Point Blank

[kriadydragon]

I watched Point Blank last night. My, word, I love that episode. Neal is friggin' scary when emotionally charged: focused yet unstable, and gorgeous when broken. And the ending was twice the kick in the gut.

But the Point Blanks tags I've read (most. Not all, but definitely most) almost made me dislike this episode. I'm not a fan of punished!Neal, not a fan of stories where Neal gets himself in trouble, and not a fan of woobie fic. This episode had so much going on, above all Neal - the guy who hates guns and hates violence - having reached a breaking point that had him nearly shoot Fowler, and in turn putting Peter in a position where he might've had to shoot Neal. And at the center of it all, the music box - the reason Kate is dead, the reason Neal went overboard, the reason Mozzie got shot.

So much going on!

And yet the only tags I can find are Peter getting huffy and punishing Neal to teach him a lesson.

It's not that I'm of the mindset that Neal needs to be let off the hook. I'm not a fan of the woobie!Neal tags either (except when I'm feeling frustrated about woobie!Peter tags and need an outlet). It's just that, like I said, there was so much to this episode to really explore. But so far I've only read three stories that dealt with the aftermath without the focus being squarely on putting Neal in his place.

And the interesting thing is, while watching the episode, to me, Peter didn't come off as even remotely angry. Frustrated, maybe. Concerned, yes. But he let Neal listen in on what Fowler had to say. He told Neal calmly afterward to go home. No lecture, no scowl, no growl, no bearing down on Neal in fury. I honestly don't think Peter is mad at Neal. Possibly disappointed? Maybe. But if anything, he's mad and disappointed at the situation. Peter will abide by the law, provide some sort of punishment for Neal, lecture him, remind him of his tenuous situation, but I highly doubt that he's going to waste his attention and energy on being mad at Neal when there's so much else happening.

Point Blank has become not unlike Trinity (an episode of Stargate Atlantis): lots of great emotions, lots to explore, but the tags a lesson in frustration. They're popular, I get that, and there's nothing wrong with that since people do enjoy them. But when a certain trope becomes all prevalent, for those wanting something different, who see something different, frustration is inevitable.

FYI: I do plan on writing a Point Blank tag, but I want to wait and see how the premiere pans out. I'm a canon junky like that :D

Comments

[nebbyjen.livejournal.com]

I agree. The fics out there have gotten so bad that I quit reading any until the new episodes start back up. Hopefully then the writers will get back on track. Too many posted stories have very little original plot as of late, mainly just injure, torture or torment the characters. What ever you add will be a breath of canon fresh air.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm hoping that new eps will mean fresher story ideas. We've been getting some good stuff at Collarcorner but it's still few and far between compared to everything else that's out there.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

I actually wasn't very interested in the Tag...like you, I wanted to know how the premiere pans out, before reading something about it, much less writing something. (And I'm waiting for forging bonds before I'm exploring some other ideas which deal with Neals past more).

I think, it's not lack of idea, I think that many writers are simply laying in wait because they don't want their carefully penned out ideas thrown over by canon too soon.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

That could be. And the tags we did get were probably knee-jerk reactions to what many saw as a complete betrayal on Neal's part: not really fix-it fic bit more venting frustration stories.

I used to not worry about things such as waiting until a show gave us back story before writing a fic that touched on backstory. But then another show totally bowled me over when one of the character's past was finally revealed. No one had been expecting it, and it was rather disappointing - not because it didn't work - but because we were all so sure of what his backstory would be. After that, I became a lot more cautious about speculating.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Speculating can be fun...I, for my part, have a very clear idea how Neal's childhood must be looked like (and it's not the foster care/abused variant which is so popular in the fandom), but I really don't see the point when I knew that I will get the answer soon. (That's the nice thing writing in fandomes of shows which are not on air any longer...nobody can throw your story over).

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I love trying to work out Neal's possible past :D It makes for a sore temptation to write about that past, either in a story or as a meme, but not until I know for certain.

My biggest worry is that we won't really get anything beyond how Neal and Kate met, and anything more won't be revealed until seasons later (which is what happened in my other fandom - it wasn't until four seasons later we got back story for the character, and no one was happy with it).

I don't buy the foster/abuse angle either. I like them in fic as candy, but don't really see them as a viable past for Neal. Neither do I buy that Neal came from a white picket fence background - either middle class or rich. Psychologically speaking it just doesn't make sense (long story as to why). My own personal opinion is that Neal came from somewhere in between, in which there were loving parents or a parent but a hard life in which thievery became the norm for him. He's a survivalist, but very loyal, and to me that says he was loved but had been left wanting in other areas of his life.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

I actually like the "rich but neglected"-angle....or "rich and the family fell at hard times"...and I totally believe that Neal tried his luck as artist at some point (I think, he is looking very wistful when Justin explains how difficult it is to make a life as art student).

I also like the "Crime-family"-background...either way, someone must have taught Neal a lot of sophistication, therefore the abuse/street kid angle doesn't work at all for me.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Okay, that I can buy. I think the crime-family thing would be really interesting. I think it would explain his aversion to violence as well as guns yet why he's able to handle a weapon. It's something the show could do quite a lot with (and if Ruiz ever found how there would be no end of grief for Neal ;))

What I don't buy is Neal coming from a good background and suddenly deciding to up and be a criminal. It usually involves him having some kind of fallout with his parents, and suddenly he's a world class thief. To me, it would take a lot more than a squabble, big or small, to get him from "normal family" to "master criminal" and have him remain sympathetic to the suffering of others, IMO.

Can you tell I really like discussing this? :D I keep wanting to write meta on possible backgrounds for Neal, but the possibilities are so many that I can't seem to organize it into anything coherent.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

It's one of my favourite discussions, too.

Do you know this fic: http://adina-atl.livejournal.com/165554.html

It's a nice rich but neglected variant, which I totally can buy. (Can you tell that I'm totally for neglected? Because Neal always seemed to seek some sort of approval). Although the crime-family variant has so many interesting possibilities...

But I don't really need a reason for Neal to distaste weapons...I mean, one can be totally contra-violent without having a traumatic past, right? Perhaps it's simply something which doesn't fit in Neal's slightly screwed up moral believes. After all, he is the one who believes in miracles.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I love that story. It actually made me consider the possibility that maybe Neal could have come from privilege. :D

I think with Neal, guns and violence it could go either way. I can see it as a, I guess you could call it, life-style thing. But I guess, for me, when it comes to TV shows I either expect them to go cliche or go all out, but rarely settle for "it is what it is." That is to say, when they make a big deal out of something it's usually for a reason. We've gotten quite a few episodes where Neal states his dislike for guns and violence, and I feel it's for a reason, something that the writers hope to do something with. For example, they could go the cliche route that Neal is actually pretty dang good with a gun. So good that he knows that if he uses one people will die (seen this done in a lot of shows and movies so I seriously hope that's not what the writers are planning).

Or, he dislikes because of something that happened in his past. Maybe he was shot. Maybe he saw someone else shot. Maybe no one was shot but he associates too much with what he's trying to leave behind (if he came from a crime family, for example).

I don't know. I've just always gotten the impression that there's more to Neal's dislike of guns than simple dislike. I think my impression has a lot to do with that scene in Hard Sell, where he's offered the rifle but he looks at it like it might bite him. I could be looking at it too deeply. Neal does get guns pointed at him a lot and that alone could make him really dislike them.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Well, for someone who doesn't like guns, Neal surely knows a lot about it...I'm no expert, but it can't be easy to use an antique gun correctly.

The interesting thing is that Neal is totally ready to use weapons if necessary. The act with the rifle was a clear warning towards Peter. It's not his first choice, but it's a possible choice if pushed hard enough.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. Which is why I'm wondering, and hoping, they go somewhere with it. Why dislike guns yet still be able to use them? There's a story behind that. At least I hope there is.

[wildcat88.livejournal.com]

Ah, yet another reason to not get involved in fandom. I can live in my happy spot without anyone else's version tarnishing it. :D

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I actually hadn't intended to get into the fandom myself, but I had a fic idea I wanted to write and needed some motivation. Going into the fandom actually started off pretty well. Lots of excellent fic to read. And then...

I honestly think I've vented more about this fandom than I did SGA. :/

I still love writing WC fic but reading it is something I'm going to have to cut back on. I have collarcorner which is all gen fic, and I know a few authors who I enjoy reading. So hopefully I'll be able to stay clear of the stuff that's been driving me crazy.

[karri-kln1671.livejournal.com]

*nods* Trinity tags...*shudder* Were it not for the tags, it might have been one of my favorite episodes, instead, the mere mention of the ep makes me cringe.

I've mostly avoided Point Blanks tags, and it sounds like that's a good thing. I don't think Peter was angry at Neal. Nor, I think, was he surprised or disappointed. He knew exactly what Neal would do if he got the chance, and it's what Neal did. If anything, I think he was frustrated that, even with Mozzie's help, he couldn't get far enough ahead of things to stop the momentum in time, despite knowing what was going to happen. Peter was desperate to protect Neal, not angry with him, and then he was relieved, becuase he really wasn't sure he could stop Neal and didn't want either to shoot him or to arrest him for attempted murder. All in all, I think Peter was relieved that they got out of the situation as well as they did.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

All in all, I think Peter was relieved that they got out of the situation as well as they did.

I completely agree with this. There was definitely a sense of relief on Peter's part more than anger. Which was another frustration I had with Point Blank tags - they were all about Peter feeling betrayed. They were all about Peter, period. They made Peter come off as - to me - incredibly selfish and self-centered, because there was so much going on but in the tags all Peter cared about was his own hurt feelings.

Which is not Peter at all! Seriously, it was like the Trinity fiasco all over again. But what really boggled me was even Neal fans were getting on the "punish Neal!" band wagon.

I dread the day we get another ep in which the majority feels Neal needs to be put in his place. I'll probably end up avoiding fandom until it blows over.