Sheriff Bill Hollister (Stephen Dorff) is having a busy day on the February 13 episode of Deputy. It's a day made all the more complicated by getting into a car accident with Deputy Brianna Bishop (Bex Taylor-Klaus).
Being in the hospital sets Bishop off, which leads to the show's reveal that the character, like Taylor-Klaus, is non-binary. What's worse is when she talks to the Sheriff's wife, Dr. Paula Reyes (Yara Martinez), the doctor claims that "there are more than two sexes."
Upon being released from the hospital, Bishop actually shows up to Paula's home, where we're treated to a lecture about biology, psyche, acceptance and "living one's truth," and from someone who should know better:
Paula: Look, I got into medicine to help people. So trust me when I tell you, that helping you... Helps me, too.
Bishop: It-it's... Difficult for me to talk about certain things. Biological things.
Paula: Of course. Doctor-patient confidentiality.
Bishop: Till recently, I didn't have a word for... What I felt like on the inside. I let people assume. I didn't wanna make anyone else feel uncomfortable, but that just made me feel worse. You know, I hate labels. And here I am trying to give myself one.
Paula: Hmm. Well, look, obviously, I understand biology. There are more than two sexes. I don't understand all the layers of identity, but I do know, fundamentally, that not living one's truth is detrimental to your psyche.
Bishop: And I don't wanna do that to myself anymore. This accident made it very clear that tomorrow is not a guarantee, and I need to be me. I'm getting closer every day to exactly what that is. But for now, I know... I'm not all woman.
Paula: Thank you... For trusting me with that. It must've been very difficult to live with that for so long.
Bishop: Thank you. I-I had no idea how badly I needed to say that to someone. I wish I knew it was gonna be this easy with Genevieve.Paula: Well, you don't have to tell her until you're ready.
Bishop: I am, but what if she rejects me?
Paula: Bishop... You are remarkable. I mean it. If Genevieve rejects you, she didn't deserve you in the first place.
It apparently wasn't enough for the show to have a lesbian couple with Bishop and Genevieve. Bishop had to come out as the first character to identify as non-binary on a network television show.
The biology is clear that there are two sexes. There's also no "living one's truth." One is either a man or a woman. And why does Genevieve have to be denigrated in such a way if she isn't comfortable being someone who doesn't fully identify as the sex she is attracted to?
While Paula claims to be helping Bishop, she's actually doing her a disservice by feeding into this lie that she could somehow not be one particular sex.
It's bad enough that Sheriff has lectured viewers about how "we're all immigrants" as an excuse for interfering with ICE operations. We don't need to hear, from a doctor no less, lies about biology in the name of some social justice warrior crusade. In that case, "obviously" she does not understand biology as much as she thinks she does.
