TRAPPED IN A HAIRBRUSH

Emma’s masculinity, which is such a fantastic part of her character and in S1, an integral part of her authenticity, is treated like a symptom.

She was hardened by the world, and build a wall up around herself. As she became accepted by her family, fell in love and became vulnerable, she became softer and more feminine, letting down the wall.

Now the thing that bothers me is the implication that masculinity in a woman is something to be solved by love. I know that Emma’s journey is often true to many women, and I’m not saying that the show was wrong for this, but instead that it’s just sad to see yourself in someone, only for the thing you identify with to be ‘fixed’.

Does that mean I need to be fixed?

It makes me think about Swanqueen, and how they accidentally wrote perfect lesbian angst. In Emma they created a perfect lesbian character, and didn’t even realise. So when they went in this feminine direction they accidentally broke so many little gay hearts. Like me, who thought that I had to go find a Hook.

Based on a novel.

Someone has taken this idea to it's limits and reigned it back in to be published as a complete piece. Then someone else has taken it, adapted it, filmed it, then pared it back again. Each time it's passed it has been stretched and trimmed so every piece is worth it.

What I loved about GO S1 was this same feeling. It akes so much sense that the next two seasons wouldn't feel the same as S1. It needed more steps, more trimming and more time. Watching S3 today, I was struck by how many scenes were drivel. No one saying anything important, and no smart tidbits of writing. No playful, tight sparkly moments that S1 was riddled with. It dragged while being empty.

Love that they got their bittersweet ending but in my mind this whole shabang wrapped up at the end of s1 and this has all been some well-funded fanfiction.