clearspira wrote: ↑Wed Dec 25, 2019 6:44 pm
As I have said before, Star Trek was designed to be ''the hopeful show''. Criminals in this universe can rehabilitate - they can start evil and then better themselves. And if the actual character execution of the Empress (I refuse to call her an emperor) was different from day 1 then maybe we could have had that. But I posit that the moment you introduce a crime as outrageous as cannibalism is the moment that you have just made a character redemption arc very hard to swallow.
CrypticMirror wrote: ↑Wed Dec 25, 2019 9:37 pm
I don't like Discovery, but in Star Trek we've seen the redemption of Space Goebbels and Space Himmler over on DS9, and came so very close to redeeming Space Hitler, not to mention Space Female Osama Bin Laden, plus they've given us Heroic Attila the Hun too. So, pretty much anybody can be redeemed if the writing is good enough. Do I think the writing will be good enough on Discovery? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha-Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.......
I absolutely agree about the notion regarding redemption. There is a problem: so far, there is no redemption. This tyrant was saved by bad writing in the first place, then brought back into the show from a misguided idea to create a spin-off. Since then, the character has made no moves to have a redemption arc. Presumably they're saving it for her show (if that even is the intent). She began as a genocidal, power-hungry, cannibalistic tyrannical dictatorial autocrat and as far as we've seen she is still that character two years later, with the only difference is that she currently lacks the power to embody her previous persona and indulge in her terrible proclivities. The only "good" we've seen in her is a tendency to act in Burnham's interests on occasion, but always in ways that also elevate herself and her position of power. Starfleet was stupid enough to give her access to its top-secret intelligence, and if it weren't for the sudden plot-shift mid-season due to the production shakeup she was poised to oust Leland through subterfuge and blackmail. That's a declawed villain rising again to become a threat, and only CONTROL derailed it.
Now maybe I will enjoy the redemption story (if we get it) on the S31 show, but there are so many hurdles to overcome it's going to be a massive uphill battle to make the show work, and so far no one's written a single thing on Discovery that gives me hope they have a clue how to do it. And if they do pull it off, it doesn't change the fact that
right now the character has not even started on that journey. She's a character without positive aspects who we've only seen be a cartoon villain, wearing the same face as a beloved good-guy character so people give her slack (and the audience loves the actress, so they are excited to see her star in a show no matter the content).
Deep Space Nine had the good sense to make its bad guys complicated, deep people.