And now that I'm caught up with Monday night TV ...

[apocalypsos]

I've already said as much in poisontaster's review post but I'm genuinely creeped out by the Claire/West storyline, and not for the reason I imagine Kring wants me to be. Kring wants me to be creeped out because West was taken by the Company (and Bennet in particular) and it's entirely possible that he's using her to get to her father. Bennet was standing right there when West nearly hit her with his car in the premiere -- it's not outside the realm of possibility that West thinks that he can get to HRG through Claire, that she doesn't know what her father does/did for a living, and was shocked to discover her abilities, since it just makes what HRG did to him completely hypocritical in his eyes. I don't like his behavior at all but I get it -- I mean, how would you behave if your abductor suddenly moved into the neighborhood? Sneaking around and being a jerk to his kid aren't exactly outside understanding.

What I haaaaate in this plotline is Claire's reaction to his behavior. He harasses her, he won't leave her alone, he acts like a jerk, he stares through her window and practically outs her in her biology class, but oh, he can fly so let's make out! And in part we're supposed to understand that this sudden connection is due to the fact that he is a "freak" like her, and therefore she's willing to forgive him and ... oh, they're kissing! Aw, isn't that cute?

Uh, NO. I'm really getting sick of seeing these male characters on TV who decide they're going to approach a woman, are rebuffed, and just keep going. And I'm not talking about being persistent, I'm talking about avidly pursuing someone to such an extent that a real woman would file a restraining order. I just keep thinking about how grateful I was that I gave up Studio 60 when I found out about the extent to which Bradley Whitford's character pursued Amanda Peet, even after she told him she had no interest in him, did not want to pursue a relationship with him, and wanted him to stop. What really pisses me off about storylines like that is that it not only gives off the impression that a woman will go out with you eventually just as long as you keep harassing the hell out of her, AND that what girls really want are assholes who stalk them leading to those oh-so-fun nice-guy discussions where we have to say, "No, it's not that we won't date nice guys, it's that we won't date YOU -- big difference," and yet STILL don't get listened to, but it's also an annoying double standard.

Imagine if Claire were a male character and West were female. He tells her to leave him alone and she won't. She leaves him books on his doorstep and peeks through his window. She outs him in biology class. Her behavior wouldn't be portrayed as romantic, it'd be portrayed as pathetic or scary or bitchy.

It's particularly jarring considering that they really did go there with Candice and make her overweight under her illusion-self. Right now I'm really not liking the female situation on Heroes:

-- Janice and Heidi? Gone.
-- Claire has fallen in with her stalker out of a desperate need to be around someone like her.
-- Candice is dead, and the facade of her beautiful self faded away to her "ugly" reality.
-- Caitlin, while sweet, isn't being given much to do other than clean up blood and be *there*, like that wife that's waiting at home for the soldier to come back from the real action. (Even in the robbery as a getaway driver, she barely even gets to do that.)
-- Mrs. Bennet, while awesome, still really is the wife that's waiting at home for the soldier to come back from the real action.
-- Niki is going to try to have her strength taken away.
-- Molly is still a little girl who needs protecting by Mohinder and Matt.
-- Hiro's princess needed to be saved by him and has since spent most of her time fawning over Kensei.
-- Maya needs her brother to protect her and keep her from killing other people.
-- Mama Petrelli is the one woman who's been given a chance to be inwardly strong this season, and at the rate we're going would anybody really be surprised if she did get killed off?
-- The Casting Spoiler of Extreme Overexposure (Do you know what it's like for me? It's like the song "Hey Delilah". It's very pretty, I really do like it, and yet the local radio stations overplayed the fuck of it and now I can barely stand to listen to it), from the descriptions I've seen of her character, is not giving me great hopes of Kring and company suddenly changing their tune.

It's just this vibe that Heroes has been giving off for me -- not just recently, but this season it's been worse. It's possible I'm being oversensitive about the whole thing, and we haven't even gotten to see Nichelle Nichols in action yet, although considering she is Nichelle fucking Nichols I'm hopeful I'll be much more comfortable with her than I've been so far this season with the behavior of the female characters on this show.

*sigh*

Oh, and did you notice the guy in Mexico was driving Claire's car? HEE!

Okay, I'm good now. :)

*****

Well, it took long enough but I'm finally liking Chuck's home situation and Morgan as well. As annoying as he can be he was really trying to help Chuck get that promotion by encouraging the others, which was good. (Aaaand after "Speak for yourself," I now want to write girlsmut with Anna from the Nerd Herd and ... I don't know, whoever. Sarah's free.) And they've really gotten better at expressing that it's less Ellie and Captain Awesome that are problematic and more that it's Chuck's self-esteem that strains the relationship. And that for his vague dopeyness, Captain Awesome is fairly nice and encouraging to Chuck. I don't know a lot of guys who'd treat their girlfriend's loser brother/roommate so good. I may go back and amend my Yuletide submission for Captain Awesome fic, because that fourth option I gave (to replace my Pride and Prejudice bunny because it wasn't on the list ... *sigh*) was less something I wanted and more something I didn't NOT want. If that even makes sense.

Also, flying toasters! Adam Baldwin fucking ROCKS.

*****

I continue to love Journeyman, which means it'd probably be cancelled next week. Considering my luck, something's got to go eventually and that's on Yahoo's list of shows that'll probably go first, so. *shrugs*

Okay, have to go finish that thing I was working on yesterday. Here's hoping I can get it done by the time I have to go to work.

P.S. It's October and eighty degrees outside. Dear summer, I think you're stalking me so I'm leaving you for autumn. You can keep the bath towels. Love and other indoor sports, me.

Comments

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Well, for now they're gone. And all we get is a casual mention of their divorces/separations. We're not seeing them now, I imagine from what I've heard that we will find out what's up with the divorces, but then what? I mean, just because their children show up doesn't necessarily mean we'll see their moms.