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aphrodite_minePlease correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there is much/any meta being written about Misfits.
Today I watched my last episode.
Let me tell you why.
Misfits is a British program that airs on E4, starring some really talented young actors. The premise is fun: a group of teens enrolled in community service for various reasons are caught in a strange electrical storm and struck with super powers, that they soon discover and keep secret from the world. Eventually, the group come into contact with others who have been influenced by the storm, and engage in other adventures including keeping their powers secret from their probation workers.
In case spoilers are an issue for either of my flists, the rest of this will be under a cut. What follows are discussions of powers, episodic encounters and a description of what happens to the two main female characters, Alicia and Kelly, up to and including episode 2x5.
Today I watched my last episode.
Let me tell you why.
Misfits is a British program that airs on E4, starring some really talented young actors. The premise is fun: a group of teens enrolled in community service for various reasons are caught in a strange electrical storm and struck with super powers, that they soon discover and keep secret from the world. Eventually, the group come into contact with others who have been influenced by the storm, and engage in other adventures including keeping their powers secret from their probation workers.
In case spoilers are an issue for either of my flists, the rest of this will be under a cut. What follows are discussions of powers, episodic encounters and a description of what happens to the two main female characters, Alicia and Kelly, up to and including episode 2x5.
To spoil the entirety of season one and two, I will go ahead and list the powers of the group members by gender.
Boys:
- Curtis - The ability to move back and forth in time, often proactive, limited control
- Simon - The ability to become invisible, used proactively, control (at first this is a passive power, but at first Simon is a much more 'feminine' character, and shown to be a victim of his circumstances and surroundings); Simon also "becomes" Future!Simon, who no longer relies on his invisibility but uses ninja-like skills to rescue the team frequently
- Nathan - The ability to come back from the dead, proactive, no control; can see dead people, proactive, no control
Girls:
- Alicia - When touched, the toucher becomes overcome with violent lust, only once used proactively, otherwise a hindrance, no control
- Kelly - Telepath - used proactively often, no control (Kelly is the 'butch'er girl, curvy and busty, definitely on 'par' with the guys)
- Nikki - Teleportation - unable to be used proactively, limited control (this power was thrust upon her when she received the heart of a dead man who had the power)
So... just in the basic premise of the show, you'll notice that there is a pretty strong disconnect between how the men and women are allowed to function. The females tend to have powers that are abusive to themselves (overhearing sexually abusive thoughts, accidentally touching someone and 'making' them want to rape you) and out of control, while the men have powers that are useful (becoming invisible to break into a bank, turning back time to re-do a combat scenario, literally, coming back to life).
And that is just the main characters.
When it comes to week-to-week characters, there is a similar problem.
I'll run down the list of characters from the wikipedia page, to prove this point.
Males:
Tony, first probation worker, Hulk-like power, killed by Kelly
Finn, baby with the power to mentally manipulate - not significant in itself, but he is the child of a single mother seeking out a father with his powers
Vince, tattoos with his mind, tattoos affect mental state, control and proactive
Ollie, teleportation, has control - however when he dies and this power is passed on to Nikki, she cannot control it
Tim, believes he is living a video game, plot involves getting money from his boss, and abusing his former girlfriend (he substitutes Kelly, making her wear a wedding dress)
Bruno -- I will get to him.
Jessica's father, when a man gets close to his daughter, he is overcome with rage and kills them
Females:
Sally, fiance of Tony, in the wrong place at the wrong time, killed and then literally refrigerated by Simon
Ruth, power to appear young but is really 82, seduces Nathan, dies of natural causes (frequent disgut of old people)
Jodi, power to turn people bald (make people feel how she feels), has no control
Rachel, power to influence, uses it to encourage virtue - conservative clothing and disdain of sex, killed by Nathan (Individuality)
Lucy, power to shapeshift, uses it to 'seduce' Simon, has no control, causes her pain
Lily, ability to generate ice because of her intimacy issues, spontaneously combusts while not initiating sex with Nathan's brother, shown with Nathan's brother after death as his girlfriend -- or rather "I'm fucking her" despite the dubious nature of their deaths
And... I'll just let those facts speak for themselves.
On to episode 2x5, which requires a bit more explanation.
I love Kelly. She is a fierce bitch, and one of the few full-figured main characters on television to be given a sexual identity. She holds her own against anyone she comes in contact with. She is the reason I've stuck out this show for so long. So when she got a love interest in 2x5 who wasn't horrible looking, was actually a nice guy (and she can read minds, so she would know) I was getting excited.
I should have known better.
During their hookup, Kelly insists to Bruno that she's not a slag (it is, after all, their first 'date') but the music playing insists that she's getting slutty. Nice move, Misfits. Nice move Number One, that is.
The next time they see one another, Kelly is happy to see Bruno. After all, he's a nice guy and they seem to have good sexual chemistry.
Not so.
They're just starting to have sex a second time when things get rough. Really rough. The camera doesn't pan away. Bruno's face is... near terrifying. Kelly screams for him to get off of her, and, I suppose to his credit, he does.
Kelly goes from fierce and in charge to wounded and dejected.
Later on, Bruno begs to explain. She wouldn't want to be with him if she knew.
The rest of the episode plays on obvious visuals -- Bruno is on the run from the police, and is chased to the rooftop. There are helicoptors and gunshots. Bruno, as he dies, reverts to his prior form. The storm, it seems, turned this gorilla into a human.
He was merely giving in to his animal instinct.
And Kelly, brokenhearted at this brutality (on the behalf of the police) and this honesty (he loved her, after all, and only wanted to be human) forgives him. Kisses him on the gorilla-lips. The episode ends with his death and her sadness.
My favorite character was raped by a gorilla.
And that, Misfits, is why I will never be watching you again.
Boys:
- Curtis - The ability to move back and forth in time, often proactive, limited control
- Simon - The ability to become invisible, used proactively, control (at first this is a passive power, but at first Simon is a much more 'feminine' character, and shown to be a victim of his circumstances and surroundings); Simon also "becomes" Future!Simon, who no longer relies on his invisibility but uses ninja-like skills to rescue the team frequently
- Nathan - The ability to come back from the dead, proactive, no control; can see dead people, proactive, no control
Girls:
- Alicia - When touched, the toucher becomes overcome with violent lust, only once used proactively, otherwise a hindrance, no control
- Kelly - Telepath - used proactively often, no control (Kelly is the 'butch'er girl, curvy and busty, definitely on 'par' with the guys)
- Nikki - Teleportation - unable to be used proactively, limited control (this power was thrust upon her when she received the heart of a dead man who had the power)
So... just in the basic premise of the show, you'll notice that there is a pretty strong disconnect between how the men and women are allowed to function. The females tend to have powers that are abusive to themselves (overhearing sexually abusive thoughts, accidentally touching someone and 'making' them want to rape you) and out of control, while the men have powers that are useful (becoming invisible to break into a bank, turning back time to re-do a combat scenario, literally, coming back to life).
And that is just the main characters.
When it comes to week-to-week characters, there is a similar problem.
I'll run down the list of characters from the wikipedia page, to prove this point.
Males:
Tony, first probation worker, Hulk-like power, killed by Kelly
Finn, baby with the power to mentally manipulate - not significant in itself, but he is the child of a single mother seeking out a father with his powers
Vince, tattoos with his mind, tattoos affect mental state, control and proactive
Ollie, teleportation, has control - however when he dies and this power is passed on to Nikki, she cannot control it
Tim, believes he is living a video game, plot involves getting money from his boss, and abusing his former girlfriend (he substitutes Kelly, making her wear a wedding dress)
Bruno -- I will get to him.
Jessica's father, when a man gets close to his daughter, he is overcome with rage and kills them
Females:
Sally, fiance of Tony, in the wrong place at the wrong time, killed and then literally refrigerated by Simon
Ruth, power to appear young but is really 82, seduces Nathan, dies of natural causes (frequent disgut of old people)
Jodi, power to turn people bald (make people feel how she feels), has no control
Rachel, power to influence, uses it to encourage virtue - conservative clothing and disdain of sex, killed by Nathan (Individuality)
Lucy, power to shapeshift, uses it to 'seduce' Simon, has no control, causes her pain
Lily, ability to generate ice because of her intimacy issues, spontaneously combusts while not initiating sex with Nathan's brother, shown with Nathan's brother after death as his girlfriend -- or rather "I'm fucking her" despite the dubious nature of their deaths
And... I'll just let those facts speak for themselves.
On to episode 2x5, which requires a bit more explanation.
I love Kelly. She is a fierce bitch, and one of the few full-figured main characters on television to be given a sexual identity. She holds her own against anyone she comes in contact with. She is the reason I've stuck out this show for so long. So when she got a love interest in 2x5 who wasn't horrible looking, was actually a nice guy (and she can read minds, so she would know) I was getting excited.
I should have known better.
During their hookup, Kelly insists to Bruno that she's not a slag (it is, after all, their first 'date') but the music playing insists that she's getting slutty. Nice move, Misfits. Nice move Number One, that is.
The next time they see one another, Kelly is happy to see Bruno. After all, he's a nice guy and they seem to have good sexual chemistry.
Not so.
They're just starting to have sex a second time when things get rough. Really rough. The camera doesn't pan away. Bruno's face is... near terrifying. Kelly screams for him to get off of her, and, I suppose to his credit, he does.
Kelly goes from fierce and in charge to wounded and dejected.
Later on, Bruno begs to explain. She wouldn't want to be with him if she knew.
The rest of the episode plays on obvious visuals -- Bruno is on the run from the police, and is chased to the rooftop. There are helicoptors and gunshots. Bruno, as he dies, reverts to his prior form. The storm, it seems, turned this gorilla into a human.
He was merely giving in to his animal instinct.
And Kelly, brokenhearted at this brutality (on the behalf of the police) and this honesty (he loved her, after all, and only wanted to be human) forgives him. Kisses him on the gorilla-lips. The episode ends with his death and her sadness.
My favorite character was raped by a gorilla.
And that, Misfits, is why I will never be watching you again.
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Re: Part 2
Also: well, in truth it would be Bruno's "natural instinct" to have rough sex with or even rape a female. That's what animals generally do. Is misogyny on a show still problematic if it's presented, loud and clear, as misogyny? 'Cause for my part, I'm usually only bothered by a scene when there's dissonance between my perception of it and the writer's. Not the case with Bruno/Kelly.
ITA with your "Part 1", though.
Re: Part 2
So yeah, it pretty much is his 'natural instinct'.