01-20-2015, 09:55 AM
Ugh. See, I just don't see what was so terrible about Vintage!Howard that he needs be punished by being with a "dark and twisted" character. There's just *nothing* funny about that, to me. I like dark humor in some contexts, and I like dark characters in some contexts, but not in this case.
The characters all have their flaws, but I just don't think H. needs to spend the rest of his life being "taken down a peg" by being the target/victim of an aggressive and domineering person.
This is a major character whom we had grown to know and love. And now we're supposed to find it fitting for him to be bullied and browbeaten, indefinitely? That this is some type of poetic justice? He didn't *bully* women and he wasn't *aggressive* towards them. Show me ONE instance of Howard saying something as harsh as "You're an idiot" or "Zip it, pervert!" to a woman.
"Howard was creepy/obnoxious/whatever, he deserves to be humbled" is just not a concept I can get on board with. What is romantic about this???
What is the *origin* of B's "dark and twisted" behavior? There is none, because she's one-dimensional. The show gives us very clear (perhaps too clear) explanations for the problems and neuroses of the other characters, and how they came to be that way. You can't just hang quirks on a character like you're hanging ornaments on a Christmas tree. Characters need motivation. They can't *just* be a foil to another character.
"Hey, you know what would be WACKY?? If the cute little blonde girl is loud and scary!!! Because, like, that's, like, ironic!" This is gimmicky, shallow thinking. It's not actual characterization.
I'm sorry, I will just never accept this narrative that "Howard treated women badly, so now his fate is be with an aggressive, controlling woman who will whip him into shape." Penny's various ex-boyfriends treated women worse than Howard did.
The characters deserve to be happy. At the very least, even if their lives don't get *better*, they shouldn't get *worse*, either.
Ramona was a rather psycho character, but that character worked well because she had a goal, a motivation, and the show itself *acknowledged* that she was an antagonist. It didn't expect the viewer to agree with her or approve of her. Now we're seeing characters who behave like an antagonist but we're told that they are in the right.
I actually love "dark and twisted" stuff in the right context. A "mad scientist" type of character could've been fun for this show, if the writing actually treated him/her like an antagonist/villain.
"Howard deserves to have his ego squashed" is just not okay with me. Like I said, all the characters have weak points and maybe they have some hard lessons to learn about life, but a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse can't do that for you, you have to do it yourself. Nobody can "make you a better person."
I'm about the same age as these characters, and I've found that to be true, just from my personal experiences and observations.
The H/B f*cking SUCKS.
Where's that new wine icon? I will have a Tequila Sunrise for mine, please.... 
The characters deserve to be happy, or at least deserve the freedom to make their own mistakes and learn from them, instead of being manipulated, coerced, and bullied.
"Hey, you know what's hilarious??? Women being assertive!! Also characters being malevolent and hostile for no reason!!" Fuck off, writers.
I think the writers would like us to think that Vintage!Howard went around grabbing women's crotches in public and saying "Hey, bitch, suck my d*ck." Revisionism.
We spent several years getting to know and love this character, and now we're supposed to find it funny when he's paired with a "dark and twisted" person? That's disturbing to me.
That might've been an okay storyline if it only lasted for one or two episodes, but not this. A Ramona-type situation with Howard could've been funny, I suppose. But Season 8 Bernadette isn't just a bit eccentric, she's verbally/emotionally abusive.
These writers do not love their own characters. They're sadistic towards them. They apparently can't tell the difference between giving the characters a *challenging* situation to deal with, which would be interesting, versus just straight-up making them suffer and scapegoating them.
This show's women are grotesque monsters. (Emily enjoys cutting people? Really?) TPTB seems to see females as just some inexplicable and malign force with no rationality behind it. Note that the two female scientists are engaged in animal-abuse and spreading deadly diseases. The guys have done some ethically questionable stuff, maybe, but they wouldn't hurt a fly. TPTB seem to be mocking the very idea of a female scientist, here. A, B, (and now E) are like the witches of MacBeth, messing around with brains and all kinds of gross materials, stirring their toxic cauldron. The guys are eccentric and neurotic, but A &B are presented as *aberrant*, as if there's something inherently abnormal about a highly educated woman.
I would prefer to see the characters confront some type of problem or challenge which is external to themselves, and see how they react to that, see how it stretches them, see what kind of character development it could produce, see what hidden fears or strengths are brought out, if they found themselves in an unfamiliar situation. Not this "and then everybody learned their lesson and promised to be good, from now on" moralizing tripe....
I've said this before, but you can't have a new character pop up out of nowhere after two and a half years and instantly expect me to like her, relate to her, or side with her, at the expense of a character I already know and feel fond of.
The characters all have their flaws, but I just don't think H. needs to spend the rest of his life being "taken down a peg" by being the target/victim of an aggressive and domineering person.
This is a major character whom we had grown to know and love. And now we're supposed to find it fitting for him to be bullied and browbeaten, indefinitely? That this is some type of poetic justice? He didn't *bully* women and he wasn't *aggressive* towards them. Show me ONE instance of Howard saying something as harsh as "You're an idiot" or "Zip it, pervert!" to a woman.
"Howard was creepy/obnoxious/whatever, he deserves to be humbled" is just not a concept I can get on board with. What is romantic about this???
What is the *origin* of B's "dark and twisted" behavior? There is none, because she's one-dimensional. The show gives us very clear (perhaps too clear) explanations for the problems and neuroses of the other characters, and how they came to be that way. You can't just hang quirks on a character like you're hanging ornaments on a Christmas tree. Characters need motivation. They can't *just* be a foil to another character.
"Hey, you know what would be WACKY?? If the cute little blonde girl is loud and scary!!! Because, like, that's, like, ironic!" This is gimmicky, shallow thinking. It's not actual characterization.
I'm sorry, I will just never accept this narrative that "Howard treated women badly, so now his fate is be with an aggressive, controlling woman who will whip him into shape." Penny's various ex-boyfriends treated women worse than Howard did.
The characters deserve to be happy. At the very least, even if their lives don't get *better*, they shouldn't get *worse*, either.
Ramona was a rather psycho character, but that character worked well because she had a goal, a motivation, and the show itself *acknowledged* that she was an antagonist. It didn't expect the viewer to agree with her or approve of her. Now we're seeing characters who behave like an antagonist but we're told that they are in the right.
I actually love "dark and twisted" stuff in the right context. A "mad scientist" type of character could've been fun for this show, if the writing actually treated him/her like an antagonist/villain.
"Howard deserves to have his ego squashed" is just not okay with me. Like I said, all the characters have weak points and maybe they have some hard lessons to learn about life, but a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse can't do that for you, you have to do it yourself. Nobody can "make you a better person."
I'm about the same age as these characters, and I've found that to be true, just from my personal experiences and observations.
The H/B f*cking SUCKS.
Where's that new wine icon? I will have a Tequila Sunrise for mine, please.... The characters deserve to be happy, or at least deserve the freedom to make their own mistakes and learn from them, instead of being manipulated, coerced, and bullied.
"Hey, you know what's hilarious??? Women being assertive!! Also characters being malevolent and hostile for no reason!!" Fuck off, writers.
I think the writers would like us to think that Vintage!Howard went around grabbing women's crotches in public and saying "Hey, bitch, suck my d*ck." Revisionism.
We spent several years getting to know and love this character, and now we're supposed to find it funny when he's paired with a "dark and twisted" person? That's disturbing to me.
That might've been an okay storyline if it only lasted for one or two episodes, but not this. A Ramona-type situation with Howard could've been funny, I suppose. But Season 8 Bernadette isn't just a bit eccentric, she's verbally/emotionally abusive.
These writers do not love their own characters. They're sadistic towards them. They apparently can't tell the difference between giving the characters a *challenging* situation to deal with, which would be interesting, versus just straight-up making them suffer and scapegoating them.
This show's women are grotesque monsters. (Emily enjoys cutting people? Really?) TPTB seems to see females as just some inexplicable and malign force with no rationality behind it. Note that the two female scientists are engaged in animal-abuse and spreading deadly diseases. The guys have done some ethically questionable stuff, maybe, but they wouldn't hurt a fly. TPTB seem to be mocking the very idea of a female scientist, here. A, B, (and now E) are like the witches of MacBeth, messing around with brains and all kinds of gross materials, stirring their toxic cauldron. The guys are eccentric and neurotic, but A &B are presented as *aberrant*, as if there's something inherently abnormal about a highly educated woman.
I would prefer to see the characters confront some type of problem or challenge which is external to themselves, and see how they react to that, see how it stretches them, see what kind of character development it could produce, see what hidden fears or strengths are brought out, if they found themselves in an unfamiliar situation. Not this "and then everybody learned their lesson and promised to be good, from now on" moralizing tripe....
I've said this before, but you can't have a new character pop up out of nowhere after two and a half years and instantly expect me to like her, relate to her, or side with her, at the expense of a character I already know and feel fond of.