I like all the interactions on the show as friendships. There are characters that I don't like romantically paired together, that I'm happy enough to watch interact as friends and nothing more. The difficulty is finding the "nothing more" aspect in fandom (where everything is pairing-oriented - yes, even my own fanfic).
The three relationships I have issues with in romantic development are (ironically) the most popular ones in fandom: Shep/McKay, Shep/Weir, and Teyla/Ronon.
My issue with Shep/McKay and Shep/Weir is that both characters are functionally subservient in the show to Shep's role as "the hero": their actions, motivations, and personal struggles don't count against his. Hence, while they have storylines of their own, their storyline or character development will be sacrificed in an instant to save Shep from having to face the actual consequences of his actions.
eg. Shep backing McKay in Trinity but leaving Rodney to take the fall with Weir and later being angry with Rodney. Given that Shep backed McKay to begin with, some fall should have been taken by Shep - and none was shown.
The other example that bugs me is the way Weir whitewashes any disobedience on Shep's part because "he saved the day" - chiefly in Intruder when referring to the events of Hot Zone but in other small things through the series.
In the context of Shep/Weir romantic involvement, it comes off as a woman forgiving her man anything he does purely because she loves him. I like Weir. I'd rather not see her in this kind of mentality - which is how she comes across if I read Shep/Weir as romantic.
There's a rant in there about Shep and his role as 'hero' of the show, combined with TPTB self-inserting themselves in a way that's distinctly Gary-Stu-esque.
I'll leave that for another time. *g*
The Teyla/Ronon thing irks me because I see them as so distinctly sibling, and a lot of the attitudes I see around fandom towards them are a) they spend a lot of time together on-screen so it must be attraction! b) they're both from Pegasus so they're matched for each other! c) they're convenient to my OTP and get Teyla out of the way of Sheppard! d) I find Ronon hot, so Teyla must too!
Disclaimer: These are all my own personal opinions and I do not expect people to share them. But I was asked. :)
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Full-blown commentary ahead.
I like all the interactions on the show as friendships. There are characters that I don't like romantically paired together, that I'm happy enough to watch interact as friends and nothing more. The difficulty is finding the "nothing more" aspect in fandom (where everything is pairing-oriented - yes, even my own fanfic).
The three relationships I have issues with in romantic development are (ironically) the most popular ones in fandom: Shep/McKay, Shep/Weir, and Teyla/Ronon.
My issue with Shep/McKay and Shep/Weir is that both characters are functionally subservient in the show to Shep's role as "the hero": their actions, motivations, and personal struggles don't count against his. Hence, while they have storylines of their own, their storyline or character development will be sacrificed in an instant to save Shep from having to face the actual consequences of his actions.
eg. Shep backing McKay in Trinity but leaving Rodney to take the fall with Weir and later being angry with Rodney. Given that Shep backed McKay to begin with, some fall should have been taken by Shep - and none was shown.
The other example that bugs me is the way Weir whitewashes any disobedience on Shep's part because "he saved the day" - chiefly in Intruder when referring to the events of Hot Zone but in other small things through the series.
In the context of Shep/Weir romantic involvement, it comes off as a woman forgiving her man anything he does purely because she loves him. I like Weir. I'd rather not see her in this kind of mentality - which is how she comes across if I read Shep/Weir as romantic.
There's a rant in there about Shep and his role as 'hero' of the show, combined with TPTB self-inserting themselves in a way that's distinctly Gary-Stu-esque.
I'll leave that for another time. *g*
The Teyla/Ronon thing irks me because I see them as so distinctly sibling, and a lot of the attitudes I see around fandom towards them are a) they spend a lot of time together on-screen so it must be attraction! b) they're both from Pegasus so they're matched for each other! c) they're convenient to my OTP and get Teyla out of the way of Sheppard! d) I find Ronon hot, so Teyla must too!
Disclaimer: These are all my own personal opinions and I do not expect people to share them. But I was asked. :)