Even though the show s originally from Canada, the latest supernatural drama on CW,
Trickster, stays completely on brand with the woke network as its latest episode features a die-in protest against fossil fuels.
The January 26 “Episode 3,” like the rest of the show, follows an indigenous teenager, Jared (Joel Oulette), who is suffering from bizarre and dangerous visions as he deals drugs in his small Canadian town while taking care of his eccentric mother. In the meantime, he meets new neighbor Sarah (Anna Lambe) who wastes no time in organizing a die-in at the high school to protest a local pipeline being built on Native land.
1/12/2021
Premiering amid a controversy relating to co-creator Michelle Latimer, The CW s Canadian import features familiar supernatural and YA themes in an Indigenous/First Nations setting.
On Tuesday, January 12, The CW is premiering what, by rights, probably should be one of the most talked-about new shows of the season. And yet, from what I can tell, absolutely nobody is talking about
Trickster.
And the odd thing is that The CW is probably OK with that not the typical state of affairs for an import that arrives fresh off big ratings and very positive reviews from Canada.
The key problem, if you haven t been paying attention, is that
When
Supernatural premiered over a decade and a half ago, it asked the question “what if all the ghost stories and urban legends you told around a campfire were real and what do they look like in today’s world?” That series drew on a particular sort of American mythology, and at its best used those stories to inform the growth of their character and it was a powerful combination. But the perspective of the show was limited, and the cast, even when it expanded, was incredibly white.
Now imagine a show that draws on
different American myths: the original folklore of Indigenous and First Nations peoples, and asks how they relate to the world today. Imagine supernatural drama that tackles class, poverty, and substance abuse in a way that’s honest and insightful without being too heavy and deals directly with life in an Indigenous community. You might come up with something like
Jeffrey Nordling plays a character described as Austin’s finest string-puller.
His mom, Maggie (Crystle Lightning), is still screaming all these years later, a hot mess of a party animal whose manic conversations with unseen people may not be hallucinations. His dad, Phil (Craig Lauzon), is a comparatively forgettable sad sack on disability, and like Maggie, mooches on their responsible son to get by. Described as the high school’s “most aspiring underachiever” by a guidance counselor, Jared augments his meagre salary from a fast-food joint by peddling “happy pills” he concocts in a shed, selling them from the drive-through window.