more meta
I wanna talk about the importance of on screen vs off screen when it comes to character development and shipping.
mfirefly10 , look away.
I don't think it's any secret that I'm not a fan of Sawyer/Juliet on Lost. And one of the reasons was the suddenness of jumping forward three years to find they were supposedly in love. But at the same time, I ship Kara/Sam hardcore, and they went through a time jump of their own, so I started thinking about why one bothers me and the other doesn't. I've come up with three basic reasons:
ETA: I've added another thought
1. Build up
Kara/Sam were romantically linked almost from the beginning. And the writers chose reinforced that right before the jump. Kara could have moved on romantically by that time; she could have gone back for him because she keeps her word. They could have been friends. Instead they jumped right back into bed, reminding everyone of their immediate attraction to each other. When we jump forward a year and they're married, it's surprising in as much as you never really expected to see Kara marry anyone, but it fits with where we last saw them. Sawyer and Juliet had a strange relationship on the island. They weren't really friends, but after she helped he and Kate escape they weren't really enemies either. I think they were kind of ambivalent towards each other until the island started to flash through time and they were looked to as the defacto leaders. What's strange is that in those first few episodes Juliet seemed almost like a scolding mom at times. "James, go away," when he was freaking out, etc. And they brought up his romantic relationship with Kate several times, keeping Kate in the forefront romantically while Juliet was the 'shoulder to lean on', so to speak. When they get to Dharmaville they finally seem like they're becoming actual friends and not just default comrades because of the situation they're in. Then we jump forward three years and they're living together and exchanging schmoopy flowers and I loves yous. It's jarring because it doesn't fit where we last saw them at all. I mean, it's not a huge leap to figure out how they got there, but it's just odd that we have to make any kind of leap.
2. Character development
Romance wasn't the only thing that changed in these jump forwards. Who these characters are as individuals changed as well. But again, I feel like on BSG it was easy to understand what was happening to our characters without knowing all the details. They were all still recognizable. Kara was super happy to get Sam back, and she decided to settle down with him at some point. Lee was jealous of them, and they had a falling out at some point. Chief was discontent and now he's leading other people who are discontent. Baltar was a womanizing player who got elected president, and now he's an irresponsible womanizing president. There are pieces of the puzzle to fit together but we understand the basic picture.
I didn't understand where the Sawyer and Juliet I knew and loved went. Juliet was for years all about getting the hell off the island to get back to her beloved sister and nephew. And in three years she's given up completely? She was an Other and knew their ways, but she never went to Richard to explain what happened and ask if he knew any way to fix it so she could get back to her own time? And when did she start leaving the room so the menfolk could talk? It's easier to understand Sawyer's change to a certain extent. He was already becoming the leader of his own group, and we see that journey to lead has continued. He's always been a conman, so seeing him get so comfortable in a lie wasn't that hard to swallow. But when did he stop caring about his friends? I will never accept that he was just leaving on that sub without even trying to help everyone else. I understand they were captured, but the Sawyer I knew and loved for 4 seasons prior would have been scheming from the second they got nabbed to figure a way to escape. But this Sawyer just gave up so he could be meakly lead away with Juliet. This isn't a shipping thing with Kate either. It's Hurley that I really can't believe he would leave. He and Hurley have such a great friendship, and he knows Hurley can't really defend himself. And Jin and Miles, he's worked with them for three years, shared this secret life with them, and he doesn't question at all what's going to happen to them? Even after they find out that a hydrogen bomb is going to be detonated, it's Juliet that finally starts kicking the crap out of everyone to turn the sub around (which was pretty much the only Dharma!Juliet moment that I loved).
And it's not like Sawyer and Juliet were the only ones who flashed three years. But all of the other characters, IMO, ended up someplace that made sense next to what had already been show, just like the BSG characters. But I feel like Darlton decided that Sawyer and Juliet getting together would be a great WTF moment, and they just stopped caring about if it made sense in the larger context of the story. And for all the Josh Holloway is rocking this season, and as much as I like V and so am glad the EM got that opportunity, I think this storyline was really a disservice to the characters. Kara/Sam gave Katee and Trucco a chance to explore different facets of their characters that were organically grown and were relevant to the end of the series. Sawyer/Juliet just seem like a way to kill half a season and make Sawyer all angsty and bitter again for the last one.
3. Subtle clues as to what happened off screen
One of the things I loved about Kara/Sam is the implied intimacy and trust. We never saw it, but we know they talked about Kara's past because Sam references it. We didn't see it but we know at some point Kara gave Sam back the dogtag, their symbol. We didn't see it but we know Kara confessed to Sam what happened with Leoben on New Caprica.
We barely know anything about Sawyer/Juliet's relationship. Sawyer obviously knew her issue with delivering babies on the island, but other than that we got no references that indicate what they talk about or how much of their deep dark secrets they shared with each other. So a fan could say that they obviously talked about everything, because nothing contradicts that, but I can just as easily say they never talked about themselves and Sawyer only knew about her baby issues because he wondered why she didn't want to sign up as a Dharma doctor when they were setting up their cover IDs. There's nothing to contradict that either. It's frustrating that we know so little, because it makes them feel so superficial.
mfirefly10 , look away.
I don't think it's any secret that I'm not a fan of Sawyer/Juliet on Lost. And one of the reasons was the suddenness of jumping forward three years to find they were supposedly in love. But at the same time, I ship Kara/Sam hardcore, and they went through a time jump of their own, so I started thinking about why one bothers me and the other doesn't. I've come up with three basic reasons:
ETA: I've added another thought
1. Build up
Kara/Sam were romantically linked almost from the beginning. And the writers chose reinforced that right before the jump. Kara could have moved on romantically by that time; she could have gone back for him because she keeps her word. They could have been friends. Instead they jumped right back into bed, reminding everyone of their immediate attraction to each other. When we jump forward a year and they're married, it's surprising in as much as you never really expected to see Kara marry anyone, but it fits with where we last saw them. Sawyer and Juliet had a strange relationship on the island. They weren't really friends, but after she helped he and Kate escape they weren't really enemies either. I think they were kind of ambivalent towards each other until the island started to flash through time and they were looked to as the defacto leaders. What's strange is that in those first few episodes Juliet seemed almost like a scolding mom at times. "James, go away," when he was freaking out, etc. And they brought up his romantic relationship with Kate several times, keeping Kate in the forefront romantically while Juliet was the 'shoulder to lean on', so to speak. When they get to Dharmaville they finally seem like they're becoming actual friends and not just default comrades because of the situation they're in. Then we jump forward three years and they're living together and exchanging schmoopy flowers and I loves yous. It's jarring because it doesn't fit where we last saw them at all. I mean, it's not a huge leap to figure out how they got there, but it's just odd that we have to make any kind of leap.
2. Character development
Romance wasn't the only thing that changed in these jump forwards. Who these characters are as individuals changed as well. But again, I feel like on BSG it was easy to understand what was happening to our characters without knowing all the details. They were all still recognizable. Kara was super happy to get Sam back, and she decided to settle down with him at some point. Lee was jealous of them, and they had a falling out at some point. Chief was discontent and now he's leading other people who are discontent. Baltar was a womanizing player who got elected president, and now he's an irresponsible womanizing president. There are pieces of the puzzle to fit together but we understand the basic picture.
I didn't understand where the Sawyer and Juliet I knew and loved went. Juliet was for years all about getting the hell off the island to get back to her beloved sister and nephew. And in three years she's given up completely? She was an Other and knew their ways, but she never went to Richard to explain what happened and ask if he knew any way to fix it so she could get back to her own time? And when did she start leaving the room so the menfolk could talk? It's easier to understand Sawyer's change to a certain extent. He was already becoming the leader of his own group, and we see that journey to lead has continued. He's always been a conman, so seeing him get so comfortable in a lie wasn't that hard to swallow. But when did he stop caring about his friends? I will never accept that he was just leaving on that sub without even trying to help everyone else. I understand they were captured, but the Sawyer I knew and loved for 4 seasons prior would have been scheming from the second they got nabbed to figure a way to escape. But this Sawyer just gave up so he could be meakly lead away with Juliet. This isn't a shipping thing with Kate either. It's Hurley that I really can't believe he would leave. He and Hurley have such a great friendship, and he knows Hurley can't really defend himself. And Jin and Miles, he's worked with them for three years, shared this secret life with them, and he doesn't question at all what's going to happen to them? Even after they find out that a hydrogen bomb is going to be detonated, it's Juliet that finally starts kicking the crap out of everyone to turn the sub around (which was pretty much the only Dharma!Juliet moment that I loved).
And it's not like Sawyer and Juliet were the only ones who flashed three years. But all of the other characters, IMO, ended up someplace that made sense next to what had already been show, just like the BSG characters. But I feel like Darlton decided that Sawyer and Juliet getting together would be a great WTF moment, and they just stopped caring about if it made sense in the larger context of the story. And for all the Josh Holloway is rocking this season, and as much as I like V and so am glad the EM got that opportunity, I think this storyline was really a disservice to the characters. Kara/Sam gave Katee and Trucco a chance to explore different facets of their characters that were organically grown and were relevant to the end of the series. Sawyer/Juliet just seem like a way to kill half a season and make Sawyer all angsty and bitter again for the last one.
3. Subtle clues as to what happened off screen
One of the things I loved about Kara/Sam is the implied intimacy and trust. We never saw it, but we know they talked about Kara's past because Sam references it. We didn't see it but we know at some point Kara gave Sam back the dogtag, their symbol. We didn't see it but we know Kara confessed to Sam what happened with Leoben on New Caprica.
We barely know anything about Sawyer/Juliet's relationship. Sawyer obviously knew her issue with delivering babies on the island, but other than that we got no references that indicate what they talk about or how much of their deep dark secrets they shared with each other. So a fan could say that they obviously talked about everything, because nothing contradicts that, but I can just as easily say they never talked about themselves and Sawyer only knew about her baby issues because he wondered why she didn't want to sign up as a Dharma doctor when they were setting up their cover IDs. There's nothing to contradict that either. It's frustrating that we know so little, because it makes them feel so superficial.