Illyria and Fred and things
Jun. 7th, 2010 04:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snick_backupDid anyone ever notice how Wesley's father and Fred's father are both named Roger?
Grr. You know the big rallying "Save our Fred!" scene in A Hole in the World? The one where Spike says, "No. Not this girl. Not this day," and you want to ask him who he is and why's he's channeling Aragorn?
I hated that scene when I saw it. Hated it. 'Cuz Fred's a sweetie and a person, but no more a person than any of those other people we good guys are supposed to be saving. You see, boys, this is what happens when the feminine contingent of your team is reduced to one (plus a vampire of questionable loyalties). You lose all perspective. She isn't just another person, a valued team member, for Lo! she is Woman! and Must Be Saved!
(In fact, I think I'd have been much less annoyed with Fred in S5 had she not been the only woman in S5. I mean, I'll always like Cordelia more than Fred, but if Cordelia were there at least it'd take some of the pressure off of being the lone representative of female kind.)
In related news, writing from Illyria's POV is hard. Part of my problem, I think, is that I tend to write a very tight third person POV, which means if the character doesn't know/notice/realize such-and-such, neither does the reader. But Illyria isn't particularly observant and her frame of reference is so alien that it makes conveying a narrative a bit difficult. Plus, there's the whole dual identity issue. I think I'm going to have to change tactics somehow.
Grr. You know the big rallying "Save our Fred!" scene in A Hole in the World? The one where Spike says, "No. Not this girl. Not this day," and you want to ask him who he is and why's he's channeling Aragorn?
I hated that scene when I saw it. Hated it. 'Cuz Fred's a sweetie and a person, but no more a person than any of those other people we good guys are supposed to be saving. You see, boys, this is what happens when the feminine contingent of your team is reduced to one (plus a vampire of questionable loyalties). You lose all perspective. She isn't just another person, a valued team member, for Lo! she is Woman! and Must Be Saved!
(In fact, I think I'd have been much less annoyed with Fred in S5 had she not been the only woman in S5. I mean, I'll always like Cordelia more than Fred, but if Cordelia were there at least it'd take some of the pressure off of being the lone representative of female kind.)
In related news, writing from Illyria's POV is hard. Part of my problem, I think, is that I tend to write a very tight third person POV, which means if the character doesn't know/notice/realize such-and-such, neither does the reader. But Illyria isn't particularly observant and her frame of reference is so alien that it makes conveying a narrative a bit difficult. Plus, there's the whole dual identity issue. I think I'm going to have to change tactics somehow.
