Maybe that’s why Batman became the hero. His pain sounds noble, and his power looks earned. But what happens when that illusion of integrity disappears? Does the line between hero and villain begin to blur? Let’s take a look at the choices Gotham’s villains got right.

Harley Quinn

What is love without respect or boundaries? SZA sings it best in Kiss Me More: “Lovin’ you feels like jail, I can’t even exhale.” That’s not romance. That’s pathology. The same pathology that shaped Harley Quinn, a woman whose devotion became her prison and whose love was mistaken for madness. Arkham never tried to heal her; it wanted to control her.

In a city where pain isn’t heard unless the Bat-Signal shines on you, suffering becomes spectacle. Trauma becomes performance art, while healing becomes rebellion. Harley Quinn reminds us that sometimes chaos is the last language left when the world refuses to make sense. She was right to seek freedom, but wrong in how she took it. If Bruce Wayne’s trauma was weaponized into heroism, Harley’s was pathologized into madness. She could’ve stayed Dr. Harleen Quinzel — maybe even become her own kind of Batman — if love had been her cure instead of her cage.

Mr. Freeze

Remember John Q, the film about a working-class father whose son will die without a transplant? Insurance refuses coverage, and he holds a hospital hostage so his child can live. What separates John Q from Mr. Freeze? Victor Fries is a devoted husband whose dying wife loses corporate funding for her experimental cure.

So what makes one man a hero and the other a villain? Both are fighting for someone society has deemed disposable. Their methods differ, but the message is the same: human life is worth more than profit. Mr. Freeze was right that a broken heart can rise up against injustice — but wrong in forgetting it isn’t the only heart breaking. Bruce Wayne had the resources to turn grief into a mission. Victor had nothing but isolation and cold. He could’ve been Victor Fries, the healer, if compassion had reached him before despair did.

The Riddler

Two children lose their parents. One gets Alfred. The other gets Gotham’s neglect. Batman tries to stop corruption; the Riddler tries to expose it. And in a city where justice is bought and charity is performative, truth is the only real weapon. In theory, the Riddler wasn’t wrong.

But revelation without humility becomes self-righteousness. In his obsession with exposing Gotham’s elite, he mistook cruelty for clarity. At the bottom of the city’s corruption, he found the abyss inside himself. Maybe the real difference between them is simple: Bruce Wayne was taught how to grieve. Edward Nashton was left alone to drown in it.

Poison Ivy

Solange Knowles creates worlds from emotion and art people overlook until it’s gone. Poison Ivy does the same for nature. She nurtures what most ignore, yet that system sustains everything alive. Dr. Pamela Isley is right: nature deserves reverence, and Gotham’s greed is a sickness killing the planet just as men once tried to kill her.

But Ivy’s solution is merciless. To erase imbalance, she erases humanity. Batman protects the city above; Ivy protects the roots that hold it up. She could’ve been Gotham’s Captain Planet, if people valued the living world the way they worship wealth.

Catwoman

One of the greatest lines on Cowboy Carter is Beyoncé declaring, “Genres are a funny little concept… In practice, some may feel confined.” Her power isn’t just talent, it’s her refusal to be boxed in.

That same fluidity is Catwoman’s superpower. She thrives in the spaces she was never meant to enter. Her autonomy isn’t a crime. It’s a right. Bruce Wayne is a man with everything, trying to save everyone. Selina Kyle is a woman with nothing, trying to save herself. One man saves a city. One woman saves herself. But only one gets called a hero and that’s Gotham’s gendered tragedy.

Ra’s al Ghul

Ra’s al Ghul is one of Gotham’s greatest missed opportunities; not because he’s evil, but because he was almost good. He understands what Bruce never fully grasped: justice without vision simply reinforces the broken systems it claims to challenge.

But his wisdom curdled into arrogance. He decided that seeing the truth meant only his truth mattered. That’s the same delusion behind the bootstraps myth. A refusal to admit the world is far more complex than one person’s worldview. Once he forgot that, Ra’s stopped trying to save the world and started trying to remake it in his own image.

That isn’t justice but it’s vanity posing as virtue. Ra’s al Ghul could’ve been a hero if his righteousness hadn’t convinced him that every cost was justified.

The post What If Gotham’s ‘Villains’ Were Right? 6 Cases When They Actually Were appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

After years of silence, I heard a familiar cry. The hazy memory of my abandoned dream resurfaced, and I mourned to myself, “This must be it” … this is my dream’s final cry before it explodes. There were no ruptures, no vibrations that shook me awake, but I no longer heard my dream’s wail. Curiosity got the best of me as I trekked back to its unmarked grave. When I found the grave exhumed, I realized something profound: Einstein’s “law of relativity” does not only apply to vacuums and light. Just because I had forgotten, ignored, and denied my dream’s being, that did not negate its existence, nor stunt its growth.

So there I was, standing in fear as I faced my unnurtured dream. What I found was no longer a soft whisper of possibility but a nightmarish beast with claws, fangs, and deranged eyes searching mine for retribution. My survival instincts kicked in. I became Daedalus in my own mind, constructing a mental Labyrinth to contain the beast.

But peace did not come. I waited endlessly for Theseus, the hero to arrive and slay it, but no one came. The silence became louder than any cry, and anticipation turned into madness. That’s when I realized: if I wanted to live, if I wanted freedom, I would have to face my dream myself.

I entered the Labyrinth I had built and found myself cornered. The beast was fully grown now — towering, menacing. Its fiery eyes met mine, and the walls I thought would protect me disintegrated. In the darkness, I ran. I ran with no direction, no light, no guidance. Eventually, exhaustion slowed me down until I could only crawl. When I could go no further, I turned to face the beast with the little strength I had left. I braced myself for its claws and fangs, but instead, something miraculous happened.

The air shifted. The stars began to shine on me. The wind carried me, the water welcomed me, and suddenly the beast was gone. In its place, I saw my reflection: vibrant skin, glowing eyes, and wings stretching wider than I had ever dared to imagine. My dream was not my enemy. It was me — stronger, freer, and finally unbound.

With a smile, I spread my wings and took flight for the very first time.

Langston Hughes once wrote, “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” His words echo across time and space, reverberating in our bones as a reminder: do not exile your dream, do not bury it, do not confine it. Dreams may morph, twist, and grow into forms that frighten us, but they are still ours, still calling to us.

My journey through the Labyrinth of fear and denial taught me what Hughes has always reminded us: to live without dreams is to live without wings. And when we embrace them — even the ones we once feared — we discover the magic within us that can carry us higher than we ever thought possible.

So I’ll leave you with this: Hold fast to dreams, because one day, those wings will be yours too.

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Art often asks, “What does this mean?” But this piece asks something else: “Who is she? Why does she feel so familiar, so necessary, in this space?”

In the documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?, Qubilah Shabazz asks, “How does royalty stomp around in the mud and still walk with grace?” Grounded in the Stars feels like an answer. She stands, rooted. Regal without needing a crown. Graceful not in spite of the mud, but because of it.

And where she stands matters. New York City’s Times Square may be bright, but the histories she carries are heavy. She stands in the truth of who she is. She carries it all: the memories and the weight of being a Black woman in America. Being seen but unheard, expected to be strong, to be soft, to be everything, yet still invisible.

It is not just about the past. It is about the everyday. The holding. The swallowing. The rising anyway. She is stillness with intention.

The Artist Behind Grounded in the Stars

Thomas J. Price, a British sculptor, is one of those artists whose work commands attention. In his latest piece in Times Square, Grounded in the Stars, there is a striking lifelike accuracy, not just in how she looks but in how she feels. Through choices like posture, expression, and clothing, he invites us to think about how society assigns value to people based on appearance, race, and class. 

Price uses the sculpture to explore what it means to truly see someone. He reclaims this space, turning a fictional Black woman into something far beyond just a sculpture. She is a symbol of presence, power, and possibility.

A Monument Made Familiar

She’s not abstract or trapped in an art-world mystery. She’s a regular-degular Black girl in sneakers, braids, and a T-shirt, standing tall in the middle of Times Square. The bronze isn’t polished to perfection. It’s textured just enough to feel familiar. Like skin. Like fabric. Like her.

Her pose is soft, a shifting contrapposto. One hip tilted, her weight settling onto a single leg, the other at ease. It’s a posture that breathes. Ancient sculptors used it to make stone feel alive, to let bodies speak, even in stillness. Here, it speaks of confidence, ease, and presence.

This is the same pose Michelangelo gave David. White marble, mythic masculinity, carved to dominate, but Thomas J. Price gives us something else. A woman made monumental by her ordinariness. She’s not here to imitate history. She’s here to reframe it.

In her body, contrapposto becomes something else entirely. Not a reference, but a reclaiming. No crown. No sword. Just stillness. The kind that hums with quiet power, like something’s about to happen, but only on her terms. Grounded in the Stars honors the kind of Black woman we pass every day but rarely see immortalized. There’s grace in her stillness, power in her quiet. Rooted in the real, reaching toward something bigger. She feels like all of us, and more.

Public Response

That reframing doesn’t stop with the sculpture itself, it extends to how we react to her. Reactions to Grounded in the Stars have been layered. For many, it’s a breath of fresh air. A Black woman, unbothered, finally taking up space. People stopped, took photos, took it in. For Black women especially, it felt like being seen. But not everyone welcomed her.

Some questioned her clothes, others her body. It was too casual, too big, too ordinary. Not what a sculpture is “supposed” to look like. We could frame these critiques as complex cultural puzzles, something to ponder in theory. But the truth is simpler: Fatphobia exists. Racism exists. Sexism exists.

The discomfort says more than the critique ever could. This was never really about the statue. It’s about who we’ve been taught deserves to be seen, cast in bronze, made permanent, and who doesn’t. It’s the same pressure Beyoncé names in Ameriican Requiem, the expectation to fit a mold that was never made for you. Grounded in the Stars is challenging who gets to be seen, how beauty and power are defined, and what deserves to be monument-ized.

The Power of Presence

There’s something quietly defiant about just standing still. No flash. No spectacle. Just presence. Grounded in the Stars is the answer to erasure, a soft yes in a world full of no.

A body that says: “I am here. You will see me. Not because I perform. Not because I suffer. Because I breathe.” This is what existential defiance looks like: a Black woman, cast in bronze, unmoving but full of motion, grounded but reaching. Existing, without apologizing. 

Even when the world doesn’t make room for you. Even when your name is lost and your story unwritten. Even when the mud clings and no one sees the weight. Stand anyway.

Grounded in the Stars will be at Times Square until June 17, 2025.

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Grosse Pointe Garden Society is NBC’s suburban drama, a unique blend of mystery and dark humor with a heavy dose of floral passive aggression. The series follows four members of an elite garden club in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, who become entangled in a murder cover-up that threatens to unravel their seemingly perfect lives. While the show may have some tonal inconsistencies and surface-level character work, it still manages to be… weirdly addictive.

Like Grosse Pointe Garden Society‘s predecessor, Desperate Housewives, this show is a character-driven story full of quirky comedy with some edge, heartfelt moments, and small-town charm. However, it doesn’t have the larger-than-life characters you might expect. The characters here are much more down-to-earth, an interesting take on the suburban drama genre. 

Plot and Structure

Grosse Pointe Garden Society‘s real competition isn’t horticulture; it’s social warfare. Secrets bloom, alliances wilt, and every twist roots you deeper into the characters’ lives. The story is told across two timelines: the present, where the group struggles with the aftermath of their crime, and six months earlier, leading up to the murder. This non-linear approach adds mystery and layers to each character. As a viewer, I am constantly challenged to decide which timeline to trust, as each raises more questions than answers. 

Characters and Performances

The ensemble cast delivers praise-worthy performances; each actor brings depth to their respective roles. Aja Naomi King (Lessons in Chemistry, How to Get Away With Murder) plays Catherine, a real estate agent involved in a complicated affair. Melissa Fumero (Brooklyn 99) shines as Birdie, a socialite with a penchant for trouble. AnnaSophia Robb (Carrie Diaries) portrays Alice, a high school teacher whose life spirals after her dog’s murder. Ben Rappaport’s (Younger) Brett is a landscaper and father navigating personal challenges.

The show begins with a subtle call to action: What if those who always got away with their wrongdoings — just because of their wealth, status, or connections — could no longer hide behind their privilege? What if their secrets were exposed, and their comfortable lives were turned upside down? It’s a simple enough concept that most audiences can get behind. But what makes Grosse Pointe Garden Society intriguing is that the “heroes,” Catherine, Birdie, Alice, and Brett, answer this call to action, and they are just as flawed (if not worse because at some point, the “heroes” will commit murder.)

The hypocrisy of these characters serves as the perfect lens to explore the themes of privilege, corruption, and the consequences of unchecked power. Catherine, Birdie, Alice, and Brett’s audacity and lack of self-awareness lend a natural levity to the show, perfectly balancing the plot’s heaviness. For example:

• Catherine takes down a serial adulterer, who she was having an affair with while she is actively married.
• Birdie attempts to reconnect with her son, who she put up for adoption, with the hopes of not disrupting his life, while engaging in an entanglement with her son’s adoptive mom’s husband.
• Alice decides to expose a bratty teenager for murdering her dog, only to discover that he indeed is a brat, but he did not murder her dog.
• Brett is a divorcee trying to expose his ex-wife’s husband for not being a good guy while contributing to the dissolution of his best friend’s marriage.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society might be the rare story where moral ambiguity reigns supreme — and I love every minute of it! We’re more than halfway through the season and I still don’t know who the actual victims or villains are.

Character Relationships

The character relationships are essential to the Grosse Pointe Garden Society. And the standout relationship is between Birdie (Fumero) and Catherine (King). They are two bookends to each other’s journey. Birdie is a wealthy socialite and bestselling author who joins the Garden Society to fulfill court-mandated community service after a reckless driving incident. Catherine (King) is the vice president of the Garden Society and a successful real estate agent.​ She projects an image of control and perfection, embodying the ideal suburban wife and mother.

When Birdie and Catherine first meet, it’s like planting a cactus and rose together — they don’t seem to mix. However, roses and cacti can be grown together in the right conditions. Birdie is beginning her journey of redemption, while Catherine is beginning her journey of betrayal and revenge. Then, six months later, they are paired together while transporting a dead body in the trunk of their car. This twosome creates a relatable and endearing relationship that raises the show’s emotional stakes and drives the plot forward. 

Conclusion

If you’re in the mood for a visually stunning show that combines beautifully manicured cattiness with a murder twist, Grosse Pointe Garden Society is the perfect choice. The show is a feast for the eyes, from its over-the-top garden displays to the posh production design of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, life. This series offers a fresh take on the suburban drama genre with its compelling cast and intriguing premise. With its unique visual appeal, Grosse Pointe Garden Society has the potential to cultivate a dedicated following.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society is available for streaming on Peacock.

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Jackie Ormes, Eartha Kitt, Hannah Beachler, Mara Brock Akil, and Javicia Leslie are some trailblazing women who are helping make that dream come true. 

Jackie Ormes

Jackie Ormes became the first Black woman syndicated cartoonist to be published in a newspaper. She was a trailblazer who pioneered an Afrofuturism expression of writing and illustration. Ormes’ works, including Torchy Brown (1937–1938), Candy (1945), Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger (1945–1956), and Torchy Brown: Heartbeats (1950–1954), have left a lasting mark on the world.

Ormes’ comics centered on complex Black women. She utilized the “funny pages” to share stories delving into the Great Migration, romance, art, etc., while providing social, political, and environmental commentary. However, due to the period (McCarthyism) and the repression and persecution of left-wing individuals, Jackie Ormes was put under surveillance by the FBI. 

While reading Black Women in Sequence: Re-inking Comics, Graphic Novels, and Anime by Deborah Elizabeth Whaley, a passage discussing Jackie Ormes’ comic, Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger stood out. At the forefront of this comic strip is the theme of comic art within traditional art spaces. In the panels, we see our protagonists, two Black middle-class sisters, Patty-Jo and Ginger, dressed in high fashion, walking through an art museum. A Picasso-esque painting of an abstract male profile hangs on the wall. The sisters, aesthetically, seem to belong in the space, yet this Picasso painting is glaring at them. Ginger returns the look of disgust to the painting and says to Patty-Jo, “Let’s get out of here… I don’t think he approves of us!” What made Ormes such an impactful artist was her ability to simplify complex themes and impress upon the reader introspective questions.

Eartha Kitt

Ertha Kitt became the first Black Catwoman in the 1960s Batman series. She is a trailblazer whose talent transcends generations. Kitt’s unique portrayal was nothing short of iconic. She redefined the character with her distinct purr-like dialogue and seductive roll of her r’s.

Kitt was referred to as “the most exciting woman in the world” by Orson Welles, and Batman producer Charles Fitzsimons remarked, “Eartha had a natural cat-like style that made her perfect for the role.” While this praise was deserved, Kitt’s portrayal of Catwoman came with racial barriers. Because of Standards and Practices regulations, interracial romance could not be depicted on television, which stopped the Batman-Catwoman love story. Eartha Kitt capitalized on the opportunity and without a romantic subplot, Kitt’s rendition of Catwoman emerged as a striking figure — elegant, enigmatic, and undeniably dangerous.

In Thursday’s Child, a book by Eartha Kitt, she reminisces about her first experience with theater as a teenager: “I saw the world in a different color. Everything was rosy, lavender, grey, and alive.” Kitt understood the gravity of the moment and the power of her voice, and she used hers to speak up for the voiceless. Unfortunately, Kitt’s career suffered (while under surveillance by the CIA), but in true Catwoman form, her career was able to breathe in a new life with her portrayal of more iconic characters.    

Hannah Beachler

Hannah Beachler is the first Black woman to win an Academy Award for Best Production Design for Black Panther (2018). She is a trailblazer who can translate Afrofuturism into a world that exists beyond our imaginations.

As a production designer, Beachler serves as the cinematic architect, shaping the visual landscape of the story. Beachler possesses a remarkable talent for reclaiming time and space, presenting them in a way that constructs a future world that the audience can understand, engage with, and somehow remember.

In a 2018 interview with City Lab Detroit, Beachler discussed the extensive research and intentionality that went into every detail of designing. There is a moment where she discusses the cityscape of Wakanda’s capital, Golden City, and the first building that stands out is the palace, followed by the records hall. It’s a stunning revelation because, like Beachler explains, as a Black American, you’re dealing with the erasure of our ancestors, the rejection of countries. In this fantastical world, untouched by colonization, where tradition and lineage have remained intact, the records hall emerges as one of the most prominent buildings.

Mara Brock Akil 

Mara Brock Akil is the co-creator of Black Lightning (2018–2021), which is one of the first significant superhero shows with a Black lead on the CW Network. Brock Akil is a trailblazer who uses her pen to tell stories where we are celebrated.

Mara Brock Akil’s influence on television is profound. Her work, including Girlfriends (2000–2008), The Game (2006–2015), Being Mary Jane (2013–2019), Love Is (2018), and more, center around authentic and complex Black stories. Black Lightning is no different.

Black Lightning is an action-filled show with tons of political and social commentary, but at its core, it is a show about family. At the 2017 ATX Festival Panel, Brock Akil shared how her introduction to comics stemmed from falling in love with her husband, Salim Akil, who brought a box of comics home when they moved in together. She states, “It is through my husband and children, I’ve really opened up to how to tell stories in this medium.” What resonates with Brock Akil’s words is that when watching Black Lightning, it doesn’t matter how extreme the situation is or how isolated a character feels, through their love as a family, the members of the Pierce unit will always be okay.      

Javicia Leslie

Javicia Leslie made her mark in history as the first Black actress to take on the role of Batwoman. Beginning her journey as Ryan Wilder in the CW series Batwoman in 2020, she succeeded Ruby Rose and brought a fresh and dynamic perspective to the superhero. Leslie is a trailblazer who showed us that everyone deserves a hero.

Bruce and Kate Wayne often symbolize privilege, and the city of Gotham shines the brightest light on them, with and without the cowl. However, Ryan Wilder is a character who has an underprivileged background. Leslie brilliantly harnessed that juxtaposition and embodied a Batwoman performance that was so raw and endearing that it made “The Bat” relatable. Her depiction invited new audiences to connect with Gotham’s biggest hero.

Regrettably, this groundbreaking moment for Black representation was met with a barrage of racist backlash from social media trolls. Yet, Leslie’s resilience shone through, never allowing it to dim Ryan Wilder’s light. In Batwoman, Season 2, Episode 15: “Armed and Dangerous,” there’s a scene where Javicia Leslie truly comes into her own as Batwoman. One of Ryan Wilder’s closest allies is in a life-threatening situation, and due to systemic obstacles, she can’t protect him. Ryan Wilder stands in her Bat suit in the Batcave, without the cowl, fully embracing the moment’s weight. Leslie delivers an emotionally charged performance that immediately distinguishes Ryan Wilder as Batwoman. While Bruce and Kate Wayne aim to keep Gotham safe, Ryan Wilder is focused on protecting all the citizens of Gotham, even the ones the world pretends not to see.    

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Black Lightning Season 3 has been stellar!

The storyline has taken on an institutionalized genre feel, and it has caused some serious issues for our favorite family, the Pierces.

This season we find Freeland under martial law by the government. The secretive government organization ASA has illegally experimented on the citizens of Freeland for over thirty years, which resulted in the creation of several meta-humans, including Black Lightning. In Season 2, the show planted all the necessary seeds that have the Pierce family in the Season 3 conundrum:

1. A metahuman army would be the most powerful army, and whoever is able to capture and sell the metahuman army will be extremely powerful and rich.
2. The Markovians are evil, and ASA is here to stop them.
3. Freeland is ground zero for the “inevitable” war.

At the top of Season 3, the ASA has planted the seed that they are the “institution” that Freeland must trust to fight the threat of the Markovians by any means necessary. The ASA believes in putting the group ahead of the most basic of human values (i.e., putting metahumans, including children into cages). The Pierce family wants to save the city, and they are fully aware that the ASA is sketchy and corrupt, but there’s one problem. The big bad Agent Odell (head of the ASA) has done an exquisite job of isolating the members of the Pierce family from one another. I would like to further examine the initial actions that Lynn, Jefferson, and Anissa individually took to fight the institution.

Lynn Stewart’s approach is to work within the system to achieve the acquired change that she desires. Due to the evil nature of the ASA and Lynn’s constant work with them, it is easy to write her off as a sellout not only to her community, but to her family full of metahumans. However, that judgment is an overly simplified way of viewing her character choices (or this is an overly complicated way of examining it, either way). Lynn’s idealistic nature ultimately gets the better of her, and she finds herself on the common trope of “the road to hell is full of good intentions.” However, it can be easily argued that if Lynn were not working with the ASA, many more metahuman lives would have been taken and the conditions for the people of Freeland would have been worse.

Lynn’s approach of infiltrating the system to spark change is akin to historical and current political figures, who have joined forces with organizations and systems that have negatively impacted people in hopes of sparking change or, at the very least, making the world a better place.

Jefferson Pierce trades his freedom to the ASA for the “guaranteed” protection of his family. His approach is very much the approach often heard: “conform or be crushed.” He stays within the ASA’s care and he uses his powers to fight alongside the ASA as he helps discover intel for them. However, this is a choice that is made purely for the protection of his girls. When he leaves the ASA’s care, he takes a strong stance against the injustice plaguing Freeland. Jefferson adopts a bit of the “turn the other cheek” mentality and gets pummeled by the ASA guards in the process, thus further separating him from the ASA. It took Jefferson a while to join the rebellion, but after the death of a Garfield student, Jefferson can no longer straddle the fence.

Jefferson’s approach involves a lot of critical thinking and patience that can sometimes be annoying and misrepresented in society. In real life, when events happen that can seem so obvious about what is right or what is wrong, we tend to quickly hear some version of the sentiment, “if you don’t stand for something, you fall for anything.” However, the reality is, individuals do sometimes need time to grasp and understand what is happening before deciding what is best for them. 

Anissa’s approach is much more impulsive and showcases her youth compared to her parents. She creates a dual secret identity as Blackbird and begins to lead the metas through the ASA perimeter. Due to her secret identity and extremely dangerous activities with freeing the metas of Freeland, she and Jefferson’s relationship goes through a rough patch. The strife in their relationship is pushed even further after Anissa loses her powers during an escape run gone wrong. However, after Jefferson helps Anissa by helping Grace escape to safety, they seem to patch things up rather quickly. 

Anissa is the easiest person to root for out of the three; she sided with what the audience views as right from the beginning. However, Anissa has the least amount of factors and “things” to lose when it comes to making choices about how to stand up to such a macro entity, such as the ASA in times like that.

Ultimately, I have really appreciated all the nuance that Season 3 has shown when dealing with an institutionalized problem. It mirrors our current political and social state at the moment. Black Lightning does a great job this season of character examination and exploring the complications that people and society often have without placing too much judgment on the beloved characters.   

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Anissa Pierce is the extraordinary daughter of Jefferson and Lynn Pierce in the CW superhero series Black Lightning.

Over the past three seasons, we have watched Anissa grow into an even more resolute, intelligent, and openminded young woman, who happens to also be two different superheroes: Thunder and Blackbird. The show does an excellent job of highlighting Anissa’s superhero character evolution, but I feel like the unsung hero of Anissa’s character evolution is her as a lover.

In Season 3 of Black Lightning, we get to see Anissa apply those strong characteristics that she has as a person and superhero (resolute, loyal, etc.) to her love life. So, for this article, I would like to take a stroll down memory lane to highlight the evolution of Anissa as a lover. She has evolved from that emotionally unavailable lover that you should probably never get attached to, to Season 3’s “I don’t care that you’re a leopard, or an old man, or a shapeshifter. I love you,” softest lover that there ever was.

The first time we are introduced to Anissa as a lover, we find her in bed with her ex-girlfriend, Chenoa. She is corny, to say the least, but still charming. Anissa doesn’t have the most game, but she doesn’t need it; she is attractive, smart, ambitious, and you know, all the things that you hope to find in a romantic partner. After Anissa charms Chenoa and the viewers with her corny pick-up line, we get the first inkling of a red flag. Chenoa tells Anissa that she wants more from their relationship. Rather than Anissa being honest with her intentions regarding their relationship, she manipulates the conversation to victimize herself. Not only is this the first sign of just how emotionally unavailable Anissa is, but it also exposes a manipulation tactic that she will continue to use to justify her self preserving behavior. In Anissa’s defense, she was reeling from the trauma of being kidnapped and almost forced to be apart of a sex trafficking ring.

It’s worth noting how Black Lightning blends Anissa’s romantic evolution with the real-world careers of its cast, like American actress China James Anne McClain, who plays her younger sister Jennifer. McClain’s career spans across music, Disney’s Wicked World, and the Rise of Red franchise. She began acting in the television series Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, where she played the fan-favorite character Jazmine Payne, and later became a member of the sister girl group McClain alongside Sierra and Lauryn. With guidance from music producer Michael McClain and her mother Shontell McClain, China ventured into her musical career, releasing her first professional single that climbed the Billboard charts. Collaborations with Nick Jonas, her role as Charlotte McKenzie in Grown Ups, and her starring part in Disney Channel’s A.N.T. Farm solidified her as one of Hollywood’s biggest young stars. She even reprised her role in OWN’s revival of Tyler Perry’s beloved TV series.

The second time we meet Anissa as a lover, she is “innocently” inquiring about a pretty stranger’s reading list. The stranger happens to be Grace Choi. As a comic fan, it is an exciting moment, because who doesn’t love ThunderGrace! But, objectively, Anissa’s wandering eyes are a bit trifling. Even though she and Chenoa were having problems, they were still in an exclusive relationship.

The third time we meet Anissa as a lover, she is at a party dancing with Grace after avoiding her girlfriend Chenoa. When Anissa is confronted by Chenoa, she gets defensive and uses her manipulation tactic with the line, “I’m not cheating, unless dancing in spandex is cheating.” This is true, but the entire situation is trifling, and it is all because Anissa was not being honest with Chenoa by saying she was not emotionally available. This scene is pivotal for Anissa’s love evolution. It is where the seed of growth is planted because she does open up and confide in Grace by the end of the party.

The fifth time we see Anissa as a lover, the hints of a selfless protector and caregiver come out. Anissa and her new friend Grace are being harassed. Anissa fights the bad guys off and protects Grace with her superhuman abilities. But, you could argue that she would do that for anyone, not just her romantic interest. However, when Anissa is taking care of Grace, this is the first time we see a bare and soft side to Anissa as a romantic partner. She showcases her ability to be endearing and gentle. It’s subtle, but promising nonetheless.

The sixth time we see Anissa as a lover, she gives us some deja vu of her old ways. She gives Grace some similar treatment that she gave to Chenoa at the party, but worse because Grace and Anissa were not in a relationship. However, after a sisterly check from Jennifer Pierce, Anissa has an open and honest conversation with Grace, apologizing and asking to take their relationship seriously.

The seventh time we see Anissa as a lover, we see her in her most vulnerable and honest state. She believes that she has lost her Uncle Gambi, and she tells Grace just how much she means to her. It’s a beautiful moment. Grace shares her fears concerning Anissa and rather than Anissa using her manipulation tactics (#growth), she listens to her.

The eighth time we see Anissa as a lover, she is carefree in love with Grace. However, Anissa is so caught up in the love and fun of her new relationship that she is oblivious to the obvious omissions that Grace is beginning to show. Anissa is ready to take her relationship with Grace to the next level, and Grace literally pulls an “Anissa” on Anissa but to the extreme and disappears.

The ninth time we see Anissa as a lover, we see a resolute woman in a broken state of love, desperate to understand why Grace has left her. Anissa’s family raises their concerns about continuing her search for Grace and she even finds a new love interest in the meantime, but nothing can shake Anissa’s undoubted love of Grace.

The tenth time we see Anissa as a lover, she professes and shows all of us just how deep her love is for Grace. Grace shows up out of the blue and tries her best to tell Anissa not to love her, but nothing can shake Anissa’s resolute love for Grace (even Grace!) And she delivers my favorite ThunderGrace scene of the season, thus evolving from the emotionally unavailable lover that you should probably never get attached to, to this current season’s “I don’t care that you’re a leopard, or an old man, or a shapeshifter. I love you” kind of lover. It has been beautiful to watch!

McClain’s work ties back into the show’s central themes of family, growth, and resilience—qualities mirrored in Anissa’s arc. Like her younger sister on-screen, Anissa’s story is about finding herself while still being accountable to the people she loves. And just like McClain’s dedicated fanbase (her self-proclaimed biggest fan clubs across social media), Anissa has earned her own loyal following as viewers watch her transform from self-preserving to self-sacrificing.

Anissa’s evolution as a lover could be its own short story—a layered, emotional journey filled with mistakes, vulnerability, and hard-won growth. By the time she stands firmly by Grace in Season 3, accepting her for who she is in all forms, Anissa proves that love, like heroism, demands honesty, openness, and courage.

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Ambitions is a new and juicy soap opera on the OWN network.

After watching the first three episodes of this dramatic and action-filled show, I can say without a doubt that Ambitions hits all of the right beats! This multigenerational family saga deals with some of the most powerful and deceitful players in the city of Atlanta.

There is Stephanie Carlisle (Robin Givens), the wife of Atlanta Mayor Evan Lancaster (Brian White), Amara Hughes (Essence Atkins), a lawyer in U.S. Attorney’s Office who has newly arrived in Atlanta with her husband, Titus Hughes (Kendrick Cross), Rondell (Brely Evans), Atlanta Mayor Evan Lancaster’s sister, who runs a not-quite-profitable restaurant called Thelma’s Place and Bella (Erica Page), a fashion designer in Atlanta who designs all of Stephanie Carlisle’s dresses for her. And of course like all great soaps these relationships are all romantically interwoven with each other and hit all the right notes for those big soap character archetypes.

However, what makes Ambitions stand out are the storylines and relationship parallels with some of the most famous Shakespearean tragedies! As Stephanie’s mom, Mrs. Carlisle brilliantly says in episode 2 of Ambitions “the classics never get old”.

Hamlet

Most of us know the general story of Hamlet or we at least know the story of the Lion King.  A shady brother exacts revenge on the other sibling because of some unjust event that occurred in the past. Ambitions loosely depict this with the relationship between the two sorority sisters from Spelman —  Stephanie Carlisle and Amara Hughes. Without giving anything away, I can say that their relationship was formed through a lifetime bond of sisterhood until one of the ladies betrayed the other in the ultimate break in girl code and the other sorority sister is seeking revenge some 20 years later.  

The ladies’ rivalry is filled with twist and turns that will have you reassigning who really is Mufasa and who is Scar with every new revelation of their backstory. I believe the Stephanie and Amara’s relationship is going to serve as the lifeline of the show because it is both meaningful and entertaining! I hope their relationship does not end like Claudius or Scar but Ambitions is unpredictable and so are these ladies, so who really knows?

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

Stephanie Carlisle is a nuanced Ice Queen who conflates traditional morality and immorality lines constantly. However, she is a powerhouse of a human who hits her goals by any means necessary, so it’s a normal thought to think, who was she raised by? And the simple answer is wolves, or as I like to think of them, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

Stephen Carlisle is Stephanie’s father and he has all of the ingredients of Macbeth, he is insatiable, he has power ambitions for its own sake which is the moral of the Shakespearean tragedy. Mr. Carlisle is a cold and overbearing father, whom Stephanie is at all times seeking approval from. Their relationship is complicated, to say the least, but after the first introductory scene of the two of them interacting, Stephanie’s personality makes perfect sense.

Mrs. Carlisle is low key my favorite player in the entire game of Ambitions. Just like Lady Macbeth you are never quite sure if she is a victim or a villain in the entire story. Her character is absolutely brilliant and seems to have knowledge of everything. Ambitions doesn’t exactly play the introduction of Mrs. Carlisle quite like Shakespeare introduces Lady Macbeth, however, the more the layers of her character is revealed the more you begin to question who is really making these callous moves in the Carlisle household?

The Carlisle’s are definitely a B storyline throughout the show, but their relationship is complicated and entertaining. They are the quintessential example of life partners and I look forward to the reveal to learn exactly what their “big” ambition is.

Romeo and Juliet

Now, I know we all have seen, or read some variation of the tragic tale of two young people who are born in the midst of feuding family rivalries that betray everything they have been taught for their love. I personally am anti the traditional Romeo and Juliet story of two lovestruck teenagers that confuse lust for love and idiotically kill themselves. However, the Romeo and Juliet storyline in Ambitions is so good and I just know it’s going to break my heart but I am here for the ride!

In Ambitions, the Carlisle family does philanthropic work and fundraisers to raise awareness on the Opioid crisis that has stolen the life of Stephanie’s sister, Tracy, who overdosed on a drug from Purifoy Pharmaceuticals. Naturally, the elite and powerful Carlisle family is in a feud with the Purifoy family (the perfect set up for the Montagues vs Capulets).

Without giving anything away, Stephanie and Evan Lancaster have the sweetest, most innocent daughter in college who is a theater major named Carly  (Kayla Smith). She is Ambitions’ Juliet. After only three episodes I can’t quite call it love between Carly and Romeo, but the nature of Carly and her Romeo’s love is intimate, intense, and done in secrecy. I believe everyone who watches will root for them, or at minimum root for the happiness of Carly. You know just how deep the feud of the families is, and you know this relationship is doomed. There is even a Mercutio, Titus Hughes, Amara’s husband who works as an attorney for Purifoy Pharmaceuticals    

Ambitions premiere June 18th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on OWN

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Ambitions is the new soap on OWN that will leave you wanting more!

This show takes you on an adventure through an intimate portrait of the many complicated and loving relationships of some Atlanta’s most elite and prolific people. This ongoing drama features the lives of many characters and their familial, platonic and intimate relationships. As someone who has never drawn to soap operas, I must say that Ambitions breaks the mold by providing in-depth story development that will leave you fantasizing about living in that world! It hits all of those universal dramatic beats that we all are familiar with, but these characters and their relationships are the secret ingredient that makes this show an event!

Ambitions is filled with a ton of characters and storylines that are sure to capture your attention, so I have put together a cheat sheet of everything to know going into it!

Key Players

Ice Queen of Ambitions

Stephanie Carlisle-Lancaster (Robin Givens)

Stephanie Carlisle is the wife of Atlanta Mayor Evan Lancaster. She is from a prestigious and affluent family in Atlanta, GA. Her true loyalty is to her own family’s prestigious law firm, Stephanie desperately wants to be in charge of the Carlisle family law firm.

Dirty Mayor of Ambitions

Evan Lancaster (Brian White)

Evan is a social climber whose political ambitions are so robust that he begins to lose all his morality and loyalty. Evan is willing to do anything to get to the next level in his career. Evan seems to be in constant competition with his wife trying to level up to the pedestal that he has put her on.

Princess of Ambitions

Amara Hughes (Essence Atkins)

Amara is a lawyer in U.S. Attorney’s Office who has newly arrived in Atlanta with her husband,

Titus. Based off the way Amara presents herself to the rest of the world you would think that she is the sweet and polar opposite of the Ice Queen Stephanie, but we quickly learn that they are two sides of the same coin with a rivalry that is sure to keep you tuned in.

Prince of Ambitions

Titus Hughes (Kendrick Cross)

Titus is an attorney who recently moved with his wife Amara (Essence Atkins) to Atlanta. Titus has been hired as in-house counsel for a big pharma company run by Hunter Purifoy, who is fighting a class action suit brought by the powerful Carlisle family. Titus on the surface seems to be a clean cut, good guy but he has made a major career change and temptation surrounds him. Can he remain the pure good guy? (I highly doubt it, but I am here for it!)

The Fav of Ambitions

Rondell (Brely Evans)

Rondell is Atlanta Mayor Evan Lancaster’s (Brian White) sister, who runs a not-quite-profitable restaurant called Thelma’s Place. Rondell represents the around the way girl who allows her passion for preserving her community to lead her path.

The Seamstress of Ambitions

Bella (Erica Page) is a fashion designer in Atlanta who designs all of Stephanie Carlisle’s dresses for her.

Do Not Trust Anyone!

It is no spoiler that a soap opera called Ambitions is filled with a plethora of characters that you should not trust. However, saying that each character has a “plot twist” moment does not do it justice. Each and every character, except for maybe Carly Lancaster (Kayla Smith), the daughter of Stephanie and Evan Lancaster have an “And I oop–” moment.  

One of the characters is put in a threatening situation and you will think you know who is responsible but as soon as it is revealed, I promise you, you will have an “And I oop–” moment.

Betrayal is the worst!

Like all great dramas, Ambitions unites all of its characters in the shared symptom of betrayal. All of these characters are guilty of betraying at least one other person on the show. Whether it was intentional or not, whether it was for love or lust, every single one of these characters has betrayed the person or people who have only tried to love them the best they knew how.

Have fun while watching!

Ambitions is a fun time! It truly is a multigenerational show that everyone can enjoy and the story has a great structure. It is not procedural per se like Law And Order but each act hits the nail on the head with cliffhangers. This show is rooted in its character development, therefore and it is almost impossible to watch Ambitions without being surprised. I can not wait to watch it while it’s on with Twitter in the background. There will be a plentiful amount of gifs and gif reactions that are sure to come from this show.

Everything is rooted in love!

As over the top and grimy as some of the events may be that occur on this show, everyone’s real ambition is rooted in love. Now, the love may be misguided and skewed, but it is still in its simplest form, love. Every single relationship on this show has some raw level of love which is why the betrayal of everything serves as such a major catalyst for everything and everyone.

Ambitions premiere June 18th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on OWN

The post Here Are The Key Players in the new OWN TV show ‘Ambitions’ appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

The OWN TV series Ambitions explores the sexy, deceitful machinations of love, power, and politics in America’s hottest urban mecca, Atlanta, Georgia.

The show centers on the intense rivalry between formidable legal eagles Stephanie Lancaster (Robin Givens) and Amara Hughes (Essence Atkins), former best friends from college who find themselves adversaries in both their personal and professional lives.

This drama is filled with memorable characters and messy relationships that you can not help but love, there is no one more fierce in Ambitions than Stephanie Lancaster played by the incomparable Robin Givens. Stephanie is the kind of character that you will hate and love at the same time and if you enjoyed watching Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones I feel confident that you will love Stephanie Lancaster. Here are 4 reasons why you will fall in love with her!

An Ice Queen with Depth

During our set visit in Atlanta for the upcoming series, we spoke with the show’s creator Jamey Giddens. He stated that Stephanie was not only meant to be an ice queen, but a nuanced and layered character that you will hate to love. From the initial meeting of Givens in Ambitions, it is clear this woman is cold but has the ability to be extremely vulnerable.

Robin Givens spoke about her approach to the role and she said “ [Ambitions] has been a special experience. You forget that you are doing a show that people will watch. It has been such a nice environment being in Atlanta has been wonderful, the characters have been wonderful, the script has been wonderful, it has been such a loving environment that you actually forget that you are doing a TV show”.

This type of environment has allowed Robin to explore the character, Stephanie. She’s able to add layers and not be confined to a box that some may attach to common character tropes.

After watching the first three episodes of Ambitions it felt good to see that Stephanie Lancaster is kindred to Cersei Lannister. On the surface, she is a woman with a heart made of ice, but her backstory is revealed involving her former best friend Amara Hughes, it becomes clear that the betrayal has left an everlasting mark on Stephanie. Also, similar to Cersei, Stephanie is a tough woman that has virtually no vulnerable spots except for her children and sibling Tracy (in a non-incest way).  

Warrior Against the Patriarchy

One of my favorite aspects of the Stephanie Lancaster character is that she is a villain with a cause. She seems to be at all times the smartest and most resourceful person in the room, but she is overlooked constantly by her father, Stephen Carlisle and her husband, the mayor of Atlanta, Evan Lancaster.

Through the relationship with the men closest in her life, it is clear that Stephanie is in an unspoken battle against patriarchy. The relationship between Stephanie and her father reveals real insecurity within herself. She is in control of so many things but with her Daddy, she is just a girl who is constantly seeking approval from a vicious man, so inevitable, she falls short every time.

Resilient

As in charge and villain-esque as Stephanie Lancaster may be, she is a character with a tragic background surrounded by people who have everything except her best interest at heart. From Stephanie’s perspective her best friend served her the ultimate betrayal, the love of her life abandoned her, her husband is known as “the dirty mayor” of Atlanta, and her father is constantly dismissing her efforts. And through it all, Stephanie still continues on with her ambitions with her head held high while loving and supporting her daughter fiercely beyond the objections of others.

Even though Stephanie Lancaster has all the signs of the typical villain, how can you not stand a strong woman with the gusto to not let anything stand in her way no matter how hurtful it all may be!

Wardrobe

Another reason why you will fall in love with Stephanie Lancaster is her impeccable taste in clothes. We have seen Robin Givens give some iconic looks early on in her career in the film, Boomerang. In Ambitions, Stephanie steps it up a notch! If I may be so bold to say that she even gives the iconic fashion character Olivia Pope a run for her money! Stephanie wears power suits with flare. She is always in color with a trendy fit while taking charge and looking absolutely fabulous following her own ambitions!

The entire cast brings the glitz and glamour of Atlanta to the forefront and Stephanie Lancaster is leading the charge with the help of her fashion designer, Bella (Erica Page), who designs all of Stephanie dresses. As much fun as it is to watch Stephanie get styled by Bella, the hidden secrets between the two women create a juicy relationship that is constantly on the bubble to burst and selfishly of me, I hope their stylist, client relationship never falls apart.

Ambitions premiere June 18th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on OWN

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