The "I Told You So!"
Nov. 10th, 2003 10:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rabid1stWe come now to the part of the Rabid Live Journal where I act all snooty and stuff. Yes, it's obnoxious...I know. Sometimes at night I sit up worrying about that. But see...I'm the sort of person who publishes my opinion on the internet...you can't expect much in the way of gentility from the likes of me.
Why, you might ask yourself is that annoying Rabid saying, "I told you so" when she didn't tell me anything?
Well...it is because I Cassandra-ed it up out here in LJ-land and elsewhere (mostly on WeBoB) back when James first signed on for Angel and nobody listens. People, in fact, went out of their way to say "YOU are totally wrong and also...shut up!" when I suggested that, "Joss can't make this work."
And the reason I said this...as you might also recall...was not because I hate ANGEL or JAMES or JOSS (though I am getting there) but because I understood the dynamics of storytelling and the nature of the character of Spike.
Spike doesn't lend himself to being a sidekick. Not the Spike we all know and love anyway. What people love about Spike is his passion and his commitment and the cute way he becomes the center of attention in every scene he does. People may THINK they love something ELSE about Spike...the scrappiness, the coat, the sex appeal or even the EVILNESS. But until NOW they've never really had to KNOW him as anything but PASSIONATE and COMMITTED. Because he was always working with BUFFY before...ALWAYS!
It didn't matter if he wanted to kill her or kiss her or win her heart...he was focused on HER.
Now, I am hearing people say they are bored with the show. They want more out of Spike. But it is all kind of following the path I felt it WOULD follow. Spike can't be the hero on AtS. Angel is the hero on AtS. And he can't sleep with Angel because Angel is the HERO of AtS.
Spike can have only two roles on Angel...he can be a foil or a whipping boy. If he had won Buffy's heart and Angel had witnessed that in EOD and CHOSEN. Then Spike's HAUNTING of Angel would have led to growth potential for ANGEL...and there would have been a storyline.
But that's not what happened.
So, Spike is in the whipping boy position. He is there to suffer for his sins. What sins? He kissed up on Angel's girl. He has his eye on Angel's shanshu. And Angel is the hero of the piece. The best Spike can hope for is for ANGEL to forgive him the transgression of HAVING a SOUL that he worked for, instead of one that was a curse. Spike hasn't suffered nearly enough by the JW standard. But when he has...what will be the upshot? Will he be rewarded with peace and love and tranquility? Nope!
When Spike accepts his place in the grand scheme, he will be moved up to SIDEKICK. As SIDEKICK he can have the Xander position of non-importance...close, all-seeing buddy to the star. He can be the goofy yet lovable one with the girlfriend who doesn't fit in, isn't too awfully bright and nobody really likes so it's okay for Spike to make jokes at her expense...let's call her Anya...no WAIT, I mean...HARMONY!
Why, you might ask yourself is that annoying Rabid saying, "I told you so" when she didn't tell me anything?
Well...it is because I Cassandra-ed it up out here in LJ-land and elsewhere (mostly on WeBoB) back when James first signed on for Angel and nobody listens. People, in fact, went out of their way to say "YOU are totally wrong and also...shut up!" when I suggested that, "Joss can't make this work."
And the reason I said this...as you might also recall...was not because I hate ANGEL or JAMES or JOSS (though I am getting there) but because I understood the dynamics of storytelling and the nature of the character of Spike.
Spike doesn't lend himself to being a sidekick. Not the Spike we all know and love anyway. What people love about Spike is his passion and his commitment and the cute way he becomes the center of attention in every scene he does. People may THINK they love something ELSE about Spike...the scrappiness, the coat, the sex appeal or even the EVILNESS. But until NOW they've never really had to KNOW him as anything but PASSIONATE and COMMITTED. Because he was always working with BUFFY before...ALWAYS!
It didn't matter if he wanted to kill her or kiss her or win her heart...he was focused on HER.
Now, I am hearing people say they are bored with the show. They want more out of Spike. But it is all kind of following the path I felt it WOULD follow. Spike can't be the hero on AtS. Angel is the hero on AtS. And he can't sleep with Angel because Angel is the HERO of AtS.
Spike can have only two roles on Angel...he can be a foil or a whipping boy. If he had won Buffy's heart and Angel had witnessed that in EOD and CHOSEN. Then Spike's HAUNTING of Angel would have led to growth potential for ANGEL...and there would have been a storyline.
But that's not what happened.
So, Spike is in the whipping boy position. He is there to suffer for his sins. What sins? He kissed up on Angel's girl. He has his eye on Angel's shanshu. And Angel is the hero of the piece. The best Spike can hope for is for ANGEL to forgive him the transgression of HAVING a SOUL that he worked for, instead of one that was a curse. Spike hasn't suffered nearly enough by the JW standard. But when he has...what will be the upshot? Will he be rewarded with peace and love and tranquility? Nope!
When Spike accepts his place in the grand scheme, he will be moved up to SIDEKICK. As SIDEKICK he can have the Xander position of non-importance...close, all-seeing buddy to the star. He can be the goofy yet lovable one with the girlfriend who doesn't fit in, isn't too awfully bright and nobody really likes so it's okay for Spike to make jokes at her expense...let's call her Anya...no WAIT, I mean...HARMONY!
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(no subject)
Date: 2003-11-10 08:18 pm (UTC)However.
I have to say that my utter disgust with this season of Angel so far has little to do with Spike. The way I see it, he at least got a whole episode that moved his character forward. He's one up on *all* the other characters, including Angel, in my book. (no, freaking lost-all-hope-and-now-has-it-back just doesn't cut it -- that's a done-told-it-too-many-times circle with no learning involved for the boy). I'm tired of waiting for the real dramatic story to begin. I was never a big fan of MOTW format on Buffy or AtS, but thought in general that AtS carried it better with the whole seasonal dramatic arcs they've had. This year, we're already in sweeps and I am still waiting for the action to begin. That, above all else, is my beef.
Perhaps the lack of storytelling is actually due to Spike's arrival -- the need to intro the character, bring new fans up to speed, yada yada. Poor choices, IMHO. I've been with Angel since ep 1, just as I was with Buffy, but they're losing me swiftly.
AMEN brother...
Date: 2003-11-10 08:28 pm (UTC)And I saw the necessary heavy writing (which YES...as I said in reply to your journal entry awhile back will take the Father/Son dynamic...or at least OLDER BROTHER..that's why CONNOR had to go) would be taking away from the smooth flow of the show. And it would interfer with the WES/ANGEL dynamic which I was very fond of.
That has indeed happened. And in my opinion...the older brother thing isn't being handled with a lot of skill. Because well...to be blunt...the AtS writers aren't really emotionally sensitive...they are action writers. And they are giving us action with no heart...no real passion.
Rae
Re: AMEN brother...
Date: 2003-11-10 08:32 pm (UTC)yes yes yes yes yes yes yes! That's exactly it. When I say "action" above, I don't mean physical action scenes. I mean character action -- drama -- conflict. What little there is so far has been buried by all the activity.
It's interesting, though. I never attributed my dislike of Gunn (who, this season, I actually like) or Connor (who I really disliked all through) to poorly written roles for their slots in the show, but you're right on the money with this.