supernatural women
Oct. 16th, 2009 03:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
orangerfulSo, I'm finally done with Season 4 of Supernatural (actually typing this while I watch "Lucifer Rising" - talk about spoilery title!) But there is something about the female characters these past two seasons that has really bothered me (and probably the reason it took me so long to finish season 4):
Anyway, I have to say these last two seasons have been very awkward for female characters. In season 1 and season 2, the most mentioned females (that I'm remembering) were momma Winchester, the bartender lady, her daughter, the art dealer that Sam had good times with, and the werewolf chick that Sam had to put down. These were all relatively strong women. Smart, feisty, and in control of who they were.
Then season 3 and 4 show up. Suddenly we have less love interests and more evil women. The backstabbing bounty hunter British woman, Ruby - the demon that possesses a blonde girl and annoys us by apparating whenever she feels like it in season 3 to give the boys random missions, then in season 4 grabs a brunette seduces Sam and turns him all Willow-season-6, and, of course, Lilith who is apparently Lucifer's estranged "child" who first sends Dean to the hell only to have him brought back so she can free her daddy (so season 4 of Angel - spend the first half going "wtf" only to have them tie it all together at the end resulting in a larger "WTF! why is SPN going all BSG with this god stuff?") The only good female we have is the red-headed Angel, who rebels against heaven by adopting free thought. She wasn't evil, but she also didn't last long.
I'm sure there are some more academic articles on the subject, written by fans far more hardcore than me. But it was just bothering me. The show is male-dominated, and for a show about two brothers, that isn't surprising. It's just how unbalanced it has become in the past two seasons. I don't need a regular cast member that is female, that's not the issue. I don't mind watching Sam, Dean, Bobby, and Castiel fight the baddies. But it's a bit frustrating when we've seen the strong women that Kripke can create and that they seem to have given up on them, instead making women...well, demons! Trouble.
I can't deny we aren't trouble. But, like I said, it's been a bit too consistent this season, esp. season 4, as we watch Ruby cast as Yoko, breaking up the all boy group. I would really like to see the writers create a female character that doesn't feel like a note from executives. When Ruby and the bounty hunter chick first appeared (clearly I blocked out her name) you could almost see the notes from CW's execs saying they wanted some hot chicks on the show. They felt very forced into the plot and they never flowed with the rest of the story. When they recast Ruby in Season 4, it seemed like maybe she would be a bit more like Angel - seeking redemption, fighting for her non-soul. But she quickly turned out to be playing both sides or no sides or whatever (got a little messy in the mid-season 4 area and I think I lost a couple episodes..*watches tv* oh nevermind she was evil).
That or just enough with the female characters. Stop trying to force them into the plot. And if you're gonna have demon regulars, mix it up a a bit more. Bring back the morally gray bits. The more black/white you make the show, the less interesting it got (which was my issue with bringing angels into it...I don't mind them fighting demons, but angels = god = religion = an absolute).
I'm looking forward to watching Season 5 and catching up with the everyone. But I'd like to see the return of the strong good women on the show, even if they are only guest stars. I feel like the ladies have had a bad rap these past two seasons.
Anyway, I have to say these last two seasons have been very awkward for female characters. In season 1 and season 2, the most mentioned females (that I'm remembering) were momma Winchester, the bartender lady, her daughter, the art dealer that Sam had good times with, and the werewolf chick that Sam had to put down. These were all relatively strong women. Smart, feisty, and in control of who they were.
Then season 3 and 4 show up. Suddenly we have less love interests and more evil women. The backstabbing bounty hunter British woman, Ruby - the demon that possesses a blonde girl and annoys us by apparating whenever she feels like it in season 3 to give the boys random missions, then in season 4 grabs a brunette seduces Sam and turns him all Willow-season-6, and, of course, Lilith who is apparently Lucifer's estranged "child" who first sends Dean to the hell only to have him brought back so she can free her daddy (so season 4 of Angel - spend the first half going "wtf" only to have them tie it all together at the end resulting in a larger "WTF! why is SPN going all BSG with this god stuff?") The only good female we have is the red-headed Angel, who rebels against heaven by adopting free thought. She wasn't evil, but she also didn't last long.
I'm sure there are some more academic articles on the subject, written by fans far more hardcore than me. But it was just bothering me. The show is male-dominated, and for a show about two brothers, that isn't surprising. It's just how unbalanced it has become in the past two seasons. I don't need a regular cast member that is female, that's not the issue. I don't mind watching Sam, Dean, Bobby, and Castiel fight the baddies. But it's a bit frustrating when we've seen the strong women that Kripke can create and that they seem to have given up on them, instead making women...well, demons! Trouble.
I can't deny we aren't trouble. But, like I said, it's been a bit too consistent this season, esp. season 4, as we watch Ruby cast as Yoko, breaking up the all boy group. I would really like to see the writers create a female character that doesn't feel like a note from executives. When Ruby and the bounty hunter chick first appeared (clearly I blocked out her name) you could almost see the notes from CW's execs saying they wanted some hot chicks on the show. They felt very forced into the plot and they never flowed with the rest of the story. When they recast Ruby in Season 4, it seemed like maybe she would be a bit more like Angel - seeking redemption, fighting for her non-soul. But she quickly turned out to be playing both sides or no sides or whatever (got a little messy in the mid-season 4 area and I think I lost a couple episodes..*watches tv* oh nevermind she was evil).
That or just enough with the female characters. Stop trying to force them into the plot. And if you're gonna have demon regulars, mix it up a a bit more. Bring back the morally gray bits. The more black/white you make the show, the less interesting it got (which was my issue with bringing angels into it...I don't mind them fighting demons, but angels = god = religion = an absolute).
I'm looking forward to watching Season 5 and catching up with the everyone. But I'd like to see the return of the strong good women on the show, even if they are only guest stars. I feel like the ladies have had a bad rap these past two seasons.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-17 03:00 am (UTC)It probably wouldn't be so frustrating if we hadn't had such decent characters like the bartender lady and Sam's two flings who were relatively well written and interesting. Someone used to be able to write women (maybe they are gone now?)
And the thing for me, even though I'm not a fan of "romance" entertainment, I do think that it would be nice for the boys to have some love interests, not just sex partners. I mean, they are getting old! LOL!
And on another note, honestly, how is Bobby still alive? He is the only Gandalf/Obi-Wan character I've ever seen survive this long! Every season I think he'll be dead. But no, he's fine.