Episode Discussion 3x10

[orockthro]

Well dudes, it's that time... tonight is the final ep of the three parter, episode 3x10, "The Devil's Share." Let's talk about it!

Spoilers below! 

It's been a rough week, my poi buddies. <3 Are we all still here? 

Comments

[aprilvalentine]

I must be out of step. Everywhere I go I see complaints about Reese suffering
man!pain. Why is this wrong and why is it surprising for a character who has done and seen and killed as much as he has? Why is it a bad thing to have a male character suffer these days? Especially on this show which certainly isn't a light hearted romp every week about saving some unfortunate number and then Reese having all the happy feels.

I know I'm in the "older fan" demographic but this would have been the highlight for me and my peers back in the day. (Case in point, Starsky's girlfriend was shot by a bad guy and lingered through the episode, dying on screen at the end, and we didn't even mind he loved her and nor that we had just met her in that episode, cause Hutch was right there in tears along with him and they both suffered the man!pain in that and many episodes. It's still considered a top ep today and I've never seen anyone in that fandom, even the newer, younger fans deploring the male characters' angst.) Reese was bleeding out, suffering silently, wincing manfully and not one word was said along the lines of "oh, I'm so crushed cause my love is dead!" so why the furor over this?

It is the repetition? He said he was happy mid season two so this means he can't have any more pain no matter what happens now? Is it just because of it being Carter being fridged to caus his pain? Or just in general? Even before Carter died I was seeing comments around fandom about how the "while male characters man!pain" was not what they were watching for. Should it be all about the female pain being showcased, is that more fair or feminist? It wouldn't ring true to me if Reese was a stoic cardboard character who never flinched or couldn't be hurt emotionally. It makes me feel as though some might consider that my -- what? appreciation? -- should be considered some kind of character flaw on my part.

[orockthro]

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.

:)

[aprilvalentine]

Yes, that much I understand, and back in the 70s with Starsky's murdered girl of the week, it was already a cliche (you've heard of the Bonanza syndrome) but even though she was not only killed for him to suffer, she was created for that purpose. We were weaker then, as fans, I suppose. We acknowledge the flaws in the episode now, but still, nobody says "I hate that episode cause it was all contrived for Starsky's man!pain." FWIW. (they do refer to her as "Saint Terry" lol)

What's interesting is that while a lot of us feel that it wasn't overdone in The Devil's Share and that it was a tribute to the feelings of all the team, others complain that there wasn't "enough" reaction on Reese's part or that we weren't shown him talking about it or sobbing or something so that there wasn't a "payoff" -- and how many fans thought Finch had no reaction whatsoever (his sad face was the same as someone else falling on the ground crying)! This show has for over 2 years now specialized in not putting everything on the screen and leaving stuff for our imagination. We don't need to see Reese punch a guy to know it happened when we see the baddie fall through a plate glass window. Knowing Reese was off looking for Quinn and taking no prisoners while shot himself tells me he was suffering, yet I think some wanted it all out there specified, which would have cheapened it more. For many fans, especially those who held Carter most dear, sadly, it will never be right or enough.

I guess no matter how much we love Fusco, killing him instead wouldn't affect Reese in the same way, even if he was mad about it. And we can't lose Finch, plus we've seen how Reese reacts to him being in danger already. I do agree that they could and should write in such a way that the angst for Reese, or any of the male characters, is organic and not "how do we hurt him this week?"

Thanks for taking time on your lunch to reply. Now for me, it's back to that turkey in my oven.