Subject: Re: special Christmas episode
Author:
Posted on: 2014-12-26 05:46:00 UTC
This got rather opinionated, for which I apologize, but I feel it's an important thing to discuss.
I don't like the heavy focus on the gore of the Sue deaths. Partly, this is because it flies in the face of how PPC agents do things. Showy, dramatic displays of skill and arrogance are Sue things, not PPC things. Now, I know some of these Sues' deaths were brought about by canon characters, or, in the case of the chef Sue, her own illogical behavior, but you wrote those; hence, they are still deaths caused by a PPCer.
I think the worst example is the feminism Sue. It actually starts out excellently: an agent and Sue in a Mexican standoff, with the tension suddenly being broken by another agent singing a Christmas Carol. That's fantastic: there's danger there, but it gets interrupted by bizarre and slightly awkward humor. Now Rashida has the opportunity to put a bullet through the temple, and the scene can go on—
Except that the scene doesn't go on. Rashida disarms the Sue instead, giving said Sue the opportunity to fight back (read: show off and garner more screen time). This fight then leads to a horrific accident involving parts of a Christmas tree, followed by a slow, loud death by being eaten alive by sentient predators while the Sue begs.
Here's a brief list of things I don't find funny or entertaining to read about:
-dying people begging for mercy
-a detailed description of someone being literally eaten alive
-someone's internal organs being punctured by ornaments from a Christmas tree, a symbol of bringing together my loved ones
I mean, this is sadistic. To put this kind of scene in a story that a) purports to take place alongside some of Disney's animated canons, and b) in your obligatory Christmas episode is just very, very bothersome to me. I would charge for a scene like this being included in a badfic for any of the canons you represented here.
But a further problem, to get back to what I was saying about that particular assassination: when you give a big, dramatic fight scene like this to a Sue, it's reinforcing the Sue's power, whereas the purpose of the PPC is to take away power from the Sue, and give it back to canon.
Now, I'm not saying missions should never end in big, dramatic scenes, because there have been some good ones here and there. But I find it more satisfying when a Sue is defeated, not because xir power was matched, by a stronger (more Suish) force, but because xir power was subverted, rendered immaterial in the grand scheme of the re-emerging canon. (I know this wasn't a mission, and that the Sues were made up, but the treatment of them still matters.)
Now, you actually had an excellent example in your Friendship Is Magic mission below. (And I apologize for not responding to both separately, but I read both during the same work shift, and I need to get to sleep.) I liked the outcome you gave to E.V.L.'s attempt to dispatch the replacement villain: E.V.L.'s Suvian assumption of "I do thing and succeed" falling flat on it's face against the fully powered Sue is a great example of why taking on a Sue on xir own terms is a terrible idea, not only because it's dangerous for the agents, but because it gives the Sue a chance to shine even brighter than before. The replacement's eventual successful assassination is better, as it involved a distraction, followed by stripping of the powers. It's still marred, in my opinion, by the violence inherent in the scene (in a My Little Pony story!). The snapping off of the horn I could have forgiven on its own, since it's a logical way to deprive a unicorn of xir magic, but coupled with the blood draining assassination method . . . it's just gross to read. (How did that work, really? Wasn't E.V.L.'s head detached while she drank that blood? Where did it go?) I actually wasn't initially planning on commenting on it, since you gave signs at the end of that mission that both agents are due to have their powers hobbled, but I decided to bring it up, too, after reading the Christmas story.
Okay, I feel like I rambled maybe too much (and deleted a good deal of what I wrote, may it please thee). Part of this got very opinionated, and again, I apologize for that, but I can only review from my own point of view, and sometimes it's unavoidable. Let me just summarize what I was aiming for:
1. I'm not saying never have dramatic fight scenes that show off a Sue's powers. They can be fun, but they should be a sometimes food, like cookies or ketchup sandwiches; otherwise, they get tiresome and boring to read, and miss the point of the PPC-as-a-whole's problem with Sues.
2. I personally hate reading gore. (Or watching it, but that's not relevant.) It's especially off-putting in situations where it doesn't belong (kid-oriented continua, love-themed holidays, etc.). Obviously, I can't stop you from being the violence-themed PPC spin-off, if that's what you like to write, but . . . I'm unlikely to keep reading your work if it's going to continue featuring scenes of this borderline-sadistic nature. That's just how I feel.