Case in point: my argument with Emily mostly focused on the general merits of Evangeline Lilly's character "Kate" on the popular ABC drama 'Lost.' Emily and I didn't simply disagree: we raised our voices, caused internal bleeding, knocked a few teeth out, yanked on some hair, I even caught a .22 caliber bullet in the outer thigh and I was so mad when it happened, I didn't even feel it.
It got crazy.
But I've cooled down since then and in the spirit of both closure and fair journalism, I'd like to present Emily's main arguments as evenly and accurately as I can while offering my own rebuttals wherever appropriate.
I should warn those of you continuing to read, that this might not be your favorite blog if you don't follow the show. I promise to write another embarrassing anecdote about my childhood, quirky recounting of some drunk night I recently had, or my subjective insights on what makes women so damn confusing, in a blog coming soon.
Anyway, here's what went down:
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1. Evangeline Lilly cannot act.I will start off with Emily's fairest point. I too agree that Evengeline Lilly strikes more of a physical chord than an emotional one. I'm still not sure why the producers of the show trekked all the way to Canada to find a 27-year-old actress with buck teeth and dimples. She must know someone important. Which is interesting because I was unaware that anyone important would ever befriend a Canadian.
Counterpoint: I know I said that I agree with Emily's assessment of Evangeline Lilly's acting chops, but I also feel compelled to say that judging acting is a subjective activity. I don't think Matthew Fox ("Jack"), or Josh Holloway ("Sawyer") are particularly subtle actors either and they share the bulk of the screentime with Lilly - which is a point of contention with Emily, as you will soon learn.
2. Kate is too young to be with either Sawyer or Jack.
Emily felt that Kate was cast too young. Her feelings of the character's age come into play for two reasons. The first because of the 40-year old Fox and the 37-year-old Holloway they've cast as her romantic counterparts. The second reason being due to her abilities. Kate is too good at tracking, fighting and so-on to only be a 27-year-old woman.
Counterpoint: As far as the romantic angle goes, you should probably ask Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lara Flynn-Boyle, Calista Flockhart or the millions of other women highly attracted to older guys, to get a feel for how much sense that argument makes.As far as her ability exceeding her age... I can conceed that Emily's got a point. We just don't know a whole helluva lot about Kate. I interjected the point (after I pulled a few of the hair extensions out of her head but right before she popped a cap in my thigh) that we don't really have a definitive idea why Locke is so good at tracking and hunting, we don't really know why Michael's experience as a structural architect translates into building a boat (or even thinking he could) and therefore not knowing why Kate can do the things she can, shouldn't be much of a stumbling block.
3. There are three main characters, Kate is one of them and she doesn't deserve to be.So what has Kate done to deserve going on the numerous expeditions into the jungle? Locke is the hunter, Jack is the doctor, Sayid knows the ways of war.
Kate has freckles.
She only gets to play with the big dogs because the big dogs think she's foxy.
Counterpoint: Okay. But within the context of the show, her forcing her way into the group is all the proof I need that she belongs there. She's rough(ish) and tough(ish). Maybe we're not satisfied with these characteristics, but nevertheless they are her characteristics.
I'm not happy with the musician's main characteristic being that he's hooked on drugs, nor do I like the fact that the one fat guy on the island most wants to please everyone. But hey, it's their show, not mine.
I realized after last night's episode that Kate is a liability.** I can no longer deny it. If I were heading into the jungle and we were doing grade-school "pick 'em" to decide who went, Kate would be picked only before Hurley, because Hurley is fat and the fat kids always got picked last.
What was I saying?
Oh yeah. Kate.
She's a liability, but she's also clever. Emily seemed to be fooling herself into thinking that we don't live in a world where men do things they don't want to do because a woman is nearby.
Adam's BIG tip of the day: EVERY male over the age of 12 has done something they wouldn't normally do because of a girl or woman.
So you can be upset that Jack lets Kate tag along because she's cute, but if it's not realistic that a 27-year-old woman knows how to track and detect boobytraps, how realistic would it be for guys not to give a little leaway toward pretty girls?
Your beef is with the world, not with 'Lost'.
4. The female characters on 'Lost' are either boring or secondary.
Kate is the only main female character and she's mysterious (i.e.: boring). Every other woman - well-written as they may be - lingers on the fringes.
Counterpoint: A funny rebuttal to this would be to suggest that women, in real life, are either boring or secondary, but I'd get in big trouble with too many people to make the joke worth it.So for the record, I never made that joke.
I cannot prove it, but having watched the bulk of season 2 within the span of a month, I feel confident that Ana-Lucia had more airtime than Kate did last year.
But this is neither here nor there because we're moving into complaining about
the show itself, which is an exercise that doesn't make a whole lot of sense considering both Emily and I really like this show.5. Kate's backstory is cliche.
I discussed this point with my friends Zak and Jason. Zak tended to agree with Emily's assessment that Kate just doesn't have a whole lot going on. Which isn't to suggest that every character in 'Lost' has an amazing backstory, but Kate's is particularly foggy.
Counterpoint: I haven't got a counterpoint to this one. I can tell you two things. 1) I find Evangeline Lilly attractive. 2) Kate is one of my least favorite characters on the show. And the only reason thing #2 could exist in spite of thing #1 is because the writers are doing a bad job creating the character of Kate.
So Emily wins this one (and Zak too, I suppose).
6. Kate would never get undressed as she did in Episode 1 of Season 3.
In the first episode of the third season, Kate is told by a memeber of "The Others" to strip, shower and put on a pretty dress that they've picked out for her. Emily's argument is that someone as supposedly stubborn and headstrong as Kate would never get naked in that situation.
Counterpoint: This was the origin of our fight. And although in time, I've come to agree with much of what she was saying, (which I regret not doing sooner, as it would have saved me some orthodontia and a stab wound) I remain steadfast that the writers of 'Lost' weren't out of line with this one. There was a brief shot of Kate's nude back, followed by a scene or two of her with wet hair. And when you consider that Eko, Sawyer and Jin are quite often without shirts, a little wet hair doesn't seem chauvenistic at all.
And if it's not her implied nudity that Emily was truly upset about but the character's decision-making... well, Kate is stubborn and head-strong, but she's also intelligent enough to understand that "The Others" aren't playin' around. Kate could have refused to strip, but they more'n likely would have hurt her, maybe knocked her out and stripped her themselves. I believe someone like Kate would have thought about that and felt nude consiousness was way better than nude unconsiousness.
7. Women aren't jealous of good looking actresses, they just hate watching them use their physical appearance.
This is probably a hot button topic for many women watching television these days. Emily continually defended herself against being jealous of Kate. She maintained that she disliked Kate for many reasons that were earned, not just by being pretty.
Counterpoint: Yeah, Evangeline Lilly is pretty. So is Emilie de Ravin and Michelle Rodriguez. But it's important to note that Josh Holloway and Matthew Fox and Dominic Monaghan are also attractive. They're just as good looking as those actresses and they don't bother (nor enhance... ahem) my enjoyment of the show.
Adam's BIG tip of the day (numero dos): people on television are by-and-large attractive. When's the last time you were in a hospital and saw anyone as good-looking as those 'Grey's Anatomy' jerks, huh? When I brought this idea up to Emily, she quieted and inquired as to whether I was being difficult or if I really didn't see a difference between male and female portrayals on television and film.
Yeah.
I get it.
But I think most women need to shift their outlook a little. Woman just have to have a certain body type to compete with other women. We men, contrarily, don't get off so easy. We can be pudgy or bald or short and women still like us.
Why?
Because women seem to care about personality more.
You women can do stomach crunches or apply eyeliner to seem more attractive. But not us, no, no. We dudes can't just hit the gym, we have to work on our entire being; who we are on the inside! Do you hear me? The inside!
I'd rather do a pushup or two. You women should consider yourself lucky.
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So what have I learned from all this? I've learned that Emily made several good points that I completely tuned out because of my annoyance. That's half her fault and half mine.
I've learned that Kate really is a weak character. The good news is that I'm not such a "man" that I allow my attraction to get in the way of my honest assessment of her.
I'm also not such a "man" that I cannot admit when I have been convinced by the opposition.
But I cannot and will not conceed that Kate is only in a state of prominence on that show because she is cute. Men just don't pay attention to that kind of thing. We don't really even notice beauty if the plot is compelling enough. And I won't stand for anyone claiming otherwise.
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to catch up on old episodes of 'The Gilmore Girls', 'Laguna Beach' and 'America's Next Top Model'.
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* Usually I create an alias for anyone written about in my blogs, but as I know over a dozen Emilys, it seems fairly safe to keep this blog as is.
** Kate got a gun pulled on her and hindered Sawyer from gaining control of the situation. If you've seen all the episodes up until this point, you'll realize that Kate always seems to get a gun turned on her, which makes the boys stop whatever maneuvering they were doing. This has happened about nine times in 2-plus seasons.
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