i don't give a damn if i'm your villain;

[ever_neutral]

03 | they are the worst possible thing to happen to each other

You and me, this was love.

This post will be a short one because (1) I expect Live Journal to choke on its interior mechanics and die, and (2) full disclosure: I... technically don't actually ship this anymore? My interest sadly fizzled out towards the end of the second season around the time the ship became bafflingly epic and starcrossed and one-true-love. I do still have some residual feelings about the Claire/Damien chemistry, but the pairing doesn't grab me like it used to. Which is a real shame, because in season one (and parts of season two), the Brody/Carrie relationship was probably the most compelling thing about the show for me -- and also one of the most gloriously destructive trainwrecks I've had the pleasure of witnessing, like, ever. I mean, does it actually get more fucked up than a terrorist and a CIA agent having an illicit affair? This is a relationship that started with her spying on him as part of the job, including watching his every private move on camera, before initiating a sexual relationship as a cover to (ostensibly) expose him; and when said exposing went awry he (and the rest of the world) basically gas-lit her into shock treatment. Now that is what I call fucking grade-A trainwrecking.

And the thing that made Brody/Carrie work (despite lbr, the sheer ludicrousness of the storyline) was the ambiguity of the entire affair. It wasn't romance, it was mutual manipulation -- except that it was romance, in some moments, when the cover slipped. Yet it was never a love story. It was never about the two being together; it was about simply asking what their relationship really was. It was about having everything you believed to be real called into question -- she the loyal officer protecting her country, he the devout traitor -- to the extent that a union entailing total betrayal of your firmest principles turns out unexpectedly to be your most emotionally intimate experience.

So, it's a shame the writers seemed to lose that thread in S2. I don't watch the show to see if Romeo and Juliet will make it work; I watch it to understand why two people on such drastically opposing sides would even be drawn to each other at all. In conclusion: I want to ship it again, and may S3 work with me.

Comments

[catteo.livejournal.com]

Of COURSE I agree. Because this is really the only rational opinion! From what I've seen fandom is sort of torn. A lot of people seemed to be pissed off with the turn of events following Carrie's abduction by Nazir. I saw a lot of posts accusing the show of venturing into fantasy territory with the way that things were handled. I think that it's a tough one because we all seemed to ship them in S1 and it's tough to let go of a ship even when it's totally mishandled. I think that those that are still shipping them as OTP are doing it despite what's happening on screen. I have been guilty of this myself before - you see what you want to see not the relationship that's really happening!

WE SHOULD! This is clearly the OTP of the future. I was so excited to see that Quinn would be playing a "significant role" in Season 3. I was SO worried that they would jettison him to the great beyond. But I'm hopeful that Saul will work out that Quinn made his own choices and reward him with a job in the team. And you know what happens when people that "hate" each other have to work in close proximity for any period of time!

I think that I will embark upon it this weekend. Nothing if not impressionable!

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

I think that those that are still shipping them as OTP are doing it despite what's happening on screen.
Haha IDK! While I was rummaging around in the Brody/Carrie tag for gifs I saw a lot of flailing over how tragic and epic they are. So.

I was so excited to see that Quinn would be playing a "significant role" in Season 3.
:O \o/ \o/ \o/

I anticipate your wrong!shipping.

[cranmers.livejournal.com]

YAY THIS MEME WILL BE EXCELLENT FOR YOU.

(YAY.)

Looking forward to it.