30 Days of TV: I wish you had believed me.
Jul. 6th, 2010 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
infinitejestDay 30 - Saddest character death
There are a couple that have deeply affected me: I cried pretty hard over Starbuck's sudden dissolution in Battlestar Galactica; it was just so sudden and largely inexplicable and she was so lost. I also spent some time crying over Fred in Angel, and I'd just like to say Joss Whedon is an asshole who really likes to milk character deaths for maximum pain. In keeping with that, Joyce's death in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was also deeply affecting. (As was Buffy's death - possibly the most affecting of all, but it was also the only correct and true conclusion to S5. Plus, she came back.)
However, when I tried to determine which one had been the worst, the saddest, and the most infuriating, there was really only one answer:
John Locke.
I truly felt that Lost revolved around both Jack and Locke, rather than just Jack. The show rewarded this belief right up until the fifth season finale. John Locke found so much fulfillment and revelation on the Island; at least, he thought he did. His entire life had been a barren struggle in the face of loss after loss, some self-inflicted. He was dealt a raw deal, and all he wanted was to find his way to be part of something beyond himself when he'd lost everything dear to him. He wanted to become subsumed by the Infinite and thus be transfigured.
He found that on the Island: he was physically healed. He had a chance to make a difference in so many lives, especially his own. He was going to be with us until that shining end, and sail through the Island's mysteries with us.
Instead, he was manipulated by a force he never had a chance to understand and hanged by a man who was more like him than either of them ever came to realize. He died, soundlessly begging to understand. And he never got a chance to come back.
No, a monster wore his face for the final season, tarnishing and twisting his memory. I dare say most viewers never grasped how tragic Locke's death really was, because they still saw him on screen week after week.
John Locke died in a shitty hotel room with useless legs at the hands of Benjamin Linus, his existence only contributing to the progression of Jack Shephard's destiny. And that, my friends, is fucking awful.
Quixote agrees with me, but wanted to mention another death that affected him deeply and when he was very young:
Adric.
He says this probably has something to do with his age, and that he was very young when he experienced Adric's death... so not used to the characters on his favorite shows dying. He was actually incredibly stunned and could not believe that Adric had been killed. That final shot is even ingrained in his memory: Adric's badge broken on the ground. He thought surely he would be back soon, and happy again, but no... there was never any more Adric.
30 Days of TV
Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite 'ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
There are a couple that have deeply affected me: I cried pretty hard over Starbuck's sudden dissolution in Battlestar Galactica; it was just so sudden and largely inexplicable and she was so lost. I also spent some time crying over Fred in Angel, and I'd just like to say Joss Whedon is an asshole who really likes to milk character deaths for maximum pain. In keeping with that, Joyce's death in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was also deeply affecting. (As was Buffy's death - possibly the most affecting of all, but it was also the only correct and true conclusion to S5. Plus, she came back.)
However, when I tried to determine which one had been the worst, the saddest, and the most infuriating, there was really only one answer:
John Locke.
I truly felt that Lost revolved around both Jack and Locke, rather than just Jack. The show rewarded this belief right up until the fifth season finale. John Locke found so much fulfillment and revelation on the Island; at least, he thought he did. His entire life had been a barren struggle in the face of loss after loss, some self-inflicted. He was dealt a raw deal, and all he wanted was to find his way to be part of something beyond himself when he'd lost everything dear to him. He wanted to become subsumed by the Infinite and thus be transfigured.
He found that on the Island: he was physically healed. He had a chance to make a difference in so many lives, especially his own. He was going to be with us until that shining end, and sail through the Island's mysteries with us.
Instead, he was manipulated by a force he never had a chance to understand and hanged by a man who was more like him than either of them ever came to realize. He died, soundlessly begging to understand. And he never got a chance to come back.
No, a monster wore his face for the final season, tarnishing and twisting his memory. I dare say most viewers never grasped how tragic Locke's death really was, because they still saw him on screen week after week.
John Locke died in a shitty hotel room with useless legs at the hands of Benjamin Linus, his existence only contributing to the progression of Jack Shephard's destiny. And that, my friends, is fucking awful.
Quixote agrees with me, but wanted to mention another death that affected him deeply and when he was very young:
Adric.
He says this probably has something to do with his age, and that he was very young when he experienced Adric's death... so not used to the characters on his favorite shows dying. He was actually incredibly stunned and could not believe that Adric had been killed. That final shot is even ingrained in his memory: Adric's badge broken on the ground. He thought surely he would be back soon, and happy again, but no... there was never any more Adric.
30 Days of TV
Day 30 - Saddest character death