Ensign Lestat's TV Log, 02/07/2016
Finally, I'm back to talking about my favourite topics - films and television. And what should bring me back but the show which has taken the world by storm for four seasons straight, 'Orange is the New Black'.
When I was younger, my favourite film and television characters all looked the same. Street Hawk, Tom Paris, Ace McCloud, they were my imaginary beaus. As I've grown older, my imaginary beaus look different and varied.
A lot of this comes down to the kind of material I am able to consume. Young me turned to Hollywood and only found straight, white men in lead roles that had both personality and action.
Older me has a wide global variety of media to enjoy. She also has many different kinds of people playing lead roles, with just as much personality and action. So now the characters I love and tune in to watch look and act very differently from the favourites of my past.
It's becoming easier to get lost in television shows and films because a) the sheer volume of them has increased and b) the increase in diversity means we see more people like us. Granted, this is not all encompassing. We still have heroes who are macho, straight, white men and women who are disproportionately thin and also white and on screen only for display. But more and more people are quick to call creators out on these tropes. Having just read The Mary Sue's rundown on the new 'Independence Day: Resurgence' film, one can easily make out that while strides have been taken in the right direction, we still do not have parity.
The below list of favourite characters could go on, but it's not as long as it could and should be. It's also remarkable that several of the favourites listed have been killed off on their shows. That's not a good sign.
And herein lies the problem. There was a time when films and television shows were considered escapist media. You went there to feel good, to feel happy; to forget about this wretched world we're all stuck in. All that's pretty much gone out the window now, however. Nowadays the world on your screen is as wretched and dark as the one we are forced to trundle through. Like, seriously, don't we deserve some time off?
With the advent of Game of Thrones, every writer and creator is hell-bent on making things real; and real means unpredictable. So you can expect your favourite people to come to a crushing death in GoT, but did that have to filter through to all other shows, too? I know I'm exaggerating, but which show recently hasn't killed off a fan favourite? You can count several of the below in the list of recently deceased too.
So where do I start with Finn? The erstwhile First Order stormtrooper, FN-2187, Finn was one of the most talked about characters from the TFA trailers. All because he happened to be black and a stormtrooper. I didn't watch the trailers, but the internet threw enough promo shots at me for me to know of his existence. I didn't care that he was black, I was underwhelmed by his appearance and by the thought of this new film being made by the destroyer of childhood nostalgia, JJ Abrams.
Sometimes you go into a show because of an actor or a character. With 'The Musketeers' it's been a bit of both. I'd read a little about the show, and then come across posters of it featuring Luke Pasqualino as D'Artagnan. As mentioned above, In the three seasons of the show, it's evident that we have a character who not only has copious amounts of personality, but also charm, kindness and loyalty. His kindness knows no bounds, as was especially evident in the third season when he allows a criminal to die a hero. He also doesn't forget where he came from and they shape his many decisions and his gratitude throughout the last 10 episodes.
Finally, I'm back to talking about my favourite topics - films and television. And what should bring me back but the show which has taken the world by storm for four seasons straight, 'Orange is the New Black'.
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| Ace McCloud (Centurions), Rex Smith as Jesse Mach (Street Hawk), Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris (Star Trek: Voyager) |
Older me has a wide global variety of media to enjoy. She also has many different kinds of people playing lead roles, with just as much personality and action. So now the characters I love and tune in to watch look and act very differently from the favourites of my past.
It's becoming easier to get lost in television shows and films because a) the sheer volume of them has increased and b) the increase in diversity means we see more people like us. Granted, this is not all encompassing. We still have heroes who are macho, straight, white men and women who are disproportionately thin and also white and on screen only for display. But more and more people are quick to call creators out on these tropes. Having just read The Mary Sue's rundown on the new 'Independence Day: Resurgence' film, one can easily make out that while strides have been taken in the right direction, we still do not have parity.
The below list of favourite characters could go on, but it's not as long as it could and should be. It's also remarkable that several of the favourites listed have been killed off on their shows. That's not a good sign.
And herein lies the problem. There was a time when films and television shows were considered escapist media. You went there to feel good, to feel happy; to forget about this wretched world we're all stuck in. All that's pretty much gone out the window now, however. Nowadays the world on your screen is as wretched and dark as the one we are forced to trundle through. Like, seriously, don't we deserve some time off?
With the advent of Game of Thrones, every writer and creator is hell-bent on making things real; and real means unpredictable. So you can expect your favourite people to come to a crushing death in GoT, but did that have to filter through to all other shows, too? I know I'm exaggerating, but which show recently hasn't killed off a fan favourite? You can count several of the below in the list of recently deceased too.
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| Two Laurels, Castillo (Karla Souza) from How to Get Away with Murder and Lance (Katie Cassidy) from Arrow |
Laurel Castillo, or the other Laurel as I like to call her, from HTGAWM is at once the opposite of Laurel Lance and similar. She's a badass who kicks ass, but here in a much smarter, wittier and snarkier way. Karla's Laurel is the smartest of the bunch of graduating law students; quietly so. She's also the most together person, seeing clearly when others are blinded. It amazes me that despite her having quite a significant romantic arc in the second season, she doesn't become defined by it, nor is it to the detriment of her character's personality. I love that she is a loyal teammate, as was seen in many instances in season 2 when she was helping or protecting Wes. Of course, she and Wes have some unfinished business that I hope is well handled in the coming season. In two seasons, she's easily the standout character with a well-rounded personality. She's likeable, but not a pushover. She's smart but not condescending. She's hard-working but also a thrill to hang out with. I'm hoping the writers remember all these characteristics when they're writing season 3.
Laurel (the Lance variety) took a while to get used to and even longer to like. Seasons 1 and 2 did her no justice. Her primary arc in the first season was to be Oliver Queen's ex, who dithers from him to her current partner Tommy (Oli's best friend), while trying to reconcile herself to the fact that Oliver cheated on her with her sister and took off on a boat that led to her sister Sara's death.
The writers, however, took a drastic turn in season 2. Unlike most shows, where a female character's reaction to her love interest dying is going down a weird path of depravity, the Arrow writers turned Laurel into an alcoholic. This flowed seamlessly from the fact that her father suffered a similar condition when Sara died. In hindsight it was an unusual and rather novel turn of events. Granted, poor Laurel was the damsel-in-distress throughout the season, but Katie portrayed her well as an unhinged, melancholic sufferer. What also worked was that the writers didn't forget about Laurel's addiction in consequent seasons. She alludes to it several times, but it doesn't become her defining characteristic.
Season 3 is when I really started rooting for Laurel, and a lot of it had to do with how she not only becomes a hero in her own right, but because she takes a lot of hits - physically and verbally - when she dons the Black Canary mask. Katie also embodied the physicality of a superhero, which added to the appeal. With Black Canary a permanent member of Team Arrow, I found myself tuning in to see more of her action scenes, her banter and her wit. She's a smart character, holding down a day job as an attorney, ADA and eventually a DA, while hunting bad guys at night. It's a shame that the writers didn't build on this incredible arc in Season 4. My continued dissatisfaction with the show was proportionately tied with the writers' disregard for Laurel. Less screen time of her meant more for the over-hyped Olicity pairing - which doesn't bear expanding on at this point. Despite the character's untimely demise in Season 4, she is probably the only character to come out of two seasons of poor writing as memorable and enduring.
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| Finn (John Boyega) from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) from Legends of Tomorrow |
My eventual feelings for TFA aside, the standout character for me was Finn. I love Finn. He is an incredible character, who is great but also flawed. He and Rey tow the line of unwitting (and unwilling) Star Wars heroes. He flounders to make sense of this new world and life that he impulsively embarked on, while still caring deeply for the people he's found himself with. He's almost clingy when it comes to Rey and BB-8, which probably has a lot to do with the fact that his newest and only friend just perished in a crash. And let's not forget his chemistry with Poe Dameron. Fireworks!
All of this is heightened by the fact that Finn is played by John 'Sunbeam Smile' Boyega. Who knows what Boyega is actually like, but he comes across as a funny, self-effacing kind of guy. His Finn is an everyman hero, that just makes him so much more lovable.
The other end of the lovable spectrum is Captain Cold. Leonard Snart first appeared in 'The Flash', and at first I scoffed, not only at his name, but at his entire get-up. I thought Wentworth was just a celebrity cameo that the showrunners were hoping to ride the waves on. So it was an incredible surprise when I found myself really missing the guy. He's a villain, a Flash villain at that, he cannot be missed. I was wrong.
Snart's episodes are usually my favourites in 'The Flash' and a lot of it has to do with how Wentworth portrayed this character. Instead of being an out-n'-out rotter, Snart has a backstory involving a difficult childhood, a need to protect his sister and a debt to pay to his partner-in-crime Heatwave. Wentworth and Dominic Purcell riff off their 'Prison Break' days brilliantly, creating a pairing that will not be forgotten any time soon.
From guest stars on 'The Flash', I'm pretty sure the popularity of these two is the reason DC's LoT was even made. They were superb in the first season of the show (I really liked the first season) and Snart's constant balance between good and evil made him an unpredictable and compelling character.
Which, of course, meant that he died in the penultimate episode. I don't know the background for Wentworth's exit, but all I can say is, it's going to leave a huge POC-sized hole in the rest of the series. He had chemistry with everyone, and his snark was enough reason to tune in every week. I wish there was a way to coax him back.
When Falcon was added to the cast of characters in 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' I did not realise he'd end up so high on my favourite Marvel characters list. I've stated before that Cap is a tedious character in the few comics I've read. And the ones with him and Falcon together were eye-gougingly awful reads.
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| Red (Kate Mulgrew) and Gloria (Selenis Leyva) also from Orange is the New Black |
Red was always going to be on my favourites list, simply because she was once Captain Janeway in 'Star Trek: Voyager'. Of course, Kate Mulgrew has added so much personality to the character, you couldn't not love her. Red is at once the best mommy prison could get you and the scariest inmate around. Somehow the battle for the kitchen might as well be the War of the Roses because that's what Red was in charge of. She's incredible in that she's all about her 'family', yet vicious when anyone gets in her way. There's no doubting the inventive ways she picks on people; and that bar is set from the very first episode when she makes Piper Chapman pay for her comments about the food.
She is the mafia don in Litchfield, with crazy solutions to all sorts of problems. I think you end up rooting for her simply because she is the prison's best (and sometimes worst) problem-solver.
What I also like is that the writers often give hard-hitting home truths for Red to say. She's the one who points out that there is no equal relationship between an officer and an inmate. The truth is with Red.
Gloria, on the other hand, is a much more subdued character. She sneakily became my favourite, probably through her no-nonsense attitude and general apathy towards stupidity. She's a mighty smart cookie, who looks after her 'family' as best she can. Gloria isn't as fleshed out as Red, nor does she get the same amount of screen time, but when she's in frame she holds your gaze. She is tough as nails, as is evidenced from all the crazy stuff that happens in the kitchens.
Gloria is another maternal figure who you do not want to get on the wrong side of - she can be pretty aggressive when she wants to be. I can't quite put my finger on what makes her so interesting; it's more to do with this incredible presence that Selenis (who I don't think I've ever seen before) brings to the screen and to the character.
Honestly, these two ladies are clubbed together because they're more alike than they think - loyal, charming, funny, snarky, immovable, maternal and active.
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| Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) from Captain America: Civil War and Porthos (Howard Charles) from The Musketeers |
Of course the film turns all of that on its head. The writers immediately put these two disparate characters on an even keel by displaying Sam's compassion - he gets Cap in a way none of Cap's Avengers' team-mates ever will. These two have been in wars (albeit 70-odd years apart) and they understand the hardships that come from being in one and then being without one.
It takes an incredibly secure person to fight beside Captain America, and you can see from their initial interactions that Sam is very in control of his life. He gladly volunteers to help out Cap, the consequences of which he suffers in CA:CW (but Sam being Sam, he probably still won't blame Cap for being a huge part of the reason he ended up in a hell-hole of a prison).
All of this is greatly helped by the fact that Sam Wilson is played by Anthony Mackie, an actor who has numerous PC issues off screen, but is crazy charismatic on it. Barring 'Sunbeam' above, this list has never seen a wider smile than Mackie's at the end of 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'.
Another unlikely favourite of mine is Porthos from the BBC production of 'The Musketeers'. If I remember correctly, a number of people were up in arms about there being POC actors in the lead roles. The writers have used this new Porthos' heritage for story purposes. How successful it is, is debatable, but then again, that could be said about the entire show.
In the three seasons of the show, Porthos has been quite an outstanding character. He's not just a big brute, he has a kindness to him and his loyalty to his captain, fellow Musketeers and especially to his country, is to his credit. He's also an unending source for quips and hilarity, which adds to his likeability.
I didn't think Porthos would be such a strong favourite from the show. I've realised, however, that the more I internally crib about a character's lack of on-screen time and action scenes, the more that's a sure sign that this person is a favourite of mine. And that's pretty much how I felt for most of the second season. It seemed like every time there was a battle, Porthos was on the sidelines or departing to protect the people. There were a lot of 'no wait, you can't leave!' moments when I was watching because he's yet another character who brings incredible amount of gravitas to his scenes.
Season 3 picked up on all the varied aspects of his character and focused on his tactical intelligence as well. Not for nothing, Athos is virtually in tears near the end of the season when Porthos' brilliance saves so many lives. It's great to see that Porthos got a happy ending for both his professional and personal life at the end of the series.
One could say there is absolutely nothing in common with these two, but one would be surprised. Just take a look at the pictures above - these ladies mean business!
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| Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) in Agent Carter and Tastee Jefferson (Danielle Brooks) from OITNB |
When first I met Peggy Carter, it was in 'Captain America: The First Avenger'. Initially, I didn't like the film or Peggy, but something clicked a few years later and a venture back to the film made me fall in love not just with it, but also with Peggy.
Hayley's Peggy is a strong, funny, unabashedly brave character. CA:TWS established her as one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D. and that right there put her on a pedestal far higher than the other female characters in the MCU. Peggy is self-made. Her abilities are her own, even though, according to season 2 of 'Agent Carter', it was her brother who needed to nudge her into using her abilities.
Despite that, she is as smart as she is strong, and her show shone a light on the lack of gender balance in not only Peggy's world, but also our world. One of the saddest thoughts when the show first began was the realisation that after the war ended, Peggy's talents were no longer recognised. But once she sees an opportunity to get back in the game, she takes it with both hands. She is hard to outwit as Carter's nemeses in her two seasons learnt the hard way.
The fact that a female character who was written originally as a love interest for one film only, ended up doing cameos in 3 others and got her own show (albeit for only two seasons) goes to show you just how well McFeely and Markus wrote her in CA:TFA and how enigmatically Hayley brought her to the screen.
All of this is helped by the fact that Hayley herself comes across as a grounded woman with a very modern outlook on equality and women. She and Peggy are often hard to disengage, so intertwined are their personalities.
While I'm the first to admit that season 2 didn't reach the high expectations of its preceding season, it still riles me that the show was cancelled. Poorer shows with worse plots and writing have made it further, but where in 2016 we are still grasping for shows with credible female leads, one with a beloved character is taken away. How is that fair? Who knows if we'll see Peggy again; for now we can just imagine her adventures.
Another no-nonsense lady you do not want to mess with is OITNB's Taystee. This is a character so far removed from my regular favourites, I'm still trying to wrap my head around what I like about her.
But let's just start with the obvious. Taystee's a big girl who doesn't give a damn about anything. She's sure of herself and king of the Litchfield castle (and the TV, if I remember correctly). Her storyline at once subverts and reinforces the African-American narrative. Growing up in foster home after foster home, you'd expect her to end up in jail. What you wouldn't expect is for her to be incredibly well-read, super-smart and a genius with numbers. And the writers thankfully show us she's smart, rather than just tell us that.
Add to that her bubbly personality, chipper advice and fierce convictions and you've got yourself a character who deserves all the love. It's not a surprise then that she gets hit on by not one, but two of the Litchfield inmates (does Suzanne count?). She has such a compelling personality, she could possibly take over the script if the writers tried harder.
At the same time, she is loyal to a fault. That's a trait that crops up a lot with me. That and snark, and Taystee's got that down pat too. Her friendship with Poussey Washington has been a highlight of the series, which makes her aggressive reaction in the final episode of season 4 understandable yet frightening. She sets off a prison-wide riot all on her own and last we saw Litchfield Penitentiary it was at the mercy of getting on Taystee's wrong side. Let's see where it all goes next season.
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| D'Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino) in The Musketeers and T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) from CA:CW |
One of the best things about D'Artagnan is Constance, his love interest. Throughout the series, he has proclaimed an unwavering respect for her, one that surpasses simple love and lust. It would help if the writers showed us more of this than just told it to us. But this isn't the best written show on the planet, so one cannot expect too much. It's a welcome change from a male characters constantly remarking on their love interests' looks rather than their brains and personalities.
Aside from the fact that Luke is an incredible looking person, D'Artagnan is hilarious at times and earnest at others. He's quick to defend his comrades and the innocent, but speaks his mind when needed. He's a confident young man who starts off his journey with a duel with a Musketeer, but easily fits into the group once the misunderstanding is cleared up. I'm really glad the writers didn't write him as a cocky rookie who is constantly shot down or cut down by the veterans around him. It's far more appealing to see a young soldier taking to his duties so quickly, and for his friends and his captain to appreciate and acknowledge that. And it is no surprise then, that he takes his new role at the end of the series with extreme humility - it is a testament to the character and the writers that they made it all believable.
Starting on a similar path is Marvel's T'Challa. An age old character from the comics, Chadwick Boseman is the first person to bring the Black Panther to the live action screen. The first time we meet him, he is a vision of perfection - dressed in a dapper suit, framed against a beautiful city, he looks at peace and content with life. In the very next scene his world falls apart. CA:CW is as much an arc for T'Challa as it is for Iron Man, Cap and Bucky Barnes.
In a year that saw zero people of colour nominated for acting at the Oscars, we ended up with three superb black, male characters in one superhero film. T'Challa being the standout among them, especially since the character is from Africa, and not just an African-American.
T'Challa, in fact, comes out on top, mostly because he is the only character who takes the moral high ground. Just as with D'Artagnan, T'Challa tries to avenge his father's death, but is led to attack the wrong man. He joins the superhero war out of a sense of duty to his father and to his country. But, in the end, not only does he accept his mistake, but he finds it in himself to be the bigger man who isn't consumed by vengeance. Better still, it's his hidden and technologically advanced home country that provides refuge for Cap's renegade friends, including Bucky.
Chadwick was impressive in 'Get on Up', but somehow the serenity with which he plays T'Challa trumps even that effort (or it's just me and my love for comic book films).
D'Artagnan and T'Challa are two soldiers who share an apostrophe in their names along with charisma and dashing good looks, and they make for unforgettable characters.
Disclaimer to start with, I watched the 'Shadowhunters' TV show simply because of Harry Shum Jr. I didn't know any of the other actors, and didn't really care. Him I was interested in seeing. Magnus Bane is a character unlike most others. Flamboyant, confident, smart, world-weary and bisexual. Most importantly, for me anyway, is that he's played by a fine-looking fellow, which honestly doesn't happen often. If a show or film has to have a gay series regular, he is immediately not attractive - physically or existentially. A lot of media suffer from this trait; to list them out would take forever.
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| Magnus Bane (Harry Shum Jr) from Shadowhunters and Wes Gibbins (Alfred Enoch) from HTGAWM |
Honestly, what can I say - you could call me a secret fan. I watched a few episodes of 'Glee' once and realised the only good thing to come from the experience was watching HSJ's dance moves. They're spectacular. And he can sing too!
Magnus Bane easily rocks a plethora of makeup and accessories, some more successful than others, while also being the kind of person who can't let bygones be bygones. He's old as time (exaggeration, but who cares) and has seen and done it all. Yet, all he needs is a bright new spark, which comes along in the form of closeted Shadowhunter Alec.
HSJ's chemistry with co-star Matthew Daddario works in favour of their romantic tension. Some people read Magnus' portrayal on the show as tropey, but I think it's refreshing. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that most of the stuff I watch doesn't have gay characters or POC characters, so anything outside the norm is great to me.
Magnus could easily has been a white character, but the author, Cassandra Clare, wrote him as Asian. And thankfully the writers of the show didn't backtrack his ethnicity. Finding Asian characters in popular media is rare and finding one as a well-established, sane, romantic lead is rarer still. Magnus is not played for laughs, yet he's not too serious. It's a fine balance that makes the performance entertaining.
Now all we need is for him to burst into song and dance from time to time in season 2.
Another character who could have been white, but is not, is series second lead Wes Gibbins. HTGAWM, being a Shondaland production, has done a great deal to advance television's diversity quotient. But what's great is that the two main leads of the show are black!
Alfred Enoch's Wes hooked me from the very first episode. There's something in his soulful eyes that screams backstory. His chemistry with Viola Davis' Annalise suggested there was some connection we would eventually find out. And we did. Explosive!
It helps that Enoch is crazy, stupid fine (did I get the phrasing right?). Wes is the kind of character who doesn't smile much, nor lets his hair down. He's earnest and uptight, which adds to the mystery and reels you in more. It's evident he's clever and a quick thinker. He's not, however, as loyal or effervescent as Laurel, who is mentioned above. He keeps his cards close to his chest, not letting people in unless he has to. He's not overly aggressive either, which makes for a nice change from the usual portrayals of black characters.
I think, in Wes, we have a rare mixture of young, brooding and intelligent, while still acknowledging the fact that him being non-white has had (and will have) repercussions on his life. Especially considering the way season 2 ended, it's going to be interesting to see how the writers tackle Wes' development.
So, in 2016, it's nice to find that the eye candy veers away from being a thin, white cisgendered woman. Or is that just me?
I had heard and read a great deal about Starbuck and the controversial decision by the creators of the BSG reboot to turn the character female. I wasn't expecting much when I eventually sat down to watch the show last year, yet, I couldn't help but find myself drawn to Starbuck.
Katee's Kara Thrace is really like no other female character we've met before (might be different now that we have Gwendoline Christie in GoT). She's aggressive, yet loyal (that word again); a fantastic pilot, but a terrible team mate; a great friend, but a dreadful partner. She's a walking paradox, but she's allowed to be human and flawed and great all at the same time.
Despite the writers completely losing the plot after the first season, Starbuck as a human, angel, whatever, remains a compelling character, battling her own demons and issues. She gets to be cruel, kind and unpredictable, without anyone judging her because of her gender. She's great at what she does, and she lets her arrogance get the better of her. We may not always like her, which is exactly what makes her even more unique. You just don't get enough unlikeable female characters.
Having said that, Starbuck is mostly a good person with good intentions. She can and did successfully get out of a lot of scrapes on her own. In the beginning of the first season, she single-handedly gets herself out of a near-death situation. Where her colleague Apollo goes into complete depression after the one time we see him near death, she continues as if nothing happened. You get the feeling there's nothing Kara can't get out of - even when she's imprisoned by crazy Cylon Leoben, she makes killing his clones a daily routine. That's... not at all disturbing.
What also worked for me was that Starbuck does not want to have kids. She doesn't even like them - though she is kind enough to interact with the ones who come near her. Not enough shows or films tackle this issue. It's like all female characters must love kids and want them in the future, otherwise they can't be written. It's no wonder Starbuck came out as the fan favourite.
So, by now everyone knows that someone died on 'Orange is the New Black'. I'd read a headline mentioning that, but here's the thing, I didn't see it coming. I usually catch foreshadowing or easy tells that writers insert in scenes for characters about to die (Bucky Barnes in 'Captain America: The First Avenger' or Pietro in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' were clearly headed for dead ends). But with OITNB I just couldn't have guessed who was going to die or when.
So when Poussey Washington (Samira Wiley) is accidentally (and unfortunately) killed by Officer Bayley (Alan Aisenberg), my head was still trying to compute it. It wasn't happening. Couldn't be. This was one heck of a weird turn for the writers to take. This is OITNB, you're supposed to laugh all day with it, not sit in complete shock.
But shock it was. Poussey, a character that sneakily wraps herself around your heart was given a ludicrous raw deal. She had just found happiness and the possibility for a job prospect once she got out. Now, she was dead.
In a year that's been wracked with accusations by commentators about the deaths of women characters, queer women characters and women characters of colour, it baffles me that the OITNB writers went down the same route. I still think OITNB is a superb show - one that mixes humanism and humour at every turn, but did they have to take their realism so literally and kill off a character that ticked all three of the above boxes? Doesn't help that Poussey was written as an unflappably good person. She was well-educated, spoke different languages, had a golden heart, was loyal to a fault and a really loving human. She'd just found love in Brook Soso, contentment when working with her idol Judy King; things were looking up for her. I can't remember ever not liking her; but I do remember really loving her personality.
So, all I can ask the writers at this point is, WHY???????????
OITNB has no dearth of characters of diverse ethnicities, genders and sexualities, but it still seems egregious to kill off a character who not only didn't deserve it, but added to the ever dwindling list of LGBTQIA+ WoC characters. That too in a year which will go down for its gigantic list of fictional female casualties. Laurel Lance, Lexa from 'The 100', Abbie Mills (played by Nicole Beharie, who was the freaking main character on 'Sleepy Hollow') are just some of the big names that got fridged. And let's not forget that 'Agent Carter' got cancelled because... people are the worst. I'm sure the list includes other characters from shows and films I don't watch, but suffice to say, it's been a bad year. For a more brilliant, in depth look, check out this article from TMS.
It seems like the more fans and commentators voice their opinions, the more studios and creators push back by killing off those very fan favourites; or diminishing their roles to such a state that the stars abandon ship thereby leading to the death of the character anyway. And more and more the fan favourites happen to be outside the norm, because unfortunately, the average human being is outside the norm of Hollywood standards.
I'm still going back to OITNB next season because unlike all the other shows listed above, this one has several more diverse women characters for us to get behind. The trouble with 'Arrow' et. al is that aside from say, Laurel, there aren't any other badass ladies I'm rooting for. 'Arrow' especially has gone downhill on representation and storyline because the stupid writers decided to do fanservice and make Olicity a reality and IT NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED. Olicity single-handedly brought about:
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| Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) in Battlestar Galactica and Poussey Washington (Samira Wiley) in OITNB |
Katee's Kara Thrace is really like no other female character we've met before (might be different now that we have Gwendoline Christie in GoT). She's aggressive, yet loyal (that word again); a fantastic pilot, but a terrible team mate; a great friend, but a dreadful partner. She's a walking paradox, but she's allowed to be human and flawed and great all at the same time.
Despite the writers completely losing the plot after the first season, Starbuck as a human, angel, whatever, remains a compelling character, battling her own demons and issues. She gets to be cruel, kind and unpredictable, without anyone judging her because of her gender. She's great at what she does, and she lets her arrogance get the better of her. We may not always like her, which is exactly what makes her even more unique. You just don't get enough unlikeable female characters.
Having said that, Starbuck is mostly a good person with good intentions. She can and did successfully get out of a lot of scrapes on her own. In the beginning of the first season, she single-handedly gets herself out of a near-death situation. Where her colleague Apollo goes into complete depression after the one time we see him near death, she continues as if nothing happened. You get the feeling there's nothing Kara can't get out of - even when she's imprisoned by crazy Cylon Leoben, she makes killing his clones a daily routine. That's... not at all disturbing.
So, by now everyone knows that someone died on 'Orange is the New Black'. I'd read a headline mentioning that, but here's the thing, I didn't see it coming. I usually catch foreshadowing or easy tells that writers insert in scenes for characters about to die (Bucky Barnes in 'Captain America: The First Avenger' or Pietro in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' were clearly headed for dead ends). But with OITNB I just couldn't have guessed who was going to die or when.
So when Poussey Washington (Samira Wiley) is accidentally (and unfortunately) killed by Officer Bayley (Alan Aisenberg), my head was still trying to compute it. It wasn't happening. Couldn't be. This was one heck of a weird turn for the writers to take. This is OITNB, you're supposed to laugh all day with it, not sit in complete shock.
But shock it was. Poussey, a character that sneakily wraps herself around your heart was given a ludicrous raw deal. She had just found happiness and the possibility for a job prospect once she got out. Now, she was dead.
In a year that's been wracked with accusations by commentators about the deaths of women characters, queer women characters and women characters of colour, it baffles me that the OITNB writers went down the same route. I still think OITNB is a superb show - one that mixes humanism and humour at every turn, but did they have to take their realism so literally and kill off a character that ticked all three of the above boxes? Doesn't help that Poussey was written as an unflappably good person. She was well-educated, spoke different languages, had a golden heart, was loyal to a fault and a really loving human. She'd just found love in Brook Soso, contentment when working with her idol Judy King; things were looking up for her. I can't remember ever not liking her; but I do remember really loving her personality.
So, all I can ask the writers at this point is, WHY???????????
It seems like the more fans and commentators voice their opinions, the more studios and creators push back by killing off those very fan favourites; or diminishing their roles to such a state that the stars abandon ship thereby leading to the death of the character anyway. And more and more the fan favourites happen to be outside the norm, because unfortunately, the average human being is outside the norm of Hollywood standards.
I'm still going back to OITNB next season because unlike all the other shows listed above, this one has several more diverse women characters for us to get behind. The trouble with 'Arrow' et. al is that aside from say, Laurel, there aren't any other badass ladies I'm rooting for. 'Arrow' especially has gone downhill on representation and storyline because the stupid writers decided to do fanservice and make Olicity a reality and IT NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED. Olicity single-handedly brought about:
- The demise of Felicity as an actual character not defined by her affiliation with a man
- The reduction of Spartan's role to pretty much no substance (upped only slightly in Season 4)
- The erasure of Lyla's role to wife and mother who occasionally appears to be part of Argus
- Less action time for Speedy
- Zero character development and eventual demise of my favourite Laurel
The trouble is most film and television casts look like 'Arrow' and the average MCU movie, than they do OITNB, which is a problem. So every time Hollywood and the many studios in charge of our daily entertainment kill off a female character, chances are high that she's your favourite and that she was one of kind in that show.
Gotta stop this Hollywood. It's getting tiresome. Goodbye Poussey, you were an awesome character.
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| I don't suppose anyone in Litchfield has any resurrection powers... |
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