A New Queer Romantic Fantasy Podcast for Valentine's Day.
A (Pr)eview/Review/Interview with creator Haven Blaine
A three-part audio drama in the fantasy space released this past Friday in time for Valentine’s Day. “The Soulmate Quest” is a romantic fantasy with loads of queer representation in a world much like ours today. The idea of having the name of one’s soulmate branded on their hands acts as a way to discuss sexual orientation. It then goes above and beyond, adding gender identity to an already deep story.
The creator, Haven Blaine said, “This story is about two people from a fantasy world going through that process, finding themselves despite the external forces working against them.” A great example is the character of Jam. While the primary point of view is from Emma, Killian Day’s performance as the soulmate says so much in such little interaction. In the first episode, we get the sense that Jam’s identity is not as accepted as it should be where they live. Here’s a snippet of a scene in episode one using fantasy tropes like magical dragons (specifically Tegot in this story) and uses it as a metaphor for our own society’s issue with choosing ones identity after birth. You can find transcripts for all three episodes and trailer on the show’s website. For context, Tegot is a dragon who uses magic to put the name of people’s soulmate on one hand and their own name on the other when they’re born.
ROELA
Everything we do here is a choice, my friend, from our names to our homes.
EMMA
(alarmed) Your names- You pick your own names?
ROELA
We are not content to let Tegot’s magic define us. The names on our hands mean nothing to my people.
Final Thoughts
While it’s harder to remember moments that stood out in the second episode, the last episode has a moment that is surprising, yet inevitable. In the back of my mind, I suspected an ending where Emma’s soulmate hand would change James (Jam’s birth name) to Jam and they’d know they were in fact soulmates. There is a happy ending, but how we got there was different than my idea — and I liked the story’s answer more as it dealt with the story’s themes.
To end this article, here are the creator’s thoughts on what ey wanted listeners to come away with after listening:
I hope people come away with a content feeling, and that they're given an experience of love and care, that they know their identity is theirs to choose and that it is truly magical to be able to decide for yourself.