Thoughts on Season 4 Spoilers
So, I just can’t hold it in anymore. I have to write my thoughts on the Kevin & Scotty surrogacy spoilers for next season. Granted, this is based on a few tidbits, so it’s not like I have any idea where they’re going to go with it. Nonetheless, based on their track record, I’m guessing...nowhere good.
On one hand, this may actually suggest a storyline that lasts more than one episode and requires Scotty’s presence (complete with lines!) and where they’re forced to act like an actual couple. In the hands of good screenwriters, it could be done really well (of course, therein lies the problem). And, of course, MR and LM would rock, as usual. Additionally, I think they would be adorable fathers. I’d love to see them with kids someday. Just not now. And here’s why:
It’s been done.
They seem to have only two storylines for married couples: domestic tension results in physical and/or emotional infidelity, and prolonged attempts to reproduce. We have had: sterility with Tommy and Julia, miscarriage and IVF with Kitty and Robert, adoption adventures with Kitty and Robert, and to an extent, Kevin’s issues with Elizabeth at the end of last season. After all the complaints about repetitive storylines, do we really need another plot involving baby-making?
It’s been done, part two.
Granted, there aren’t a lot of gay characters on US TV. However, I can think of at least two examples where the committed couples get kids somehow (Six Feet Under and Queer as Folk). As I understand it, there is a new show in the fall with gay parents as regular characters. Way to push the envelope there, B&S writers, in terms of groundbreaking stories for and about gay couples. Isn’t there another way we can show "See! They’re just like straight couples!"?
What do the actors think?
I’d read somewhere that the writers had considered having Kevin and Scotty make a bid for custody of Elizabeth but decided not to, in part because of MR’s alleged dislike for working with young child actors. If that’s true, I can’t imagine he’s happy about the plot. Further, I think both of them would prefer to have a deeper SL (I fear that the writers will treat this very lightly and superficially, as that's how most of K/S plots were treated last season). Not to mention, this is what happens when TV characters have kids: they become human accessories and the characters have no SL outside of being parents OR they’re completely ignored and/or their absence, as well as that of at least one of the parents (in this case, it will be Scotty, of course), needs to be explained with increasingly ridiculous excuses (Paige and Cooper's extended trip with Joe, for example). None of these options can be that appealing to actors.
Why would the viewers want it?
One common complaint I see is that we don’t get enough of them as a couple (and I’m not just talking about kissing/sex scenes). Can we please have some more of just the two of them as spouses before they become parents? I'm going to be incredibly bored and disappointed if all we get of them next season is endless discussions about children.
It’s not right for the characters
First, they don’t have enough time for each other right now. One of their last "plots" of season 3 was that they rarely saw each other, up to and including not having sex. Walker family drama aside, Scotty’s work hours were problematic and Kevin was concerned about his ability to financially support them. (Hey! Maybe Kevin will have to quit and get a better-paying, more flexible lawyer job...I might have to rethink my objections...) Do they think having a kid will make any of these problems better/easier?
Further, I don’t think Kevin is pushing for this because he desperately wants their own child at this exact moment. I honestly think it has more to do with Lizzy and Tommy than his own biological clock legitimately kicking in. It’d be better (and more interesting to me, as well as demonstrative of continuity and an understanding of character motivations and emotions) for him to have to deal with those issues first, before going for a "replacement" child.
And let’s look at Scotty’s situation, shall we? He has recently been promoted to his dream job after a great deal of education and work. We already know he has problems with financial matters (especially Kevin’s unilateral decisions to quit his job, buy a house, pay Tommy and Julia’s debt, etc.). These problems make total sense considering his background (sleeping in his car, for example) and their history as a couple. These problems should not be taken lightly when it comes to the cost of surrogacy, not to mention child-rearing. Add onto that the fact that he was clearly not super-duper-excited about kids yet (he said "someday," not "next year." Also "desperate need to hold onto Elizabeth," anyone?). Add onto that that he’s younger than Kevin and, as far as we know, an only child with no experience with young kids other than limited, relatively recent time spent with his nieces and nephews. Do you honestly want to convince me he feels ready to become a father?
So how would I approach this story?
I would have Scotty hem and haw and ultimately tell Kevin that, although he had initially agreed following the Lizzy situation, he truthfully isn’t ready for kids yet for the reasons outlined above. This could provide an arc for at least the first quarter/half of the season (leaving them open for another SL later in the season) as Kevin attempts to get over it and Scotty feels bad. Yes! Scotty would have to apologize to Kevin! Perhaps they could make a deal that he’d be on board in a year or so, and therefore this season they could do preparatory things like: get a house (ain’t no baby fitting in that loft), baby-sit (fun uncles! Alternately, Kevin getting upset at Scotty’s behavior with the kids considering his reluctance to have some of his own), have lots of couple-time (clothing optional!) and so on. I’d probably be a lot more comfortable with the idea of them going for kids in season 5 (if the show survives, which I honestly don't know if I even want it to, to tell you the truth) or the knowledge that they were going to have kids, even if we don't see it (if there is no season 5).
As for the news of Ryan being promoted to regular status? I can't even begin to express my disgust at that. It's not (really) the actor. It's not (just) the character or storyline. It's also the complete lack of respect for loyal viewers and their opinions that this decision shows. I'm so sick of the current direction of the show! Why can't they just acknowledge that some things just are not working?!