lmao ok so i briefly mentioned the kara zorel vs kara danvers via this original ask meme from @sideguitars, and a comment from @moistvonlipwig where kara reveals being an alien but not supergirl. and i've actually mentioned a little bit of kara identities in this reblog i made. anyway the thing is that of the 2 identities, this should have been the central thesis of the show: who is kara? is she kara danvers or is she kara zorel. supergirl is the name of the show and is the hero. but most notably, she is the conduit through which kara determines who she is (danvers vs zorel), but supergirl is her job. just like clark's job is superman. so yeah.
her complicated relationship with krypton, with her parents, with alura, with mon-el, with alex, with lena, and even with clark all stem from kara traipsing between danvers and zorel. supergirl just happens to be the manifestation of kara's alienness and the singularity of her existence as a superpowered alien. honestly her superpowers could literally be that her coffee always tastes good and she's always right on time for the bus when she reaches the bus stop and all of that could be attributed to the fact that she's an alien, not because she's a superhero. like it's her kryptonian heritage, and therefore that aspect of her alienness, that impacts and colors how kara interacts with the world and how she reflects on herself.
supergirl is one facet of her alienness. so i think that for the kara identity to really be explored in the show, it should have been about how kara wants to shape who kara danvers is as a person of the world, a human identity, versus who kara zorel is as a superhero vigilante named supergirl, an alien identity. she bears the brunt of responsibility to protecting those around her because her parents fucked her up bestowed that responsibility on her shoulders to protect kal. and because her cousin had already brought on this superhero vigilante identity, it only makes sense that kara considers it for herself. she has the same powers as her cousin.
so the issue of authenticity re: her identity should be about who is kara being most loyal and most faithful to. and not to supergirl. supergirl is a costume, she is a persona, she is a representation of her values and beliefs. when kara asked james to betray lena's trust and tarnish their relationship in the name of ensuring that kara is not at risk of kryptonite, it's the supergirl mouthpiece, but it's kara zorel the alien who is panicking and making rash decisions. when kara is the one who tries to stop lex by any means necessary and accepting that she may very well die despite lena wanting her not to sacrifice herself, that's kara zorel the alien who is making that decision because it's up to her, as a superpowered alien who has the best opportunity to catch lex.
so it's danvers vs zorel. is she focusing on her roots as the last daughter of krypton, an alien refugee? or is she focusing on developing her human identity, the one who works a regular job, who has a rent-stabilized apartment, the one who has to pretend to not have inordinate levels of strength and powers so that people see her as average and totally regular and not at all remarkable? which skin is she most comfortable in? like i said, the true reconciliation for the show, for me, with regards to kara's identity is for her to make sense of her racial (species?) identity. the marginalized experiences that the show harks to isn't really about queerness so much as it's about the racial diaspora.
so i think if i could rewrite the ending of the show, then i think it would have been more poignant if kara came out with an article that she's an alien and it's through having lived in the shadows and having to hide that identity that gives her a unique perspective on what it's like to 'pass', to benefit from certain privileges, to experience the world in the way that she has been.
it's through the reconciliation of being kara danvers and kara zorel that could have catapulted kara to be her 'full self'. supergirl is not who she is, it's what she does. so the combination of those 2 identities that will give credence to how important it is to understand the role that both play in her life. to uplift other voices, to give them space to exist, to help make changes at the grassroots level that can enact change. fighting crime and fighting bad guys is well such a specific choice of life decisions. she is, of course, equipped to do it, being the most powerful being on earth. but supergirl is not who she is. it's who she puts on. which implies that it's something she takes off. but she cannot turn kara zorel off. she is forever an alien. and even the idea of kara in argo or just generally off world, the sense of belongingness is put into question because what is her identity in those places? how alien is she as kara zorel up there? how alien is she as kara danvers up there?
i guess the point im trying to make here (badly and haphazardly) is that if they really wanted to push for a 'full self' of kara so that she does not have to 'choose' between one or the other, she needs to contend with the fact that she's an alien, not a superhero. is she accepting of that identity? she has powers, yeah, but does she understand what it means to be an alien in national city? what about those without powers? does she feel foreign and alien to them also? just like an immigrant filipino american person who has grown up fully assimilated into american culture and never having any kind of connection to her filipino identity until now; how does that color her perception of being filipino and american and being, specifically, a filipino american? like do you see what im saying?
also, how does kara danvers, regular person reporter/eic, intertwine as kara zorel, alien refugee who also happens to be hulked out with powers? because its understanding how they work together and what their strengths and limitations are that then better inform and exercise who and how supergirl can be.
The problem with being in an otome fandom: I cannot read 'Y/N' as anything other than 'yes/no.' 😅 Like. Every time I see it, my brain automatically fills in 'yes/no' for the abbreviation, and it throws me out of the narrative so hard. I know it actually stands for 'your name,' but my brain has refused to adapt. 🤣
