I’m late to this discussion but..
Am I the only one who likes the relationship? It was random and from left field, but I think that was the point. It was a bit of a surprise/ twist. I think the writers knew the audience just had it all figured out that Mulan was this lesbian who was destined for love even though her sexuality was never confirmed. I would love it if it turned out Mulan was actually straight and had a crush on the Prince and not Aurora the whole time!
Why not Mulan?
At the end of the day we really don’t know why they decided to ignore Mulan again.
I’ve been reading a several theories and have some of my own:
*She’s a beloved Disney princess and is probably protected by Disney, while Dorothy and Red are minor and more universal. They were the safe choice.
*She’s a POC. Notice that NO POC has ever found true love on this show. The closest is probably Merlin and Nimuae, but look how that ended. One complaint I personally have with the show is how they treat POCs, not to mention LGBT. Despite being a Disney Princess, Mulan will never be on the same level or status as the main cast. She barely, if ever interacts with them. Ruby is less of a hero than Mulan, yet is consistently “in” with the main cast. Her falling in love and we the audience adoring it probably comes across as more attainable than using Mulan.
*Mulan and Ruby Slippers (my ship name) are tokens. The main cast are run of the mill attractive straight white people. Anyone else is there to make them look good. Period. That’s how American TV works. Dorothy and Red’s relationship is a token to appease and entice, much like some of the other minority characters in the show. In that sense, it doesn’t matter who falls in love with who, they serve their main purpose of representing a minority group, while staying out of the way of the others.
*Or it could be that Mulan’s purpose was to show unrequitted love. Her story line serves one purpose for explaining love, while Ruby and Dorothy serves another. Ruby and Dorothy have a reciprocal love, while Mulan represents a lonely passion. Making her finally fall in love would ruin that aspect of her character.
*Or it could be a casting decision. Perhaps Red and Dorothy had more chemistry. Maybe the actress playing Mulan could not commit to further episodes to do the ship justice.