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In TCC, there are clear themes of identity and unity throughout it, even depicted with its antagonists. These are themes, I have noticed, that are often chosen when telling a story for the first time. For a franchise like Sonic, you want the status quo to be maintained at the end of the story. Sonic & Friends go on crazy adventures, and they are all self-contained to not make it confusing for anyone picking up a Sonic game for the first time. Furthering the characters’ identity and solidifying their unity as a group is an excellent way to keep the story fresh while still feeling like a classic adventure Sonic & Friends would embark into. I’m not the first one pointing this out, but I find it key to understanding why Rouge is written like that. All the arcs the protagonists go through re-inforce who they are within the Sonic franchise, and their only growth is re-afirming the characters known in the games. In media where the status quo must remain the same after the adventure, most characters will stay static, and the writer/director knew that very well when they chose themes that explored insecurities of one’s identity and working as a unity for this audio-drama.

To move along with Rouge’s case. She was conceptualized to be a femme fatale (key word on conceptualized), a spy/jewel thief that works for herself. Femme fatales are known to use their looks and their charisma to get what they want. Rarely do you get into the head of these types of characters, and their goals are hidden from the audience most of the time. In a more mature audience, characters like Natasha Romanov (Marvel) or Milady de Winter (Three Musketeers) are hidden behind mystery, you never truly know what they’re going for, and it’s part of the fun to dissect that, especially in the genre of spy and noir — of which Rouge is inspired by according to Tetsu Hoshino. People assume kids media would be straightforward, as they often repeat the themes, make things blatantly obvious, follow patterns that are easily recognizable. So when there is a femme fatale character, whose goals are always hidden, who only does things that benefit her, it can become confusing whenever they show up and do something you did not expect. In this case, Rouge flirting with Espio every time she meets him. Espio, in this audio-drama, has been finding life dull, unchallenging, where he can never truly show his ninja skills properly. A character like Rouge, who is a spy, who is a treasure hunter, who is a thief, can be an excellent comparison to Espio, even putting his skills to the test. Her purpose in TCC is to challenge Espio, to make him doubt his skills, and make him realize he is a good ninja. She uses her bat hearing to inspect her surroundings, immediately detecting Espio. She was always a character that has been one-step ahead of everyone, using her networking to her advantage. Of course, she would know how to retrieve the Red Specter file first, especially when she learns she has been impersonated. She has connections with G.U.N. afterall. All of her actions can be justified. Yes, even the flirting. Femme fatale characters use their seduction to get what they want. While we haven’t seen Rouge heavy-handedly flirting with any Sonic characters in any games like showed in TCC, it wouldn’t be that far stretched to imagine her using those skills. In the Sonic Chanel calendar stories, she has a flirtatious voice, calling Sonic a “bad boy” when he goes against her instruction. Her goal in that story was to take the Chaos Emerald found in Eggmanland, so she wanted Sonic far away from her so she could investigate. 

You have to remember, those who wrote and directed this audio-drama know and understand storytelling and all the tropes that come with it in our western culture. There is a magic number always utilized, and that is 3. How many times does Rouge flirt with Espio to try to get what she wants? 3 times. In the last episode, she doesn’t even try flirting with him, she knows it won’t work. She even uses Espio’s sense of unity and teamwork to bring her onto the platform, saying “You can’t hit both switches at once.” Then she switches tactics by pointing out that “hitting both switches would take an impossible level of expertise”. It doesn’t work, and when you’ve been trailing this team like she did to get the lenses, it would be frustrating when it doesn’t work a fourth time. We have seen Rouge prone to frustration easily, especially with Knuckles, this is not the first time she let her frustration get the best of her. And she leaves because ultimately, she was never going to get those lenses, and she served her purpose: challenging Espio and making him gain confidence in himself.

Something about it, though, kept nagging at me. Using a female character to further the male character’s arc, and rendering her completely useless/irrelevant afterwards, doesn’t that sound rooted in misogyny? The femme fatale archetype is also rooted in male fantasy, using her seduction to ensnare those who dared to trust her, and lead them to compromising or deadly traps. Rouge’s character does not change, which we established was normal for a franchise such as Sonic that needs to go back to the status quo, but leaving the story once her foil managed to grow? It leaves many questions as to what her goals were in the first place, especially for someone who only works for herself. Jumping in with pitchforks would not bring any benefits to this story that is still satisfying in of itself. People within this fandom often wished their favourite character had the spotlight, was treated as they envisioned their character to act. In TCC, there are many female characters that contribute to the story in one way or another, such as Torii, Tangle and Whisper. Each character has a role, and once their role has been accomplished, it is normal for them to no longer being part of the story, especially in a franchise addressed at a younger audience. The foul taste in my mouth was mostly tied to Rouge’s being used to further a male’s story than her flirting with him. It was clear the writer/director wanted to lean more into that femme fatale archetype with Rouge, and subvert it with Espio’s moral sense of teamwork. Her flirting can be justified in many ways, and the audience is not supposed to know her actual goals. This has been fact since her first appearance.