Holy cow. My inbox. Okay, here’s what I’m gonna do because I feel so bad about what’s happening right now. I’m gonna break it down. I’ve read through your messages, I’ve browsed the hashtags across social media, I’ve seen the feedback - good, bad and otherwise. And…
I think it’s safe to say the current outrage at the show is a culmination of many things. It’s not just “shippers crying because they didn’t get their way”. It’s what appears to be a complete implosion of the second half of the season, and the show as a whole, and the utter disregard and disrespect towards both the fans, and characters themselves. From what I can gather, these are the big issues the fans are upset about:
- Queerbaiting. It was obvious. It was blatant. If you say “there was never anything there in the first place” that’s - between the writing, performances, and marketing - simply not true. Media outlets have called them out for it. Fellow industry writers have called them out. A show’s director pointed out the ship. Twice. Warner Bros Latin America and other WB/DC accounts were marketing to the shippers using “Supercorp” in their language. The show was - more than once - inserting deeply romantic, passionately heartbreaking music over Kara/Lena scenes and creating blatant parallels to other romantic couples both on the show and in the lore (Clark/Lois). They put Kara in rainbow socks crying over a photo of Lena. They had them pouring their hearts out to and about each other with passion and fury and desperation. They had them all-consumed with each other for the back end of 4B and then all of 5A. The showrunner promoted a Kara/Lena-centric season focusing on their “relationship” and liked a tweet asking for Supercorp to be canon. Some of the writers on the show have liked tweets talking about Supercorp and even calling Kara a “gay mess”. So yes, the fans feel used for their viewership. And they were used. Now the show hasn’t seemingly just turned its back on them, but they’ve laughed in their face by having the new love interest quickly and inexplicably be involved in ways the fans have apparently begged Lena be involved in for years. From game nights to karaoke nights to DEO and Superfriends. Their outrage is valid and it’s backed up by hard evidence. The show has taken an LGBTQ+ fanon ship that had three years of buildup and chemistry galore and denied it canon, instead choosing to go with something forced and “safe” and lacking any chemistry. Unless they pull a hard left and suddenly have Kara realize she feels nothing for William after their first date (a teasing method which would be insensitive and tone deaf), then all of this absolutely was queerbaiting - and probably the worst I’ve seen on TV in recent history, which in 2020 is shameful.
- The treatment of women and failed feminist messaging. Setting the example that you should date the guy whose opening lines and initial behaviors are rude and obnoxious, if not even cruel and toxic, as long as he apologizes then acts playful…. is not good. They should’ve learned this lesson in Season 2. They clearly did not. Having your third billed actress who’s the show’s long-time resident Luthor and “stands behind no man” be pushed aside and now stand behind an abusive man as she’s trapped in a cycle of pervasive emotional and mental torture from her family while making horrible choices for the fourth year in a row with zero character growth… is not good. Sidelining your trans actress’s position as Kara’s protege so you can prop up a straight cis male to be forcibly positioned by the lead at work every day… is not good. Having your lesbian couple be reduced to a single scene every episode and the second billed actress and co-lead character (Alex) be reduced to barely having a real role… is not good. Having your woman of color have no lines in an episode she makes an appearance in… is not good. Catering to the homophobes of the world and clam jamming the idea of a bisexual or pansexual lead heroine despite the fact that she has, time and again, had chemistry and awkward moments and angst with women on the show(s), which inherently suggests there’s something wrong with her being anything but straight… is not good.
- Missed opportunities, out-of-character behaviors and plot holes. There’s honestly too many of these to list and I simply don’t have the time.
My inbox and mentions on Tumblr and Twitter are filled with fans who are legitimately heartbroken, angry and shell-shocked. They feel used, abused and hurt beyond words. And more than that, they’re fed up. Yes, this is “just fiction”, but it’s the messaging that’s the problem and reflective of some pretty significant issues in our society. Some of it blatant, some of it subtle. But the show effectively positioning itself as “about women, for women” and “pro-LGBTQ” while doing all of the above is… frustrating at best.
So yes, I believe the fans are well within their rights to be upset and take (positive, non-problematic) action to get the attention of the show and hopefully encourage them to change course and do better.
I hope those in charge will listen. Past behavior isn’t exactly encouraging, but never say never.
