AKOTSK: Why I Believe Lyonel Baratheon is Bisexual

SPOILERS for Season 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and some of the third Dunk & Egg novella, “The Mystery Knight.”

DISCLAIMER: When I talk about Lyonel Baratheon’s sexuality, I am talking about the character’s sexuality only. I am not speculating about the sexuality of his actor, Daniel Ings. I just need to clarify that before we get started.

I really love the new Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. It has great characters and really strong themes, and it’s overall fun, funny, and weighty at different points. I could go on and on about all the wonderful things in this show, but I really want to talk about one of my favorite characters in Season 1, Lyonel Baratheon (the Laughing Storm), and why I think he’s bisexual.

One more thing before we get started: I’m a bisexual woman. It’s something I’ve been working through and realizing for a long time now.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about Lyonel Baratheon being bisexual because I’ve seen a couple of videos by straight men that talk about what an amazing character Lyonel is and how he’s a great example of positive masculinity. They never mention the possibility that Lyonel is anything but straight, even though that’s clearly possible and even likely. I believe that they do this because they assume that Lyonel is straight because they are straight, and all fictional characters reflect them unless otherwise stated, right? No, not really.

Thankfully, the entire queer theory school of criticism exists, and it invites us to think outside of heteronormative social norms and ideas. Like, if you’ve ever heard of the concept of gender being a performance, not an inborn trait, that comes from queer theory. Now, I’m not doing a hardcore academic criticism of Lyonel Baratheon or A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as a whole. However, it is based on the idea that we can interpret characters and fictional works outside of heteronormative binaries.

A Note to Straight Men: Lyonel Baratheon is still allowed to be your favorite character in AKOTSK even if you can see how he may be bisexual. The sexualities of fictional characters that you like do not reflect your sexuality. For example, my brother is a straight man, but he really loves Lestat de Lioncourt, a bisexual character, in the recent AMC+ adaptation/reimagining of Interview with the Vampire. And yet, my brother is still straight.

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Ironheart: The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

MAJOR SPOILERS for Ironheart, including the sixth and final episode, “The Past is the Past.”

Ironheart is here, and it’s a good series, despite what a certain chunk of the MCU fandom will tell you. In fact, I think it’s one of the best-written Marvel shows on Disney+.

The thing about Ironheart, though, is that it’s not a simple tale. It’s the story of a young, genius Black woman who doesn’t have the resources to immediately start her own company and make millions off her inventions. She also doesn’t want to go off and just work for some other tech billionaire in San Francisco or Seattle. Riri Williams wants to work and live in Chicago and invent on her own terms. But in order to do that, she has to pay a price.

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Star Wars: Why My Favorite Obi-Wan Quote Isn’t “Hello There”

SPOILERS for the first two Star Wars trilogies.

Okay, so we FINALLY got a trailer for the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series. I’m so excited! Obi-Wan is one of my favorite Star Wars characters and has been since I was seven years old. I’m glad that the rest of the Star Wars fanbase is excited for this show, too. Unlike Boba Fett, Obi-Wan is a major supporting character with an established personality, so he has an actual character to explore, especially when he’s now in the throes of defeat while the Empire is at its height.

Yes, I found this progression image on social media. Yes, it rocks very hard.

However, I’m confused about the quote that most online Star Wars fans associate with Obi-Wan: “Hello, there!” …That’s it? Obi-Wan is the blueprint for most mentor characters in live-action speculative fiction, and the quote the fanbase most associates with him is a simple greeting?

What about “These are not the droids you’re looking for,” or “Mos Eisley: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious”? Or my very favorite: “If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”

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Mary Sues and Our Fear of Capable Women

SPOILERS for many works, including Star Wars, Hawkeye, Loki, and other things.

I wrote a blog in the first half of 2020 about how Rey and Captain Marvel aren’t Mary Sues. Since then, I’ve seen people call other recent female characters Mary Sues. This is particularly true for Sylvie in Loki. I think this phenomenon goes on because our society is afraid of capable women and we want to separate ourselves from fans who like those characters. Also, I think many of us just can’t wrap our heads around the concept that female characters can fulfill fantasies for women, not for men.

I began thinking about this topic again after I watched the first two episodes of Hawkeye. During those episode, I found myself really enjoying the character of Kate Bishop. She’s wealthy, pretty, clever, funny, and extremely capable in combat. All of sudden, I began to worry: Are people going to slap the term “Mary Sue” onto Kate Bishop and use that term as an excuse to dislike her?

I just really like Kate Bishop, okay? She’s fun.

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The Mandalorian: Why Cobb Vanth is Awesome

SPOILERS for Season 2 of The Mandalorian. LOTS of SPOILERS.

So the second season of The Mandalorian has started dropping on Disney+, and I love the Season 2 premiere (a.k.a. Chapter 9, The Marshal) SO MUCH. I’ve rewatched it 3 1/2 times, and it was my show and episode of choice on Election Night 2020. Because a bunch of people from different racial and ethnic groups coming together to defeat a dangerous monster just feels so relatable right now. But we’re not here to talk about the Krayt Dragon, or even Mando and Baby Yoda. We’re here to talk about that suave silver fox Marshal of Mos Pelgo, Cobb Vanth.

One of my coworkers said Cobb Vanth isn’t that attractive. That coworker is WRONG.

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Why Diego from The Umbrella Academy Isn’t as Dumb as You Think He Is

MAJOR SPOILERS for Seasons 1 and 2 of The Umbrella Academy.

So Season 2 of The Umbrella Academy dropped last week, and my sister and I blew through all ten episodes pretty quickly. IT’S SO GOOD. I love The Umbrella Academy because it’s a family drama disguised as a superhero show. Yes, there are superpowers and explosions and time travel and a few apocalypses, but these things all serve the purpose of bringing the Hargreeves siblings back together after years of estrangement. These things also make it possible for them to work through their traumas and rebuild their relationships with each other. Though this show has great special effects, flashy visuals, and fantastic music montages, it’s a character-driven show, not a plot- or effects-driven show. The plot and the effects help further the characters’ journeys, which is why The Umbrella Academy is such an amazing show.

Look at the reflections in everyone’s sunglasses. Can you see the character arcs and foreshadowing?

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