Maybe, I'm getting old, but "fridging" your sister as a "plot motivator" feels rather "problematic" in 2025. Maybe, they did it in such a way that it didn't turn out problematic--- though, I'll need to read and come back with an opinion. That said, the feminist critique term, "fridge|fridging|women in refrigerators|WIR" originated by comic book writer, Gail Simone, in 1999. When a "trope" has been
so overdone that not only did we get a
website, but
also independent
Wikipedia and
TVTropes articles, but
Reddit articles to even, God Willing,
academic articles (and from the Mormons no less), it's TIME to question whether one should even TOUCH this trope, let alone, build an entire series based upon it. That said, what matters is AGENCY. Does the author successfully provide this dude's SISTER with SUFFICIENT AGENCY? Does she get FULLY DEVELOPED as a person? or is she just yet
another wanton victim of male imposed violence against women?
And
yes, when a 38/39 year old mostly white boy from Republican upbringing is calling you out on that trope, you
may wish to consider wisely the implementation.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a merely my reaction to the summary. Not, the story. I'll do a followup for that. I'm responding to the overuse of the trope. The problematic nature of the trope. And how perhaps this trope needs GLOBAL analysis and exegesis if we want to prevent its uncritical furtherance. One thing is to use it
ironically as a method of
social criticism, but just
using it without self-awareness is a
problem. One that we
must address at
every possible opportunity.
BTW, said with LOVE to my fellow writers, content creators, readers, fans, and the comic community at large.
