A bit of due South meta + watching Band of Brothers

[luzula]

1) So seascribe and desireearmfeldt and I chat-watched some due South last night: first Good For the Soul and then The Deal (apparently we were in the mood to watch Fraser being beaten up by mob bosses). And at the end, we couldn't quite figure out the differences between Fraser's approach in the two eps. In Good For the Soul, he's all about The Principle Of The Thing, and forges ahead by himself until the rest of the department comes around and helps him. In The Deal, he lets Ray Vecchio deal with it in the end by beating up and shaming Zuko, without criticizing Ray for it--not a tactic that would seem to fit Fraser's principles, even with an opponent who doesn't play fair himself. Or does Fraser do something like that somewhere else in canon? Maybe he doesn't protest because this is all mixed up in Ray's childhood/family issues, and it's some sort of deal-with-your-personal-demons-one-on-one thing?

2) I have been making my slow way through Band of Brothers, on account of how the due South AU Horseshoes and Hand Grenades seems like it's inspired by BoB a lot (or at least by the same bits of history), and I imprinted hard on that fic. Sadly, I'm not connecting with BoB the way I connected with Generation Kill, which seems like a natural series to compare it to. GK focused more on a small group and their interactions, and BoB focuses more on one person per episode, and the former worked much better for me--I'm having a bit of trouble keeping track of everyone on BoB. Although to be fair, I had already imprinted on GK via fic when I watched it, so that might have an effect, too.

Comments

[akamine_chan]

Re 2. Omphale is a HUGE fan of Band of Brothers, so I'm not surprised that Horseshoes feels inspired by it. *g*

[luzula]

Yes, I had gathered that! : ) I'm seeing a lot of similarities, though there are also differences, of course. On the whole it's such an impressive AU fic.

[glitteryv]

I've yet to watch Band of Brothers (haven't been in the mood for it), but it's deffo in my Netflix queue. :)

[luzula]

It's good, but potentially confusing character-wise? And it's a war story, of course, with some rather graphic Holocaust stuff, so it can be pretty heavy to watch.

[china_shop]

Maybe he doesn't protest because this is all mixed up in Ray's childhood/family issues, and it's some sort of deal-with-your-personal-demons-one-on-one thing?

And because it's the only way they can think of to protect the shoemaker? In GftS, no one else is really at risk -- it's much more a matter of principle -- but in The Deal, someone's life is on the line, and Zuko has proven himself capable of outmanoeuvring Fraser & co. I think Fraser is capable of being pragmatic, especially in service to someone else.

With Band of Brothers, I felt like the confusion (confusingness?) was almost part of the point, especially in the first few episodes, but then I am useless at distinguishing people in uniform at the best of times, so that might just be me. Mostly I was all ♥ Winters ♥ Nixon ♥ and accepting of the more general confusion of not being able to identify any of the others. (The boy did point out some characters, which helped.)

[desireearmfeldt]

But part of the bone I'm gnawing on re: The Deal is that I'm not sure Fraser himself would use the tactic Ray uses to resolve the situation. Fraser's pretty clearly *capable* of both deliberate violence and intimidation, I can imagine how he would deliver that sort of a scene...but would he do it, if Ray weren't there to do it for him?

I kind of want to answer that question both Yes and No; I'm really not sure which I believe is the more canon-compliant interpretation. (I think canon portrays Fraser inconsistently, though systematically inconsistently, if that makes sense -- I think there are several versions of Fraser that get used at different points, each fairly self-consistent but not all mutually compatible.)

[china_shop]

I'm not sure Fraser himself would use the tactic Ray uses to resolve the situation.

I'm fairly sure he wouldn't, but I don't think that matters. Ray is there, and this is something Ray feels honour-bound to do, because of the shoemaker and the kid from Ray's childhood and because of what Zuko did to Fraser. I think given those circumstances and in the absence of other recourse, Fraser's willing to stand back and let Ray do what he does.

/random, top of my head, I haven't thought about this in years, add salt :-)

[luzula]

I dunno, I feel like the guy Warfield assaulted is at risk in GftS, too? But yeah, probably not as much. And yes, I agree that Fraser probably steps back in part because this is something Ray feels that he has to do.

God, yes, people in uniform are confusingly similar (which I suppose is part of the point of uniforms). I did like Winters in BoB--no surprise, since he's a Fraser-like kind of character.

[sabra_n]

The Band of Brothers ensemble is ridiculously difficult to track, especially the first time around. All those white guys in uniforms and helmets; what's a girl to do? :P Seriously, the first time I watched I managed to distinguish Winters (CO, red hair, closest we get to a central character), Nixon (guy next to Winters), and finally, 5-7 episodes in, most of the NCOs. I think the Battle of the Bulge episodes are what really elevated the series for me, so I hope you enjoy those when you get to them.

[luzula]

I wonder if it's deliberately made to be overwhelming or if they tried and failed to distinguish the characters (well, failed for me, anyway)? Yeah, I do recognize Winters and Nixon, at least. And yes, I did enjoy the Bastogne episode focusing on the medic (and hey, there was a woman in that one, too). And I'll try some fic, to see if it clicks with me.

[sabra_n]

Aw, Doc Roe! That's my favorite episode of the series, harrowing as it is.