Dragon Prince Season 2: Burying The Gays (And Women)

Season Two of Dragon Prince brought yet another acclaim of fantastic animation and story from critics. But there was a giant elephant in the room. Between episodes, five to six were introduced to a pair of badass lesbian queens and mothers Annika and Neha of Duren. They go to King Harrow for assistance during a famine. Both help in the mission to get the heart of a magma titan and fight the dragon bent on derailing the team’s escape. Before the end of episode six, they’re dead. In fact, viewers were told they were gone via the orphan daughter and young queen Anya along with Viren retelling their heroic sacrifice. Yes in record time the Netflix animated series flung that awful queer-bashing trope in our faces. My ace ass immediately only cared about what happened with Viren and Aaravos after that. Rather see a powerful elf trapped in a mirror safe from these trash human storylines.

Now not everyone sees this as a gross example of the terrible gay murder trope. According to an article in Minnesota Daily. ‘However, fans of series — in particular of the Netflix’s “Voltron: Legendary Defender” and “The Dragon Prince” — occasionally accuse showrunners of playing into tropes when they don’t necessarily apply.’ A clear accusation of not understanding the tropes meaning or the creator’s intentions. The former being an opinion that can’t be fully quantified and the latter unneeded for fans to voice their thoughts. This isn’t the first time that fans were accused of not being nuanced enough to absorb the material before them. Or worse having too great a sensitivity to accept that characters will die or go through hard times. Both are false narratives since most who watch content on any service including Netflix know that no story can be good without conflict.

Further on the article mentioned how the trope should be defined and why fans were wrong to call out The Dragon Prince (and Voltron). ‘There’s greater nuance in these tropes past queer characters dying. “Bury your gays” signifies queer death was played for shock value and necessitates existing investment in a character. Characters that we already know are dead, or characters that we barely know, don’t quite fit the mold. Similarly, queerbaiting is prolonged and typically narrative based — think a slow-burn romance that never quite bears fruit. Both “Voltron” and “The Dragon Prince” only gave viewers a short amount of time with queer characters before they died. Calling “bury your gays” each time a queer character dies on screen is unproductive and encourages flat storytelling. Queer characters that aren’t allowed to die aren’t fully fleshed out characters and reducing them to “the [queer] rep” is gross simplification at best and tokenizing at worst.’

The issue I have with this article on a whole is that the writer has decided to use their opinion to define the ‘bury your gays’ trope incorrectly. They think it’s about characters who haven’t been on screen long or the death seems ‘worthy enough’ doesn’t equate to what angered fans. But any character who enters the story is immediately a part of the narrative. No one can quantify how long it would take for a viewer to get attached. Making assumptions as such borders on bigotry. Queer characters are especially viewed as important because of the lack of availability in stories not centered on pain or death. So telling fans that their thoughts are wrong because you are not affected is self-indulgent and highly offensive. Another example of good intentions leading to misinformation and not being a true ally.

To quote one of the most hated women in fiction Dolores Umbridge “This is a lie.” Weird quoting a disliked Harry Potter character but she was also shrewd and a stickler for her beliefs. Something queers fighting back the tide of seeing ourselves murdered on screen have to maintain. Telling the media that we aren’t asking for immortality or special treatment. The ‘bury your gays’ trope isn’t just about randomly expunging well known gay characters or using queer deaths as a surprising plot twist. This trope pushed the idea that gays can’t be happy and are expendable. When you bring in one queer couple in a sea of straight ones and then immediately kill that same pair, it’s horrible. Worse a move like that makes it clear we are not valuable to the creator. A grand show and then the ax in quick fashion. While many straight characters and couples get to survive, we’re obliterated out of existence.

Yes, there’s a princess left behind. But this child didn’t need to be orphaned. Having one of the mother queens die heroically in battle would make sense. Both sides are trying to bring the heart back to save their people when the dragon arrives. If one of the daughter’s mothers had sacrificed themselves for the mission to succeed, that’s an honorable death. Nothing to shake our fist in the air at injustice other than missing a great character who fought with her last breath.

Instead, we not only have two dead lesbian queens. But discover that the third death was Harrow’s wife. She was deceased when the series started, but no one on the creative side of things considered a battle plan thought up by two men and leading to three named female character’s death was a bad idea? This is why more females are needed in entertainment. In season one of The Dragon Prince, we only had King Harrow’s death. But in just two episodes of the second we get three dead women, two confirmed (lesbian) POC.

If you think that’s the end, it’s not. The Queen died saving Viren’s life. Yes, she died to advance a man’s journey. To help her husband’s foolhardy plan of executing an innocent creature. An idea she was against but stayed by his side as a good woman should. The terrible lessons of society bleed into fiction at a fast pace. Women aren’t safe anywhere from being offed by the stupidity of men. While these guys sail off into the sunset bemoaning the loss of another good woman. I swear Viren’s ex-wife saw the marking on the wall and took off.

Despite these concerns, outlets are pushing the show to new heights. Boasting on the quality with no care on the price queer and female characters have to pay for even a moment of screen time. Trust me, I could do an entire series on the physical, mental and emotional weight women and girls have to carry in this series. Often at the inconsiderable or boneheaded mercy of males. At this point, I’m mildly surprised and profoundly disappointed.

According to Vice, the second season of The Dragon Prince was to be a game changer for all age fantasy. Speaking to Aaron Ehasz who co-created the series. “We make our show for smarter older kids, ages nine to 12,” Ehasz said. “Maybe they don’t get every layer, but it treats them as intelligent and capable of engaging with a deeper story with real, dimensional characters. It’s built for that audience but it’s also built for cool adults. We want it to be for someone who embraces fantasy, and storytelling.” Showing that the show runners are looking for a series that appeals to both children and adults. One that will evoke discussion and enjoyable viewing. Making the situation with ‘bury your gays’ trope on full display even more bothersome. How hard is it to understand that queer characters deserve the same chances of survival as straight ones? Bringing up the strong need for more representation in entertainment. So there will be creators behind the scenes ready to call out these weaknesses in storytelling before they ever hit the screen.

I also find it disheartening that this show’s being promoted for young children. With themes like these, a rock could gain enough sentience to be worried. Pushing this death trap middle of the show on young minds is just irresponsible at this point. Statistics, documentaries, videos, and articles have shown the high levels of suicide and depression in the gay community. How can that not lead those in the industry to not make changes in content? Sadly it seems that queers aren’t high enough on the totem pole to affect media and the almighty dollar. The only two things that seem to matter. No matter how much we contribute, valuing our opinions has been the lowest priority. Reminding young people that the world prioritizes those who are considered traditional is a terrible way to evoke any type of story. No matter how amazing characters and plots are otherwise.

Overall The Dragon Prince delivered a second season most would consider exemplary. The animation, main story lines, character structure, and fantasy mastery is a sight to behold. But that misses the bigger picture. Males, females, non-binary, queer, black, POC, and so many others should feel safe to watch entertainment at their leisure. Alas, we aren’t because the industry sees some of us as expendable. Worse others will come to their defense when we speak up. Because behind every dead queer, woman or person of color…there are men bemoaning our loss for their benefit.

Sheena-kay is a YA writer, essayist, and poet. She has a dystopian series coming out in 2020.

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