If you have been confused about whether Mo (Alex Newell) is a guy or a girl on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, you're not the only one. That's because Mo -- a he -- is gender fluid.
"He doesn't like labels," titular character Zoey (Jane Levy) told her crush, Simon (John Clarence Stewart) in a previous episode, when discussing Mo's musical talents. One of the first scenes in March 1's "Zoey's Extraordinary's Neighbor" reveals Zoey initially thought Mo was a woman, as she had called him "ma'am." The episode not only confirms that Mo is a gender-fluid man, but has to do so while bringing religion into it.
The life of Zoey is filled with her hearing songs from people she passes by, which turns out to be their inner thoughts. Zoey hears Mo singing "The Great Pretender," the reason becoming clear when Zoey follows Mo to church, the only place he actually dresses like a man. Normally, Mo is dressed like a woman, complete with wig, dress, high heels, and makeup.
Mo feels so out of place practicing in part of the church choir that he runs out and never comes back. Zoey finds Mo's pastor, Pastor Steve, looking to deliver a letter to Mo. And he knows that Mo is "gender fluid."
Zoey: I don't want to... break Mo's trust, and I don't know how...
Pastor Steve: I know he's gender fluid.
Zoey: You do?
Pastor Steve: Yeah. Mo's out to me. Before joining the choir, he wanted to make sure I was an open-minded minister. I assured him I was.
Zoey: Oh. I didn't know churches were okay with that.
Pastor Steve: Some are. I want mine to be.
Zoey: Then, why do you think he's uncomfortable being himself there?
Pastor Steve: I couldn't tell you.
When Zoey talks more with Mo, she finds out that Mo has had a bad history with churches:
Mo: F-sharp.
Zoey: Hmm?
Mo: That's the note you're making with your spoon. I have perfect pitch. The church organist discovered it when I was in the second grade. Until then, the only other person that made this little black boy who liked clomping around in heels feel special was my mom. But when I found out that I had something special in me that made people clap rather than call me a sissy... I knew I was special, too. I mean, two weeks in the kids' choir, and they moved me directly up to the adult soprano section. -
Zoey: As they should have.
Mo: Well, let's say that I wasn't exactly accepted by some of those pitchy sisters. Not because I sang better than them, which I do. They said I wasn't right with God. And they complained to the choir director, who didn't care. And things got so bad that we just moved to another church, and then it happened all over again. So from then on, I vowed to present male any time that I was in a house of worship.
Zoey: But... Isn't it different this time? Pastor Steve seems so accepting.
Mo: He is, but that's no guarantee that anybody else in those pews are gonna be. So my only two options are to dress like a man and feel like a fraud or dress like a female and risk being run out of the sanctuary.
Zoey: Mo, I-I wish I knew how to help you make the decision.
Mo: Thanks, but it's gonna take a miracle to show me the way. Until then, I'm staying home on Sundays.
Because if churches are going to come up on television, why wouldn't it be to showcase how they run people out? Just another opportunity to knock the church while pushing gender confusion.
