Zarie: Queer Erasure

I started CAOS for the witches and stayed for the queers. This show has always had solid queer representation, they've been very intentional about accepting queer storylines, and the majority of their characters seem to be sexually fluid. I loved that about this show and that's why how Mambo Marie and Zelda's relationship turns out is so unexpected and heartbreaking.

There are several reasons why Zarie's ending is incredibly problematic for the LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ CAOS audience:

Being queer = trauma trope: This narrative is exhausting. As queers, we are very well aware that not being heterosexual typically leads to challenges not faced by our hetero peers. We don't need those harmful reminders in our escapism too. The only way to normalize queerness is for these narratives to be told differently. We want to see our relationships stack up as equally valid, important, and well rounded. The next generation deserves storylines and narratives that end positively. We also want our Hallmark moments because those do happen, especially these days. We want to see representation that uplifts us, supports us, and shows us being in happy, healthy, and valid relationships.

Abusive patriarchy: Without a doubt, Zelda Spellman is a fandom favourite and we are invested. We saw Zelda enter an abusive physical relationship (do not confuse consensual sadomasochism for what was happening with Blackwood) as acceptable penance for what she was told was religious "disobedience". Then, in order to hopefully be given a chance to ascend within the ranks of her Church (an opportunity NOT afforded to women), she marries a misogynist who places her under a spell, trapping her in a body she has no control over. It was clear that Blackwood was abusing Zelda during the Caligari spell, at very least by ordering her around like a servant.

Baron Samedi: Keeping the Blackwood trauma in mind, we are now faced with yet another abusive male relationship for Zelda. Zarie was full of deceit and manipulation, luring Zelda into a relationship where she so clearly wanted love only to find out she was being used yet again - and by a MAN no less. To be clear, Baron Samedi is known to be married and to chase after women. There is no way, if they remained true to who Baron is, that he loved Zelda. To turn Marie into a man was not just a massive NOPE to Zelda's happiness but went against the feminist themes they were once so proudly supporting.

Queer Baiting: I have mistakenly used this term to describe what happened with Zarie but it's not accurate. CAOS didn't queer bait us - they have significant queer representation throughout the show and we do get to see some relationships (like Thobin) play out.

Zarie FEELS like queer baiting because we have been baited with the idea of Madame Spellman since Part 1. Then the writers rush Zarie in Part 3 and all of a sudden we have Zelda in a same sex relationship. This is meant to placate us - we got what we wanted, didn't we? Okay...sure...we'll bite. We try so hard to believe in the validity of this relationship and we believe that in Part 4 we will get to see it fully fleshed out. But not only does that relationship NOT get the screen time it deserves, it gets an insidious and cruel ending. A relationship that was supposed to represent us ended up HARMING us and showed us, once again, that we are worthy of being traumatized simply for loving the way we do.

Erasure of LGBTQ representation: So much of this hurts but maybe this hurts the most. With one conversation, we watched an entire relationship be erased as if it never happened...because it didn't. Zelda's confirmation that Marie has been Baron Samedi "all this time" shows us that what we thought was a queer relationship was really just a hetero relationship full of betrayal and deceit. I have to wonder what the writers were thinking doing that to one of the most beloved characters in this entire series. It has been suggested that the writers just "didn't think" of any of this and to that I say, shame on you. Ignorance is no longer an acceptable response for harmful behaviour in 2021 (or 2020) - we can and should expect more ethical and thoughtful writing.

Using queer actors: I want to be clear that in no way do I feel like the actors involved are at fault here. I do, however, feel that using queer actors to play out harmful tropes is traumatizing for both the actor and the audience. Mambo Marie was supposed to be a queer female character and she was being played by a proudly queer actor; in my opinion, it is unethical to put a queer actor in a position where they are forced to erase queer representation in the story they are telling. Especially when you consider that you are putting the actor in an ethical dilemma that might affect their livelihood should they decide not to conform to the standard put forth to them. A strong queer Black female character? HELL YES the world needed to see that.....but now we're left with the realization that she didn't actually exist at all. Skye Marshall deserved better than that.

The aftermath: The LGBTQ community is so used to seeing our lives made fun of, ignored/avoided entirely, or vilified. CAOS started strong by presenting characters who could have been queer as easily as they could have been straight - it was refreshing. It gave us hope that maybe we were worthy of true representation; that we could stand alongside our hetero peers and be just as grand, just as important, just as valuable. Zarie's ending left not just a bitter taste in our mouths but the heartbreaking continuation of traumatizing the LGBTQ community for entertainment's sake. Some of us have said we wish we'd never watched it in the first place. I genuinely don't believe the show meant for us to feel this way but they should have done better. The LGBTQ CAOS fanbase is massive and we deserved so much better.   

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