thoughts on Toni and how aware she is of power dynamics pleaaase!
Sorry this took me so long but I have SO MANY THOUGHTS and didn’t know where to start so bear with me.
Out of all the girls, Toni’s the one who most frequently and consistently comments on power dynamics. She is clearly acutely aware of her position in society, as a Indigenous girl, and a teenager in foster care, and a lesbian, which puts her in a very unique intersection of race & class & gender & sexuality. And I think the show’s done a good job making sure it informs the way Toni relates to the world in general, and to the other girls on the island.
First, I appreciate that Toni’s awareness isn’t used to make her a one-note “serious angry leftist” character - we all know the archetype. Yeah, she is angry - with good reason! -, but beyond that, it showcases how insightful and smart and perceptive she is. And she also jokes about it - her little quip about “colonizers” taking her takis, or playfully calling Fatin a “one-percenter” - which is so important because that’s! what real people do!
I also like the way she talks: she uses both very “21st century teenager” language, and leftist vocabulary or concepts, which makes me think that not only is her awareness rooted in her personal experience, she’s done some research about social power structures. Our girl has read some theory! I like to imagine, though I have zero evidence or canon basis for this, that when Martha started bringing Toni home and Bernice Blackburn met this good-hearted, passionate, angry kid, she decided to try and help Toni redirect her energy, channel it if you will, through a proper activist education, through a frame of reference. I want so badly for Toni to have had a mentor!
What does it mean for Toni on the island, though? Mainly that she has a very strong sense of solidarity, of common interest. We see it between Toni and Martha: there is an obvious connivence, like that moment when Fatin disses Martha’s shampoo/conditioner and they exchange an exasperated eye-roll. Or joking together that rescue’s coming because “society will never let [rich white girls] perish”. Martha may not have the same attitude, but she understands Toni’s thought process completely.
Which brings me to: Shelby. I think more than half of Toni’s comments on race/class power dynamics are directed at Shelby, and come from Toni’s desire to protect Martha from people taking advantage of her. It starts on the plane, then in their first conversation (”your maid Lupe”), up until the scene when Shelby talks about how hard her life is and Toni’s just like... “Hello??? Do you want some perspective, maybe?”. Shelby’s struggle with her identity definitely makes Toni’s perception shift, which is fascinating, but I hope we get more conversations between them about power dynamics, and more of Toni gently teasing Shelby about it all.
Anyway, new wish for season 2: Toni organizes a seminar on marxist theory on the island, attendance is mandatory. Then she unionizes the whole bunker.
