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Meta: Why Ten is like Wesley.
I have had what I can only describe as a backwards epiphany. And I’ve even managed to think up an metaphor for it...
The thing is, that for years I’ve been saying that Ten is *broken*, and damaged. (This is not exactly news, just look at ‘Handlebars’). But for me it was like a tune that I knew well. I fitted Ten beautifully, but I was sure I’d heard it somewhere before. I thought maybe it was Angel’s tune, and certainly there are similarities, but Angel’s tune fits Jack much better. I thought it might be Buffy’s, but that wasn’t quite it either, despite certain overlaps. And then yesterday, I suddenly realised what the words to that tune were, and - they were Wesley’s:
When you strip everything else away, the self thatWes Ten is left with is like glass; sharp, brittle. Damaged. Wes Ten has the potential to snap. More than potential, even.
Those are the words that have been in the back of my head whenever I’ve thought of Ten. And oh, it doesn’t end there...
The above description is taken from what might be the best Wesley meta ever, by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ascian3, in her review/analysis of Lineage. I’ll just cut and paste and let the words speak for themselves:
Here's the thing about Wesley: he's gorgeous when he's desperate. It's not until he lets himself go that he's really everything he could be (sharp, coldly efficient, deadly) and he doesn't let himself go until there's literally nothing left. We saw glimpses of it when he was interrogating the robot. He was threatening to blow up the building, himself included, and he meant every word of it. When you strip everything else away, the self that Wes is left with is like glass; sharp, brittle. Damaged. Wes has the potential to snap. More than potential, even - keeping a woman in your closet for the summer is not the action of a sane man. Most of the time he's not that guy, but he's been there. He can be.
[...]
Wes is capable of giving everything he is and has and believes in, under the right circumstances. It's horribly powerful and terribly dangerous, because under the right kind of pressure Wes can do things. Like lock a woman in his closet. Like blowing up the building, and himself with it. Like stealing a child from its father. His intentions are good but it hardly matters, because at the edge of his tolerance Wes would probably burn the world to reach them. He has all the power of utter desperation at his fingertips, and it's never very far away.
I could rewrite this thing word for word, just changing the specifics. Like, say, ‘locking up your enemies for eternity is not the action of a sane man’.
Really, just take a moment to compare Wesley and Justine, and Ten and The Family of Blood. Or... imagine that Ten had been able to keep the Master. (“I’ll take away your bucket.”) I do worry that maybe I've read too much dark!fic, but... "He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing. The fury of the Time Lord. [...] He still visits my little sister once a year every year." Oh Ten. You really were monumentally screwed up.
Anyway, the line that stands out is this (let me just change the name):
His intentions are good but it hardly matters, because at the edge of his tolerance Ten would probably burn the world to reach them.
If that isn’t one of the best descriptions of Waters of Mars ever, I don’t know what is. It's horribly powerful and terribly dangerous. And oh, it kept us spellbound...
But there’s more. Let’s talk about love for a minute. This is fromthe_royal_anna’s post on AHitW/Shells:
Of course Wes will help Illyria. I talked about this lots after Lineage, but he has this overriding need to save. And there’s always been this battle in him, because he longs to find something good, something pure, something beautiful to save, something that will lift him beyond himself. But how can he save what is better than him? He needs something less than him, something more broken than him, something that needs saving.
And there, in a nutshell, we have Rose and the Master. (And maybe the Master’s brokenness is one of the things that so attracts the Doctor? An eternal project...)
I shall now do a little show and tell, because this bit of dialogue is just too prefect not to play with. Plus, I think it’s important to note, with both Ten and Wes, that although they’re ready to put their life on the line (in rather unhealthy ways) if necessary, they’re not actually suicidal. They don’t want to die, and although the pain and loss often seems too much to bear, they still know that life is good (“And since I don't actually intend to die tonight, I won't accept a lie.”/“I don’t want to go.”). Like this, see:
(I'm sure I don't need to point out that I'm well aware that there are many differences between them too, such as the fact that Ten doesn't tend to shoot people in the face, to mention just one. My point is that they're broken in the same way.)
And finally, I shall return once more toascian3’s post. These are her final words:
Wes needs to learn how to stop clutching so desperately to the people around him. If he could just breathe a little, just learn to let go without letting go, he'd be okay.
And... hello Eleven! :)
ETA: One more thing. Fromyhlee's review of TGiQ:
"I can't believe I forgot how Denisof as Wesley can stand there and exude pain. It's like a superpower."
I rest my case.
The thing is, that for years I’ve been saying that Ten is *broken*, and damaged. (This is not exactly news, just look at ‘Handlebars’). But for me it was like a tune that I knew well. I fitted Ten beautifully, but I was sure I’d heard it somewhere before. I thought maybe it was Angel’s tune, and certainly there are similarities, but Angel’s tune fits Jack much better. I thought it might be Buffy’s, but that wasn’t quite it either, despite certain overlaps. And then yesterday, I suddenly realised what the words to that tune were, and - they were Wesley’s:
When you strip everything else away, the self that
Those are the words that have been in the back of my head whenever I’ve thought of Ten. And oh, it doesn’t end there...
The above description is taken from what might be the best Wesley meta ever, by
ascian3, in her review/analysis of Lineage. I’ll just cut and paste and let the words speak for themselves:Here's the thing about Wesley: he's gorgeous when he's desperate. It's not until he lets himself go that he's really everything he could be (sharp, coldly efficient, deadly) and he doesn't let himself go until there's literally nothing left. We saw glimpses of it when he was interrogating the robot. He was threatening to blow up the building, himself included, and he meant every word of it. When you strip everything else away, the self that Wes is left with is like glass; sharp, brittle. Damaged. Wes has the potential to snap. More than potential, even - keeping a woman in your closet for the summer is not the action of a sane man. Most of the time he's not that guy, but he's been there. He can be.
[...]
Wes is capable of giving everything he is and has and believes in, under the right circumstances. It's horribly powerful and terribly dangerous, because under the right kind of pressure Wes can do things. Like lock a woman in his closet. Like blowing up the building, and himself with it. Like stealing a child from its father. His intentions are good but it hardly matters, because at the edge of his tolerance Wes would probably burn the world to reach them. He has all the power of utter desperation at his fingertips, and it's never very far away.
I could rewrite this thing word for word, just changing the specifics. Like, say, ‘locking up your enemies for eternity is not the action of a sane man’.
Really, just take a moment to compare Wesley and Justine, and Ten and The Family of Blood. Or... imagine that Ten had been able to keep the Master. (“I’ll take away your bucket.”) I do worry that maybe I've read too much dark!fic, but... "He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing. The fury of the Time Lord. [...] He still visits my little sister once a year every year." Oh Ten. You really were monumentally screwed up.
Anyway, the line that stands out is this (let me just change the name):
His intentions are good but it hardly matters, because at the edge of his tolerance Ten would probably burn the world to reach them.
If that isn’t one of the best descriptions of Waters of Mars ever, I don’t know what is. It's horribly powerful and terribly dangerous. And oh, it kept us spellbound...
But there’s more. Let’s talk about love for a minute. This is from
the_royal_anna’s post on AHitW/Shells:Of course Wes will help Illyria. I talked about this lots after Lineage, but he has this overriding need to save. And there’s always been this battle in him, because he longs to find something good, something pure, something beautiful to save, something that will lift him beyond himself. But how can he save what is better than him? He needs something less than him, something more broken than him, something that needs saving.
And there, in a nutshell, we have Rose and the Master. (And maybe the Master’s brokenness is one of the things that so attracts the Doctor? An eternal project...)
I shall now do a little show and tell, because this bit of dialogue is just too prefect not to play with. Plus, I think it’s important to note, with both Ten and Wes, that although they’re ready to put their life on the line (in rather unhealthy ways) if necessary, they’re not actually suicidal. They don’t want to die, and although the pain and loss often seems too much to bear, they still know that life is good (“And since I don't actually intend to die tonight, I won't accept a lie.”/“I don’t want to go.”). Like this, see:
(I'm sure I don't need to point out that I'm well aware that there are many differences between them too, such as the fact that Ten doesn't tend to shoot people in the face, to mention just one. My point is that they're broken in the same way.)
And finally, I shall return once more to
ascian3’s post. These are her final words:Wes needs to learn how to stop clutching so desperately to the people around him. If he could just breathe a little, just learn to let go without letting go, he'd be okay.
And... hello Eleven! :)
ETA: One more thing. From
yhlee's review of TGiQ:"I can't believe I forgot how Denisof as Wesley can stand there and exude pain. It's like a superpower."
I rest my case.
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*beams* I felt terribly clever all of a sudden...
And...it's the first thing I've ever read that's made me want to re-watch the later seasons of Angel...
Really? That pleases me muchly! *loves the later seasons of Angel far too much*
ETA: Oh, and thank you for the pimp! *blushes*
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But interestingly...the only thing in the entire last two seasons that I did not hate was Wesley's death in the last episode. It was profoundly moving and beautifully done and just perfect. Wesley's telling Illyria that he doesn't want her to pretend to be Fred because "the first lesson a Watcher learns is to separate truth from illusion" - and then when he's dying he tells Ilyria he wants her to lie to him now...I get teary-eyed just thinking about it, and I watched it once 5 years ago!
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Very interesting. My own viewing history is rather weird - I watched all of Buffy when it was originally broadcast, but around 'Chosen' also saw 'Home'. Then found out Spike was being resurrected - and would go to AtS, so prior to S5 starting I caught up on all of AtS, all the while wondering how everyone would end up where they were in 'Home'. (Because of 'Home' I also because a Wesley/Lilah shipper ahead of time. Their scene where he tries to burn her contract... It's one of the most profound things I've ever seen.)
But interestingly...the only thing in the entire last two seasons that I did not hate was Wesley's death in the last episode. It was profoundly moving and beautifully done and just perfect.
Oh god yes. You know, I was wondering whether to touch on that whole thing, but wasn't quite sure how to. Except I think that there are definite parallels to Ten's last visit to Rose.
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Just what I was thinking!
Both scenes are so right...and so utterly, devastatingly sad, in a very similar way...
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One last look, one last word - except in both cases it's a lie. Different kinds of lie, but lies none the less.
Poor Wesley. Poor Ten...
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I don't think anything could possibly be more tragic.
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You've absolutely nailed it!
I don't think anything could possibly be more tragic.
My thoughts automatically went to CoE, but - in the end - Jack doesn't lie. And in that, even though his actions are monstrous, he does the most noble thing he can. Sorry - tangent. Yes, this is pure tragedy.
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Yes.
Yes, this is pure tragedy.
Yes.
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Five years is a long time... And Wesley (and Angel) have about a million Ten-ish traits between them. (Or rather it's the other way around. RTD does love Joss!)
Interestingly, I am in a MUCH better place in my life now than I was then - it seems that the happier I get, the darker I like my stories...
Now that is perfectly normal!
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Though I have always loved sad/poignant/elegiac stories. It's the dark stuff that's new.
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