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shadowkatToday was unseasonably warm (88-90F or 31-40 C), unlike last weekend which was unseasonably cold (54-13C). No wonder I've been getting headaches, right? Oh well supposed to be back to the 70s next week.
Been marathoning tv series all day.
This morning watched the season finale of Elementary (yes, I know, FINALLY), and the series finale of Merlin. Which my mother and I discussed for an hour over the phone, hence the reason I feel no need to discuss Merlin online. She liked it better than I did. She cried at the end, while I was unmoved. Don't get me wrong, I like Merlin, but I was disappointed in the finale. I wanted the reveal of who Merlin was to come a tad earlier.
It's odd but I thought the reveal on Elementary was a tad more rewarding than it was on Merlin, maybe because Elementary didn't feel the need to drag it out for five seasons?
Merlin Series Finale
Interesting series. Will miss it. Rather adored the three actors portraying Merlin, Arthur and Gwen. Also the relationship between Arthur and Merlin, along with the banter. In some respects I liked the relationships conveyed here and the characters of Merlin, Gwen, and Arthur portrayed in this series far better than in all the other versions I've read and seen of the myth. Arthur often comes across as a bit of a doofus in the other versions, and Gwen a niave romantic fool. With Merlin as a bit on the calculating side of the fence. Here, they went a different route. Which was refreshing.
Unfortunately the drawn-out plot and Wile E. Coyote depiction of Morgana in regards to both Arthur (Road-Runner) and Merlin( Bugs Bunny) began to get on my nerves and cause a sort of emotional distance. How many times did Merlin have to either save Arthur's life or almost kill Morgana, but not quite succeed?
It was inevitable that Arthur would die by Mordred's hand and Morgana by Merlin's. All the stories more or less lead up to that resolution. And here - the series pretty told us that was the direction they were going. I'd hoped it would end slightly differently. It didn't.
I also had hoped the reveal would come earlier in regards to who Merlin was. When it came, it felt...a bit manipulative. Although, on the plus side, at least it came before Arthur died and not just as he was dying. Arthur finds out who Merlin is a good three days before he dies. Granted he's sort of out of it - which may be a good thing, because if he hadn't been, he'd have tried to hurt poor Merlin or taken off. As it was...sort of a captive audience. Convenient that. But from my perspective the easy way out. (My mother and I debated this for an hour, well in between discussing my cousin and her new bulldog puppy named Princess Buttercup. She argued that there was no other way they could write it and while it may have been emotionally manipulative - it still worked and had great lines. She's right - it did.)
Best lines:
Arthur: How do you know there's no Saxon Threat ahead?
Merlin: I can see the path ahead.
Arthur: So you being a hapless idiot was another lie?
Merlin: No just part of the job.
or
Merlin: I didn't just save you because of who you are and for Camelot, I saved you because I cared about you - you are my best friend.
Arthur: Merlin, I don't want you to change who you are. When I'm gone, promise me, that you won't change.
or
Arthur: Why didn't you tell me?
Merlin: Was half afraid you'd chop off my head.
Arthur: I don't know what I would have done.
Merlin: Which is why I didn't tell you - I didn't want to put you in that position.
Arthur: Merlin, I going to say something I've never said before..."Thank You". Also when we get back I'm going to reward you with a day off, maybe two.
The series always had that dry sense of humor. Even the end, when we see a modern day England, with an old Merlin walking by the isle of Avalon.
While I loved Gwen, the middle section made the ending ironic. And not in a good way. Gwen becomes Queen. Yet in the middle of the season - she's attempting to take the throne by killing Arthur for Morgana...it was unsettling. That arc was not done well. But on the other hand at least Gwen and Arthur were together in the end and she hadn't left him or betrayed him as she did in the other tales.
Still - he dies too young here. The story felt a bit too abrupt. I thought it would have worked better if the series ended with them defeating Morgana...but alienating Mordred...and that threat looming, then rushing the wrap-up. Also Merlin seems still quite young as well, his story felt abrupt. As if the Arthur portion was just five years worth. Sure he made a lot of treaties with neighboring kingdoms, but the thing Merlin hoped for never quite occurred which was Arthur's acceptance of the Druids and magic in the land. It felt as if, in the end, Merlin's love of Arthur was more about Merlin and Arthur, and less about Merlin's desire for his people to be accepted. And Mordred's betrayal of both Merlin and Arthur for the Druid girl appeared to only cement Arthur's reasoning for not accepting the Druid's. Even when he discovers Merlin is a great sorcerer - Arthur balks and is initially repulsed. His feelings due change over the course of the three days they are together, but he is also dying. The reveal as I lay dying bit - is a tad cliche and didn't work for me.
But as I stated previously, it's better than not having the reveal at all - which I was afraid of.
The series ended like all the other versions. I knew it was going to end that way the moment Avalon was mentioned. Mordred deals Arthur the fatal wound, in part because Arthur hesitates before slaying Mordred. It's Arthur's hesitation that dooms him. In other versions - Arthur hesitates when it is revealed that Mordred is his son. In this one, which I preferred, he does it because he wants to trust him, to give him that second chance. But Mordred stabs him, and Arthur kills Mordred. The same thing occurs with Merlin and Morgana. Merlin hesitated in killing Morgana in the past, and as a result is doomed to kill her in the future. He admits that he is in part responsible for what she had become. In some respects I think Merlin is more responsible for Morgana, than Arthur is for Mordred. Merlin...in a way demonstrates the self-fulfilling prophecy, or why it is better not to know one's fate.
Eh, I'll miss the series. I liked the characters, even if the plotting was often uneven.
* Elementary
The season finale was better than I expected and even though I was partially spoiled, it did not ruin the episode. The reveal on Moriarty's identity wasn't the main point of the episode.
Clever twist - combining the characters of Irene Adler and Moriarity - making Holmes nemesis female, and a woman that he fell in love with. It also creates a nice set of mirrors or parallels between Holmes, Watson and Adler.
Holmes has to a degree idealized Irene and his relationship with her - to the extent that her presumed death devastated him in a way that Irene never intended. There are hints to Moriarty's identity throughout...the fact that Moriarity is obsessed with Holmes, refuses to physically injure or hurt him and won't allow anyone in the organization to do so. Gottlieb even states that at one point Moriarity had ordered Gottlieb to kill Holmes with a heroine overdose - nice and quiet. But suddenly that was called off, the plans scraped. And the order was given to leave Holmes alone. Later Proctor states that what screwed things up for him was Moriarty's obsession with Holmes and insistence that no one harm Holmes.
Moriarity pops back into Holmes life when Holmes begins to get too close to figuring out another of Moriarty's plots. But things start to back fire, when Moriarity gets caught up playing games with Holmes...
Holmes to Moriarty: We were both stupid. We fell in love.
They fell in love with their idealized counterpart. Moriarty saw in Holmes a man who like herself - was supersensitive to his surroundings, who knew too much. Who could observe minute details. Moriarty dealt with the super-sensitivity or brilliance - by shutting off empathy and becoming a sociopath. She cares about no one and sees people as games. She is the uber-Holmes, which Moriarty always was in the books. Holmes without empathy, without a soul.
Irene: Stop this. You see the small details. It drives you insane you must stop.
Irene: Sometimes when I close my eyes, I envision you when I think of Moriarity, I think you must do the same thing yourself. In your head - he's a version of you. If you weren't so intent in being his enemy, he would be your friend! Don't come after me, you'll never see "me" again.
And he doesn't. When next he sees her - she is Moriarty. And he denies it at first, even thought it makes sense. She faked her own death to mislead him. Assuming he would become obsessed with finding her killer and figuring out her murder - to pursue Moriarty or what she was really up to. It did not occur to her that he would self-destruct. She didn't understand his ability to feel guilt. She didn't expect him to blame himself for her death.
Which of course he did - he was too late, and she was gone.
Watson realizes Moriarty cares about Holmes, and the best approach is to let her win - but not in the way she meant.
Morarity: You like Puzzles, I like to play games.
Holmes: Why not kill me.
Moriarty: I wouldn't kill you. Not in a million years. You are unique. A work of art. And I appreciate art. But that doesn't meant I can't and won't hurt you. I will. Let Me WIN.
Watson realizes he should take it to the extreme, self-destruct, fake his own overdose - that will bring Moriarty out of the woodwork. And she is right - it does. Moriarty once again attempts to convince Holmes to run away with her. She'd convinced him as Adler - because he thought by doing so - he'd be protecting her and assauging his own guilt. But
now, when he fakes his overdose - and she tried to convince him to go with her, so she can fix him - show him how to live as she does, and not be an addict. He turns the tables on her - and she's caught in her own game. Stating Watson, the woman she had underestimated, out maneuvered her. Figured out that Moriarty cared about Holmes. And was afraid of destroying him.
As Holmes stated...falling in love with Holmes was Moriarty's downfall, and in a way Holmes downfall when he fell for her - but did they fall in love or was it a narcisistic sort of love - falling in love with one's own image. In a sense the relationship between Holmes and Watson, which is not romantic or sexual, is far healthier.
What I like about Elementary over the other versions of Sherlock Holmes - is the characters surrounding Holmes are not written as idiots. Watson is actually fairly bright and permitted to figure things out. Holmes is allowed to be vulnerable and fallible. And Gregson, the detective, is allowed to be clever. It's more realistic. Also not as misogynistic or chauvinistic. Women are allowed to bright, clever, and the hero as well as the nemesis.
In this finale - Adler is shown not to be the victim, but the murderer, the bad guy - the only one able to manipulate and elude the great Holmes, and Watson is allowed to be Holmes hero and the one who figures Adler out.
A feminist Sherlock Holmes, about bloody time.
* Been marathoning Falling Skies - which is better than expected and compelling. It's actually the best of the dystopian apocalyptic dramas to date, well with the exception of the brutally violent "Walking Dead". Actually I think Falling Skies is easier to watch than Dead, and less misanthropic, also has less torture scenes. Actually, I haven't seen any that I can think of - well they sort of tried to torture a gross spider/lizard alien (only to get killed in the attempt) but I consider that quite the same thing. I don't know about anyone else but if I can definitely go without having to see another torture sequence on tv. Seen far too many as it is. Seems 80% of the tv shows on have it. This is why I'm not watching Hannibal and The Americans, by the way.
I like the characters in the series - even if some of them are a tad on the cliche side of the fence. Some people get annoyed at soap cliches, I can spot at ten paces sci-fi cliches.
We have the hard-bitten military guy, whose older than everyone else and weathered, he's even called Weavers. The wet-behind the ears 16 year old kid who wants to kill aliens.
The tough gals with an attitude. But...the actors are decent and rather interesting.
Also there's some good monologues in there. I rather adored a conversation between a outlaw leader and the protagonist, the Prof of History, regarding whether an alien invasion is more like the Revolutionary War or the Eurpeaon Conquest of the Americas (or the invasion of Europe into the Colonies and how they dealt with the aboriginal natives). We're not revolutionaries, he tells the Professor, we're the Indians. I think he may be right.
And the series has some interesting things to say about what warfare, militarism, and constant fighting does to people. Revolution attempted the same thing but not as well and is written all over the place. This series is tighter - six episodes in.
The main goal at the start is to save the middle son of Noah Wylie's character (Tom). His middle son (Ben) was taken by the invaders, put in a harnass, and is a slave. Tom is rushing to save him before the harnass becomes part of him and he becomes part of the aliens. The first six episodes deal with various attempts to rescue and remove the harnass from Ben, with various distractions taking them away from their task. The fact that the Ben arc is resolved at the end of the six episodes is an accomplishment. And it a satisfying one.
Also, we get bits on all the other characters. While it is a bit emotionally manipulative in places (hello, Spielberg) and cliche in others, not overtly so.
At any rate I think I'll stick with it for a while longer...see where it goes. If it goes overboard with the alien F/X and gets gross or too violent, I'll jump away.
Speaking of uber-violence? I love HBO's description of this Sunday's Game of Thrones.
"Rob and his family go to Freys. And meet with the Frey's. Edmund meets his Bride. The Tully's and Frey's unite..." Hee hee. The tv show fandom, which has not read the books and is unspoiled, has no idea what it is in for. The Red Wedding is a coming.
I really wish I was on an unspoiled board for GoT- just so I could watch it explode Sunday night, because trust me, it most definitely will. Curious to see if they lose viewers.
Been marathoning tv series all day.
This morning watched the season finale of Elementary (yes, I know, FINALLY), and the series finale of Merlin. Which my mother and I discussed for an hour over the phone, hence the reason I feel no need to discuss Merlin online. She liked it better than I did. She cried at the end, while I was unmoved. Don't get me wrong, I like Merlin, but I was disappointed in the finale. I wanted the reveal of who Merlin was to come a tad earlier.
It's odd but I thought the reveal on Elementary was a tad more rewarding than it was on Merlin, maybe because Elementary didn't feel the need to drag it out for five seasons?
Merlin Series Finale
Interesting series. Will miss it. Rather adored the three actors portraying Merlin, Arthur and Gwen. Also the relationship between Arthur and Merlin, along with the banter. In some respects I liked the relationships conveyed here and the characters of Merlin, Gwen, and Arthur portrayed in this series far better than in all the other versions I've read and seen of the myth. Arthur often comes across as a bit of a doofus in the other versions, and Gwen a niave romantic fool. With Merlin as a bit on the calculating side of the fence. Here, they went a different route. Which was refreshing.
Unfortunately the drawn-out plot and Wile E. Coyote depiction of Morgana in regards to both Arthur (Road-Runner) and Merlin( Bugs Bunny) began to get on my nerves and cause a sort of emotional distance. How many times did Merlin have to either save Arthur's life or almost kill Morgana, but not quite succeed?
It was inevitable that Arthur would die by Mordred's hand and Morgana by Merlin's. All the stories more or less lead up to that resolution. And here - the series pretty told us that was the direction they were going. I'd hoped it would end slightly differently. It didn't.
I also had hoped the reveal would come earlier in regards to who Merlin was. When it came, it felt...a bit manipulative. Although, on the plus side, at least it came before Arthur died and not just as he was dying. Arthur finds out who Merlin is a good three days before he dies. Granted he's sort of out of it - which may be a good thing, because if he hadn't been, he'd have tried to hurt poor Merlin or taken off. As it was...sort of a captive audience. Convenient that. But from my perspective the easy way out. (My mother and I debated this for an hour, well in between discussing my cousin and her new bulldog puppy named Princess Buttercup. She argued that there was no other way they could write it and while it may have been emotionally manipulative - it still worked and had great lines. She's right - it did.)
Best lines:
Arthur: How do you know there's no Saxon Threat ahead?
Merlin: I can see the path ahead.
Arthur: So you being a hapless idiot was another lie?
Merlin: No just part of the job.
or
Merlin: I didn't just save you because of who you are and for Camelot, I saved you because I cared about you - you are my best friend.
Arthur: Merlin, I don't want you to change who you are. When I'm gone, promise me, that you won't change.
or
Arthur: Why didn't you tell me?
Merlin: Was half afraid you'd chop off my head.
Arthur: I don't know what I would have done.
Merlin: Which is why I didn't tell you - I didn't want to put you in that position.
Arthur: Merlin, I going to say something I've never said before..."Thank You". Also when we get back I'm going to reward you with a day off, maybe two.
The series always had that dry sense of humor. Even the end, when we see a modern day England, with an old Merlin walking by the isle of Avalon.
While I loved Gwen, the middle section made the ending ironic. And not in a good way. Gwen becomes Queen. Yet in the middle of the season - she's attempting to take the throne by killing Arthur for Morgana...it was unsettling. That arc was not done well. But on the other hand at least Gwen and Arthur were together in the end and she hadn't left him or betrayed him as she did in the other tales.
Still - he dies too young here. The story felt a bit too abrupt. I thought it would have worked better if the series ended with them defeating Morgana...but alienating Mordred...and that threat looming, then rushing the wrap-up. Also Merlin seems still quite young as well, his story felt abrupt. As if the Arthur portion was just five years worth. Sure he made a lot of treaties with neighboring kingdoms, but the thing Merlin hoped for never quite occurred which was Arthur's acceptance of the Druids and magic in the land. It felt as if, in the end, Merlin's love of Arthur was more about Merlin and Arthur, and less about Merlin's desire for his people to be accepted. And Mordred's betrayal of both Merlin and Arthur for the Druid girl appeared to only cement Arthur's reasoning for not accepting the Druid's. Even when he discovers Merlin is a great sorcerer - Arthur balks and is initially repulsed. His feelings due change over the course of the three days they are together, but he is also dying. The reveal as I lay dying bit - is a tad cliche and didn't work for me.
But as I stated previously, it's better than not having the reveal at all - which I was afraid of.
The series ended like all the other versions. I knew it was going to end that way the moment Avalon was mentioned. Mordred deals Arthur the fatal wound, in part because Arthur hesitates before slaying Mordred. It's Arthur's hesitation that dooms him. In other versions - Arthur hesitates when it is revealed that Mordred is his son. In this one, which I preferred, he does it because he wants to trust him, to give him that second chance. But Mordred stabs him, and Arthur kills Mordred. The same thing occurs with Merlin and Morgana. Merlin hesitated in killing Morgana in the past, and as a result is doomed to kill her in the future. He admits that he is in part responsible for what she had become. In some respects I think Merlin is more responsible for Morgana, than Arthur is for Mordred. Merlin...in a way demonstrates the self-fulfilling prophecy, or why it is better not to know one's fate.
Eh, I'll miss the series. I liked the characters, even if the plotting was often uneven.
* Elementary
The season finale was better than I expected and even though I was partially spoiled, it did not ruin the episode. The reveal on Moriarty's identity wasn't the main point of the episode.
Clever twist - combining the characters of Irene Adler and Moriarity - making Holmes nemesis female, and a woman that he fell in love with. It also creates a nice set of mirrors or parallels between Holmes, Watson and Adler.
Holmes has to a degree idealized Irene and his relationship with her - to the extent that her presumed death devastated him in a way that Irene never intended. There are hints to Moriarty's identity throughout...the fact that Moriarity is obsessed with Holmes, refuses to physically injure or hurt him and won't allow anyone in the organization to do so. Gottlieb even states that at one point Moriarity had ordered Gottlieb to kill Holmes with a heroine overdose - nice and quiet. But suddenly that was called off, the plans scraped. And the order was given to leave Holmes alone. Later Proctor states that what screwed things up for him was Moriarty's obsession with Holmes and insistence that no one harm Holmes.
Moriarity pops back into Holmes life when Holmes begins to get too close to figuring out another of Moriarty's plots. But things start to back fire, when Moriarity gets caught up playing games with Holmes...
Holmes to Moriarty: We were both stupid. We fell in love.
They fell in love with their idealized counterpart. Moriarty saw in Holmes a man who like herself - was supersensitive to his surroundings, who knew too much. Who could observe minute details. Moriarty dealt with the super-sensitivity or brilliance - by shutting off empathy and becoming a sociopath. She cares about no one and sees people as games. She is the uber-Holmes, which Moriarty always was in the books. Holmes without empathy, without a soul.
Irene: Stop this. You see the small details. It drives you insane you must stop.
Irene: Sometimes when I close my eyes, I envision you when I think of Moriarity, I think you must do the same thing yourself. In your head - he's a version of you. If you weren't so intent in being his enemy, he would be your friend! Don't come after me, you'll never see "me" again.
And he doesn't. When next he sees her - she is Moriarty. And he denies it at first, even thought it makes sense. She faked her own death to mislead him. Assuming he would become obsessed with finding her killer and figuring out her murder - to pursue Moriarty or what she was really up to. It did not occur to her that he would self-destruct. She didn't understand his ability to feel guilt. She didn't expect him to blame himself for her death.
Which of course he did - he was too late, and she was gone.
Watson realizes Moriarty cares about Holmes, and the best approach is to let her win - but not in the way she meant.
Morarity: You like Puzzles, I like to play games.
Holmes: Why not kill me.
Moriarty: I wouldn't kill you. Not in a million years. You are unique. A work of art. And I appreciate art. But that doesn't meant I can't and won't hurt you. I will. Let Me WIN.
Watson realizes he should take it to the extreme, self-destruct, fake his own overdose - that will bring Moriarty out of the woodwork. And she is right - it does. Moriarty once again attempts to convince Holmes to run away with her. She'd convinced him as Adler - because he thought by doing so - he'd be protecting her and assauging his own guilt. But
now, when he fakes his overdose - and she tried to convince him to go with her, so she can fix him - show him how to live as she does, and not be an addict. He turns the tables on her - and she's caught in her own game. Stating Watson, the woman she had underestimated, out maneuvered her. Figured out that Moriarty cared about Holmes. And was afraid of destroying him.
As Holmes stated...falling in love with Holmes was Moriarty's downfall, and in a way Holmes downfall when he fell for her - but did they fall in love or was it a narcisistic sort of love - falling in love with one's own image. In a sense the relationship between Holmes and Watson, which is not romantic or sexual, is far healthier.
What I like about Elementary over the other versions of Sherlock Holmes - is the characters surrounding Holmes are not written as idiots. Watson is actually fairly bright and permitted to figure things out. Holmes is allowed to be vulnerable and fallible. And Gregson, the detective, is allowed to be clever. It's more realistic. Also not as misogynistic or chauvinistic. Women are allowed to bright, clever, and the hero as well as the nemesis.
In this finale - Adler is shown not to be the victim, but the murderer, the bad guy - the only one able to manipulate and elude the great Holmes, and Watson is allowed to be Holmes hero and the one who figures Adler out.
A feminist Sherlock Holmes, about bloody time.
* Been marathoning Falling Skies - which is better than expected and compelling. It's actually the best of the dystopian apocalyptic dramas to date, well with the exception of the brutally violent "Walking Dead". Actually I think Falling Skies is easier to watch than Dead, and less misanthropic, also has less torture scenes. Actually, I haven't seen any that I can think of - well they sort of tried to torture a gross spider/lizard alien (only to get killed in the attempt) but I consider that quite the same thing. I don't know about anyone else but if I can definitely go without having to see another torture sequence on tv. Seen far too many as it is. Seems 80% of the tv shows on have it. This is why I'm not watching Hannibal and The Americans, by the way.
I like the characters in the series - even if some of them are a tad on the cliche side of the fence. Some people get annoyed at soap cliches, I can spot at ten paces sci-fi cliches.
We have the hard-bitten military guy, whose older than everyone else and weathered, he's even called Weavers. The wet-behind the ears 16 year old kid who wants to kill aliens.
The tough gals with an attitude. But...the actors are decent and rather interesting.
Also there's some good monologues in there. I rather adored a conversation between a outlaw leader and the protagonist, the Prof of History, regarding whether an alien invasion is more like the Revolutionary War or the Eurpeaon Conquest of the Americas (or the invasion of Europe into the Colonies and how they dealt with the aboriginal natives). We're not revolutionaries, he tells the Professor, we're the Indians. I think he may be right.
And the series has some interesting things to say about what warfare, militarism, and constant fighting does to people. Revolution attempted the same thing but not as well and is written all over the place. This series is tighter - six episodes in.
The main goal at the start is to save the middle son of Noah Wylie's character (Tom). His middle son (Ben) was taken by the invaders, put in a harnass, and is a slave. Tom is rushing to save him before the harnass becomes part of him and he becomes part of the aliens. The first six episodes deal with various attempts to rescue and remove the harnass from Ben, with various distractions taking them away from their task. The fact that the Ben arc is resolved at the end of the six episodes is an accomplishment. And it a satisfying one.
Also, we get bits on all the other characters. While it is a bit emotionally manipulative in places (hello, Spielberg) and cliche in others, not overtly so.
At any rate I think I'll stick with it for a while longer...see where it goes. If it goes overboard with the alien F/X and gets gross or too violent, I'll jump away.
Speaking of uber-violence? I love HBO's description of this Sunday's Game of Thrones.
"Rob and his family go to Freys. And meet with the Frey's. Edmund meets his Bride. The Tully's and Frey's unite..." Hee hee. The tv show fandom, which has not read the books and is unspoiled, has no idea what it is in for. The Red Wedding is a coming.
I really wish I was on an unspoiled board for GoT- just so I could watch it explode Sunday night, because trust me, it most definitely will. Curious to see if they lose viewers.
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no subject
Date: 2013-06-02 02:34 pm (UTC)Dru to Spike (regarding Buffy): Why can't you kill her?
And...
Spike to Angelus (regarding Buffy): Kill her. Stop playing games with her.
And..oh so many others which I can't think of off the top of my head.
There's just something cool about a villain and a hero being in love.
It's the ultimate star-crossed lover's romance. It can never work. One would have to change - the villain or the hero. In some of the Arthurian Legends...Morgraine and Arthur have an UST relationship, as do Merlin and Nimue/Viviaine.
That's where the trope - the femme fatale with the heart of gold comes from, and the rogue with a heart of gold does. The villain redeemed by love.
This is admittedly a huge story kink of mine. (Well with the exception of Doctor Who.)
no subject
Date: 2013-06-02 04:26 pm (UTC)Ah but in Doctor Who the villain can't be redeemed. The Master will NEVER change. (He saves the Doctor/the World in End of Time, but that's all wrapped up in vengeance.) Heck they're even referred to as 'The Enmity of Ages'... (Their love/hate relationship is approx 1000 years old. I say it beats the others! *g*)
no subject
Date: 2013-06-02 06:33 pm (UTC)Sorry, still not seeing the appeal. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2013-06-02 06:37 pm (UTC)(Not that I can't see why it's frustrating, and it's a story that goes nowhere, but... Oh it's rather delicious.)
It's at this point that I rec The Naming of Things (Summary: How to become the Master.) The origin fic, and stupendously well written. It's pretty much canon to me.