Central Ideas (and Angel)

I adore central ideas, and I adore things that Change Everything -- at least, perspective-wise. I love the Julian Bashir genetic enhancement retcon on DS9, because it's amazing how well it works with his character. I love the Dawn retcon, because it's fascinating to think about how things were different yet fundamentally the same.

And I love central ideas, love recasting the entire show from that central idea. That's what makes it central, after all -- it has to be something that's present in every episode, the prime mover of the show. Buffy is about the change from 'girl' to 'woman', due South is about Fraser's emotional growth, and Angel is about, I'm more and more certain, the conflict between the big picture and the little picture. Angel is about finding the balance -- which seems so obvious, considering the dual nature of the protagonist, yet it was something that I've had a hard time putting my finger on. Coming closer and closer to the end, however, is making things feel very clear. I might yet get surprised in the finale, but everything I've seen before is telling me that this is what it's about.

It's about how the glass is viewed, about every step being the Next Step, about taking each moment as its own entity. Finding balance.

"She is our next step."

"Don't play their game -- make them play yours."

"Heroes don't accept the world the way it is."

"Live as though the world were as it should be, to show it what it can be."

"So you just treat it all like it was up to you -— the world in the balance -— 'cause you never know when it is."

"If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do."

"You know how you're always trying to save, oh, every single person in the world? Did it ever occur to you you were one of them?"

"The good fight, yeah? You never know until you've been tested. I get that now."

"I'll tell them that I'm different. I'll tell them it's... actually a good thing."

due South: Benton Fraser

I adore Benton Fraser. Think that he's a great man. He's not at all 'macho'. He's got deep, deep reservoirs of emotion and spiritual energy. He's got enormous amounts of natural power and keeps it on a very short leash most of the time. That impresses me more than the physical (though I won't say that the physical has no effect, as BF is pretty much the idealized version of my perfect guy -- I really go for dark hair and light eyes (edit: well, really, when I say light, I mostly just mean 'blue' or 'green' -- Tom Welling would be another example. Because eye-shade can shift based on so many things -- clothing, weather conditions, etc.) -- it's not the most common look.).
( Benton Fraser, the emotional side )

Edit: brief thought on a different subject -- one day I must get the dS dvds because I need to screencap the scenes where Fraser sees Victoria in VS and RayV in CotW. I can't ever see them at the exact same time, but watching them close together confirms that it's a very similar vibe. That look on Fraser's face.