Russell T. Davies has a long career, but he’s best known to sci-fi fans as the guy who brought Doctor Who back from the dead in 2005, serving as showrunner during the eras of the Ninth and Tenth Doctors (Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant respectively). Some of his other works include Queer as Folk and It’s a Sin, both of which center the stories of LGBTQIA+ people.
A gay man who has put his money where his mouth is when it comes to covering queer topics in his career, Davies has some strong opinions about how other people in the industry are addressing these issues…or not. For instance, during a virtual Pride month panel for Swansea University, he came down pretty hard on a scene from Marvel’s Loki — a show that often got compared to Doctor Who — where Disney hinted that Loki was bisexual. When Sylvie asked Loki if there had been a “would-be-princess” in his life, “or, perhaps, another prince,” Loki responded, “A bit of both.”
Loki director Kate Harron said it was “important” to her to acknowledge that Loki was bisexual within the text of the show, but admitted that this was “a small step.” To Davies, it was way too small.
Loki’s depiction of bisexuality was a “ridiculous, craven, feeble gesture”
“I think huge, cleaning warning bells are ringing as the giants rise up with Netflix and Disney+ especially,” Davies said. “I think that’s a very great worry. Loki makes one reference to being bisexual once, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh my god, it’s like a pansexual show.’ It’s like one word. He said the word ‘prince’ and we’re meant to go, ‘Thank you, Disney! Aren’t you marvelous?’ It’s a ridiculous, craven, feeble gesture towards the vital politics and the stories that should be told.”
For the record, I completely get where he’s coming from. Tom Hiddleston played Loki for a full decade and Disney never once hinted at him being bisexual or pansexual. And when it did, it was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment on the way to Loki and Sylvie falling for each other. It does feel like Disney waited until the time was right and then did the absolute bare minimum to acknowledge that LGBTQIA+ people exist and should be included in television shows.
On the other hand, they did do something, which is more than some other series do. There’s now a Marvel TV show watched by millions of people where the main character is queer. That’s a good thing, even if it feels like a bone tossed to fans who want to see more diversity rather than genuine change. It’s gotta start somewhere.
We’ll see what Loki does with this thread when it returns to Disney+ for season 2!
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels
h/t ComicBook.com