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but when it comes to lesbian and bisexual characters, the small screen remains a graveyard.
Bad as that last looked, it ended up worse for poor Shaw, who was tortured and survived brainwashing this recent and last season of the series.
Autostraddle, the LGBT-centric website ran the numbers over the past four decades and found that lesbians were the most likely characters to die on TV.
Which recent episodes of THE 100 and PERSON OF INTEREST tend to bear out.
It's even gotten a trope: THE DEAD LESBIAN SYNDROME!
Which is why I have my lesbian couple, Ada Byron and Margaret Fuller, survive from 1853 to 2005, though many of their cohorts die along the way:
But to do justice to the last season of PERSON OF INTEREST,
an excellent show detailing a group of bruised souls finding purpose in fighting on the behalf of an Artificial Intelligence with a conscience against an A.I. without one,
it would seem all the characters will die, perhaps even losing the war against a ruthless A.I.
A daring act indeed to show that sometimes the good guys lose in real life.
But it still hurt the lesbian fans of the show when last week, Root was killed.
There are so few characters for the LGBT community to cheer on and identify with that it hurts when they see another beloved character die.
As with Rin here:
Shouldn't they be given characters to get a happy ending or at least a way to end together?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I'm behind on my Person of Interest watching. Next time, could you include spoiler warnings?
ReplyDeleteSorry, David. I thought folks who liked POI had already seen Tuesday's episode. As for the apparent killing of Shaw that was over a year ago. Now, that's way behind in your POI watching!
DeleteShaw, I knew about. :)
ReplyDeleteI've fallen behind because some jerk at the network decided to show 47 or so episodes every week until the conclusion.
Twice a week. Yes, I know. Sigh. It seems like they can't get done with POI fast enough. I cannot figure it out. It was a fine show. :-(
DeleteWho is writing the scripts? Who selects the scripts? That might shed some light on the why. It might take a while before the general public accepts the diversity of gender preference.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be a trend across the whole spectrum of TV networks. From Xena and Gsbrielle to Lexa of The 100 to POI.
DeleteOf course, lesbians aren't the only category to be treated shabbily. Show me a minister on TV that is not a hypocrite, pious, one-dimensional. To be a true man of God in today's complex world is a challenge, and I would think make for a good character.
George Kennedy in SARGE, a former police officer turned priest is the only one that comes to mind -- and that was so long ago only I remember that series!
Yes, that was a terrible ending for Root. And do you watch Vampire Diaries? The lesbian vampire couple went out in a "blaze of glory". Interesting trend.
ReplyDeleteWell, we'll see if it continues. Now that light has been shed on the trend...
I didn't know that about VAMPIRE DIARIES but it fits the sad trend.
DeleteHaving an old fashioned Texas Ranger trying to be accepting of his two lesbian friends without showing his discomfort has made for some interesting scenes for me. :-)
The Syndrome will probably continue sadly. :-(