Of Roosters and Lions...or, why I haven't even seen the A2a finale and my heart is already broken

[qthewetsprocket]

When I was three or four years old, I saw a film in preschool about a rooster who lost his voice. He had a really pretty voice and he loved it, but one day he got laryngitis and couldn't crow. He did everything he could to try to make it better - the image of him lowering his roostery construction-paper-head down for a hopeful drink of water is

Comments

[melodywilde]

Okay, now you've made me cry. I love you (in a totally decent way), because yeah, been there/done that/almost got kicked out of an adult Sunday School class about 20 years ago because some idiot decided to show the animated version of The Selfish Giant and I started sobbing. Loudly. Couldn't control it. I can't even think the words "velveteen rabbit" without welling up. It's been how many years since Star Trek II (a lot) (and about 5 or 6 more movies) and I still can't watch/think about the ending without crying. So yes, I totally understand why the rooster made you cry.

A friend and I have had a lot of conversations about stuff like this lately. (She's dreading what might happen at the end of Lost, and I'm dreading what might happen at the end of A2A.) Why we get so attached to certain fictional characters. Why we love them and grieve for/with them and become furious when someone does something bad to them (or tries to). Why they are so real to us, why, like...well...the Velveteen Rabbit, they became real. We don't have

[qthewetsprocket]

Oh, I definitely thought of cuddling my lion plushie next week, or the Sam Tyler jacket / Gene Hunt camel coat that I found in a charity shop last year. Might even have had them handy yesterday just in case. We'll see how brave I feel...which, if I'm this upset just imagining what happened to him, will probably be 'not very'. :/

[thirdbird]

My camel coat has its sleeves wrapped around my black leather jacket all Brokeback-style in the closet right now. :)

And this story is so narratively satisfying that I sort of hope it is true, even if it makes me all sniffly.

[qthewetsprocket]

Oh yeah, it's amazing in a narrative sense: perfectly logical and elegant in its brutality. But that doesn't change the fact that HE WAS JUST A KID, and watching him remember what happened to him is going to rip my heart into tatters.

Good idea about the coat and the jacket. That might be at least a little bit therapeutic, anyway. Augh, I got to walk around with this in my head all week! *needs a life-sized Guv to cuddle*

[travels_in_time]

If this is true, it will indeed be heartbreaking...but what bothers me most about it are the implications that Sam realized what was going on, and LEFT GENE BEHIND to face this on his own. If they sacrifice Sam's character for the sake of their story, I will be REALLY TICKED.

Okay, yes, I have a narrow focus. I am all about the Sam-Gene, whether as slash or friendship, and I don't even care what else they do with the finale as long as they don't ruin that.

[qthewetsprocket]

Admittedly, this does make me incredibly annoyed with John Simm...even though they've never come right out and said it, I think A2a s3 is basically what LoM s3 would have been if they'd gotten to make it, and it should be Sam in that field with Gene. How amazing would that have been?

As for Sam, I think they'll put a different spin on it: I think Sam figured out what happened to Gene and what the copper's limbo really was. Maybe Keats was pressuring him to find out. And when he did, he knew what would happen to Gene (and everyone else in the copper's limbo) if he was forced to confront the truth: like the Red King in The Looking Glass, he and everyone would simply vanish. But beyond that, it would kill him all over again, and Sam couldn't bear to do that. Remember what Gene said Sam told him: "it's better for you that you don't know

[travels_in_time]

and it should be Sam in that field with Gene. How amazing would that have been?

OMG. Why'd you have to put that image in my head? Now I'M gonna cry.

They can spin the story that way, but I'll have a hard time buying it. I think Sam would've stuck around refusing to tell anybody anything for as long as he could, and if it finally came down to the inevitable, he'd have been right there with Gene. I don't think he'd have disappeared, just hoping that nobody else would ever figure it out. That leaves everything wide open for someone else to come in--as has happened.

Oh, well, you have to work with what you're given, I guess.

Question: Why has this season been all "WHAT HAPPENED TO SAM TYLER" if the real question is "What happened to Gene?" Why is Sam so important and repeatedly brought up? Giant red herring?

[thirdbird]

Hmm, good point. I'll be kind of ticked if it goes nowhere and was just a cheap ploy to snag more of the LoM viewership back. (Says the sucker who fell for it hook line and sinker.)

[off_coloratura]

I've felt like that rooster on more than one occasion.

[qthewetsprocket]

Heh! I bet you have.

*suddenly remembers the rooster getting a drink of water again*

WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!