As a note beforehand I do want to say I wrote this in a very strange burst of focus at 1 am after finishing the show so forgive my grammar and welcome to my brain. Good luck.
First off, it should be noted that Quinni is played by the #actuallyautistic and very wonderful Chloe Hayden who has been an activist for autism and disability rights for years. We can see so much of her in the character of Quinni, even literally when she wears her ‘different not less’ beanie while non-verbal in Episode 7 ‘The Sheriff, her pet frog ----- making an appearance, and seemingly sharing interests of the character. Her colourful and glittery make-up and clothing style is also reminiscent of her real life.
As long as I could talk about Chloe Hayden, Quinni is a game changer when it comes to autistic characters and this should not be lost. Not only is a canon autistic character played by an autistic actor, but her autism is explored with her character. It is a key element of who she is as a person. It is how she plans her day, it’s how she communicates, it’s how she builds relationships. It cannot be separated from who she is and that is wonderful. Darren, her long standing friend throughout the series repeatedly explains her traits. When she is overwhelmed after her restaurant date, they tell Amerie not to touch her. When Quinni is non-verbal they explain to Sasha that she is not speaking. Importantly, not not speaking to Sasha out of anger or resentment, but not speaking at all. This is a massive deal, as with what very little autistic representation there is, even less represents non-verbal autism, and no representation respects it, as it is written as something to be overcome, a problem for caretakers, or ignored.
We learn the most about Quinni’s autism through her relationship with Sasha, who was previously unaware of her autism and surprised that Quinni is not the stereotype she thought she would recognise. Sasha initially does some really sweet things. She checks in with Quinni in possibly overwhelming environments, notices her stimming if she is stressed, she organises for classwork to be done outside so that it can be quieter, and on paper, she appears to understand the main points of autism. That is until we need to remember that Quinni is a person, not a list of symptoms and traits. Sasha begins making decisions on behalf of Quinni, deciding whether or not she should go to a louder party, and whether or not she would want to do drugs. You know, totally normal teen things we all experienced…. (sarcasm). Whether or not Quinni would have agreed with these choices is irrelevant as she is robbed of the choice.
All of this builds to the argument where Sasha says “I don't want to be responsible for you if you have a bad reaction to anything.” - - - - ”You are not responsible for me. I am. Even after confronting Sasha about her feelings and seemingly solving the problem, behaviour doesn’t change overnight.
A lot of autistic people, disabled people, and people with mental illness are infantilised; where a person will treat another as if they are a child or unable to make their own choices. It is a massive problem with disabled relationships as a lot of people don’t see it as a problem, and if you have a disability that can make communication or confrontation difficult, such as autism, it can be hard to fight. Quinni was completely capable of planning her own day, finding her own transportation, organising herself and having a friend that share her interests. Quinni took pleasure in planning to go to her book signing event. She dressed up, she met friends, she had her camera and met her hero and had a wonderful day. Sasha wasn’t needed, but she was wanted, and despite coming to the event, she wasn’t really there.
So, here’s my pet peeve in reading reviews of the things I love. People tend to confuse criticising the writing of a show with criticising the choices that characters have made. Yes. Sasha did some dumb things based on the things she thought they knew. Maybe you think she’s a bad person because of it, maybe she’s 16 and I am willing to bet that there is no 16-year-old in the world that is without dumb decisions and regrets. I do believe that the character Quinni deserves a partner who better understands her needs and shares her interests, whether that means she has a new love interest in the future or Sasha grows into a stronger partner. There are many characters that make dumb decisions in the show and do regrettable things. It’s pretty much the theme of every teen show ever made. All of these characters are at the start of their stories and I really fucking hope that we get to see more of them.
**another note is that I have had this whole rant and not even mentioned that they are both girls 🥰 🥰 🥰
