Tracker Season 2 Needs To Avoid 1 Terribly Harmful (& Played Out) Trope For Its First Major Character Exit
Tracker is set to lose its first major character for season 2 and to do her exit justice, the show really needs to avoid one toxic and overused TV trope. It was recently reported that Robin Weigert’s character, Teddi Bruin, will be leaving Tracker ahead of season 2. It’s a shocking bit of news considering the show is only just past its first season, a season that was hugely successful with critics and audiences alike. According to CBS, Tracker was its most-watched original show since Desperate Housewives 20 years ago, an impressive feat. Part of the reason for its success is the great chemistry of the main cast, which has distinctive, interesting characters.
So for the show to be losing a main character so soon is definitely surprising, especially considering the pivotal role Teddi plays in the show. As a former band and tour manager, Teddi Bruin now acts as Colter Shaw’s handler, taking care of everything from finding him his next job, to arranging payment, to bailing him out of jail when he needs it. She’s his eyes, ears, and backup, and it’s hard to think of how Tracker season 2 will handle Robin Weigert’s character exit. While she doesn’t get as much screen time as Reenie and Bobby, Teddi is arguably the most vital part of Colter Shaw’s operation besides Colter himself.
Tracker Can’t Kill Off Teddi Lest It Risk The Bury Your Gays Trope
It Would Be A Lazy Way To Cut Her From The Show
While some have argued that Tracker season 2 can set a precedent by killing off Teddi, that would be a bad idea. As one-half of the only queer couple on Tracker, Teddi’s death would perpetuate, knowingly or not, the “bury your gays” trope. It’s a harmful stereotype that has too often been used to write off queer characters, and, thus far, Tracker has been good about naturally incorporating representation not often shown on TV, from Teddi and Velma’s marriage to Bobby’s prosthetic legs. Teddi’s death would unwittingly undermine much of that representative progress, which would be a shame considering how strong it’s been on that front.
The Bury Your Gays Trope Has Been Too Overused On TV
Its History Is Long And Hurtful
Hollywood’s bury your gays trope has been long used on television and is a source of upset for queer audiences and those who want to see smarter, more thoughtfully inclusive storytelling in TV shows. The “bury your gays” trope first evolved in late 19th-century literature, first following a very specific arc of one half of a gay couple dying and the other realizing afterward that they were never gay, often ending up happily married in a heterosexual relationship by the end of the book. It was a not-so-subtle message to reinforce the idea that being queer was a sin, and sinners don’t deserve happy endings or to escape punishment. The “correct,” moral ending was one in which a homosexual character died.
It was a not-so-subtle message to reinforce the idea that being queer was a sin, and sinners don’t deserve happy endings or to escape punishment.
With the explosion of other, newer mediums in the 20th century, the bury your gays trope evolved, particularly on television. Instead of being such a specific arc, the trope expanded to cover the broader, equally troubling pattern of queer characters, usually in relationships, being killed off, thus reinforcing the stereotype that gay characters are more expendable than heterosexual characters. While queer representation has been – too slowly – getting better, there have still been recent instances of the bury your gays trope really upsetting audiences, especially when combined with queerbaiting storylines.
Arguably, it was CW’s sci-fi show The 100 that sparked conversation about better queer representation and put a new focus on the harmful repercussions of the bury your gays trope. The show’s handling of the death of fan-favorite character, Lexa, who happened to be a lesbian, was a horrifically botched storyline that sparked a call for an examination about how queer love stories played out on TV. After a lengthy time queer-baiting the audience, The 100 finally saw Lexa and her lover Clarke, consummate their relationship, only for Lexa to immediately be killed by a bullet meant for her lover. Since then, inclusive storylines have slowly been getting better, but TV shows like Tracker need to take care to ensure they’re not backsliding.
How Tracker Season 2 Can Write Teddi Off Instead
There Are Plenty Of Ways To Cleverly Incorporate Her Exit Into The Show
Death is not the only meaningful way to write a character out of a TV show. Beyond that, however, there’s nothing in the reports that says Robin Weigert will never be coming back to the show; the only thing that was clear was that she would no longer be a series regular. While she’s likely done with Tracker for good, it still leaves the door open for her to return, just perhaps not in a starring role as before. It’s even possible that she’ll step away for a season, but may come back as a series regular in season 3 or beyond.
Even if Teddi doesn’t return, there are plenty of ways for Weigert to gracefully exit Tracker without the show caving to the lazy trope of burying one of its two gay women.
However, even if she doesn’t, there are plenty of ways for Weigert to gracefully exit Tracker without the show caving to the lazy trope of burying one of its two gay women. The show incorporates texting and video calls already; it would be really easy to continue Teddi’s presence in the show via technology without having to show her. While Teddi was an important part of Colter’s operation, she didn’t get that much screen time, which would make it easier to keep her character in the show without it being that jarring. With the show seemingly setting up a new storyline for Velma, it would be easy to shift the focus to her and keep Teddi in the background through inventive means.
If Tracker wants to get more serious, it can have Teddi and Velma divorce, with Teddi going off to pursue other avenues. The divorce doesn’t even have to be part of it; it’s entirely possible that Teddi could have business that takes her away from the work of being Colter Shaw’s handler, instead leaving it to Velma, Reenie, and Bobby. The three of them would be more han capable of handling things, especially with Reenie having quit her job as a lawyer at the end of season 1. Regardless of how Tracker handles Teddi’s exit, there are far better ways to deal with it than to unceremoniously kill her off, a fate that she, and queer audiences, don’t deserve.
