TV Shows - All the Rambles

Just some random talking to myself.

Beauty and the Beast

This Beauty and the Beast is pretty different from other adaptations. Of course, there's no questioning that the "Beauty and the Beast" tale has been retold many times with a different focus each time. Unlike the original, this 2012 BatB doesn't really deal with a guy being transformed so that his outward appearance matches his inward personality and he has to learn to be a better person. In fact, BatB 2012's "beastly" aspect isn't about deceptive appearances at all. It takes a more paranormal romance-ish route in that Vincent Keller is somewhat like the werewolves in Teen Wolf or vampires in something lik True Blood--he's fundamentally a decent guy but always worried about what happens when he loses control. And unlike, say, Twilight, he is legitimately dangerous when he does lose control.

But I think comparisons to paranormal romances like Twilight are disingenuous. What strikes me is that BatB 2012 reinvents the wheel in that it doesn't focus on looking past appearances at all; it's a story about two people who have been through traumatic situations that have changed them, and how they cope and build a relationship with each other. It's about Cat accepting Vincent because she sees the good in him and is willing to work with him through his "issues"; and, in an interesting gender subversion of the usual cliché, Vincent is the one who deals with feelings of not being worthy of her. In the first few episodes, yes, there's the old "I must stay away from you to protect you!" dilemma which I really hate. But I was pleasantly surprised in that the show quickly moved beyond that.

(I also have to admit that I vastly prefer Cat/Vincent to Belle/Rumpelstiltskin from OUAT. It's one thing to believe in the good in someone; it's another thing to keep insisting that a person who keeps showing voluntary violently sociopathic tendencies can become good.)


Elementary

I honestly didn't know that Elementary was so popular in terms of ratings. I still leap at the chance to watch new episodes because I love the interactions between Watson and Holmes, but let's face it, the mysteries themselves are pretty subpar. A lot of them involve increasingly ridiculous/extreme situations that stretch the suspension of disbelief past the breaking point.


Once Upon a Time

My love/hate relationship with this show continues. PoC characters continue not to be treated well (Mulan is consistently sidelined every time she has a chance to be the main character, and she's just so mean and unlikeable, plus she actually has no reason to owe a "debt" to Philip), and this time our genderflipped Jack (of "Jack and the Beanstalk" fame) has been reduced to a love interest for James (real James, not replacement James/Charming/David) who is actually introduced in her lingerie (what is this I don't even) and rapidly killed off and abandoned by her lover. Not to mention her totally fanservice-y outfit.

Characters - When it's okay to be a douche & Romance

Another BatB post. I haven't fan-ed so hard over a show since Teen Wolf...

*SPOILERS THROUGH EPISODE 12*

Recently in "Beauty and the Beast," there's been this love triangle going on with Cat liking Vincent and Vincent torn between Cat and Alex. If anyone's been reading through my Throne of Glass sporks, they'd know that I hate romantic plot tumors and usually romantic plots in general with an undying passion. I also happen to LOATHE love triangles. And while, yes, I was rolling my eyes at the screen during the Alex subplot, and while I did think Vincent was being a total douchebag...the thing was...BatB's love triangle actually worked for me.

I should mention that one of the reasons why it worked was that it only lasted for about two and a half episodes. That aside, I actually can understand Vincent's desire to return to his old life and his old self. One of the central themes of the show so far is how experiences can change people and how people deal with that change, and while Vincent hasn't been excessively angsty (thank goodness), it is pretty clear that he often hates what he's become and wishes he could go back to being a normal guy. Alex, to him, represents his old life and his old self, and he desperately wanted to hold onto that ideal. And that's something I think people can relate to.

Another part of it is that Vincent (when not beasting out, and when not being subject to fugue episodes) throughout the show so far has been an amazingly nice guy, but he's not perfect. No one is. He said some things to Cat that he shouldn't have, and the show makes it clear that he was wrong. I'm assuming that the next couple of episodes will deal with how he's trying to make it up to her. It's one thing if he acted like a douche towards Cat and the show portrays Cat as being wrong and she has to buy her way back into his good favors (which, unfortunately, is what a lot of YA novels do these days...*shudder*), but that's not what BatB does at all.

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So I was starting to think about romance in general in fiction. Like I said, I'm normally a horribly jaded, cynical person when it comes to romance in fiction and generally my hopes are only "please don't let the romance be misogynistic, please let the romantic leads bond over something other than their mutual hotness, and please don't let the romance take over the plot." It says something that I've been massively disappointed in terms of these criteria by nearly every single book I've read since middle school.

So the last thing I expected was to begin watching BatB and start shipping Cat and Vincent like whoa. I did say that I had a soft spot for romances between no-nonsense girls and angsty guys, but I wanted to think about what made their romance work for me, and what I wish I could see more of in YA fiction.

- Romantic leads bonding because of their personalities. People, this isn't a revolutionary concept. BatB is full of Cat and Vincent trying to solve cases/problems, having cute conversations, and sympathizing with each other. Yes, both Cat and Vincent are good-lookin', but that was hardly the first thing they noticed about each other when they met.

- No misogyny. I also can't really believe I have to say this on the one hand, but I've seen this way too often in YA fic on the other hand to ignore it. Cat and Vincent protect each other, and their relationship is fairly balanced. Yes, Vincent does watch over her (though not when she sleeps) and occasionally follows her around to talk to her, but it never comes off as creepy or stalkerish. He's a massively nice guy who doesn't even think less of Cat when he sees another guy kissing her. (Although granted, they're not really in a relationship yet.)

- You know how to win me over with romance? Show me the guy being unable to sleep because of his feelings. Show me the guy trying to woo the girl to win her over. Show me the romantic leads comforting each other and telling each other that they have value That's what I call romantic, not steamy makeout sessions or the romantic leads trying to tear each other's clothes off every five minutes.