In one of the best teen rom-coms, She’s the Man, we see Olivia fall in love with “Sebastian” without realizing that it’s actually Viola disguised as her twin brother so she can play on his school’s soccer team. So, how do you know that the person Olivia is falling for isn’t genuinely Viola without realizing it? After rewatching the 2006 teen sports flick, I can’t stop thinking about why Viola and Olivia should have been endgame.
Olivia And Viola Had A Stronger Emotional Connection
You can tell throughout She’s the Man that Olivia didn’t care about dating the handsome jock or she would have fallen for “Sebastian’s” roommate, Duke. When she met “Sebastian,” Olivia instantly felt a spark and felt validated hearing “him” say that men are afraid to treat women as equals.
Both Viola and Olivia shared a common bond: Viola wanted to feel equal as an athlete, and Olivia was constantly objectified by guys who didn’t know her. Their connection wasn’t about attraction in the traditional sense. Olivia was willing to put her guard down for someone who valued her mind and didn’t treat her like a prize to be won. Viola recognized that while disguised as her brother.
A Disguised Viola Could Have Discovered Her Hidden Love For Women
Since She’s the Man is based on the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night, it’s supposed to be funny to see Olivia falling for Cesario without realizing he’s a disguised woman. However, what if, through living in disguise, Viola could have discovered her hidden feelings for women she didn’t realize she had?
After all, Viola, as Sebastian, told Olivia that she’s one of the few people in school whom she felt comfortable around. Not to mention, she did look flattered hearing Olivia compliment “Sebastian’s” smile. So, it would have been nice for a little twist to come with Viola discovering through living as her twin brother that she could like women, too.
She’s The Man Could Have Introduced Pansexuality
We’ve seen pansexuality represented in shows like Schitt’s Creek, Big Mouth, Gen: Lock, and more. This sexual orientation is when gender is not a factor in who you are romantically, emotionally, or sexually attracted to.
This filmcould have explored pansexuality in both Olivia and Viola. If either of them felt an attraction to each other while Viola was disguised, it could mean that both of them were after the person inside the gender more than the gender itself.
Olivia may have thought she fell for “Sebastian,” but she really fell for a person who listened to her, made her feel seen, and respected her. If the great rom-com on Paramount+leaned into this, it would show that love can be about attraction after discovering the person they are, regardless of gender.
Duke And Sebastian Hardly Knew The Real Olivia And Viola
I understand that She’s the Man is supposed to be one of the best friends-to-lover rom-coms in terms of Viola and Duke. They started off as roommates, became soccer buddies, then confused ties when Viola kissed Duke as herself in a kissing booth.
However, Duke didn’t really know Viola. After he first kissed her, he already wanted to ask her out without knowing her personality. Plus, it would be complicated if Duke always had feelings for Viola as “Sebastian,” since he clearly wasn’t attracted to men, and it never looked like he had confused feelings for his roommate. I feel they were better off as friends.
As for Olivia and the real Sebastian, you can make the argument that Olivia liked Sebastian’s lyrics when she found them. But that’s about it. Sebastian called Olivia “the girl of my dreams” after she kissed him. Olivia only kissed him thinking she was kissing the “Sebastian” she met, who was really Viola. I doubt a smart girl like Olivia would be happy with a slacker like Sebastian, who ditched school constantly to play with his band. In the end, the pair looked more like a convenient wrap-up than a true love match.
Olivia And Viola Really Were Their Authentic Selves With Each Other
When Viola disguised herself as her brother, it was easy for her to still be herself. Examples would be naturally complementing Olivia’s shoes, confiding to her how science class dissections would freak her out, and saying how comfortable she was around her without trying to be Sebastian. It didn’t take any effort on Viola’s part to impress Olivia, which proved that the two had natural chemistry.
Olivia felt comfortable around “Sebastian” in her ability to freely open up to “him.” Especially since we learned Olivia previously got her heart broken, it says a lot that she felt relaxed talking to “Sebastian.” Whereas Duke felt like he had to come off as this confident Prince Charming to impress Olivia, Viola (as Sebastian) was able to do that for Olivia when her authentic self came out.
While others may think this is a movie about young love between Viola and Duke, I truly believe that a better romantic twist would have been if Viola and Olivia discovered their feelings for each other. If there was a moment where they realized that gender doesn’t always define our feelings, the movie could have been a celebration of connection without labels. Not to mention, you can’t spell Olivia without Viola, right? You can see what I mean by watching She’s the Man with your Paramount+ subscription.
