Let’s talk about Thea Queen’s soul.
After all it has been the subject of much discussion this
season on Arrow, following an
extended arc in which older brother Oliver set out to save his sister’s soul.
Of course, the reason Thea’s soul needed saving was because she was determined
to exact revenge on her murderous father who had swooped into her life only to
rob her of her agency and use her to murder one of her friends. This plotline
drives most of Oliver’s action and character development for much of the third
season, while Thea’s story is sometimes treated as more of an afterthought, a
supporting story meant to serve as a foil to Oliver’s main arc.
Meanwhile, in the Marvel universe, another older white guy
set out to save another young woman’s soul last night. I won’t give specifics
so as not to spoil the season finale for anyone who hasn’t watched it, but
let’s just say it is only one of many problematic happenings in the MCU this
month.
Taken together, these plot arcs clearly have a common theme:
Saving women’s souls. Years ago we weren’t even talking about souls. We were
talking about women trapped in towers guarded by dragons or tied to railroad
tracks with a train approaching, but as time has ticked on the damsel in distress
trope has faced backlash, and it seems as if the wayward soul is the new damsel in distress. Writers and
producers have figured out that women are capable of watching their own backs,
but their souls are another matter. Physically women don’t need saved; morally
they do.
Of course, there is an argument to be made that these
stories are all in the service of character development. That may be partially
true, though that character development is often mishandled or diminished in
the service of man’s development.
Regardless, the problem does not arise in the fact that
these arcs serve no purpose as they usually do add something to a show; it
develops because women are being robbed of agency in ways that male characters
simply wouldn’t be. While Oliver’s soul may be the subject of much conversation
on Arrow, it’s clearly set out as a
choice for Oliver to make and not for
another character to make for him, in
contrast to Thea whose soul is something to be bartered for by Oliver, Malcolm,
and the League.
In addition of being robbed of agency, women are not allowed
the same types of character development and plot arcs afforded to male
characters. It would appear that while we adore watching women who act as
killing machines motivated by a deep sense of justice, like Sara Lance, we’re
uncomfortable learning just how they became that way, or at least writers seem
to think we are. They might assume we enjoy watching how Oliver Queen became
the Arrow, but that we’re not interested in how Sara Lance became Black Canary
and even when they acknowledge that we might be interested in a woman’s
development, like Thea’s journey to become Arsenal, they often rob that story
of many of the grittier elements that are allowed for characters like Oliver
and Roy.
We still treat male and female characters differently, and
the “saving her soul” trope has become a part of that, a way to replace the
damsel in distress with something slightly more palatable. It is a plot device
that often sacrifices agency and development on the part of the woman for
development of the man or to advance a storyline, and in it’s current form it’s
unacceptable. Yes, men and women are different and have different stories, but
until we can show those stories equal time and attention, the least we can do
is give the characters equal shots at agency and development.
