The Dreamers, Believers and The Truth Seekers – Emily Andras

By: Brittany Dailey & Lisa Steinberg

Under representation is a common thing in the media. Even if a specific group is represented, it isn’t always done properly. This is known as a “trope.” A trope is an overused plot device. Common tropes are: the jerk character with a heart of gold, the classic love triangle or music dubbed training montages. Not all tropes are bad, but they can be harmful to communities. One trope in particular was brought to the forefront last year. The “bury your gays” trope was established when gay characters were road blocked from having happy endings, which usually was due to and lead to their death. The message this sends to the LGBTQ community is that they are not deserving of the same things as heterosexuals. 

Enter “Wynonna Earp.” A show, not only with a female centric lead, but LGBTQ representation. “Wynonna Earp” isn’t your average sci-fi series. It’s a Western with plenty of demons and drama, but there are no damsels in distress. Helmed by showrunner Emily Andras, this series shines. What makes it so special is the stories that Andras tells beyond the surface. Emily doesn’t just tell stories with strong female leads. She tells them all and she does so with purpose whether showcasing the layers of love and sisterly bonds or the brass badassery that is taking down any demon that dares to come after the people Wynonna cares about. When other showrunners run from complications, Andras seems to run towards them. That’s because messy is still meaningful. She tells the stories of women and men in the most authentic ways imaginable. You feel an overwhelming unconditional acceptance and it’s never been there before. When other showrunners use TV tropes and lazy writing where the character you identify with the most is the first to go, Emily sees their stories and wants to breathe even more life into them. Emily Andras dares to defy.

The point is you don’t see the kinds of characters that Emily creates every day on television.  She makes sure that she provides such a broad spectrum of showing representation. She treats each character with TLC and spikes them with sass, sarcasm and so many ways to kick ass! They can tear your heart apart as quickly as they make your heart swell with the power of emotion.  She plays with light and dark as if she sprinkled it with magic. She shows that women don’t need a man’s opinion or validation and we definitely don’t need them to rescue us. Andras keeps you guessing because she takes the show in so many directions, which is how it avoids the trap of predictability. When other TV shows are afraid to show multiple queer main characters, “Wynonna Earp” so far has given us at least three queer lead characters that we know of. These characters are honest, real, brave and beautiful. Even in a sci-fi setting where you feel so truly immersed, there is a rawness that draws you in and keeps you locked into every episode.

Andras is known for her work on “Lost Girl,” another show known for giving proper representation to the LGBTQ community and featuring a female as a lead. I guess you could say that Andras has a particular brand. But what a brand it is! In an industry where female characters are one dimensional and take a backseat, in order to serve the narrative of the male character, you won’t find that in “Lost Girl” or more notably, “Wynonna Earp.” With the character of Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) front and center as a gun slinging demon hunter trying to break the Earp family curse, she has swagger and quick quips yet she won’t be held down by anyone – man, the law or demons (“Revenants”). It would be easy to typecast her as “the badass heroine,” but as they say don’t judge a book by its cover. Aside from the obvious badassery, when you peel back the surface Wynonna has got more baggage than days of the week. This doesn’t take away from her being seen as a strong female. It makes her a layered, vulnerable character. Human. You can be vulnerable and badass. They aren’t mutually exclusive.

What does every heir trying to break a curse on their family need? An amazeballs, fluent in multiple languages, younger sister by their side. Enter Waverly Earp (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) and the most important relationship on the show, the Earp sisters. When we first see the sisters, Wynonna returns to the town of Purgatory after being gone for quite some time. It doesn’t take long for the sisterly bonds to strengthen as the Earp family curse is thrust onto them and they are charged with tracking down and sending demons back to hell. While they’ve faced their share of demons, their sister Willa returned and now there is the most recent twist of Waverly being possessed because she touched the goo, these two are thick as thieves. And they are the heart of the show.

While the Earp sister relationship is the most important, the most influential relationship on the show is by far the one between Waverly and Officer Nicole Haught (Katherine Barrell). Coming off of one of the worst years that not only lacked in good LGBTQ representation, but positive representation as well the LGBTQ community was mourning the loss of a gay character nearly every other week. Just when all hope was lost, Officer Haught walked into a bar to a beer-soaked Waverly. Fans got to see this budding relationship grow over Season One as “Officer Heart Eyes” pines after the youngest Earp who uses her smarts to dump her canoe of a boyfriend, comes to terms with her sexuality and then her feelings for Haught. Most notably the end of Season ONe saw Haught shot while wearing a bulletproof vest, which cast out any doubt that Andras would follow suit with the trend of burying her gays. She even went out on a limb in the middle of Season One to announce that both Waverly and Nicole would live by the end of the season. The pairing, known as WayHaught, is a bright spot not only in the show but in the current television landscape in general.

What Emily Andras has created with “Wynonna Earp” has made it become one of the most progressive programs which has catapulted the series into becoming Friday night must see TV. The show may be called “Wynonna Earp,” but it’s more than just its female fronted lead. The entire cast continually turns in some of the most powerful and compelling performances weekly. This is a show you have to watch multiple times because the writing is so quick and sharp that even small sentences shared can have deeper meanings and that heart and humor can be intertwined in a sci-fi series.  She also showcased this with her work on “Lost Girl” and has become one of her most incredible hallmarks.  You never see the twists coming and she takes you on a wild, wicked and wonderful ride that will have your head spinning and your heart pounding.

Andras is known for her strong female characters, but she in herself perpetually shows her very own.  They call her “mother of unicorns” and she is aptly named. Emily Andras has no chill and that’s in all the best ways. Through her work on “Wynonna Earp” she has built more than just a fandom. It’s a family or what “Wynonna Earp” star Kate Drummond has deemed “a famdom” referred to as “Earpers.”  She meets her critics head on and blows them out of the water. She writes complex characters that are diverse, dynamic and multifaceted. They are like onions, you constantly are finding new layers and personality traits that add to their hero’s journey. That’s what makes Emily Andras exceptional. She recognizes the need for more inclusive television series and makes it a priority to make sure her programs provide that for her audience. She knows the kind of platform she has and takes every advantage of it to give back to her audience and show them their worth it. She doesn’t run from problems. She puts them in her own path as obstacles and totally obliterates them with every angle she possibly can. 

What we love about Andras as well is that she’s not afraid to push boundaries. You get used to certain feelings, certain rejections and certain ways you are treated in life. And then you finally find that one person who you can believe in and know that they won’t treat you like the rest. They give you respect and guidance and, above all else, they value who you are and want to tell your story in a real with intent and justice. This is Emily Andras.

What every other show lacks and is afraid to explore Andras tackles head on and with the utmost care and respect for her audience. Her writing is filled with pokes at politics, the patriarchy and the way society sees its norms. She pushes her audience to see things through the eyes of a whole new perspective and makes the television world a better place by showing LGBT and POC audiences that their stories matter, too. Emily Andras is an ally, advocate and someone we genuinely admire for her inclusivity, originality and engagement with her famdom.  She isn’t going for shock value, although one can argue she packs in as much as Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon) carries dynamite. Andras is invested in telling stories and if those include badass females and queer characters, then consider us on the bus and never getting off. We might as well just buckle ourselves in because we know it’s going to be a hell of a ride.