The method used within this study in order to properly analyze and pull conclusions from these episodes was narrative analysis.
Narrative analysis in a broad respect focuses on analyzing a storied body of work by looking at smaller details of the work and how they impact the story (Bruner, 1991). In this study specifically, this type of analysis involved interpreting the stories presented within these episodes by looking at dialogue, character relationships, and story structure, and by considering how these aspects of composition affect the work as a whole. In these interpretations, both individual storylines and relationship-based storylines were taken into account with significance, though it was the queer relationship-based narratives that gave the most insight into the research.
I looked at all episodes of the show, however my domain for the purposes of this study is limited to four episodes that feature non-traditional sexual identity as a focal point. These episodes (in chronological order) are Season 1, Episode 10 (“Honeymoon”), Season 3, Episode 2 (“The Throuple”), Season 5, Episode 11 (“Meet the Parents”), and Season 6, Episode 14 (“Happy Ending”). These episodes not only have a primary focus on the sexual identity of David Rose and his sexual/romantic interests in the show, but they also cast a light on the overarching narrative of the heterosexual town members’ reactions to his sexual identity as well as the character arcs of the characters who have a non-traditional sexual identity, primarily David. The narratives dramatized the variety in gender expressions in the romantic relationships between David Rose and his sexual/romantic partners, the descriptions given of David’s pansexuality (both by him and others), and the reaction of heterosexual townspeople in response to his sexual identity.