#hidekomoon

Dot, one of our Unsinkable Heroines, has maybe one of the most tragic stories of the girls.

I know each of them has their own tragedies and none of them have IDEAL living situations. Let's get that right out of the way. I am absolutely not minimizing the seriousness and in some cases absolute horror that was being faced before they went on this "retreat" (especially Martha re: the trial, and Shelby re: religious exile). But just hear me out, and let's talk about Dot for a second (since it's not actually a competition between them).

But Dot? Dorothy? Dottie? We don't really know what happened with her mother, but we know that at 17 years old she was the primary caretaker for her extremely sick father, and having to balance school and caretaking in a way that is stressful for someone decades older, let alone a teen. Once he dies, the only reason she agrees to go on this retreat is the fear that social services will come and take her. And for someone who has had to be as independent and in charge as Dot, how can you step backwards?

We can assume she's had to be this way for a long time-- dealing drugs in order to have money, giving up a social life and other activities to spend her father's last few months together. Now, she's thrown into the island, and continues to function in survival mode. Feelings are irrelevant, fears are irrelevant, just keep moving forward. Keep surviving. Keep doing whatever needs to be done to get to the next moment, and the next moment, and the next moment.

Just like how someone might if, say... their father dies in their home when they're 17 years old after having to slowly watch the illness take him, and then having to stay afloat without social services putting you into foster care. And with no other adults to rely on (except for.... Gretchen).

What's amazing about Dot is that in season 2 we start to see what happens when she knows she has other people to rely on. Her defenses are lowering. She doesn't have to be On Top Of Things 24/7 anymore. She's able to have feelings, have reactions, discover who she is when she doesn't have to be on Autopilot.

GOOD question oh my god this is gonna be so long <3 Putting it under a read more so people dont curse me for long-posting