Asexual Sighting: Raphael Santiago (Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments)

It’s been a while since I posted an Asexual Sighting, and I’m glad to be able to make this new entry for Pride month.  Shadowhunters is, admittedly, more than a little ridiculous, but it works its way up to being entertaining enough, and I’m particularly happy to have Raphael to add to my collection of fictional aces (a few Raphael-related spoilers.)

We meet Raphael early in the series, though he’s a recurring character whose screentime waxes and wanes as the plot calls for him.  He’s a vampire, a higher-up in a New York clan housed out of the aptly-named Hotel Dumort.  As immortals go, he’s not too old – he became a vampire less than 100 years ago – but he’s naturally been around and seen a few things.  He starts out largely antagonistic with our heroes, but we get hints here and there that he can be reasoned with more than some of the other vampires, and when Simon is turned, Raphael tries to look out for him and show him the ropes. 

That’s Raphael’s early function – Simon’s mostly-unwanted mentor, sometimes allied against the Shadowhunters but occasionally working alongside them on a temporary basis.  Of the main Downworlders in the show, he’s the grayest, showing an unpredictability in his allegiances.  While he can often be persuaded to help out, especially as the series goes on, his self-interest can also prompt him to go against the Shadowhunters at crucial times, and he’s never as solidly “good guy” as, say, Magnus or Luke.  His periodic woobie moments, like his clear affection for his now-elderly “little” sister, is a counterpoint to the genuinely-dark things he’s done on the show without erasing them.  I like that, that you never fully know where he stands.

It’s in season 2 that we learn that Raphael is also a romantic asexual.  He makes a connection with Izzy at a low moment for both of them – she’s become addicted to vampire venom, and in her desperation to get it, she plays on Raphael’s own addiction for blood straight from the vein.  Shadowhunter blood, as it happens, is even more potent than the usual stuff, and they’re soon one another’s respective fixes.  It’s a complicated relationship in which their real feelings are tangled up in their addictions, and needless to say, when their friends find out about it, no one’s too happy.

One night, while sharing a hit with Raphael, Izzy asks him to kiss her, and he replies, “It’s not like that.  I’m not like that,” even adding the more overt, “I’m just not interested in sex.”  Izzy speculates that “being a vampire made [him] this way,” (shades of Oberyn and Varys from Game of Thrones,) but Raphael shuts that thinking down quick:  “No.  I’ve always been like this.”

There are a couple of things I like about this relationship, though I wish there were more of it than we’ve gotten so far.  Granted, with the whole “addicted to his venom/her blood” angle, I understand why they feel they’re not good for each other, so I can’t begrudge them feeling the need to keep their distance.  The Shadowhunter/vampire thing is likewise made to be important, but honestly, every main Shadowhunter in the cast has gotten with Downworlders, so it’s not exactly a dealbreaker.

But I digress.  I was talking about why I like Raphael/Izzy, not the things that keep them apart.  First, given how sexualized Izzy is as a character, I love the idea of her falling for an asexual and sometimes wish they wouldn’t focus so much on the supernatural details, because I want to know more about that.  Her sexiness is a big part of who she is; how is it for her to be with someone who’s not interested in that?  How would she approach the relationship differently?  Would it make her insecure to be with someone would doesn’t notice her sexiness, or would she relish being recognized for everything else about her – or both?  (She does bring this point up during a scene in season 3.  I’m just greedy and want more of it!)  How would they make sure she’s getting her own sexual needs met if they go all in on the relationship?  There’s so much they can explore here, and they’ve just scratched the surface.  It was recently announced that Shadowhunters is being canceled, and they only have 12 episodes left, including a two-part finale commissioned after the cancellation – please tell me the show will give us a little more of these two before it goes!

I also love the relationship from the flipside, how Raphael relates to Izzy.  For my money, David Castro has grown quite a bit as an actor since the start of the series, and by the time Raphael and Izzy start getting close in season 2, Castro 100% sells me on the way Raphael looks at her, which is romantic but not sexual.  I’m not even sure how a sexual manages to convey that, but he does.  Raphael’s addiction to Izzy’s blood means there is some heat coming from his side, but when it comes to his feelings for her, I see the longing and care without the “sizzle,” and it’s just beautiful to me.