Justice League - "Starcrossed"
Finally picked up the DVD last week, and it blew me away! I love it. But there's something I really need to rant about. I'm still debating whether or not to post it at TZ since it's probably pretty stupid.
Having watched the last moments of Hawkgirl and Green Lantern three times now, I get the feeling that we're supposed to feel sympathetic to the pair of them (not necessarily for her alone) and their plight, the obvious 'starcrossed' reference: lovers for whom fate has conspired against them.
But I don't know how the writers expected to accomplish this feat while giving Hawkgirl the moral fiber of Anna Nicole Smith and turning John Stewart into a befuddled dupe.
I'm not talking about how she deceived the JL and the world; I'm not talking about digging into their private lives and recording their weaknesses. As far as I'm concerned, she thought she was working for the greater good, of her people at least, and quite possibly the Earth as well (though how exactly she explained away the need to know her fellow League members' weaknesses does worry me). Realizing the consequence of her actions and stepping up to do something about it exonerates, if not absolves, her of those crimes in my book.
No, I’m talking about her lie of omission to John Stewart. At the beginning of SC, I saw the two of them in their cutesy just-getting-started-in-a-relationship banter, and I felt a pang of regret about her leaving, wondering to myself when the writers could bring her back. Now, I couldn't care less. I don't want to see her again, and neither should John.
The crux of the problem is the writers' Grand Scheme™, the two seasons of lies to make our jaws drop when we finally discovered HG's true mission, and, oh boy, did my jaw drop. However they were so keen on keeping her past hidden, that they showed this warrior for whom right and wrong were never in question had with no respect for either of her paramours.
It wasn't until I finally got to watch Wild Cards recently that it clicked for me: Hawkgirl was given the perfect opportunity to lay her cards out on the table (no pun intended) with just a few extra lines. We're given this lovely relationship development, and after a near-death experience, John Stewart wants to take it to the next level. HG has understandable reservations: they work closely together, and have obvious differences. Smooth-talking John Stewart is having none of it.
But it's here, right here, that she should have told him the truth, or at least enough of it:
HG: There is someone special back on my home planet.
GL: A boyfriend?
HG: More than that.
GL: But you may never see your world again.
HG: True (and here she keeps her cover!). But they may be searching for me; they could find me tomorrow for all I know.
GL: And what would happen if they did?
HG: I'm not sure...
The truth as laid out in SC would have been no less devastating or painful to the League and to John if she had mentioned Hro, but at least she would have been making an honest effort to keep her love life on the up and up (though not, apparently, in regards to Hro either way). But we couldn't have this scenario, because this would give GL a choice in whether or not he wanted to participate in this illicit affair. (And make no mistake - that is exactly what this was. Thanagarians don't mess around with euphemisms like 'engaged', they get right to the heart of the matter: Promised. She made a promise to Hro, one that we’re given every evidence was sincere.) Instead he's misled about her availability, and is subsequently forced to watch some stranger walk up to HG and kiss her, watch as she kisses him back without hesitation or embarrassment. John has to be the bigger man in what for him must be a most embarrassing situation, shake Hro's hand, and walk away with some semblance of dignity, even though HG's lie of omission has offered him none. He's left with nothing but a broken heart and some awkward advice on women from Batman (!) and J'onn.
What did she think was going to happen? In a best-case scenario, she would have left with the Thanagarian fleet once the enemy was defeated. Too bad, so sad for John Stewart then, eh? He was the summer fling, and nobody bothered to tell him. As it stands, her actions completely negate the final scene. I mean is this really the way you treat someone you love? It’s not personal, she says, moments before sucker punching him. I’d hate to see what she does to someone when it is personal.
Believe me, I liked Hawkgirl, and I can certainly sympathize with loving two different people, but as she was written, she wasn’t just an honorable warrior doing her duty, however Machiavellian her actions were; instead, she used and abused the trust two people who are in love are supposed to have, which greatly demeans every bit of character development she’s received. I can’t imagine the writers wanting to paint her with such an unflattering image, and yet they did.
Character assassination or oversight?
Having watched the last moments of Hawkgirl and Green Lantern three times now, I get the feeling that we're supposed to feel sympathetic to the pair of them (not necessarily for her alone) and their plight, the obvious 'starcrossed' reference: lovers for whom fate has conspired against them.
But I don't know how the writers expected to accomplish this feat while giving Hawkgirl the moral fiber of Anna Nicole Smith and turning John Stewart into a befuddled dupe.
I'm not talking about how she deceived the JL and the world; I'm not talking about digging into their private lives and recording their weaknesses. As far as I'm concerned, she thought she was working for the greater good, of her people at least, and quite possibly the Earth as well (though how exactly she explained away the need to know her fellow League members' weaknesses does worry me). Realizing the consequence of her actions and stepping up to do something about it exonerates, if not absolves, her of those crimes in my book.
No, I’m talking about her lie of omission to John Stewart. At the beginning of SC, I saw the two of them in their cutesy just-getting-started-in-a-relationship banter, and I felt a pang of regret about her leaving, wondering to myself when the writers could bring her back. Now, I couldn't care less. I don't want to see her again, and neither should John.
The crux of the problem is the writers' Grand Scheme™, the two seasons of lies to make our jaws drop when we finally discovered HG's true mission, and, oh boy, did my jaw drop. However they were so keen on keeping her past hidden, that they showed this warrior for whom right and wrong were never in question had with no respect for either of her paramours.
It wasn't until I finally got to watch Wild Cards recently that it clicked for me: Hawkgirl was given the perfect opportunity to lay her cards out on the table (no pun intended) with just a few extra lines. We're given this lovely relationship development, and after a near-death experience, John Stewart wants to take it to the next level. HG has understandable reservations: they work closely together, and have obvious differences. Smooth-talking John Stewart is having none of it.
But it's here, right here, that she should have told him the truth, or at least enough of it:
HG: There is someone special back on my home planet.
GL: A boyfriend?
HG: More than that.
GL: But you may never see your world again.
HG: True (and here she keeps her cover!). But they may be searching for me; they could find me tomorrow for all I know.
GL: And what would happen if they did?
HG: I'm not sure...
The truth as laid out in SC would have been no less devastating or painful to the League and to John if she had mentioned Hro, but at least she would have been making an honest effort to keep her love life on the up and up (though not, apparently, in regards to Hro either way). But we couldn't have this scenario, because this would give GL a choice in whether or not he wanted to participate in this illicit affair. (And make no mistake - that is exactly what this was. Thanagarians don't mess around with euphemisms like 'engaged', they get right to the heart of the matter: Promised. She made a promise to Hro, one that we’re given every evidence was sincere.) Instead he's misled about her availability, and is subsequently forced to watch some stranger walk up to HG and kiss her, watch as she kisses him back without hesitation or embarrassment. John has to be the bigger man in what for him must be a most embarrassing situation, shake Hro's hand, and walk away with some semblance of dignity, even though HG's lie of omission has offered him none. He's left with nothing but a broken heart and some awkward advice on women from Batman (!) and J'onn.
What did she think was going to happen? In a best-case scenario, she would have left with the Thanagarian fleet once the enemy was defeated. Too bad, so sad for John Stewart then, eh? He was the summer fling, and nobody bothered to tell him. As it stands, her actions completely negate the final scene. I mean is this really the way you treat someone you love? It’s not personal, she says, moments before sucker punching him. I’d hate to see what she does to someone when it is personal.
Believe me, I liked Hawkgirl, and I can certainly sympathize with loving two different people, but as she was written, she wasn’t just an honorable warrior doing her duty, however Machiavellian her actions were; instead, she used and abused the trust two people who are in love are supposed to have, which greatly demeans every bit of character development she’s received. I can’t imagine the writers wanting to paint her with such an unflattering image, and yet they did.
Character assassination or oversight?