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Call me crazy but I'm still pulling for the Doc

posted 8 years ago by ChuckyDucky
5 replies | jump to latest

Yes, I know what she did to Axel (whom I hope will return, soon) was a d**k move but...I get it.

She's flawed, makes up excuses for her weakness, is unable to resist what terrifies her, and she is filled with shame and self-loathing. That's more than I can say for Sam or Vanessa, who are portrayed as likable characters but are each predisposed to killing; an act they both have come to enjoy in some measure. Yet, the Doc's weaknesses seems to loom largely over those little observations because, in a show like Van Helsing, she's unable to rise to the ocassion and challenge those fears; and I think that's quite fascinating. I'd love to know whether or not she's able to overcome her fears and survive, alone. I'd love to know how those challenges will shape her when or if she's faced with a transformed Axel, again. It would be interesting!

So yeah, I'm still pulling for the Doc because what I took away from her story is this, the shame of being a coward is a stain on her mind and soul and it will haunt her for as long as she lives. I think at this point, the writers are fully invested in showing that part of her character, before hopefully, growth takes place.

On another note, I have noticed a running theme about the two BW shown in Van Helsing, but I'd like to reserve my review for a later date. I'm going to check out other projects produced by Neil LaBute (writer and showrunner of 'Van Helsing'), to get a feel where this guy is going with it, as well as the motivation behind it.

[–] JJett131313 8 years ago

i respect your opinion, ChuckyDucky but after the most recent ep. (ep.10) the Doc has destroyed any chance of redemption. what she did to Axel, the man who kept her alive for months, was vile but then what she did in ep.10 (betraying/selling out Vanessa, Susan, Sam, ,etc.), well that's just the last straw.

and it hadn't even occurred to me (to your comment about the 2 black women characters) how these 2 are being written a certain way until i read your comment and if i'm not misreading what you mean then i agree w/ you(? if i'm not completely off base with what you are thinking).

i struck me that they are being written as backstabbers/victims so afraid they'll betray others. i don't know if that's what you were getting at but it is unfortunate that they are being written that way. if i'm completely wrong on this then i apologize for that. :)

[–] ChuckyDucky 8 years ago

Reconciling the Doc's betrayal of Axel (especially after all he did for her), Vanessa, Susan, Sam and Mohamed has been an exercise in fertility. There's just no getting around it. Shutting the emergency door closed just Axel was about to make his escape and selling out her group to a vampire, was reprehensible.

To top it off, she actually goes to said vampire and ask her to turn her back into a vampire again. I mean, what did she expect to happen, that her guilt/shame would magically disappear. Did she think she'd get a guilt-free pass on the immortality train and be able to escape her demons?

Aurgh, it just really ticked me off, but at the same time I was glad she couldn't be turned again. Now, she has no other choice but to face her guilt/shame, and face it alone but I digress.

In answer to your question, yes, I am referring to the two Black women being portrayed as backstabbers/victims. It's one of those weird writing quirks that my radar always picks up. I'm curious why the writer made those choices.

[–] sammyxander 8 years ago

Honestly, I am just recognizing this pattern with the black female characters after reading your post but it did not occur to me while watching the show.. After all, there are several other characters (especially white males) who have all done despicable things.. 3 come to mind:

John: Sold out his team to the new comers at the bunker; tried to force himself on Vanessa's friend..

Axel: Slaughtered the people who kept them hostage.. Yes it was unfair that they were kept captive in their own space but the way he killed all the HUMANS was just savage..

Micah: Feeding human babies to vampires..

I am sure there are many others on the list of characters who have done despicable/dubious things.. This, to me, makes the 'running theme with the black women' as you called it, seem more like a coincidence than intentional..

However, giving it another thought, you could be unto something..

Also, regarding Doc.. I initially misunderstood your comment about rooting for her to mean you support her character however I see now that you want her arc to fully develop.. that she shouldn't have an easy escape from her fate.. It is certain that they are definitely setting her up to be probably the most hated character on the show.. why? we should find out shortly..

[–] arckilian 8 years ago

To top it off, she actually goes to said vampire and ask her to turn her back into a vampire again. I mean, what did she expect to happen, that her guilt/shame would magically disappear. Did she think she'd get a guilt-free pass on the immortality train and be able to escape her demons?

Well...ChuckyDucky, isn't it exactly how the vampire transformation works ? Flesh did mention that all his human emotions were replaced by an endless hunger for blood.

As for Sheema, it caught my attention as well and I wondered if the show was written to make us hate all the black female characters. But considering how Mohamad is positively written, that might be a coincidence.
Like Doc, Sheema is on her way to become a despicable character. The "she is just a child trying to survive" is not going to work very long for me. If we hate betrayers, we hate collaborators even more. But we don't how things will turn out, for all we know Sheema might turn into a bridge between Humans and Vamps, Rebecca growing to like her... or a precious ally. We'll have to wait and see.

[–] arckilian 8 years ago

I wouldn't go as far as to root for Doc but I'm definitively interested and curious to follow her journey. Since I believe in Axel's survival, I confess that it helps to keep an open mind and to endure Doc's terrible choices 😓.

Despicable as Doc's actions are, she provides an interesting point of view. It draws a pretty clean line between all these Zombie-apocalypse stories and our Van Helsing Vampires. Very little would choose to be Zombies to wander endlessly as mindless rotten corpses but there can be benefits in being a Vampire. I can understand how Doc would perceive Feeders as a convenient condition. They look like a version of humans deprived of excactly what she wants to get rid of : the burden of human emotions. Doc obviously never saw enslaved, degraded Ferals like Julius's "dog". I bet she wouldn't have made the same decision.

Unfortunately, everything about Doc shows how far from reality she lives.
Protected and pampered by Axel for 3 years, she never got to step up for herself, to develop the necessary tools ( psychological and practical ) to survive. In that sense, Susan is a good contrast to Doc.

Then, again thanks to Axel's good heart, Doc never got to fully experience the terrible blood hunger the Vampires are plagued with, what is THE major downside of this condition. Doc could make her foolish request to Magdalene because she doesn't know of the Vampires' struggles to feed themselves.

Because of all of this, Doc's desire to be reVamped came out to me as another cowardice, annoying, more than something upsetting or dramatic. If a character like Susan who went through hell both as a human and a vampire, had come to the same decision, now that would have been heartbreaking and disturbing.