I don’t follow a lot of TV shows religiously. Frankly, I’d rather read a great novel or spend time outside then worry about what the Kardashians are doing this week. But, I’m a nerd and there’s no hiding it. I follow "Once Upon a Time" like it is my job, and recently DC Comics is doing AMAZING things with their shows on The CW. The network is continuing to impress me. With 5 seasons of "Arrow," 3 of "The Flash" and its recent acquisition of "Supergirl" (formerly on CBS), they continue to find ways to twist the plot and keep me interested.
[WARNING: SPOILER ALERT]
This season, "Supergirl" specifically has won my heart. I had a feeling the new network was going to work wonders for this show, and I’m so glad I was right. At the beginning of the new season, the show introduces Maggie Sawyer, a cop and basically DC’s most prominent lesbian. This girl has dated the best of the best, specifically Batgirl and Wonder Woman. During Comic Con, the CW hinted that one of their characters would be toying with their sexuality, but I never saw this coming. (Frankly, I was hoping it’d be Oliver Queen. It’d explain why he’s been so unhappy for 5 seasons.) But low and behold, it was Alex Danvers, sister to Supergirl.
I despised this character during season one. She was kind of annoying and seemingly unnecessary. Now, I’ve never been so emotionally invested in a fictional character in all my life. The second Alex and Maggie appeared in the same room, you knew something was happening. Over the next 5 or 6 episodes, Alex went through all the stages of coming out (similar to the stages of grief: denial, anger, acceptance, etc.). You watched her get called out on being gay, deny it, accept it, come out to her family, get the girl, lose the girl, get the girl back, and so on. It was amazingly well written and Chyler Leigh acted the crap out of it, and I’ve cried every week since.
Here’s why it was so important to me. I’ve never really written about my sexuality. I’ve hinted at it in previous articles, but I’ve never really known what to say. I didn’t really “come out” in the nice “hey I have something to tell you” kind of way. I sort of just fell out of the closet, dropped the bomb on the interwebs, and let it sit (though I got a few "I know" texts, so I guess I wasn't as far into the closet as I thought). Mostly, because I never knew how to approach it. But somehow, in 5 episodes, Alex said everything I’ve been wanting to say but didn’t know how. It started after she denied her sexuality the first time then realized she was wrong. She said something along the lines of the fact that she hated dating, but never realized it was because she didn’t want to date guys (me). Then, later, she talks about all the things in her past that make more sense now, like friendships that were really crushes, and the hatred for intimacy (also me). THEN, this past week she says that she just has to get used to gay being her “new normal” and I had a moment of “YES THAT’S WHAT I’M GOING THROUGH” and basically screamed that at my computer. It’s been a roller coaster of emotion for her and me.
Here’s why it was so important to the world. There aren’t enough “coming out” stories on TV. Most couples are already out by the time we see them. They never see how mentally taxing it is. Especially when you’ve been in denial for so long. Coming out is not an easy thing to do, and I think the more you see people going through the same things, the more inclined you’ll be to say something. Also, the more we shove the reality that love is love in front of the world, maybe the more it’ll stick. Another one of the great things with this story line is that everyone she told still loved her anyway. That feeling of not being worthy anymore is hugely present for a lot of people. For me, it was nice to know that all my feelings were valid.
Though I may not take Maggie’s “life is short, we should kiss the girls we want to kiss” advice right away (I’m afraid it would probably have some repercussions), I feel a little more confident seeing something so close to my heart happening in a place for the whole world to see. Thank you CW for taking the love is love message and shouting it from the rooftops. The LGBTQ community thanks you.
In case you want all the feels, here’s Alex coming out, then getting friendzoned, then getting the girl. *Cue cries*
