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The story includes clear identity-driven elements, especially the romance between Maggie and Tabitha. This lesbian relationship is a visible, recurring part of the story. In the second season, they live together, and their love is shown as a source of strength. While the main plot is about stopping the bad guy, the focus on female power and queer themes is hard to miss.

The series critiques traditional family values and male authority through the villain Charlie Manx. His creepy "Christmasland" is a twisted version of traditional 1950s family life. Normal fathers, like Vic's dad, are shown as weak and bad, while the non-traditional Lou Carmody is the ideal supportive partner. There is a noticeable critique of traditional gender roles and social norms.

The TV show makes noticeable identity-driven changes to the original book. In Joe Hill's novel, Maggie Leigh is a minor, white librarian, and Agent Tabitha Hutter is a minor character. The show makes them both major characters, changes their races to black, and puts them in a lesbian relationship that was not in the book. This is a clear, identity-driven change to increase queer and racial representation.

The show faced some backlash from book fans and viewers online. Critics complained that the creators forced "woke" themes into the horror plot by adding the lesbian relationship. They also disliked how the female lead, Vic, was made to look overly masculine with tattoos in Season 2. However, because the show was canceled quickly and had a small audience, the backlash remained small and mostly on horror websites.

The creative team has a mixed progressive track record. While book creator Joe Hill has an apolitical profile, producer and star Zachary Quinto is a vocal gay activist, and writer Lucy Thurber is an openly queer writer who focuses on feminist themes. Producers Shana Fischer Huber and Lauren Corrao, along with showrunner Jami O'Brien, also have a history of prioritizing diversity and queer representation.