Well, at least LFN did not pretend to be an ensemble show - it *was* Nikita's show.
True. Although that doesn't actually matter to me. Just because she's supposed to be the central character won't make me cut her any slack if I find she has characteristics I don't care for. If anything, it makes me even more hostile, because I feel like the character's wonderfulness is being force-fed to me.
But yes, I definitely agree with the Jack/Nikita comparison. She definitely has the holier-than-thou attitude all throughout the show (as does Buffy. and Hermione. and Harry, to a certain extent. do you see a pattern here?).
Heh. Yes, I see a pattern. And you can probably see one with me, too, although oddly enough (and as I've mentioned before) I don't mind Buffy. She's not a favorite, but I don't actively *mind* her, either. LOL. I do dislike Harry, though. That's probably a big part of why I just can't read those books.
But unlike Jack, Nikita was made to see what happens when you adopt such an attitude in a world where things don't work in a black-and-white way. She paid for it. And by often providing us with *both* the POVs (say that guy whom Nikita was supposed to kill in Mercy; killing him would've been the kind thing to do, and Nikita was made to see that), the show made sure that we accepted the central character as a fallible narrator and presented a very interesting grey world where *both* POVs are valid to a certain extent.
Well...here's the thing. I think the different POVs were made obvious to the audience, but I never got the sense that Nikita ever accepted them as legitimate. In that sense, I don't think she ever "paid" -- she continued to think she was right, no matter what, and in the end she outlasted everybody! I found that extremely irksome and it made me unsympathetic to her as a character.
The same with Buffy, who despite her holier-than-thou attitude *is* the Hero, *is* the most important person in the world. And she too pays.
I guess that with Buffy, she's the Hero, but she also assumes a commensurate amount of responsibility. She judges other characters, but she also *does more* than they do and therefore, to me, has thus earned the right to judge, at least to a degree. I didn't feel that way about Nikita, and I certainly don't about Jack.
I'm not sure if that's what they're aiming for with Jack - so far, he has Done No Wrong.
I honestly don't know what they're aiming for, either. I just wish a lightning bolt would strike him dead the next time he whines about something.
I'm also avoiding DH spoilers, because I'm enjoying it very much this way for a change. *g* Of course, that probably won't be the case with S2 - I don't think I could wait till next year to know what happens.
Yeah...I've actually been refraining from commenting on your posts as much as I ordinarily would, because I *really* don't want to give stuff away. As soon as you finish S1, though, I'll dish.
Kate with a similar attitude? Hmm, hasn't shown it so far, but I'd be disappointed if she did. She has a very interesting background - why ruin that?
She has an interesting background, but she strikes me -- and she's struck me that way from the very beginning, so maybe it's more of a subjective impression -- as having that same streak of self-righteous judgment of others that Jack has. She's not nearly as bad as he is, but it's there.
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branchandroot
Re: P.S
Date: 2005-10-17 08:18 pm (UTC)True. Although that doesn't actually matter to me. Just because she's supposed to be the central character won't make me cut her any slack if I find she has characteristics I don't care for. If anything, it makes me even more hostile, because I feel like the character's wonderfulness is being force-fed to me.
But yes, I definitely agree with the Jack/Nikita comparison. She definitely has the holier-than-thou attitude all throughout the show (as does Buffy. and Hermione. and Harry, to a certain extent. do you see a pattern here?).
Heh. Yes, I see a pattern. And you can probably see one with me, too, although oddly enough (and as I've mentioned before) I don't mind Buffy. She's not a favorite, but I don't actively *mind* her, either. LOL. I do dislike Harry, though. That's probably a big part of why I just can't read those books.
But unlike Jack, Nikita was made to see what happens when you adopt such an attitude in a world where things don't work in a black-and-white way. She paid for it. And by often providing us with *both* the POVs (say that guy whom Nikita was supposed to kill in Mercy; killing him would've been the kind thing to do, and Nikita was made to see that), the show made sure that we accepted the central character as a fallible narrator and presented a very interesting grey world where *both* POVs are valid to a certain extent.
Well...here's the thing. I think the different POVs were made obvious to the audience, but I never got the sense that Nikita ever accepted them as legitimate. In that sense, I don't think she ever "paid" -- she continued to think she was right, no matter what, and in the end she outlasted everybody! I found that extremely irksome and it made me unsympathetic to her as a character.
The same with Buffy, who despite her holier-than-thou attitude *is* the Hero, *is* the most important person in the world. And she too pays.
I guess that with Buffy, she's the Hero, but she also assumes a commensurate amount of responsibility. She judges other characters, but she also *does more* than they do and therefore, to me, has thus earned the right to judge, at least to a degree. I didn't feel that way about Nikita, and I certainly don't about Jack.
I'm not sure if that's what they're aiming for with Jack - so far, he has Done No Wrong.
I honestly don't know what they're aiming for, either. I just wish a lightning bolt would strike him dead the next time he whines about something.
I'm also avoiding DH spoilers, because I'm enjoying it very much this way for a change. *g* Of course, that probably won't be the case with S2 - I don't think I could wait till next year to know what happens.
Yeah...I've actually been refraining from commenting on your posts as much as I ordinarily would, because I *really* don't want to give stuff away. As soon as you finish S1, though, I'll dish.
Kate with a similar attitude? Hmm, hasn't shown it so far, but I'd be disappointed if she did. She has a very interesting background - why ruin that?
She has an interesting background, but she strikes me -- and she's struck me that way from the very beginning, so maybe it's more of a subjective impression -- as having that same streak of self-righteous judgment of others that Jack has. She's not nearly as bad as he is, but it's there.