Wackd
Since: May, 2009
11/25/2014 00:00:00
With regards to Healy—being a homophobic asshole does not preclude being an otherwise decent person, and vice versa. I felt that was done pretty well.
Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.
Austin
Since: Jan, 2001
11/25/2014 00:00:00
I'm afraid I can't agree to that. It wasn't just homophobia, his arrogance and pettiness felt like they came out of nowhere to me. And the later parts of season 1 didn't paint him as a decent guy with some prejudices, they portrayed him as an all around unlikeable asshole. Thank god he got some of his nuance back in season 2.
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A great show overall, but it's problems are hard to ignore.
The show is a fascinating character drama. It's very interesting to unravel the backstories of the individual characters and see how they develop. I also think it provides a nuanced look at the prison system, because it doesn't just acknowledge the problems, but how difficult the problems are to solve. With that said, it surprises me how bad the show can be when it comes to characterization.
Healy went from being a Reasonable Authority Figure to being a complete bastard, with pretty much no transition in between. If his initial personality was meant to be fake, then I don't think that came across well at all. I also don't think homophobia alone explains his actions in the first season finale. With regards to Larry, his character would've been much better if not for a certain action at the beginning at the show that makes it difficult to sympathize with him. Some people hate the love triangle because they don't find it interesting, I hate it because I can't root for either Alex or Larry, and it feels like Piper would be the loser no matter who she ended up with.
I think the show can border on Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy. Naturally you don't expect a prison drama to be a fun romp, but it feels like every victory the characters achieve is eventually snatched away. No matter how little the characters want, even if it's something that doesn't affect the overall plot, the writers seem determined to go the wangsty route every single time. It can sometimes feel like they're trying too hard to be dark.
It's a show that's definitely worth your time. But when it stumbles, it stumbles hard.