The Strong Female Character Archetype

For my first blog post that isn't a review of something, I thought I'd talk about a topic that has been on my mind quite a lot lately, concerning a trend in current-day TV shows and movies. In recent years, there's been growing demand for a certain depiction of women in film. Most refer to this depiction as the strong female character.

Now, this trend certainly isn't a surprise considering the years of film where women were for the most part helpless damsels. It figures that women and even men would get sick of women mostly taking on this role in fiction, and I'm mostly content with this new portrayal being prevalent. However, I do have some issues with it that I'd like to talk about.

A New Archetype
To me, it seems like the "strong female character" has sort of become a new archetype. Instead of making women these passive, emotional damsels, they're instead active, emotionless ass-kickers. In other words, women's roles have simply been reversed and are merely strong in the sense that they can physically kick ass and that they aren't emotional. However, good and memorable characters don't merely come out of capable fighters, but instead usually come out of being relatable, interesting and/or fun. This form of the strong female character is an equally uninteresting depiction of women that takes just as much effort to write as does a damsel. Heck, even Michael Bay, who is notorious for his shameless objectification of women in his films, has Megan Fox's character in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) save the heroes, reversing the damsel/hero roles. Does that inherently make her character a "strong female character?" I don't think so.

Physical Strength vs. Character Strength
The very notion of women needing to be "strong" female characters is pretty silly as it implies they need to be physically strong. Not all well-written female characters are physically strong. A good example of this is Liv Moore from iZombie. Sure, if you count her going full-on zombie mode, then yeah, she is, but most of the time, Liv's strength as a character comes from being relatable. She gets pissed off and angry sometimes. She cries when life comes to a halt, and she can be hilarious when she wants to be; above all, she is written like a human being, not as an archetype used to replace another crappy archetype.

Influence of Gender
Finally, when it comes to writing good female characters the focus shouldn't be, "How do we write a strong female character?", it should be "How do we write a good character?" Whether a character is male or female, the focus should be on trying to make them relatable if they're to be the protagonist and sympathetic if they're to be the antagonist. Obviously, this doesn't always apply, but often times it does. The thing about good female characters, such as Liv, I find, is that them being female isn't their primary attribute. They're not good because they're female or despite that they're female. That's not to say that gender can't ever come into play, but it shouldn't be the primary trait defining who a character is because in real life, that's not what people are like. We have many sides to ourselves, and a good character brings those different sides to the table, which is a big reason we find them likable and/or relatable.

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So overall, strong female characters aren't a bad thing, but we need to remember why we actually tend to find characters memorable. It's not because they are "strong." It's because they're funny, relatable, intriguing  or just plain entertaining for some reason. Therefore, if we want to have better female characters in fiction, we need to allow ourselves to go beyond the "strong female character" archetype. That's of course not to say that there aren't female characters that already go beyond this archetype, as I did use Liv Moore as an example earlier. I am, however, saying that we need to be mindful not to get caught up in the pseudo-feminist depictions of women that merely replace stereotypes with other ones, instead of getting rid of them altogether.

iZombie: Season 1 - Episodes 1-10 + "Astroburger (Review) **SPOILERS**

So since I haven't talked about iZombie on this blog yet, I thought that instead of just reviewing the newest episode, I would talk about what I think about the season so far. When I saw the first trailer for this show, there were a couple of things that came to mind. The concept of the show was unique. It takes a pretty popular thing in our current shows and movies, zombies, and it flips that on it's head. Instead of making the show about people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse, it's about a person who has already become a zombie and has to learn how to continue living a worthwhile life despite her circumstance. Furthermore, not only is the role of the zombie changed, but the tone that is usually prevalent in zombie shows and movies is also flipped. The trailer made the show feel very upbeat and fun, and that made me very curious. I also thought it was pretty cool how the show was based on a comic book series.

EPISODES 1-10:

After seeing some positive reviews for the pilot, I decided to check it out. Not only did I end up liking it, but I ended up loving it. First of all, I was really impressed with how they used Liv's zombie powers for character development. The trailer made it seem like it would merely be used for comedy purposes, which it is partially, but it's used for so much more. In a sense, by eating the brains of other people, Liv gets to both obtain skills and traits of the brain's owner, and as a consequence gets to see life from someone else's perspective. For example, when she eats the brain of a sensual painter, she discovers a passion she never felt back when she was alive, studying hours on end, trying to be a good student. In a sort of ironic way, Liv discovers new ways to live (no pun intended, but it's unavoidable with that kind of name) after she died. This sort of self discovery that Liv continuously makes with each brain she consumes lends itself to a very optimistic and fun show, and it's one of the things I love about it. It also helps that the comedy elevates the mood of it all.

The other thing I adore about this show is its ability to make me instantly care for all its different characters and relationships. In only 11 episodes this show has given each of its characters at least some degree of depth and I have come to really enjoy characters I expected not to like. For example, Major, Liv's ex-fiance, I expected to despise. For the first few episodes, he was just the ex that wanted to get back with her and that she had to distance herself from. Couple episodes later, we learn that he's both a social worker and that he's trying to find some kids that have gone missing. This starts an ongoing conflict where he finds himself in jail and even loses his job, when all he wants to do is to bring justice to the kids that died. As a result, he becomes both very sympathetic and an integral part of the show's main plot involving Blaine's brain food business. I was also surprised that I found Major and Ravi becoming friends very believable, which I expected to come off as forced instead. Their friendship developed quickly, but naturally. I was even surprised to find that I enjoyed Liv's romantic relationship with Lowell. None of the drama surrounding them felt forced or cheap, and generally both parties were mostly reasonable in dealing with each conflict. It was actually made quite interesting with them being zombies; I was honestly torn up when Lowell kicked the bucket.

Now that I've given my general thoughts on the season so far, let's talk about the most recent episode.

EPISODE 11: "ASTROBURGER"

First off, what a weird title. I looked up if it meant anything special on Google, but all I could find was the name of a restaurant in Hollywood. Maybe I missed something about it in the episode. Anyway, this episode may just be my favorite episode of the season. Now, I have to admit that before I got to the ending, I only found this episode kind of enjoyable. It just really irked me how it seemed like they weren't utilizing the hallucinating brain that Liv had eaten nearly enough. All that we got was a talking devil, which was at least somewhat funny. However, once I got to the end, my mind was freaking blown. I couldn't believe that the entire episode Liv had been hallucinating and neither she or the audience knew. There's several reasons why I simply love the way that it was done.

First, I love the fact that if the audience paid enough attention, they could figure out that Liv was hallucinating. Throughout the entire episode, I thought it was sort of weird how Johnny Frost always seemed to be "in character." I figured it was just him being silly, but when you get to the end, it makes perfect sense. Liv's idea of Johnny Frost is the character that she sees on the news, not the real guy, so him acting in character would logically play out in her hallucinations. I also loved the way her hallucination with Major played out as well. I thought it was sort of weird how all of sudden, Major seemed very adamant about getting back with Liv. You'd figure he'd be too caught up with trying to learn more about the zombie thing, and of course that is exactly what is the case. I don't know how sure I am about it, but I'm guessing the hallucinations started when Major returned to Liv's place after first leaving that same night. Come to think of it, we never see Major and Liv together with anybody else around, after he leaves that night. So it would make perfect sense if that is when the hallucinations started. Furthermore, I think it's also awesome that Liv hallucinating about Major in this way fits her current state of mind. Not only does she want Major to be accepting of her being a zombie, but since she lost Lowell, she's yearning for someone to be by her side. Since she and Major are so close, it figures it'd be he who she hallucinates about.

Another thing that I enjoyed about this episode is how it takes advantage of one plot point to create another. It was creative to make the murder victim the person that Major met in the mental hospital. It surprisingly isn't contrived as his murder had nothing to do with zombies, which if it did, may have been pretty silly.

Overall, this was a fantastic episode, not only building towards the season finale, but also managing to continue the episodic structure of the previous episodes. I'm hyped for the next episode, and even more, the season finale.

Arrow: Season 3 - "My Name Is Oliver Queen" / Finale (Review) **SPOILERS**

A bit over a week ago, the third season finale of Arrow premiered on the CW. I am sad to say that like the rest of the season, it was a huge disappointment. Season 3 started off pretty promising introducing the premise of Oliver and even some other characters like Quentin and Diggle dealing with what living a dangerous lifestyle meant for them. Oliver dealt with how being The Arrow affects his possibilities of ever being able to start a family, Diggle dealt with the fact that he might not be able to be part of Team Arrow once his baby is born, and Quentin dealt with the possibility that he may actually be in too bad shape to continue being out in the field helping Team Arrow. However, most of these ideas are almost completely dropped by the end of the season. Quentin seems in pretty good shape by the end of the season with no explanation. Diggle and Lyla's daughter is barely mentioned throughout most of the season except for a few token moments, making her birth seem rather inconsequential. And Oliver's arc is only touched upon in a few episodes at the beginning of the season and at the end of the season. Suffice it to say, this season felt like being shot with three arrows to the chest (sorry Sara). Let's look at the few pros and the many cons.

PROS:

• Sufficient Acting

Despite how cheesy and bad the writing was this episode, the acting continues to be mostly good. The way Amell says, "My name is Oliver Queen" is admittedly well delivered and carries a lot of intensity to it. I also liked the way he delivered the speech to Ra's after he killed him. There was something poetic about the way that was done, and I actually appreciated that.

• Good Production Value

Not a lot to say. Arrow usually delivers in its sound effects, music and visual effects and this episode is no different.

CONS:

• Olicity Overload and Lots of Cheese

This entire season, the writers have tried so hard to hammer in how much Olicity is meant to be, and it's quite frankly absurd. The season literally ends with Olicity riding off into the sunset. What the heck is up with that? Plus, that's not even the worst part. Felicity saving Ollie with the ATOM suit is so stupid I don't know where to start. First, how did she fit into the suit when it's literally made for Ray's body. Second, even if she did fit, how can she fly it so well. It took Ray several episodes to get it work and Felicity flies it perfectly the first time she puts it on. Even worse, despite the fact that she can fly it, she can't get the headpiece off? How does that make sense? The entire scenario was so ridiculous I couldn't hold my laughter in. It was like I was watching an Arrow parody. I think the most absurd Olicity scene was the one where she literally utters the opening to the show: "Someone else, something else..." Yes, because fuck subtlety.

• Oliver Doing Horrible Things and No One Reacting to it

I have a hard time buying Oliver saying, "I'm happy," at the end of the episode because this is right after he broke his vows not to kill again by murdering Ra's, and thereafter giving the League to the former terrorist who tried to destroy the Glades, killed his dad, killed Sara and killed his best friend. Yeah, I don't see how that could go wrong. Unless, of course, Oliver doesn't consider himself responsible for whatever Merlyn ends up doing. Also, I have a hard time buying the League accepting Merlyn. I mean, they accepted Oliver because there was a formal ceremony letting him join the League. Malcolm wasn't formally recognized. Heck, most of the League should probably hate him for how he betrayed them. If all you need is the ring, why didn't Merlyn just steal the damn thing. Also, again, how does Oliver justify his murder? I'd be fine if he gave a reason for why it's cool to do that, but no one questions his decision, so I guess he doesn't feel the need to explain himself. So much for honoring Tommy.

• The Way Ra's Al Ghul Dies

The way that Oliver kills Ra's is probably the most ridiculous and hilarious thing in this episode next to Felicity saving Oliver in the ATOM suit. Basically, Oliver is being held against a rail about to be killed by Ra's, when suddenly he easily takes his sword from him, stabbing and killing him instantly. The way it's choreographed, it looks like Ra's lets himself get killed, which I don't think they were going for. It's quite silly honestly; it's like, this is the part where Ra's dies, and Ra's lets Oliver win. I couldn't help but laugh.

• Arrow Finding Ways to Ruin The Flash

When I heard The Flash was coming to help on Arrow, I was like, "Finally. You should have called him for help earlier, Oliver." His appearance however is really disappointing. First of all, the way he beats League members super easily is kind of dumb. I know the League wouldn't be able to defeat the Flash, but shouldn't they at least put up a fight. It's like they turned it storm troopers all of the sudden, which is kind of the way they've been this whole season, contrary to how bad ass they were in Season 2 when they came after Sara. Second of all, why is Barry so joke-y. It seems like whenever he shows up on Arrow he becomes overly comedic. I know he's optimistic, but he doesn't usually joke that much on Flash. It's especially out of character if you know what's happening on The Flash, where the plot is taking a dark turn in the finale. I know they don't want to spoil the other show, but be consistent in characterization. Third and finally, why won't Barry help Team Arrow stop the bio weapon? He makes the excuse that they probably got it, and that he needs to talk to Wells. I mean, I know he really wants to learn the truth (I won't spoil The Flash on here), but if you watch The Flash, you know there really is no urgency to talk to Wells. Isn't saving millions of lives more important than talking to Wells right now? All this does is make Barry look selfish, meaning this season finale actually hurts The Flash as well.

• Three Terrorist Attacks in Three Years

"Must be May," says Quentin Lance, saying what every other viewer is thinking. Look, I know they want to do something big for a season finale, but does it have to be another attack on Starling City? I thought it would be more appropriate to have the season finale take place in Nanda Parbat. Do the Team Arrow vs. the League of Assassins as the season finale not the episode before the season finale. It's just takes me out of the show when I see stuff like this happen on Arrow, and I figured this time they'd do something different, but no, because coming up with a creative finale is hard. What's worse is that I predicted this like so many others did. The moment the bio weapon was introduced, most people knew that it would play into the finale. It's literally the most predictable thing ever. By next year, Starling City needs to have the military on stand-by all throughout the month of May, or I'm going to call BS.

• It Was Too Rushed

Not only is the actual plot for the finale predictable, but the execution of it feels very sloppy. Last season's finale had its issues, but making it a three part-er that took place over the course of one day made it feel very movie-like, especially with all the great production value. The production value for this finale was fine, but the conflict came and went way too quickly. It especially feels that way towards the end, where they try to close off the season with so many scenes that literally go several minutes over the show's running time. It's like they forgot they needed to finish the season, so they rushed the end of each plot that's been going on this season in the last few episodes. They stop the bio weapon way too quickly and the cure is created almost instantly. At least with last season's finale, the Mirakuru cure took several episodes to create, and even when they had it, it was taken from them abruptly. Furthermore, the entire threat of the bio weapon left pretty much no impact on me as it was quite clear that they were going to find and release a cure almost immediately. It made Ra's look pretty lame when his grand plan was stopped with such ease.

• Lance's Anti-Vigilante Plot Was Disappointing

I never understood why the writers felt the need to re-do the same damn plot they did in season 1. Not only do Lance's reasons for being mad at the Arrow make little sense, but the way he's suddenly on board with him again is way too quickly resolved, and honestly makes his arc feel pointless. What's worse is that repeating the season 1 plot shows exactly why season 1 is so much better than season 3. Lance's growth to being on board with the Arrow was gradual and felt natural. His progression this season is sudden and with little build up. It helps that Paul Blackthorne's performance is really good, but his arc was still super lame.

• Coast City?

What are the odds that Oliver goes to Coast City at the same time as he did 5 years earlier? I figured after Hong Kong, he would go to Russia, since we know he was part of the Russian Mafia at one point, and that he speaks Russian fluently. Seriously, did he only spend two years on the island? That makes his adjustment to regular life in Season 1 feel pretty pointless since he's been among people for quite some time after the island. I'm guessing that they're building towards Green Lantern or something with all the Ferris Air related stuff on both The Flash and Arrow, but it's still really convenient, in my opinion.

Minor Nitpicks:

• What About Robert Queen and Tommy?

When Oliver tells Malcolm that he will never forgive him for what he did to his sister and Sara, it really bugs me how he doesn't mention Tommy or his dad. Malcolm is responsible for both of their deaths and the fact that Oliver doesn't bring them up feels like really sloppy writing. It just goes to show how the writers have lacked focus on what the show is about, and whenever they do remember minor details, it's stuff like the color of Felicity's pen when she and Oliver first met (again with the cheese).

• The Episode Title

Am I alone in thinking that "My Name is Oliver Queen" sounds like the series finale title? I mean, it is the way each episode starts, so I figured that is the way they would end the series. It's even stranger when Oliver seemingly retires at the end of the episode, making this feel even more like a series finale. It's not a huge issue, but it did bug me.

Reflections on Season 3:

I'm not going to get into too many specifics, but my biggest issue with this season is how it's lacked focus, pacing and competent writing. Almost every character has done things that feel out of character for them to do, and the plot contrivances used to artificially lengthen the season are laughable. The writing, again, has been incredibly cheesy, making this feel less like a gritty superhero show and more like an angst-y soap opera. I've heard that next season, the show is getting new writers and the tone will be lighter, so maybe there is some hope left. For now, however, Arrow is going to have to work pretty hard to win me over again. 

The Flash: Season 1 - "Fast Enough" / Finale (Review) **SPOILERS**

In much the same way that The Flash is the opposite of Arrow in tone, its season finale is the opposite of Arrow in quality. It was absolutely fantastic. Not only did it pay off Barry's character arc and give an epic conclusion to an overall great season, but it also gave all my favorite characters some tense, well acted and incredibly emotional moments. Make sure to have tissues on stand-by because this episode will make you cry on several occasions. So let's dig into the episode. Let's start with the bad, so that we can get to the juicy bits.

CONS:

• Eddie's Character Arc

While Eddie's death took me by surprise, I was a little disappointed that his character didn't get much of an arc this season. He started off as an unlikable douche that was merely an obstacle for Barry, but eventually turned out to be a pretty likable guy. I kind of wish less time had been spent on his relationship with Iris and more time with his desire to be a hero. When Eddie says, "[A hero] is all I ever wanted to be," it came off like that was the conclusion of his character arc. This arc, however, was never really introduced until this episode. While the way Rick Cosnett delivered his final lines did make me teary-eyed, I think that if wanting to be hero had been made more of a focus of Eddie's character, I think his death could have left more of an impact than it did.

• Caitlin Getting No Scene with Wells

While pretty much every scene involving Wells was great, I was disappointed that Caitlin didn't get a private scene with him. I loved the whole family dynamic of STAR Labs that the show has been emphasizing this season, and I feel like that in order to make that leave more of an impact, there needed to be at least one scene with just Caitlin and Wells.

PROS:

• Grant Gustin's Greatest Performance to Date

I think this episode reaffirms why I initially loved Grant Gustin as The Flash. Gustin totally brought his A-game with this episode, especially in the scenes with Jesse Martin and Tom Cavanagh. I think the best and most emotional scene in this episode is when Barry chooses not to save his mom, but still gets to say goodbye to his mom. The way Gustin delivers every line in that scene hit me in all the right places. I can't say that I cry this often watching television, but that scene was hard to watch without feeling the pain Barry was going through. Long story short, this is Gustin's best performance of the entire series. I just hope he can keep it up for season two. If he does, I have high hopes for the future of this show.

• Tom Cavanagh's Greatest Performance to Date

Like with Grant Gustin, this episode contains Tom Cavanagh's best performance on this show. This really shines through since he gets quite a bit of screen time and gets scenes with so many characters. In the scene where he spills the truth to Barry at the beginning of the episode, Cavanagh speaks with great passion about how he sees Present and Future Barry differently. When he speaks with Cisco, the compassion he shows feels creepy, but also quite genuine. When he's yelling at Barry for not saving Nora, you really feel the frustration and anger spilling out as he's ready to vibrate his hand through Barry's heart. I could go on, but I think I make my case. This was such a fantastic performance that when Thawne (played by Matt Letscher) says, "I've controlled your life for so long, Barry. How will you get along without me?", I have to agree. How will Barry get along without him? More importantly, how will the show get along without Tom Cavangh?

• Ethics of Time Travel

One of the things that I really appreciated about this episode was just how much of it was dedicated to the debate over time travel ethics. Now, I will say that the debate could have used some more arguments on the the pro-time-traveling side since there were so many reasons not to change the past. I will also say that it did bother me that no one seemed to bring up the fact that time traveling may result in many people never being born or some people being killed earlier than usual. However, I still appreciated the tremendous time dedicated to a ethical debate that one has to address before ever considering time travel, especially in a drama such as this one.

• Easter Eggs Ahoy

I probably missed some of them, but I will bring up all the ones I noticed. We saw the original Jay Garrick helmet coming out of the wormhole, hinting that we may actually get to meet him later in the series. He probably won't be the original Flash since Barry seems to be the first one, but he might be from a different time and dimension. Considering that Wells (I know his name is Thawne but he'll always be Wells to me) seemed to know what the helmet was, there's a good chance he has either met or heard about the Jay Garrick Flash. We also saw, within the speed force, an early look at Killer Frost and the Flash Museum. I'm really hoping these two show up in the near future, and I wouldn't be surprised if they actually did. These are all the ones I noticed, other than the Rip Hunter reference, but since we know he will be in Legends of Tomorrow, that doesn't really feel like an easter egg. If I missed anything, feel free to let me know.

• Father Son Dynamics

I've always enjoyed the dynamics that Barry has had with his three father figures, and this episode highlights all three of them very well. His scene with Henry Allen helps give Barry perspective on what his mother would have wanted Barry to do. His scenes with Joe show just how much Barry gained despite all his tragedies: "I was born with one father, and that tragedy gave me another." I seriously teared up when Barry said, "Goodbye, dad," to Joe. His scenes with Wells show just how much being around Barry can make even someone like Eobard Thawne grow a strong bond with him. Futhermore, Cisco's father-son relationship with Wells is further reinforced as Well gives him both a family with STAR Labs and his Vibe powers, almost signifying a figurative birth. "A great and honorable destiny awaits you now. I only hope as you're living your great adventure that you remember who gave you that life, and that it was given out of love." That line is not only awesome, but further reinforces Thawne's view of himself as a father to Cisco.

• Parallels with the Pilot

I noticed some pretty cool parallels between the finale and the pilot that illustrate just how far Barry has come since the beginning of the season. First, you have Wells saying, "Run, Barry, run," like he did when Barry was trying to stop the tornado in the pilot. Second, you have Barry saying the lines, "I have to try", before going to stop the wormhole, the same ones he used before going to stop the tornado. Third and finally, Barry has to stop a similar threat to the one in the pilot (an upside down tornado) except on a much larger scale signifying how much he has grown since the pilot and how much more sure he has become of himself.

• I'm an Emotional Wreck

I kind of already went over this in all the other categories, but I feel like this deserves its own point. This episode is not only one of the best episodes of the season/series so far, but it is without a doubt the most emotional one. There are so many scenes where it's hard not to tear up. I think the most heartbreaking scenes include the scene where Barry says goodbye to Nora, the scene where Eddie dies, and the scene where Barry tells Joe how much he cares about him and how he sees him as a father. There's not much else to say. The actor's performances, including Michelle Harrison as Nora and Jesse Martin as Joe, really elevate the emotions of these scenes really raising this from a great finale to a spectacular finale.

• An Optimistic Conclusion

Despite just how emotional and heartbreaking this finale was, I was quite impressed how it still managed to have quite an optimistic ending. When Wells shouts, "You could have had everything you ever wanted," (incredibly well delivered by the way), Barry replies, smiling, "I already do." Despite all the bad things that have happened and all the hard decisions he has had to make, he can still find a way to see the bright side of things. I think this optimism doesn't just show itself at the end, but also permeates the entire episode. When Barry and Joe are discussing the morality of saving Barry's mom in the treadmill room, Barry points out that despite all the bad that has happened to him, he has still had a great life because of Joe. In that manner, I think this episode flawlessly embraces the optimism that I've come to appreciate about this show.

Reflections on Season 1:

With such a fantastic finale, I only have a few minor quibbles with this season. First, the metahumans could have been a lot more interesting. Most of them have been pretty lame with the exception of Wells, Barry, Firestorm and even Plastique. Second, the entire love triangle feels so beneath every other plot in this show; it feels completely unnecessary. Third, Iris was pretty disappointing. She got very little to do except be the unlikable one in a love triangle. Maybe since she knows Barry's secret now, she will have a more interesting role next season. Fourth, the ethics of keeping metahumans illegally imprisoned underneath STAR Labs should have been addressed far earlier in the season, and not in the last episode before the finale.

Other than these issues, however, I thought this season was quite a fun ride. I simply can't wait for season two.