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I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about William on Supergirl from fellow Supercorp shippers, so I wanna talk a bit about Kara and Lena’s love interests and how they are viewed, and also about racism in the show and fandom. This has probably been done to death but I’m new to the fandom — I binge watched the show over the winter and just started using Tumblr in a real way about a month ago. So anyway, back to the men:

There’s the major three: James, Mon-El, and William. Jack is cool too — he should’ve had more than two episodes which is part of the issue I’m going to get to, but he never got to be a major player.

So let’s talk about James. Now, I liked him a lot, particularly in season 1. Of the three main love interests for Kara, he was the only one who (season 1) writers took time to establish as a character separate from her. He had hopes and a backstory (of course), and his own idealism that usually uplifted and sometimes contradicted with Kara’s. He was honest, and vulnerable, and when he made a mistake (like calling Superman against Kara’s wishes) he grew from them. Because he respected Kara, and himself. Now the chemistry between Kara and James for me felt good — it wasn’t earth shattering — but it was typical in what I’d come to expect from a heterosexual pairing. And I would argue that had the writers not done a complete 180 on Kara’s feelings for James in S2 and had let them keep growing together as characters, that the chemistry and relationship could have been really good. But they didn’t because as the writers themselves said, they’re ‘in the drama business.’ So having a healthy, supportive partner for Kara wasn’t their priority, James was sidelined, and then they never figured out what to do with his character from that moment on. Also, I do think that race played a part in the writers’ decision to change direction with their relationship, and it’s...disheartening.

Now real briefly on James with Lena: it reminded me a lot of Laurel 1 and Oliver — when they talked about each other to other people— I believed that there was love, but when they were together, I didn’t see any real spark. Even their drama wasn’t particularly interesting — so I won’t even get into it. But it’s been long enough in this post for me to get to the point of it: the fault of the deterioration of James as a character lies with the writers. They chose to sideline him, have his values constantly shift, and have his character development stagnate post S1. He could’ve had interesting stories as Guardian, could’ve worked more closely with Kara when he replaced Cat Grant, or any number of things. But his potential was squandered. And if they were so dead set on having a male love interest for Kara, he was their best option of the three.

Mon-El and Kara had chemistry. To me, it was very much sibling chemistry in nature, which is kind of funny considering that in the comics he was a pseudo brother to Superman. To be clear I’m talking about Kara and Mon-El and not Chris and Melissa who are married, because they aren’t their characters. That’s how I think he should have stayed — as an antagonistic, shallow brother type who slooowly became decent through character growth and not specifically to become Kara’s love interest. But the handful of times Mon-El did the right thing — rebelling against his parents, trying to be a hero etc. it was because he liked Kara. How boring is that? As a love interest he was subpar — and he continued to be a liar. I don’t hate him like some fans do — and I’m well aware that he was a shallow partner who owned other people on his planet, and a habitual liar. I also see that this show is fantastical in nature where I am rooting for Lena after nearly mind-enslaving the entire population just last season. And also in a universe where a primary hero — Oliver Queen, was a serial killer (as are Laurel 2, Sara Lance, and Mick Rory to name a few). So that isn’t the main reason why I don’t like Mon-El for Kara. I just feel as early Kara felt: She deserves so much better than him.

What is there even to say about William? He’s essentially the audience in character form — the chorus in an Ancient Greek play telling us how we should feel about whatever action he’s being sidelined from. If they wanted him to be endgame, he should’ve been introduced bare minimum a season earlier to give him a fair shot. He needs to be better integrated in the fold, and at this point there isn’t a lot of time to do that well.

I’m making this post though because I don’t agree with some of what I’m seeing in fandom. Yes, I too dislike Mon-El as a love interest for Kara, but I’m not going to yuck someone else’s yum. Same goes for William and James. If you see something romantic, that’s okay. If you’re a multi shipper, that’s okay too. I was into other Arrowverse shows when Karamel and Supercorp animosity was at its highest and saw some of what went on and now I see some people uniting over their mutual dislike for William. But his underdevelopment as a character is once again entirely on the writers and execs. Not Staz Nair. And @motorcyclegirlfriends has a much more nuanced post about how race plays into characters being empathized within fandom and the screen time they are allotted by writers and directors. https://motorcyclegirlfriends.tumblr.com/post/649196192472924160/what-a-lot-of-the-nice-fellow-fans-dont-harass

We shouldn’t be tearing down actors of color or characters of color out of frustration over (potentially/hopefully) queer (white) characters. We should instead be asking for them to have more well rounded stories, just as we ask for better LGBT rep — the two aren’t separate. If Supercorp doesn’t become canon it won’t be because of the subpar heterosexual romances they were given. It will be because the writers see the love story they’ve created, inadvertently or otherwise (even doubling down on it in S5) but chose to ignore it. I really hope that isn’t the case. Us fans deserve more complex, messy slowburn romances, and Supercorp could be up there with She-Ra as one of the best ever portrayed. Here’s to hoping.

I have a wishlist for the rest of Supergirl season 6. I know that most of the episodes have already been shot, and the others are planned out. But if even 1/3 of these things happen, I will be content.

— An entire episode focusing on Kelly and Alex’s relationship with a heavy amount of flashbacks to fill in the gaps of their relationship. Sort of like the Andrea and Lena episode, but with some scenes between Dansen that were likely already filmed and cut. It’d be nice to have James there too.

— Nia coming into her powers to the point where she can take over for Supergirl by the show’s end. For Kara it’d be great for her superheroics to go down to more of a part time job.

— A character or two supporting Kelly Olsen for once.

— J’onn J’onzz getting hobbies and having fun outside of missions.

— J’onn acknowledging that M’gann was the one to resist the white martians well before he came into her life (I’m still salty about him getting the credit for that.) Maybe it doesn’t matter with the new multiverse. So either way M’gann getting something again in her life aside from J’onn like a career, reconnecting with old alien friends from the bar etc.

— Everyone getting therapy. And from someone other than Kelly. At the very least Kara, Alex, and Lena.

— Alex and Kelly having the child Alex always wanted by the last episode.

— Lena and Kara rebuilding their friendship and then...

— For Lena and Kara to realize they’re in love with each other and to be together. It doesn’t need to be a drawn out deal — the building blocks have been there. Just them together, okay? Okay.

— For Lex to become an insignificant villain who Lena takes down in a simple way, mid-episode with the focus being on her healing. Because he’s become that inconsequential by the end. No more grand, self-indulgent villain speeches from Lex.

— A cameo from Calista Flockhart’s Cat Grant. Maybe over the phone.

— For Lena to apologize to Eve eventhough Eve won’t understand it.

— One more mini-crossover for Kara and Barry Allen.

— While in therapy, for Kara to start processing some of her trauma especially with the death of her planet, having had to suppress who she is, abandonment stuff with her parents, and her two stints in the Phantom Zone.

— For Kara to live. No Oliver Queen-ing her.

— At least two heartfelt, gut wrenching Alex and Kara sister moments.

— More Brainy bonding with everyone, but especially Nia and Lena.

— Eliza Danvers being there when Kara returns.

— To hear about James’ new startup thriving.

— One more Sam appearance.

— For Kara to emotionally reconcile the two parts of herself as her. No more cognitive dissonance as a coping mechanism by the show’s end. And for Kara to have screen time outside of the Supergirl uniform. I don’t care if it’s through Catco, or now that all of her friends know her identity having more game nights where she flies around, but something.

Feel free to add on with your wishlist!

This post is about potential harassment from fans once Supergirl ends. I’ve been a part of the Supergirl fandom for a little under a year — I love the characters more than I had anticipated to, and since then have searched out other people who feel the same. Fans who adore Nia, Alex, and Kelly, who appreciate the unbreakable Danvers sister bond, and see the almost as powerful (romantic I think) bond between Kara and Lena. It’s been wonderful to become immersed in the fan art, the fics, the character studies. I’m also so thrilled in the queer representation we’ve gotten from Nia, Kelly, and Alex (only wishing they could’ve had more screentime).

That all being said, my hope of Supercorp becoming canon has been pretty much non-existent since the fourth episode of this season. And the main thing I have to say about it is the queerbaiting in Season 5 sucked (and that’s am understatement). But I’m still glad that the characters exist and that other creative minds within this fandom have helped fully realize what that relationship could look like. And more than that, regardless of Supercorp’s canon status, nothing can take away the validity of that interpretation. I feel like most people know this already so maybe I’m just saying it for myself. And yes I’ve only been part of Fandom for a year but I did watch ONCE and Sherlock in real time on my own; the ache of queerbait is familiar to me.

At the very real possibility that I’m going to come off as condescending, I also hope that when the show does end, we as fans are respectful — on here — but especially on Twitter and Instagram if you interact there too. Guys, this is probably the biggest WLW fandom since Xena; I have no doubt that Supercorp is going to trend directly following the last episode no matter what. It’s trended at least twice in the last week and a half. Please don’t message actors, or threaten to end the careers of writers and directors. Please don’t scroll past if you see these things happen, comment/or report the behavior. Most of the fan things I’ve seen have been lovely, but because this fandom is so large of course there is a lot of shitty harassment and racism too. I hope as a fandom that we’re better than allowing instances of it to go unchecked.

It’s hard to see the show end but I’m really excited to keep seeing the creativity of the Supercorp fandom long after Supergirl comes to a close.

Okay, but the PR people or whoever has been in charge of letting us down somewhat gently (from the clusterfuck queerbaiting of S5) has been masterful. Two of the actresses who we love, Azie and Nicole are moderating Tvline and SG’s Instagram pages, hopefully mitigating a lot of outrage (and unfortunate hate speech) out of that respect and adoration. Katie gave this interview that pretty much confirmed a platonic best friend’s ending, and it was kind, honest, and came from a place of careful consideration for her character. Alex and Kelly’s wedding is tonight. And while queerbaiting can and does continue to exist within the same realm as a lesbian wedding, we also care about Alex and Kelly’s journey and want to enjoy their happiness. Kara and Lena spent 2/3 of the season apart, and the rebuilding friendship phase was skipped over. The directors cut out things like holding hands and honestly went way overboard in not allowing them to be in close physical proximity, the writing has been fairly romantic in subtext but more vague “we are your family” etc. I am disheartened sure, but I am also impressed.

I feel like there must have been a ton of people who were chiefly responsible for steering around this baiting shitstorm as much as possible. As I’ve said before regardless of Supercorp’s canon status, nothing can take away the validity of that interpretation. Anyway, I admire the actors and wish them everything. And I’m going to miss this show, even though I really think it’s for the best that it’s ending.

(Also to clarify, I am still upset and grieving over Supercorp. The baiting really wasn’t necessary. I’m gonna go rewatch She-Ra now.)

The cast: "hey, we filmed an emotional grouphug for the end of the episode!"

Producers: :)

The cast: "why are you smiling like that?"

Producers: :)

Producers: "No reason"

No one:

Absolutely no one:

Alex, staring at Kara and Lena:

There must be a reason, why Kara's dress isn't zipped up properly...

A little late in the day, but whatever. I was waiting for the perfect pic. Happy Lesbian Visability Day!! ❤🧡💛💚💙💜

For years I have actively avoided all things super hero related for various reasons, but mostly because Marvel makes it all look like a bunch of white boys running around fighting which gets old. Thanks to DC's Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl, I have changed my mind. Not only do I ship Avalance and Dansen so hard (without those couples I'd have never given the shows a chance), but I love how both shows bring representation of so many to the forefront and I'm a sucker for how much they promote positive relationships in all forms; i.e. female friendships, close male friendships, strong support systems for friends/partners, sincere apologies when someone fraks up, but the others forgive and help them be better without guilt.