Relationship Spotlight: Mulan & Aurora (Once Upon a Time)

First off, way to go, Supreme Court!!  I’m so happy about the ruling, and in light of it, I want to spend some time exploring LGTBQ in the media – the good, the not-so-good, and the puzzling.  It won’t be all LGBTQ all the time (I’d have a hard time with Buster Mondays otherwise!), but expect plenty more in the near future.  Spoilers for Mulan-Aurora plots on Once Upon a Time.

These two are maybe an odd subject to start with.  After all, they’re not a couple – all signs point to Mulan falling for the straight princess – and I’ve complained before about Mulan disappearing from the show immediately after being confirmed as queer.  Not exactly celebratory, right?  There are better examples of fictional same-sex relationships I could’ve highlighted for my first post in our brave new country.  So why am I writing about Aurora and Mulan?  Because a big primetime ABC/Disney show features one of the coolest Disney Renaissance princesses falling in love with one of the first classic Disney princesses, and I just love that that happened.

Admittedly, I’d heard Mulan-Aurora rumblings before watching Once Upon a Time, so when I got to their story, I was viewing through a will-they-won’t-they lens, which may not have been the writers’ intention.  It’s possible that, initially, their story is what it seems on the surface:  Mulan travels with Phillip to help him find and rescue Aurora from the sleeping curse but is secretly in love with him herself.  She’s then harsh with Aurora because she’s jealous and blames Aurora for the dangers Phillip is put in on her behalf.  Wholly possible.  But for me, the other story, the one they ultimately go with, is much more interesting.  Mulan travels with Phillip to help him find and rescue Aurora from the sleeping curse but is secretly in love with Aurora herself.  She’s then harsh with Aurora because she’s worried about Aurora’s safety, is afraid she won’t able to protect her, and doesn’t know how to deal with her feelings about that.  At the same time, she blames Aurora for the dangers Phillip is put in on her behalf because Phillip is her dear friend and she knows firsthand what someone will risk when they love Aurora, and she’s upset that Phillip has Aurora’s heart when she can’t bring herself to voice how she feels.

Do you see how much more involved the second reading is?  There’s the obvious fact that it’s longer and more complex.  It’s also a lot less clichéd (not without cliché – Pining for the Straight Friend is an old chestnut, but I’ll take it over The Boy Likes the Pretty Girl Instead of the Tomboy or Two Women Resent Each Other Because of a Guy.)  And as that last point shows, it’s more interesting from a gender perspective as well.  Mulan snapping at Aurora because she’s jealous is petty.  Mulan snapping at Aurora because she’s trying to juggle her hidden affections with her fear that she can’t keep Aurora safe is a lot meatier.  It’s made more complex when Aurora doesn’t take kindly to being treated like a china doll, so she pushes back against Mulan, which just makes Mulan double down on the brusque, protective routine.  Eventually though, Mulan reluctantly adapts as Aurora grows and starts to take on a more heroic role (in her own way – I like that Aurora isn’t a fighter, but she’s still strong.)  Though Mulan continues to look out for Aurora about all else, each sees the other’s worth, and they accomplish things together.

So, even though Phillip is Aurora’s True Love and, in the end, Mulan leaves because it would break her heart more to stay, I like these two.  I like their plot, I like how they grow alongside each other, and I love that a mainstream TV show wrote a love story (even if it was unrequited) between two Disney princesses.  That’s a lot of wins in my book.