Well, I think you are taking the show a little too seriously and I don’t completely agree with your assessment, but you can’t help how you feel. It’s not my place to try to change that. I guess I just don’t get that worked up over a tv show. I enjoy the ride and brush off disappointments. And no, this doesn’t mean I like *everything*- for instance, I didn’t care for the whole Dr. Frankenstein arc and wished they’d stuck to fantasy stories. I love RumBelle but fear they are taking Rumple down a path that is making Belle look like a fool for staying with him. I’m not that crazy about the idea of bringing Marian back and the odd love triangle there, but I’m open to seeing how it plays out. I’m not opposed to critique, I just prefer a balance. When you do nothing but get on a soap box, I start to wonder if you still enjoy the show at all. I think the good still far outweighs the bad. I suppose you must too or you would have given up.
I don’t agree that I’m taking the show too seriously, as all I’ve asked for is a good plot, consistent, well-written characters, and a respect for the themes they decide to introduce. I’ve believed that saying nothing, welcomes you to be given the same thing over and over again, so I speak when I’m displeased. My remarks are written to be over dramatic for effect, yes, but they still hold true in a less extreme way. What can I say? I’m a sarcastic, snarky kinda gal. 😉 And my comments stem from the fact that I like this show too much to release its disappointments. It’s like seeing the bad movie adaption of your favorite childhood book series. (Oh, Cirque Du Freak! Why!? I’m sorry…flashbacks).
Also, I’m not attempting to sway you, I’m just explaining the thought process and why we Once cynics exist. I guess to de-villainize through exposition. For my sake, read all of the following text in a flat monotone (and preferably with Patrick Stewart-like inflections). It makes it seem less theatrical:
The Classic Descent into Once Cynicism (Lite)-
1.You get emotionally attached because storytelling is an art form meant for escapism and to provoke emotion. Referring to my rant earlier, suppose you’ve lost loved ones, and that show makes you feel terrible by tossing you a half done interpretation of loss. Suppose you are a PoC and you always see people who look like you being killed, or made as obstacles, on a show that you love. Suppose you are the wife of a cheating husband, and a show you love goes down the lane of halfway promoting the “other woman”. Suppose you knew someone in a relationship with a druggie, and… we have Belle being blind and manipulated, and it’s still pushed as happiness sometimes. Suppose even, that none of this directly connects to you, you just realize that the show is mishandling it’s own themes. Or suppose that it’s not emotional, but the writing has become predictable, or the characters erratic, or the plot too heavy for quality. You ask yourself, why? You form an opinion, subconsciously or otherwise. A negative one. Though it’s irrational, you may feel hurt, or in mine and most cases, very put off.
2. It becomes difficult to leave your disappointment alone because the show does not attempt to amend. Beyond that, you get worked up because you believed in the show, and was excited in the first place to see it. It may not be your stance, but when I begin to ignore the third or fourth time I’ve seen something troubling in a dramatic show (the things that I get angry at are pretty repetitive. And I don’t mean small things. I mean plot affecting things that span episodes, appearing at least once each season.), it means that I no longer have any anticipation or care for the show, at all. The frustration comes from lingering positive feelings. You don’t know whether you’re continuing to watch in hopes that it will return to entertaining you, because you want to see where it ends or because you know it will not disappoint.
3.You become attached to one of your few bright points of the show. Be it a favorite character, ship, or story arc, you feel safe here. As long as they don’t screw it up, you feel that the show is good. No more conflict within, no more holding on to the show out of a hope it will get better. It has! You have found a thing. 🙂
4.In your eyes, they screw that thing up eventually. You realize that you are not feeling the show again.
5.You begin to think more of the writers than you think of the show. The consistent glance over done by the creators makes you wonder if/why they are no longer putting effort into the show. You start to see through the show. You think of the creators as people who don’t care for extensive effort where they feel you will not notice (which seems to be an unfair number of times). Though, this may be true of many businesses, showing it outright is where the mistake lies. It removes the rose colored glasses, so to speak. The show is a business. People write what they think will placate us whether it’s good or not. That realization is dangerous. It’s never meant to occur.
You know what the kicker is? This doesn’t apply to all shows. Only shows like Once are usually subjected to this. I don’t look at Olivia and the President in a relationship and hate Scandal. I don’t put a halt on my enjoyment of Batman because Bruce can sometimes be an a-hole. A show like Once is subjected to this treatment more than the average dramatic show because it promotes it’s morals and what it is. If a show like that proceeds to half-a** what it publicizes…
6.You believe that the show is literally failing at what it is. They say it: This is a healthy relationship. This is empowerment, this is true love. This is a soulmate. This is justice. This is bold storytelling. This is what it all really means. You won’t expect this. When they screw up with that, it’s hard to brush it off. The problems are no longer passable. They are the theme of the season, or the theme of an entire relationship (platonic or not). Eventually your hands are going to hurt from all that brushing, and you’re going to complain about it.
8. You have to vent. There’s nothing worse than being frustrated by a possibly good thing. You want to know if others feel this way as well. Usually, you just sprinkle your negative thoughts in their with the good ones, but eventually, something happens, and the rant dam breaks.
7.Madness.
(8. nausea, vomiting and death…)
TL;DR: Methinks that the type of show that Once is, sets it’s fans up to be cynical after a few seasons. And because we don’t like to keep it bottled up, we talk about it here. We’re not jerks (except me, maybe). I promise.
[End of Patrick Stewart voice]
And I do more than get on a soap box. I say when I like things as well as when I don’t. I once said I liked Regina’s character growth. That was a thing. This was just a time that I’d become so fed up with the lack of effort that I felt the need to vent. You’ve caught me in my final angry throes. I may stay with the show or leave it at this point (or hold onto with my teeth, screaming at it to do better because I love it, and it can’t leave me like this because we were meant to get married and grow old together). Honestly, it now depends upon what they do with Marian and the Rumbelle lie. I’m hoping for the best, though (as a cynic always silently is.)
Also, I did not mean to imply that you like everything about the show. That’s just plain impossible! I do know people, however, who just dislike the act of critiquing as a whole (“It’s there, but I don’t care for anyone to say anything about it” kinda thing).