Anne with an E

The introduction of the Black character Sebastian 'Bash' and his experiences with racism is a major plotline, used to directly introduce the themes of racial discrimination, oppression, and systemic injustice into the historically all-white community. The narrative makes racism a primary source of conflict for a new character, framing it as an institutional flaw of the white setting. The story is explicitly used to highlight standing against injustice.

The traditional community of Avonlea is consistently portrayed as deeply flawed, narrow-minded, and a primary source of harm and oppression against those who are different. The plot specifically addresses topics like 'white fragility' and prejudice, framing the local, historical white culture as fundamentally corrupt and restrictive. The show later deals with the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples by the Canadian system, painting the nation's history as rooted in oppression.

The main character, Anne, is explicitly positioned as the community's 'feminist champion,' with plotlines centered on dismantling traditional gender roles and 'toxic masculine standards.' Female ambition and career are heavily celebrated, while traditional female roles and domesticity are sometimes depicted as a 'prison.' A new female teacher is introduced as an 'idol' for wearing pants and challenging old-fashioned traditions, which the town 'scorned.' Female maturation is argued to be reliant on 'civics, advocacy, and action' rather than 'domesticity.'

The season fully centers an LGBTQ+ storyline by introducing the character Cole, a creative, non-traditional boy who is bullied and later identified by critics as a gay character. The powerful Aunt Josephine's lifelong partnership with her female 'companion' is explicitly confirmed to be a lesbian relationship, a retcon from the source material. Anne delivers a direct lecture on the subjective nature of love and sexuality, asking, 'How can there be anything wrong with spending your life with the person you love?' Aunt Josephine hosts a party full of queer and eccentric attendees.

The narrative places an emphasis on challenging the 'old-fashioned traditions' and rigid social conformity of 1908 society, which is inextricably linked to the Christian moral framework of the time. The show explicitly discusses 'religion' as a social issue that can be a source of oppression. The characters are pushed toward a moral relativism that values personal 'truth' and acceptance of all lifestyles above the historical, transcendent moral law of the community.