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Musings
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Fallen Angel Musings….REDUX
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What a
difference a week can make. Just when I was pushed to the very edge
of my limits of what I willingly would accept, bam, an epiphany. Do
I need to eat my words from last week here…not entirely but I do
seem to be choking on them just a tad. I said we needed to see
concrete signs of Rafe coming back to himself and lo and behold,
this week those signs I asked for appeared, though somewhat
grudgingly. Did it have anything to do with stepping outside the
confines of Livvie’s stranglehold on him – absolutely. Did it have
anything to do with stepping towards the unconditional kindness and
understanding shown him by Alison – absolutely. The real
breakthrough here though came as Rafe stepped away from the almighty
triangle and took a tentative leap back into his life, crawling
slowly but assertively out of that abyss that has defined his
existence these past 17 weeks and smack back into interaction and a
story line that involves the whole cast. Finally something else to
focus on, at least for this week, besides the dynamics of a triangle
that has just about outlived its usefulness.
The pairing of Rafe and Ian was inspired, unexpected and certainly jolted the collective desires of every female viewer between the ages of 15 and 150. Two big, strong, handsome strapping males beating their chests out to save the world from the Avatar, having a beer together to boot. The vampire slayer and the healer. Sexy as hell. Who says chemistry exists only between men and women. Rafe and Ian have a chemistry all their own and they burn up the screen. This is one relationship that succeeds and should be exploited to its fullest. Rafe desperately needs a friend, someone other than Alison to support him and at this point so does Ian. It works, it just plain works. It’s time for PC’s wonderful ensemble cast to go back to interacting with each other, passing in and out of each others lives in ways that not only advance plot but puts the attention back on relationships, back on the interweaving and connecting of desires, needs, hopes, dreams, emotions, mistakes – all the stuff that is life. Rafe was drawn into the lives of each and every PC denizen, touching them all in some way, its time to get back to that. If this week is any indication, he’s slowly on his way. While one week out of 17 does not redemption make it’s a start. Those instincts are returning, albeit slowly, at least when it comes to fighting evil. Rafe is more than comfortable being in touch with the slayer/evil vanquisher part of himself, more assertive, stronger and confident than we’ve seen in weeks and weeks. He said it himself, he’s coming back to life, taking control, acting true to his destiny. He pushed back a little but it still remains to be seen if he will truly attempt to break those bonds of isolation and belief in all things Livvie any time soon. At least there is a tiny carrot being dangled at us here, that Rafe and Alison can actually be together without all the angst and torture of separation. They can actually interact as two characters reacting to events around them, who respect and understand each other while of course just happening to be perfect soul mates. No matter how hard they fight it or try to ignore it, the love between them is too powerful. There is no denying it or the effortless chemistry shared by the two actors. Viewers who tuned in this week, as opposed to last week, or the week before, were treated to a glimpse of the angel we all fell hard for. All those traits that make this character so special, and that Brian Gaskill gives us so masterfully and convincingly, in spite of inconsistent writing, returned, though I’m not sure for how long. The forcefulness, the gentleness, the quiet strength, the wide-eyed innocence, the loving and protective nature, the playfulness, the absolute belief in his destiny to fight all the evils of the world, real or imagined bubbled back to the surface. And for starved fans it was like manna from heaven. I have given in to the melodrama here, if it sounds like I’m beating this point to death, over and over again, its because I am. The character of Rafe and the love story of Rafe and Alison is simply too marvelous to let fall by the soap wayside. I’ll say it again, the innate sensibilities that are Rafe’s character cannot be suppressed by a memory loss, even one induced by the devil incarnate himself. It was and still is unreasonable to expect the fans to believe it. Notice does however appear to have been served, if Rafe is willing to embrace so passionately the one part of his life he does remember, he just might be ready to begin the process of seeking out and embracing the rest of it. That is if the writers let him. And it won’t be a moment too soon. There is no doubt that for the actors themselves all this turmoil and tumult must be a dream to play. Considering that TPTB put all their eggs in the Rafe/Livvie basket there is obviously a huge amount of pressure on Brian Gaskill and Kelly Monaco to pull all this nonsense off. They have not let us down, have certainly pulled out all the stops here with no signs of letting up. It’s just that its time to move along, we’ve all had enough of this relationship front and center for so long. It’s time to showcase their excellent talents elsewhere as Torn grinds towards its inevitable conclusion. We are all so very ready.
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