Amber Volakis and the WIR Effect
Mods, if this is unacceptable under Rule One (or any other rules), I bow to your discretion. It is my honest hope, however, to facilitate a little discussion.
Okay, so usomitai and I were chatting on her journal, where we pretty much agreed that we weren't sad about the events in "House's Head/Wilson's Heart" - we were really kind of pissed.
Sure, we were (and are) saddened to see our favorite threesome get torn apart. We hated watching poor Wilson get through the wringer watching his girlfriend die. We cried when House sacrificed himself for Amber at Wilson's request. But when the Last Ducklings Standing came to Amber's bedside, forgave her for her Bitchitude, and Wilson pulled the plug, and it was implied that her death will drive a wedge between Wilson and House, we thought . . .
Oh, God, we've seen this before.
Meet Amber Volakis, the latest Woman in a Fridge.
Not only does Wilson keep wanting to lower her body temperature to "buy them time", but she dies for one reason and one reason only: so "the Men Could React" (thanks to swirl_girlx for that summation and her general comic book nerdiness). Amber's death, like that of many of the WIFs, is the catalyst for the Hero (in this case, Wilson) to express his grief and rage, and for the Villain (in this case, House) to show his guilt over it, and to permanently drive a wedge between them. And of course, when she does die, she's made perfect. No more "Cutthroat Bitch". She becomes "Amber" to everyone who used to hate her.
And this pisses me (and usomitai, and a few other people I've talked this over with) off beyond belief. Because I expected better from House.
Amber was the best character that came out of the Duckling Battle Royale that made up the first half-season arc. She was different. She had a backbone. She didn't take any of House's shit. She didn't take any of ANYONE's shit. She wasn't Cameron, with her bleeding heart and obsession with House; she wasn't Cuddy, with her diet feminism and constant anvilization of how "slutty" she is; and she damn sure wasn't Thirteen, who was everything I hated about Cuddy and Cameron.
What am I saying? Of COURSE they killed her off. Can't very well have her making the "real" women look bad.
And another thing that drives me nuts is that, to tell the story they needed to tell, the one where Wilson goes batshit around death that's personalized and House shows AGAIN that Wilson is more important to him than his own life, Amber didn't have to die. They could have had the exact same effect if they'd had House's brain-electrification/coma help with a different diagnosis, one that saved her. Amber could have survived, either in a coma or permanently damaged, and the House/Wilson/Amber relationship could have continued.
I don't say this as someone who ships any and all combinations of H/W/A. I say this as a viewer who expects her show to be as smart 4 years down the road as it was in Season One. I say this because the lack of women I can respect on this show has just dropped to zero. I say this because I HATE IT when such brilliant, multifaceted characters are turned into simple plot devices.
NOTE - I am not saying that now that Amber's gone, House and Wilson are definitely going to get together. That would be really, really, stupid of me, as I am not on House's writing staff and thus have no way of knowing. Neither am I saying that's all she existed for. She gave us a fantastic foil for House, a look at a female doctor more driven than most men, and a healthy relationship for Wilson. But it's plain that her death is the reason House and Wilson's friendship will "change forever", and that's probably all that we, as viewers, are supposed to take out of it.
Again, I expect better from my show.
I realize I am hardly the first to articulate this theory, but I'd definitely like to discuss it some more.
Okay, so usomitai and I were chatting on her journal, where we pretty much agreed that we weren't sad about the events in "House's Head/Wilson's Heart" - we were really kind of pissed.
Sure, we were (and are) saddened to see our favorite threesome get torn apart. We hated watching poor Wilson get through the wringer watching his girlfriend die. We cried when House sacrificed himself for Amber at Wilson's request. But when the Last Ducklings Standing came to Amber's bedside, forgave her for her Bitchitude, and Wilson pulled the plug, and it was implied that her death will drive a wedge between Wilson and House, we thought . . .
Oh, God, we've seen this before.
Meet Amber Volakis, the latest Woman in a Fridge.
Not only does Wilson keep wanting to lower her body temperature to "buy them time", but she dies for one reason and one reason only: so "the Men Could React" (thanks to swirl_girlx for that summation and her general comic book nerdiness). Amber's death, like that of many of the WIFs, is the catalyst for the Hero (in this case, Wilson) to express his grief and rage, and for the Villain (in this case, House) to show his guilt over it, and to permanently drive a wedge between them. And of course, when she does die, she's made perfect. No more "Cutthroat Bitch". She becomes "Amber" to everyone who used to hate her.
And this pisses me (and usomitai, and a few other people I've talked this over with) off beyond belief. Because I expected better from House.
Amber was the best character that came out of the Duckling Battle Royale that made up the first half-season arc. She was different. She had a backbone. She didn't take any of House's shit. She didn't take any of ANYONE's shit. She wasn't Cameron, with her bleeding heart and obsession with House; she wasn't Cuddy, with her diet feminism and constant anvilization of how "slutty" she is; and she damn sure wasn't Thirteen, who was everything I hated about Cuddy and Cameron.
What am I saying? Of COURSE they killed her off. Can't very well have her making the "real" women look bad.
And another thing that drives me nuts is that, to tell the story they needed to tell, the one where Wilson goes batshit around death that's personalized and House shows AGAIN that Wilson is more important to him than his own life, Amber didn't have to die. They could have had the exact same effect if they'd had House's brain-electrification/coma help with a different diagnosis, one that saved her. Amber could have survived, either in a coma or permanently damaged, and the House/Wilson/Amber relationship could have continued.
I don't say this as someone who ships any and all combinations of H/W/A. I say this as a viewer who expects her show to be as smart 4 years down the road as it was in Season One. I say this because the lack of women I can respect on this show has just dropped to zero. I say this because I HATE IT when such brilliant, multifaceted characters are turned into simple plot devices.
NOTE - I am not saying that now that Amber's gone, House and Wilson are definitely going to get together. That would be really, really, stupid of me, as I am not on House's writing staff and thus have no way of knowing. Neither am I saying that's all she existed for. She gave us a fantastic foil for House, a look at a female doctor more driven than most men, and a healthy relationship for Wilson. But it's plain that her death is the reason House and Wilson's friendship will "change forever", and that's probably all that we, as viewers, are supposed to take out of it.
Again, I expect better from my show.
I realize I am hardly the first to articulate this theory, but I'd definitely like to discuss it some more.