Bright Light #2: Focusing on Lux
Since the awesome reception from the first portion of our Life Unexpected series, we’ve been anxious to start writing our next part. Only, once these cupcakes finished rewatching the first season, we realized … we had too much to say! Originally, this entry was going to be about Cate *AND* Lux, but we decided to go ahead and dedicate it to Lux. On Monday, we’ll have an extra entry dedicated to Cate and who knows… maybe a few other surprise entries up our sleeves.
BTW, in case you guys haven’t caught the new teaser for the new season, take a gander here.
Red Velvet: Lux is the catalyst in the world of Life Unexpected. While Baze and Cate’s lives are just as central to the storyline, she is the reason there is a story to watch at all. I loved her quick introduction to the audience as this no-nonsense foster kid wanting to get emancipated and looking for her birth parents. From the “you can’t be him” she directed at Baze or the vulnerability she displayed at seeing Cate for the first time, you wanted her to get a happy ending within minutes of tuning in (at least I did!).
She’s just such a strong character. Ryan described her perfectly during “Storm Unweathered” when he told Lux how it’s easy to forget what she’s been through because she seems so together most of the time. She had to grow up, and take initiative at an early age (quite the opposite of her parents, right?). It’s really amazing when you consider what she’s gone through. But I think the closer she got to both Cate and Baze, the more we saw some of that forced togetherness unravel (in a good way). Especially when it came to Cate. At first, I wondered why Lux was placing all the blame on Cate and why she seemed to hold her to a completely different standard than Baze. I actually got kind of frustrated with it because Cate was trying so hard and it seemed so easy for Baze (clearly it wasn’t either). But then, when Lux broke down during the family evaluation with Fern - your heart just broke for her. Even though I couldn’t personally relate, I got it.
I think with every episode, we’ve seen more and more layers of Lux’s character. What she’s gone through, why she’s angry, what she’s hoped for. It’s been so engaging to watch her slowly let her parents in and to also let herself be a kid while retaining her sense of self. I think that’s what I love most about her character - her mix of strength and vulnerability. I can’t wait to see what Season 2 has in store for her.
Funfetti: It’s nice to find complexity in a character again. Lux continues to amaze me. One minute I have her figured out, and the next she has stumped me. She presents this tough exterior, and has become so adept at hiding all her insecurities and unsettling memories from the past. All I can say is BRAVO. Because I almost forget she isn’t 25, and has had very little stability in her life.
And that’s what I love about her. These conflicting qualities. When, oh when, will the two collide and find a peaceful medium? I am dying to find out.
The fact that she was forced to deal with such truths at an early age is startling. Her mom not coming back; couples preferring to adopt babies. It is this understanding that made her the teenager who met her parents the first time, when she was asking for their signatures to be emancipated. (“My reality was 2 more years of foster care until I did something to change it.”) Never once thinking, she would finally meet them and maybe get to know them. (Her dreams would come true.) Later, that same understanding made her confront Bug about his verbal attacks and mistreatment, even though she knew she risked losing him.
SHE IS BRAVE.
She’s also idealistic. I don’t believe a completely jaded teenager would have tried to make it work with Cate and Baze. So even though she didn’t get emancipated, she embraced this rare situation. Once her own story found an “unexpected” happy ending, she starts to believe others can have it too. Tasha and her mom. Cate with Baze. Despite all the hardship, she still believes that good can happen. Even if it takes effort and time.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to imagine where Lux is coming from. But I never feel alienated from her character. In fact, I empathize more. I had two parents to raise me, a sister to make life a little more exciting (and annoying), and one home. Sure, this life has never been perfect but I have never felt unwanted, or abandoned. And I hope that if things had been different, I’d conquer life similarly to Lux – independently, bravely, and always looking fabulous in a knit hat.
What are your thoughts on Lux? Share your thoughts below.
Photo Credits (in order of images): WSJ, IDSNews.com, SideReel
