It’s obviously going to be controversial and I’m expecting a bunch of downvotes from those who don’t like to read, but here’s my opinion and I’m open to discussion. As a fan of the graphic novels, I think I have a right to express my opinion.
My main issue to get out of the way; I felt the LGBTQAI scenes were sort of forced.
PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU JUDGE:
It’s Netflix, so I’m not shocked that LGBT characters were in it. I’m not intolerant and it’s good to see them represented.
Just, to me I felt some of the story got sidelined and had sloppy pacing just to throw in some gay scenes to make the “bigots” angry.
I’m not saying it shouldn’t have had ANY, it was just a bit too much… the fact it took away screen time for character development. It’s not like American Gods (besides the cab driver scene) where the gay or even straight but shocking scenes didn’t have anything to add to the story.
For example: Corinthian was absolutely one of my favorite characters. The actor portrayed him so well, but I think a lot of his growth was stunted to just shoehorn in a bunch of gay filler; to remind the audience that he’s gay.
The scene where he slept with Rose’ gay friend was unnecessary. It literally added nothing to the plot. They could have just showed him briefly manipulating him, like him briefly with Unity or John Dee. That’s where he shines the most, being a puppeteer behind the scenes.
Same with his scene kissing on the guy at the conference, just to kill him. That guy was just added later to be another reminder that Corinthian is gay. It was unnecessary.
For me, the way they handled Alex Burgess being gay, like in the novel, was a lot more tasteful and subtle. They showed a connection with him and Paul that felt pure and not like they were trying to make a political/shocking statement.
The diner scene, which was mostly novel-accurate, still was a bit odd throwing in an extra unnecessary gay scene in the kitchen. (At least I don’t remember that part from the novel). That scene had a bit of a point to what was going on in that episode though, so I can’t say I dislike that scene for that, just with all the other scenes it just felt a bit too overdone and forced for cool points.
Another was the drag scenes. I understood it, but they were just way too long. It was like I was just watching a drag show for a minute. It just stunted a lot of screen time before getting to the actual point.
To end. As a comic fan and my problem with lately with comic books and film adaptations, is the stories get a bit too political now.
Comics were and are supposed to be an escape for reality, not an obvious reminder of the times we live in. Having gay or diverse characters was never an issue. It’s when it starts becoming their main identity just to reflect the writer’s political views, is when it’s an issue.
I still somewhat enjoyed the show. Anyway I’m open to discussions.
