Can you explain a bit society's attitude towards packs in under the ivy?
I'm so sorry this is long! I'm on a flight so typing out stream of consciousness. I'm sure there's stuff I'm missing, so if you have specific questions, let me know!
So from the beginning of the series until now, I've been peppering in references to the changing attitudes of society toward instinct / packs / omegas. Essentially, a few decades before Martha and Thomas got married/mated, the popularity of packs was beginning to wind down in favor of the more nuclear family unit. This lines up pretty well with increased technology / virtual interconnectedness, and with a shift in alpha politics (pack alphas all defer to THE pack alpha. but what if you didn't have to defer to anyone in your own home? you don't need a pack for that)
Etiqutte for instincts also changes alongside this. It becomes increasingly less polite to be "instinctive" out in public. The view is that they'd moved beyond the more primitive packs of old that were holding them (alphas mostly) back. Now with families (packs) of their own, they'd not beholden to old pack rules on fighting etc. Essentially, they moved beyond the more collectivist pack dynamic to an individualistic one. In Wayne Manor, the nesting rooms were boarded up by Thomas' predecessors in favor of a master suite. Marriage became more common as mating was seen as animalistic and violent (biting your partner deep enough to scar them).
The interesting thing to me is, when moving past packs/instincts, society defaults to the alphas even though, in theory, neither dynamic should matter. If instinct does rear its head, or a scent is let out by accident, alphas are given a pass. Omegas and Betas, not so much. Betas band together without packs to try and feel some sort of belonging/relief, and omegas latch onto alpha partners because, in theory, they're still sharing heats/ruts. But that's private now, and less acceptable to talk about.
Omegaphobia runs rampant throughout this process, which is kind of a middle finger to the equal role they played in pack dynamics recently (and the role betas played!). So when Bruce and Lex grow up, they do so with the attention of alphas, but without the protection of a pack or the respect that goes along with it. They're seen as a necessary part of the nuclear family unit, and as something to bolster and alpha's own claim to their family (formerly pack).
Internalized alphaphobia is also present, but more subtle. Alphas believe they don't need to submit to another alpha ever (individualistic) and view alphas who do as "wrong" (e.g., Dan deferring to Clark).
I think the juciest thing to play with in the series itself is the conflict between waning pack rules/respect, and modern day trends. Because while society is well on their way to nuclear family units and an alpha-dominant and individualistic world, some of those old pack rules and legacies are still present.
For example, Lex's pack arrest, and the respect of the Wayne Manor pack territory. Those laws are still on the books, but rarely relevant. But in the sudden shift toward nuclear family units, no one removed them. And there are still members of society who remember the pack dynamics fondly and still use their etiquette (the alpha father of the annoying alpha in the gala scene at the end of the ninth wave, for example, greets Bruce that way while his son doesn't).
So packs are fairly attractive to those folks, and also to people who are perhaps a bit more instinct-focused. The pack balances out strong alphas and betas and omegas. It provides communal childrearing and mutual defenses, both of which make it easier to survive.
It also imparts an older title/respect to the Pack Alpha and Pack Omega, though whether people choose to respect that in public (away from legalities) is iffy. But like in second nature, it's a title, and it's how they're introduced. Kind of a political title, almost.
As I mentioned in another post, Lex getting snagged by his pack and pregnant not soon after is viewed as a get out of jail free card because people think he's just using the old pack laws to duck the legal system.
Dan likes the pack because he's a highly instinctive alpha and Clark helps him balance himself. And he feels useful providing for the omegas and Alfred. And the pups, now, which is why we see him with them so much. Before, he was just a guy doing odd jobs everywhere to get that same sense of belonging.
Alfred was briefly pack beta for the Waynes when Martha and Thomas decided to shirk the societal expectations and return, slowly but surely, to a pack life. It was another middle finger to the nuclear family unit, because they believed their own dynamic wouldn't be balanced without a pack beta, and they were right. Now, Alfred is reluctant to fall fully into pack life because he is terrified of losing it all again. Because he lost his whole pack in one night, except for Bruce. And then years later, he almost lost Bruce, and Jason died, unearthing that same trauma. But the longer we see him in the pack, the more at peace he seems.
Clark didn't grow up with a pack, but his parents were both betas, so he didn't grow up in a typical nuclear family unit either. He defers to Bruce on most pack things, because it was technically Bruce's pack first, but they're both equals. Despite this, there are times he defers to Bruce completely, and there are times Bruce defers to him instead. He's got that extra spark of pack alpha, plus his Kryptonian alpha genes, so it barely leaks through his control. But when it does -- boy, when it does, it's like flipping a switch. The kindest, softest pack alpha turns into something else entirely. It also gives him space to let go of his scent/accept his instincts that he can't get even with Superman. Superman is an alpha, but his total control is critical to saving lives. If he stumbles there, people die.
Lex grew up half-in-half-out of the nuclear family unit, as I mentioned in a previous ask about his omega mother / abusive father. He turned being omega into a weapon and a mirage, allowing him to do business and slip through gaps between alphas who don't know what to make of him, but don't like him. This leads to him being pretty unsupported bond-wise, which is why we see him trying to build a pack in a coral room, and why we see him wasting away when he bonds with Bruce but is locked in Arkham without him. In TNW we see him wrestling with the idea that he only belongs because he's useful, and he doesn't deserve any protection or happiness from the pack. Obviously, this is a work in progress, but he thrives with having a pack. He did not like temporarily taking over for Bruce as pack omega, though. He likes being in the middle, but not the exact center.
All Jason wanted as a pup was Bruce. The pack is essential to him getting back on his feet after the events of ASOH and learning how to master scents/instincts. Lex especially is important to that, but he never eclipses Bruce and Bruce never eclipses Lex, either. Having both is so so important for him. Especially as Bruce was reckoning with his own instinct issues (finally abandoning suppressants and accidentally getting pregnant).
Bruce is the really interesting one. He's the center of the pack, often more so than Clark, though not exclusively. By all estimates, he shouldn't be with his new instincts and long-held beliefs he's still unraveling. But being there for Jason and Alfred reminds him of what he needs to be. He also proves that being the Bat and being Pack Omega, or even omega in general, aren't mutually exclusive. He had the power to drag Alfred down into hopelessness when he was abusing suppressants, but managed not to. A part of him feared packs because of how Ra's and Talia treated him during his training with the League. But he's a possessive bastard at heart, and insanely protective, and those instincts slide into place like they've always been there. Because they have! Having a powerful alpha who respects him to the point of deferring to him when needed keeps it balanced. If Clark was an overbearing kind of alpha, it never would have happened.
