I feel like I was watching an after school special on how to raise my trans kid.
Not surprised to see the bigots out in force for this episode. Guess what, snowflakes, the writers, producers and actors in this episode don't want you watching. This show is not aimed at you, feel free to stop watching and go back to your YouTube masters.
This episode was so tonally out of step with everything that came before it, that the message is kinda weakened. I understand wanting to make an episode with a contemporary relevant message, which is fine, but you have to include the other writers who were making an actual story because QL2022 has been a lot of things but it hasn't been nearly as cringe at this. For an episode that scolds the parents for "keeping their daughter locked up" who "just want to be a normal girl playing with her friends" this episode really focuses on making every aspect of her exceptional. I mean I get it. It's a rough time right now, so maybe they felt it was necessary.
Every 10 minutes it felt like the screenplay had the words "And then everyone clapped". The overly inspirational uninspired music choices, the focused closeups on "lesson moments". It reads like after school special rather than a story about inclusion. This may not be my genre of choice but if they do another episode on this issue I hope they can focus on integrating it into a more cohesive narrative where people aren't talking in memes (ain't nobody got time for that) and metaphors are more metaphorical than literal. They already have a trans character I think and they are fine. That character is one of my favorites in the show. They did an episode about drag queens and that was fine even if I thought it was a little silly it worked within the world that was built.
I think the episode would have been better if it had focused on a singular aspect of the issue and then IMPLIED the rest. For instance if the episode has been about getting her on the team and playable and then implied stuff like being allowed in the locker room, it wouldn't have felt like it was trying to do every story at once. Personally I think the concept of misgendering a body is so complicated (because gender is a social construction but a dead body does have a sex which is a biological presentation and that suggests there's a whole realm of realistic possibility for that happened beyond that obvious "They hate her because she's not like other girls" narrative the episode was going for) that it might have been more effective to just trim that bit and the whole mystery about what happened when she ran away. It didn't feel like it added anything other than just hiding things from the audience for another gut punch reveal that wasn't that gut punchy. It's like an episode about a black women who has to overcome people assuming she's poor and shrill and being sexually available just because she dated a white guy all at once. And then the one black guy called her a hoe to show off to his white friends and the her uncle abused her. It's not completely untrue to reality. There are women who deal with all that but the narrative can't support that many threads. Not even when you delay the overarching narrative to focus on this episode. Something's gotta give and in this case it was the verisimilitude.
Whatever. It's fine. it's one dip in episode quality and it's not a big deal. Next time they'll be better probably. It reminds me of the BLM episode of The Rookie where they had the IA chief literally slam his fist at how frustrated he was at the idea of even the appearance of corruption. A moment so laughable I still chuckle because in real life IA aren't cop hunters. They're cop shields. When the police "investigate themselves and find nothing" that's IA at work. But it values the police if IA is always seen as antagonistic to regular police because then people IRL are more trusting of IA.
No rating. My rating would be on the lower end but not for the reasons most of the lower ends are gonna be using.
Edit: Rather soon after this episode aired (relatively) there's been a case where a trans person died and apparently law enforcement are using the legal name to identify them rather than the name they choose. I haven't looked into it but it appears to be an issue with limitations within how the law allowed names to be changed. I only mention it because while it seems tangentially related to a minor point I was making. There's a strong distinction that in this episode the police found a body and couldn't identify it and labeled it according to the sex they could identify where as in this specific IRL story a body was found and identified and they choose to identify it based on what their papers said rather than how the individual identified according to information they should have had available. Hopefully the nuance of those two concepts conveys why I stand by my assessment that the episode would have been better without that storybeat as implemented in the final episode.
Excellent episode that hopefully helps to educate bigots about the trans community and make them realize just how wrong they are. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. End of frakking discussion.
The least subtle and most preachy episode yet.
I can't help but to think there are much better ways of writing episodes like this.
The lack of subtlety made it much less hard-hitting.
I enjoyed seeing an episode with this content. Inclusion for all.
If you think this series is "woke," you obviously didn't watch the original series.
Loved the fact that they went all out on the episode. This episode might anchor how future trans people should be seen.
Such a beautiful message, with some heartfelt performances. Unfortunately they're done a disservice by sappy directing and broadcast network-level writing. Instead of letting the story breathe and scenes speak for themselves, several sections of the episode are shot like a PSA, while others play out like an Afterschool Special. It's also a shame that such an important topic is diminished by unsophisticated writing that never acknowledges the understandable and legitimate (to them) concerns of the opposition, and reduces them to a single token "Karen." This episode being out in the world is a good thing. Full stop. I just wish that it had been great.
Science fiction, like horror and fantasy, emerged as genres at a time when people needed a way to talk about how the world was changing around them during the Industrial Revolution, a time when science was clashing with religious views. It's perfecting on form for a science fiction show to be discussing prevalent topics in society, such as the transgender community.
To all the people who are whining that a science fiction show is doing that, perhaps science fiction isn't for you. I'm sure there's a reality TV show or something mindless for you to watch.
For the people saying this wasn't well done, I have no clue how else you wanted it done better (other than showing bigots as "nice people"). It includes multiple trans actors - one of which WROTE and DIRECTED the episode. One of the main cast is also non-binary. The representation for this episode is off the chart, which is amazing to see.
A chapter that loses the argument to lecture. If we watch science fiction series, it's to enjoy them. Trans inclusion and any other will be deeper if they are done with sensitivity and not with empty sermons
Aaaannndddd skip...nobody needs this kind of bs
This is a good episode. Though I do still find the line or else people annoying lol. I do agree with those who pointed out Quantum Leap was always politically correct though.
Like Scott Bakula stuck in the body of a black man and dealing with racism.
Shout by Jon WebsterBlockedParent2023-02-08T02:36:17Z
I miss the days of subtle political messaging. lazy writing