We Three Queens

Monica proposed a couple weeks ago (or 5) that we each provide a synopsis of our love for 3 characters as bonus content. It’s just a bit more of a glimpse into the traits and stories we value. So, in no particular order (meaning a very particular order), here are some of my favs…

Clarke Griffin (the hundy)

Where do I even start? I have NEVER related to a fictional character more than I relate to Clarke Griffin and honestly, the vast array of reasons are far too complex for me to fully comprehend or express. On the side of simplicity, she has such an incredible heart that people ignore or deny. She’s not just the head, the brains, the leader. She has a heart all her own, one that beats solely for the good of others.

Is it always evident? No. Does she screw up? All the time. Can she seem callous and manipulative? Yep. Is she sometimes callous and manipulative? To be sure. Does that heart still thud for everything she cares about? Every. minute. of. every. day.

Clarke is, to some degree, misunderstood. Her decisions can be somewhat cursory. She often functions unilaterally, even in the midst of a group. She tends to take charge when it isn’t her place. But you know what? That’s habit because so often NO ONE ELSE will step up. Everyone else wants to berate her when a plan turns to shit, but what did they do to solve the problem or make the impossible choices? Nada.

Clarke’s a thinker AND a doer. Throughout her journey of leadership, she truly learns that you can’t save everyone nor can you ask others to do what you wouldn’t do yourself. You can’t inspire people to believe in that which you do not.

Anyway, I could go on forever, but I’d get in trouble. I’ll have more words for you at another time should you be interested in hearing them. Suffice it to say: Clarke Griffin isn’t just half of your ship. She’s one of the strongest and most inspiring women to ever grace a television screen. Full stop.

Sarah Manning (Orphan Black)

Dear and precious Sarah, who is everything and everyone both figuratively and literally. Tatiana Maslany IS Orphan Black and maybe all of television. Does she play you? How would I know? Does she play me? I wish!

But really, what does one do when she comes into contact with every version of herself? Empty their bank accounts and sleep with their boyfriends, obviously. Ok, I kid. Kinda? Maybe? How honest are we being here?

Anyway, AFTER all that. Sarah goes on a journey to right the wrongs of her past while forging many new wrongs along the way. She’s not always on her best behavior. Honestly, some of my favorite scenes are her and Cosima hanging up on each other and exclaiming “bitch.” She’s a broken and confused woman who becomes an antihero you never have to hate. Sarah was there because, for the first time in her life, she was needed. She found a purpose greater than herself and it’s beautiful.

The whole show is about identity and family and, at the heart of it all, Sarah goes from orphaned throwaway to the head of a beautiful ragtag bunch, which were found (biological or otherwise).

Ultimately, she’s just a clusterfuck of a mess and I love her for it because it’s real.

Samantha Groves, but you can call her Root, bitch! (Person of Interest)

Maybe we’re all just bad code. Or perhaps that’s the only conclusion an unloved coder could come to about the human race. It makes logical sense given her upbringing. Logic is all Root knows. She essentially takes on the identity of a machine herself, closing off the idea that any person could compare to superior programming. She worships The Machine. She would’ve worshiped Samaritan had things played out differently. Root needed a God and technology was it.

Through a series of strange events, she starts to see that these “people” she’s surrounded by, whether by choice or necessity, care about each other. They’re flawed but still have value. She’s quite resistant at first, but over time, she’s worn down. She let’s go of a lot of her preconceived notion about what it means to be alive and learns what it means to be human, what it means to hope.

Root finds her greatest love onscreen: her love for humanity. She realizes that one person is not all people and it’s unfair to generalize an entire species based on history. She comes to understand what found family means and is, in some ways, the catalyst that forms her very own. Who can watch and not develop respect and appreciation for that? Not me.

Honorable mention to our very own gunslinging heir, Wynonna Frickin’ Earp. We four queens just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Also, that wasn’t the assignment and everyone knows I’m such a stickler for following directions. Also snark. Mostly snark.

Well friends, I fear that though I’ve been verbose, this content perhaps lacks elegance because it’s so comprehensively based on fangirl emotions. Meh, I am what I am.

Thanks for all your support! We love you guys.

-bp