Comments | pellucid: mostly Lie to Me

pellucid

mostly Lie to Me

Jan 23, 2010 11:52

I have blazed through all the Lie to Me that there is so far, and I find myself a little disappointed. I really loved season 1. Season 2...much less so. And it's entirely because Gillian went from being an equal partner in the plot, with agency and an interesting role, to being a fairly one-note subordinate. If this continues through the rest of ( Read more... )

lie to me, castle

Comments 10

sdwolfpup January 23 2010, 16:57:01 UTC

Huh, you know, watching it spread out over time, I didn't really see that, but thinking back on the episodes in season 2, you are absolutely right. I also really love Reynolds, so I think his addition in season 2 smoothed over any rough edges for me. Heh. But, yes, I agree that I hope Gillian gets back some of her non-mothering awesomeness in the back half of the season.

pellucid January 23 2010, 17:15:59 UTC

There was a great deal about season 2 that I liked a lot, including Reynolds. I don't know that I'd say I love him, exactly, but I definitely like him and the dynamic his character has added to the team, and I very much enjoyed the ep where we got more of his backstory. I also liked getting more of Emily in season 2--the ep involving the statutory rape of one of her classmates and the Thanksgiving ep were probably my two favorites from the season--because I love her relationship with Cal (and her relationship with Gillian). And even with some of the funky gender dynamics, I'm enough of a shipper that I enjoyed all the shippy moments. It just felt like about half the eps had a variation on what was essentially the exact same plot, and it was a plot I didn't care for at all.

But it wouldn't be hard for the show to win me back: just give Gillian something to DO other than mothering and nagging, and lay off a bit on Cal's dark side.

topaz_eyes January 24 2010, 05:58:12 UTC

Hi there, just dropping by. :-)

I agree with all this re Lie to Me. I'm annoyed at the change in direction between 1st and 2nd seasons, beefing up the testosterone at the expense of Gillian, and also Torres. The mentor-student relationship between Cal and Torres had a lot of potential, and I miss that this season.

They did change show runners (Shawn Ryan runs it now; used to be Samuel Baum), so it probably shouldn't have been surprising, but it lost some of its subtlety in the process. I hope it'll regain that in the back half. I like my male leads with an edge, and Tim Roth's perfect for that, but not at the expense of putting Gillian, Torres and Loker on the back burner.

I do hope they deconstruct this pedestal TPTB have put Gillian on. I read her as darker than what she's been portrayed on the show so far. I'm hoping that will bear out.

It also doesn't help when they've been showing the eps out of order, notably "Honey" and "Fold Equity," which only emphasizes the uneven characterization.

pellucid January 24 2010, 15:33:02 UTC

I'm glad you did--welcome ( ... )

topaz_eyes January 24 2010, 19:19:10 UTC

Shawn Ryan (The Shield, The Unit) came in towards the end of 1st season, I think. The last 2 eps of season 1 definitely had that edgier tone to it.

This post has the intended airing order for season 2. I blame the FOX execs; they have a nasty habit of scheduling shows out of order for some crack reason or another. The end of "Lack of Candor" makes more sense if "Fold Equity" were shown in its original order. The beginning and end of "Honey" also make more sense if it were aired 2nd as intended.

Eps in season 1 also aired out of order, but they were episodic, so it didn't matter so much. Except in the office decor. :-) (I saw the intended order for S1 somewhere, but forgot to bookmark, sigh.)

if by "darker" you mean "repressing a whole lot of baggage through her conscious choice to be optimistic" then yes, definitelyYes, this is what I meant. She has been through some devastating personal crises, which would pummel optimism out of people unless they choose to see it positively. As a psychologist she'd understand the need to ( ... )

pellucid January 24 2010, 20:08:07 UTC

I don't mind "edgier" at all, and I did like the last few eps of season 1 a lot. But I do mind if "edgy" translates into shoving everyone but Cal into the background and making Gillian, in particular, far less awesome than she had been.

And thank you for that intended episode order. I don't know that it changes things dramatically, but yes, there are a few moments that definitely make more sense if seen in that order. And I'd like to say that putting "Grievous Bodily Harm" and "Fold Equity" back to back, and then "Lack of Candor" afterwards shows progression: that we get Cal at his most reckless, and then an acknowledgment of what it looks like when someone else's life is threatening to spin out of control, etc. But then "Secret Santa" sort of works against the idea that Cal learned his lesson after GBH and FE.

I want the Cal from "Do No Harm" where he's constantly aware of the toll the kidnapping case takes on Gillian. He seems clueless about what he's doing to her this season.YES! I want the scene after "Grievous Bodily Harm" ( ... )

aurora_novarum January 25 2010, 19:23:19 UTC

I stopped watching Lie to Me when it became the "Watch Lightman save the day after being put in danger" show. It used to be two tracks of equal depths, and yes, a bit of yin and yang to Cal and Gillian and interesting support personnel. I've heard it gets better though, so I may swing back and watch a couple eps soon.

Also: Love Castle.

pellucid January 25 2010, 20:44:09 UTC

I've heard it gets better though, so I may swing back and watch a couple eps soon

My opinion on this is "yes and no," fwiw. There are eps in which it's better, but I wouldn't say the season trends that way consistently. Rather it's a lot of back and forth between "watch Lightman save the day after being put in danger" and eps that do a better job giving everyone something to do. I find this a bit disheartening, since I'd rather see an improving trend, but on the other hand, there were season 2 eps that I quite liked (for instance, "Truth and Consequences," "Lack of Candor," and "Black Friday").

As I said, I'm still hooked enough that I'll tune in when it comes back and hope to see more of what I like and less of what has disappointed me, but I suppose we'll see.

And yes, Castle FTW!

etoilefilante January 25 2010, 22:36:59 UTC

I came over for your fic and found your analysis. This is exactly how I feel about Lie to Me. I adore season 1. It's original, it's well-written, and Cal and Gillian are fascinating to watch. Season 2 comes along with a new leader from a big tough show and, yes, it gets better ratings, but it sacrifices so much to achieve that. In season 1 I always believed that Cal had a past and had the ability within himself to be violent or dangerous should he need to protect those he loves, but they really have pushed him being this violent, gun-toting adrenaline junkie. It saddens me greatly because his intelligence and his science is being pushed to the background ( ... )

pellucid January 26 2010, 00:49:31 UTC

Is season 2 getting better ratings? I thought I'd seen somewhere that they'd dropped. But I don't usually pay that much attention to that sort of thing ( ... )