Lena Blackwell is the daughter of Barry "Baz" Blackwell and Catherine Belen. She is the adopted niece of Deran, Craig, and Andrew "Pope" Cody. She is also the adopted cousin and the half-sister of J Cody, the adopted cousin of Nicholas Cody, and adopted granddaughter of Janine "Smurf" Cody.
Throughout The Series[]
Season 1[]
In the first season, Lena spends most of her time with her mother, Catherine.
Catherine does not fully trust Smurf to take care of Lena, so she spends time with a babysitter named Alison. Smurf kidnaps Lena when she is at the grocery store with Alison in hopes that Cath will stop taking her to the babysitter's house. However, this backfires because the store has security cameras and Cath is quickly able to figure out what happened. It only creates more tension within their relationship.
Knowing how dangerous the Cody family is, Cath packs a bag for her and Lena to get out of town. She takes Lena to visit Smurf one last time. While they are there, Lena tells her grandmother how she made the sirens go off in a police car belonging to her mother's friend. Smurf becomes convinced that Cath is talking to the authorities about her family.
Fully aware of what he is capable of, Smurf lets Pope in on the theory. Before Cath has time to get out of Oceanside, he murders her while Lena is asleep in her bedroom. He then carries the sleeping child out to his car and drives to the desert, where he buries Cath's body. Lena sits in the car, completely oblivious of what is happening.
The following day, Baz finds Lena back in her bed. Lena thinks she dreamed about being in a car with a man. He tries to get more information, but she cannot remember. He is certain something awful happened to his wife because "she wouldn't leave without Lena."
Season 2[]
Now, Baz barely invests any time into Lena's life, so she often stays at the Cody house in the hands of Smurf, Pope, and occasionally J, who feeds her ice cream for breakfast. The amount she spends at Alison's house has also increased. She questions if her mother is deceased, but Pope tells her that there is no reason to believe that.
The trauma of her mother's absence and her father's neglect caused her to start getting nightmares on a regular basis. Pope takes it very seriously and keeps a close eye on her throughout each night. When she does see her father, he tends to put her in front of the television and continues ignoring her. She tries to get his attention by blasting the volume, but Baz gets angry and throws the remote across the room (see clip).
One day before school, Lena spills juice on her shirt, so Pope takes her to Baz's house to change. Lena hears a woman in the other room and gets excited because she thinks it is Cath. She becomes disappointed when she sees it is Lucy, Baz's other girlfriend. Her father becomes very frustrated with Pope for bringing her to his house without notice.
Pope attempts to get Baz to dedicate more time to Lena. However, this quickly backfires, and he is accused of "telling [him] how to parent." In response, Pope decides to start a trust fund for his niece. After taking her to school, he robs six banks back to back, as that is seemingly the only way he knows how to make money (see clip).
In another episode, Alison tells Baz that the police came by her house wanting to talk to Lena. She claims that they asked Lena questions like whether or not her parents ever fought or if she was afraid of her father.
Near the end of the season, while Pope is considering ending his own life, Lena is stuck in the middle of a hectic party at the Cody house. She nearly gets hit by a car, but an unnamed man saves her. She is very shaken up, so J calls Pope's phone, which prevents him from committing suicide. He rushes over there, realizing he has a purpose (see clip).
Season 3[]
Season 3 opens with Baz dying of gunshot wounds, leaving Lena without parents. She worries about not being able to see her home ever again, so Pope agrees to move into Baz's house with her.
Lena is very hesitant about going to school because her classmates have been bullying her daily (see clip). Pope decides to transfer Lena to a private school, where she is still unhappy. She gets in trouble for cutting another girl's hair, and Pope is told to start taking her to grief counseling. Pope wants her to tell the psychologist that everything is okay because honesty might worsen the situation. (see clip).
The Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) decides to remove Lena from her uncle's care and place her into the foster system (see clip). Pope goes to the DCFS office building first thing the following day. Without an appointment, he sits in the waiting room for hours. Someone eventually agrees to help him, but he makes a scene and is escorted out.
In episode 12, Smurf plans to adopt Lena and wants to have a welcome home party for her. It is expressed that this was a close call because the foster family was about to take in Lena as their daughter.
When Pope spends time with Lena, she tells him she does not think he wants her because she "makes [him] sad." She tells Pope how she was looking forward to being a sister to a little girl named Bella, who is around the same age as her. He realizes that what is best for Lena is more important than his own feelings, so he takes her back to the foster house, where he meets her new family. Pope has an emotional goodbye with Lena and gives her a hug before leaving. (see clip)
When Smurf finds out that Lena had been returned to the foster family, she tells Pope that she will forget Lena ever existed, but only if he promises to move back into the Cody house and not tell anybody about her involvement in Baz's death.
Season 4[]
Pope has been spending the night at Smurf's house in the bedroom that was originally going to be Lena's. Smurf wants to repaint it, but Pope is unfond of that idea because it reminds him of why he is staying there. The room is kept that way for a while, but Pope later finds it had been painted over. He gets angry and storms into Smurf's bathroom, but the mood quickly changes because he sees her passed out on the floor.
After dwelling on the news that Smurf has terminal cancer, Pope finds Lena at a ballet class. He hugs her and wants to know if she likes her class. She tells him yes, but she does not say much else and goes back over with the other girls. Her adoptive father approaches him and explains that if he wants to visit Lena, he must arrange a special time as he cannot show up out of nowhere. He also ensures Pope that Lena is happy and doing well (see clip).Relationships[]
Catherine Belen[]
Lena and her mother, Cath, are very close. Cath always wants what is best for her daughter and plans on secretly getting themselves out of Oceanside to stay safe from the Cody family. Unfortunately, it is too late, and Lena, at only six or seven years old, tragically loses her mother.
Information about what happened to Cath was kept a secret throughout most of the series. However, her husband, Baz, knew right away that something awful had happened to Cath because the primary reason she'd move away would be for Lena's benefit. He found it very concerning that Lena was still in Oceanside.
Barry "Baz" Blackwell[]
After her mother, Catherine's, subsequent disappearance and death, Baz becomes even more distant from Lena. He spends an increased amount of time out, either planning jobs or with Lucy, and leaves Lena either neglected or in someone else's hands. Pope voices concern at this but receives backlash.
Andrew "Pope" Cody[]
Pope becomes much more involved in Lena's life after he kills her mother, Catherine, under Smurf's orders and manipulations. What begins as a way to channel his grief and guilt turns into an extremely significant emotional relationship.
Pope feels he has wronged Lena so much that he does anything he can to ensure her the best possible future, including committing a string of robberies to set up a trust fund for her, as well as relinquishing her to foster care against his own wishes, due to the fact that having her away from Smurf's influence proves more important than his own personal feelings.Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- In season 3, there was a scene where Lena waits in the getaway car with Pope as her uncles rob a house.
- Lena will occasionally be shown watching "The Powerpuff Girls."