This deserves a better response than I have time to give it right on my lunch break, but in sum...
His man!pain is a problem for me when it oversteps the other aspects of the show. I was worried it would be worse than it was. Character angst is one thing, man!pain from a character who was killed specifically to give a character this man!pain is another. It's cheap writing. It's flattening things out, over simplifying them, and fitting them into a very overused trope. And, quite frankely, killing a woman to do it is a total game changer. Why should I care about Reese's man!pain more than anything else? Luckily, the episode featured other characters reacting too, in a way I was very happy about. I expected, from the promos, it to be much more about him. I'm glad it wasn't. Carter was important and dear to all of them, and I'm glad they acknowledged that.
Speaking for myself and in general, it's not that I'm deploring the male characters. I like them fine. I like them quite a lot, actually. And Reese and Finch in the scene with Quinn was beautiful and I was so happy for it. I like a good dose of angst just fine. But when it's at the expense of the women (Carter, Jessica, Grace), at the expense of the arcs and plot development, when it's a walking cliche, I start to give no shits, and I start to get angry. We can do better than this. Reese can too.
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His man!pain is a problem for me when it oversteps the other aspects of the show. I was worried it would be worse than it was. Character angst is one thing, man!pain from a character who was killed specifically to give a character this man!pain is another. It's cheap writing. It's flattening things out, over simplifying them, and fitting them into a very overused trope. And, quite frankely, killing a woman to do it is a total game changer. Why should I care about Reese's man!pain more than anything else? Luckily, the episode featured other characters reacting too, in a way I was very happy about. I expected, from the promos, it to be much more about him. I'm glad it wasn't. Carter was important and dear to all of them, and I'm glad they acknowledged that.
Speaking for myself and in general, it's not that I'm deploring the male characters. I like them fine. I like them quite a lot, actually. And Reese and Finch in the scene with Quinn was beautiful and I was so happy for it. I like a good dose of angst just fine. But when it's at the expense of the women (Carter, Jessica, Grace), at the expense of the arcs and plot development, when it's a walking cliche, I start to give no shits, and I start to get angry. We can do better than this. Reese can too.
:)