Pride in the Arrorwverse: How Alex Danvers's coming out journey mirrored Chyler Leigh's real-life story
Alex Danvers, portrayed by Chyler Leigh, has often being labeled as one of the most relatable characters on the CW show 'Supergirl', perhaps more than the lead herself. Despite her tough-as-nails exterior, Alex has always worked doubly hard to be perfect in everything — from being an A+ student to acing her job, and of course, being a good and protective sister. Nevertheless, still waters run deep, and that's the case with Alex. She has struggled hard with numerous insecurities and conflicts, including the idea that her father Jeremiah Danvers (Dean Cain) preferred her alien sister more. And yet, she worked to never let these insecurities get the better of her and affect her relationship with Kara.
But that's not all. Alex's biggest struggle was when she was coming out to her family. This was considered one of the most real coming out scenes in television by many fans, who could feel the numerous emotions that the character went through. In Season 2, Alex crosses paths with Maggie Sawyer and realizes that she might have feelings for her. This causes her to introspect and remember the feelings she has suppressed since she was a child. In the fifth episode of the second season, Alex opens up to Maggie about her life. She says that she had been 'perfect' in everything, except for dating. She says that at first, she thought that she just couldn't relate to it. She had been 'asked out' several times, but she just couldn't be intimate with people. Kudos to Leigh here, as she portrays the nervousness and anxiety in a person's mind when they utter these words in front of people amid fear of being isolated. In the next episode, Alex talks to Kara about it and says that she has feelings for Maggie. 'Supergirl' writers handled the topic with sensitivity as Kara doesn't know how to react at first and says, "Maybe because you haven't been dating" — a classic mistake many make. Alex shuts her down and says that she isn't thinking about a woman because she hasn't found the right guy.
Alex explains that she has always had thoughts like this from high school itself. With careful hesitation, she mentions that she used to like sleeping over at her friend's house, and "on her bed". She resisted the thought and fought with herself, and in doing so, she fought with her friend and they drifted apart. The reluctance, hesitance and the struggle was captured perfectly by the 'Supergirl' writers. Alex and Maggie go on to have a steady and romantic relationship, get engaged, and are almost about to get married, till Maggie reveals that she doesn't want children. In a heartbreaking scene, they part ways. Later, Alex finds Kelly Olsen, and their storylines are another favorite on the show.
Just earlier this week, Leigh came out with an emotional post, titled 'Wear Your Pride', on how Alex's journey of coming out, mirrored her own. "When I was told that my character was to come out in season 2, a flurry of thoughts and emotions flew through and around me because of the responsibility I personally felt to authentically represent Alex’s journey. What I didn’t realize was how the scene, where she finally confessed her truth, would leap off the pages of the script and genuinely become a variation of my own (life)," Leigh wrote. "My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest each take we filmed, every time presenting another opportunity to get those honest words out of my mouth. Though they don’t exactly match my personal dialogue, the heart behind it surely did," she added.
However, Leigh received backlash from 'dear friends' as well as fans, who said that they were going to stop watching the show as "Alex's journey took a turn from their less than acceptable beliefs", as Leigh put it. "Soon after, they began to distance themselves and eventually my family and I were outcast, marking the loss of many folks we loved," she continued. "However, after the initial sting, I don’t hold a grudge towards the negative response, because as I said, we all have had a hard time in one way or another with acceptance (whatever the subject may be) whether towards ourselves or others." Leigh is married to actor Nathan West, and revealed that it 'has been a long and lonely' road for both of them. "But I can whole-heartedly say that after all these years, he and I are still discovering the depths of ourselves and each other, but throughout our journey we’ve learned to be proud of who we are, no matter the cost," she added.