I dont watch but just saw on twitter that Kristin Schall directed the ep which I feel is important bc like I’m glad a woman had a hand in bringing this to screen
i mean, the episode was still definitely…written by a man. very cringy and angering in some places–as per usual–but that doesn’t take away from the main plot and the fantastic acting. directing was awesome, too, so props to kschall 100%
I went and had a look at the writers for each episode and honestly, all the best Erica/Gail ones – heck, most of the best ones in general – were written by women. (Nope, I’m not surprised either.) I’m curious about the makeup of the s4 writers/directors room though. From 4×01 to 4×07, there’s been four female writers and three female directors, including Kristen. I was hoping it would be a 50/50 split, but… it is not.
Oh, and The Big Day, it turns out, is one of only two episodes both written and directed by women (the other one is Moovin’ In) and it was directed by Nisha Ganatra, who is Indian and openly lesbian. So at least one QWOC was involved with Erica/Gail, which is good.
I dont watch but just saw on twitter that Kristin Schall directed the ep which I feel is important bc like I’m glad a woman had a hand in bringing this to screen
i mean, the episode was still definitely…written by a man. very cringy and angering in some places–as per usual–but that doesn’t take away from the main plot and the fantastic acting. directing was awesome, too, so props to kschall 100%
I went and had a look at the writers for each episode and honestly, all the best Erica/Gail ones – heck, most of the best ones in general – were written by women. (Nope, I’m not surprised either.) I’m curious about the makeup of the s4 writers/directors room though. From 4×01 to 4×07, there’s been four female writers and three female directors, including Kristen. I was hoping it would be a 50/50 split, but… it is not.
I know TLMOE isn’t perfect – I mean, its main character is a gross dude and half the humour (or sometimes ‘humour’) comes from everyone knowing he’s a gross dude – but I still normally feel SO DAMN HAPPYafter every episode. And it’s usually (almost always) because of the women! Like with this one, you not only got a wedding between two women who love each other, you also got Erica extending the hand of friendship to a woman she’s spent a long time being mutually antagonistic too, and mother/daughter stuff with Gail and Carol too. Basically I really like how much this show focuses on lots of different positive female relationships now I guess? Which is something I never thought we’d get back in the terrible dark days of season 1
What do you find most interesting about these characters? This ship?
Which specific fan art, fanfic, and/or meta for this ship is your favorite? Why?
In what ways does this ship expand representation for or defy stereotypes about LBPT women and/or women of color? Ditto LBPT women of color.
*For now, I’m not including Canon Character/OFC because I want to see what ships come from characters that we do not have to create ourselves.
*Please, do not list ships that involve whitewashing, brownfacing, redfacing, yellowfacing or the like.
Gail/Erica from The Last Man on Earth. (A post-apocalypse sitcom which after a bad first series suddenly became AMAZING.) Honestly, when they first got together, it looked on the surface like it could’ve been a bait for higher ratings: get the only two unattached women on the show together, show ‘em kissing, and then forget all about it and put in a throwaway line saying they broke up or something. But that didn’t happen! Instead, they’re raising a baby together; and they’re constantly being physically intimate together even in episodes where the plot is focused on something else entirely; and they clearly love each other and it’s just so sweet and nice. Is nice a good word? I think nice’s a good word.
I really wish there was more art/fic/eta for them but the fandom for TLMOE is so tiny that there’s only a small amount of stuff. However, what there is all wonderfully done, and it can be found here!
Gail/Erica is interesting because in a way Erica defies a lot of a stereotypes just by herself? She’s black, bisexual, an ex-criminal, has taken recreational drugs at one point in her past, and yet she’s (usually) the softest and sweetest person in any given episode. (The most recent episode was a rare exception.) The writers even said in an interview that she was “the last judge” of humanity’s behaviour post-apocalypse, and it shows a lot. The fact that Erica and Gail both have “motherly” roles in the group, including sometimes to people who they have no biological relation to, strikes me as a bit of a stereotype-buster as well possibly?
Also there’s a big age gap between them – Erica gives her age as 25 at one point and Gail is in her sixties if her actress’s age is anything to go by. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a May-December same-sex romance on TV before. (And, re: Gail, there aren’t really many WLW over 50 on TV anywhere.)
Anyway, I’m so happy everyday that the show went in this direction and did a good job of it so far.
