Excuse my pedantry, but...

[rj_anderson]

This has been nagging at me for weeks now and I just feel I have to get it off my chest.

Comments

Right on!

[anonymous]

You nailed it. I know you will cringe, but I have always liked the Syd/Vaughn pairing. Notwithstanding, early after Lauren's introduction I had hoped J.J. would make her a strong, likeable character in her own right precisely for the reasons you cite, and I thought indications were that was the original intention. I regard the latest turn of events as a predictable cop-out that weakens the story and characters, and while I may now get what I have always cheered for, it feels like a cheat.

P.

Re: Right on!

[rj_anderson]

Heh. Why should I cringe? I was staunchly S/V right up until the beginning of this season. It's really only the extreme lameness of the triangle, and the corresponding weakness of Vaughn's character, that made me jump ship. Well, that and the fact that I like relationships where the participants retain at least some perspective and sense of humour, and Sweiss scratches that itch in a way that S/V (this season, anyway) doesn't...

[hedda62]

I have always been in favor of love pentagons, myself.

Re:

[pbristow]

Pentagons, or pentangles? Or maybe both at once? (Now *THAT*s a complex set of relationships to play with....) =:o}

Re:

[pbristow]

Pentagons, or pentangles? Or maybe both at once? (Now *THAT*s a complex set of relationships to play with....) =:o}

[ravensnape]

Hear, hear Anonymous!!! "I regard the latest turn of events as a predictable cop-out that weakens the story and characters, and while I may now get what I have always cheered for, it feels like a cheat."

First season shock value was real...this year, well?

[yahtzee63]

I agree with you in the general sense that the greatest triangles always involve a powerful relationship between the two individuals who aren't romantically interested in each other. However, I thought the Syd/Vaughn/Will triangle worked, at least in S1, because it WASN'T fundamentally about Sydney being torn between two different men; it was about Sydney being torn between the two different lives she had to lead. Sydney talked a lot about wanted a normal life -- and at times, when she was stressed or wanted to relax, she did turn to Will. But ultimately, her involvement in the world of espionage took up more and more of her life, leading her closer to Vaughn. Will and Vaughn were more than two individuals Sydney was choosing between; each man represented a path Sydney could choose. IMHO, that's equally as valid a storytelling method as a classic triangle, and for that purpose probably more so

[rj_anderson]

I thought the Syd/Vaughn/Will triangle worked, at least in S1, because it WASN'T fundamentally about Sydney being torn between two different men; it was about Sydney being torn between the two different lives she had to lead.

That's very true -- and her desire to get out of the spy biz and lead a normal life as soon as possible was such a dominant theme in S1 that I'm surprised to see that it's been virtually ignored in S2 and S3.

And to be fair, the Syd/Vaughn/Will thing really wasn't portrayed as a triangle on the show itself -- it was just the ABC monkeys in the promos who tried to make something out of it. In S1, Syd wasn't romantically interested in either Vaughn or Will, really. (Which led to the horror that was No!Augh, but I prefer not to think about him more than I have to.)

[girlnorth]

You make an excellent point, the best triangles are those in which each character has feelings for the others. Like "Threesome". I (in case you couldn't guess from my icon) would be completely in favour of a Syd/Weiss/Vaughn love triangle.