‘Summer House’s’ Lindsay Hubbard Is Bravo’s First Super Villain

Bravo is a network known for its villains. They populate from franchise to franchise, fueling the reality TV drama with their ego-driven antics. However, while villains may abound, for someone to be a Super Villain suggests a certain elevation to the art of villainy. Villains can be sloppy, they can leave traces, and they can even revel in their own awfulness. And that’s just Tom Sandoval from Vanderpump Rules. A Super Villain, on the contrary, has to be slick, self-aware, and constantly in control.

Lindsay Hubbard may not top everyone’s personal list of Bravo’s villains but don’t be fooled by her alter-ego’s daily desk job as the founder of Hubb House Public Relations. Good public relations is all about controlling the story. Not every villain knows their power, but Lindsay seems to be master of hers. Her ability to spin the story in her favor has been honed by years of working in PR and is on display in each of her reality TV and media appearances.

Summer House

For years, this group of friends has been spending their weekends, from Memorial Day to Labour Day, at one of the most exclusive beaches on the East Coast. As soon as they arrive, they throw themselves into this luxury lifestyle.

Release Date

January 9, 2017

Cast

Kyle Cooke , Lindsay Hubbard , Carl Radke , Amanda Batula

Seasons

8

Lindsay Hubbard’s Super Villain Origin Story

In the age of anti-heroes, every Super Villain has a backstory that highlights events in their past that led to their origin as an antagonist. In the first season of Summer House, Lindsay inadvertently spells out her Super Villain origins when describing her estranged relationship with her mother, saying: “I have abandonment issues. Almost eight years ago, I stopped talking to my mom. I can’t continue putting pressure on my boyfriend to fill the voids of, like, me needing love and attention and whatever.” Her desire to control the narrative in the relationship and to have people prove their loyalty to her has given rise to an almost dictatorial give-and-take within Lindsay’s friendships and romantic relationships.”I’ve fought for a relationship with my mom for such a long time. I will give any relationship in my life my everything, but if you f—ing cannot support me, then I need you not around me,” she once said firmly. Based on Lindsay’s past reaction to any form of disagreement from the Summer House cast, “support” seems to mean unquestioningly following Lindsay’s lead.

Super Villains have superhuman abilities, or, in the absence of a specific superpower, a genius intellect coupled with a skill set that enables them to enact their diabolical schemes. For Lindsay, her scheme is to portray her life as perfect. If she is single, then it is “Hot Hubb Summer” and every man is on the table. If she is in a relationship, then that man is a knight-in-shining-armor type who gives her everything she needs. Until he isn’t and he doesn’t. Lindsay’s villainous superpower is narrative control, perfectly suited to a PR magnate. Her genius is her ability to spin the narrative however it suits her, through blame-shifting, gaslighting, “secret” planting, or through sheer will.

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In season four, Lindsay begins to mention the specific timeline she has planned for her life. By season five, she has an on-paper list of everything she wants to achieve in her relationship with then-boyfriend Stephen “Stravy” Traversie. The list includes a plan to live together, get engaged, and initiate attempts to get pregnant within two years. Her now accelerated timeline can be seen in her most recent relationship with co-star Carl Radke. Their on-again, off-again relationship was labeled as a friendship for some time, despite various attempts to date and “hookups” throughout the years. The two announced that they were going to commit to a relationship at Amanda Batula and Kyle Cook‘s wedding at the end of season six of Summer House. However, Lindsay allegedly spent that night in bed with Southern Charm alum Austen Kroll, who claimed she initiated a hook-up attempt. Lindsay held firm to her narrative that nothing inappropriate happened that evening, and she and Carl’s relationship continued to move forward at a swift pace. They were engaged by the end of season seven, seemingly in keeping with Lindsay’s timeline.

In season seven, Danielle Olivera, Lindsay’s side-kick gal pal, tries to point out that despite Lindsay painting their relationship as a perfect picture, the speed at which the two are moving is surprising. Lindsay ends up icing her out all summer as a result. Since filming ended, Carl has called off the wedding and, in a teaser for the upcoming season, he claims that Lindsay has been well aware of the issues in the relationship. This implies that she has been working hard behind the scenes to make sure their relationship was portrayed a certain way on camera, despite their off-camera reality. In the past, other cast members have accused Lindsay of holding on to information to speak about issues on camera, rather than addressing them at the moment and on the side, like a true friend. These habits of attempting to control the narrative and exposing other people’s flaws on camera have often landed her on the outs with her share house roommates.

Lindsay Hubbard Has a Hench

Super Villains often have sidekicks, known as “henchmen.” In Natalie Zina Walschots‘s novel Hench, the title signals a gender-neutral shift towards dropping the “men” when referring to these villainous sidekicks. In that spirit, the most obvious hench in Lindsay Hubbard’s universe is the long-time best friend and gal-pal, Danielle. Danielle has been there in support of Lindsay, backing her friend no matter what conflict she finds herself in. She cheers on each of Lindsay’s relationships, while still being realistic with her friend, which proves tricky at times with Lindsay’s quick-temper. Danielle, as a good friend, tries to find the gentlest way to suggest that maybe Lindsay needs to take off her rosé-tinted glasses once in a while.

At the season six reunion, Paige Desorbo comments: “There is clearly a divide, there is very much a divide in our group.” She explains that when the new cast comes in, there is a hierarchy and Lindsay and Danielle tend to isolate themselves in pursuing Lindsay’s planned timeline for the summer. Paige continues: “I naturally gravitated towards Amanda. And then as the seasons went on, and I saw new girls coming in, it’s not really a coincidence that they always end up hanging out with us.” She sums up by stating that Lindsay and Danielle are “very hard to approach.” Ciara Miller picks up where Paige left off, saying to Lindsay: “You want to know why people don’t want to come to you or say anything to you? It’s because, like, we don’t know when you’re going to flip the switch.”

Throughout season seven, Danielle begins to see what the other girls have been talking about when it comes to disagreeing with her best friend. Because of Danielle’s concern about the surprising pace of her relationship with Carl, Lindsay flips “the switch” on her this season. The two continue to misunderstand each other all summer, resulting in a blowout confrontation at the jungle-themed Labor Day party. Danielle tries to address how hurt she feels by being left out of the planning of Carl’s proposal to Lindsay and the subsequent engagement party. She tells Lindsay that there is nothing she would rather do than celebrate her happiness. Lindsay firmly and callously holds her ground, and claims that the second she started dating Carl, Danielle has been “saying no.”

Danielle sees Lindsay spinning the narrative, and that her friend is treating the loss of their friendship with “no emotion.” She claims to realize now that Lindsay does not care about their friendship. When she leaves the confrontation, Danielle is deeply upset and breaks down in front of Mya Allen as Amanda also runs up to embrace her. Mya says they were waiting for her there to support her, and reminds her “This is what friendship looks like” as Paige and Ciara join the circle and offer their condolences as well. At the season seven reunion, Danielle sums up the fight with Lindsay by stating that she realized over the summer that their friendship was “incredibly one-sided.”

A Girl Gang Could Hold Lindsay Accountable

The existence of a Super Villain implies a Super Hero. But is anyone on Bravo fit to hold the title? Perhaps the solution is not an individual Bravo-lebrity, but a group, a Girl Gang, instead. When Amanda introduces Paige and Hannah Berner to the share house in season three, Hannah suggests jokingly that they battle Lindsay over room choices. Amanda observes: “Plan your argument ahead of time, ’cause you’re going to need it.” She goes on to accuse Lindsay of being two-faced in a talking head. An epic feud between the sweet and gentle Amanda and an “activated” Lindsay has been brewing in the background of Summer House ever since. Over the years, Amanda and Paige have gathered the Girl Gang, and it has expanded to include Mya and Ciara, and seemingly every other girl that comes in with good intentions and survives Lindsay’s spin. United together, the group could have the power to hold Lindsay accountable to the truth. Especially if her hench Danielle defects amid their feud.

Each of the members of the Girl Gang have individually taken Lindsay on, with limited success over the seasons. In season three, Paige and Lindsay get into a feud over Carl’s claim that he has been putting effort into dating Paige. In season six, Ciara attempts to address what she feels was disrespect from Lindsay, caught in a typically toxic love triangle involving Austen. Also in season six, Amanda attempts to check in with Lindsay over having so many relationships end so quickly, one after the other, during her “Hot Hubb Summer.” Lindsay blows up at her for creating a “narrative” about her with these “conspiracy theories” of concern. Amanda insists: “I’m not being a bad friend by making sure you’re okay.” Mya attempts to confront Lindsay about her gate-keeping Carl’s friendship in season seven. Their confrontation was only resolved because Mya decided to take a step back from her friendships with both Lindsay and Carl.

Lindsay is skilled at putting a cap on conflict and resolving things with a surface apology to get things out of the way. When Craig Conover observes that Lindsay is a “good fighter,” Kyle comments: “She can be completely wrong, and she’ll wind up right.” However, Lindsay’s dynamic with the girls has never improved after these disagreements, no matter how “right” she might feel. Members of the Girl Gang have kept Lindsay at arm’s length ever since each has been on the other side of her spin. For the Girl Gang, holding one another gently accountable, while pointing out the amazing qualities their friends have, is a staple skill. One is not easily learned by a Super Villain whose superpower is always spinning the narrative to her benefit.

Where Lindsay Stands Now With The ‘Summer House’ Cast

Like most villains, Lindsay’s team typically seems to consist of herself. Amid the drama of the recent cancelation of Lindsay and Carl’s wedding, Lindsay could use the kind of gentle but honest support offered by friends like the Girl Gang. If only she could be accountable enough to them and accept their support. Especially if her friendship with Danielle is still fragile after their season seven blowout. Historically, however, Lindsay has only turned to the Girl Gang when she wants to spread gossip she has overheard to stir up drama in the house. As Amanda points out in the season six reunion, “If you’re a girl’s girl, you’re a girl’s girl all the time. Not just when you have a rumor to share.”

At the season six reunion, host Andy Cohen also brings up Lindsay’s over-the-top “couple” photos shared on social media. He reads a quote from a fan who points out that Lindsay and Carl’s Instagram posts look like a PR campaign for a relationship. Once the cancelation of the wedding plans broke in the media, Lindsay and Carl made it clear that now the fight for control of the break-up narrative is well underway. In the season eight “sneak peek” trailer, Carl narrates: “You need that in a relationship, you need to have power over the other person.” Lindsay then denies this is true. Carl alleges there were cracks in the relationship that were plain to see. Lindsay alleges she was blindsided by Carl, who she claims called the producers to film the break-up before telling her. In a conversation with Lindsay, Carl further comments: “You’re very gifted at playing victim.”

Lindsay and Carl ended last season at odds with the rest of the cast, mostly because they were denying the reality of their struggles in their relationship to fit Lindsay’s “perfect” narrative of her life. It will be interesting to see whose side the Girl Gang will choose in the battle for control over the break-up narrative. Will the Girl Gang be able to use their united powers of perception to neutralize an activated Lindsay? Will Lindsay and Danielle revert to their old twosome as they lead the charge to vilify Carl?

Viewers will have to wait to find out when Summer House returns on February 22 on Bravo. Catch up on past seasons, streaming on Peacock. Watch On Peacock