you know how on batwoman mary knows kateās secret and is trusting kate to let her in when sheās ready? thatās what I always wanted for lena and karaās relationship and loved thinking about how lena knew kara was sg all along but the was going to wait for kara to bring it up bc it was HERS. this isnāt to drag sg show in any way itās just bw counters things I wish sg missed out on.
Anon, I completely agree with you. Itās one of the things that annoys me to no extent. Things on Supergirl are mishandled so often, especially in regards to Lena, and when I look at how all the other Arrowverse shows (not only Batwoman) handle similar character situations, it drives me crazy.
On Batwoman: Mary discovers Kateās Batwoman secret and is incredibly hurt. It builds into Maryās idea that sheāll always be second to Aliceā the person who murdered her motherā and adds to her idea that Kate doesnāt care about their relationship. She may be making passive aggressive and sassy remarks around Kate and Luke, but she still supports Kate and is willing to wait. Mary, who couldnāt feel more alone now, is able to process and love despite the pain, yet Lena has a mental lapse, ignores how Kara is trying to make it up to her, and has become a shell of herself.
On Legends: Exactly how many characters has this show redeemed without further dispute?? Too many to count, but letās look at Mick and Nora. Mick was a legitimate villain thrown into the waverider crew. His past is brought up sometimes and his character was even tested when he briefly joined the Legion of Doom. He had an abusive father and an affinity for fire, but in the end, heās a good person and a loved member of the team who spends his free time writing feminist romance novels. Nora (probably the character most similar to Lena) was brought up in a cult led by her father Damien Darhk and groomed to become the host of a demon. Yet, after spending time with Ray and the Legends, she realizes that she doesnāt want to be evil; she wants love and her own life. Some of the Legends slightly questioned her redemption in the beginning, but they all ended up believing in her. So Nora ended up as fairy godmother to unhappy children and married to boy scout Ray. Their redemptions were nuanced, earned, and never questioned. And both have done way worse than anything Lena even thought of doing.
On Arrow: Oliver Queen spent seasons wrestling with the fact that heās killed so many people and the idea that his parents werenāt good people. Heās had full arcs (Iām thinking specifically in season 5) where he wrestles with the idea that maybe he liked killing. It was something he had to work through, and he was allowed to do so because he was a man and the hero of the show. [I would also get into Deathstroke and E-2 Laurel Lance, but Iāve already discussed those kind of redemption arcs in other shows.] Meanwhile, we have Lena similarly trying to clear her familyās name, but has always been strictly against killing. Yet, Oliver is a tormented hero and Lena is automatically written off as another Luthor the second her pinky toe steps out of line.
On Flash: Caitlinās alter ego Killer Frost was LITERALLY a supervillain. Albeit a conflicted villain at certain points, but she did some pretty bad things and enjoyed it. But sheās been easily redeemed so much that her character often serves as comic relief on the show now. And no one has brought up her misdeeds in at least one or two seasons. Killer Frost was welcomed with pretty open arms onto Team Flash, whereas Alex is ready to use Kara as a trojan horse and literally blow up her āfriendā Lena without even giving her a few hours to calm down and sort her shit out.
So yeah, the way Supergirl and certain parts of the fandom mishandle and misrepresent Lena (someone who grew up in an abusive household and has lived through an unknown amount of trauma, but still has always tried to be good) drives me up the wall.
