shadowscast (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shadowscast) wrote2019-07-26 03:12 pm
shadowscast) wrote2019-07-26 03:12 pm
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Slashiness in Once A Thief
I was thinking about the quality of "slashiness," today. Not for the first time! But in particular, I was musing about how I might explain the slashiness of the Once A Thief pilot to someone who was not familiar with the concept. (This was some advance-planning musing rather than entirely-hypothetical musing; an acquaintance has expressed interest in maybe watching some of the series so that she can read my fanfic, because she's curious about fanfic, never having read any before!)
I only learned the romantic comedy term 'meet cute' recently, but according to Wikipedia it's been in use since pre-1941.
From Wikipedia (accessed 2019-07-26):
So, I suddenly realized: if you read Once A Thief as a romantic comedy, it is absolutely (and only!) Mac and Vic who get the 'meet cute'. Although Li Ann is set up as a romantic interest for both men (with this triangle supposedly driving the tension in the second half of the pilot), we don't actually see her meet either one of them. In both the case of Mac/Li Ann and Vic/Li Ann, the first time we see them together is in the context of a soon-to-end established relationship.
Mac and Vic, on the other hand—oh my god do they have a 'meet cute'. Mac breaks into Li Ann's apartment to give her flowers (white roses), and discovers that she already has a vase full of red roses—which he replaces with his own flowers. Vic then lets himself in (with a key), finds his red roses displaced by white roses, is confused, and switches the flowers back again. And then the two of them keep moving through the apartment for a while, just missing each other every time, switching the flowers back and forth and getting increasingly perplexed, while delicately funny music plays. Then they do spot each other; a comical misunderstanding ensues (well, Vic thinks that Mac is a random intruder, and Mac thinks that Vic is a hit man sent to kill him), and they have a ridiculously choreographed fight in which they are very careful not to damage any of Li Ann's furniture. Li Ann finally arrives and finds them cuddling on the floor together. (Well, wrestling and pointing guns in each others' faces. Practically the same thing!)
Hello, 'unusual, humorous and cute' circumstances!
Mac and Vic then proceed to spend the rest of the pilot having a humorous clash of personality and beliefs. (Mac's an ex-thief; Vic's an ex-cop. Mac is impulsive and hot-headed; Vic is serious and careful. Mac dresses up; Vic dresses down. And so on.)
As for embarrassing situations: I draw your attention to the chandelier scene. In which, in order to get over an electrified floor, Mac and Vic use an electrical extension cord to tie themselves to a chandelier, and then accidentally end up both swinging from it, upside down and sideways and backwards in each others' arms, and needing to work together (and trust each other!) in order to get out of the situation and not get fried. Um, classic rom-com!
And then of course there's the final scene of the pilot, in which the threesome goes walking in the park together, and then Li Ann tricks Mac and Vic into holding hands with each other. That's how the pilot ends!
Which brings me to wonder: is there any possible way that the writers/director/actors weren't consciously aware of what they were doing there?
I only learned the romantic comedy term 'meet cute' recently, but according to Wikipedia it's been in use since pre-1941.
From Wikipedia (accessed 2019-07-26):
In film and television, a meet cute is a scene in which the two people who will form a future romantic couple meet for the first time, typically under unusual, humorous, or "cute" circumstances.
This type of scene is a staple of romantic comedies. Frequently, the meet-cute leads to a humorous clash of personality or of beliefs, embarrassing situations, or comical misunderstandings that further drive the plot.
So, I suddenly realized: if you read Once A Thief as a romantic comedy, it is absolutely (and only!) Mac and Vic who get the 'meet cute'. Although Li Ann is set up as a romantic interest for both men (with this triangle supposedly driving the tension in the second half of the pilot), we don't actually see her meet either one of them. In both the case of Mac/Li Ann and Vic/Li Ann, the first time we see them together is in the context of a soon-to-end established relationship.
Mac and Vic, on the other hand—oh my god do they have a 'meet cute'. Mac breaks into Li Ann's apartment to give her flowers (white roses), and discovers that she already has a vase full of red roses—which he replaces with his own flowers. Vic then lets himself in (with a key), finds his red roses displaced by white roses, is confused, and switches the flowers back again. And then the two of them keep moving through the apartment for a while, just missing each other every time, switching the flowers back and forth and getting increasingly perplexed, while delicately funny music plays. Then they do spot each other; a comical misunderstanding ensues (well, Vic thinks that Mac is a random intruder, and Mac thinks that Vic is a hit man sent to kill him), and they have a ridiculously choreographed fight in which they are very careful not to damage any of Li Ann's furniture. Li Ann finally arrives and finds them cuddling on the floor together. (Well, wrestling and pointing guns in each others' faces. Practically the same thing!)
Hello, 'unusual, humorous and cute' circumstances!
Mac and Vic then proceed to spend the rest of the pilot having a humorous clash of personality and beliefs. (Mac's an ex-thief; Vic's an ex-cop. Mac is impulsive and hot-headed; Vic is serious and careful. Mac dresses up; Vic dresses down. And so on.)
As for embarrassing situations: I draw your attention to the chandelier scene. In which, in order to get over an electrified floor, Mac and Vic use an electrical extension cord to tie themselves to a chandelier, and then accidentally end up both swinging from it, upside down and sideways and backwards in each others' arms, and needing to work together (and trust each other!) in order to get out of the situation and not get fried. Um, classic rom-com!
And then of course there's the final scene of the pilot, in which the threesome goes walking in the park together, and then Li Ann tricks Mac and Vic into holding hands with each other. That's how the pilot ends!
Which brings me to wonder: is there any possible way that the writers/director/actors weren't consciously aware of what they were doing there?