Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Velma season 1.The dark Scooby-Doo series Velma has followed in the footsteps of another recent project in the franchise, revealing its versions of Velma Dinkley and Daphne Blake to be bisexual. Animation fans have joked for decades about the original Velma being a lesbian and several Scooby-Doo series and movies dropped hints that this was the case. Velma’s LGBTQ+ status was finally confirmed in 2022’s direct-to-video movie Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo, but HBO Max’s Velma has upped the ante by establishing both Daphne and Velma as bisexual.
The new Velma series has proven successful, if controversial. While the first two episodes of the series earned the highest ratings of any original animated series on HBO Max, the show also drew fire from those who questioned the need for an R-rated Scooby-Doo spinoff that did for the classic cartoon series what Riverdale did to Archie Comics. Velma has already been renewed for a second season, despite earning an extremely low IMDB audience score and the outcry regarding the differences in approach between this show and previous iterations.
How Velma Establishes The Title Character’s Bisexuality
The pilot episode of Velma established a different dynamic for its versions of Daphne and Velma. Once best friends, like in the classic Scooby-Doo cartoons, the two drifted apart after Velma’s mother mysteriously disappeared. Velma began shutting everyone out trying to solve the mystery and Daphne, feeling rejected, fell in with a clique of mean girls, becoming the queen bee of Crystal Cove High. The two remained frenemies until Daphne kissed Velma, originally to shock her out of a nightmarish delusion. It soon became apparent, however, that there was some romantic attraction between the two, establishing both Daphne and Velma as bisexual.
The two discussed their feelings in Velma episode 3, “Velma Kai,” ultimately deciding that they should just stay friends for now. This was decided partly because both girls had a lot of personal baggage to work through before thinking about a relationship, with Velma still searching for her missing mother and the adopted Daphne searching for her biological parents. They also affirmed that they liked each other and shared an attraction to Daphne’s ex-boyfriend Fred Jones, confirming their bisexual status.
Velma Dinkley Has A History As An LGBTQ+ Icon
While this marks the first time that Daphne Blake has been firmly established as LGBTQ+ in any Scooby-Doo adaptation, different versions of Velma were teased as being bisexual or lesbian for years before 2022’s Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo. James Gunn’s original Scooby-Doo movie script was intended to out Velma, though the scenes confirming Velma loved women were cut from the finished film. Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated producer Tony Cervone likewise confirmed that he had always viewed Velma as a lesbian and hinted at it in the show, posting a Pride-themed picture of her and her hinted love interest Marcie “Hot Dog Water” Fleach on Instagram in 2020.