was sansalicent

People are trying so hard to make Melissa the anti Shauna, who actually built a new life, had a family and became a good wife and mother that they’re missing a few red flags. Melissa lied to her wife about her past and connection to her mother, because she caught feelings after stalking her for years, taking away Alex’s ability to truly consent. Melissa also somehow knows a lot about what happened at Lottie’s cult surrounding Nat and Kevyn’s deaths meaning she has either been keeping tabs on them or started investigating the girls after hearing about Nat’s death, she also drove to Shauna’s house in another state to leave the tape knowing how paranoid and violent she can be. I don’t think she was trying to kill Shauna or Lottie or cause anyone physical harm and I think she probably believes what she’s saying but she hasn’t actually healed, she still has major boundary issues that she fails to recognise and has sabotaged her new life and family (perhaps subconsciously) by sending that tape to the ex she fears and faked her death to get away from.

I think the past couple of episodes have proved that Nat was not a bad or weak leader. She knows how to handle a crisis and she does have the respect of the group overall. She takes charge when it comes to finding the survivors and again when it comes to finding rescue. Natalie was leader for months with no issue, Nat was the leader after the cabin fire, which they managed to keep burning. Nat was their leader when they built a village, raised animals and created a thriving community. Of course, everyone pitched in using their own skills and abilities because that’s how community building works but Nat has shown she’s capable of bringing people together, that she’s pragmatic and grounded in reality. Lottie saw that in her, Ben saw that in her and I would argue Jackie saw that in her and that’s why she was so mean to her because out there, Nat was naturally what Jackie tried to be. A leader.

Her downfall came when it became about the life or death decisions. When she had to decide to execute/imprison a man she cared about. She did not feel comfortable having all that power despite her leadership skills. She also wanted to be fair and let the group put things to a vote instead of overruling them based on what she thought was right. Which is a good thing but when you’re in the wilderness it might not always work out for the best. She wasn’t capable of handing out harsh punishments, even if it would have stopped the girls from pushing her boundaries. Shauna knew this was her weakness and used it to her advantage.

Natalie saved them out there. She did enough out there to earn their gratitude, enough that Tai repeatedly pays for her rehab 25 years later despite them not really being friends. No one can deny Nat’s impact because she had weaknesses.