Cal Kestis and magic-wielding Nightsister Merrin are probably the only endgame romance Jedi: Survivor players saw coming. They're the only two members of the original crew who wouldn't be a weird, borderline uncomfortable match, and to mildly spoil the game for you, they are -- as the title implies -- miraculous survivors of a fairly dark middle chapter in an expected Star Wars trilogy.
Anyone who read Jedi: Battle Scars in 2023 shortly before the game came out might have been slightly thrown off by Cal and Merrin's kiss toward the end of the game (you don't get to choose it -- it happens in a cutscene). I know I was. Penned by accomplished video game writer Sam Maggs, the book takes place between Jedi: Fallen Order and Survivor, its sequel. One of the storylines features Merrin diving into a romantic relationship with another woman. The books, as usual, are much better at representing the LGBTQ+ community than TV and movies, especially in Star Wars.
That kiss upset me at first. It felt like the game was completely ignoring the book -- after all, Merrin and Cal didn't have a real romantic connection in the first game, and the book confirmed any suspicions that she might be into other women. But interacting with the game again recently, it finally dawned on me: Survivor didn't erase Merrin's queer identity. It suggested she might be bisexual. And this is a bigger win for mega-franchise bi representation than I realized.
Bisexual women in monogamous romantic relationships with men are devastatingly underrepresented in media. Often on screen, even today, LGBTQ+ relationships, though present, remain fairly binary, I suppose to really sell the point that the two characters are definitely not straight. There's only so much you can expect from the straight white men dominating the film and TV industry at all levels.
Generally, for simplicity, out of ignorance, laziness, biphobia, pick your reason, if a male and female are romantically involved, it's depicted as a straight relationship. Two dudes; gay. Two ladies; lesbian. Bisexuals occasionally get their moments to shine, but most of the time bi women end up with other women and bi men basically don't exist -- because if it doesn't "look" queer to audiences, presumably it's not "queer" enough.
But here we have Cal and Merrin -- not a straight relationship, despite potential efforts to soothe the gamer bros. A bisexual woman implied to be romantically involved with a guy. And again, to mildly spoil the game -- there aren't many other sentient beings on that planet at the end. If Cal and Merrin ever do any experimenting, it will be with each other. Monogamous. Because they deserve each other, but also, isolation on a lost impossible-to-reach world and all that.
It was quite a journey to get here, to be able to celebrate all the bi women romantically linked to men for life who never get to see themselves in media. That kiss started out as a disappointment, and now we can say we won. And if they ever do get around to making that third game, there will be even more to celebrate.