The Vampire Diaries: A Series of Undying Bad Representation
No other network has let me down as frequently as the CW. And yet every time they introduce a new queer female character, I sit down and invest hours of my life only to be disappointed again.
The problem here is the CW knows how to write good gay characters. They are willing to include good LGBTQ+ representation to get their ratings up but will decrease the quality or drop it all together as soon as the lesbian community serves its purpose.
The issue and its evolution can be almost perfectly observed on The Vampire Diaries and its resulting spin off series' that have lasted from 2009 to present day.
It starts with Nora and Mary Louise, who were the most prominent gay characters of TVD and were introduced in the second to last season for a small story arc that lasted 12 episodes (this is out of 171 episodes, which is about 7% of the series). They serve mostly as a minor antagonistic duo and when they aren't moving the plot forward for the main characters they struggle through relationship issues for the majority of their screen time. Their story line ends when Mary Louise, who is dying from an incurable disease, and Nora, who has been marked for death, both want to sacrifice themselves for the other and commit double suicide in a fiery explosion. Ah, yes. Quality content.
Unfortunately, when they weren't fighting or serving as plot devices they were a well-written romance and their final "there is no life without you" made this couple heartbreaking to lose.
The problem here is the CW knows how to write good gay characters. They are willing to include good LGBTQ+ representation to get their ratings up but will decrease the quality or drop it all together as soon as the lesbian community serves its purpose.
The issue and its evolution can be almost perfectly observed on The Vampire Diaries and its resulting spin off series' that have lasted from 2009 to present day.
It starts with Nora and Mary Louise, who were the most prominent gay characters of TVD and were introduced in the second to last season for a small story arc that lasted 12 episodes (this is out of 171 episodes, which is about 7% of the series). They serve mostly as a minor antagonistic duo and when they aren't moving the plot forward for the main characters they struggle through relationship issues for the majority of their screen time. Their story line ends when Mary Louise, who is dying from an incurable disease, and Nora, who has been marked for death, both want to sacrifice themselves for the other and commit double suicide in a fiery explosion. Ah, yes. Quality content.
Unfortunately, when they weren't fighting or serving as plot devices they were a well-written romance and their final "there is no life without you" made this couple heartbreaking to lose.
Then on the spin-off The Originals, the representation improved noticeably but still left much to be desired. Freya, a main character, meets Keelin in the second to last season (sound familiar? it's almost as if both shows were losing support and needed something to get a ratings spike...) and begins a relationship with her that spans 17 episodes (this is out of 92 episodes, which means Freya and Keelin were upgraded to appearing in 18% of the series). As it is still a CW show, Keelin disappears for much of the final season and many of her "episode" appearances are a single brief scene of her giving Freya advice on whatever struggle she's currently dealing with.
However, they get points for the wedding scene, neither of them dying, and for being much clearer individuals than Nora and Mary Louise so kudos to The Originals.
Finally, the most recent spin-off, Legacies, got my hopes up only to once again leave me unsatisfied. In the first season, main character Josie is revealed to be pansexual and has a captivating love-hate relationship with her ex Penelope. They appear together in seven episodes of the first season (this is out of 16 episodes, meaning Penelope and Josie appear in a whopping 44% of the first season).
This pairing consisted of two complex individuals with their own motives and backstories being given separate storylines as well as scenes together and had screen time on par with other heterosexual relationships. Penelope and Josie even paralleled specific moments from one of the main couples of The Vampire Diaries, making fans hopeful that this would become a main couple of the show as well.
...However, Penelope left at the end of season 1 and hasn't been back since. It's not even rumored that she'll come back and it seems the writers now want the audience to ship Josie with another (male) character.
So it appears things will always stay the same for the CW. While they may give off the illusion that things have improved, it's just their attempt to compete with other legitimately high quality shows that lesbians have now been exposed to. As soon as they get the rating boost they need or it looks like the show is unsalvageable, the CW tosses it out in a body bag or poorly-constructed plot.
