Death of an OTP*
I'm really not an obsessively shippy sort of person on the whole -- meaning that I can't be bothered to sit around in forums arguing about why Character X and Character Y are just meant to be together and any other pairing is wrong. Still, it is true that when I get caught up in a fandom I do frequently develop an interest in a particular ship and stick by it until the bitter end.
Usually this happens with ships that seem, well, obvious: Mulder/Scully, for instance, or Edison/Theora (see who remembers that one), or Picard/Crusher. I really didn't want to see any of those characters with anybody else, and when a script came up that threw in a BOTW** I found myself gritting my teeth, or even skipping the episode altogether. And I certainly felt the same way when Sydney's ex-boyfriend Noah returned at the end of Season One of Alias, because for heaven's sake, wasn't it obvious that she was meant to be with Vaughn?
Yep, I was a Syd/Vaughn shipper all the way. Right from the first episode I watched, and so was my husband. Our friend Keith was all about the Syd/Will, but we heaped scorn upon that idea, and felt vindicated when Will bumbled about putting Sydney in danger and generally living up to his TWoP nickname of Willage Idiot. Whereas Vaughn was steady and sensible and intelligent, and he and Sydney made a great team. He was her anchor, her "guardian angel" as she put it, giving her instructions and calling in resources and reinforcements as needed, but on the whole just waiting patiently at home base for her to come back from her missions. I liked that. I liked the fact that he wasn't her partner in the field -- that she worked with Dixon, an older man and trusted friend with whom she had no romantic tension whatsoever, instead. It subverted all the usual cliches.
In Season Two, however, Vaughn stopped being the brains to Sydney's brawn and became SpyKen to her SpyBarbie. All of a sudden this guy who previously seemed to have spent most of his CIA career behind a desk was running around in the field, wearing disguises and pulling off outrageous stunts, even kicking butt and taking names. Dixon, meanwhile, faded into the background (a shocking waste of Carl Lumbly's talent). And I really didn't like the New Improved (?) Vaughn any more. By the time he and Syd actually got together, my momentary "Woo!" was quickly replaced by "Meh."
I knew that my belief in Syd/Vaughn as an OTP had died when I read a rumour about Season Three that since Vaughn had got married during her two-year absence, Sydney would eventually become involved with someone else in the cast, someone we'd never expect. My mind immediately went "Weiss!" and then I got absurdly excited at the prospect of seeing Syd and Eric together, and started thinking about how well they'd balance each other out, and all the brilliant one-liners that Weiss might be expected to supply over the course of their romance...
And now I'll be disappointed if it's not Weiss. So I guess Syd and Eric is my new OTP...
--
* One True Pairing.
** Boyfriend (or Babe) Of The Week.
Usually this happens with ships that seem, well, obvious: Mulder/Scully, for instance, or Edison/Theora (see who remembers that one), or Picard/Crusher. I really didn't want to see any of those characters with anybody else, and when a script came up that threw in a BOTW** I found myself gritting my teeth, or even skipping the episode altogether. And I certainly felt the same way when Sydney's ex-boyfriend Noah returned at the end of Season One of Alias, because for heaven's sake, wasn't it obvious that she was meant to be with Vaughn?
Yep, I was a Syd/Vaughn shipper all the way. Right from the first episode I watched, and so was my husband. Our friend Keith was all about the Syd/Will, but we heaped scorn upon that idea, and felt vindicated when Will bumbled about putting Sydney in danger and generally living up to his TWoP nickname of Willage Idiot. Whereas Vaughn was steady and sensible and intelligent, and he and Sydney made a great team. He was her anchor, her "guardian angel" as she put it, giving her instructions and calling in resources and reinforcements as needed, but on the whole just waiting patiently at home base for her to come back from her missions. I liked that. I liked the fact that he wasn't her partner in the field -- that she worked with Dixon, an older man and trusted friend with whom she had no romantic tension whatsoever, instead. It subverted all the usual cliches.
In Season Two, however, Vaughn stopped being the brains to Sydney's brawn and became SpyKen to her SpyBarbie. All of a sudden this guy who previously seemed to have spent most of his CIA career behind a desk was running around in the field, wearing disguises and pulling off outrageous stunts, even kicking butt and taking names. Dixon, meanwhile, faded into the background (a shocking waste of Carl Lumbly's talent). And I really didn't like the New Improved (?) Vaughn any more. By the time he and Syd actually got together, my momentary "Woo!" was quickly replaced by "Meh."
I knew that my belief in Syd/Vaughn as an OTP had died when I read a rumour about Season Three that since Vaughn had got married during her two-year absence, Sydney would eventually become involved with someone else in the cast, someone we'd never expect. My mind immediately went "Weiss!" and then I got absurdly excited at the prospect of seeing Syd and Eric together, and started thinking about how well they'd balance each other out, and all the brilliant one-liners that Weiss might be expected to supply over the course of their romance...
And now I'll be disappointed if it's not Weiss. So I guess Syd and Eric is my new OTP...
--
* One True Pairing.
** Boyfriend (or Babe) Of The Week.