Melanie Marcus
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Melanie Marcus is a fictional character from Showtime's Queer as Folk television series. She is played by Michelle Clunie and appeared from Season 1 through the series end of Season 5.
Melanie, or commonly referred to as "Mel", is one of the main characters and is the domestic partner of Lindsay Peterson. Melanie is also the natural mother of Jenny Rebecca, a daughter by way of artificial insemination from donor and mutual friend Michael Novotny, and the adoptive mother of Gus, Lindsay's natural daughter by way of artificial insemination from donor and Lindsay's longtime friend Brian Kinney.
Melanie works as an attorney in a successful law firm. In the beginning, Mel disapproves of Lindsay's choice to use Brian as a donor and makes her opinion known to all parties involved. Being raised Jewish, Mel insists that her cultural traditions are a part of her and her family's life. Melanie's hostility towards Brian flares when he interrupts and tries to stop Gus' bris. She also objects to the purchasing of items for unborn babies as it is considered bad luck in the Jewish faith.
During Seasons 1 and 2, Mel insists that Lindsay take the year following Gus' birth on leave. This causes Melanie to feel some anamosity towards Lindsay. Mel has an affair with an encounter at a bar and never discloses this information to Lindsay as Melanie felt guilty over her behavior.
Melanie is also close friends with Ted Schmidt, an accountant that manages Lindsay and Melanie's financial portfolio. This relationship is solid until it was discovered that Ted stole money from Gus' portfolio. Eventually Ted admits his wrongdoings and is seemingly forgiven by Melanie and Lindsay.
In Season 4, Melanie admits that she was unable to have children due to an infection that rendered her infertile. After having an operation to reverse her condition, she asks Michael to be the donor father. Michael is concerned when Melanie creates a contract absolving Michael of his parental rights due to Lindsay and Melanie's struggles with Brian. Mel eventually relents and lets Michael share parental rights.
While pregnant with Jenny Rebecca, Lindsay has an affair on Melanie for which Mel is unable to forgive her for. Since it was with a man rather than a woman, Melanie is furious and questions Lindsay's commitment to their relationship. The affair causes a huge riff between Lindsay that causes them to separate and fight throughout most of seasons 4 and 5.
At the end of the series and after a bomb explosion targeting a gay and lesbian convention takes the life of a fellow lesbian friend, Lindsay and Melanie decide to reconcile. Lindsay and Melanie's last appearance on the show reveals that they have decided to move to Toronto, Canada to avoid further government and personal persecution for being a homosexual couple.
| Queer as Folk (US) | |
|---|---|
| Production: | Episode List | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 |
| Main characters: | Brian | Michael | Justin | Emmett | Ted | Lindsay | Melanie | Debbie | Vic | Ben |
| Secondary characters: | David | Blake | Ethan | Chief Stockwell | Hunter | Jennifer Taylor | Daphne | Horvath | Drew Boyd |
| Places & locations: | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
