Haven does romance.
I am enjoying many things about Haven this season, but in some ways, it's not working for me. This is due in large part to the romance(s).
Vague spoilers up to S04E11 under the cut.
Audrey and Nathan
I thought Audrey and Nathan were amazing as friends and partners, and loved watching them grow closer and closer in the early seasons. They had a fascinating and multi-faceted push-and-pull relationship that I could never get enough of, and that was a large part of the show's appeal for me. And then, their relationship went from platonic to romantic, and in short order it no longer worked well for me.
Unfortunately, it's still not working for me now.
Obviously, this is a highly subjective thing, and many fans do see it, but: I never saw the romantic kind of chemistry between Nathan and Audrey. As a result, the entire romance has failed to engage me. It feels flat to me - a disappointing let-down compared to the lovely, believable, fascinating and interesting friendship that they used to have.
Also, it is still a problem for me that Nathan's interest in Audrey appeared to become sexual the moment he realized he can feel it when she touches him. Don't get me wrong, it makes absolute sense for a man who can't feel touch to react this way, particularly since Nathan already loved Audrey as a friend. But to me, the "holy shit I could feel it if I had sex with her OMG you know what I think I'm in love with her" train of thought is not exactly the basis for undying romance. Does it make sense in psychological terms? Yes. Do I want the show to actually build an "undying romance" plot from this premise? Hell no.
All of this combines to make the premise of "Audrey and Nathan have such an incredibly deep and true, tragically star-crossed deathless undying love!!" - which the show appears to be trying to push - fall completely flat for me. I just can't buy it, even though I honestly want to, because not being able to buy it is getting in the way of my enjoyment of the series.
Take the absurd angsting Angstbot!Nathan did in this week's ep over how he will never be able to compete with Audrey's "bond" to the murderous psychopathic William. (Oh noes!!) Ridiculous enough under any circumstances, but when you factor in that I never felt the romance between the angstmeister and Audrey in the first place, it's just... actively painful to watch.
Jennifer and Duke
To make matters worse, I find the introduction of Jennifer as a consolation prize for Duke so he won't end up alone - aka the "solution" to the love triangle between Nathan, Audrey and Duke - a failure, as well.
I like Jennifer as a character. She does seem to have the potential to become interesting, plot- and character-wise, although she's not really there yet, and at this point there's no telling whether she will blossom or turn into an embarrassing deus ex machina hat trick. Also, she's cute in the unoriginal, but tried-and-true "endearingly awkward beautiful woman" way. As a love interest for Duke, however… not only do I not see true romantic chemistry between these two, either, but I also don't buy this sudden "falling in love with the next woman to come along" from Duke's side.
If the relationship with Jennifer were meant to be seen as an attempt on Duke's part to get over Audrey (who has clearly chosen Nathan), then yes, that might work. But I don't get the sense that this is what the show intends. To me, it looks as though the show simply decided that Duke would now no longer be in love with Audrey, but be free and clear for new romantic entanglements. Clean cut. Duke can't have Audrey, so hey presto, he stops loving her and proceeds to fall in love with his "savior" Jennifer. Easy, straightforward and uncomplicated!
And that, errrm. Just, *no*. Duke has always had severe intimacy issues. In the interest of not going into too much depth here (when this post is already too long), suffice it to say:
One, I do not believe he would abruptly stop being in love with Audrey just because he is now certain she will never turn to him.
Two, I do not believe he has it in him to easily and uncomplicatedly fall in love with anyone at all (with "easily and uncomplicatedly" being the operative phrase here).
Three, while I applaud the attempt to establish some kind of "backstory" for Duke and Jennifer in the form of her helping him after he fell from the Barn, I do not buy that his sense of indebtedness and gratitude (and guilt) is so deep he would fall in love with her because of it. Yes, Duke *would* fall in love out of indebtedness, gratitude and guilt, so the basic idea isn't bad, but as I said, I don't see nearly the required magnitude of emotion here.
And four, I simply don't think he and Jennifer work as a couple. For all that Jennifer is a cute kid, she is no more than that at this point - a sweet, awkward, smart kid with no real bite and no sharp edges. While she is somehow tangled up in the Haven mystery, she herself is not mysterious. This is not someone that Duke would fall in love with, IMO. He is a "moth to the flame" kind of guy who always seems to gravitate towards brilliant, remarkable and dangerous people who have edges sharp enough to cut him until he bleeds. Evi, Nathan, Audrey… and Jennifer? Doesn't fit.
The end of the love triangle
I never thought I would say this, since I am not a fan of the hackneyed love triangle plot device, but:
I question the narrative wisdom of doing away with the established love triangle in favor of two of the least interesting and suspenseful relationships I can imagine. To me, both Nathan + Audrey and Jennifer + Duke are simply boring as couples. I am not interested in their trials and tribulations. I don't want to see them agonize over their feelings, and their happy couply moments leave me cold. I would be actively happy if they broke up, because that might lead to more interesting romantic plotlines.
Not the best premise for a season that is evidently trying just as hard as it can to build suspense from impediments and threats to the Nathan+Audrey romance - and even, to a lesser extent, from threats to the Jennifer+Duke one.
Vague spoilers up to S04E11 under the cut.
Audrey and Nathan
I thought Audrey and Nathan were amazing as friends and partners, and loved watching them grow closer and closer in the early seasons. They had a fascinating and multi-faceted push-and-pull relationship that I could never get enough of, and that was a large part of the show's appeal for me. And then, their relationship went from platonic to romantic, and in short order it no longer worked well for me.
Unfortunately, it's still not working for me now.
Obviously, this is a highly subjective thing, and many fans do see it, but: I never saw the romantic kind of chemistry between Nathan and Audrey. As a result, the entire romance has failed to engage me. It feels flat to me - a disappointing let-down compared to the lovely, believable, fascinating and interesting friendship that they used to have.
Also, it is still a problem for me that Nathan's interest in Audrey appeared to become sexual the moment he realized he can feel it when she touches him. Don't get me wrong, it makes absolute sense for a man who can't feel touch to react this way, particularly since Nathan already loved Audrey as a friend. But to me, the "holy shit I could feel it if I had sex with her OMG you know what I think I'm in love with her" train of thought is not exactly the basis for undying romance. Does it make sense in psychological terms? Yes. Do I want the show to actually build an "undying romance" plot from this premise? Hell no.
All of this combines to make the premise of "Audrey and Nathan have such an incredibly deep and true, tragically star-crossed deathless undying love!!" - which the show appears to be trying to push - fall completely flat for me. I just can't buy it, even though I honestly want to, because not being able to buy it is getting in the way of my enjoyment of the series.
Take the absurd angsting Angstbot!Nathan did in this week's ep over how he will never be able to compete with Audrey's "bond" to the murderous psychopathic William. (Oh noes!!) Ridiculous enough under any circumstances, but when you factor in that I never felt the romance between the angstmeister and Audrey in the first place, it's just... actively painful to watch.
Jennifer and Duke
To make matters worse, I find the introduction of Jennifer as a consolation prize for Duke so he won't end up alone - aka the "solution" to the love triangle between Nathan, Audrey and Duke - a failure, as well.
I like Jennifer as a character. She does seem to have the potential to become interesting, plot- and character-wise, although she's not really there yet, and at this point there's no telling whether she will blossom or turn into an embarrassing deus ex machina hat trick. Also, she's cute in the unoriginal, but tried-and-true "endearingly awkward beautiful woman" way. As a love interest for Duke, however… not only do I not see true romantic chemistry between these two, either, but I also don't buy this sudden "falling in love with the next woman to come along" from Duke's side.
If the relationship with Jennifer were meant to be seen as an attempt on Duke's part to get over Audrey (who has clearly chosen Nathan), then yes, that might work. But I don't get the sense that this is what the show intends. To me, it looks as though the show simply decided that Duke would now no longer be in love with Audrey, but be free and clear for new romantic entanglements. Clean cut. Duke can't have Audrey, so hey presto, he stops loving her and proceeds to fall in love with his "savior" Jennifer. Easy, straightforward and uncomplicated!
And that, errrm. Just, *no*. Duke has always had severe intimacy issues. In the interest of not going into too much depth here (when this post is already too long), suffice it to say:
One, I do not believe he would abruptly stop being in love with Audrey just because he is now certain she will never turn to him.
Two, I do not believe he has it in him to easily and uncomplicatedly fall in love with anyone at all (with "easily and uncomplicatedly" being the operative phrase here).
Three, while I applaud the attempt to establish some kind of "backstory" for Duke and Jennifer in the form of her helping him after he fell from the Barn, I do not buy that his sense of indebtedness and gratitude (and guilt) is so deep he would fall in love with her because of it. Yes, Duke *would* fall in love out of indebtedness, gratitude and guilt, so the basic idea isn't bad, but as I said, I don't see nearly the required magnitude of emotion here.
And four, I simply don't think he and Jennifer work as a couple. For all that Jennifer is a cute kid, she is no more than that at this point - a sweet, awkward, smart kid with no real bite and no sharp edges. While she is somehow tangled up in the Haven mystery, she herself is not mysterious. This is not someone that Duke would fall in love with, IMO. He is a "moth to the flame" kind of guy who always seems to gravitate towards brilliant, remarkable and dangerous people who have edges sharp enough to cut him until he bleeds. Evi, Nathan, Audrey… and Jennifer? Doesn't fit.
The end of the love triangle
I never thought I would say this, since I am not a fan of the hackneyed love triangle plot device, but:
I question the narrative wisdom of doing away with the established love triangle in favor of two of the least interesting and suspenseful relationships I can imagine. To me, both Nathan + Audrey and Jennifer + Duke are simply boring as couples. I am not interested in their trials and tribulations. I don't want to see them agonize over their feelings, and their happy couply moments leave me cold. I would be actively happy if they broke up, because that might lead to more interesting romantic plotlines.
Not the best premise for a season that is evidently trying just as hard as it can to build suspense from impediments and threats to the Nathan+Audrey romance - and even, to a lesser extent, from threats to the Jennifer+Duke one.