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I need to stop doing that! *grumps at self* I need to stop finding new characters, because then I find new canons, and then I'm sunk. *shakes head at self* And it's always characters, at least with TV shows. It's different if I grew up with the show, but since finding fandom, generally I find new shows by seeing a fanfic or a meme or a section of a multifandom vid, or a link via a vidder to a new fandom, and there will be this one character, and I'll go, wow, they look interesting. And then I'll scrounge up clips of the show, and I'll watch said character, and they will be interesting, and before I know it I have a new show. *sighs*
This time, it was a meme. And in said meme, someone burbled happily about Agent Alexander Mahone from Prison Break. And he sounded cool. So I looked him up. And he's a ruthless, sneaky son of a bitch forever on the line between right and wrong because of a couple of spectacularly bad decisions, and he has angst and drama up the wazoo, and in a fight he is damned awesome to watch, and ... *spreads hands helplessly* And now I have a new show. *facepalms* Why do I do this to myself?
This time, it was a meme. And in said meme, someone burbled happily about Agent Alexander Mahone from Prison Break. And he sounded cool. So I looked him up. And he's a ruthless, sneaky son of a bitch forever on the line between right and wrong because of a couple of spectacularly bad decisions, and he has angst and drama up the wazoo, and in a fight he is damned awesome to watch, and ... *spreads hands helplessly* And now I have a new show. *facepalms* Why do I do this to myself?
And why do I keep falling for the morally ambiguous? Seriously. Why do I keep going for characters whose morality can fuel serious debates, with compelling arguments on both sides of the line? (Mind you, most of the cast of this particular show could fit that requirement ...)
Because Alex ... he kills to survive, he kills to keep his family safe, but that does not change the fact that he allowed himself to be blackmailed into becoming an assassin. And, again, most of the people he was killing were escaped criminals (or not-so-escaped criminals) and/or people who tried to kill him/people close to him. But. Still. He killed a man and buried him under his fragging birdbath, before ever he was being blackmailed. And it all went downhill from there.
And, god, he's ruthless. Seriously, seriously ruthless. You touch his family, he kills you. You threaten him with a gun, he kicks your kneecap in until he can take it back. You pull a knife in a fistfight on him, he breaks your neck. Going up against other people in this show will get you beaten to death, slowly. Going up against Alex gets you a bullet in the brain or your neck snapped inside literally seconds of him deciding you need to die. Or, he'll convince you to jump off a tower or into a hail of bullets. It's just ... Wow. No, seriously. Do not pick a fight with this guy. He's been beaten his fair share of times, and lost, seriously lost so much that was important to him, but so far no-one seems to have survived very long once he seriously decided they needed to die. He is not pretty in a fight. He's brutal. And kinda awesome to watch, in that sense.
He is honourable, though. He is ... trying to be a good man. He will literally move Heaven and Earth to protect his family, or to avenge them. He's calculating and has his own agenda and is out only for what's dear to him, but he doesn't screw with people just to screw with them, and he wants to do the right thing. It's just kinda hard when he's been handed very visceral proof that doing so will result in the deaths of those he cares about.
*sighs* I've no idea what it says about me that I keep falling for these guys. The really vicious, damaged, dangerous, morally ambigious characters, always wavering over which side of the line on which to fall. Lost, I pick Ben Linus. Sanctuary, I pick Nikola Tesla. Harry Potter, I pick Severus Snape. Pirates of the Caribbean, I pick James Norrington. *sighs* I have a type. And not a healthy type.
*grins* Oh well. They are, all of them, seriously awesome to watch. Heh.
Because Alex ... he kills to survive, he kills to keep his family safe, but that does not change the fact that he allowed himself to be blackmailed into becoming an assassin. And, again, most of the people he was killing were escaped criminals (or not-so-escaped criminals) and/or people who tried to kill him/people close to him. But. Still. He killed a man and buried him under his fragging birdbath, before ever he was being blackmailed. And it all went downhill from there.
And, god, he's ruthless. Seriously, seriously ruthless. You touch his family, he kills you. You threaten him with a gun, he kicks your kneecap in until he can take it back. You pull a knife in a fistfight on him, he breaks your neck. Going up against other people in this show will get you beaten to death, slowly. Going up against Alex gets you a bullet in the brain or your neck snapped inside literally seconds of him deciding you need to die. Or, he'll convince you to jump off a tower or into a hail of bullets. It's just ... Wow. No, seriously. Do not pick a fight with this guy. He's been beaten his fair share of times, and lost, seriously lost so much that was important to him, but so far no-one seems to have survived very long once he seriously decided they needed to die. He is not pretty in a fight. He's brutal. And kinda awesome to watch, in that sense.
He is honourable, though. He is ... trying to be a good man. He will literally move Heaven and Earth to protect his family, or to avenge them. He's calculating and has his own agenda and is out only for what's dear to him, but he doesn't screw with people just to screw with them, and he wants to do the right thing. It's just kinda hard when he's been handed very visceral proof that doing so will result in the deaths of those he cares about.
*sighs* I've no idea what it says about me that I keep falling for these guys. The really vicious, damaged, dangerous, morally ambigious characters, always wavering over which side of the line on which to fall. Lost, I pick Ben Linus. Sanctuary, I pick Nikola Tesla. Harry Potter, I pick Severus Snape. Pirates of the Caribbean, I pick James Norrington. *sighs* I have a type. And not a healthy type.
*grins* Oh well. They are, all of them, seriously awesome to watch. Heh.
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