Post by alwayscrazedbatbfan on Jan 25, 2016 17:19:13 GMT -5
That is my actual ultimate problem in a nutshell with Brad Kern and my concern going into S4: the gosh darn awful choices he has the characters make. Joss Whedon did the same thing with Buffy, which made me stop watching it, as well as Angel Season 2. (Although, had Angel remained and not gotten his own show, I would undoubtedly have plowed on through due to my love of Buffy/Angel as a couple).
Brad Kern (and Joss) somehow think we actually want to see our characters fall from grace in order to see them rebuilt, supposedly better than ever. Personally, NOT a fan of this approach. The idea that we somehow have to LOSE moral integrity and make bad choices to be better makes NO SENSE to me and is NOT necessary to personal growth.
I still defend Catherine's actions in part because she is still a good moral character overall. YES, she made horrendously bad choices in S2. However, like others before me have noted, she began Season 2 as a traumatized wreck. She had wrestled all through Season 1 with having to lie to her partner and others. She had "swan-dived so far off the cliff" (like others, I used the snow break to re-watch BATB, although I went with my beloved Season 1!) that she struggled with each and every decision in order to try to come out on the right moral side of things and uphold the law.
But look where all her S1 care and actions got her: Vincent kidnapped right under her nose. Then returned brainwashed and missing EVERYTHING that we had loved about him.
So enter Season 2. For all intents and purposes, Catherine had a complete breakdown while Vincent was missing. She didn't care about her job, her health, nada. The good choices left her broken, and the constant revelations of Season 2, ESPECIALLY the lies and friends and family made her question everything. At least, she questioned everything but what she SHOULD have actually questioned. Since she kept getting betrayed right and left, she basically began making selfish decisions. Because in the end, everyone had lied and betrayed her at some point. So all she had was herself. And she chose he-who-is-icky-wrong because deep down, she had to know that she couldn't really love him right then. But she couldn't love ANYONE, let alone herself, after Vincent's betrayal. Their love was epic and everything, yet Vincent seemingly easily enough threw it away (yeah, yeah. I know. Vincent traumatized too. I get why he made all the same bad wrong choices as Cat---again BK loving the broken bad).
So if Epic Love only brought you ruin and heartache and breakdown, then the natural rebound choice is seemingly to go for a relationship that can't break you--one without love. And Vincent had certainly made that choice first, thank you very much, with she-who-shall-not-be-named, who was half his age, very isolated and troubled, abused by her father, AND had just had her father's heart torn out in front of her by the guy she was lusting after. That is ALL KINDS of messed up. ONLY BK would do this, is all that can be said on that.
So bad choices abounded during Season 2, all to let VinCat know that they really should just be together. Rather sorry reasons for being together, in that your previous choices were crazed, immature or just plain evil (or a combination of those).
While S2 used Trauma to justify bad choices, you still got the last part of Season 2, where Catherine and Vincent really proved they DID love each other and WOULD see any horror thrown at them in order to be together. Their love was worth whatever personal sacrifices that had to be made. Once again, it returned to EPIC LOVE status.
Only to then have Season 3 seemingly show that VinCat might not have learned much of anything from Season 2. THERE was my frustration. Because once again, Epic Love didn't seem to be so epic. It seemed like such a fragile state that Cat felt she had to lie from episode 1 because Vincent couldn't handle the truth. And I then got frustrated with Vincent for going off in a pout, sulking on the houseboat, and not even talking to the person who literally DUMPED her career all over again at the end of S2 in order to run off with him and risk everything to clear his name. AND THEY WEREN'T even LIVING together at that point, when V had allowed the Horrible Her to instantaneously move into the houseboat with him, and Cat had basically been living with Gabe from the get-go of their relationship. So Season 3 started out all WRONG for me, and continued on in that same vein, with Vincent and Cat allowing every little thing to get in their way. Cat seemed just angry and stubborn the whole season to me, as if she got back her Season 1 spine at the expense of her good common sense.
So YES, I worry about what Season 4 will bring us. Obviously, we can tell from what has been released that Vincent will, once again, be the object of a conspiracy. So how VinCat HANDLES that will HOPEFULLY be MUCH different from S2-S3 and much more like Season 1 and the tale-end of Season 2. I NEED to see that EPIC love again, WITH VinCat choosing to make GOOD CHOICES TOGETHER, with trust on BOTH sides. Neither needs to be doubting the other at this point. But based on the pictures we ARE getting, it looks like they sacrifice to stay together. So HOPEFULLY, BK and staff HAVE learned what Beasties actually, truly want. Only time will tell. But I am BEYOND FRUSTRATED with BK's deconstruction and destruction of what I found to be Epic. I really want to believe in S4. (And this hiatus is also killing me as well.)
Brad Kern (and Joss) somehow think we actually want to see our characters fall from grace in order to see them rebuilt, supposedly better than ever. Personally, NOT a fan of this approach. The idea that we somehow have to LOSE moral integrity and make bad choices to be better makes NO SENSE to me and is NOT necessary to personal growth.
I still defend Catherine's actions in part because she is still a good moral character overall. YES, she made horrendously bad choices in S2. However, like others before me have noted, she began Season 2 as a traumatized wreck. She had wrestled all through Season 1 with having to lie to her partner and others. She had "swan-dived so far off the cliff" (like others, I used the snow break to re-watch BATB, although I went with my beloved Season 1!) that she struggled with each and every decision in order to try to come out on the right moral side of things and uphold the law.
But look where all her S1 care and actions got her: Vincent kidnapped right under her nose. Then returned brainwashed and missing EVERYTHING that we had loved about him.
So enter Season 2. For all intents and purposes, Catherine had a complete breakdown while Vincent was missing. She didn't care about her job, her health, nada. The good choices left her broken, and the constant revelations of Season 2, ESPECIALLY the lies and friends and family made her question everything. At least, she questioned everything but what she SHOULD have actually questioned. Since she kept getting betrayed right and left, she basically began making selfish decisions. Because in the end, everyone had lied and betrayed her at some point. So all she had was herself. And she chose he-who-is-icky-wrong because deep down, she had to know that she couldn't really love him right then. But she couldn't love ANYONE, let alone herself, after Vincent's betrayal. Their love was epic and everything, yet Vincent seemingly easily enough threw it away (yeah, yeah. I know. Vincent traumatized too. I get why he made all the same bad wrong choices as Cat---again BK loving the broken bad).
So if Epic Love only brought you ruin and heartache and breakdown, then the natural rebound choice is seemingly to go for a relationship that can't break you--one without love. And Vincent had certainly made that choice first, thank you very much, with she-who-shall-not-be-named, who was half his age, very isolated and troubled, abused by her father, AND had just had her father's heart torn out in front of her by the guy she was lusting after. That is ALL KINDS of messed up. ONLY BK would do this, is all that can be said on that.
So bad choices abounded during Season 2, all to let VinCat know that they really should just be together. Rather sorry reasons for being together, in that your previous choices were crazed, immature or just plain evil (or a combination of those).
While S2 used Trauma to justify bad choices, you still got the last part of Season 2, where Catherine and Vincent really proved they DID love each other and WOULD see any horror thrown at them in order to be together. Their love was worth whatever personal sacrifices that had to be made. Once again, it returned to EPIC LOVE status.
Only to then have Season 3 seemingly show that VinCat might not have learned much of anything from Season 2. THERE was my frustration. Because once again, Epic Love didn't seem to be so epic. It seemed like such a fragile state that Cat felt she had to lie from episode 1 because Vincent couldn't handle the truth. And I then got frustrated with Vincent for going off in a pout, sulking on the houseboat, and not even talking to the person who literally DUMPED her career all over again at the end of S2 in order to run off with him and risk everything to clear his name. AND THEY WEREN'T even LIVING together at that point, when V had allowed the Horrible Her to instantaneously move into the houseboat with him, and Cat had basically been living with Gabe from the get-go of their relationship. So Season 3 started out all WRONG for me, and continued on in that same vein, with Vincent and Cat allowing every little thing to get in their way. Cat seemed just angry and stubborn the whole season to me, as if she got back her Season 1 spine at the expense of her good common sense.
So YES, I worry about what Season 4 will bring us. Obviously, we can tell from what has been released that Vincent will, once again, be the object of a conspiracy. So how VinCat HANDLES that will HOPEFULLY be MUCH different from S2-S3 and much more like Season 1 and the tale-end of Season 2. I NEED to see that EPIC love again, WITH VinCat choosing to make GOOD CHOICES TOGETHER, with trust on BOTH sides. Neither needs to be doubting the other at this point. But based on the pictures we ARE getting, it looks like they sacrifice to stay together. So HOPEFULLY, BK and staff HAVE learned what Beasties actually, truly want. Only time will tell. But I am BEYOND FRUSTRATED with BK's deconstruction and destruction of what I found to be Epic. I really want to believe in S4. (And this hiatus is also killing me as well.)
The only thing I get is their the fake deaths but don't like it - I don't want BATB to end! 
(I live in hope) 
and lots of tissues and chocolate.....
