“Paper Girls” is a sci-fi adventure through and through, but, like any good adventure, it packs a few emotional punches. Among them is a conversation that KJ (played by Fina Strazza) gets to have in the future — but not with herself. It’s a moment with her future girlfriend, as she comes to terms with her sexuality.
In the series, which is now streaming in its entirety on Prime Video, KJ and her friends are transported from 1988 to 2019, then later backwards to 1999. In their travels, the girls have the opportunity to meet their older selves (well, minus Mac). But KJ opts out, and instead accidentally runs headfirst into her future self’s girlfriend.
It’s a jarring moment for KJ, realizing what her feelings mean and what kind of future they lead to. For the most part, it leads to absolute terror — until she encounters her future girlfriend once more. After observing her future self and her girlfriend from a distance, KJ waits until Older KJ goes to the bathroom and then approaches her girlfriend. The conversation is loaded, as young KJ attempts to understand when and how her sexuality develops, but ultimately, it gives her a bit of comfort and clarity. And it was a scene that Strazza says everyone treated with the utmost respect.
“Well we — you know, it was a very sensitive subject, we wanted to make sure that it was handled correctly, especially because that storyline is so important to so many of the fans of the comics,” Strazza explained to TheWrap. “KJ is a character that comes from the ’80s, and she grew up in a time where it was not okay to be gay, and it was not okay to express yourself. And we wanted that to be reflected a little bit and have that apprehension, where she needs that guidance. She needs someone to tell her it’s okay. So we needed to feel that in that scene.”
As a result, KJ comes to terms with her feelings as the series progresses, nearly telling Mac at one point. Their friendship (though it’s worth noting that, in comics, there is a future in which KJ and Mac end up together romantically) becomes a touchstone for both girls, and is something that series star Sofia Rosinsky, who plays Mac, thoroughly enjoyed.
“I think it’s really beautiful how KJ is so, so caring, and understanding and patient and how Mac is finally able to maybe be be more vulnerable with someone,” she told TheWrap.
In reality, Strazza admits that she wouldn’t actually want to meet her future self, if given the opportunity like KJ and her friends were. There are too many things that could go wrong.
“I wouldn’t. I would be too scared that I would change the course of my life,” she said. “Like, I don’t want to worry about messing something up like the butterfly effect. So I’ll stay in the moment for now.”
Strazza is the outlier among her co-stars though. When posed with the same hypothetical, the girls all noted that they probably would meet their future selves, they would just vary the level of interaction.
All eight episodes of “Paper Girls” are now streaming on Prime Video.
