Relationship Spotlight: Zatz & Maya (Maya and the Three)

*Some Maya/Zatz-related spoilers.*

Another Maya and the Three Relationship Spotlight! Maya’s friendship with the three prophesied warriors is utterly lovely, as I’ve said, and her dynamic with Zatz is really neat too. Even though it becomes clear pretty early on which way things are going to go with that relationship, the journey of watching them get there is terrific.

Maya and Zatz have… well, it’s the opposite of a meet cute. He interrupts her coronation for her fifteenth birthday, crashing the party in a spectacular way. Riding his skeletal steed, Zatz, Prince of Bats, shows up from the realm of the gods in full armor. He announces that 1) Maya is actually the daughter of the goddess of death, 2) the god of war wants to increase his power by sacrificing her, and 3) if anyone tries to prevent that, he’ll lay waste to their kingdoms. Cheery message, right? Happy birthday, Maya!

Needless to say, this positions Maya as decidedly not Team Zatz. The next few times she sees him, she’s ready to trade accusations, blows, and/or blades. She views him as an underling of the gods and is already way over this whole “let’s sacrifice Maya” thing. So it doesn’t really register for her that Zatz never actually tries to capture her and bring her to Lord Mictlan. He refuses to fight her father when he’s injured, noting that it would be without honor, and when Lord Mictlan kills someone close to Maya, Zatz brings her their weapons as a gesture of sympathy.

Because even though, for a while, he’s still ostensibly on the side of the gods (if only to avoid Lord Mictlan’s wrath,) Zatz is already falling hard for Maya. I love that, when he returns to the underworld, he immediately tells his father that Maya is courageous, loyal, and beautiful, in that order. It reminds me of Aladdin, when Aladdin is gushing to Genie about Jasmine and begins by telling him how smart and fun she is—it’s only at Genie’s prompting that he brings up her beauty. If you’re into guys, get you a guy who appreciates all your qualities!

So it’s only a matter of time before Zatz fully demonstrates to Maya that his allegiances are changing. He intervenes when his goddess girlfriend goes after Maya (making it clear they’re through, hehe,) and he ultimately rejects Lord Mictlan and joins Maya’s quest to fight him. Before it’s all said and done, he’s comforting her in a moment of grief, and they’re fighting alongside each other as Lord Mictlan arrives with all the forces of hell behind him.

The enemies-to-lovers thing is a trope, but when done well, it can be really good, and this one is. I love their clash in the middle of the series, where they have the most chemistry-fueled fight this side of Xu Wenwu and Ying Li. They both have such light in their eyes as they cross blades. When they do finally get together, they’re too cute, with Zatz announcing, “I missed you,” as they reunite for the final battle and Maya planting a huge kiss on Zatz, just in case it’ll be their last chance. Throw in their mutual respect for each other, the way they have each other’s backs, and the way both of them are determined to fight for what’s right, and you’ve got a real winning combination.

Also, Zatz’s repeated use of, “Be well, Princess Maya—I’ll see you soon,” has such “as you wish” vibes. You love to see it.

Relationship Spotlight: Picchu, Maya, Chimi & Rico (Maya and the Three)

*Spoilers.*

Literally, the “Maya and the three” of the title. This miniseries is so much more than I thought it would be after the first couple of episodes, and a huge part of that is down the warriors Maya finds to join her on her quest. It’s a great miniseries for a lot of reasons, but at the top of that list, for me, is the relationship that develops between Maya, Rico, Chimi, and Picchu.

Maya and the Three begins in a way that mades me assume I knew what sort of story it was going to be. Oh, the scrappy, rough ‘n’ tumble princess hates the idea of being forced to be a royal diplomat with her mother while her brothers get to fight on the battlefield with her father? Cue the Badass Girl Power anthem! Even Maya’s initial reinterpretation of the prophecy aligns with that notion. She correctly realizes that the Eagle Warrior (her) needs to join with a warrior from each of the other kingdoms, and she figures that those warriors will be the women/girls in charge of each kingdom: the Gran Bruja, the Widow Queen, and the Barbarian Princess. Four female badasses from assorted generations coming together to save all their kingdoms from a warmongering god? Make that a whole soundtrack of Badass Girl Power anthems!

But the other warriors aren’t the leaders of their respective kingdoms. Wherever she goes, Maya is directed instead toward someone outcast. Rico is an immensely powerful wielder of peasant magic, but a traumatic accident involving magic in his childhood makes him afraid of his own abilities. Chimi was cast out of her village as an infant because her neighbors feared her albinism, and in her exile, she became an expert warrior with only animals for company. Picchu is a skilled fighter who’s built like a brick wall, but he’s haunted by the ghosts of those killed by an enemy he showed mercy to. Each is broken and beautiful.

As the four come together and haltingly get to know each other along their journey, we’re treated to an engaging range of personalities. Rico is an anxious jokester, constantly talking to “lighten the mood” for fear of what he might find in the silence. Chimi is a highly-guarded woman of few words, full of gentle compassion for all animals but forever waiting for the other shoe to drop with any human who shows her kindness. Picchu is uncomplicated and earnest, open with his emotions amid his pidgin language. At the center of these disparate misfits is Maya trying to hold the group together. She’s fierce and commanding, and those are the traits she tends to lean on, but a well she goes to less often is her strong empathetic streak—as she navigates her new friends’ trauma and damage, she finds the latter serves her more than the former.

Each of “The Three” is a wonderfully-realized character in their own right, heartbreaking in their turn while also delivering cool action and entertaining laughs. And in addition to just loving each of them for themselves, I really like the effect they have on Maya. Our heroine begins the miniseries with an enormous chip on her shoulder. She’s discontented with her life and rails against the unfairness of it, and when she discovers a shocking truth about her parentage – that she was born after her father had a dalliance with the Goddess of Death – she lashes out at her family for it. I get that she’s going through a lot, but she takes it all out on those around her. In meeting Rico, Chimi, and Picchu, Maya begins to understand what true hardship can be and gains a great deal of perspective on her own life. By the time she returns home, she’s more than ready to appreciate everything she has, using her gifts and blessings to support those to whom life hasn’t been as kind. And to me, that’s a much bigger victory for her than being a sword-wielding badass fulfilling a prophecy.