*coughs* SVU *coughs*, ficrecs, Sunday

[holdouttrout]

Well, crap. I already did a weekend post, didn't I? Okay, well, Sunday was spent chasing down my boss who was running a marathon, going to church to stand in the front and have one of the elders say nice things about me becoming a member, getting my hand shaken (not stirred--you may groan), and then going back for a pizza party celebrating the fact that my boss finished said marathon. (His first.)

This morning, I had pizza for breakfast and watched 'Guilt,' from third-season SVU, in which Alex (who is working her way up my list of favorite female characters who also happen to be blonde--it's a short list--) breaks laws so she can put a pedophile in jail.



I remarked to my co-worker (who gets a lot of squee from me) that sometimes, with L&O, I just want there to be a happy ending. Even if the perp gets locked away, it's often not for long enough, or they find out that the real mastermind got away, or that another character was responsible for something else they can't prove, and it's really, really hard on me, sometimes, watching the show and being used to CSI that has that more "gotcha" sort of tone most of the time. It's realistic, but it's not necessarily satisfactory.

And then there are the protagonists, people who are sometimes nasty, violent, cruel, viscious, mean, petty, etc. Also realistic, but complicated. Liv's harrassed a family to try to help Claire from Heroes a little girl who was neglected by her singer mother. El just betrayed a girl's confidence in a nurse and his *wife's* trust in him to try to help her--an action which didn't quite turn out the way he wanted or expected.

'Guilt' is all about Alex. She's been working with this teenaged boy to prosecute the perp who was preying on him. It turns out he's done this with many other boys, too, and she wants to get him. The only problem is that there's no evidence except for the boy's testimony, and he ends up incapacitated after trying to kill himself.

They find out that the suspect made videotapes and would send them to his victims, but it's not from a very reliable source, and she can't get a warrant. She basically ends up insinuating she has one to El and Liv, and then tells the mother of the boy that they can search her house because suicides are automatically treated as suspicious deaths until proven otherwise. It's an illegal search, but she manages to convince the judge to keep the evidence, and she gets El and Liv off the hook because they didn't know it was illegal.

I was watching this episode, and I was just blown away by my reaction. I wanted this guy put away, but what Alex did--it wasn't right. It was a complete violation of privacy, and it goes across that same line she's always drawn before--working *within* the law to get the evidence they need to put these guys away. They show you exactly why she did it, too--she was the one who tried to convince the boy to testify, and who coached him through the whole process, and she felt responsible for him trying to kill himself.

The thing I love about this show, and this episode in particular, is that it doesn't try to excuse her actions by pulling a twist. We knew the guy was bad. We knew he'd harmed many innocent boys. We knew that Alex was working outside the law, and that she'd made that decision, as well as the decision to not tell El and Liv the truth. Instead of coming across as a desperate action made without thinking about the consequences, we understand that Alex thought the whole thing through. It wasn't solely an emotional reaction. She had a theory about exactly how far she could push the law, and she did it.

It is, in other words, a very *intelligent* decision, and it's consistent with her character and the scenario they set up. They don't blame it on her being a woman, and don't even imply it, which is impressive. They've also shown that men have made these same decisions, and don't *need* to link it, because it's obvious to anyone with half a brain that they've already done their work.

It's kinda refreshing to see.



I have a few recs for fics I've read recently. Actually, if you have delicious or are thinking about using it, I'm holdouttrout over there, too. All of the fics I put on there are ones I've enjoyed--it's not an exhaustive list by any means, but I saved the ones that are on there for a reason. :-)

You can find fics I think are particularly awesome by following my ficrec tag. This is kind of a whimsical tag--some days I'm easier or harder to impress, or I just forget about using this tag. You can combine tags and search for stargate angst fic, or by authors I have in there (again, this is whimsical and somewhat based on critical mass), and you can probably find out entirely too much about what I find funny. *g*

Okay, onto the recs:

Stargate:
A Step Ahead of You, by mrspollifax. Sam/Jack, spoilery for Ark of Truth and some of SGA season 4 (AU). A very good look at Sam and Jack in the "current" timeframe--kinda twisted and complicated and frustrating in all the right ways.

kings until the power failed, by _astralis. Sam/Jack, Daniel (Sam/Daniel). From apocalypse_kree, this has a tone I wish I could capture--all soft and meaningful and really, really quiet while packing a punch.

Iron Man:
Chloe Liked Olivia, by marinarusalka. Gen. The summary kinda says it all: "One is the personal assistant to a billionaire-playboy-turned-superhero. The other is an ambitious journalist with a political conscience. Together, they fight crime!" It's not as cracky as it sounds, and it is really very awesome--two women, defined partially by Tony Stark, who find their way around that difficulty.

Also, if you have any SVU ficrecs--especially Alex/Olivia--please rescue me from the voles and send them my way. PLEASE. I'm reading mushy romantic fic and it's just not right.

Comments

[knightedrogue.livejournal.com]

Your boss ran THE marathon? So did my dad!

Heh heh heh.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Interesting! I might have seen him out there, no?

[knightedrogue.livejournal.com]

Sure. He's the one wearing shame and guilt. :D Ha ha ha.

[gdwatson.livejournal.com]

I fail at watching modern police dramas, largely because I don't tend to like the protagonists at all. I like a good antihero, but they're not that. They tend to be unscrupulous without being interesting, and generally obnoxious. Half the time I'd like to see the action scenes end with the deaths of everyone involved.

CSI is much better, though not enough to make me want to watch it all the time. Its spin-offs have the same problems as the other dramas, IMHO.

</rant>

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Hee. I'm amused at the vehemence of your rant.

[mrspollifax.livejournal.com]

Oh, hee, thanks!

I routinely stalk your link list, just so you know. *g*

[poetressforgod.livejournal.com]

I actually think that is one of the few episodes tha ti have seen. I remember the guy making vids and sending them to his victims.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Oh, good! That's what it's for...I mean, other than my own use.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

I think it's a very interesting episode, on many levels.

[jalara.livejournal.com]

In this post and your last post about SVU, you said exactly what I love about this show. The characters are just great. I love each one of them, mostly because they are so real. They deal with such raw material that their emotions, although hidden, are often very near the surface and each deals in his/her own way, showing his/her own flaws.

I also love that the female characters are written like people I know. I'm not a lawyer or have any law enforcement background, so I can't speak for the subject matter they deal with, but I have been in the workplace a long time and these are people that make sense to me. I like all the characters, except most of the sleaze bag defense lawyers, and of course the perps, but even some of them have redeeming qualities.

The show has no easy answers. No real shortcuts. It's just life in raw form. Disturbing, but compelling at the same time.

As far as A/O fic recs, (and I love A/O even more than I love E/O), one of the best is "The Sum of Contadictions" by beurre_blanc. It's a series of stories that starts at ep 2x01 and continues. You'll have to friend her but she loves that so just do it and enjoy. :) For something a little lighter, I also love Connecticut McPhee's fic on alex_liv_lovers. Unfortunately, you'll have to search the tags on that site to find her fic. She goes by cmcphee. There are lots of other good fics in that comm as well.

After you've watched S5's "Loss", I recommend Harriet's "Spark" trilogy. (Scroll down page to Harriet to get to links of all three stories). Don't read this one if you haven't seen "Loss". It won't make nearly as much sense.

That's it for starters! Cheers!

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the list! It should be fun to hit a new pairing.

Another A/O fic rec

[jalara.livejournal.com]

"Thin Frames" by DAx Scroll to bottom of page for story. Enjoy:)