I got my first Covid shot yesterday so sorry for breaking out another Filler Video so soon after recovering from my previous medical issues.
The concept of the “Mary Sue” (and lesser known male counterpart “Gary Stu”) is forever a subject of debate among those who love storytelling, whether they’re fans or creators. I’ve discussed this one myself. Appearing in a short gag fanfic in The Menagerie in 1974, Paula Smith’s A Trekkie’s Tale is a short four paragraph story involving Lieutenant Mary Sue, the youngest LT in Starfleet, serving aboard the Enterprise despite not being old enough to drive a car, become the fascination of everyone until she eventually dies, her passing becoming a holiday aboard the ship. (I bet they even celebrate in on the Enterprise-E, the post TNG movie version of the ship.)
It’s universally agreed on that a Mary Sue, a character with no flaws, everyone loves unless they’re jerks or evil (and even then they may come around), and is the awesomest person ever in forever, is to be avoided. It’s the flaws, or at least the struggles, that invoke drama, even in comedies with dramatic elements. While nobody defends the Mary Sue as a character they will defend a beloved character by insisting they aren’t a Mary Sue because they indeed have flaws. However, it’s the type of flaws that The Literature Devil says still make that character a Mary Sue. And of course, being the Literature Devil, he uses Rey from the Star Wars Sequel trilogy as his example, but he and the Tutorial Demon (I hope God forgives me for promoting devils and demons in this one) do bring up other Mary Sues like Ensign Mariner there (named after the showrunner’s sister…explains a lot) as well as the story that coined the term. Don’t worry, he also discusses characters who actually get it right. I think he just likes picking on Rey as a prime example of a modern Mary Sue that isn’t our teenage lieutenant.
