MiziSua and Mutual Misogyny: An Analysis
One of the most interesting things about Alien Stage and specifically MiziSua is that, despite them being the first characters and relationships we’re introduced to, they’re the last we really understand.
The series begins and ends with them, their story being told backwards - from their end to their beginning.
The dynamic we’re presented centers around Mizi seeing Sua as her god, her universe.
Only by the end do we have a more nuanced grasp of what this actually means to Mizi.
We progressively see that Mizi’s description of Sua as her “god” is not so much reverent as it is dehumanizing, characterizing her as a fragile, wispy concept of femininity. A projection of desire, a doll.
This view and treatment of her is cathartic to Mizi, as she’s always been the one being treated in such a way, fawned on in a demeaning manner. She enjoys being the “misogynist” for once, the one who “crushes”.
I’ve noticed a lot of people saying that Sua “enjoyed” Mizi slapping her. This by itself is a pretty misogynistic sentiment. And frankly, even if she had, that would more likely be a lucky coincidence than this reflecting a healthy, negotiated dynamic.
They’re both suffering in that scene. Sua, from genuine envy given how her owner treats her creeping to the surface, or as a way to get a rise out of Mizi so she’s more honest with how she feels, or maybe a mix of both, is uncontent, and her expression seems more shocked/taken aback.
Mizi had lashed out because she felt her experience was invalidated or something she should be grateful for. She enacts the same violence to Sua that the other boy had to her. The boy had slapped her after her reaction broke the illusion of her being an idealized feminine love interest. While Sua’s words were harsh opposed to Mizi’s (Mizi was just giving her honest opinion), Mizi DOES partially view Sua in a similar way.
But Sua isn’t how Mizi presents her. Sua isn’t weak or crushable, she’s actually very strong.
Mizi thinks she “let” Sua die and is responsible for her death, but Sua made her decision, not out of obligation or naïveté, but out of love for Mizi.
Mizi can’t seem to fully grasp being able to make that sort of sacrifice willingly. She views death and sacrificial love as defeat or something that leaves you “crushed”.
So, she thinks she must be responsible, something that both unduly villainizes herself and degrades Sua’s autonomy.
Sua also has a somewhat idealized and demeaning outlook toward Mizi. She’s highly possessive of her and reveres what she sees as Mizi’s innocence. She keeps Mizi in the dark to try and preserve her “purity”.
This ends up enabling Mizi’s unhealthy coping mechanism and leaving her unprepared when they do have things they need to face head on.
This ties back to Sua’s possible plan to rile Mizi up before she slaps her and their intimate scene in one of the comics.
In the scene where Mizi is on top of Sua, fawning over her and saying she’s someone she could “crush”, Sua looks numb.
Not flattered, not frightened, just resigned.
I don’t think, at least in this specific context, Sua particularly enjoys being in this position. It seems more that she loves Mizi and knows her struggles more than Mizi lets on.
Sua doesn’t really know how to comfort Mizi, so she just tries to let her cope in her own ways, even if they don’t truly address her problems. I don’t think this reflects their true dynamic, or at least their dynamic at its healthiest and most genuine.
The moment right after this, where Mizi appears lucid and guilty of how she’s ended up objectifying Sua the same way she was, and leans to embrace her, or the bath scene in Karma seem more earnest. I think these moments are where their potential shines, where they’re earnest and show mutual respect, despite their circumstances presenting them as commodities.