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defianceworldOK, I've been skirting around this issue in my mind because I actually had a problem with the way my mind was going on this one, but I'm going to put it out there. Spoiler images from the first three episodes here.
To put it in context, I hadn't read any back story to Defiance when I started watching it - just knew that it was a new sci fi show. The first scene we see with Nolan and Irisa - to me it looked for all the world like two lovers behind annoyed at each other - they even sing Jackson, a 'couples' song made famous but Johnny Cash and June Carter.
I didn't realise she was smiling at a 'father figure' when I saw this the first time
She writes in her journal about loving her father but I didn't realise it was the human dude sitting next to her.
It was only as the dialogue unfolded that I realised what was what. It was only as they tell me about the fact that she's his adopted daughter that I realised what the 'relationship' was. Without that express narrative though, I think that they seem like a couple. I normally run away from 'incestuous' pairings like the plague but this doesn't feel like one of those pairings to me.
I realise that this is the farthest thing from the minds of the writers or the actors themselves. If I had known beforehand that she was his adopted daughter, I think that that might have shaped how I saw their relationship but because I came to it cold, I just made assumptions on what I saw. I see a chemistry and a dynamic between Irisa and Nolan that is lacking in his very amicable/business-like relationship with Amanda (although I can tell from the iconable images we have of them and the way they stand around and near each other that she is set up as a prospective love interest.
Even the fact that he actually has a sexual relationship with Kenya pales into comparison because there's no spark or chemistry between them - it's again something of a business-like arrangement, which makes sense I guess.
Irisa/Tommy doesn't work for me at all. They could be friends, but she her experience and physical strength so far exceed his (she threw him out of a roller!) that while I like his sense of humour and his way of handling her ("what is WRONG with you???") - they are not equals in the way that Irisa and Nolan are.
I just find it odd that Nolan/Amanda, Nolan/Kenya, Tommy/Irisa seems much more platonic and friend-zone than Nolan/Irisa where they clearly have so much of a shared past together, an understanding of one another and a way of communicating that has emotion and 'love' in it.
She sees his flaws and shortcomings in a way that is clear-sighted and she doesn't worship or idolise him. Similarly, he knows her quirks and is there for her through everything.
So my hope is that my wrong!ship gets validated. Irisa's in her early twenties, Nolan's in his early forties - we don't know how Irathients age and whether perhaps they have a longevity that makes human year age gaps irrelevant in the scheme of things. Perhaps we learned that it's not really possible for a human to truly 'adopt' an Irathient child and that the father-daughter dynamic isn't really one that makes sense. Who knows? It would help if Irisa wasn't overly young at the time of 'adoption'.
These are my thoughts. Please don't flame me! :) And now here are some more 'shippy' images
Nolan struggling to comfort and understand Irisa after her visions
Irisa at the farm where so many of her visions take place
Nolan comes to her as she is overcome by a particularly violent vision
Even though he cannot understand, he is always there to comfort - how touching is that?
He's helpless here but still protective
He deals with her anger
And again he's there for her through her nightmares - holding her hand
To put it in context, I hadn't read any back story to Defiance when I started watching it - just knew that it was a new sci fi show. The first scene we see with Nolan and Irisa - to me it looked for all the world like two lovers behind annoyed at each other - they even sing Jackson, a 'couples' song made famous but Johnny Cash and June Carter.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
I didn't realise she was smiling at a 'father figure' when I saw this the first time
She writes in her journal about loving her father but I didn't realise it was the human dude sitting next to her.
It was only as the dialogue unfolded that I realised what was what. It was only as they tell me about the fact that she's his adopted daughter that I realised what the 'relationship' was. Without that express narrative though, I think that they seem like a couple. I normally run away from 'incestuous' pairings like the plague but this doesn't feel like one of those pairings to me.
I realise that this is the farthest thing from the minds of the writers or the actors themselves. If I had known beforehand that she was his adopted daughter, I think that that might have shaped how I saw their relationship but because I came to it cold, I just made assumptions on what I saw. I see a chemistry and a dynamic between Irisa and Nolan that is lacking in his very amicable/business-like relationship with Amanda (although I can tell from the iconable images we have of them and the way they stand around and near each other that she is set up as a prospective love interest.
Even the fact that he actually has a sexual relationship with Kenya pales into comparison because there's no spark or chemistry between them - it's again something of a business-like arrangement, which makes sense I guess.
Irisa/Tommy doesn't work for me at all. They could be friends, but she her experience and physical strength so far exceed his (she threw him out of a roller!) that while I like his sense of humour and his way of handling her ("what is WRONG with you???") - they are not equals in the way that Irisa and Nolan are.
I just find it odd that Nolan/Amanda, Nolan/Kenya, Tommy/Irisa seems much more platonic and friend-zone than Nolan/Irisa where they clearly have so much of a shared past together, an understanding of one another and a way of communicating that has emotion and 'love' in it.
She sees his flaws and shortcomings in a way that is clear-sighted and she doesn't worship or idolise him. Similarly, he knows her quirks and is there for her through everything.
So my hope is that my wrong!ship gets validated. Irisa's in her early twenties, Nolan's in his early forties - we don't know how Irathients age and whether perhaps they have a longevity that makes human year age gaps irrelevant in the scheme of things. Perhaps we learned that it's not really possible for a human to truly 'adopt' an Irathient child and that the father-daughter dynamic isn't really one that makes sense. Who knows? It would help if Irisa wasn't overly young at the time of 'adoption'.
These are my thoughts. Please don't flame me! :) And now here are some more 'shippy' images
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Nolan struggling to comfort and understand Irisa after her visions
 |
 |
 |
 |
Irisa at the farm where so many of her visions take place
Nolan comes to her as she is overcome by a particularly violent vision
 |
 |
 |
 |
Even though he cannot understand, he is always there to comfort - how touching is that?
He's helpless here but still protective
 |
 |
He deals with her anger
 |
 |
 |
 |
And again he's there for her through her nightmares - holding her hand
 |
 |
 |
 |
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no subject
Date: 2013-05-04 03:42 pm (UTC)I'm always suspicious of shows with orphans because generally the supposedly dead parents show back up at some point and, for drama's sake, aren't dead. If I were writing the show and wanted to do Nolan/Irisa I think that makes a lot of sense as a way to do it. If she has a biological father present now, where does that leave her relationship with Nolan?
no subject
Date: 2013-05-06 03:44 am (UTC)Even after what he told Amanda, it seemed that when Irisa was a child he took her under his wing but that didn't necessarily preclude them being able to have Feelings for one another. As you point out, it's entirely possible that her previously dead parents could show up again and there could be a bunch of reasons why Nolan - despite his prior intentions, is not actually a 'father' to her. I feel bad because I feel as though I am doing a disservice to the actors who are doing their best to portray a father/daughter dynamic but if you come into it without prior knowledge (like I did), it's easy to pick up the wrong end of the stick.
It will be interesting to see how the series and relationship unfolds i.e.
1. will canon completely blow the notion of a Nolan/Irisa ship out of the water; or
2. will the storylines/acting still allow shippers like me to glean a Nolan/Irisa ship in there despite the canon relationships with the various Official Love Interests
no subject
Date: 2013-05-06 03:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-06 03:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-09 12:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-05-14 02:05 am (UTC)There is something there between Nolan and Irisa and I've slowly been warming to the idea. Especially with the way they are in the second season.
I don't think you're crazy at all.
HM