Star Wars Couple Confirmed As Gay: So What?

There are those “fans” that complain about social justice themes in Star Wars, citing that as the reason for their displeasure with the way in which Disney has handled the franchise. Such a position, of course, ignores the socio-political underpinnings of the entire franchise, but we’ll get to that in a moment. First, we’ll talk about the recent not-so-surprising confirmation that a certain Star Wars couple is indeed gay. And no, we’re not talking about Threepio and Artoo.

If you’ve been watching Star Wars Resistance, you’ll be familiar with Flix and Orka. Together they run the Office of Acquisitions on the Colossus fueling station. For many astute viewers the relationship between the two characters was quite obvious from the beginning. Flix, a bird-like Gozzo, and Orka, a Chandra-Fan, clearly exhibited the characteristics of an “old married couple” from the get-go. In a recent interview, however, the show’s executive producer confirmed the Star Wars couple as gay.

Star Wars couple confirmed as gay: So what?

While speaking to the folks at the Coffee with Kenobi podcast, Star Wars Resistance executive producer Justin Ridge answered the question definitively:

I think it’s safe to say they’re an item, absolutely. They’re absolutely a gay couple.”

Now that we know for certain that this Star Wars couple is gay, the Internet has reacted, predictably. Even a quick perusal of social media stories about Flix and Orka reveal a continuing perception. Namely, people are still complaining that Kathleen Kennedy is using Lucasfilm for her own social justice warrior (“SJW”) campaign. For those folks, this revelation is nothing more than furtherance of that belief. Again I ask: So what?

It’s not like Star Wars Resistance features the characters having any kind of true intimacy. Likewise, the only hint of the true nature of the relationship came in episode 13, “Dangerous Business.” That was when the Star Wars couple went to visit Flix’s mother and left Kaz to man the shop. (And, news flash: they’re not even the first gay Star Wars characters. For that you have to all the way back to the original Holiday Special.) So how is depicting a gay couple in any way a departure from the historic, underlying, social justice themes of Star Wars

Social Justice was an original trilogy theme, and a prevalent one, at that

From the very first film in 1977 forward, Star Wars has tackled nearly every aspect of social justice. Oppression. Social and economic disparity. Discrimination. Slavery. The original trilogy addressed these social justice topics long before Kathleen Kennedy came into play. And it did so overtly. But … to some, confirming a Star Wars couple in Resistance to be gay now seemingly crosses a line.  (Let’s not even get into the fact that Flix and Orka are of different species.)

Personally I couldn’t care less about a character’s persuasion/orientation. What’s important to me is whether the characters are entertaining, and are part of good storytelling. Admittedly, I’ve found the storytelling in Resistance to be lacking. It did pick up towards the end of Season 1, though. I’m looking forward to what Season 2 has to offer. But what about you? How do you feel about this topic? Let us know in the comments below.

Otherwise…. Star Wars Resistance returns with Season 2 this coming Sunday, October 6. Check your local listings.

Source: Coffee with Kenobi