Carole & Tuesday (Part 2) |OT| A Christmas Carole (Open spoilers)

[RecRoulette]

The second half of Carole & Tuesday (from Cowboy Bebop/Space Dandy/Kids on the Slope creator Shinichiro Watanabe) is now on Netflix. Despite Carole & Tuesday being disqualified from Mars Brightest for not arriving to the venue on time, they were still able to win over the judges and received the opportunity to sign a record deal. Now that the hard part is done...wait, what do you mean that wasn't the hard part?

Characters

Carole & Tuesday (vocals: Nai Br.XX & Celeina Ann): Our main heroines. Ready to take over the charts and your hearts.

Angela (vocals: Alisa): Former model and Mars Brightest winner, her coronation was merely a formality in her rise to stardom

Roddy and Gus: C&T's supporting crew. Roddy is also Ertegun's producer

Ertegun: Popular DJ. He's Ertegun

Dahlia: Angela's mother/agent, willing to do whatever it takes to help Angela fulfill her dreams.

Tao: Brilliant AI producer who is partly responsible for Angela's success.

Mermaid Sisters: DQ'd because of FUCKING BULLSHIT.

Musical Collaborators
A ton of folks helped create the soundtrack for Carole & Tuesday, the score is done by Mocky, but here's some of the other people that are involved




Soundtrack

The score for the anime and the vocal collection from Season 2 is available on Spotify behind the spoiler. It's recommended that you listen to the vocal collection after finishing the show.

Spoiler: Carole & Tuesday on Spotify

Opening and Ending
Opening: "Polly Jean" by Carole & Tuesday


Ending: "Not Afraid" by Angela



Q&A (will add more as time goes on, especially after the spoiler window ends)

Q: Dub or sub?
A: It doesn't really matter. Unlike other music shows, the musical performances aren't by the VA's so you don't have that weird disconnect. Both are great, pick whichever you prefer

Q: Why wasn't Thundercat's song on the first Vocal Collection CD
A: Not entirely sure, but it's a shame. There are a couple of songs from this season that don't show up on the Vocal collection, maybe they're gonna be a separate release down the line

 

[Brazil]

Finally ;_;

 

[King Alamat]

Watching now, still disappointed Denzel Curry's songs also didn't make the cut.

 

[RecRoulette]

Watching now, still disappointed Denzel Curry's songs also didn't make the cut.

Click to shrink...

Keeping my fingers crossed that Flying Lotus will release a single/album with the missing tracks down the line. Would make sense that he'd wait for the show to come out here before promoting something like that.

"Unrequited Love" (Thundercat's song from S1) was originally on the track list for the first CD before it got changed. The CD originally was delayed for a month so I wonder if that had something to do with it. Those songs are too good to be stuck on Netflix

 

[Shorty11857]

Watched the first 4 episodes, really enjoying the second part so far. Songs continue to be great

 

[grang]

Yay, I watched the first 3 of the first half before I realized the second batch wasn't coming out for a while and stopped. Excited to go through the whole thing.

 

[grmltr]

Goddamn the

Spoiler

Flora

episode moved me to tears.

 

[pbayne]

Finished it, loved it.
I do wish the show was plotted better or was maybe themactically a bit stronger and more consistent. There were a lot of "what was the point of that" moments for me. Like whole arcs seems to just end out of nowhere with no real payoff.
The songs were bangers as usual.

 

[Leeness]

Loved it ;_;

Spoiler: Ending

WHY ONLY BE CONTINUED IN OUR MINDS ;__;

Also, Mother was a beautiful ending.

 

[Jakenbakin]

Loved it ;_;

Spoiler: Ending

WHY ONLY BE CONTINUED IN OUR MINDS ;__;

Also, Mother was a beautiful ending.

Click to shrink...

Holy fuck I didn't read that second part on watching you just broke my heart haha I had to Google it real quick. I loved the second half, though I thought most of Carole and Tuesday's songs weren't as strong. I was welling up pretty bad on the last song though, it got me good.

I think I asked on the last thread but never got an answer. Can anyone recommend some other good music themed anime? I watched Kids on the Slope after the first part of Carole and Tuesday came out and loved it. I've seen Beck and Your Lie in April too.

 

[Nocturnowl]

I just finished this an hour ago, anime of the year, one cannot argue with my sublime taste.

 

[Miker]

I'm about four or five episodes in and it's fairly dull so far, at least for me. Is there a point when it gets better? The lack of 15 second episode previews makes it that much less compelling.

 

[XaviConcept]

I REALLY liked the first 3-4 episodes, the songs really connected then. Once it turned into American Idol I wasnt nearly as engaged nor did I think the show flowed as well.

Overall Id say Im a fan but almost none of the late songs were in my ballpark and was routinely annoyed by the animation choices (too much rotoscoping for the singing, dead crowds) and audio mixing and editing were letdowns

 

[SolidSnakeBoy]

Excellent show. Love how it all comes together at the end for a rather needed message these days.

 

[SolidSnakeBoy]

Holy fuck I didn't read that second part on watching you just broke my heart haha I had to Google it real quick. I loved the second half, though I thought most of Carole and Tuesday's songs weren't as strong. I was welling up pretty bad on the last song though, it got me good.

I think I asked on the last thread but never got an answer. Can anyone recommend some other good music themed anime? I watched Kids on the Slope after the first part of Carole and Tuesday came out and loved it. I've seen Beck and Your Lie in April too.

Click to shrink...

"Given" came out this year. It's more of a drama romance. The whole show builds up to them playing their first song together and it moved me to tears. Show is the definition of a slow burn, but it earns it with that performance.

 

[zulux21]

Holy fuck I didn't read that second part on watching you just broke my heart haha I had to Google it real quick. I loved the second half, though I thought most of Carole and Tuesday's songs weren't as strong. I was welling up pretty bad on the last song though, it got me good.

I think I asked on the last thread but never got an answer. Can anyone recommend some other good music themed anime? I watched Kids on the Slope after the first part of Carole and Tuesday came out and loved it. I've seen Beck and Your Lie in April too.

Click to shrink...

https://myanimelist.net/anime/1698/Nodame_Cantabile?q=nodame

https://myanimelist.net/anime/877/Nana?q=nana

https://myanimelist.net/anime/122/Full_Moon_wo_Sagashite?q=full moon

Haven't actually watched but heard good things

https://myanimelist.net/anime/39533/Given

https://myanimelist.net/anime/27989/Hibike_Euphonium

not actually music but has similar dealing with the industry feels

https://myanimelist.net/anime/4722/Skip_Beat

pretends to be about music but actually is about eating cake and drinking tea

https://myanimelist.net/anime/5680/K-On?q=k-on

 

[Jakenbakin]

Awesome I'll have to start looking through those recommendations later, thanks guys!

 

[Ranma]

Loved it. Last song is awesome.

 

[Leeness]

Holy fuck I didn't read that second part on watching you just broke my heart haha I had to Google it real quick. I loved the second half, though I thought most of Carole and Tuesday's songs weren't as strong. I was welling up pretty bad on the last song though, it got me good.

Click to shrink...

Lol sorry. Netflix even cuts it off a bit.

I'd actually thought for the last two to three months that it was real and was so hyped but I'd been watching the last song on YouTube and they'd cut out the second slide ;___; I was also similarly fooled and heartbroken.

Try a lot of the songs from the album, they kind of cut them in weird spots on the show a few times. Give You the World, Threads, Message in the Wind, Lay it All On Me, After the Fire are all top notch. And also the last song, but you get it in all its glory in the show.

 

[metsallica]

I just saw the 7-minute miracle.

:_(_ _ _ _

 

[Sensei]

it was amazing and now im sad its over 😭😭😭😭

this is the comfiest anime of them all for me. every episode is a warm blanket 🥰🥰🥰

 

[Prophet Steve]

I'm about four or five episodes in and it's fairly dull so far, at least for me. Is there a point when it gets better? The lack of 15 second episode previews makes it that much less compelling.

Click to shrink...

I've greatly enjoyed the entire show and finished the parts super fast, but I think if you do not enjoy it from the start you are not likely to enjoy it later on.

It might get a bit better but I think it is pretty consistent.

 

[Zimmiwood]

just recently finished this.
it's not without its faults but overall i do genuinely love it. i can't not get behind what its trying to achieve, this was such a sweet and wholesome experience that i want the whole world to see it ❤ ❤

 

[Handicapped Duck]

Just finished episode 14. ;_;

OP/ED were better in part 1, but that's like saying James Taylor Fire and Rain is better than Mexico; both are still stellar.

 

[Resetta Stone]

Spoiler

After mulling it over, is it really a happy ending? The cops bust into the venue and of course, we got the "To Be Continued...In Our Minds" (Watanabe, you fucking troll lol). Given the immigration angle of the 2nd half, my cynical ass thinks Carole is going to be deported back to Earth, but my idealistic and hopeful side thinks the cops were so awestruck by the performance that they just said fuck it, pack it in boys. Maybe the performers get a pardon? Who knows.

Despite that, what a wholesome show. I downloaded the soundtrack. Galactic Mermaid will be remembered in the history of music for years to come.

 

[grmltr]

 

[Illusion]

Click to shrink...

Still my favorite song from the track. Absolutely amazing.

 

[UnluckyKate]

somehow, the production value seems lower in this part two ?

I know the tv contest wasn't the most ambitious narration wise, but it got us many artists and songs to enjoy.

While part 2 balances out well subplot and got a darker tone that really got me by the last episodes, I felt overall that part 2 wasn't as catchy as part one.

But what an ending T_T

 

[Handicapped Duck]

Click to shrink...

Ended tonight on this episode, song is a banger like none other. The Carole and Tuesday remix is also amazing. I need to marathon the rest of the show tomorrow, so many quotes I want to check, and I'm worried about the ending. I've been let down by too many shows that start off strong, but end on a weak note.

 

[zulux21]

Spoiler

After mulling it over, is it really a happy ending? The cops bust into the venue and of course, we got the "To Be Continued...In Our Minds" (Watanabe, you fucking troll lol). Given the immigration angle of the 2nd half, my cynical ass thinks Carole is going to be deported back to Earth, but my idealistic and hopeful side thinks the cops were so awestruck by the performance that they just said fuck it, pack it in boys. Maybe the performers get a pardon? Who knows.

Despite that, what a wholesome show. I downloaded the soundtrack. Galactic Mermaid will be remembered in the history of music for years to come.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

It's said their song changed the hearts of people on mars and changed how things were going. Tuesday's mom was the one pushing a narrative that was driving people to deport people which she pulled out of the race, meaning the current president of mars who was against deporting people won the election and likely put a stop to the deportations.

 

[SolidSnakeBoy]

Ended tonight on this episode, song is a banger like none other. The Carole and Tuesday remix is also amazing. I need to marathon the rest of the show tomorrow, so many quotes I want to check, and I'm worried about the ending. I've been let down by too many shows that start off strong, but end on a weak note.

Click to shrink...

The ending does not disappoint. It's probably the best song. But boy Give You the World has the most soul of this second batch of songs.

 

[RecRoulette]

Spoiler

After mulling it over, is it really a happy ending? The cops bust into the venue and of course, we got the "To Be Continued...In Our Minds" (Watanabe, you fucking troll lol). Given the immigration angle of the 2nd half, my cynical ass thinks Carole is going to be deported back to Earth, but my idealistic and hopeful side thinks the cops were so awestruck by the performance that they just said fuck it, pack it in boys. Maybe the performers get a pardon? Who knows.

Despite that, what a wholesome show. I downloaded the soundtrack. Galactic Mermaid will be remembered in the history of music for years to come.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

Overall I think things end pretty well.

Tuesday's mother withdraws from the race so the pro-immigration president wins.
I assume the information about Jerry's involvement with the bombing gets out and he gets his.

If they even tried arresting any of the performers I'm sure the backlash would be insane.

 

[Zimmiwood]

it appears as if there's some sort of livestream concert happening next year at the 18th of Jan: https://mallive.myanimelist.net/

 

[Fireblend]

I just finished this show and what a perfect and beautiful ending, wow. Overall an outstanding show and I would've never in a million years expected the latter half to be better than the first and by a fair margin too.

 

[Resetta Stone]

Spoiler

Overall I think things end pretty well.

Tuesday's mother withdraws from the race so the pro-immigration president wins.
I assume the information about Jerry's involvement with the bombing gets out and he gets his.

If they even tried arresting any of the performers I'm sure the backlash would be insane.

Click to shrink...

That's what I am getting, but to be quite honest, I thought a lot of the political intrigue in this last half was kind of half baked when it could of just been more of the trials and tribulations of C&T going through the more of the machinations of the music industry. That's just a personal thing though.

Sidenote, Day By Day is a great, low key track.

 

[Aexact]

That's what I am getting, but to be quite honest, I thought a lot of the political intrigue in this last half was kind of half baked when it could of just been more of the trials and tribulations of C&T going through the more of the machinations of the music industry. That's just a personal thing though.

Sidenote, Day By Day is a great, low key track.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I suppose they did set up the political intrigue as Carole and Tuesday's backstory and reason for the seven minute miracle but I didn't feel as if the song would have any impact on the situation.

Spoiler

The pieces in play from the son, the journalist, and Tao were the actual agents of change.

 

[Leeness]

I want more C&T man :(

 

[Prophet Steve]

Yeah, I suppose they did set up the political intrigue as Carole and Tuesday's backstory and reason for the seven minute miracle but I didn't feel as if the song would have any impact on the situation.

Spoiler

The pieces in play from the son, the journalist, and Tao were the actual agents of change.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

When the majority of people is already supporting and participating in the anti-immigration sentiment it is not enough to only stop the run for president. There was already a lot of resentment which was exploited to gain popularity. The goal of the song is to shift public opinion so that the same thing doesn't happen.

 

[Aexact]

Spoiler

When the majority of people is already supporting and participating in the anti-immigration sentiment it is not enough to only stop the run for president. There was already a lot of resentment which was exploited to gain popularity. The goal of the song is to shift public opinion so that the same thing doesn't happen.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

Yeah I think that's what the show states as the reason they do the collaboration but the show ends on the song so we don't get to see the results of the concert, only results for Spencer's confrontation, for Tao's hacking, etc.The various side plots were always intended to pay off but I thought it distracted from the theme of music being the connective tissue. The impact of the seven minute miracle felt less concrete when it shows the fruits of those subplots but not for the song. When the police burst in and Gus cheekily comments it's just a song, I just felt ... yeah. It's just a song.

 

[Prophet Steve]

Spoiler

Yeah I think that's what the show states as the reason they do the collaboration but the show ends on the song so we don't get to see the results of the concert, only results for Spencer's confrontation, for Tao's hacking, etc.The various side plots were always intended to pay off but I thought it distracted from the theme of music being the connective tissue. The impact of the seven minute miracle felt less concrete when it shows the fruits of those subplots but not for the song. When the police burst in and Gus cheekily comments it's just a song, I just felt ... yeah. It's just a song.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

It's less explicit yes but there is also the intro every episode telling that they are the start of a movement. I get that it may feel less satisfying as it does feel less concrete and more implied, but there was an important goal that they seem to successfully achieve. I also think it would have been weird if it would suddenly change the entire public perception in one go.

 

[henhowc]

These mfers with that text after ep 24 😒

 

[earthsucks]

is benny sings in this?

 

[RecRoulette]

That's what I am getting, but to be quite honest, I thought a lot of the political intrigue in this last half was kind of half baked when it could of just been more of the trials and tribulations of C&T going through the more of the machinations of the music industry. That's just a personal thing though.

Sidenote, Day By Day is a great, low key track.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, my main complaint is that most of the major events in the show surrounding C&T are just there to set up songs. In the end that's fine because the songs are great, but it feels like more of a theme park ride than an actual story.

Angela actually has more of an actual story arc than the main characters which is pretty funny.

 

[RecRoulette]

is benny sings in this?

Click to shrink...

He doesn't perform himself but he did 3 of the songs in Season 1

Someday I'll Find My Way Home
The Loneliest Girl
Hold Me Now

Hell of a trio, tbh

 

[XaviConcept]

I think the big plothole in the show is

Spoiler

The anti foreigners policy the new regime threatens to implement IS ALREADY IN PLACE BY THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT. Who else had the power to ARREST these people? If the current PM is already arresting dissident voices AND hes running for re-election then it doesnt matter that the opposition retires from the race because the ones actually harming people retained all the power. The show should have established Caroles mother as either mayor of Alba City that is threatening to take her local policy Mars wide or have her win the election in S1, enact her policy then resign when the corruption is exposed at the end of the show.

 

[earthsucks]

He doesn't perform himself but he did 3 of the songs in Season 1

Someday I'll Find My Way Home
The Loneliest Girl
Hold Me Now

Hell of a trio, tbh

Click to shrink...

i saw him play in tokyo last month, it was great. only on e3 of s1 so far.

 

[pbayne]

I think the big plothole in the show is

Spoiler

The anti foreigners policy the new regime threatens to implement IS ALREADY IN PLACE BY THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT. Who else had the power to ARREST these people? If the current PM is already arresting dissident voices AND hes running for re-election then it doesnt matter that the opposition retires from the race because the ones actually harming people retained all the power. The show should have established Caroles mother as either mayor of Alba City that is threatening to take her local policy Mars wide or have her win the election in S1, enact her policy then resign when the corruption is exposed at the end of the show.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Spoiler

For sure that whole aspect was really slopply written

The biggest head scrather for me was the final reveal between Tao and Angela that they were both designer children made by some like mad scientist, I was just like ok what does this have to do with anything else thats happening, And the show treats it like a massive reveal when it did nothing to really build it up. I gurss it tied loosley into the mother theme but eh it was weak.

The sub-plot of tuesday falling in love with the journalist gets very quickly forgotten too lol.

 

[Deleted member 3294]

I was pretty mixed on this show overall. The first six episodes are really good, then there's the Mars' Brightest arc which is just garbage, then the second half just is a mix of okay and meh episodes. Then it looked like it might actually have something to say about US politics, until the ending which, lol.

Spoiler: Ending spoilers

Suddenly the problem with ICE isn't that they're sending immigrants off the planet, but rather that they could censor the rich successful artists the show wants to focus on. Wait, actually, now it's not that they could, they already can. And now the big threat is that they put all of their effort into trying to censor the "We Are the World" type song that could.... vaguely be construed as political I guess?

On top of that, turns out that Valerie did absolutely nothing wrong cause she was just mindlessly following an evil advisor. There, she's redeemed and a good mom now. Please don't think about how she's so morally corrupt she thought it was okay to literally launch immigrants off the planet, and stoked hatred around the planet to get votes. She's fully redeemable and actually a decent person.

Just..... the show can't just touch on horrible real-life stuff that's happening, then suddenly change how its world works and what characters are like just to have a happy ending. It felt gross.

Also, the way this show treats trans and genderqueer people is pretty bad, and also just outright wrong about a lot of stuff:

Spoiler

I have no idea what point this show was trying to do with the "Mars is changing some people's hormones so they're genderqueer now" thing, but already just the way of how it thinks gender transition works is wrong. When a trans person transitions, they don't "change to a different gender", they make changes to present as the gender they always have been. It's not like if someone's hormones would suddenly change because space magic, they'd change to a different gender, just their appearance would change. And even then it's not like they have to stop presenting as the gender they've always presented as.

Also, the way the show treats trans and genderqueer people in its first half is horrible. It's implied that Dahlia's hormonal changes made them horribly violent and abusive, which..... no???? It's horrible of this show to just act as if that's something HRT does to people. Just, what the fuck. On top of that there's the Mermaid Sisters bit, where the show treats people being neither man or woman as a joke. So that's cool.

There's also Cybelle, who could potentially be seen as genderqueer going by ambiguous pronouns being used for them in the Japanese version. Though even in the English version, they're presented as a horribly abusive lesbian stalker. Which, still ain't great.

There's a couple of examples of queer characters the show doesn't portray as horribly people, but that doesn't make up for any of the shit above.

 

[SolidSnakeBoy]

I was pretty mixed on this show overall. The first six episodes are really good, then there's the Mars' Brightest arc which is just garbage, then the second half just is a mix of okay and meh episodes. Then it looked like it might actually have something to say about US politics, until the ending which, lol.

Spoiler: Ending spoilers

Suddenly the problem with ICE isn't that they're sending immigrants off the planet, but rather that they could censor the rich successful artists the show wants to focus on. Wait, actually, now it's not that they could, they already can. And now the big threat is that they put all of their effort into trying to censor the "We Are the World" type song that could.... vaguely be construed as political I guess?

On top of that, turns out that Valerie did absolutely nothing wrong cause she was just mindlessly following an evil advisor. There, she's redeemed and a good mom now. Please don't think about how she's so morally corrupt she thought it was okay to literally launch immigrants off the planet, and stoked hatred around the planet to get votes. She's fully redeemable and actually a decent person.

Just..... the show can't just touch on horrible real-life stuff that's happening, then suddenly change how its world works and what characters are like just to have a happy ending. It felt gross.

Also, the way this show treats trans and genderqueer people is pretty bad, and also just outright wrong about a lot of stuff:

Spoiler

I have no idea what point this show was trying to do with the "Mars is changing some people's hormones so they're genderqueer now" thing, but already just the way of how it thinks gender transition works is wrong. When a trans person transitions, they don't "change to a different gender", they make changes to present as the gender they always have been. It's not like if someone's hormones would suddenly change because space magic, they'd change to a different gender, just their appearance would change. And even then it's not like they have to stop presenting as the gender they've always presented as.

Also, the way the show treats trans and genderqueer people in its first half is horrible. It's implied that Dahlia's hormonal changes made them horribly violent and abusive, which..... no???? It's horrible of this show to just act as if that's something HRT does to people. Just, what the fuck. On top of that there's the Mermaid Sisters bit, where the show treats people being neither man or woman as a joke. So that's cool.

There's also Cybelle, who could potentially be seen as genderqueer going by ambiguous pronouns being used for them in the Japanese version. Though even in the English version, they're presented as a horribly abusive lesbian stalker. Which, still ain't great.

There's a couple of examples of queer characters the show doesn't portray as horribly people, but that doesn't make up for any of the shit above.

Click to shrink...

My thoughts on the political stuff

Spoiler: Spoiler

They do always say that Mars has an immigrant situation. The show stages that the deportations start after Valerie's bill was passed, that's why they started going all out. They then passed a second bill to stop anti dissent, which is why they start going after the artists...clearly the bill does not limit their power to Rich artists.

I do think Valerie being absolved is unearned and really unjust given she caused the above. It's implied that Jerry will go to jail for the terrorist attack. I guess she is terminating her career which is something. I don't know what her punishment would be? Running on shitty policy to elected office is not a crime and yet the show makes me wish it was.

On representation

Spoiler: Spoiler

I took the impression that the whole non-binary thing is trying to make it sound like a special Mars thing. Looks to me that they messed up because to me it sounds more like a sex change caused by space magic than gender change. Wish they would have explored this further. Clearly the show does not have a negative opinion on the matter regardless as we see with Desmond.

Dhalia is clearly supposed to be an individual corrupted by ambition. I always took her as using the hormones as an excuse. Regardless, there is no indictment of gender-fluidity here, she's just a shitty parent. Desmond is also a counter point here. Just because she's painted in a negative light does not mean the show has an agenda.

I would argue that the show is definitely going out if it's way to be LGBTQ positive. Gus ex is bisexual and he supports her, Desmond was a gay man and has lived his life faithfully yearning for that love, The Mermaid Sisters are deadly serious and proud about their music even if it is funny to us.

Cybelle is just an awful character on so many levels. Really do not like her depiction. I will concede that. But the show doesn't say that because she's lesbian she's shitty. She's just mentally unstable.

 

[Deleted member 3294]

My thoughts on the political stuff

Spoiler: Spoiler

They do always say that Mars has an immigrant situation. The show stages that the deportations start after Valerie's bill was passed, that's why they started going all out. They then passed a second bill to stop anti dissent, which is why they start going after the artists...clearly the bill does not limit their power to Rich artists.

I do think Valerie being absolved is unearned and really unjust given she caused the above. It's implied that Jerry will go to jail for the terrorist attack. I guess she is terminating her career which is something. I don't know what her punishment would be? Running on shitty policy to elected office is not a crime and yet the show makes me wish it was.

On representation

Spoiler: Spoiler

I took the impression that the whole non-binary thing is trying to make it sound like a special Mars thing. Looks to me that they messed up because to me it sounds more like a sex change caused by space magic than gender change. Wish they would have explored this further. Clearly the show does not have a negative opinion on the matter regardless as we see with Desmond.

Dhalia is clearly supposed to be an individual corrupted by ambition. I always took her as using the hormones as an excuse. Regardless, there is no indictment of gender-fluidity here, she's just a shitty parent. Desmond is also a counter point here. Just because she's painted in a negative light does not mean the show has an agenda.

I would argue that the show is definitely going out if it's way to be LGBTQ positive. Gus ex is bisexual and he supports her, Desmond was a gay man and has lived his life faithfully yearning for that love, The Mermaid Sisters are deadly serious and proud about their music even if it is funny to us.

Cybelle is just an awful character on so many levels. Really do not like her depiction. I will concede that. But the show doesn't say that because she's lesbian she's shitty. She's just mentally unstable.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler

The problem with the ICE stuff isn't so much that it makes sense within the show or not, it's that it turns what's a threat to the marginalized into something that's a threat to the privileged. The show seems to care more about how ICE could affect artists than how it is affecting immigrants.

I don't think the show knows or cares about there being a difference between "sex change" and "gender change". Your interpretation of Dahlia there is giving them way too much benefit of the doubt. They never present them being abusive as them being corrupted by ambition, the show itself only ties it to them getting magic space HRT. Same with the Mermaid Sisters, the show never presents them being nonbinary as anything but a joke. The characters are never shown as being wrong for being weirded out by them.

And again: them having a couple of queer characters who aren't portrayed as horrible doesn't make up at all for the way they portray the other characters. Even if I'd give them the benefit of the doubt and say there was no ire towards trans and genderqueer people here, their portrayal of how HRT works is dangerous and they still end up portraying nonbinary people as a joke.