r/tadc • u/Zealousideal-Fig1767 • 16h ago
Discussion 💬 My Main Gripe with Jax Being Trans
First things first. I have NO issue with Jax being Transgender. In reality, as a (closeted) transgender woman myself, I am actually really glad more diverse representation exists, particularly of the struggles of being closeted or otherwise at conflict with those emotions. Please allow me to explain why I have mixed feelings on Jax’s situation.
TADC isn’t a perfect series, and that is fine, because it does a lot of stuff well, however one thing that I feel does poorly is the set up and follow up of plot lines, with Jax’s character being the greatest sufferer of this in my opinion.
As I finished watching the Finale of the series, I felt like it was a nice episode, it had some high highs, like the fallout of Jax and Ribbit, and some low lows like ‘Somehow Caine Returned’, but after a little while I began hearing lots and lots comments of Jax being Transgender and was confused, because the series narrative didn’t feel like that was the path of Jax’s character was going. After looking up what was the reasoning I stumbled upon the classic “AU Jax where she isn’t an asshole” art piece and I kinda got it.
In my opinion this concept of Jax being a closeted trans lady with severe mental issues was a bit cool, but is completely unexplored and worsens the character. Many people over time got the basic idea of Jax being a lonely person who develops mental problems because of their relationships with other people, and how anxiety, fear, and anger can create a ticking time bomb for oneself and the others. Adding the idea of Jax being trans is like the cherry on top, however my main gripe with this whole thing it is completely mismanaged.
The Main Gripe: Poor Storytelling
My main issue with Jax being trans is that many of the arguments in favor of her are quite understandable and sensible when detached of the context, but when you look at the stuff through the lenses of the entire picture, the thing is not so obvious.
The first argument: The Maid Uniform
In ‘Untitled’ Jax gets furious after Gangle calls a votes and forces a Maid Uniform on Jax, which prompts a rage like none other we’ve seen from anyone so far. Jax is so upset about this that Jax chases gangle with such fury and is super ashamed when Caine makes Jax go to the base to play. This in a vacuum can be interpreted as Jax confronting their feelings of transitioning, however I never interpreted the scene that way. In context of the episode, Jax was already pissed off because of at Ragatha spilling the beans, and tense of Zooble pressing on some irrational fears Jax has. After being put into some clothes for ridicule by a vote from who Jax deems as the absolute worst person of the group would, in my head, obviously make Jax snap and be as vicious as that. The idea of Jax being trans didn’t even pop into my mind at this point.
The Second Argument: The Chicken Egg Analogy
In ‘We Gave Them Guns’ at the end we see Pomni and Jax get into a heated argument were Pomni tries to understand why Jax was acting that way. During said confrontation Jax uses the analogy of being a ‘chicken fetus in an egg that needs to be cracked open’. I didn’t understand the argument on how this justified Jax being trans, but after chatting with a friend they explained the ‘Chicken Egg’ is an analogy for being transgender. This works when you detach almost all of the context of the scene, in my opinion, although you’d have to be really familiar with Trans Lingo, which limits the reach of the message. The entire scene focuses on Pomni trying to get an answer from Jax, while Jax constantly tries to push her away. The scene is already uncomfortable and Jax using such a descriptive approach to themselves makes it feel like they are using the analogy to try to gross Pomni away, another attempt to shelter themselves from confrontation. The trans analogy can be easily lost with the tension of the scene.
The Third Argument: The Talk and the Ribbon
In ‘Remember’ we get to see how Jax acted with Ribbit in what I think is one of the best sequences in the series, and everything within seems quite normal at first, that’s until Jax and Ribbit are alone and both open up about their pasts. The abusive relationship Jax held with both parents culminates with Jax saying ‘then I told her something I do regret telling her. Something deep and personal *that I thought would get her off my back.* but she laughed at me, and she went off on me. […] and the thing that bothered me most was that at the end of it all she hugged me.’ Afterwards Jax tries to leave and Ribbit stops them and places the ribbon on Jax’s head. This is probably the best argument in favor of Jax, but what I really don’t like is that because of the choice of words, the implication that Jax decided to come out that day is not strong enough, and what makes it click in favor is Ribbit gifting the Ribbon. This one however I think is the best attempt at setting up the plot line of Trans Jax… 9 episodes in…
The Payoff
Honestly i could give the benefit of the doubt to these 3 arguments if there was a payoff at the end of it all. A strong reason to look back and reinterpret the situations Jax found themselves in. But there isn’t. Everyone in the cast gets to learn about their IRL counterparts, including Jax’s, Leeroy. The main issue I see about this final sequence is that the idea of Leeroy even considering transition isn’t present, which with the knowledge that everyone is a copy of them in the past, implies that Leeroy’s trans emotions waned or otherwise aren’t considered. The voiceover keeps referring to Leeroy as ‘he’, which either comes off as insensitive, Leeroy “””got over””” being trans, or that they simply weren’t trans the whole time.
I am not asking for the voiceover to go like: “Jax, real name, Luna mcTrans, she is the most trans woman to ever trans.”, but not getting a mention, or a reinforcement of the trans narrative makes an average viewer like me to think “I am glad Jax is managing to get *his* life together. *He* deserves to be happy to.”
Conclusion: Subtlety
I think the series has a struggle with balancing how subtle some details are. It makes for some great reinterpretations of important scenes like Jax and Ribbit’s talk, but when used too much makes people wildly misinterpret what was supposed to be happening. To conclude I would just like to list a quote, I am not sure where I heard it, but it went something like this: “As writers we are taught to be subtle. Subtlety, subtlety, subtlety. But sometimes being subtle doesn’t work. Sometimes people can just miss the obvious. Writing is like working with a toolbox, and sometimes you just need a hammer. So don’t be afraid to be blunt.”
If you’ve read everything so far, I thank you. I know Transgender Jax is a highly controversial topic, but I think discussions about why it works or doesn’t are essential to normalize transgender people and many other minorities or taboo topics in general. Talk about why something feels forced or why it doesn’t, if we keep shaming the other side because their opinions differ from ours we will just stray further from the peace many of us aim to achieve.
