Willow becomes the ideal queer fantasy love story in episode 5

Willow’s Kit Tanthalos does not look or act like your typical princess. Ruby Cruz plays Kit Tanthalos with an unabashed, rebellious charm that would make Madmartigan blush. Kit is stubborn and often petulant to a fault, prefers leather armor to ball gowns, is quick with her sword, and — as was pointed out in episode 4 — has it bad for her best friend and self-appointed protector, Jade Claymore (Erin Kellyman). Kit is lucky to have Jade Claymore, a loyal and levelheaded woman.

Since years, Disney fans have been asking for a queer Disney Princess. Willow has delivered. Jade and Kit’s story has all of the beats of a traditional fantasy romance, but with a modern sensibility to it, making it feel fresh and new in a genre that often teases queerness but steers away from it in the end. The result here is an organic and utterly charming plotline that doesn’t feel like it was devised just to include token representation.

The lady and the knight is a chivalric — if somewhat overwrought — trope that most fantasy fans will be familiar with. This portrays the young lady as an elegant and respectable, but helpless, girl who is in dire need of protection. She is protected by the knight, a strong and handsome man. They often fall in love as their relationship develops. Willow This trope is flipped on its head. Instead of a young man, a young woman is determined to become a knight in shining armor and the beautiful lady in question isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

It’s been an absolute delight to watch both Kit and Jade embody the roles of the lady and the knight, respectively, as they navigate their feelings for one another while trying to save Kit’s brother and, on a much larger scale, the world. Despite their repeated attempts to distance themselves from their romance, their relationship has grown stronger since the sword fight and the stolen kiss episode 1. Being heroes hasn’t afforded them much time to process those feelings, but the tension between them has been undeniable in the private moments that they’ve shared together.

Instead of avoiding queerness or making a show of it, WillowIt is celebrated in joy, something that’s still lacking from many sci-fi and fantasy shows. Often queerness becomes a complication within the story; a character might feel like they have to hide who they are or come out to their companions before their adventure can progress, but that’s not the case here. It’s not. Willow isn’t just a show about swashbuckling adventurers. It’s a show about love and how to take care of one another. Over the course of the series, Willow and his companions have become a found family; they might not be related by blood, but they’ve come together to form a unit based on their shared experiences and understanding of one another despite occasionally butting heads.

It’s yet another trope Willow weds the couple’s story to, but it’s used with purpose. Their love isn’t simple or pat; it’s integral to, and integrated with, the whole world around them.

Photo: Amanda Searle/Lucasfilm

A dark and mysterious forest can be a magical place that allows fantasy lovers to see what their hearts desire. “The Wildwood is seductive,” Boorman says. “It lures you in with its sights and sounds. Next thing you know, you’re officiating weddings and dog-sitting for casual acquaintances.” He’s not entirely wrong, either. Throughout the course of the episode, Elora, Graydon, and Boorman are all faced with something that they want, but it’s Kit and Jade who truly take center stage.

Willow and the others are separated from one other almost instantly after being taken into Wildwood by Bloodthirsty Bone Reavers. Kit, much to her dismay, is locked up with Elora, leaving her to worry about Jade’s safety. Elora, clearly as fed up with their mutual pining as Boorman is, proceeds to tell Kit, “I believe that love is the most powerful force in the universe.”

Elora, naturally, is talking about Airk’s relationship, but this sentiment also applies to Kit, Jade, and others. What ensues is a brilliant, if somewhat brief, moment between two characters who have otherwise spent most of this season at each other’s throats. It’s also incredibly refreshing to watch. Kit’s feelings for Jade aren’t trivialized, used against her, or turned into a shocking reveal. Instead, it’s made clear that Elora and everyone else in their band of adventurers are truly rooting for Kit and Jade.

Kit and Jade eventually confess their feelings to one another with the aid of truth plums. It’s aided with the help of another well-worn fantasy trope. But it’s a heartfelt confession of love that’s been slowly building over five episodes, and presumably for much longer than that. For the first time since the beginning of the show they’re able to put aside their respective titles and just be two young women who are hopelessly in love with each other.

Of course, things don’t go entirely to plan — there are more episodes in this season, after all. Jade, Kit and a group of trolls interrupt their kissing before they can get back together. Kit is consequently pulled from Jade’s grasp and abruptly whisked away, leaving Jade to be the knight she’s always wanted to be. While WillowThis cleverly puts a different spin on the lady-and-the knight trope. It also acknowledges that Jade, Kit and others still have parts to play.