Vala Mal Doran: The Second Coming or the Anti-Christ?

[annerbhp]

I know I live a rather sheltered fannish life here in my little corner of LJ. It’s probably also fairly obvious that I have no patience for character hate. What has surprised me on and off over the last few years though, is how much hate there seems to be out there for Vala. Now, I know there is a huge difference between character hate and

Comments

[surreallis]

Heh! I don't hate Vala, but she's not my favorite character. I actually preferred her when she *was* that bad-acting sort of anti-hero, rather than when she joined the main cast and tried to make a go of it. I found her much, much more interesting in her more villainous capacity. But, that's neither here nor there because she's here to stay now, and I'm pretty okay with that.

I definitely have problems identifying with her in any way, and I'm always a little suspicious of female characters who are sexually aggressive, but I can't really suss out why that might be. It's definitely not my thing, thus it might be purely my own issue. Or it might just be that psychology junkie in me that tends to get a little bent out of shape when women equate sexual aggression with being empowered. (not really the character so much as the fans) Not that I can't see why that would be interesting to explore! Just doesn't ping me so much.

And, honestly, as much as I love Cam to death, when you really look at the grand scheme of the things in seasons 9 and 10, it would have made much more sense for Cooper to bring in Vala as a fourth member of SG-1 rather than Cameron. But, at this point, they've both fallen under my SG-1 'team' umbrella and thus are subject to my love and affection the same as any of the others. ;)

But seriously, nothing was more underused in this series than the Sam/Vala friendship. I've always tried to defend the whole 'male writers of SG-1 can't write females' accusation, but they let me down there. Nothing said 'men are just more interesting than women' then the painful ignorance and tiny bits of bone we were thrown for that friendship.

[lyssie]

Cooper to bring in Vala as a fourth member of SG-1 rather than Cameron.

*looks appalled* But... but women might have actually conversed without a man present. It scares the male viewers off, you know. :/

[surreallis]

Oh yeah, I forgot that women never watch science fiction. DER!

I'm always forgetting that and accidentally watching things.

[annerbhp]

I guess I see her sexual aggression as a defensive mechanism, and an interesting one at that. I certainly wouldn't want to equate it with empowerment. It's more like a flashy smoke screen to distract from whatever she's trying to hide. I guess I find the concept of women using their sexuality as a weapon as an interesting theme to explore, the pitfalls and strengths in that. But I understand where the sticky point is, how some people might confuse the two and I cringe to think what horrid places that might go.

Re: Cam, yes, I felt the same for a long time, though now...whether I've just fallen for him or embraced him into my team, I can now justify why he is essential, what he offers that the veterans needed to survive. *squidges Cam*

Yeah, the lack of more Sam and Vala time is a bit disheartening. I'll keep deluding myself that all those scenes were in the lost 11th season. But in lieu of that..it might be time for a 'Hathor'-like fic with all the ladies of Stargate banding together to save the gents. ;)