My Top Five (Maybe) TV OTPs: A Valentine's Day Post

Hello.

So, yeah. So far I'm not really excelling at the whole "blogging" thing.

Valentine's Day was four days ago, and I'm just now today getting to my commemorative post. Also, I have a great idea for a post inspired by a book I finished reading at the end of January. (Shifts awkwardly in chair.) Yeah, that should be showing up sometime in the next few days.

I hope.

Anyway, Valentine's Day. The day of love. The day for getting roses and chocolates, teddy bears and fancy cards.

Or, if you're awesome like me, the day of going over to your best friend's house and marathon-watching all six episodes of the 1995 BBC Pride & Prejudice (a hangout complete with dress-up clothes, tea, and a basement elaborately outfitted in Austenian finery).

We win.

For a while, I wondered what I should blog about to honor this surprisingly significant holiday. For a while, I thought I could write about the aforementioned hangout, but really there isn't much else to say about it that would relate to Valentine's. I thought perhaps I could analyze Valentine's Day's origins, or question why Valentine's Day was always the most important day of the year at the high school I briefly attended, but neither of those options seemed to have much to do with fiction. Then I thought I could compose an elaborate treatise outlining my feelings on recent portrayals of romance in fictional stories, but such a post struck me as daunting and I therefore allowed days to pass without venturing to begin writing.

Finally, I realized I'd have to get on it if I really wanted to have a romantically-inspired post posted anywhere near February 14th. So I decided, "What the heck, I'll just tell them my top 5 television OTPs".

Now, for those not "in the know", OTP stands for One True Pairing, or the one fictional couple whom, above all others, you want to see live happily ever after. Technically, you're only supposed to have one, but I think there are few fangirls with the emotional and psychological maturity required to accurately to pick favorites. I, like many proud fiction obsessives, have many OTPs (so I suppose I should just refer to them as TPs, but that sounds a bit odd, so I'm just leaving the O on).

The reason that this list is my top five TV OTPs is that if I was selecting OTPs from all fictional mediums I would never succeed in narrowing the list down to five. The reason for the "maybe" in the title is that I selected very quickly and went with early instincts because I want to get this posted as soon as possible, and thus this list might be completely recast and/or reordered by tomorrow morning. But now I'm rambling.

And so, without further ado, my top five (as of this moment) TV OTPs.

5. Sherlock and Molly

 

These two were ranked much higher in my mind before Series 3 aired, as Series 3 contained a few developments in Molly's character that annoyed me to no end. But in the first two series, Molly was a sweetheart, starstruck by Sherlock's brilliance and glorious black curls (not that she ever actually says that, I'm just making assumptions), who was painfully awakened to our poor inept protagonist's none-too-gentle qualities. But even after that, Molly continued as Sherlock's readiest helper, and the end of Series 2 seemed to indicate that Sherlock thought more highly of Molly than we few Sherlolly enthusiasts had ever dared to hope. Even in Series 3 I found things I could approve of, and I continue to hold a dreadfully forlorn but ruthlessly stubborn hope that we'll get some movements in a romantic direction in future episodes.

4. George Crabtree and Emily Grace

 

This pairing is possibly the most random one on this list (possibly; you haven't gotten to number three yet). They're from a criminally under-watched Canadian crime show called "Murdoch Mysteries". Crabtree is (in my opinion) one of the best characters on the show, goofy, awkward, and thoroughly adorable. Dr. Grace is a brilliant assistant medical examiner introduced at the beginning of Season 5. By the end of that season, it seemed like George was finally making some real headway with his strong-willed crush. I have yet to see Season 6, but I'm hoping to see a lot more scenes with these two. :)

3. The Ninth and/or Tenth Doctor and Mrs. Who

 

Firstly: Mrs. Who is a character from the book A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Secondly: Yes this idea only came to me because her name is Mrs. Who. Thirdly: Despite the fact that there is no foundation whatsoever for this idea except that her name is Mrs. Who (which doesn't really even count for much) a very interesting fanfiction could conceivably be written for them. After all, Mrs. Who is an inter-dimensional being capable of traveling through time and space and across universes. She also, in the movie at least (deep dark confession: I haven't read the book in a long time) speaks mostly in quotes from famous authors, a method of communication not entirely foreign to The Doctor. It is reasonable to assume that, were their paths to cross somewhere out in space, The Doctor would be fascinated by this remarkable creature, and Mrs. Who would be awed and impressed by this not-quite-human madman with his box. Plus, Mrs. Who, like The Doctor, has an incredibly long lifespan. Mrs. Who could travel with The Doctor indefinitely, experiencing the joy and pain and sheer dark enormousness of the universes with him, always sharing her own unique perspectives on the sights they saw.

So it's farfetched. Just remember that it is a generally accepted unwritten rule of the fandom community that one does not question another's OTP.

2. Merlin and Freya

 

Freya appears in just two episodes of the show "Merlin". Hers is a tragic story. She's cursed, lonely, outcast, and drowning in self-hatred. But, unexpectedly, into her life shines a bright glimmer of hope and acceptance in the form of Merlin, a young and innocent boy hiding a secret almost as dreadful and just as deadly as Freya's. In a way, he saves her life, and she irrevocably changes his. It's sad, it's powerful, it's way too short, and it's my favorite love story on "Merlin". There's not really much else to say about it.

Now, before we get to number one, let me just say that honorable mentions include (but are not limited to) Gisbourne and Meg from "Robin Hood", The Eleventh Doctor and Clara Oswin Oswald, Amy and Rory Pond, Amy Pond and Vincent Van Gogh, and Kensi and Deeks from "NCIS: Los Angeles".

But on to number one.

1. The Ninth and/or Tenth and/or Eleventh and/or War Doctor and Rose

Hi. I'm predictable.

Really, what is there to say about these two? They're great. They go perfectly together.

The Doctor first meets Rose shortly after his regeneration into his ninth form. He rarely shows it, but he's emotionally damaged, not to mention guilt-stricken, by the recent Time War. He's not the same brightly attired, generally cheerful alien made famous in Classic Who.

Rose changes all that. Rose gives him a reason to travel again (a reason besides saving worlds, that is). She turns him back into an explorer. She shows him that he still has a purpose and that there are still beautiful things scattered across the galaxies. By the time he's wearing his tenth face, he's also thrown away his all-black, leathery attire and replaced it with a jaunty suit and bright red shoes. On his part, The Doctor shows Rose the expanse of existence, the life beyond the shop she's dreamed of. At his side, Rose Tyler becomes a heroine of her own epic story, the saver of worlds, the host of the time vortex, the witness of history. Meeting each other ultimately leads to horrible pain for both of them; but without each other, neither one would ever have succeeded in becoming all that they could be.

So there you have it. Five wonderful pairings.

I belatedly wish you all a very happy Valentine's Day.

~Pearl Clayton 

   

Him of All Men - The Beginning of Many Months of Thought

Last Sunday, I saw the Sherlock series 3 finale (I would've written about it before now, but I've been unwell). Titled His Last Vow and penned by Steven Moffat, a man famous for inflicting various kinds of pain on his longsuffering devotees, this episode was most anxiously entered in upon. But it did not disappoint, and, at least in my opinion, it caused more joy than pain.


I've been struggling to decide what to blog about in the heady aftermath of last week's episode. Let's see, I said to myself. Should my post be just focused on His Last Vow, or should I debrief the whole season? Should I talk about the excellent writing? The directing? The heroic leanings that Sherlock possesses to which only he is blind? Mind palaces? An exploration of the causes, justifications, and effects of dishonesty?


This is an incredibly psychologically, artistically, and emotionally complex show that deserves to be lauded for its many superiorities and discussed for the complicated issues that it often introduces. The task of choosing the topic which can be used to most thoroughly explore the high points of this series and episode proved to be far from easy.


So, in the end, I went with a title naming an idea which I think reaches all the way back to the first episode - Him of All Men.


In A Study in Pink, Sherlock's premiere episode, John Watson, a war veteran known to be suffering from trust issues, is asked, "Could it be that you have decided to trust Sherlock Holmes, of all people?" And indeed, as the show's drama unfolds, it becomes clear that John Watson has chosen for his best, closest, and most trusted friend the socially inept, supposedly sociopathic, insensitive, and unpredictable Sherlock Holmes.

Him of all men.


Likewise, surrounded by people he feels incapable of understanding, respecting, or caring for even remotely, Sherlock chooses to be Watson's protector. Throughout the course of the nine episodes, Sherlock places John's interests further and further before his own, vowing to do whatever it takes to guard Watson and his family from all that would seek to harm them, and delivering on his promise. Concern for his friend, for John Watson, is enough to shatter Sherlock's composure and lead him to acknowledge his shortcomings. It's probably even enough to drag Sherlock back from death's door.


Him of all men.


Of all men, Sherlock is chosen by Jim Moriarty as an ideal sparring partner, the perfect foil to Jim's schemes.


Of all men, Sherlock becomes the obsession of the emotionally detached Irene Adler.


After years of facing all manner of psychopaths and all forms of soulless despicability, Sherlock is most disgusted by Charles Magnusson, a comparatively harmless newsman who keeps situations going the way he wants them to through skilled blackmailing.


Him of all men.


It is in instances like these that the masterfulness of the show shines through especially clearly. Each one of these choices, the isolation of one above all else, creates conflict, character development, and questions to be pondered. Why does John choose to trust Sherlock? Why does Sherlock so greatly abhor Magnusson? What is the difference between Magnusson and the other criminal masterminds who seem more to fascinate the great detective than incite him?

The stories are intricately woven, with obvious cooperation between the three writers leading to great foreshadowing and continuity. To watch these writers (Steven Moffat in particular) talk about their scripts and storylines is immensely enjoyable. They obviously glean so much excitement, satisfaction, and fulfillment from this show that their enthusiasm becomes unavoidably infectious. The devotion to original Doyle plots and dialogues and painstakingly exact transference of the classics into a modern setting provide more evidence of the creators' love of Doyle's work even than their own fanboy testimonies. They chose Sherlock as their hero, as the character they would recreate and revitalize in the most skilled and respectful way possible, and even if it does take them a ridiculously long amount of time they have and will continue to faithfully and awesomely depict him in his newest setting.


Him of all men.






These are just a few of many things our poor fandom will have to think about over the coming long months and possibly even years of the third hiatus. While the show heads have mentioned an ideal release date of this Christmas for series 4 (which would be BEYOND amazing, by the way) they all seem doubtful that such a "short" hiatus will actually be accomplishable. Moffat has apparently said more recently that it's more likely we won't be getting new episodes or a resolution to our shiny new cliffhanger until 2016.


I've said it before, I'll say it again: This ain't an easy fandom to be in. But we Sherlockians will stick with it to whatever end. Why?


Because this character, this flawed, often irritating, more often awkward and insensitive character, is one we have chosen to devote ourselves to. We'll wait it out, we'll wait out every hiatus, because we know that at the end of the wait he'll be back to make us laugh, make us ache, make us cheer, make us cringe, and come out a better, more developed character that we can root for.

I know I sound like a broken record. Say it with me anyway:


Him of all men.
~Pearl Clayton