samhalliwell

In my opinion, after rewatching the season, the things that make Riley not be an instant favorite really go back to her backstory with the husband and baby. It's not that she's underwritten or uninteresting, but these characters are supposed to function as the lenses through which we see the world in each of their corners, which is why everything about Riley seems so aloof and disconnected until she connects with Will and, more emphatically, when she gets back to Iceland. In short, IMO, Riley's story is about someone running away and pretending that The One Thing in her past that was horribly painful and traumatic didn't really happen and hurt her as deeply as it did. This, in addition to the very prominent drug use, basically resulted in very a numb, almost lifeless depiction of the entire London section of her chapter: a tonal description of Riley's actual mental and emotional state. As everything with this show, this becomes apparent once you see the whole thing in hindsight, which is simultaneously genius and somewhat frustrating to articulate (appropriate for this show, LOL).

jhlipton, I think both those things you mentioned are a clear example of when to self-enforce Willing Suspension of Disbelief. They needed a good reason for Riley to be sheltered and numb, so her backstory had to be heartbreaking, Greek-level tragic and pure nightmare fuel (at which the show succeded, at least for me). Also, the production people probably went 'Hey, we're already going out of our way to shoot in 9 different places, how about we integrate the settings and landscapes so that they're as key to the plot as the characters?' And so, Riley's story becomes (IMO) the logical extreme of all that: Why on Earth were she and her husband driving through a secluded mountain road at nighttime during a snowstorm? Because it gives the scene a foreshadow-y dreadful tone and effectively weaponizes Icelandic weather and land, feeding Riley's fear of returning there (like the beach and cave scenes). So, why did Magnus make all possible driver mistakes and got them all in a fatal car crash? You could say the worry for his family, panic over the screaming wife and sheer surprise of water breaking ahead of schedule are the reason, but really, it's what the story needed to advance Riley's character. (Not that they couldn't have had an accident even after driving competently as can totally happen IRL, but yeah, *drama*).

Co-sign on everything, so very much! I need to log onto the Webz some day real soon (as in, tomorrow, Netflix!) and read that this got renewed, so much. I actually binged it while checking out threads here (at least the first 6 eps, the others were one sit-through), and it was really fun (besides the trying to skip any spoilers from following eps, lol). I have always had an easy to become attached to fictional characters and love when the writing centers more on them than in *plot plot plot*, as that can sometimes lead to bad characterization and/or cause detatchment as things seem to no longer ring true or carry weight (Once Upon a Time became my poster-show for this this year, sadly). I love how this show did a complete reversal of the usual formula in sci-fi/fantasy shows: instead of hitting us over the head with mythology and plot and impossibly high stakes from the get-go, it showed us who these 8 people are as well as their relationships and mundane lives, so that we would probably care enough when stuff got intense. I can see how some people would be put off by that, but personally I loved it. I admit that Riley's story did seem to drag as she got saddled with a more traditionally frustrating to watch Damsel in Distress plot at the end (in contrast with Nomi, although in her case things hadn't escalated that much). However, this last episode really did work for me as a way to justify her passiveness, with her whole tragedy laid out in graphically painful and gory detail. I really hope the next season deals with the Cluster both helping Will/defeating Whispers and acting as a sort of constant, 24/7 group therapy for each other. I think Capheus' (awesomely and almost implausibly permanent) positivity, Nomi and now Lito's sense of self-affirmation and Kala's spirituality could really allow Riley, Wolfgang and Sun to work through their anger/sadness/distorted sense of who they are, depending on each of their receptiveness; I am actually more invested in the personal growth of the Sens8 both as a Cluster and as individuals and the possibility of seeing new/different Cluster mechanics at work with the Main 8 than in the whole Whispers/Yrsa/Sayid/Daryl Hannah chain of mysteries. So yeah, Netflix: Season 2, ASAP, please :)!

I was a little bit frustrated when no one answered her. Laurel could have totally taken that cue or even go-to snarker Connor, but I guess letting it slide seemed better to the writers (didn't take, at least in my opinion, LOL).

Have to agree with all comments made after my first post. Laurel's family interaction did catch me off guard and ended up being the kind of relationship I expected from Connor. Mind you, I never thought he'd be a troubled gay man because his family had issues with his orientation, but that they were just dysfunctional in a "we don't care about your life" kind of way. It was a welcome surprise to see an actually happy, uncomplicated family on this show. Also co-signing: I loathe how TV always implies that someone slightly less attractive than the Main Attractive and Appealing Lead (male or female) is somehow ugly or inferior re: Oliver. I don't disagree about Connor's looks (Falahee is in no way unattractive), but they portray Oliver like a male asian version of Ugly Betty, only without the chubbiness. Or glasses. Or bracers. Or anything that makes a reasonably and actually attractive young man visually unappealing at first glance. I understand that a gay guy who works with tech and thinks of himself as a nerd wouldn't consider himself attractive (which I would totally get and relate to), but the show seems to agree with that image. Me no likey, is all. ETC: the ever-present grammar snafu and typo.

I was actually surprised at how well-adjusted and genuinely loving the interaction between Connor and his family was. Not that kids of good parents are never jerks, but I actually expected Connor's family to be more like Laurel's (uninterested, aloof or more interested in keeping appearances than in actual familiar bonding), as that, in my mind, would account for the whole "I don't do 'nice', ever" attitude.

Well, now that apparently Typical Director Fury move, I think. ETA: Now that I think about it, Raja's suggestion about signalling spoilers in the thread seems sensible.

I love how this show goes out of its way to demonstrate how competent each character is and how they totally do justice to their field of work. Peggy knowing she can take down three agents on her own while making Jarvis, a possible liability, an active tactical tool is awesome. Thompson being fully aware that Peggy could do all of this and catch her when she tried to run? Brilliant.

Building on the whole meta aspect of the setting, I think it would be supercool to have at least a passing reference to Namor, the Submariner (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/SubMariner), the third most iconic character of the Timely Comics era and the other besides Captain America to have a strong presence in today's Marvel Comics. I know, I know, he's very likely tied to Fox by being a Fantastic Four and later X-Men character, but a guy can speculate and dream :)

I'm actually looking forward to finding out why Laurel's so much of a non-entity. Not because I'm feeling mean, but because I'm pretty sure her being so unassuming and kind of bland when compared to the other students is intentional and somehow more relevant to the plot than what we may think. I just hope I'm not wrong and they'll just take her down the "Idealistic Girl Meets Hot Older Douchebag and Finds Twoo Wuv", 'cause I actually love this show and that'd be quite a letdown.

Just getting back to forums life for tonight's episode, and boy am I glad I came back on this thread. I absolutely loved that Emma, of all people, was the main character that provided the most levity and the least emotional turmoil in a rather emotion-heavy episode. She was determined and helpful when she had to, but the magic scenes at Granny totally showed an Emma I'd love to see more of. I mean, she was playful and teasing, how awesome is that? :D

I'm all in for happy endings for the heroes/protagonists and karmic retributions for villains everywhere.

Considering they're playing Zelena as absolutely effing psycho, I don't think even the saddest sob story would really put her in that sympathetic a light even if the writers tried. I know they like to pretend they can redeem people who have done really despicable things, but I'd like my PsychoZelena through and through, thank you very much :)

Popping in this thread to ramble about something that struck me after watching the Wonderland finale and reading opinions on it in forums. (Sort of spoilers for Wonderland ahead, I suppose, so be warned). Someone on a forum said that they found the Alice/Cyrus pairing and their True Love/Happy Ending to be endearing and not tiresome or heavy-handed in comparison to Snowing. Now, I know Snow herself has suffered as a character during 3B, but I was never against/annoyed by their relationship being "perfect" or overcoming seemingly everything that's thrown at the couple. They're the Trope Codifiers for True Love and Happily Ever After in a Disney-owned fairytale show; it just seems, IMO and not trying to be pedantic, that if you don't like Snow White and Prince Charming of all people being unbelievably perfectly together, this is kind of the wrong story for you. Anyone disagrees with my assessment, or is just bothered by them regardless? (And yes, it seems like I have a need to keep bringing Wonderland into topics because it ended tonight and was awesome, LOL).

Well, now we're Yeah, these people could potentially drive a person crazy trying to keep timelines on track. Heh.