Comments | selenak: The Insignificant Other: A Multifandom Rant

selenak

The Insignificant Other: A Multifandom Rant

Feb 06, 2007 20:09

Contains spoilers for the second season of Roswell, the third season of Alias, the fourth season of Farscape, Superman Returns, Tristan and Isolde and various screwball comediesSeveral recent discussions made me think of one of my least favourite plot devices, which for lack of a better term I'd call The Insignificant Other. You know, the romantic ( Read more... )

farscape, meta, alias, tristan and isolde, superman returns, roswell, multifandom

Comments 58

callmesandy February 6 2007, 19:29:05 UTC

As someone who watches and loves more than a few soap operas, I've seen so many badly done triangles. But also, how awesome it can be if done RIGHT.

And when it's done right - it's actually interesting and moving. I was just reading an interview with writers for General Hospital and they admitted they themselves couldn't decide who they liked leading lady Carly with - Jax or Sonny, since both options worked so well. And that's the sort of triangle that's actually enjoyable to the viewer, darn it.

selenak February 6 2007, 19:32:54 UTC

Agreed. Well, I didn't watch General Hospital, so I can't say anyting about your particular example, but on the principle - write all three characters with care, and you have a moving, complex story instead of an annoyance.

callmesandy February 6 2007, 19:48:18 UTC

You're not missing anything missing GH - but your comments about the unsignifican other reminded me strongly of that interview and I thought, you know, there was no point where the damn Roswell writers or the Alias writers were thinking they just couldn't choose! And it was very very obvious.

honorh February 6 2007, 19:41:13 UTC

It strikes me that fanficcers of the 'shippy variety enjoy doing this as well. I.e., Evil!Riley in B/S fics, Bitchy!Buffy in A/C fics, you name it. Vilify one character so your favorite pair can get together without hurting anyone's feelings.

My favorite example of the Not-Unsignificant Other recently would have to be Mickey Smith. Sure, he started out as a sort of pathetic, quivering lump, but he had a very satisfying character arc that left him as the sort of man Rose possibly *could* spend the rest of her life with. His rivalry with the Doctor for Rose ended when he decided to pursue his calling, not when Rose rejected him. Gotta love Mickey!

selenak February 6 2007, 19:46:27 UTC

Oh, absolutely, it's just like fanfic.

And definitely yes on Mickey. Another example of how it's possible to make the Other interesting and sympathetic. Mickey for the win!

spectralbovine February 6 2007, 20:09:07 UTC

Yeah, Mickey annoyed me for a while, but I really liked what they did with his character in the second season. He wasn't just the robot dog!

violaswamp February 6 2007, 19:56:14 UTC

Creating a character who exists solely for the sake of being bashed is dehumanizing--yes, these are fictional characters, but when we immerse ourselves in a work of fiction they become real to us. And so dehumanizing them is an ugly thing to do.

With Alias, when I first watched S3, I thought they were doing a really good job making Lauren worthy of respect even if she wasn't the most lovable. The decision to make her evil only came on the heels of massive protests by Syd/Vaughn shippers. It wasn't planned, and you can tell this is the case because Lauren's later evil is frankly OOC. It is totally incompatible with Lauren's actions and emotions in "Breaking Point." It also doesn't fit well with that episode where Lauren gets into a car chase with Syd in the passenger seat and the two come to some sort of mutual understanding.

violaswamp February 6 2007, 19:57:34 UTC

when I first watched S3

The beginning of S3, that is. The part where we see Lauren shoot Sark's father was a total WTF-oh-no-they-didn't-stoop-that-low moment for me.

selenak February 6 2007, 20:00:09 UTC

Oh, absolutely. Lauren post-Breaking Point is not compatible with Lauren before and especially including BP (and it's also obvious that before, we're at least meant to assume Vaughn has some feelings for her, whereas after, we get the scene where Weiss tells him he's in a loveless marriage just in case there is any doubt).

Sad to say, Lauren as a corpse in s4 was written better and with more consideration than post EVIL! revelation Lauren in s3...

thirdblindmouse February 6 2007, 19:58:04 UTC

Are love triangles ever done well? Between Gunn/Fred/Wesley (AtS) and Sam/Kara/Lee/Dee (BSG) I'm having serious doubts about the device.

spectralbovine February 6 2007, 20:08:15 UTC

Oh, the Quadrangle of Doom! Ack!

As I noted below, The Office has been very impressive with its love triangle that's almost a quadrangle. It may have it easy because it's a comedy and thus doesn't have to focus on the drama so much, but that ends up working in its favor by adding a sense of realism to the whole situation.

selenak February 6 2007, 20:12:44 UTC

Well, the two examples I gave above worked for me (i.e. Tristan/Marke/Isolde, and Clark/Lois/Richard), but I suppose one's personal leverage might vary. Re: BSG, and I'm not entirely kidding, what about Ellen/Saul/Bill Adama? (With Ellen and Bill competing for Saul, of course.) And though the quadrangle of doom is just that, at least one cannot say Sam or Dee are written in a way that makes us think the writing staff wants us to disregard their feelings as insignificant. They're not evil, either.

Other (to me) successful BSG emotional triangles would include Helo/Sharon/Tyrol (ending in Chief and Helo becoming friends and Chief deciding to put his feelings for Sharon - any Sharon - behind him), and Baltar/Gina/Head!Six. What do all of these have in common, though? They were never an A-plot...

thirdblindmouse February 6 2007, 22:01:46 UTC

What do all of these have in common, though? They were never an A-plot...

And that's how it should be.

And though the quadrangle of doom is just that, at least one cannot say Sam or Dee are written in a way that makes us think the writing staff wants us to disregard their feelings as insignificant.

Yeah, so even while I'm annoyed at having to suffer through the nasty thing episode after episode, I still have faith in BSG's writers. In three years they have made only a few bad blunders, which outstrips any other TV program I know of.

spectralbovine February 6 2007, 20:05:46 UTC

Interesting post! I was impressed with the way that the John/Aeryn relationship was handled, too, but I didn't buy all the drug crap and the "I didn't mean it" crap and all that other business in S4. But you pegged it! Scorpius is the Unsignificant Other! Huh.

Do you watch The Office? Because I like that the Unsignificant Others are actually Significant.

selenak February 6 2007, 20:14:24 UTC

No to The Office watching, unfortunately.

John and Aeryn: like I said, worked for me very well in seasons 1-3 and in PKW, but in s4... *headdesks*