walkie writes...

Hi,
I'm a huge fan of YJ, and seeing all of the recent criticism and praise about the show in regards to the representation of various faiths, sexualities, genders, etc particularly in the last 2 seasons, I had a few questions about your thought processes behind some of the choices you made with regards to it. I want to say that while I personally have a few quibbles with the way that some of it is done, its ultimately your show, and you're still doing a great job making it entertaining.

1. Do you feel like you've consciously "ramped up" representation of all of the things mentioned above (or at least visibility of them) in seasons 3 and 4? If so, why, or of not, why not?

2. Do you see a difference in representation that is interwoven into the ongoing story at hand and that which is not? Or do you consider the whole show to be one big story, so anything about anyone in the show is in your opinion relevant?
As an example, one of my minor personal quibbles with season 4 was the Violet stuff in episode 4x14, not because of the content of it, but because it seemed kind of out of nowhere and out of place and (so far) has led to nothing. I would personally contrast that to how you portrayed Native Americans in season 2, or even L'gann this season, where representing characters of different ethnicities and sexualities was interwoven into the story at hand, and particularly in the former, essential to not only the journey of that character, but the overarching plot as a whole. The fact that Violet, a character who represents a unique faith and gender is the character who we pulled away from the story to seemingly randomly focus on for half an episode seems to make that part of the show more of a PSA or educational aide than a part of the plot or character's journey, especially when you consider the content of the conversation.
3. Why Violet? There is a ton of other characters whose unique personalities or traits could have been highlighted, why was she specifically chosen, particularly when she was not a central character this season? I would also contrast that to Khalid and Zatara, whose tangents about their faiths were not only nicely symmetrical but also felt more organic and central to their characters and the decisions that they had made and would go on the make, which shaped the entire story of that arc. Obviously this is all my opinion, and my biases for or against certain characters probably shape it.

All of that said, I still think the show is great, and thanks for taking the time to read this.