Violet Evergarden reimagines historical discussion of post-traumatic stress, early 1900s literary tropes, and the popular “war narrative” genre, but with a female child soldier as its protagonist. In its remixing and calling back to World War I history and especially women’s history, the series provides a fresh take on an old tale with a strong undercurrent of feminist themes.
The first five episodes of Violet Evergarden depict Violet’s efforts to become a letter-writer known as a “Doll.” During this arc, Violet positively portrays the behaviours and difficulties commonly experienced by people with autism, and the way she becomes a Doll reflects an important idea in disabled activism: the social model of disability.
We’re continuing the informal three-episode “check-in” roundtable that we started last season, this time with the long list of promising Winter 2018 titles.
There’s an art to premiere episodes, and Violet Evergarden is a masterclass.
