#his character arc revolves around realising he has his whole life ahead of him and it is worth living!

[astronomalyy]

cannot believe there are people out there who think mithrun is ugly. i cannot fathom the inner workings of your mind and quite frankly i do not want to

are we reading the same manga. that is the world's most adorable 37-year old man and you are calling him 'old and crusty'. are we reading the same manga

[operationfortune]

Okay I know this post will gain absolutely zero traction but the more I think about it the more I want to cry about it??

slight spoilers for one of the character arcs in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre ahead,,,

So I saw Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre in the cinema today. I was alone, it was reasonably full, the film technically only opened two days ago, and it's wider release isn't for another week, but I had time to kill and it was the only thing that piqued my interest. It sits in an interesting spot tonally, comparative, I'd say, to Netflix Exclusive Michael Bay movie 6 Underground, though to use a more recent marker I'd drop it somewhere near Bullet Train (though it's definitely much closer to 6 Underground). All this context to say that I went into this Jason Statham-lead espionage action movie with zero expectations and almost completely blind.

So please believe me when I say I was truly blindsided with joy to have canonical, casual queer representation in this Jason Statham-lead espionage action movie.

Maybe it's that I don't watch a lot of media now, but it's something I noticed while watching Glass Onion too, both with Benoit and Hugh Grant (ha, put a pin in that) and especially with the character of Peg, and it makes me a bit teary and excited when I think about it. There's something to be said for how far we've come, to the point that Casual Queer Rep is even possible. There's something about watching Peg get all flustered talking to Helen and knowing that it's because she has a crush, without it having to be flagged, spelled out, or otherwise othered by the film or its writing.

It's normalised.

Which I know shouldn't be a big deal, but right now, to me, it is. I didn't realise I could feel this way; to see a full character who just so happens to be gay, where the plot doesn't revolve around her being gay, but that part of her identity is still made clear?? I love Peg so much holy shit.

But Glass Onion is the second in a series that has established itself as a forerunner for casual diversity. Let me tell you about how Operation Fortune made me want to YELL in theatres.

It's the 8th of January, and it might be a bit early to call it, but Danny Francesco might be my favourite character of the year.

Is he perfect? God no, he's objectively not a great person; he's sleeping with his sister-in-law, he's a Hollywood diva, he's demanding, and he (spoilers, seriously) ends up engaged to a war criminal. Who happens to be the main antagonist. Who happens to be Hugh Grant. Danny is the light of my life, however, and I love him with my whole heart.

So in the beginning we're told that Danny turned down $10m because he didn't want to jump out of Greg (Hugh Grant)'s cake and sing Happy Birthday; whatever, I thought, Greg is a rich, eccentric with an obsession with celebrities, and Danny is the biggest star right now, I shouldn't read anything into it because Sometimes Rich People Just Do Things For Status Reasons. We're also told, and subsequently shown, Greg tries to take celebrity's partners/girlfriends. Cue Sarah (Aubrey Plaza) in a bright red dress that I will dream about for the next month.

Also, in the scene where Danny, Sarah, and Orson (Jason Statham) are joining the fancy party, there's some distinctly fruity vibes between the three of them, but I'm not here to push my Orson/Sarah/Danny polycule agenda, just know that I have one.

So obviously Greg is excited to see Danny, but later makes a Very Distinct Pass at Sarah, inviting both her and Danny to stay with him for the weekend, with an implied Wink Wink Nudge Nudge.

While they end up taking him up on that offer, Danny, who started the film having refused Greg's Rich Weirdo Request, and now having to spend time with him for the job, finds that he actually genuinely likes Greg, who appears to genuinely like him back, doting on him, even giving him gifts.

When Danny says to Sarah "(I'm paraphrasing, about Greg) he's really into you! If you don't take him up on his offer then I might!" my eyeballs were Out Of My Head. Like sure it sounds like a joke that would be written in to simply highlight Danny's materialism, a whole 'gay for pay' joke, something about his vanity, or even just an offhand joke that I might hear one of my straight friends who were super comfortable and confident in their sexuality say about their best friends, I was So primed for this to be something that the audience could laugh off or dismiss in hindsight. Like in my mind that solidified my headcanon of Danny as bi, but I was so used to queerbaiting and years of being told I was reading into things.

So as the plot continues, Danny's fondness for Greg goes on, turns into something incredibly genuine, and looking back, he clearly has a hero-worship crush on Greg by the end of the film.

The last shot we see of Danny and Greg is the pair of them getting into an elevator after Greg pulls a stone cold power move on the films secondary antagonists, which he had Danny assist with for flare after Danny asked specifically to stay with him for that event. In the elevator, Danny tells Greg that that was "the coolest thing he's ever seen someone do" and that's the last we physically see of them.

HOWEVER!! THE ICING!! THE CHERRY!!

At the very end of the film, one of the protagonists mentions how he's gone into the film industry, and the response he gets is;

"You better not be talking about Danny Francesco and his fiancee Greg Simmonds!"

an accurate depiction of me as the credits began to roll;

WE WIN THESE!!

BOTH DANNY AND GREG ARE CANONICALLY BI/PAN IN THIS JASON STATHAM-LEAD ESPIONAGE ACTION MOVIE IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2023!! THEY BOTH LIVE UNTIL THE END!! THEY'RE ENGAGED!! THEY'RE BOTH ABSOLUTE DISASTERS!! THEY'RE BOTH FULL, ROUNDED CHARACTERS WHO HAPPEN TO BE QUEER!!

I get choked up thinking about it now, considering how quietly overwhelmed I felt in the theatre realising that Danny and Greg's comments and moments throughout the film weren't some elaborate joke, the dialogue that reminds me of my friends, the moments that felt true to my life as a queer person, they werent the setup for any kind of homophobic mixup, miscommunication, or microaggression; no, I finally, actually felt like I saw a part of myself, of my community represented in media.

Everyone in that movie is terrible in their own way, but Danny and Greg just happened to be terrible people who are also queer. Are they perfect representation? No! Thank fuck! I think we deserve more dumbass, disaster, unethical queers in media.

Even if I don't necessarily recommend this movie (it's pretty okay if you're a fan of the genre I suppose), I subjectively love it and especially it's characters, with my whole entire heart.

Danny Francesco is canonically a dumbass, bi disaster who fell for his sugar daddy, war criminal Hugh Grant. Good for him. It's what he deserves. 🥰🥰🥰

[life-rewritten]

A Chance to Love: A chance to know Tin and Can Part 2/2

Identity in a Name, as a literary device used for Symbolic Foreshadowing.  

A chance to love episode 4:

What’s in a name? A chance to love episode 4 introduces the background of each of the names of the main characters to the audience. Both Tin and Can reveal the reasons for their names at the same time sharing their perspectives and what it represents to them.  Both these two scenes are catalysts for the relationship between these two and will be explained further. This post will focus on how Mame uses  names in this story to  reveal the subtext/understanding of these two’s characterisation. 

The reason for Tin

Tin later reveals the context  for the creation of his name in a vulnerable moment. It is Tin who tells Can the origin of his name which already showcases again intimacy because he’s showing a vulnerable side of himself to Can. Unlike Can's embarrassment, Tin shows resentment and bitterness towards his name and also towards his mother. Whilst Can doesn't want him to know about his name because of fear of being teased, Tin reveals his and lies that it's a messed up joke done to play with Can. Tin's mum named him after his brother as an afterthought; she didn't want him as a baby and preferred Tul over Tin. She named him after his brother so he can follow his footsteps and be like him. This  already starts to unveil his characterisation and his story arc especially when it revolves around  the shadow of Tul in Tin's life.

Tin first shows up to the show, cold and distanced from people in his world. Until he bumps into Can who’s determined to not let him get away with his rude behaviour.

First thing we should notice about the naming of Tin

1. He’s resentful and bitter because of his relationship with Tul. He did use to look up to Tul but a revelation about his family dynamics has made him stop trusting Tul and also feeling betrayed by Tul.

2. He feels neglected and without his own space to fit in, and belong 

3. He feels like a shadow without his own story, character or importance in his own environment. 

Tul and Tin brother’s who are forced to see each other as enemies, both turned cold and heartless because of the lifestyle they were forced into.

A shadow of Tul

Tul is portrayed as the most significant emotional impact on why Tin is the way he is. He shows massive resentment towards Tul, always calling him out and threatening to expose his fakery. Tul acts naïve to his claims but also indicates a snide approach enjoying Tin's insults, even saying to himself he won't be able to break down his mask. In Love by Chance, we're shown that Tin looked up to Tul, but something he did cause him to be broken and not to trust, his family members, Tul or even the world. Tin being named after Tul suggests that the shadow of Tul is what follows him around throughout his whole life until he meets Can. As a shadow Tin feels he has to always be behind Tul, never foward or in the spotlight, always being overshadowed by Tul’s presence and achievements. And it also suggests a competition for the family inheritance/wealth which both brothers may have to go through. Tin is determined to be seen as stronger, wiser and just over all ahead of Tul in everything in order to survive in life. Tul isn’t just a competition but he’s the very obstacle Tin will have to overcome to really grow and find peace/joy this until he meets Can who represents to him light and trust. 

 The shadow also suggests again the feeling of being haunted (connecting to trauma, pressure, neglect). Tin's stifling family environment has made him become someone who has to be cold, to survive. It suggests a competitive environment in which he has to fight to be noticed and taken seriously. The harshness of what he has to go through has shown him to distrust everyone, always to be alert and to see everyone as manipulative. (Including the poor, who he's been taught to see as gold diggers who would do anything for money)

The tin man is a known character in Wizard of Oz his goal is to get a heart and start to feel again. Meeting Dorothy helps him regain the ability to emote and take care of someone again.

The actual Tin Man:

Based on connotations of the wizard of oz. Tin’s name is alluded to the very archetype in the story known as Tinman. A man who’s been cursed to be made of Tin, he feels stuck, can’t move forward and also loses his heart. Being a man made of tin has been alluded to stiffness, coldness, (without a heart), and emotionless. A very dark atmosphere and mood is set and  like the Tinman, Tin is seen as heartless by Can; he acts stiff and cold to everyone he meets apart from his nephew. He's also been taught or turned into someone who should not feel emotions that allude to trust, or love because he's built up a wall to protect him selves from others. Especially as the story unveils his past we see Tin is suffering from wounds of  being too trusting and to naïve. 

The way others perceive Tin is not who he is though, from episode 4 he slowly starts to reveal who he really is and Can also senses that he's more than just cold-hearted which is why he likes hanging out with him. We also see his transformation alluded to in the future events like in episode 1 where he calms down Can and comforts him.

Can’s sunny and childish atmosphere contradicts with Tin’s cold and brooding atmosphere. One is  a child, whilst the other was forced to grow up to quickly in order to survive the hostile environment.

Can and Tin's dynamics: Juxtaposition as a device

From both analysis of these twos names, it’s obvious to notice the dynamics hinted and reasons for why they both need each other. There's a juxtaposition with the sunny personality of Can and the heaviness of Tin's disposition. Can's family dynamics also differ from Tin's, making Tin realise that warmth can exist in a family, (from season 1). There can be a trustworthy and loyal person that is for him who wouldn't be affected by money and greed, someone who doesn't think about his family's name (this also needs a complete analysis) because he doesn't care about wealth, or kissing up to people. 

Can hates feeling like someone bought him, and this is precisely the proof that Tin needs to know he isn't by his side for his money. Tin's love for Can makes Can realise that he doesn't need to be alone, and having someone by his side is worth the pain because of how much joy and happiness can be found from being with them. Their personalities compliment each other, provide the paths for the character developments needed, and they cover their shortcomings.

Tin comforting Can shows how much his character grows and how much influence Can has on him. They both form an intimate connection where they both rely on the other the most.

The reveal of both their names: A catalyst for their relationship

The scene where Can's name is revealed is what causes Tin to start to opening up to him. Mostly because it makes him adore Can all the more because he begins to understand and trust him. He tests out Can's reaction immediately by opening up to him about his name. In the previous season he uses it as a way to tease and get Can flustered, he also uses it to blackmail him though I don't think that's happening in this season. (which is fine by me). 

Can's name being revealed to Tin changes their dynamics in the first season, gives Tin more power and reasons to be near Can. In this season it's used to make him reveal the truth because it makes him even more convinced that he likes being around him and he enjoys the warm atmosphere of Can’s family.

The reveal of Tin's name also causes a change in their dynamic both in season 1 and this season. Tin is shocked to see Can openly believe his story and Can reacts by feeling guilty for calling him unloved previously and also sympathises with him. 

For Tin, it makes him realise that Can is very trusting again, the same reason why he likes him, and Can like a child   latches onto his words and  takes on his burdens to comfort him. On the other hand, this is the first time Can sees Tin vulnerable and slowly starts to piece together why Tin acts the way he does, why he spoke to his mother the way he did and why he doesn't trust anyone. Can starts to find him self caring for Tin because of this reveal and ends up feeling hurt even more when Tin plays it of as a lie. 

Their relationship focuses on having a hand to hold, someone to trust and feel understood and known by. Someone who invades their comfort space and makes them confront their insecurities.

The relationship changes because Can is more open to Tin and willing to be a friend to him because of this reveal. This makes them see parts of themselves that people don't see usually making them start to lean on each other whenever the other needs, i.e. episode 1 when Can cries to Tin on his shoulder about his failures.

Tin and Can played by Mean and Plan in A Chance to Love

Both the names of Tin and Can while seeming odd actually ends up revealing layers of their characters which also shows why the two are made for each other. Whilst this post might be repetitive; it's because there is an emphasis on how different they need to be to complete each other. You've heard the phrase opposites attract, Mame uses Tin and Can to showcase the strengths of that argument. As we continue to break down the dynamics of these 2's relationship, I can't wait to know more about the two, especially why Tin is the way he is, is Tul actually as bad as he thinks or is it a misunderstanding, and how will Can realise his feelings for Tin and will the family try to ruin that. So many places the story can go and I can't wait to watch it. 

[zuzuslastbraincell]

☕ Aang.

He's a character I don't see you talk about much, so I'm curious about you thoughts on him, his character arc, what you like or dislike about him, etc.

The short answer: Love Aang. He’s great! Feel like a lot of the dislike of his character (while fading, at least in the circles I’m in) is misplaced. People who think Aang didn’t make the right end game decisions don’t understand his character / miss the point, IMO. That said, dislike some of the character decisions especially r.e. Katara/Aang.

The longer answer: I really love Aang and I feel like the hate he receives from various parts of the fandom is very unwarranted, though I wonder if it stems from watching the show as a child his age and finding his playfulness unrelatable - like as a kid I might have found it exasperating but as an adult I find it very refreshing and it is so obvious to me that Aang is A Child, it informs how he behaves and his decisions massively, and I wonder if the dislike comes from the lack of perspective and being unable to view Aang as a kid, being kids themselves when these haters watched the show?

That said, all kinds of people do dismiss Aang as immature and it frustrates me to no end, because being cynical =/= maturity, a willingness to make difficult decisions that betray deeply held beliefs =/= maturity, and Aang’s decision to stick to his beliefs should always be viewed in tandem with the context that he is a victim of genocide, that genocide includes the destruction of a culture’s common beliefs and practices too, and whether those beliefs live or die in the future starts and ends with him.

Additionally, I feel like Aang does possess a lot of emotional maturity for his age, even if he has bouts of being immature (like, normal, honestly). Like he processes his anger in a way that is largely healthy, actually? I think that’s a thing most people don’t understand, they don’t see that as part of Aang, when really Aang processes his emotions like someone who’s had very clear healthy models for it. He does feel anger, and grief. When Aang tells Katara in the southern raiders episode vengeance isn’t the way, that’s something that he’s fought hard internally to believe in, that’s something that he’s learned.

Tying into that, I think an overlooked aspect of Aang’s development is how in season 1 Aang spent a lot of time looking for Fire Nation citizens who were good / who could be good, because the idea that the Fire Nation is fundamentally evil contradicts his world view (”the monks taught us all life was sacred”), but I think that was probably a perspective he clung onto as well as a way of dealing with his grief. Like, I feel like Aang has fought hard to reaffirm his beliefs in a world that seems determined to “prove him wrong”, surrounded with characters who largely don’t share or understand them & see it as naivety because they lack perspective and have only known war / understand the brutality of the opponent they’re facing on a personal level. I think we don’t see a lot of this explicitly, it’s largely subtext and often an internal debate -- Aang doesn’t have many people to soundboard these kind of thoughts off, there’s no one who is an air nomad or of a similar kind of upbringing around.

Tbh I feel that Aang is best in season 1, largely because his developments in later seasons also incorporate his feelings about Katara as part of his general development, and if I’m just completely honest with you all, I mean no disrespect to Katara/Aang folks you’re cool in my books but I’m just not sold by it at all. For example, because Aang’s journey mastering the avatar state involves him reckoning with his earthly attachments and the idea of letting go, and that conflict revolves around his feelings for Katara, and because I am not particularly sold by Aang and Katara, that impacts on how I view that whole arc. I love a good friends to lovers arc where the depth of those feelings extends to both friendship and romance but I feel like the way ATLA writes romantic arcs often involves a character suddenly looking at another with heart eyes and very little actual bonding to justify that sudden change, very few *journeys* or *arcs* that culminate in feelings (unrelated, but this is my theory as to why Zuko is shipped with almost everyone, because he literally has several life-changing journeys with other characters at the tail end of S3), and it’s fairly unconvincing / pretty flat to me? Especially since we do not get anywhere near as much an insight into Katara’s feelings in that regard? I get that romance isn’t always a grand arc or whatever but given that it’s tied to a lot of Aang’s S2 development, I think it ought to have more prominence.

If I’m honest, I also feel like Aang’s development regarding Katara and the Avatar State was incomplete, and that made a lot of his S3 development frustrating because in other aspects I think he came into his own and matured - usually in subtle ways, like his attitude in the Southern Raiders, but also we see him from being understandably upset about having to hide his identity, to incorporate aspects of Fire Nation dress into his final late S3 look - but in that aspect, his arc felt incomplete to me? This might be a poor reading of it, but to expand on how I see it, in S2, Aang is incapable of letting go of Katara until literally the most critical moment, when he has to -- at which point, he is struck down by chance. In S3, the concept of entering into the Avatar State being a matter of difficulty is literally not mentioned, so we can presume he’s come to terms with letting go of Katara - which directly contradicts the pushy behaviour he shows in Ember Island Players, the way he ignores her boundaries? And then that’s literally never addressed, Aang never apologises, Katara and Aang never have an important conversation resolving the conflict there, and in the end Aang gets the girl? It’s frustrating.

Like, the way I see it, “letting go” of Katara shouldn’t mean putting no importance on her - I actually like the idea of Aang not being willing to leave his friends behind, his compassion and care is important in this aspect. Rather, if I were in the writer’s chair, I would have it that “letting go” means a willingness to face rejection. Aang lets go of a romantic prospect of Katara - and acknowledges she can and might reject him, and that’s always a possibility, but opens his heart to her anyway out of trust (and when they get together, it’s not because he’s proven himself worthy, but because Katara wants to be with him). I think that would have been such a monumentally *powerful* message, especially in a late 00s cartoon, prior to the likes of Adventure Time and Gravity Falls quite explicitly deconstructing the idea of the male protagonist always getting with their crush (I feel like a vital context new viewers miss r.e. Katara/Aang is that the male protagonist would always always get with the girl in cartoons, it always happened, to the extent that female characters existed as much as love interests as characters in their own rights). I honestly don’t think it would even require that much in terms of change! I might show that in S3 Aang still has difficulty with the Avatar state at times - he can go into it at will, but not always - and that’s because he’s in the process of letting Katara as a crush go. I’d still keep the kiss in Day of Black Sun - tbh, I have no issues there, he thought he’d never see her again quite possibly, he’s impulsive, it makes sense - but I’d maybe highlight a slight awkwardness afterwards. I might even keep the awful Ember Island Players conflict - but crucially, I think Aang would have to learn from this. I think when Aang might realise he’s still struggling with the Avatar state as late as Sozin’s Comet episode 1, panic, realise he needs to internalise that belief more, and I think he’d leave Katara a note - including an apology for his actions before, for pushing her when she wasn’t ready, but explaining also, that he needs to go on a journey by himself to figure this out. Rest of Sozin’s comet goes ahead as normal, more or less. I’d end with Katara, maybe at the tea shop afterwards, talking to Aang and asking him why he went off by himself, explaining that she & the gaang would be there for him, he didn’t have to go on a journey alone. Aang would explain that he didn’t expect they’d understand, they’re not monks, and Katara explaining that maybe they wouldn’t, but he could *try*, that’s a risk you sometimes take (but concedes they could have been more understanding). And I think over that conversation it hits Aang it’s not about being alone. Everything’s connected. It’s about not clinging on. it’s about being willing to lose. It’s about trust. I think by the end, they agree to try and communicate better, and Aang then asks Katara out - mirroring “Do you want to go penguin sledding with me?”, similar kind of activity. He almost tries to over-explain and say ‘listen it doesn’t have to go anywhere’ but Katara just smiles and says yeah. And they leave to go on their first real date.

Anyway that’s how I *would* have handled it and that is what I think could be an interesting and compelling arc that wouldn’t take much adjustment to add. Aang is afraid of losing Katara, and realising that he can and might lose her is important.

.... that’s way more than I intended to write but yeah. I feel like a lot of Aang’s development ties in with his feelings for Katara and that’s where I take issue.

[bestofallhans]

Normal problems?

I liked the BBC’s adaptation of Normal People. I watched it fast, and felt nostalgic for those years of my own life in equal measure to realising how universal the feelings of self-doubt, discovery and searching are amongst the age group it depicts. But the more I think about it, the more I have issues with the story as a representation of sexuality, awakening, and the transition from childhood to adulthood. What initially feels like a very 2020 treatment of teenaged sex - lots of double checking on consent and mutual pleasure - is actually not all that egalitarian or progressive on second glance. Here’s how I saw it…

Her narrative arc isn’t clear

Initially, Normal People is the story of Marianne. She’s obnoxious to her teachers, arrogant to her peers and like many of us in that last year before university; she can’t hide her disdain for her small-pond hometown a second longer. So far, so relatable.

***SPOILERS FROM HERE ON!***

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What troubled me though was not how far she came, but the opposite. In the last episode, she asks Connell’s mum what people think of her own mother. The answer is “she’s a bit odd”, and most certainly, we are directed to feel Marianne’s realisation of how similar they are rather than how different. Most of us over 30 might say we’ve had this moment. “There but for the grace of God….” mixed with the revelation that our parents are both human thus flawed, and that they were trying their best to give us more than they had - even if it really didn’t feel like it at the time.

But the problem is - I didn’t feel she had come very far. Only a few minutes before (admittedly 4 months in plot time), she was telling Connell he could do whatever he wanted to her. If there was something I wanted from Marianne at the end, it was the idea that despite appearances, she would put herself first. But she never does. Even in the final scene, she’s telling Connell that he should go do his thing, and she’ll stay put. She says they don’t know if they’ll wait for each other, but she doesn’t seem to offer much that she’ll be doing in the meantime, other than perhaps finding another poor substitute for Connell, who’ll either turn out to be abusive or a damp squib.

Her fierce intellect got her a scholarship, but we have no idea what she’s doing with it. Whilst Connell finds himself in multiple golden opportunity situations, the assurance Marianne had of her place in the world has disappeared and we haven’t even noticed.

My point is that the girls who get ‘A’s across the board at school are erased from professional success in the real world, and if this was supposed to be anything other than a mirror of that, it fails. Marianne’s intellect is erased before she’s even graduated. Now everyone recognises Connell’s brain, and she’s literally standing on the sidelines (when his triumphant literary journal is published).

Bechdale test: does not pass

In fact, we spend a lot of time listening to men speak and women allow them to. The only person who carries on referencing Marianne’s brain is ace friend Joanna. But this is poised with its own problems too. Joanna is bypassed for a sexual storyline, talked over by Jamie (albeit with a nonplussed side-eye), and even vocalises her own fate: “did we get married and become 50 without noticing?”

Which brings me on to the most disappointing element of the adaptation. I realise this is a romance, and thus our main concern is going to be, well, the lovers, but good lord do people think of nothing else? Even at 20, I was very aware that I wanted to have friends whose pants-contents I was not interested in. 

The frisson of meeting new people as an adult is definitely intoxicating, and for many people I realise that this is the first time they’ve been doing this stuff (I wasn’t far ahead) but the whole plot centred on who was in whom. 

Wait, it’s more nuanced than that - no female character was allowed an identity that did not reference her sexual choices: Marianne, Lorraine (“you were my teenaged mistake, son”), Peggy (“you could have a threesome with me”, “everyone’s saying she’s into S&M, was that your influence?”), Denise (defined by her violent ex and equally shitty son) etc, etc. 

Connell and several other male characters, some of who we know very little else about, have career prospects (Alan is doing well at work over family dinner), interests (debating, photography, writing) and friendships that don’t revolve around outing each other’s sexual proclivities (even poor Rob). This is based on a novel written by a woman. I’m disappointed her female characters can’t have an identity beyond their sex lives. 

Her sexuality is up for judgement, his is not

Then there’s this undercurrent of ‘why’ both Marianne and Connell are drawn back to each other. From about halfway through, I thought we were going to get a revelation about Marianne’s childhood; either her dad or brother or maybe both, had abused her. I thought I saw a few hints of this, but nothing transpired. 

The reason I am disappointed by this is nothing to do with ‘wanting’ there to be that storyline present. I felt that ‘the way’ Marianne ‘is’ was being judged. It’s easy to see a short jump from Jamie’s insecurity to him wanting to act out porn style sex to make himself feel powerful. But as she spirals into increasingly more detached relationships, I felt the judgement amp up. The sadder she is, the heavier the masochism gets. 

But, and I’m no expert, that isn’t how it works. If Marianne is expressing her preferences, they are not altered by her sadness. They do not represent her ‘broken-ness’ and will not go away when she’s ‘fixed’ or happy. Here, I found a deep misrepresentation of ‘normal sex’, that is both damaging to the viewer’s understanding of the breadth of sexual preferences and the plot. So, if she was asking for things she didn’t want - why no address that? We’re left believing that she only wanted to be hurt because she thought that was the only way she was attractive to whichever man. Neither is gives Marianne much agency. 

Connell on the other hand is a nice, normal boy who wants to have nice, normal sex. In fact, so little of his characterisation is about his sexuality, we only ever see him have sex with one other person - Helen. And it could be Marianne if you squint a bit. We aren’t asked to align Connell’s enjoyment of sex with his state of mind or his success as an adult. In fact, it’s a mistake that everyone forgives him for as a schoolboy - he was obsessed with people finding out he was with Marianne, and as Eric points out, “everyone knew” and no one even mentioned it. Whilst Marianne only experiences everyone’s judgement more as she gets older. 

Where does it leave us? 

I haven’t read the book. I don’t think anyone who made the series sat down and thought ‘let’s make this show shame female sexuality and erase female intelligence’. But this is the feeling I was left with. A beautifully shot, cast and acted piece of TV that doesn’t quite hit the mark on progressive attitudes to female agency isn’t a crime; but it’s a missed opportunity.