Heroines You Want To Slap the Snot Out Of

Okay.

This whole blog schedule thing isn’t working out for me. I realized the very first week – last week – that one of the reasons I love writing and self-publishing so much is that I don’t have to follow the rules traditionally published authors are bound by.

So What did I do? I boxed myself into a corner and I don’t like corners anymore than I like rules. Therefore, I’m writing myself out of the corner. I’ll post what feels right, when it feels right, rather than what I think I should do. But I still love the idea of writing stories to order (from suggestions by readers), so keep the ideas rolling in please.

Now it’s time to get to the subject referred to in the title.

***SPOILER ALERT!!!***

I’m only going to use two examples, but I will be giving away a bit of the plot from each one. If you’ve never seen Walker, Texas Ranger or Monarch of the Glen, but you plan to someday, you might want to stop reading here.

Walker, Texas Ranger

Let’s tackle Walker first. In the 1993-2001 series, Alex Cahill was the prosecuting attorney. Right out of the gate, she was a strong, opinionated, confident, successful woman. As each season passed, you knew – eventually – that Walker and Alex were going to wind up together. Like every happily-ever-after story written, this wasn’t going to be any different.

However, when the writers decided to actually bring them together, Alex turned into a whining, helpless, annoying, poor-lil-ol’-me sissy. Give her a man, and everything that made her likeable was gone. Poof!

Monarch of the Glen

Ah, Monarch of the Glen (200-2005). I’m falling in love with the offerings from the BBC. First, Sherlock, then Survivors, now this one.

I’m only on season 4, episode 4 and still loving the series. Well, except for one little thing. Lexie, the witty, loyal, sweet-yet-sarcastic, strong and proud housekeeper/cook has turned into a temperamental, nitpicky, impossible to please fishwife with low self-esteem. I really hope that changes, but given the Walker example, and too many others like it, I don’t hold out much hope.

What is it about television writers who have to turn formerly strong women into shadows of who they started out to be? Love should make each half of the couple more of what they were before, not less. So what’s up with shows like this?

Is there a series you were disappointed in when the heroine transformed from a strong female character into a someone you just want to … well … slap?

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4 Responses to Heroines You Want To Slap the Snot Out Of

  1. karenmcfarland says:

    Lol Kristy. What we do to ourselves! Get out of the box! Hey, don’tcha just love Monarch of the Glen? Hubby and I just discovered it after we finish Cedar Cove. *sniff* So we’re only on season 1. But we’re hooked. 🙂

    • Kristy K. James says:

      Totally out of the box now, Karen. Or out of the corner, lol. I don’t know what I was thinking. But YES!!! I LOVE Monarch of the Glen. I’m on ‘series’ 5, episode 5 at the moment, and kind of annoyed that Netflix doesn’t have the final season, just the first six. Hopefully, they’ll rectify that because honestly, the first four were the best. That’s not to say that five, and like six, aren’t good, but if I were going to buy any, it will be those ones. 🙂

      I need to remember to watch Cedar Cove.

  2. Lynner says:

    While I was reading this, it reminded me of the show Wings. I really like Helen in that show because she was a strong-willed, strong-minded woman who could and would stand up to anyone. However, after her marriage to Joe (which I eagerly anticipated for years) she ended up a whiny needy woman who I doubted could tie her shoes in the morning.

    • Kristy K. James says:

      LOL…I’ve seen a few episodes of that series, but now I guess I’m glad I’ve never gotten hooked. I hate it when writers feel the need to change a woman’s whole personality – and not for the better – because she hooked up with the hero. It’s so annoying. 😀

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