So, Alphas

[rivkat]

Anyone else getting the X-Men vibe that maybe our heroes aren't playing for the right side, exactly?  I don't know if I'd call David Strathairn's performance mannered, because I'm not really sure what people mean when they say that, but boy howdy his character is an ass.  I really like him claiming that he "doesn't think in those terms," which is pretty much like saying that "I don't see race" even for someone who <em>doesn't</em> routinely send Alphas upstate to be experimented on.  And by really like I mean, I am beginning to see a character who I'll enjoy hating.  I also enjoy Nina the manipulator as moral arbiter.

If we aren't supposed to find Dr. Rosen skeevy, then the disability politics of the show are terrible; if we are (they can't be that oblivious, can they?), then I'm just not sure.

Fun uses of powers; I hope there will continue to be surprises.

Comments

[fanaddict]

Honestly, if I had to bet on TV writers being subtle or oblivious when it comes to things like race/gender/disability/etc politics, I'd almost consider it a sucker bet for anything other than oblivious. It makes me sad (alternated with furious depending on my emotional investment with the show and/or how bad the fail is).

I started out ok with Rosen's baseline skeeviness, because I felt like he truly wanted to help TrueShot guy stay out of prison/Binghamton (growing up about an hour west of Binghamton and traveling through there whenever I visit family, I find this mutant prison being placed there very amusing). By this last ep I'm kind of fed up with his seeming intentional blindness toward what's being planned for mutants. Still, if I had to bet (what can I say, I like to bet), I'd guess he's getting a hero's journey from being unknowingly part of the problem to acknowledging the problem and fighting for his people (also wouldn't surprise me if he has some mutant power like empathic persuadability or something, although equally him being human is part of the interesting dynamic he and his team have - although by interesting I mean very skeevy/completely unequal).

I turned to my husband last night and commented that between Alphas and X-Men, I always end up on the side of the supposed bad guys because their desire to save their own kind makes sense to me, even while their actual choices mean they are baddies.

[samjohnsson]

I've had a strong X-Men vibe from ep 1, and especially since ep 2, with Marcus. I will agree with fanaddict that I'm going to be rooting for Red Flag before long, depending on their intentions. (Hell, the fact that someone as affected as s04's guest is in charge, in spite of her interaction disabilities, speaks a LOT in their favor.)

I hope we are supposed to find Rosen skeevy, because otherwise, dear gods, that's a horrible characterization to expect us to connect to. I will say that I can connect to the rest of the team pretty damn well - considering how their characterizations are, either Rosen's skeeviness is script-purposeful or actor-fault.

I do agree on Nina - considering how she "pays" for everything, the fact that she's the moral compass for the group is kind of telling.