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enemyofperfect) wrote2018-02-14 06:13 pm
enemyofperfect) wrote2018-02-14 06:13 pm
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I've been working my way through season one of Flashpoint
And so far I think "Planets Aligned" is my favorite.
(Spoilers through 1x09!)
It's this perfect storm of Tatiana Maslany unsurprisingly brilliant guest performance, a Jules episode that doesn't just show some of what it's like to be the only woman on the team but really starts to unfold her character, and how beautifully respectful the show is of Penny, from Greg's pep talk -- Now, the first thing to remember: there will be nothing simple about her feelings for her captor ... By now, Penny's got a belief system that has helped her survive whatever it is she survived, and it's not your job to tear that down -- to how joyously the camera watches Jules help Penny reconnect with her memories of her life before, to her parents carefully waiting until Penny chooses to come to them.
I also really appreciate how marked it feels when Ed breaks from the scripts of deescalation to contradict the kidnapper/rapists's assertion that his desire for happiness makes him just like everyone else. Ed's been having a rough couple of months, hasn't he? But on any other show, taunting the armed perp would be absolutely par for the course. The difference is amazing.
Sometimes this show's depiction of toxic masculinity frustrates me, even though it's clearly anything but uncritical -- "Asking For Flowers", where all the guys give Wordy a hard time for watching an insufficiently manly movie, secured my instant investment in the Wordsworth family while also diminishing my respect for the rest of the men. There's something so disorienting about a team where every member may be called upon to perform expert emotional labor in the name of saving lives, but joking that Wordy needs "to shoot something" to shore up his crumbling masculinity remains perfectly acceptable. And yet, is his very sensitivity part of why Ed goes on to ask to him for parenting advice -- before rejecting it on the grounds that raising a boy is nothing like raising girls, and later mocking Wordy for crediting his wife with teaching him something?
There's this intense ambivalence that would probably be fascinating to analyze in depth, but a little too uncomfortable for me to wholeheartedly dive into, at least so far.
Meanwhile, though, I'm loving this new insight into Jules' character. In the very first episode, she tells Ed that he did the right thing, he got the bad guy, it was a clear win, and the contrast with the complexity of what Ed himself feels about it is stark. But now we see more of the bigger picture -- her discomfort with tests she doesn't know how to beat, her worry that reaching Penny is a challenge she can't meet, and also how bravely she tries anyway, and how rightfully proud of herself she is afterwards. She might be scared of uncertainty, but she's still so willing to learn. And that is something worth respecting.
(Spoilers through 1x09!)
It's this perfect storm of Tatiana Maslany unsurprisingly brilliant guest performance, a Jules episode that doesn't just show some of what it's like to be the only woman on the team but really starts to unfold her character, and how beautifully respectful the show is of Penny, from Greg's pep talk -- Now, the first thing to remember: there will be nothing simple about her feelings for her captor ... By now, Penny's got a belief system that has helped her survive whatever it is she survived, and it's not your job to tear that down -- to how joyously the camera watches Jules help Penny reconnect with her memories of her life before, to her parents carefully waiting until Penny chooses to come to them.
I also really appreciate how marked it feels when Ed breaks from the scripts of deescalation to contradict the kidnapper/rapists's assertion that his desire for happiness makes him just like everyone else. Ed's been having a rough couple of months, hasn't he? But on any other show, taunting the armed perp would be absolutely par for the course. The difference is amazing.
Sometimes this show's depiction of toxic masculinity frustrates me, even though it's clearly anything but uncritical -- "Asking For Flowers", where all the guys give Wordy a hard time for watching an insufficiently manly movie, secured my instant investment in the Wordsworth family while also diminishing my respect for the rest of the men. There's something so disorienting about a team where every member may be called upon to perform expert emotional labor in the name of saving lives, but joking that Wordy needs "to shoot something" to shore up his crumbling masculinity remains perfectly acceptable. And yet, is his very sensitivity part of why Ed goes on to ask to him for parenting advice -- before rejecting it on the grounds that raising a boy is nothing like raising girls, and later mocking Wordy for crediting his wife with teaching him something?
There's this intense ambivalence that would probably be fascinating to analyze in depth, but a little too uncomfortable for me to wholeheartedly dive into, at least so far.
Meanwhile, though, I'm loving this new insight into Jules' character. In the very first episode, she tells Ed that he did the right thing, he got the bad guy, it was a clear win, and the contrast with the complexity of what Ed himself feels about it is stark. But now we see more of the bigger picture -- her discomfort with tests she doesn't know how to beat, her worry that reaching Penny is a challenge she can't meet, and also how bravely she tries anyway, and how rightfully proud of herself she is afterwards. She might be scared of uncertainty, but she's still so willing to learn. And that is something worth respecting.