There are, sadly, several shows out there where I find it difficult, if not impossible to identify with the protagonist. It could be the acting, it could be the awful writing, it could be because the character is an utterly passive, characterless null. It could be all three (hi Twilight).
But there’s something rarer. Something where, because of the story, the protagonists actually seem to be the bad guys, where the antagonists seem to be the ones in the right or, at very least, where they seem to have a very compelling case. Shows where, if we had to pick a side, we would be Team Evil.
I’m not talking about shows that are deliberately ambiguous and are exploring grey areas and complex plots - though I dearly hope these shows will develop that way as it’s probably the only way to redeem them - these shows seem to genuinely expect us to sympathise with the protagonist.
Continuum
Keira is from the future. She and a group of terrorists have returned to the past and she is fighting to stop them changing the future.
Personally, I kind of hope they do. Her future is a corporate dictatorship with large companies controlling government, people have “life debts”, there is no right to vote and severely restricted free speech and the population is heavily monitored. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg - there are numerous examples of abuse. The fact there are so many examples leaves me hopeful that maybe this is going to be addressed and considered in later episodes, especially with the revelation of the last episode - but so far we haven’t seen it and it is just a hope. As it stands, Keira is trying to create a dystopia which makes it awfully tempting to be Team Kagame. I actually think they have to make the terrorists so cavalier with loss of life because that’s the only thing that stops Keira being an outright villain.
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fangsforthefantasy posted this
