I was always rather ambivalent to her, to be honest. I rarely felt like she actually added anything to the team (most of her input was always the sort of thing that could have been handled by a nameless face).
It's not a slight on the actor at all, but on the writing. She never really had anything of impact to DO.
In contrast, they've given Diana far more interesting scenes and have interwoven her into the storyline far more effectively. Even Jones' input into the story has been far less significant than Diana's, despite being in more episodes, and HIS involvement in most of the stories was always slightly better than Cruz's.
I think the writers were a little lost as to what to do with a female character who always had to stay a step behind Neal and Peter (so that they stood out as leads) but also wasn't a love interest (we shan't go into the misogyny implied by TV writers not being able to write for women unless they are a love interest). They managed the balance better with Diana (who tends to step toe to toe with them and who's sexuality excludes her from any love interest trappings but who tends to be given her own work to do so that the spotlight can stay on the main pair).
So, tl;DR, I don't really miss her as a character but I think it's a shame that more work wasn't done with her whilst she was on the show so that she could have had a better impact.
Yes, all of this. I liked Diana from the start and didn't understand why Cruz was supposed to be a good replacement for her. Cruz was underused throughout, and that's down to the writers, who could have made her into a great character in her own right the way Diana, El and June are.
I'll note that I liked a lot that she didn't have to bat for the other team to be able to resist Neal's charms. When we're talking about the dysfunction that sees no other possible use for a woman than as a potential sexual/romantic partner, there's a lot to like about Cruz and Neal's relationship: He sees her, she's hot, he turns on the charm, she shuts him down, he shrugs and works with her as a respected colleague, which grows into friendship roughly affectionate teasing in both directions.
That arc tells us things that the dynamic between Neal and Diana never can.
It's not a slight on the actor at all, but on the writing. She never really had anything of impact to DO.
In contrast, they've given Diana far more interesting scenes and have interwoven her into the storyline far more effectively. Even Jones' input into the story has been far less significant than Diana's, despite being in more episodes, and HIS involvement in most of the stories was always slightly better than Cruz's.
I think the writers were a little lost as to what to do with a female character who always had to stay a step behind Neal and Peter (so that they stood out as leads) but also wasn't a love interest (we shan't go into the misogyny implied by TV writers not being able to write for women unless they are a love interest). They managed the balance better with Diana (who tends to step toe to toe with them and who's sexuality excludes her from any love interest trappings but who tends to be given her own work to do so that the spotlight can stay on the main pair).
So, tl;DR, I don't really miss her as a character but I think it's a shame that more work wasn't done with her whilst she was on the show so that she could have had a better impact.
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That arc tells us things that the dynamic between Neal and Diana never can.
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