Welcome to This Week in Fandom, the OTW’s roundup of things which are happening! Before we start, in case you haven’t heard, parts of the MCU movie Avengers: Endgame have been leaked. Be careful with spoilers, people.
Speaking of spoilers, this next section has plenty for The Magicians. Also, warning for mention of suicide.
The season four finale of the SyFy show aired this past week, and it sent fans reeling. In short, main character Quentin sacrificed his life to save his friends, and he won’t be back next season. Fans are upset about the message this sends, given that Quentin was a bisexual man who suffered from clinical depression, and they’re alleging that the show is using the Bury Your Gays trope and glorifying suicide.
Dreamwidth user cleolinda put together a pretty comprehensive post on the whole situation titled The Magicians S4 Finale Aired Five Days Ago And I’m Still Mad As Hell, which includes links to articles about the finale. Additional details on the situation: most of the cast was kept in the dark about this plot development for the duration of their press work and they’re not happy either; it’s unclear whose idea it was for actor Jason Ralph to leave the show; and showrunners are claiming the plot point is progressive and subversive for killing a main white male character.
So what are fans doing in response to this? Well, there’s already a bunch of fix-it works on AO3. There’s also a fanworks fundraiser being organized called Thank Q for the Hope, with proceeds going to The Trevor Project. Some people are just expressing their shock and/or their disappointment. Some have even decided to yell at a plant themselves. (It makes sense in context, I promise.)
So what do you think? Are you as upset as most other fans? Let us know in the comments!
In other news, there’s been a spotlight on black and non-white Game of Thrones fans recently. In a video by Vice and an article by The Mary Sue, the popular hashtag #DemThrones has been explored. It’s a place where fans of colour can discuss the show through a lens of racial issues and black culture. As The Mary Sue article says:
Those conversations don’t detract from what makes the show fun, but it’s great to have a huge diversity of thought and discourse about the media we consume, especially something as watched and discussed as Game of Thrones. As a Black nerd, these types of communities and hashtags have been a great space for me to find thoughts and opinions that even I didn’t consider.
Lastly, there’s a new meme in town. Vox has published an article discussing the trend of artists illustrating their favourite ship dynamics. The adorable and hilarious art is making the rounds on Twitter and Tumblr, with just about every dynamic imaginable being depicted. Which is your favourite?
We want your suggestions! If you have a story you think we should include, please contact us! Suggestions are welcome in all languages. Submitting a story doesn’t guarantee that it will be included in a TWIF post, and inclusion of a story doesn’t mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.