Neurodivergent (Headcanon) Alley: Ria Khan (Polite Society)

*Spoilers.*

I love this movie, in no small part because I adore Ria. She’s extra and obsessive and dramatic, and I love her so much. And of course, a heaping portion of that love comes from what I see as neurodivergent coding. If you gave me an autistic argument for Ria, I could probably buy that too, but for my money, this girl radiates ADHD.

(Also, before I get started, a quick side note: I've realized that, as I've gotten into Neurodivergent Alley, Big ND Energy shows/films I've watched in the last show haven't gotten much in the way of Favorite Characters posts. I've written multiple Neurodivergent Alley posts about Lessons in Chemistry, DuckTales, Nope, etc., but no Favorite Characters. In case it's not clear by how lovingly I write these, a Neurodivergent Alley post basically doubles as a Favorite Characters post.)

Ria is all in on her goals. At the start of the movie, this means her dream to become a stuntwoman. It doesn’t matter to her that she’s small, that it’s an “unrealistic” career goal, or that people make fun of her for it. This is one area where her eyes are fully on the prize. She’ll practice her super-special flying spin kick for hours, no matter how many times she falls, and she’ll repeatedly email her stuntwoman idol, not just to ask about a work experience opportunity, but to engage in a one-sided dialogue about the issues in her personal life.

This dream causes the people around Ria to assume that she’s unserious and unfocused. Even though she is in fact hyperfocused on what she wants, this leads her to appear like she’s dropping the ball in other areas. When the family goes to a hoity-toity Eid soiree, she gets bored and wanders around the house. She accepts fights she’s absolutely not equipped to win at school, and she has some ill-advised words for her teacher when her work experience proposal is rejected. Because she views her life like an action film, she occasionally appears to freeze up in reaction to things—she doesn’t respond because she’s caught up in the tense soundtrack and dramatic slow-mo playing out in her head.

Ria gets herself into a lot of trouble socially, not so much because she doesn’t understand social situations, but because she feels incredibly strongly about things and often expresses herself in ways that are viewed as “inappropriate.” This often comes from her intense focus on things that most people don’t care about like she does. Again, she doesn’t think twice about mouthing off to a bully who’s considerably bigger than she is, and she swears in front of her teachers and her parents. She decides that the best way to get her sister Lena to help her with her training is by yelling, “Please!” over and over while she tries to pull Lena off the bed by her legs. When she gets a new goal—stopping Lena’s wedding to Salim at all costs—she goes in on it so hard that she alienates her friends.

That brings us to Ria’s recklessness and impulsivity, because she has heaps of both. In some areas, she’s incredibly detail-oriented, coming up with a multi-part plan to take down Salim and help Lena “snap out of” her inclination to give up on her artistic dreams. But even as Ria makes these plans, she’s still often being led by her gut. Yep, she’ll disguise herself as a guy to swipe Salim’s laptop out of the men’s locker room at the gym. Sure, she’ll break into Salim’s house in the hopes of planting evidence of infidelity. Yeah, she’ll volunteer to be chloroformed to make sure it's safe before she tries it on Lena. Just another day in the life of Ria Khan!

She’s creative, driven, and passionate. She’s impulsive, rude, and stubborn. She’s protective, tough, and sensitive. She’s absolutely amazing, and I love her.