This disclosure drives the subsequent plot developments, including Fergus's initial revulsion, his eventual acceptance, and the continuation of their relationship amid violence and sacrifice, making gender nonconformity and identity exploration the foundational emotional driver rather than incidental. Director Neil Jordan has described the character as shifting the entire story into an examination of human responsibility and sexuality, with marketing deliberately built around withholding the gender twist to heighten audience shock. The film's premise would collapse or transform substantially without this ideological framing of challenging traditional norms around sex, attraction, and gender performance.

While the thriller elements involve IRA politics, the identity-focused subplot dominates the London half and the resolution, exemplifying prominent non-traditional representation used as a focal statement. Audience and critical reception at the time fixated on the reveal as the defining feature, underscoring its centrality over organic character development.