Bad Decisions [12.06.06]

[Jennifer]

I haven't watched Gemmers for a while. Saw this one kind of by accident and there's nothing to change my decision. Truly rubbish espec when she launched into ramblings on her boring date. It's not doing the series any favours.

[lesbrent]

It's another, sorry you are eating garbage, I'll try not to smile in every frame while your life is in peril.

[thiller]

I would agree with the previous opinions that Gemma is not adding much to the story, but frustration for viewers.

I wonder about the purpose of this character in the overall story. She seems to raise the ire in most people (i.e. me). I did like her advice not to trust Jonas, but that's about all I have ever liked about her. Her appearance in this story has hardly driven the plot much. I admit that she warned Bree about the seriousness of the Order, but their seriousness had already been foreshadowed by the fact that they are a secret order. She helped out Miles et al by removing Thelema/religion from Bree's religion (?). Other than that, I hope her purpose become apparent soon. I would hate not to give credence to her videos, then miss some major turning point brought about by one of her split-personality monologues.

To tell the truth, I'd be more interested in hearing from her flatmates.

[milowent]

thiller said:

I wonder about the purpose of this character in the overall story.

it seems to me that Gemma's main purpose now should be to explain plot points that cannot be conveyed any other way. Like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Willow was always tasked with "doing research" which unfailingly found the monster they were fighting in some ancient tome that and revealed its weaknesses.

Hye, I believe, recently posted a theory that the Watchers have not grabbed Bree & Daniel because they need to be "invited in" a la vampires. Its a good idea that could be used to explain away the ridiculous fact that the watchers were so close to B&D at one point that they should have been able to smell their breath. This is something Gemma could have been used to explain, but she came up empty handed in her only trip to the library.

Same with the Jonas is evil theory. Without any guidance, fans come up with elaborate plot theories. But if the creators go with one of those ideas, it usually doesn't flow smoothly because the plot was not built up. Gemma could have done reserach in newspaper archives and found articles about Jonas' parents death, or proof that they are not dead.

So, I think there are reasons are there to have a Gemma, but its not well executed so far. Instead, Gemma interacts with bree and gets a weak storyline of her own that no one really cares about.

[thiller]

Milowent- In considering your response, I like your idea about Gemma playing a kind of "Greek chorus" role in the story. I hope that her writers develop her into a character who does indeed bridge the gap between audience and action. I guess you are correct in saying she has a weak storyline. Perhaps if the audience had a reason to be invested in what she is saying, she could be a stronger and more vital part of the overall story.

Milowent, thanks for helping me to consider Gemma's role in a more thoughtful manner, especially in light of of my original, rather dismissive attitude toward her character. I hope the character is given the opportunity to play this role. There is much potential in a character like Gemma to move the story along, clarify issues or respond to B & D in a helpful way that only an outsider could.

[hookedonmonics]

I don't know why I defend Gemma (since i don't feel strongly about her either way), but here I go. First of all, I think we have yet to see the payoff for Gemma's character. I think it is coming, though. I was thinking about all the things she has told us so far, and what they tell us about her. She's VERY particular, doesn't like people touching her food, is posessive of her dates, and is paranoid. Oh, and she seems not to understand how to match her mood to her meaasage (i think this is the character, not the actress) I think we need to know these things about her for some reason. Plus, if she just came on and started bossing bree around, we'd be all "WTF? Who is this bizatch, and why is she talking to bree?" Putting myself in the creators spot, I might have had her tie her stories into Bree's life more closely. Reminiscing over old times, talking about their families and the like. I'd like to see her more closely tied to Bree if she is indeed an important part of the show. I suspect, but am unwilling to place money on mental illness being important to the story.
My thoughts on this were evolving as I typed, so I'm sure I missed something obvious.

[Terryfic]

It would be an interesting trend if she is mentally unstable, as it has been brought up several times that Bree acts like a crazy person a fair bit of the time. I’m not sure what it says about the Order, but perhaps the fact that the only two people that have spoken onscreen that we know to have been a part of it might be crazy is important.

[morninglory]

hookedonmonics said:

Oh, and she seems not to understand how to match her mood to her meaasage (i think this is the character, not the actress)

I think that's really interesting. I never thought if it like that.