User blog:Corbierr/A rant about three Anubis girls...who may or may not deserve all the hate

By now, many of you probably know what to expect from my blogs. It's all the same sort of stuff- plot before character is bad, character development is good, season 3 is mostly horrible, the writers are a very easy victim and I use a lot of run-on sentences. Thing is, my blogs also tend to stay on the safe side of most Anubis opinions. You don't see many wiki members in the comments arguing about my oh-so-controversial views on characters like Amber or big things like the Touchstone Of Ra, that's all I'm saying. But today might be different. Because I'm going to take some oft-hated (or formerly hated) characters, namely Nina, Joy and Mara, and ask...were they really so bad? Were the show creators aiming to make them unlikable at times, or was it just poor writing? And most of all...do/did they really deserve the hate?

Now, we should start of by saying that sympathetic does not equate to likable. Just because you feel bad for a character does not mean you need to root for, agree with, or enjoy them. For that matter, not every likable character ends up being sympathetic. Sometimes they are just so enjoyably evil that you can't help but love them, or they are surrounded by characters so unlikable that they look better by comparison. Similarly, likable characters can start out being truly sympathetic and wind up evil, insane, or what have you, and you can still end up liking them because you knew them throughout the story.

Of course, making the audience sympathize is an easy way to make you like the characters- especially when said character is the hero. It helps to relate to them and it helps you to want to see them succeed against the odds. Some writers can't pull this off, and try so hard to make a character sympathetic that they end up seeming whiny, useless and at worst, just flat out unlikable. When people try and add a lot of angst into the story to try and make it seem more mature or to try and make the character's lives seem worthy of sympathy, they can easily mess up. Sometimes the problems a character face just isn't worth all the whining. Sometimes they do so many bad things that the angst just makes the character more unlikable. Other times, they even end up making the wrong character seem sympathetic. I mean, maybe the jerk who called the hero a crybaby was meant to be disliked, but to the audience, maybe he said what they were all thinking and the karma he gets for it later just seems unfair as the mary sue hero gets off scot free.

What I'm trying to say is, it's not always easy to make a character sympathetic. It takes more than just having them talk about their problems. If they are charismatic, or if they save the complaining for times when it's really warrented, or if they are working hard to fix the issue, then it works out.

And then you get characters like Season 2!Nina, Season 2!Joy and Season 3!Mara. Characters who appeared to be almost deserving of sympathy from the audience- yet, many fans wind up disliking or even hating them. Where did they go wrong? Let's look at each case.

Nina
Nina, as stated before in many other plaes, came off as annoyingly sue-ish, just enough to get on a lot of nerves. While her life was crumbling down around her, she was working hard to save not only her life but also her friends and her Gran. Normally this would be worth complaint...but even as our Chosen One was struggling, she could also come off as untolerably needy at times. Maybe she claimed that she could do things without Sibuna and that she was trying to keep her friends safe, but when you really get down to it, she never stopped needing help this season. In season 1, she had a pretty average (for an Anubis student) life and even managed to do some pretty cool things like rescue Patricia and do the whole initiation at the beginning almost flawlessly. She still needed her friends, but it was more because she just grew to rely on them and was determined to solve things for Sarah, not because she couldn't do things alone. Come season 2, and all that changes. She didn't have all those cool or at least slightly impressive actions to make her seem like a heroine. She needed her friends around because she just couldn't do things without them.

Nina ''didn't take charge of anything. ''Sure, she was the Sibuna leader, but that doesn't really mean much because it was Fabian who did most of the actual work, with Amber as a close second. It's not that the things she was going through weren't worth being upset about- they were. But she never even really seemed to try to do them on her own- even if just so she couldn't endanger her friends. How much more would people like her as a hero if she were allowed to do things like try and make the first move with Fabian, call out Joy, or do a mission solo even if it leads to disaster? When you have a protagonist, you want them to do things, and that might be why Nina was difficult to like for the whole season. Until the end, she was mostly doing these things: being temperamental, being jealous over Jabian, flirting with Fabian, and feeling hopeless. Even at the end she needed to be saved, and that was after she made one of the only genuinely heroic moves of the season. It's not all Nat's fault, either, so don't go blaming her. She wasn't an amazing actress by any means, but it's not her fault Nina was written poorly that season. If a heroine doesn't do anything, how are people supposed to care and root for them? Spending all your time feeling bad about things and relying too much on other people without taking charge makes people stop feeling bad for your problems- for the most part, I won't lie and say that by the end I was fully on Nina's side and entirely sympathetic to her, but of course by that point she stopped being a bitch to people.

The worst part is is that none of this was intentional. And I know that sounds silly- who would purposely make their protagonist whiny and relatively useless? Well, imagine Nina being the way she was because, IDK, maybe she honestly felt like she had no power over her own destiny and relied on the locket and Sarah for guidance because she's still just a teenage girl and wants some form of help, even from a spirit. Then the dollhouse gets destroyed and Sarah can no longer contact her. She panics and feels like everything is really hopeless now because she's not used to acting without her mentor/spirit guide/predecessor/old lady friend helping her along the way. She starts losing her temper with her friends even more than usual and stops being any sort of effective as a leader. Then someone gets fed up and calls her out on it. Maybe it's Fabian finishing up his spine-growing arc. Maybe it's Patricia doing something useful for once this season. Maybe it's Joy who keeps hearing her out from a distance and decides to more than just write a slanderous article. Maybe it's her own damn head reminding her that she's the Chosen One, she's the Sibuna leader, she's the one with everything at stake, so it's time to do something about it because, well, she ''can. ''It doesn't matter who calls her out, but whoever it is, she gets snapped out of it, and becomes an actual hero.

Now, tell me the truth- did that version of events make you feel any better about Nina in your head? Maybe the answer is no, and that's okay, but at least it shows that this wasn't a mistake and that she does go through some form of character development. But instead, everyone acted like Nina hadn't changed from the first season. They still somehow remain unwaveringly loyal to her as she randomly loses her temper once an episode. They all put up with her self-pitying rather than trying to get her to snap out of it. They all act like she is the "mystical champion of good" when she has proven to be capable of just as much sin and badness than they are. (This has nothing to do with anything, but imagine Nina as a sinner. That'd be freaking awesome. Sinner Fabina...) This is why Nina can easily be called a Mary Sue- well, apart from the fact that the litmus test agrees. She doesn't have to be proactive or a good leader or even nice- she's the Chosen One, and that's enough to make her the heroine.

In my opinion, Nina doesn't deserve all the hate. Not really. I feel as though people should try and see her as some sort of anti-hero. Sure, it's not what anyone intended her to be...but they didn't intend for people to dislike her, either. Instead of being the perfect heroine, she could be seen for what she really was- a flawed, confused and jealous, but ultimately well-meaning, person. A person who could use some more growing up as a leader and hero, but still has it in her to try and do what's right even if she's distracted by all the bad. At least, that's the version of Nina that I prefer. What about you?

Joy
Seeing how popular she became in the third season, it seems kind of funny to think now that she used to be the most hated character. Well, unlike Nina, Joy was never a sue and she was never inactive. When she wanted something, she tried to damn hard to get it. In season 1, she worked hard at escaping her house at her own free will without knowing what Sibuna was up to. In season 2...her new desire was Fabian. And, of course, this is where we get the problem.

She was in the way of Fabina, so people hated her. She could have been perfectly nice and cool and people still would have hated her, just like they demonized her in fanfics before season 2 even freaking started. It's the power of shipping. But this isn't about that, because there were still plenty of reasonable fans who didn't treat her like the antichrist. I, personally, was psyched for Joy joining the show for real.

And then, they just had to go and turn her into the bitch of the season. You all know what happened, so let's just have a quick recap: she was relentless at trying to win over Fabian and wouldn't take no for an answer, while also bullying Mara for the spotlight and then frequently having random moments of seeming honestly sympathetic. In the end she redeemed herself due to the power of King Fabian and became a hero. Happy Ending, except for the whole "still single" thing. My issue is that all the sympathetic moments doesn't mean that her bitchy moments aren't bitchy any more. Why, though? I mean, weren't those moments honestly sad sometimes and proved that all she wanted was to feel important?...Ehhh, here's the thing.

Just because she cries about bad things happening doesn't mean her bad actions are justified...or even related. Like, she did plenty of bad things just because she could. When she kissed Fabian, it wasn't because she was feeling neglected or useless- it was because she had a chance to kiss him and took it. When she started harrassing Mara during blog meetings, it wasn't like she had already started to get ostracized and wanted something to hold on to- she just wanted to be in control. Later on she started to get a bit more fleshed out and did at least seem to have some slightly understandable motivations...but by then it just starts to feel...ridiculous. Pathetic. ''Pointless. ''

Let's get something straight here. Joy was rarely ever acting on sympathetic motivations. She wanted something, she couldn't get it, she started playing the victim card. She was never really the victim at all- she was delusional and obsessive. Like, okay. She had a crush on a person and he is dating someone now. That is sad and it could have been sympathetic- but dear god, Fabian is just a boy. He's cute, and sweet, and amazing, but he's still just a boy. Doing schemes and stuff to try and win him over while still trying to come off as the regular, love-struck girl is doing it wrong. There are a lot of people who do horrible things for the sake of a crush, yeah, it happens, but that doesn't mean it's sympathetic. The characters who do it are typically the mean girls for a ''reason. ''If they didn't want people to see her as the Alpha Bitch, then they shouldn't have made her act like one, damn it! Play with the idea of her honestly being selfish and have her get over it- don't just pretend last minute that this was all just because she felt replaced.

Yeah, uh, until the end, was Joy even being replaced in any way? Okay, Fabina was a thing, but big deal. It's not like Patricia and Mara abandoned her right away for their new Chosen One BFF, they just happened to be friends with Nina now. She was still pretty much friends with Alfie and Eddie, and was still friends with Mick as well. She and Nina were even civil to each other most of the time. And with Fabian? He was still perfectly fine with being friends with her! So, her whole rant at the end about everyone leaving her for Nina? Well, that only happened because of her bad attitude. She transitioned back into Anubis with ease and literally the only thing that could be a problem is that Nina existed. Even the whole kidnapping incident barely seemed to leave a mark on her until she decided she wanted to be in Sibuna again.

The point is, if you're going to have a character do selfish and pointless things, then great. If you're going to have a character act out due to feeling ignored or whatever, then that's also great. But if you try to combine them, then no, apparently that's not so great.

Joy had all the makings of a truly sympathetic character, a girl who has insecurities from her recent trauma and gets so desperate for the comfort of the boy she loves that she would do anything to get it. She also had the makings of the jealous Alpha Bitch who torments the heroine for no goddamn reason. They messed up by throwing in the sympathetic scenes too late in the show and too randomly for them to really make a difference.

I still say she doesn't really deserve all the hate, but she doesn't entirely deserve all the sympathy, either. Look, if you like her, then great, more power to you, and I'm sure you'll say that I was entirely off the mark with this- if you think so, go ahead and tell me so we can debate, because that'd be fun. But really, I think that her bad actions shouldn't be getting justified left and right but she shouldn't be getting hate, either. What happened happened and her character moved on, so what our fandom really needs to do is accept the bad things she did as bad things and accept that at least in season 3 she did go back to being sympathetic. Take the character for who they are; she's too heroic and admittedly too interesting to deserve being hated and was too selfish and petty to deserve being treated like a victim. That's my take on her, anyways.

Mara
Mara is interesting, and I mean that. Not personality-wise, really; she was always sort of boring and flat and underdeveloped. But she's interesting in just how fast she can go from being cool and likable and relatable to being able to piss people off.

I'm mostly talking about season 3 here, to keep in theme with the whole "accidentally unsympathetic" thing I have going here. In seasons 1 and 2, she had a whole lot of bitch moments, but season 3 takes the cake.

So as we know, Jerome cheated on her and she went batshit. That's pretty much it. And...yeah, Jerome was in the wrong. We can talk about how she may have pushed him to it or whatever but in the end he made the choice to cheat and he did deserve to be punished for it. This should have made Mara be pretty unambiguousy good, or at least be the heroine of her plot. After all, this time, she was the victim and she was doing something about her problem. So what happened?

Well, she took it too far, but that's not really the whole thing. Patricia always took things too far but you rarely see anyone bashing her anymore, because at least when she was doing those bad things she still was able to be a human being and also knew when to stop. Mara didn't do either. Not only did she just let her desire for revenge consume her- she didn't allow herself to act like a human, either. (Maybe she was never human, IDK. Haley claims her to be a "nasty used condom". But I digress.) At least the others, while they had their bitchy moments, had times where they were taking a break or being sympathetic or showing some sort of emotion about things. Mara never did that. Once she started her revenge that's literally all she ever did in any scene. Give Joy some credit, she at least had Joytricia scenes, and for the most part managed to try and come off as the normal girl with a crush. Mara, though, didn't have that. We didn't get to see her take a break and do anything unrelated to Operation Jerome. She became even flatter than before because we never even got to see her just hang out and joke around with her friends without bringing Jerome into the mix, or maybe see her get emotional in private about the whole thing and reveal to the audience that she still loves Jerome for some dramatic irony and depth, or even just see her doing school things because, hello, I thought she loved that stuff!

Queenie keeps bringing up the idea that all of this could have caused Mara to stop caring about school and it drags her grades down, and I think it's awesome and I am stealing it as something I say should have happened. Because just like we never saw any sympathetic side to Mara for half of the season, we never saw any real consequences for it, either. It wasn't the reason she became a sinner. Joy and Jerome made up with her impossibly fast. She got over Jerome impossibly fast after apparently still having feelings for him the entire time. (Then again, as shown with Mick, she's apparently good at that sort of thing...) Had they at the very least had her grades drop because she was focusing exclusively on her revenge, then it would have been easier to deal with.

So no, Mara in season 3 really doesn't summon any feelings of sympathy because she doesn't allow you to feel any. They focused so hard on her and her revenge plot and having Jeroy happen that they completely disregarded anything about Mara that didn't have to do with her love of revenge. I mean, she did do bad things out of jealousy before, but those at least had consequences and we saw her being relatively human even then. I can't feel anything for her at the end of season 3 because she's gotten so into her revengebeast mode that I cannot picture her any other way. Mara over all probably doesn't deserve to get hate because she normally was the nice, and for a lot of people, likable heroine. I especially don't think it's fair to hate on her for Mabian because Fabian is equally to blame and that pairing is just the product of poor writing, not because of anything Mara herself did. So cool it on that- dislike Mabian all you want, but don't act like it's all Mara's fault. I think it's fair to dislike her in season 3 because it's very hard to see her as likable when the show doesn't give you the chance to see her acting, well, ''likable. ''I mean, if you want the audience to like a character, that's sort of a given.

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'''Well, I'm done with this blog. Tell me what you think. But no bashing. I mean it. I will delete the bash-y comments. Dislike all you want- but be civil about it, unless you want me to put my admin badge on. And nobody wants that.'''