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jade4813 · 7 years

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Hi Jade! Since u were in the Smallville fandom I would to like know ur thoughts abt this. Do u think Lois reveiced the same amount of hate than Iris receive? bc I was in the SV fandom and ppl really hated Lois during SV days (I'm still bitter) and the same thing happens with Iris. The thing I hate most is that it seems both of them were not popular in SM and it's so frustrating because why this is only happen w my faves? Anyway why do u think some folks hated/hate those female leads so much? 😭

This is a great question!

In many ways...yes. They do get similar hate. Obviously, Iris gets the added layer of racism, which Lois didn’t have. That extra layer can’t be understated or underestimated. But, yes, that aside...I think they get a lot of similar hate. Why is that?

In part, it’s because they’re the endgame couple of the show. In any show that has cultivated more than one ship, there’s going to be hate against the ship - and typically the woman in the ship - that “wins.” Only one ship can be endgame (at least as long as heroes remain monogamous), and that means the rest just don’t come to pass. But there is more to the hate Iris and Lois get, I think. And why is that?

Honestly...it’s because they’re so awesome. That’s only semi-facetious.

Look. Here’s the thing about both Clois and Westallen. They’re not like other love stories.

Think about other love stories. For example, Supergirl. Now, whether you ship Kara with James or with Mon-El or with Lena or with Brainiac or with literally almost anybody else...well, the probability that those ships will be endgame may differ, but the possibility that any one of could be endgame exists. If not on this show then the one after that or the one after that.

Supergirl just doesn’t have an iconic love story that is integral to the mythos. She may have a love story people like more than others, but you could tell her story with other love interests and her basic story as a person and as a hero doesn’t fundamentally change. It’s like Batman. Some people really love his story with Catwoman. But can you tell his story without ever mentioning Catwoman? Sure, if you want.

This is also why I roll my eyes when people say “Green Arrow changed plans by pursuing Olicity instead of Lauriver so Flash can, too!” Green Arrow is different from Flash (and from Superman). Black Canary has been a part of his mythos for a long time, but it’s also been very different in how it’s been a part of his mythos. At times, they end up together. At times, they end up divorced. You could have a story where they’re just coworkers on the League or a story where they’ve never met at all. And would that story miss out on some moments or dynamics that BC/GA fans enjoy? Absolutely. But if you removed BC from GA’s story, would that fundamentally change who GA is as a character (or vice versa) or his story? Nope.

So in a show like Arrow, could Felicity be his endgame ship? Or Huntress? Or Shado? Or Sarah? Sure. Could his endgame be him alone, and still preserve his story, who he is, and the greater mythos? Sure.

That’s just not true of Lois Lane or Iris West. They aren’t just a part of they mythos, removable/replaceable without fundamentally changing the story or the heroes’ characters. They’re an integral part of those stories. Remove Lois Lane’s connection to Superman and what it is that draws him to her and her to him, and that changes his character. She has a part in his story that other characters - like WW - simply couldn’t fill.

And with Iris...well, you remove her, and you’ve not just taken a big part of Barry’s story away. You’re also removing the Tornado Twins and Wally West. That’s a pretty significant change and a big loss to the mythos.

So, outside of everything else - the horrific racism Iris West faces on Flash, the hate both characters would get simply for being endgame - you have the fact that their entry into the story is inevitable, and the minute that either of them enter the story, the writing is on the wall for how it’s going to end. Clark and Lana were the ship of the show for Smallville, but everybody knew, from the moment Lois met Clark in that field, how the story was going to end. Maybe it would happen in four seasons or maybe it would happen four episodes from the end of the series, but it would happen.

Hell, everybody knew that was his endgame even before she came. Even if she never showed up. The showrunners never hid the fact that their intention was to end the series at the beginning of the mythos we all know - Daily Planet, Lois Lane, and all.

Before they come in, there’s a chance that another ship might not be ultimate endgame, but they could be endgame for the series, at least. Perhaps those ships would happen, but that would be in an unshown future that other shippers could ignore, if they choose. But for the purposes of the show, that last shot could be Lana and Clark kissing on a hilltop - or crying on a hilltop - and maybe there’s a hint that he’s going to end up with Lois in the future, but that hint can be easily ignored.

But the second Lois joined the show, the showrunners decided they were never going to have him with Chloe. It certainly wouldn’t be endgame. Those fans’ hopes that Clark would eventually move on from Lana and end up with Chloe? Not going to happen. He would move on from Lana. But even when he did, Chloe wouldn’t be his forever, his endgame, because as they said, “It was only a matter of time until...Lois.”

Before Barry fell in love with Iris, before he met her, there could be a show where Barry had his own version of a Clana ship - a ship that the audience knows is fated to end one day but could actually last the duration of the show. Until enter Iris in the last season or the last episode or even just enter a line that he’s going to meet Iris, it’ll just be after the final credits roll.

But from the moment Barry meets Iris, there’s a clock ticking. The moment he realizes he’s in love with her, that clock is at five minutes to midnight. Because from the moment he falls in love with her - and the second she falls in love with him in return - that love story is written. You can’t then have Barry break up with Iris to date someone else, just like the second the love story between Clark and Lois becomes official, you can’t have him deciding to go give Chloe a shot. This is his endgame ship. It’s so important to his mythos that it’s always going to be. And the second those ships become canon in the story, that’s it for any other potential ship that any other shippers wanted.

So Lois and Iris get a massive amount of hate because they’re always going to be endgame. Other series - even series based off pre-existing canon - could and might play around with ships, and it may not be probable that any one of those ships could be endgame, but it’s possible. From the moment Iris and Lois enter their respective stories, however, the writing is on the wall for other shippers. They might get a few episodes or a few seasons of their ship, but endgame is right there in front of them, and it's going to be Westallen/Clois.

Also? Even if the shows ever pursued another ship before the introduction of Lois and Iris? Even if that ship lasted the duration of the show? No other character would ever be able to replace who Lois and Iris are in the mythos. No other character would ever take their place. They could do another ship, but that ship would never be as important to these stories as Clois/Westallen.

Really, we’re quite fortunate in our ships. Our faves may get way more hate than they deserve, but to love women who are so absolutely fundamental to their stories? Absolutely worth it.

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