Does Zira have a mental problem?

[TheLionPrince]

She clearly has mental problems, though I'm not sure what it can be diagnosed as. It harbors along the lines of celebrity worship syndrome (given her life's dedication to Scar) and the obsessive love disorder given she pursues vengeance when her relationship with Scar ends. Either way, the bigger question is whether she was mentally ill to begin with or did she snap after Scar died.

[Gemini]

She honestly acts like she has a severe form of Borderline Personality/Bipolar disorder (or a similar mood disorder). At times she seems happy and caring towards her children, at other times she's intensely angry. And that's exactly what someone with BPD/bipolar would do. Their moods are strong and polarized (hence the name) and they change at a whim. I lived with someone who had the disorder so I understand what that's like, and yes, she did act a bit like Zira at times, only not as intense (luckily).

So yes, I would say that Zira has a mental problem. Once Scar died, she obviously lost it, but she probably had at least some form of the disorder beforehand. Those things affect you for life and I think are genetic (nobody I know seems to be sure, but if they are, then I'm in trouble, as are Kovu and Vitani xP). If she suffered PTSD or felt abandonment issues, as it has been said, it would probably only compound the problem.

Oh, and one last thing - when she accuses Kovu and says 'you killed your own brother!', I interpret is less as 'you killed your own brother, and killing people is bad, so you're bad', but more as 'you say you don't want to be like Scar, but you obviously can't escape your fate because you just did the same thing he did'. I think that makes way more sense given the fact that Kovu had just said that he 'wanted nothing more to do with him [Scar]' and expressed a desire to be different from his parents. It also ensures that what Zira is saying isn't actually a contradiction as people think. She doesn't have a problem with murder, as she loved a murderer herself, but she does have a problem with Kovu neglecting his birthright and the responsibility she had laid out for him.

[SimbasGuard]

Indeed. Which leads me to believe that Zira may of been the 'victim' and that what Simba went through, changed him more than we thought. Simba and Zira have a 'story' we will never know. But their 'hate' was very strong, even to consider banishing the Outsiders who saw 'hope' in Scar and Zira.. but Simba could of even banished them for their loyalty to Scar, but perhaps not even for committing a crime.. but every time he took a look at their 'appearances' he saw the one who murdered his father but also made him think he did it.. Simba did suffer so much when he learned that his uncle killed Mufasa and forced him to abandon his home-land. He clearly lost what little 'cub innocence' he had left. And lefts face it. He wasn't a 'great King' like his father, but who could blame him? after what he went through.. maybe he turned Zira into the 'devil' she was. And Zira clearly had a sort of 'love' for Scar. I wonder if Zira had a horrible child-hood?

If Zira and The Outsiders were loyal to Scar, that means that they would not accept Simba as King. That would then make them enemies of Simba and therefore a threat. No King with any kind of intelligence would keep his enemies in his own castle. There is no question as to whether or not Simba was justified in banishing Zira and The Outsiders.

I freely admit that Zira was insane on some level, but her madness did not affect her ability to plan and scheme. That shows me that Zira wasn't so insane as to not be aware of her own actions. There could very well be any number of determining factors contributing to Zira's madness, but at the end of the day Zira followed the path she chose.

[Biomac]

Yeah she does have mental problems. In my opinion she's been manipulated by Scar, and his death and the grudge she held towards Simba drove her insane.

[Carl]

Indeed. Which leads me to believe that Zira may of been the 'victim' and that what Simba went through, changed him more than we thought. Simba and Zira have a 'story' we will never know. But their 'hate' was very strong, even to consider banishing the Outsiders who saw 'hope' in Scar and Zira.. but Simba could of even banished them for their loyalty to Scar, but perhaps not even for committing a crime.. but every time he took a look at their 'appearances' he saw the one who murdered his father but also made him think he did it.. Simba did suffer so much when he learned that his uncle killed Mufasa and forced him to abandon his home-land. He clearly lost what little 'cub innocence' he had left. And lefts face it. He wasn't a 'great King' like his father, but who could blame him? after what he went through.. maybe he turned Zira into the 'devil' she was. And Zira clearly had a sort of 'love' for Scar. I wonder if Zira had a horrible child-hood?

If Zira and The Outsiders were loyal to Scar, that means that they would not accept Simba as King. That would then make them enemies of Simba and therefore a threat. No King with any kind of intelligence would keep his enemies in his own castle. There is no question as to whether or not Simba was justified in banishing Zira and The Outsiders.

I freely admit that Zira was insane on some level, but her madness did not affect her ability to plan and scheme. That shows me that Zira wasn't so insane as to not be aware of her own actions. There could very well be any number of determining factors contributing to Zira's madness, but at the end of the day Zira followed the path she chose.

The only one he was justified in banishing was Zira, the others obviously had no loyalty to her or Scar or they wouldn't have flipped sides so quickly, and as for Kovu, Vitani, and Nuka, they were just cubs, innocents, and were still exiled. THAT cannot be justified. Banishing Zira most certainly can be though.

Also, I'm perturbed by how many people don't understand insanity/mental illness. Different illnesses do different things, and so it's not a measure of intensity in this case. It's a matter of which illness. Once the illness is determined, then you can measure intensity... but honestly most of the illnesses in the running for Zira's are not "less severe" than other illnesses, but do allow (warped) cognitive function, and that's all that's needed to plot and scheme. There's simply no such thing as "so insane as to not be aware of her own actions" in this case; the question is not how insane is she, but in what way is she insane.

[SimbasGuard]

The only one he was justified in banishing was Zira, the others obviously had no loyalty to her or Scar or they wouldn't have flipped sides so quickly, and as for Kovu, Vitani, and Nuka, they were just cubs, innocents, and were still exiled. THAT cannot be justified. Banishing Zira most certainly can be though.

Truthfully regardless of how quickly they flipped, if The Outsiders had had no loyalty to Scar or Zira the wouldn't have been following Zira in the first place. Also if you banish a parent, but keep their cubs. Said cubs become bitter and angry toward the one that banished their parent. Then it leaves you in the situation of having enemies in your castle. Sadly the only way Simba could have justly kept Nuka, Vitani, and Kovu is if he had proof that Zira was an unfit mother. Simba's problem with Zira is that she was loyal to Scar, while that likely means that she would most likely raise her children to be Simba's enemies. Unfortunately that alone dose not make Zira an unfit mother, therefor Simba would not have had any justification for keeping Zira's cubs.

[AbbeyRoad2014]

I doubt the producers put any serious implications into it...I mean, this is a children's franchise, and DTVs have even less thought put into them, however good this one might be.

[le0]

Well, she was definitely obsessed with Scar, most likely because he brainwashed her.

[zira2366]

Zira is not "insane". She's just sadistic. Add that with her idol Scar and you got a severely angry lioness.

[Perrys Girlfriend]

Zira's 'problem' is understandable. I mean, she just had a huge misunderstanding about who killed Scar and she wanted vengeance. Simple.