Turning to griefbots or grieving with hope?

Two of the most atypical Marvel/Disney+ series of the past couple of years have been two of the most interesting.

Instead of action men, explosions, robots and galactic threats, they featured intelligent storytelling combined with a quirky central concept, and a female showrunner and predominantly female casts. They were both, unusually for big budget productions, also about grief. Wandavision (2021) gave us the poignant line: ‘What is grief, if not love persevering?’, and in Agatha All Along (2024) the burden of grief carried by the charismatic villainess helped to humanise her.

All that lives must die

February also marks the start of the run of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s new production of Hamlet – perhaps one of literature’s most famous portrayals of grief. The protagonist is defined by his iconic black mourning suit as he persists in grieving his father’s death. For this Danish prince, grief goes beyond the external: ‘I have that within which passes show/these but the trappings and the suits of woe.’