Look out the window and you will see fear, racism, strife. This country is a fatted heifer. I am here to cut it's throat. But first, admit that you were wrong. Go on. That you defend the corrupt. The "American dream" is snake oil. Who sold it to you?
MELISSA BENOIST as Red Daughter
SUPERGIRL (2015â2021)
Supergirl CW Season 4, Episode 15 "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
This ep is so meaningful, but especially this scene
tw: talk of child abuse, emotional, physically, and alludes to sexual abuse, power dinamitics
For me this is the most terrifying version of Lex Luthor, not because of what he does or his evil plans because you could argue that other variations are better in that department but this Lex excels in something I don't think the others do.
His privilege
Lex Luthor is a rich, white, straight, cis, male.
He has power over people not just because of his intelligence but because of how he was born, and the fact that he is so smart means he's fully aware of this, fully aware of the power he holds and he uses that power over Lena over and over again.
She came to Lex as a traumatized 4 year old, she just watched her mom die and now shes in a new country, with people she doesn't know.
Lionel was an alcoholic and found out to be physically abusive in season 4
Lillian hated Lena because she was a bastard child, one from Lionel's affairs, in the show she does claim to love Lena, but her love always comes at a cost for her.
And Lex? He was aware of all of this, he used her trauma, her need for a prenatal figure and used it against her to get her to follow him.
Matt Wilson the prop man for Supergirl cw, posted some pics of Lex's journal reading through, it becomes very disturbing some quotes from this journal links to pics reddit, insta
â(Lena calls him) sick and twistedâ âallows her to realize how much she misses [lex]â âLenaâs masterâ âlearn to not ignore [lexâs] wishesâ â[lenaâs] a smart puppet and [lex] holds the stringsâ â[lena] finally accepted control over herâ-quotes were copied from an insta comment
Many people including me find these quotes from Lex's journal to have an almost sexual undertone even before reading these I always found Lex's obsession with Lena weird, often giving me the ick and many feel the same way, reading the journal as a reference to Lex possibly sexually abusing Lena during their childhood, or even later in life.
And all of this ties back to the scene I referenced in the beginning.
In the scene Lex has just turned the sun red, killing so many people bacsue he hates that Superman has more power than him, his obsession with Superman pushing him to do horrible things, and yet, in a moment that supposed to be about Lex asserting his control and power over Superman, its Lena who's tied up, its Lena that Lex is talking to, its Lena who Lex is literally standing over as he as control over where she looks as where she goes.
Lena is visibly scared and flinches at Lex's movements, I find it hard to believe this is the first time he's physically over powered her
Kara was young. She had wandered into the garden while her mother discussed business with Lillian Luthor. She sat down near a tree, watching the birds and squirrels play. Eventually, her eyes landed on a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest.Â
She ran over to pick it up. It had a few feathers growing on top of its head, and it trembled as it took small breaths.Â
âWhat are you doing?â
A small voice came from above her. There was a girl, the same age as Karaâs, sitting in the tree.Â
âThat baby bird is going to die,â she said, green eyes full of indifference. âYou canât possibly think youâll save it.â
Kara, young as she was, began to cry. The girlâs eyes widened, and she jumped down from the tree.
âHey, stop that. People are going to think I made you cryâŠâ she awkwardly waved her hands around Kara, unsure how to stop her tears. âHey, stop crying! Please?âÂ
Kara sniffled, but looked back at the small bird cradled in her hands, lip quivering. The girl sighed in acceptance.Â
âAlright, fine,â she scooped the bird from Karaâs hands into her own, examining it. She turned on her heel and began walking to a nearby fountain. âBring me a leaf.â
Kara watched in amazement as this little girl, no older than ten, managed to rescusitate the baby bird, using a feather to drip water into its open mouth. It chirped, ruffling its feathers.Â
âDo you think itâll be okay?â
The girl shrugged. âItâs mother will not return for it. It has no way of feeding itself. The odds are, a predator will eat it within the day.â
Kara gasped. The girl watched tears fill her blue eyes again and panicked. She quickly shushed her.Â
âNo, donât cry. We can put it in a birdhouse, and feed it twice⊠no, three times a day. Until itâs ready to be on itâs own again.â
Kara frowned. âBut who will watch it once Mother takes me back home?â
âWho is your mother?â
âMy mother is Allura,â Kara realized that she had yet to introduce herself. She held her hand out. âMy name is Kara.â
The girl cautiously took it.Â
âWhatâs your name?â
The girl scoffed a bit. âYouâre ridiculous. You donât know who I am?â
Karaâs smile faltered. She worried she had offended this girl somehow.Â
âIâm sorry. Iâm from Krypton, I donât know many people here. Who are you?â
âI am Princess Lena Luthor,â she puffed out her chest in pride. âFirstborn daughter of House Kieran, and next in line for the throne.â
Kara giggled. She was still just a kid like her, but here she was, pretending to be a Queen. âYouâre silly.â
Lena frowned, deflating a bit. âI am not! Lex told me so. Heâs the smartest person in the realm, and he told me that I will be the Queen of Thorul.âÂ
Kara laughed again. âIâm sure you will. But youâre still acting silly.â
Lenaâs face fell into a pout, and Kara suddenly felt bad for laughing. She sat down next to Lena, careful not to jostle the baby bird. âIâm sorry if I made you feel bad. Iâm sure youâre going to be a great Queen.â
Lena side eyed Kara suspiciously. âWhat makes you say that?â
âYouâre so smart,â Kara said, grinning at Lena. âYou brought that baby bird back to life. I bet not even Lex could do that!â
âLex wouldnât even try,â Lena mumbled, focusing on the bird in her hands.
âAlex would,â Kara said, thinking of her older friend. âAlex can do anything.â
âWhoâs Alex?âÂ
âOh, sheâs the best! She can climb trees.âÂ
Lena puffed out her chest once more. âSo can I. Thatâs not anything special.â
âYeah, but Alex can do it so fast! And she always finds the best apples. And one time, she put be on her back and swung through the trees, just like a monkey!â
Lena narrowed her eyes on Kara, looking her up and down. âI could do that too.â
Kara swung her legs excitedly. âCould you? That would be so much fun!â
Her eyes fell on the bird again. Itâs eyes were half lidded, and it was breathing slowly. âBut first⊠we should find someplace safe to put the baby.â
They found a hole in the tree that Lena had been sitting in, and filled it with leaves and grass to put the baby bird in. Lena dug through the soft earth and found some worms, dangling them over the birdâs head and encouraging him to eat.Â
Once they returned to the palace, Kara ran up to ask her mother if they could stay in Thorul for the week. Lena stood by her side, her eyes trained on Lillian. Lillian frowned at her dirty clothes and the mud covering her hands.Â
âWhat did the two of you get up to?âÂ
Kara looked at Queen Lillian and the displeasure on her face, and began to worry. She looked back at Lena and took notice of how different she looked from when they had first met. Her hair was falling out of itâs ponytail, her sleeves were rolled up and her arms and knees were covered in dirt marks.Â
Kara opened her mouth to apologize and say it was her fault, but Lena beat her to it.Â
âI was climbing a tree in the garden and I fell. Thereâs no need to worry about it, Mother.â
Kara smiled to herself, grateful for her new friend covering for her.
Lillian looked curiously between the Princess and her adopted daughter. Allura, upon seeing how Kara was enjoying herself, agreed to extend their visit, despite Zor-Elâs return.Â
On their first day, Lena and Kara spent their whole time in the garden, under the tree. Kara collected the worms, not wanting Lena to get in trouble again, while Lena worked on making a proper nest for the bird. Kara talked to Lena about every little thing that came to her mind, yet strangely, Lena remained quiet.
When she returned to her mother that night, she told her about how quiet Lena was, and Allura reassured Kara to keep talking.
âSome people are just harder to get through to, my dear. But if you truly like her and want to be her friend, continue to open up to her. Show her that you are a kind person.â
On the second day, Kara brought Lena an apple.Â
She had arrived to the garden early and gone on a hunt for apples. Eventually, she found a fruit similar in shape to an apple, but it was unlike any sheâd ever seen before. This âappleâ was strange. It smelled sweet, but it was purple and had a slight fuzz to it.Â
When she presented it to Lena as an apple, she was surprised to see the young girl laugh.Â
It warmed Karaâs heart to see the usually quiet girl laugh so happily.
âThis is a Nori fruit, Kara, not an apple,â she told her, picking it out of her hands. âHow did you find it? Theyâre very rare around these times. They grow mostly in the spring.â
Kara shrugged shyly. âMy father said that if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. I really wanted to find an apple and I searched all day for it. Although⊠I guess since I didnât find an apple, it wasnât right.â
Lena used her nails to dig into the soft flesh of the Nori fruit and pick it apart. She gave the fruit to Kara, saying she didnât enjoy sweet things.Â
âThatâs ridiculous. How do you not enjoy sweets? Theyâre⊠sweet!â
âI just donât like the way they make my teeth hurt.â
âYouâre so silly, Lena.â
Lena used the skin of the fruit to drop itâs nectar into the baby birds mouth. âNori fruit are supposed to be rich in nutrients.â
âThen you should really have some!â
Kara shoved a piece towards her, and Lena turned up her nose at it. But she looked at Kara, smiling so widely, encouraging her to try, and so she plucked it out of Karaâs fingers and dropped it into her mouth.Â
She chewed and swallowed it quickly, detesting the flavour. But she grinned at Kara for it. No one had ever forced her to eat something like this before.Â
The baby bird flew away on the third day. Kara and Lena watched in amazement as it stepped out of the hole, ruffled its feathers, and took off quickly. It was still quite small, and they lost sight of it once it went past the trees. A golden feather floated down from where it disappeared. Kara rushed to pick it up.
âLook what he left us!âÂ
âKara, that canât possibly be from him,â Lena replied dryly, crossing her arms. âItâs far too large and it doesnât match his colour.â
âWell, where else would it come from..â Kara twirled the feather in her fingers, a look of realization and excitement spreading on her face. âOh, my Rao. He must have sent it!âÂ
âRao?âÂ
âMy mother tells me that when Rao is especially pleased with one of his followers, he will grant them a token. She says that if you wish upon one of these tokens, you can have anything!â
Lena thought that was ridiculous. There was no such thing as great deities. Lex had explained to her that it was a fairytale, something that not only assured children, but adults as well. But seeing how lovingly Kara held the feather, she didnât feel like refuting the thought.Â
Kara held out the delicate feather to Lena. âHere, you keep it.â
âNo, thank you, Kara. Iâm no child of Rao.â
âBut you saved the bird. The wish is yours.â
âKeep it, Kara. I never would have thought to save the bird unless you had been there.â
Kara grinned, but held the feather closer to her chest. Lena shook her head at Kara in amusement. If sheâd wanted the feather, she never should have offered it. Lena wouldnât have kept it, anyways.
On the fourth and fifth day, Kara and Lena spend their time in the palace. Lena offered to show Kara to the library, but Kara was far too energetic to sit around in silence all day. She forced Lena to play âtagâ, which Lena understood to be an excuse to have children chase and tackle each other in the name of sport.
âOnce you leave,â Lena shook her head at Kara, who had once again caught her against a hallway wall, âMaybe I can finally have some peace and quiet in the library.â
But when Kara and Allura departed for Krypton, Lena felt⊠empty.Â
Kara smiled and waved at her through the carriage. She saw that Lenaâs face was once again passive, and gestured at Lena to smile, pulling up the sides of her own face. Lena slightly grinned.Â
Kara turned back to her mother.Â
âWhen can we visit again?â
***
A month later, Zor-El finally gave in to his daughterâs pleading, and sent her to Thorul for another week in the supervision of her aunt Astra.Â
âPrincess Lena!âÂ
Lenaâs silent reading was rudely interrupted by a melodic voice. Lena looked up in surprise at blue eyes. Kara was standing in front of her in a summer dress, radiating excitement, a wooden ship in her hands.Â
âYour mother told me I could find you here.â
Lena stared at Kara. Was this a dream? She opened her mouth and closed it several times, unsure of what to say to this apparition. Her gaze fell on the ship Kara held in her hands, and she finally asked, âWhat is that?â
âThis is my favourite toy,â Kara held it out to Lena. âItâs a ship built by my Grandfather. Well, the real ship is much bigger of course.â
âWhy are you giving it to me?â
âI wanted to thank you. For the feather you gave to me. I know they pale in comparison, but this is the least I could give to you in return for the token you gave me. And the fun thing about it is, it actually works! Come with me, Iâll show you how.â
Lena was still in shock as Kara took her hand and led her outside.
âWhat are you⊠how did you get here?â
âMy aunt Astra brought me.â
âWhy?â
Kara let go of Lenaâs hand, having arrived at the palace gates. She grinned toothily at Lena. âTo see you, silly. I had to give you a present!â
Lenaâs heart skipped a beat. âYou came here⊠just to see me?â
âAnd to have Nori fruit again. They donât grow in Krypton, can you believe that?â
Lena followed Kara in a daze to the fountain where they had sat with the baby bird. Kara turned a dial on the toy ship, and set it in the water. It began to propel itself.
Lena grinned in amazement, watching the boat travel across the fountain on its own.