(no subject)
minnow1212 has a long, chewy, very interesting post on "names words muscle weapons blood." (spoilers through Angel 5x16 Shells)
Spoilers through Angel 5x16 Shells
I read it and vicariously went through all the character angst of the past two seasons. Thinking back on it, it's amazing how the show has destroyed the inner circle dynamic that made it work in the first two and a half seasons, killed several of the main characters, went from a happy core family with episodes that dealt with real-life analogies (as opposed to the emotional) to the arc heavy show with isolated characters that it is now. Even as Buffy was doing that, it never tampered with the core Scoobies.
It'd be interesting to see if Firefly got even darker and morally ambiguous, with the characters exploring the dirtiest parts of their psyches if it had lasted past three years.
Three years seems to be that turning point in the Joss shows so far. Enough years to have the emotional weight and attachment to the characters so that when they really do start to tear them down, it hurts. Enough time to build up plot arcs that cycle back on themselves (like the past two years of Angel). Enough time so that the character development makes complete sense, so when I see Wesley at point A and Wesley at point M, he is incredibly changed, but it all still connects.
This is why a teeny weeny part of me is glad Firefly was cancelled, because I know Joss would have done this to the Firefly crew and developed the characters I loved in the pilot to people who barely resemble them. Of course, I would have probably loved it all the way and angsted and adored how they ended up. But it's also nice to still have that first impression in my mind, like a photograph.
Spoilers through Angel 5x16 Shells
I read it and vicariously went through all the character angst of the past two seasons. Thinking back on it, it's amazing how the show has destroyed the inner circle dynamic that made it work in the first two and a half seasons, killed several of the main characters, went from a happy core family with episodes that dealt with real-life analogies (as opposed to the emotional) to the arc heavy show with isolated characters that it is now. Even as Buffy was doing that, it never tampered with the core Scoobies.
It'd be interesting to see if Firefly got even darker and morally ambiguous, with the characters exploring the dirtiest parts of their psyches if it had lasted past three years.
Three years seems to be that turning point in the Joss shows so far. Enough years to have the emotional weight and attachment to the characters so that when they really do start to tear them down, it hurts. Enough time to build up plot arcs that cycle back on themselves (like the past two years of Angel). Enough time so that the character development makes complete sense, so when I see Wesley at point A and Wesley at point M, he is incredibly changed, but it all still connects.
This is why a teeny weeny part of me is glad Firefly was cancelled, because I know Joss would have done this to the Firefly crew and developed the characters I loved in the pilot to people who barely resemble them. Of course, I would have probably loved it all the way and angsted and adored how they ended up. But it's also nice to still have that first impression in my mind, like a photograph.