You mean when fans make the character an icon or representative symbol for a cause, and when the writer kills the character off - the fans feel the writer betrayed not only them but their cause? No, not really. I know what you mean about Tara, but Ianto was different. If you look at any number of characters that Joss killed off, then they're all tragic, and unless you have a heart of stone, you'll be sad. Look at... oh Buffy killing Angel. Even though we know he's coming back, Buffy's pain is upsetting. What happened with Ianto was different. Yes the Jack/Ianto ship had a huuuuuge following, and it *was* turned into a cause (although declaring that a gay writer is 'homophobic' because he killed off one half of a slashy pairing is... not wise) - but people were *hurting*. It even hurts now, and it's a personal thing, because *I* lost the character. I'm also - relatedly - sad about the 'ship, but that's entirely secondary. Jack's grief was merely a mirror of my own, not the thing that caused me upset. Not everyone reacted like that, of course, but enough people did for there to be created that memorial. It's sort of hard to describe what Ianto was, because in many ways he was so ordinary. Yet he hit *something*... I tend to fall for characters like Spike or the Doctor or River or Angel. Larger than life, immortal heroes with messed up lives. Ianto was all too human and mortal, and I don't think I'll ever fall for another 'ordinary' character again, quite simply because it hurt so much when I lost him. It sounds stupid, but I mourned him.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2013-03-23 11:13 pm (UTC)No, not really. I know what you mean about Tara, but Ianto was different. If you look at any number of characters that Joss killed off, then they're all tragic, and unless you have a heart of stone, you'll be sad. Look at... oh Buffy killing Angel. Even though we know he's coming back, Buffy's pain is upsetting. What happened with Ianto was different. Yes the Jack/Ianto ship had a huuuuuge following, and it *was* turned into a cause (although declaring that a gay writer is 'homophobic' because he killed off one half of a slashy pairing is... not wise) - but people were *hurting*. It even hurts now, and it's a personal thing, because *I* lost the character. I'm also - relatedly - sad about the 'ship, but that's entirely secondary. Jack's grief was merely a mirror of my own, not the thing that caused me upset. Not everyone reacted like that, of course, but enough people did for there to be created that memorial. It's sort of hard to describe what Ianto was, because in many ways he was so ordinary. Yet he hit *something*... I tend to fall for characters like Spike or the Doctor or River or Angel. Larger than life, immortal heroes with messed up lives. Ianto was all too human and mortal, and I don't think I'll ever fall for another 'ordinary' character again, quite simply because it hurt so much when I lost him. It sounds stupid, but I mourned him.
Does that explain it?