A Shepard and His Flock

      The next two characters I’ll analyze are the leading men who stepped up as the leaders: Prince Charming from Once Upon a Time and Jack Shepard from Lost. The unwavering bravery and dedication of these men to their loved ones was made very clear. Prince Charming, aka David Noland, was a common shepherd who took on the responsibilities of a prince and a leader when the town of Storybrooke was left without a sheriff. With the expertise of a surgeon, Jack Shepard became a leader and doctor to the castaways.

      Both Prince Charming and Jack had siblings that they were unaware of until their adulthood. Prince Charming’s twin brother, the born prince, was separated from him at birth by Rumpelstiltskin. Jack’s father had an affair with another woman, resulting in Jack’s half-sister Claire, coincidently one of the other survivors of the plane crash. 

      Both Prince Charming and Jack had difficulties in making up their mind on who they loved. David Noland had an affair with Mary Margaret Blanchard, while he was still technically married to Kathryn. Jack Shepard, throughout his time on the Island, debated whether he loved Kate Austen or Juliet.

      Despite being the handsome leaders who came to save the day, both characters could be extremely stubborn and controlling. Prince Charming prevented Snow White from killing her nemesis the Evil Queen, but was fine with ordering the queen's execution. Jack was the last of the survivors to realize the truth behind the Island because he could not rationalize it.

      The very obvious connection between these natural born leaders was the fact that they both had similar names. Prince Charming was referred to by King George as the “shepherd,” while Jack’s last name was Shepard. 

 

                                                 

 

The Villainous Outcasts

      Spoiler Alert! The first two characters I will compare are Regina Mills from Once Upon a Time and Benjamin Linus from Lost. The most glaring similarity is that both characters are longtime villains who were ruthless murderers. Regina, aka the Evil Queen, tricked a genie into killing her husband, King Leopold, ordered the murder of an entire village because of their association with Snow White, and killed Sheriff Graham because he was no longer under her control. Benjamin Linus, leader of the “Others” murdered Jacob because of jealousy, helped the “Hostiles” slaughter the DHARMA Initiatives members, and killed his rival Charles Widmore.

      Both Regina and Benjamin were power hungry and did everything to keep hold of their power. Regina could not destroy magic, even after hearing pleas from her son, because she would lose her power. Benjamin did not stop a mercenary from killing his daughter Alex because it would mean he would lose his leadership on the island.

      Both Regina and Benjamin were adoptive parents. Regina adopted Henry, the biological son of Emma Swan. Benjamin kidnapped Alex from her biological mother Danielle Rousseau after he was ordered to kill them both.

       Despite being despicable murderers, Regina and Benjamin tried to become better people at one point in their shows. Regina tried to quit using magic to please her son and she also saved Storybrooke and its citizens a couple of times. Benjamin helped the core castaways of the Island stop the “man in black” from destroying the island and he became Hugo Reyes's second hand man. Due to their past deeds and their swapping sides so often, both Regina and Benjamin found themselves as hated outcasts.

                                                                                                                                                  

                                                         

Islands Lost To Time

      After watching every current episode of Lost and Once Upon a Time, I naturally started comparing the two shows, since both series were written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. I noticed that were similarities between the plotlines of each show. Both the fairytale creatures in Storybrooke and the castaways on the Island were trapped victims of time in a supernatural location. The fairytale characters were frozen in time, unaware of their own identities, while the castaways on the Island were thrown into different time periods after a wheel was turned.

      In both shows, a cloud of smoke means very bad news. The curse that sent the fairytale creatures was preceded by a cloud of magical smoke, while the survivors on the Island were chased by a smoke monster. However, despite the similarities in events and concepts, I found the characters in both television shows were way more similar. So for the week before the Once Upon a Time return on March 9, I will compare two similar characters from the shows each day, starting tomorrow. Spoiler Alert Watch every episode before you read these posts because the plot will be discussed. Enjoy!

 

Born to Save The Doctor

      Am I the only one who noticed that Clara Oswald is a totally awesome companion that has saved the Doctor's life quite a bit? If you think about it Clara saved the Doctor's life every time he was endangered by the Great Intelligence after it jumped into his time stream. After that she convinced the Doctor to find an alternative solution to the Time War. If she would have remained silent while witnessing the three Doctors preparing to destroy Gallifrey, then the eleventh Doctor would not have come up with a way to hide his planet. Finally, in the Christmas special, Clara also convinced the Time Lords, who were trapped behind the crack in the wall, to give the Doctor another regeneration.

       I think, that of all the companions I am familiar with, Clara has been the most instrumental in the safety of the Doctor. As she said in the episode "The Name of the Doctor," she was born to save the Doctor, and boy did she. I have to admit, I wished she would have received a better farewell from Eleven before he regenerated into the twelfth Doctor. However, I guess, because the Doctor spent so much time with Amy Pond, she would be the companion he was thinking about so much before his death. Still I think Clara does not get enough credit because she is an unfamiliar companion, even though she has proved she is always there for the Doctor.

 

Dignity in Death

Although Christopher Eccleston will remain forever as my favorite Doctor Who actor, I will admit that Matt Smith's touching scene before his death gave Eccleston a run for his money in my mind. Smith made sure that the eleventh Doctor left parting words of wisdom, remembrance of his companions, and most importantly, insurance that both the Gallifreyans and humans were safe from his enemies. The eleventh Doctor gave beautiful and dramatic speeches that secured a place in the hearts of Doctor Who fans. He defied the laws of the universe after receiving an additional regeneration, which gave fans a magnificent view of lava-like energy shooting into the sky and destroying the Dalek ships. This combination of visual stimulation and snarky speech ensured that Eleventh's death would not be lacking excitement. This episode also showcased the eleventh Doctor's soft side as well. Faced with impending death, Smith gave a dignified speech. This speech demonstrated that although Eleven did not want to die, he understood that everything must end; that it is not the destination of a person's life that matters but rather the path they took to get there. His dying hallucinations of Amelia Pond showed that his companions remained very important to him. Eleven's death demonstrated that, like Eccleston, the Doctor will always save and care for others, even when facing impending doom. Both Eccleston and Smith's versions of the Doctor cared more about saving those around them than their own life. They did not spend the moments before their regeneration crying and saying how much they didn't want to go, like the tenth Doctor did. Eccleston, after saving Rose, commented on how wonderful they had been together during their journeys and how much more he wanted to show Rose. Smith, after saving Clara and the town of Christmas, gave beautiful advice on how to spend life, while remembering "the first face this face ever saw." These actions of the ninth and eleventh Doctor proved why they are my favorite actors that have played the Doctor. However, I am hoping that the twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi, will find a place in my heart as well.



New Romans

Tonight was the finale of Whodunnit, the new reality show in which contestants must solve murder mysteries each week detailing how previous contestants were killed. Although no contestants were really harmed in the show, it makes me wonder how close we are to becoming the next Rome, in which men and women are killed merely for the entertainment of the audience. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of the show Whodunnit and am looking forward to the next season. However, this new reality show seems to be toeing a very thin line. Reality shows, no matter what their themes, are always cutthroat, but it seems that the relief contestants had with just hypothetical deaths is a step above cut throat. With the imitation of real murders and the competitive but nonchalant aura of the show, Whodunnit could be the start of actual death becoming a mere game. And the audience is not completely free of blame for this transition. If we desensitize ourselves to the idea of watching fake deaths that mimic real murders, how far are we from not blinking when we see an actual murder televised. And if we do come to this point, will we become the next Romans who find pleasure in blood shed and torment? Will we eventually find our empire crumbling. Perhaps I am blowing up a simple situation into a major drama, but it wouldn't hurt to keep this possibility in mind. It may take decades, but we could find that we transform into the modern equivalents of blood lusting Romans.

 

Surprising Words from an Unlikely Source

While listening to the radio I heard a song that really touched my heart.  And what surprised me the most was that it came from artists that I have struggled with in the past. Before, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's songs usually left me feeling very confused. On the one hand, I love the sound of their music, like the melodies for their two songs "And We Danced" and "Thrift Shop." However, I'm definitely not a fan of their lyrics. I usually find their lyrics to be really offensive. However, their one song, "Same Love" was very insightful and truthful in my opinion. I feel that this song spotlights the hypocrisy that some religions show towards homosexuals. The song's lyrics "And god loves all his children, is somehow forgotten, but we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago" really does ring true to me. I can't understand how a religion can say that god loves all his creations, but yet seclude homosexuals as sinners. And yet that same religion claims that all humans are sinners as soon as they are born. The song's lyrics "If you preach hate at the service those words aren't anointed, that holy water that you soak in has been poisoned" really highlight some religions' hypocrisy. There are men and women that stand above everyone else saying that they are good people who only want to save the souls of others, and yet they turn around and commit cruel acts that only hurt other people, like the Westboro Baptist Church. The members of that church will disturb the funerals of those soldiers who have given their lives to provide basic rights, and yet Westboro's members use their rights to spew hateful messages about those same soldiers. All I can say is that after hearing Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's song "Same Love," I have a new level of respect for these artists.