Hi! :D Okay, I'm taking from your opening statement that you don't mind some whack off great big spoilers? Because to answer your questions both about the dual Olivias and where the show genderfails or genderawesomes is...complicated and deeply rooted in the show's whole mythology so, um, just in case you do want to steer clear of that kind of thing, fair warning, I'm about to open a can o' worms. ;) Plus I'm a bit obsessive about properly contextualising my opinions, which also means this is TWO EPIC COMMENTS. *facepalm*
Basically the reason there are two of everyone on the show is that the show's central mythology conceit (revealed in fairly stunning style at the end of the first season) is that there is a parallel universe, like ours, but not. There is only one version of Peter because our Walter's Peter died, and Walter crossed over to the alternate universe and stole the other one. This again, is revealed at the end of the first season, though PETER doesn't find out until much later. This first breach between worlds started The Pattern and now both universes are like, falling apart, but theirs is worse. Olivia, in turn, is MAGICAL because Walter did experiments on her as a child (revealed mid-to-late s1) and is the only person who can travel between worlds safely (revealed in later s2).
So, with that framework, it's a bit clearer to first of all explain the places they succeed with the gender and the story. Namely that it is very clearly about Olivia and rooted in her point of view. And kind of amazing considering she's quiet and professional and not emo or sarcastic. She is never eclipsed as the action hero. The child experimentation is also quite amazingly handled in that the show allows her to be furious with Walter (in her restrained way, but she expressed, verbally, on multiple occasions that he abused her and the other children and had no right and caused epic damage). And she's treated as rational and holding a valid and true viewpoint while doing so.
It also sets up a very interesting situation with the Altverse because they were, essentially, the victims, and their world is in much worse shape. Our Walter is, by NOW, rather horrifically, a much better person than his doppelganger, because he lost his mind and forgot half of the stuff that made him so arrogant and dangerous as a younger man, while Walternate (yes, that's what he's called) has been galvanised by the theft of his son and a devastating environmental disaster that's been eating his world for twenty-five years.
So on that count, there is positive news - both Olivias are definitely treated as having a "right" to exist. One is not a clone of the other, or a copy, etc.
However, as you've probably surmised, Fauxlivia is different to Olivia. Essentially she's less damaged, yes, but so far I've been impressed by how the show doesn't treat that as meaning she's a better person. Basically she never got experimented on as a kid and I think was also not raised with a violent stepfather around. So she's more carefree and more brash. She's definitely used as a vehicle for Olivia to have MANPAIN (why so annoying on boys yet so awesome on girls?) because Olivia also spends a brief amount of time brainwashed into thinking she's Fauxlivia, so there's this tragic element of knowing exactly what was taken from her - how happy she could have been.
But given the way the show still hero worships Olivia, and specifically the quiet, introverted competence that we know is a hallmark of the differences in the characters, I've never felt this was an argument being made by the show.
Another storyline to talk about is that for the first half of s3, the Olivias swapped with each other with Our Olivia being brainwashed into thinking she was Fauxlivia, which initially made me VERY nervous, but she basically started breaking out of the brainwashing in the next episode and ended up rescuing herself in fairly amazing style with no help from anyone else cus they didn't even realise she was gone.
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Date: 2011-02-16 12:18 pm (UTC)Basically the reason there are two of everyone on the show is that the show's central mythology conceit (revealed in fairly stunning style at the end of the first season) is that there is a parallel universe, like ours, but not. There is only one version of Peter because our Walter's Peter died, and Walter crossed over to the alternate universe and stole the other one. This again, is revealed at the end of the first season, though PETER doesn't find out until much later. This first breach between worlds started The Pattern and now both universes are like, falling apart, but theirs is worse. Olivia, in turn, is MAGICAL because Walter did experiments on her as a child (revealed mid-to-late s1) and is the only person who can travel between worlds safely (revealed in later s2).
So, with that framework, it's a bit clearer to first of all explain the places they succeed with the gender and the story. Namely that it is very clearly about Olivia and rooted in her point of view. And kind of amazing considering she's quiet and professional and not emo or sarcastic. She is never eclipsed as the action hero. The child experimentation is also quite amazingly handled in that the show allows her to be furious with Walter (in her restrained way, but she expressed, verbally, on multiple occasions that he abused her and the other children and had no right and caused epic damage). And she's treated as rational and holding a valid and true viewpoint while doing so.
It also sets up a very interesting situation with the Altverse because they were, essentially, the victims, and their world is in much worse shape. Our Walter is, by NOW, rather horrifically, a much better person than his doppelganger, because he lost his mind and forgot half of the stuff that made him so arrogant and dangerous as a younger man, while Walternate (yes, that's what he's called) has been galvanised by the theft of his son and a devastating environmental disaster that's been eating his world for twenty-five years.
So on that count, there is positive news - both Olivias are definitely treated as having a "right" to exist. One is not a clone of the other, or a copy, etc.
However, as you've probably surmised, Fauxlivia is different to Olivia. Essentially she's less damaged, yes, but so far I've been impressed by how the show doesn't treat that as meaning she's a better person. Basically she never got experimented on as a kid and I think was also not raised with a violent stepfather around. So she's more carefree and more brash. She's definitely used as a vehicle for Olivia to have MANPAIN (why so annoying on boys yet so awesome on girls?) because Olivia also spends a brief amount of time brainwashed into thinking she's Fauxlivia, so there's this tragic element of knowing exactly what was taken from her - how happy she could have been.
But given the way the show still hero worships Olivia, and specifically the quiet, introverted competence that we know is a hallmark of the differences in the characters, I've never felt this was an argument being made by the show.
Another storyline to talk about is that for the first half of s3, the Olivias swapped with each other with Our Olivia being brainwashed into thinking she was Fauxlivia, which initially made me VERY nervous, but she basically started breaking out of the brainwashing in the next episode and ended up rescuing herself in fairly amazing style with no help from anyone else cus they didn't even realise she was gone.