#reguard

This files name is “what the fuck is going on.png”

Original:

What We Know So Far:

(Spoiler Warning)

There has been a lot of Discourse surrounding the possible James/Lena relationship in season 3, but surprisingly little discussion (that I’ve seen) about whether or not it’s actually likely to happen, so I thought I’d analyze what we’ve found out so far.

Now, the majority of the recent James/Lena speculation has stemmed from:

“Maybe it’s someone in this room” when Mehcad was asked who his love interest was,

(though it should be noted that he also said that she might not have even been casted yet) 

combined with the recent footage of James taking a bullet for Lena in 2x05.—

This event has rather firmly placed Lena in the forefront of the running in the fans’ minds.

However, Samantha March is still very much an option, and there might actually be an argument for her to be in the lead.

I should first point out that a lot of the most popular pictures from this shoot are from this angle:

and similar angles, which have framed this scene to be very Lena and James (and Kara) centric. However, the bushes and framing have blocked the place Odette is typically kneeling in the scene.

You can see her hand on the bottom left—

And now, a clearer view—

So she’s very much involved in the scene.

“Okay, well, her coming over after James is shot could very well be an after thought in the scene, with Lena’s reaction and growing feelings for James at the forefront.”

Perhaps.

However, if you look at the footage of when she runs over during a rehearsal of the scene (so it’s without several elements—such as Kara coming in at the end and the cops on the stage that we see in the takes—and possibly without as much directorial input):

She starts off on the far left (behind the bushes smh), having ducked down when shots fired,

Then, she starts getting up and immediately is heading for James (notice Lena is very much in her own world still. I’d wager that the scene for her is more ingrained in shock and then guilt connected to her other storyline than in fear for someone she loves)—

Lena notices James, Sam looks hella concerned—

Lena, rather shocked, places pressure on his shoulder (doesn’t have particularly intimate posture toward James)—

Now, they break from the scene, but they’re still set up for it, and Odette’s hands are placed in relatively intimate positions to comfort James—

While Katie’s are more there to address the wound—

Now, like I said before, this was a rehearsal. So there are alterations in the other takes that change the way the scene plays. James’ wound is on the left in the others (bc of where he would logically be shot), so Lena leans over to the other side to apply pressure, making Sam’s access to James a bit more awkward and Lena’s involvement in the moment more prominent.

Though, this might be more for the necessity of the scene (he would logically be shot on his left side, and Lena, being there first, would logically apply pressure to the wound, wrong side or not) than something done purposefully for emotional significance. 

Really, it depends on how it’s shot. Where the camera lingers, the music, what the lines are, etc. But there’s something to be said in how the actors interpret the scene initially. 

So despite James taking a bullet for Lena (since James is a Hero and would take the bullet for her regardless of romantic feelings), this could still be a romantic plot point for Sam and James.

Not to mention, Sam and James standing side by side is kind of an Image™

(Power couple much??? Just saying...)

But that brings me to the second section of my analysis.

Why are they standing next to each other on the stage?

Now, with only the pretty widely known fact that Lena and Sam have some kind of connection, one might assume that Sam is there in some capacity for Lena, and James is there in some capacity for Catco as it connects to Lena.

However, my argument is that perhaps both James and Sam are there for Catco.

Now, a couple things about James’ upcoming storylines from Mehcad’s interviews and the panel:

"He’s gonna be running Catco. There’s a shake up that happens at Catco from a very unexpected source [...] and it kind of jeopardizes his seniority there, for a while.”

“He’s gonna step up at Catco back to his roots as a journalist and photographer in a way that we haven’t seen him do fully that sort of harkens back to Jimmy Olsen’s character.”

Re: James’ new love interest (the only thing he said about it, other than that he couldn’t say anything about it)—“I think it is becoming a little volatile.”

So with James’ new romantic storyline being volatile in some way, and someone coming into Catco to shake things up and threaten his role, it seems like the person who shakes up things at Catco will probably be the same person who is James’ new love interest.

“But maybe it’s Lena, somehow. With Cat as what looks like the White House Press Secretary, maybe there’s some kind of deal with L-Corp involved. Plus Lena was at Catco with James! Look!”

Yes, but so were Sam and Kara,

(& Miss Tessmacher... lol)

And note that these outfits are from the same day as the press conference—

And while we know that Lena’s presence at Catco could be explained as connected to her later-that-day press conference, Sam’s appearance there is still kinda ‘???’ unless she works there in some capacity.

And from Sam’s character description—

—her job is very likely going to be a part of her storyline.

“But what if she just works for/with Lena somehow? That would explain why she’s with Lena at Catco and on stage at the press conference.”

Well, for one, Lena joining forces with Catco in some way and hiring/working with Sam in a separate capacity and having a new love interest in James and whatever storyline that is cause for the press conference and shooting is kind of? A bit much??

If Sam—whose daylight storyline we have next to nothing on—is the shake up and love interest, that leaves Lena with the more manageable press conference/shooting and “unexpected connection” with Sam two storylines.

Also, when asked who she has been spending most of her time with on set, Odette responded with “I can't... I can't share that information, can I?” (At which writer Jessica Queller shook her head ‘no’).

And the fact that Lena and Sam have a connection of some sort had already been divulged to the public, so there wouldn’t really be a reason to hide that Sam spends a lot of time with Lena, if she were, in fact, who Sam was spending most her time with.

Odette went on to say that she could say that she and Melissa had spent a little bit of time together, so that option is ruled out as well. And the fact that she has a kid isn’t a secret, either.

Honestly, Mehcad can’t talk about who his new love interest is, and Odette can’t talk about who she spends most of her time with. The simplest answer, really, is that they are speaking about each other.

So my prediction, at this stage: 

Samantha March will join Catco in some professional capacity (maybe Cat recognizes that James is splitting his Catco time with Guardian time and brings Sam on to work along side him with equal power), which “jeopardizes his seniority there”. She is the “unexpected source” of the “shake up that happens at Catco”.

This creates a “volatile” relationship between the two. They’re competitors—with romantic tension, of course. 

(Meanwhile, this competitive threat is what compels James to get back to his photojournalistic roots.)

Then, Lena requests some kind (?) of professional media backing from Catco in episode 5 in response to whatever recent controversy she is involved in, prompting both James and Sam to go to the press conference and stand on the stage next to her. 

Wouldn’t be surprised if there was a “well if you’re going I’m going. I can’t let you get credit for this” kinda deal involved, as well.

(As for Lena and Sam, their “unexpected connection” could either be something from the past—which might help Lena get Catco’s help— or simply that they have a ‘connection’ after meeting.)

Then, James ends up being shot while saving Lena’s life. This dramatic moment allows the dynamic between Sam and James to shift from competitiveness to more genuine affection, moving them to the next stage in their relationship’s arc, whatever that may be.

"It may be that the exploits of the near-mythical Ysgramor conflate the reigns of several early Nord Kings, as the Elves were not finally driven from the present boundaries of Skyrim until the reign of King Harald, the thirteenth of Ysgramor's line, at the dawn of recorded history. King Harald is also remembered for being the first King to relinquish all holdings in Atmora; the Nords of Skyrim were now a separate people, whose faces were turned firmly toward their destiny, the conquest of the vast new land of Tamriel."

"It is late in the second era, a time of war as the Empire of Tiber Septim sweeps through the kingdoms of Tamriel in a glorious bid for conquest. Septim is opposed on all sides, but never more fiercely than by Hammerfell the ancestral home of the Redguards."