Velma Is a Lesbian (II): A Photoset-Essay in Three Parts
“Okay, yes. She was my source. But she’s my secret special friend, so don’t any of you think about stealing her! … That was awkward.”
Velma’s questioning comes to a crisis in the episode “The Siren’s Song”, in which she experiences what I propose to be the first time she realizes she is romantically attracted to another woman. I apologize in advance for summarizing so much of this one episode, but I maintain that “The Siren’s Song” is largely about Velma’s lesbian awakening, and therefore there are many moments in it which bear mentioning.
In “The Siren’s Song,” Velma receives a confidential tip on her blog, and, abandoned by her friends, goes out into the cove alone to check it out–and there she meets Amy.
“My song fills your heart,” comes a haunting voice from the fog, and Velma is immediately captivated. In the dialogue, Amy is only referred to as a “mermaid”, but it is more than handy alliteration that gives the episode its title. Sirens traditionally bewitch male sailors, and it is telling that the episode title refers to the siren’s song that has bewitched Velma–instead of, for instance, the fish freaks that are the real monsters of the episode.
Amy presents herself as someone who understands Velma: "I know you struggle with being smarter than everyone,“ she says to prove she knows Velma. And when pleading for help: "I’m all alone. I think you can understand that.” Perhaps it is this understanding that provokes Velma’s crush, in addition to the mystery surrounding Amy and her physical attractiveness. Whatever the reason, Velma is hooked. "Wait, I don’t even know your name!“ she exclaims, and the longing gaze she turns on Amy as she says it (Fig. 1) is only the first of many during the episode.
After her first meeting with Amy, Velma hides the informant from her friends and family. In her admiration for Amy, she has forgotten her statement that a mermaid is "biologically impossible”–is she simply hiding from the ridicule that her claims of seeing a mermaid would provoke? Perhaps the real reason for the secrecy is that Velma has already started to think of Amy as her “secret special friend,” and wants to keep the new relationship, and her new feelings, safe from the rest of the world.
The next scene in which Amy appears takes place in Velma’s bedroom (Fig. 2). We open after the commercial on Velma nervously sitting in front of her computer screen, muttering, “Come on. Where are you?” Is this the anxiety of the young detective waiting for her informant–or is it a young girl waiting for a call from her crush? Amy comes in the window the next moment, and Velma’s reaction suggests the latter. In logging off her computer, Velma refers to Amy as a “special friend”. "Wow,“ she says in a tremulous voice. "You came all this way just to see… me?” (Fig. 3). She does not inquire about the mystery, the fish freaks or the haunted oil platform, and she is surprised–disappointed?–when Amy moves right into the kidnapping of Skipper Shelton.
I will skim over the ensemble scenes in which Amy and the gang stop the drilling and defeat the fish freaks, except to call attention to the “secret special friend” line which I have already quoted, and which needs no elaboration. The next–perhaps the most–significant scene that shows Velma’s attraction to Amy occurs near the end of the episode. Velma casually waves goodbye to Ernesto and company in the police car, and then turns and gasps in horror (Fig. 5). We cut to the cause of her dismay: Amy is passionately kissing Dr. Cavanaugh (Fig. 6).
The camera pans down to show that, in addition, Amy has removed her mermaid’s tail and has legs, but the order of the shots implies that it is the kiss that disturbs Velma more. "Hey!“ Velma cries, running up to them. "You’re not… a mermaid.” What was she about to say before she paused? It isn’t the mermaid lie that really upsets Velma. After Dr. Cavanaugh introduces Amy as his wife, Velma silently shakes her head no (Fig. 7).
After Amy apologizes for her deception and reveals herself as a true fan of the blog, Velma asks if Amy will stay in touch. "If you’d like me to,“ Amy replies. Velma tries to play it cool (Fig. 8), but one last goofy smile comes over her face as she replies, "But I wouldn’t mind if you did” (Fig. 9).
“The Siren’s Song” tells the story of Velma’s first significant romantic attraction to a woman. It is unclear whether Velma identifies her feelings for what they are at the time, but things soon start to come together for her. It is no coincidence that two episodes after this experience, when romantic tension starts to appear again between Velma and Shaggy, Velma is able to clearly and quickly decide that she has no further interest in a romantic relationship with Shaggy (Fig. 10). She has realized that her hope for romance lies somewhere else. Her experience with Amy has paved the way for the next significant relationship to come into Velma’s life–with her former enemy, Marcie “Hot Dog Water” Fleach.
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