Who were the stronger characters?  The weakest?  Why?

Nicole:

My favorite character was Sebastian Monroe, and I felt he was probably the strongest character.  I feel that this had more to do with David’s portrayal of Bass than of the writing for the Bass character.  In the last two episodes and the two episodes leading to the mid season hiatus we got some good character development as far as what happened to his family (we still have no clue what happened to Ben and Miles’ parents…maybe his father IS Mulder’s champion Senator Matheson!!!) We found out about that concussion thing – which shows that Bass has a difficult time knowing when he has gone too far, and he actually seems embarrassed about it.  Whereas the scene made it seem like this character defect of Bass’s has always been a source of amusement to Miles, which would seem to proffer proof as to why Bass wouldn’t see it coming when Miles tried to kill him…but that also opened up a huge hole for me.  Why would Miles have put Bass in charge like that if he knew that character defect in Bass?  Aside from the stupid plot points of the nuclear bomb in Atlanta and the weaponization of anthrax, Bass’s character seemed very consistent.  I have definitely thought about this possibly too much and remarked that it is very possible that if someone other than David Lyons were playing Bass, I may not have fallen in love with him.  I wonder if Billy had played him if I would have loved the character as much.  The truth is, I initially loved Miles, Bass is someone I fell in love with over the course of the first half of the season.  I went from being angry at Kripke for making Bass so likable to flat out falling in love with him.  

I was mad at Miles for most of the second half of the season, but I have to admit for a character written as being a real jerk, I really liked him for quite some time…and it wasn’t until he was being a jerk to Bass that I just gave up on him.  I felt that Miles was a strong character by Billy’s portrayal and by the importance given to him by Bass.

As mentioned earlier, I think the weakest character was Danny.  Graham was adorable, but a poor casting choice for someone they made be so ill.  Maybe if they explained more in the beginning about how bad off Danny had been and how the was he was now was a “miracle” but much of the stuff about how bad off Danny was didn’t come out until after he was dead.  It was still a stretch, but a little more plausible when he just had asthma. 

Nora was a very weak character as well, as mentioned about regarding being relegated to plot device and in the end emotional manipulation.

Of the characters still alive, I think they need to do something about Charlie.  I feel like her development and her portrayal has been inconsistent to date.  I hope they are able to find a way to make her strong and yet still feminine–maybe they need to actually WATCH Buffy, instead of just talking about using themes.  SMG was brilliant with being strong and girly so it is possible for it to be portrayed.

Bookdal:

Strongest characters: Monroe, Neville, Rachel, and Miles

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I think they were the strongest because the actors are so well matched and the storylines make sense. The entangled mess between Miles/Rachel is augmented by the dysfunction between both Miles/Monroe and Monroe/Rachel. Seriously, I need to see more of this Bermuda triangle of emotional manipulation. It’s like some strange candy that has sugar, coffee, and meth mixed together. I’m gonna call it a Kripkers Bar – like a Snickers but guaranteed to fill you with delicious angst.

And as for Neville, I have two words: Giancarlo Esposito. I mean, really, that’s all you need to know. All you need to know.

Weakest characters: Charlie and Jason

I think it’s a two-fold weakness – first the story has been intermittent for these two. Both have become accessories to the stories of their parents without much spotlight on them, except for the random face shot. I think also that the backstories have so overwhelmed the plot that it is hard to make room for characters with little backstory. It would work if the writers concentrated more on how these events are effecting them, and with Charlie there has been some of that, but it’s been limited and has weakened to characters. Also I need more than beauty to invest me in the characters and I can’t help but feel these are Hunger Games homage characters (remember Charlie even had a bow and arrow). So they need to be integrated more for me to see them as stronger characters.

Far Away Eyes:

I think the strongest characters were Miles, Monroe, Neville, and Rachel. They seemed to form the most interesting story lines for various reasons. Miles showed us a man with deep flaws that did some awful things past and present and a man willing to do anything to survive or help his family survive—and sometimes he seemed almost irredeemable due to some of those actions, but then we’d see under the gruff exterior Miles do something or say something that reminded us that he isn’t the bad ass he thinks he is. Monroe is the figure standing in for what absolute power looks like and how it can corrupt those with the best of intentions until they are feeding their own paranoia and making it reality by forcing sometimes those around them to react to that. Either they submit in fear completely or they rise up and try to take over. Towards the end of the season, we got to see that underneath his harsh exterior that Monroe was really a scared little boy looking for someone to save him from himself. Pair that with Miles and I think the show can become a very character driven storyline.

Neville really seemed to carry portions of his story singlehandedly. I found myself wanting to know what his motivations really were and what he wanted most. Often we want to know what a character wants immediately, but the not knowing what side he was on really kept me guessing and invested in what he would do next. I’ll be curious to see where they take him in season two as he’s now being set up as the big bad. How much will power corrupt him and what will that follow out be?

Rachel was another mysterious character. I wasn’t really able to figure her out, but what she seemed to do for the story was push it along by her own actions and motivations. She is the one that leads the race to the Tower that eventually sets up the finale. It’s Rachel that will kill anyone that gets in her way without really batting an eye and she’s possibly the type of female character Kripke had envisioned Charlie would be but clearly isn’t.

The weakest would have to be Charlie and Jason. They’re so naïve for a world that seems to be survival of the fittest that sometimes it’s hard to believe that either would fall for the things they have. Charlie’s idealism is a nice quality and while I like that about her character, it’s not enough to explain why she gets into some of the situations she does. On the other hand, we are also supposed to believe that she can kill others with so many weapons and is this tough girl. It’s all very inconsistent for me on that level because who is the real Charlie? The girl that needs Miles to save her each episode or the skilled fighter? Jason is much in the same situation. He seems to follow Charlie like a lost puppy, and I have to wonder now that he’s going to be working with his dad if that’ll still be his MO.

Alice:

 
It took a while, but I’m very glad the Miles and Bass dynamic ended up emerging as the primary story line.  They were clearly the strongest characters, by far.  Theirs is a truly dysfunctional relationship, but they still have a huge history together and I’m glad the show tried to flesh that out a bit rather them throwing away all that history and having them blow each other up.  I was very impressed with what David Lyons did with his character, especially when Sebastian was written all over the map.  I didn’t think I would like Billy Burke for Miles, but he far exceeded my expectations.  Together, these two are amazing on screen.  You honestly believe that they are truly brothers in arms, and this is what happens when brothers fight.  

The weakest were everyone else, which is a shame because Elizabeth Mitchell and Giancarlo Esposito are such incredible actors.  altTheir characters, Rachel and Neville, just weren’t given the clear definition they deserved.  Daniella Alonzo and Zack Orth did very well with what they were given, but Aaron and Nora were mostly wallpaper.  Aaron was definitely wasted most of the season.  His purpose was vital in getting the power back on but for the other 19 episodes they had no idea what to do with him.  The writers were so desperate to give Aaron a side story they shoved in the unnecessary plot where he and his ex-wife meeting in passing.  Nora was never given a great story except she looked great in her underwear and a uniform jacket, and but she did die a spectacular and heartbreaking death.  Great how they introduced a headstrong female character just to kill her.  Jason was not well defined and never given a chance to shine, and the chemistry between he and Charlie, and he and Neville just seemed forced.  

But let’s get into Charlie, shall we?  A lot of time was spent on her character development, and it rarely worked.  That could be because of the actress.  I think Tracy Spiridakos improved a lot through the season, but I don’t think we ever connected with Charlie.  She only had one facial expression and her character was more cliche than compelling.  The writing of her character was poor for sure, I do accept that, but when on the screen with other, more experienced actors who could spin gold out of crap, she was often pushed into the background instead of being the strong female lead Kripke envisioned.  Charlie often sucked the life out of the episode when brought to the forefront.  

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