Levels of Pain
Okay, so I finally got through all twelve episodes of Royal Pains, but my take on it is still double sided. On the one hand, it's entertaining, funny, intense and rather satisfying. On the other hand, I've still got some issues with the characters, relationships and direction of the plot. I don't foresee any major blunders by the writing staff, but I'm not sure the storyline is really grabbing me.
(1) I love Divya. She's smart, classy, sharp but still pleasant, and I empathize with her aspirations and difficulties. The more I get to know her and her background/current troubles, the more I like her. However, I was really disappointed that she went through with the engagement anyway.
(2) I find Evan mostly annoying. Occasionally he's lends a great comedic element, but his objectification of women and rich people turn me off. My favorite moments with him were (a) his friendship with the ballerina, and (b) his "manny" connection with the kid on the island. Divya pushed him in the right direction to make female friendships, which gives me hope, as well as his refusal to take the fugitive's enticing offer. But I think the most exciting potential arrived at the very end of the last episode when he was so obviously devastated by his brother's reaction to his financial blunder. I was caught by that itself, but when Hank found out Evan had gone to fix the problem and the problem was actually their dad, a whole universe of possibilities exploded. It made me sympathize with Evan so much. In their character history Hank got mad at his dad and pushed all potential out of his connection with him, but Evan was still holding on to the hope that he could reconnect with his dad. How tragic is that! So, yeah. I feel like Evan is intentionally a major work in progress as a character. I feel like there's so much untapped awesomeness hiding beneath his pushy, annoying exterior, and I'm excited to see him develop.
(3) I really don't like Jill. I know she's supposed to be this amazing, emotionally scarred philanthropist, but her resentment towards the rich, the powerful, and any other PTB is off-putting even though I totally understand it. I don't think that bothers me as much as her treatment of Hank. Regardless of her past relationships or her uncertainty, she shouldn't be throwing herself at him and then pulling away and getting all upset when he won't commit - or he asks a favor, or he puts her in a difficult business/personal mess - because she is doing the exact same thing. Except he's internalizing it and trying to back off and deal, whereas she's just getting all huffy and rude and annoying. Even though I find her non-ex-husband greasy, I actually think they deserve each other. I mean that sarcastically and literally, by the way. I think they could actually do really well together, and I dislike both of them. Go figure.
(4) I like Hank himself when he's not flirting with some random acquaintance. There's really only so much sexy gushiness I can stomach. Apart from that, he's kind, fair, compassionate, intelligent, strong, and sociable despite his Clark Kent disappearing act.
Considering the whole point of the show is to show off how god-like his doctor skills are, the cause and effect factor must be taken into account. It's a great guessing game: okay, Hank's at the event, so who is going to get sick or mortally wounded first so that Hank can show off his awesome brain-powered skills?
But honestly, I really do like the show.
(1) I love Divya. She's smart, classy, sharp but still pleasant, and I empathize with her aspirations and difficulties. The more I get to know her and her background/current troubles, the more I like her. However, I was really disappointed that she went through with the engagement anyway.
(2) I find Evan mostly annoying. Occasionally he's lends a great comedic element, but his objectification of women and rich people turn me off. My favorite moments with him were (a) his friendship with the ballerina, and (b) his "manny" connection with the kid on the island. Divya pushed him in the right direction to make female friendships, which gives me hope, as well as his refusal to take the fugitive's enticing offer. But I think the most exciting potential arrived at the very end of the last episode when he was so obviously devastated by his brother's reaction to his financial blunder. I was caught by that itself, but when Hank found out Evan had gone to fix the problem and the problem was actually their dad, a whole universe of possibilities exploded. It made me sympathize with Evan so much. In their character history Hank got mad at his dad and pushed all potential out of his connection with him, but Evan was still holding on to the hope that he could reconnect with his dad. How tragic is that! So, yeah. I feel like Evan is intentionally a major work in progress as a character. I feel like there's so much untapped awesomeness hiding beneath his pushy, annoying exterior, and I'm excited to see him develop.
(3) I really don't like Jill. I know she's supposed to be this amazing, emotionally scarred philanthropist, but her resentment towards the rich, the powerful, and any other PTB is off-putting even though I totally understand it. I don't think that bothers me as much as her treatment of Hank. Regardless of her past relationships or her uncertainty, she shouldn't be throwing herself at him and then pulling away and getting all upset when he won't commit - or he asks a favor, or he puts her in a difficult business/personal mess - because she is doing the exact same thing. Except he's internalizing it and trying to back off and deal, whereas she's just getting all huffy and rude and annoying. Even though I find her non-ex-husband greasy, I actually think they deserve each other. I mean that sarcastically and literally, by the way. I think they could actually do really well together, and I dislike both of them. Go figure.
(4) I like Hank himself when he's not flirting with some random acquaintance. There's really only so much sexy gushiness I can stomach. Apart from that, he's kind, fair, compassionate, intelligent, strong, and sociable despite his Clark Kent disappearing act.
Considering the whole point of the show is to show off how god-like his doctor skills are, the cause and effect factor must be taken into account. It's a great guessing game: okay, Hank's at the event, so who is going to get sick or mortally wounded first so that Hank can show off his awesome brain-powered skills?
But honestly, I really do like the show.