. This does not erase the impact of her actions and does not mean she is innocent in any way. But more nuance needs to be included in these conversations!!! Lottie is not your innocent deer girl or your evil crazy villain. The show is certainly not a 100% accurate/unproblematic textbook representation of schizophrenia and I wish they had handled things a lot differently, but we’re also discussing real symptoms here that are experienced by real people. This needs to be done with more care.
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