Here’s how “Batwoman” will handle the unexpected departure of its lesbian lead character

“Bury your gays” is the tendency in fiction for authors to kill off queer characters, particularly lesbian and bisexual female characters, in tragic circumstances and often after they’ve just achieved some sort of happiness in their lives.

The queerphobic trope is sometimes referred to as “Lesbian Death Syndrome” and is both a result of lazy writing and a patronizing belief that queer people are just “too good for this world” and, thus, more easily killed off rather than handled in a more nuanced and less violent way.

“As a lesbian who’s been working as a writer for the past fifteen years, I’m well aware of the “Bury Your Gays” trope and I have no interest in participating in it,” Dries said.

“Like you,” Dries continued, “I love Kate Kane – she’s the reason I wanted to do the show. We’ll never erase her. In fact, her disappearance will be one of the mysteries of season two. I don’t want to give away any of our surprises, but to all our devoted fans, please know that LGBTQ+ justice is at the very core of what Batwoman is and we have no intention of abandoning that.”