‘The Gifted’ Confirms Polaris Suffers from Bipolar Disorder

In comics, Lorna Dane, aka Polaris, suffers from bipolar disorder, and it sounds like the character will have it on The Gifted as well.

At New York Comic Con this past weekend Emma Dumont confirmed that Polaris does have bipolar disorder on Fox’s X-Men series, and she explained that the condition is something the character may not be aware she has.

“100 percent that’s something we’re already doing. You’re totally correct, she has bipolar disorder. She’s unmedicated, she’s not being treated for it, I don’t even know if in our show she knows she has it but she definitely does. She has major bouts of mania and very, very low times of depression…I think it’s really rad to see [someone] mentally ill also a woman be a hero.”

In comics, Polaris was confirmed to have the mental health condition marked by episodes of mood swings ranging from manic highs and depressive lows that can last for weeks or months at a time by X-Factor writer Peter David a few years ago. However, like the character being Magneto’s daughter, it’s unclear exactly how this detail will play into the show though Lorna’s pregnancy will no doubt be a factor.

At the end of the pilot episode it was revealed that Lorna is pregnant with her boyfriend Marcos “Eclipse” Diaz’s child. She also, unfortunately, is behind bars in a mutant detention center. Dumont told ComicBook.com recently that being pregnant isn’t going to cause Lorna to take it easy and it with confirmation that the character is also bipolar, her reaction sounds like it could be influenced by her mental health.

“I think she’s someone who runs off endurance and what she thinks is right and wrong and is very much an ‘eye for an eye’ type of girl on whatever she has to do,” Dumont said. “So, I think having a small, mutant baby inside of her, I think for a normal person it would make her be more cautious, but I think it’s the total reverse where she’s like, ‘I have something in the world to care about and now I’m going to fight even harder,’ and that is probably pretty dangerous.”

The Gifted airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.

[ h/t: CBR ]