I pretty much agree. But the really relevant part of that sentence, to me, is "choose". Claire was about to start making her own choices in the world, and that was completely undercut by her father's return. Did I mention that kestrell stopped watching months ago, because the show is so awful from a feminist perspective? With the occasional exception of Claire, all the women are not just idiots and/or evil, but whiny and powerless or evil. The women routinely screw up in their power usage, in ways that the men just don't (such as how Peter is far more effective with Elle's power than she ever is). Claire's retreat beneath her dad's authority is another nail in that coffin.
Secrets and lies do have the draw of being able to walk the streets in relative peace
I would call that an illusionary peace, since it is accompanied by the constant fear of discovery. But I recognize that I have a more radical distrust of secrets and lies than most people :-/
heroes have had secret identities since the inception of the genre for a reason
But that was never done because it made the characters more plausible; it was done because it made the characters easier for readers to identify with. "My schoolmates pick on me, just like everyone picks on Clark Kent, but I'm really a superhero and they don't know it." As the superhero readership ages, the secret identity is steadily going out of fashion. (With the exception of the biggest trademarks, who tend to be set in stone on a corporate level.)
It's a compelling choice for *writers*, both for the above reason, and because it allows them an excuse to keep running back to the Reset Switch.
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Date: 2007-12-06 04:04 pm (UTC)I pretty much agree. But the really relevant part of that sentence, to me, is "choose". Claire was about to start making her own choices in the world, and that was completely undercut by her father's return. Did I mention that
Secrets and lies do have the draw of being able to walk the streets in relative peace
I would call that an illusionary peace, since it is accompanied by the constant fear of discovery. But I recognize that I have a more radical distrust of secrets and lies than most people :-/
heroes have had secret identities since the inception of the genre for a reason
But that was never done because it made the characters more plausible; it was done because it made the characters easier for readers to identify with. "My schoolmates pick on me, just like everyone picks on Clark Kent, but I'm really a superhero and they don't know it." As the superhero readership ages, the secret identity is steadily going out of fashion. (With the exception of the biggest trademarks, who tend to be set in stone on a corporate level.)
It's a compelling choice for *writers*, both for the above reason, and because it allows them an excuse to keep running back to the Reset Switch.