A girl's allowed to change her mind.
Jan. 1st, 2007 02:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apocalypsosSo I've been wanting to talk about how my feelings about Deb as a character have changed since I sat down and wrote Use Your Illusion, Too, but, you know, since the authors were supposed to be a secret I had to shut my trap for a while. ;)
Here's the thing. A lot of the comments I got on that story made a point of saying that either people didn't like Deb or she just wasn't their favorite character. And I kept wondering if it was for the same reason I didn't like her at first, because really, how oblivious can you be? How can you know TWO serial killers and not KNOW you know two serial killers? Honestly, what are the odds?
The thing is, I don't dislike her so much now that I think about it.
First of all, the chances of anyone meeting a serial killer, much less two, are astronomical. Well, unless you're in law enforcement (which she is) or they're a team or share a connection (which Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer do). She was targeted by one because of her protection by the other.
The fact that she didn't/doesn't suspect either one of them is also a little annoying, especially considering how quickly a lot of fans realized Rudy was the Ice Truck Killer. But Deb's perspective isn't as one of the audience, she's a character in the story. If serial killers were so easy to identify, they wouldn't become serial killers in the first place. Dexter is too close to home. I mean, seriously, who would ever want to think that the only family they have left is a serial murderer? And Dexter was trained by the best -- Harry's lessons make it easy for Dexter to pass, because he's always had that training on how to pretend to be normal to fall back on. Even Dexter's pointed out that if he were going to feel a connection to anyone, it'd be to Deb, and he shows as much in the season finale. Why would Deb even want to consider such a thing? She loves Dexter, probably more than she tries to show simply to make up for the fact that he's never been all that emotional.
Rudy, on the other hand, played on every one of her insecurities. She wants a committed relationship, she wants to get married, she wants to be in love. He pinged on every single one of those and distracted her from every hint of something wrong with charm and the right words. Of course she's not going to want to think or even suspect that Rudy is the Ice Truck Killer -- in her mind, she's never been given any indication that he might be, and she's already shown herself to be pretty oblivious relationship-wise earlier in the season with the married boyfriend.
I think a lot of the problem is that she's just not a very good cop. Not that that's a crime, but she isn't. Oh, I'm not saying that she doesn't love being a cop or that she doesn't work hard at her job, but really, compare her to Doakes who suspects Dexter is psychotic and Angel who picked up on the prostitute at the club with the painted fingernails and LaGuerta who was so focused on being a good cop that she pissed off the chief. Hell, even Dexter's a better cop than she is and he's not even technically a cop (although that's more because he knows the criminal mind better than most cops ... heh). She's an okay cop, occasionally observant, gutsy, gregarious and hard-working but lacking in self-confidence, desperate to prove herself and prone to angry overemotional reactions. Truth be told, she's probably the most average person in the department.
I'm not saying I love her right now. Mostly, I like her a lot better than I used to, but I think I still wince a little because she can't recognize what's been right in front of her all along. On the other hand, lots of normal people are like that.
Here's the thing. A lot of the comments I got on that story made a point of saying that either people didn't like Deb or she just wasn't their favorite character. And I kept wondering if it was for the same reason I didn't like her at first, because really, how oblivious can you be? How can you know TWO serial killers and not KNOW you know two serial killers? Honestly, what are the odds?
The thing is, I don't dislike her so much now that I think about it.
First of all, the chances of anyone meeting a serial killer, much less two, are astronomical. Well, unless you're in law enforcement (which she is) or they're a team or share a connection (which Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer do). She was targeted by one because of her protection by the other.
The fact that she didn't/doesn't suspect either one of them is also a little annoying, especially considering how quickly a lot of fans realized Rudy was the Ice Truck Killer. But Deb's perspective isn't as one of the audience, she's a character in the story. If serial killers were so easy to identify, they wouldn't become serial killers in the first place. Dexter is too close to home. I mean, seriously, who would ever want to think that the only family they have left is a serial murderer? And Dexter was trained by the best -- Harry's lessons make it easy for Dexter to pass, because he's always had that training on how to pretend to be normal to fall back on. Even Dexter's pointed out that if he were going to feel a connection to anyone, it'd be to Deb, and he shows as much in the season finale. Why would Deb even want to consider such a thing? She loves Dexter, probably more than she tries to show simply to make up for the fact that he's never been all that emotional.
Rudy, on the other hand, played on every one of her insecurities. She wants a committed relationship, she wants to get married, she wants to be in love. He pinged on every single one of those and distracted her from every hint of something wrong with charm and the right words. Of course she's not going to want to think or even suspect that Rudy is the Ice Truck Killer -- in her mind, she's never been given any indication that he might be, and she's already shown herself to be pretty oblivious relationship-wise earlier in the season with the married boyfriend.
I think a lot of the problem is that she's just not a very good cop. Not that that's a crime, but she isn't. Oh, I'm not saying that she doesn't love being a cop or that she doesn't work hard at her job, but really, compare her to Doakes who suspects Dexter is psychotic and Angel who picked up on the prostitute at the club with the painted fingernails and LaGuerta who was so focused on being a good cop that she pissed off the chief. Hell, even Dexter's a better cop than she is and he's not even technically a cop (although that's more because he knows the criminal mind better than most cops ... heh). She's an okay cop, occasionally observant, gutsy, gregarious and hard-working but lacking in self-confidence, desperate to prove herself and prone to angry overemotional reactions. Truth be told, she's probably the most average person in the department.
I'm not saying I love her right now. Mostly, I like her a lot better than I used to, but I think I still wince a little because she can't recognize what's been right in front of her all along. On the other hand, lots of normal people are like that.
