For Alex - The Battle Continues - S1 Ep 3

 First off, this isn’t a post about having a go at Alex but he is the focus of the post so other characters actions aren’t addressed. The comments on this post are specifically about Alex’s actions in this ep only. Holding Alex to account for his actions is not blaming him for his actions. I love Alex Manes. He is a great character whose been through a lot. But you can be a great character while still having flaws (all the great characters do, it’s usually an integral part of what makes them great). So this looks at one sequence in the show where Alex unintentionally hurts someone else. It doesn’t make him a bad person, but it is unrealistic and does a disservice to his character to ignore those flaws and the consequences they bring. Because it is working on, and overcoming our flaws that let’s us be better people. 

 

Some thoughts on Ep 3. The thing that makes the drive-in scene so painful is that it starts off so hopeful. Alex knows he hurt Michael earlier at the Airstream when Isobel turned up. He didn’t mean to, but when he so emphatically shut down the idea of Michael telling Isobel about them, he just added weight (unintentionally) to Michael’s sense of not being good enough, of not being public worthy, of being good enough to fuck, but not good enough to be seen in  with.

 

So when Alex comes up to Michael at the drive-in, making the first move, I think he does so with the best of intentions. He knows he hurt Michael and this is him attempting to make it up to him. To show him he’s not afraid to be seen with him in a very public setting - one tied very closely to both of them - Isobel for Michael and the military for Alex.

 

The framing of the whole drive-in sequence is interesting. Unlike so many of their interactions, this one takes place in outside in daylight. Alex is wearing light cloths (white patterned shirt, light denim jacket - so different to the dark, blend in colours he usually wears), it’s a fun family event. Everything says lightness, happiness, fun. It’s as positive environment as they have ever been in together. 

 

Yet, as the sun sets and the light darkens, so does the mood. We know what’s coming as soon as we see Alex and his father interact. The bile that Jesse spouts has just enough truth in it to get its hooks into Alex. He knows what his father is, he knows what he’s capable of, yet even knowing all this, Alex succumbs to it. Because despite everything that has happened, Alex still isn’t ready, he still isn’t able to break away from his father. He is a work in progress. He’s still fighting that battle, he is yet to win it.

 

And this is what makes the whole sequence so heartbreaking. Alex has gone in with the best of intentions to do right by Michael, but all he succeeds in doing is wrecking him further. Raise his hopes, then dash them. And the absolute worst part is that Michael isn’t surprised - he’s resigned. He hoped for a different outcome but he didn’t really expect it. But even knowing all this, he still let Alex in, he still gave him another chance. And he always probably will, because for Michael, Alex is that person, the one person he will never be able to deny, because as he so simply states, they’re cosmic.

(Comments encouraged and welcome)

Similar But Not So Easy - Michael and Maria

 One of the things that I think draws Michael and Maria to each other is that they both identify as outsiders, and they are both looking for something “easy”.

 

When Maria is talking to Liz (after Alex has called Liz out for being a bad friend for not knowing what was going on in Maria’s life), she talks about how she wanted to be the fun friend. She doesn’t want to put her problems on other people. She’s been brought up as a self-reliant, independent woman, raised by a single mother who was also self-reliant and independent (which we learn is a family trait).

 

While she had a loving and happy home life, she still had a sense of not belonging. She grew up feeling like her and her mum were the only black people in the world. Which probably reinforced her sense of both independence and isolation. While Maria is more integrated into the community as the owner of the locals bar, you get the feeling that she still feels somewhat isolated from the rest of the community, apart in some way. Which is why she’s so happy when her people - Liz and Alex - return to Roswell.

 

Michael is also very reluctant to let others know he is struggling or needs help (understatement of the YEAR). Michael has had to become self-reliant in order to survive. He puts up a front of self-reliance and toughness, that he uses to protect himself both physically and emotionally. If he doesn’t let anyone in, they can’t hurt him.

 

But also for Michael, his self-reliance and independence is framed in terms of an overwhelming need to not be a burden to those around him. I can hear more than one of his foster parents calling him a burden, not worth the money that looking after him brings in. And this has carried over into his adult life. He parses all his relationships by what he can bring to them in terms of usefulness. Because that’s the only experience he has - that people only want him around for what he can do for them. His experience of love and affection has always been conditional. This sort of plays into what I think is Michael natural helping/service orientation. And it just doesn’t occur to him (and why should it, given the majority of his experiences?) that people might want him around because they like him.

 

So Michael makes decisions based on not being a burden to people, afraid that if he becomes too much trouble, they will cut him out of their lives - often by leaving him - either physically or emotionally.

 

And this whole mind-set is then reinforced by the need to keep a low profile, to not stand out, to be as ordinary as possible. All of which means not asking for help, dealing with things by himself.

 

So for both of them, the other person is someone uninvolved in their issues. Michael really doesn’t know much about what is going on with Maria (apart from knowing that Mimi “wanders”) and Maria obviously has no idea about the alien thing (and is only now just beginning to get an idea of where Alex fits in Michael’s life). So compared to everyone else, to each other they are basically baggage/burden free. Michael can be just the rough and tumble local mechanic who drinks a little bit too much and Maria can be the fun and sexy local bar owner. They know each other enough to be interested but not enough to bogged down by the past.

 

But it is a relationship essentially built on lies of omission. And when those unvoiced truths become known, then the easiness of their relationship will become just another complication.

(Comments always encouraged and welcome)

Why Michael Doesn't Chase

 Shortest meta ever. 

 

One observation about Michael and Alex’s dance that I interpret differently to a lot of people in fandom is why it is that Michael never chases after Alex or rarely initiates things between them. 

 

It’s consent.

 

Nearly every interaction between them in S1 ends with some form of Alex telling them they aren’t together and that he doesn’t want them to be together. This isn’t an anti-Alex comment, it’s just how their interaction play out. 

 

Michael not chasing after Alex or not initiating contact is then interpreted as him not caring as much. But I think it’s the very opposite. Michael is someone who has had his agency and consent denied for a lot of his life. And he’s seen the same thing happen to Alex. 

 

So when Alex says they’re over, or that he doesn’t want Michael around, Michael respects that. He takes Alex at his word. He respects Alex’s wishes. Because explicit consent is important to both of them. 

 

Pursuing someone who has said they don’t want you to isn’t romantic, it’s dis-empowering and disrespectful. 

 

So I see Michael listening to what Alex wants and respecting that as a sign of strength, because we know how much he wants to be with Alex. But he respects what Alex wants, even when it hurts. And that is strength, not weakness. 

 

OK, not such a short meta after all.


(Comments welcome and encouraged)

Carina Can't Win

Epiphany time.

I just worked out why a lot of the Carina hate annoys me so much.

 

A lot of the criticism of Carina focuses on her not addressing various issues raised in the show in enough depth. On the surface this is a valid concern. But, and it’s a big but, Carina is being punished for doing a really important thing that we complain is so often lacking in film and television - diversity.

 

She has given us a very diverse cast of characters in terms of race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, education, ability.

 

She has given us a diverse cast of actors in terms of race, ethnicity, sexuality (and possibly other things).

 

She has given us a diverse story line addressing some serious social and political issues that are impacting people right now - racism, homophobia, bisexual visibility, immigration, health and education inequality, inter-racial relationships, scientific independence, women’s rights, redemption as an achievable goal etc

 

Roswell, New Mexico is the intersectional show we’ve all been demanding and now that we’ve got it people seem to spend all their time complaining how it’s not perfect or intersectional enough or something.

 

There is never going to be enough time for the show to deal with all the issues it raises in the detail/depth they deserve. That’s just a matter of practicalities. The only way for that to happen would be for each character to get their own show, each with a 3 season run.

 

But sometimes it’s enough for a show to just give an issue a positive representation, even at a superficial level (DM me if you want me to rant at you about why I will forever love Shemar Moore and SWAT).

 

Imperfect representation is better than none - as long as it doesn’t turn into stereotypical or damaging representation (and yes, perfect would be better but sometimes it’s dolly steps). That naming of something can be the all important foundation that others can build something better, something deeper on.

 

I’m not saying that Carina or the show is above criticism. There is always room improvement. And there have been some issues or representation that she admits wasn’t done well and that will need to be corrected.

 

And when there is criticism of it’s often vague and not specific. They generally boil down to different versions of “she’s not writing the character how i want them to be.” And it’s fine to feel that way but let’s not act like it’s anything more than an opinion. 

 

Yes, Carina can be frustrating but she’s given me what I know is going to be one of my favourite shows ever, so I don’t really care. 

(Comments encouraged and welcome)

Canonical Polyamory in “Black Sails”

Some thoughts on the depiction of polyamory in Black Sails (up to end of Season 2).

 

This was written very quickly for posting on a discussion site, so it isn't particularly in depth. As such when I have time I may return to it to make some additions. It only covers until the end of Season 2.

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The first season is pretty much focused on setting up characters and lots of pirate stuff, with the three main sets of romantic relationships being introduced. However, Season 2 sees those relationships being explored in more depth and in the case of two of them, expanding. So that at the half way point of Season 2, two of the three romantic story lines in the show are about poly triads.

 

The first is between Rackham, Anne and Max (female). Rackham and Ann are a long established pirate couple. At the beginning of Season 2, Anne acts on her attraction to prostitute Max. Initially, Rackham isn’t involved but this changes and eventually the three are together sexually. We see this relationship develop in real time and things aren’t all smooth sailing. Rackham is worried that he is loosing Anne, someone who he has been with for the majority of their lives. But he offers her the freedom to explore the new relationship with Max. Eventually, Anne invites both Max and Rackham to her bed. While they both accept, initially they aren’t involved with each other, only with Anne but when they do start to develop their relationship physically, Anne then feels threatened. This is further exacerbated when pirate politics forces Rackham to choose Max over Anne.

 

The second triad is between main characters Captain Flint, Miranda Barlow and the previously unseen Thomas Hamilton. This relationship is revealed via flashbacks. From the beginning of the show, we are aware of the deep relationship between Flint and Miranda. We are also aware that the two share a strong connection forged in the past, the details of which we don’t know. Season 2 starts to fill in the blanks about both Flints past (about how/why he became a pirate) and the truth of his relationship with Miranda. We find out that Miranda Barlow is in fact the wife of Thomas Hamilton, son of Lord Hamilton, all of whom move in the top most circles of political and social power in England.

 

Thomas and Miranda are involved in the salon movement of the Enlightenment, drawing the socially inferior Flint into their inner circle. And eventually into their beds. Flint is involved sexually and romantically with both Thomas and Miranda, but with hints that Miranda and Thomas’ relationship isn’t sexual or not as sexually focused as that between Flint and Thomas, but that’s just a guess at this stage. The nature of the relationship between Miranda and Flint during their time in England is not detailed but they do appear to have a sexual relationship later while on Nassau.

 

The third relationship depicted is between pirate Charles Vane and Eleanor Guthrie, who acts as middleman between the Pirates and legitimate merchants on the island of Nassau. This is the most volatile relationship in the show, being on-again, off-again. This is the second relationship that Eleanor is depicted as having on the show. The first one is with Max, and therefore established Eleanor canonically bisexual.

 

So, why do I call this a poly-positive show? It doesn’t play any of these relationships for cheap laughs or titillation. All the people and relationships are shown as complicated, evolving and meaningful to those involved. They are explored by showing how each of the characters struggles with their feelings and how their decisions on how to pursue these feelings impact on their lives - sometimes with dramatic and tragic results.

 

Another interesting thing is that it shows these poly relationships developing at completely opposite ends of the social, political, and economic spectrum - the top and bottom (or even outside) of English society. The relationships are undertaken by those with everything to loose (Flint and the Hamiltons') and those with nothing to loose (socially - Rackham and Anne). They portray the characters as flawed, insecure, selfish, loving and many other things, in other words, real people, not stereotypes.

 

Another positive, the poly relationships are central to the story line but they aren’t exploitative. They are key to what happens to the characters but aren’t highlighted in a finger pointing way or negative way. Bad things happen to the characters, and sometimes their relationships are part of the cause for their misfortune, but never the only cause and often only an excuse to further the political or financial gains of their enemies.

 

So, I’m really hoping the show continues in its current vain because while it won’t win any Oscars, it’s a good bit of fun (mostly, it does take the odd dark turn now and then) and it’s one of the few shows with any sort of poly relationship depicted and part of the even smaller group that shows them in a positive way.

Available on AO3 - Canonical Polyamory in “Black Sails”

(Comments always welcome and encouraged)